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India should keep Jasprit Bumrah fresh for next year's one-day international World Cup by selecting him mainly for Test cricket and using the pace spearhead sparingly in other formats, former coach Ravi Shastri said. Bumrah was recalled to India's test squad for their two-match series in New Zealand last week, but will not play in the five ODIs and five Twenty20 internationals that precede the Tests. Bumrah's career has been disrupted by back injuries, with the 32-year-old having to undergo surgery in 2023.He was ruled out of a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in August due to a left knee injury, but returned to T20 action at the Asian Games and helped India win gold. "I don't think he should play all three formats till the ODI World Cup," Shastri, who coached India from 2017 to 2021, told Indian media on Sunday. "He should play Test cricket and should play sporadically between one-day internationals and T20 cricket. He also shouldn't be playing the whole lot. "I would rather preserve him for the test matches. That's very important. He becomes a key member of that Indian side. Then he should be used sparingly in the other formats." Following their tour of New Zealand, India will host Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in limited-overs series, before hosting Australia in a five-test series which concludes in February. The 2027 World Cup will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2 to November 21.  

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was named in India's squad for next month's two-Test series in New Zealand on Friday, subject to fitness clearance, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned to the side.The Shubman Gill-led Test squad featured few surprises, with selectors retaining the core of the team, including all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.Pant was recently ruled out of the first two India A Test matches against New Zealand with a left side strain but was included in the senior squad pending medical clearance.India begin the two-match Test series in Wellington on November 19 before the second and final match in Christchurch from November 27.India also named squads for the accompanying five-match ODI series, with Gill set to captain the side in the opening three matches before Shreyas Iyer takes charge for the final two as they continue their preparations for next year's ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retained their places in the ODI squad, while Bumrah was selected only for the test leg of the tour.The ODI series starts in Auckland on November 4 and concludes in Mount Maunganui on November 15. INDIA'S SQUAD FOR THE FIRST THREE ODIsShubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (WK), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav.INDIA'S SQUAD FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH ODIsShreyas Iyer (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (WK, VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.INDIA'S TEST SQUADShubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (WK)*, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.Note: *Subject to fitness clearance. 

Jasprit Bumrah made a winning start to his Mumbai Indians captaincy stint on Thursday, as Tilak Varma hit 75 not out off 33 balls helped beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in the IPL.Bumrah stood in for the unavailable duo of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, as Varma starred again for Mumbai, lifting his side from 88-3 to 205-4, and crossing the finish line with a ball to spare. Varma hit six sixes. He had Will Jacks (25 not out) for company at the end. Earlier, Punjab recovered to 200-8 after a middle-order collapse precipitated by Shadul Thakur's 4-39. Azmatullah Omarzai's 38 off 17 balls turned the game around for the Kings, but it did not suffice. Fourth-placed Punjab, struggling to stay afloat in the top four, lost a fifth consecutive game, and must win both their remaining games to make the knockouts. Mumbai are ninth with four wins in 12 games. Put into bat, Punjab made a quick getaway with its openers putting on 50 off 33 balls. Prabhsimran Singh, who has been criticised on social media for being overweight, replied with four sixes and hit 50 off 29 balls. He added 57 off 35 balls with Cooper Connolly (21). Thakur applied the brakes as he picked four wickets in three overs. He had Prabhsimran Singh caught in the 12th over, and bowled skipper Shreyas Iyer two balls later. Punjab did not score a run for six balls as Raj Bawa bowled Connolly. They lost six wickets for 33, crashing to 140-7. Late carnage helped Punjab hit 63 runs in the final three overs and reach 200. Omarzai struck 19 runs off the 18th over, then Bartlett scored 22 and 12 off the final two - the duo hit four sixes between them. Skipper Bumrah took no wickets and conceded 35 runs in his four overs Mumbai started quickly as Ryan Rickelton hit 48 off 23 balls with four sixes. He put on 61 off 39 balls with Rohit Sharma (25). Omarzai struck with the ball, dismissing both Rickelton and later Sherfane Rutherford for 20 after a stand of 61 with Varma. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a controlled first spell of wrist spin on a slowing Dharamsala wicket, before Varma broke free with 50 off 25 balls. Varma and Jacks put on 56 off 20 balls to secure victory. Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 200/8 in 20 overs [Prabhsimran Singh 57 (32), Azmatullah Omarzai 38 (17); Shardul Thakur 4-39, Deepak Chahar 2-36, Raj Bawa 1-11] lost to Mumbai Indians 205/4 [Tilak Varma 75* (32), Ryan Rickelton 48 (23), Will Jacks 25* (10)] by 6 wickets 

Reigning 20-overs world champions India look overwhelming favourites to retain their Asia Cup title with Suryakumar Yadav leading a crack squad that can sweep aside rivals and any geopolitical distraction in the tournament beginning Tuesday.The September 9-28 tournament had looked in limbo after four days of military conflict between tournament hosts India and bitter neighbours Pakistan in May this year.The eight-team competition was subsequently moved to the United Arab Emirates but the geopolitical undercurrents were palpable with several former India cricketers demanding a boycott of matches against Pakistan.With New Delhi backing the Indian cricket board’s stance of playing Pakistan in multi-team events only, the Asian Cricket Council, which organises the Asia Cup, is confident its flagship tournament would prove a success.With an eye on the T20 World Cup next year, India gave an indication of how seriously they view the tournament when they picked pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.The 31-year-old is played sparingly to manage his all-format workload and India will hope to benefit from the wily seamer’s craft both in the powerplay and the death overs.Test captain Shubman Gill has been recalled to reinforce a batting lineup teeming with serious power-hitters like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, currently the top-two T20 batters in official rankings, as well as skipper Suryakumar.Arch-rivals Pakistan will enter the tournament low on experience but high on confidence after winning a tri-series, also involving Afghanistan and hosts UAE, on Sunday.“We wanted to prepare in a way that helps us for the Asia Cup and we’ve done that,” Pakistan captain Salman Agha said on Sunday.“We’ve been doing really well since the Bangladesh home series. Finally, we’re in very good shape and fully prepared for the Asia Cup.”Having ignored former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan will need sustained contribution from their batters against tougher opposition.Afghanistan lost to Pakistan in Sunday’s final in Sharjah but skipper Rashid Khan counts their familiarity with conditions as a major gain.“It’s important for us to learn from these conditions ahead of the Asia Cup,” Rashid, who will lead Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack, said.“Over the last eight-nine months, we haven’t played much T20 cricket together and a series like this gives us positive energy. I think it’s going to be a great and exciting Asia Cup for us.”Under Litton Das, a new-look Bangladesh will be itching to prove their mettle having lost the likes of stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal to retirement.Afghanistan play Hong Kong in the tournament opener in Abu Dhabi Tuesday.Preliminary stage matches: Sep 09, Tue: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong, Abu DhabiSep 10, Wed: India vs UAE, DubaiSep 11, Thu: Bangladesh vs Hong Kong, Abu DhabiSep 12, Fri: Pakistan vs Oman, DubaiSep 13, Sat: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Abu DhabiSep 14, Sun: India vs Pakistan, DubaiSep 15, Mon: UAE vs Oman, Abu DhabiSep 15, Mon: Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong, DubaiSep 16, Tue: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Abu DhabiSep 17, Wed: Pakistan vs UAE, DubaiSep 18, Thu: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, Abu DhabiSep 19, Fri: India vs Oman, Abu Dhabi