Pace sensation Mayank Yadav gets India call-up, Varun Chakravarthy recalled after three years
India squad for Bangladesh T20Is
New Delhi, Sep 28: India's fastest bowler Mayank Yadav on Saturday got fast-tracked into the Indian team for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh after completing his near five-month rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy.
The team set to be led by Suryakumar Yadav only has one more senior -- former T20I skipper Hardik Pandya -- in its ranks as all the recent IPL performers have been selected.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders, got a recall after three years since his nightmarish T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE in 2021.
Nitish Reddy, the back-up seamer all-rounder after Pandya and Shivam Dube, also got a look-in after he missed out on the recent Zimbabwe tour owing to an injury.
The talented players like Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana have all found a place in the 15-man squad that has Jitesh Sharma as the second keeper behind Sanju Samson.
The biggest surprise is certainly the inclusion of Mayank, who consistently bowled mid-150 clicks for Lucknow Super Giants during three of his four IPL matches including back-to-back Player of the Match awards which garnered global attention.
It was during mid-IPL, the 22-year-old Mayank, who hails from Delhi, was ruled out due to lower abdominal strain.
Such has been his talent that he was wrapped in cotton wool with an extensive rehabilitation programme and of late has been bowling 14-15 overs per day at the NCA.
However, it is believed that before being unleashed into red ball format in Ranji Trophy, Bangladesh series is the best opportunity for the national selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir to check out how he is coping at the international level with only four overs to bowl.
If his body holds up well, they might slowly draft him into the longer formats as he is considered a prospect who will serve Indian cricket for the longest time.
Chakravarthy, a vital cog in KKR's victorious IPL campaign under Gambhir's mentorship, was overlooked as recently as the tour to Zimbabwe and also Sri Lanka despite an impressive 21 wickets from 14 games.
However, it is understood that Gambhir was very keen on having Chakravarthy, who mainly bowls fast leg-breaks along with a deceptive wrong 'un.
India will play three T20Is in Gwalior (October 6), New Delhi (October 9) and Hyderabad (October 12) against Najmul Hossain Shanto's Bangladesh.
India’s squad for 3 T20Is against Bangladesh: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
