A white-ball lifeline for Rishabh Pant and a possible inclusion of a fit-again Hardik Pandya will be the focal points of discussion when the national selectors pick the ODI and T20I squads for the home series against West Indies on Wednesday. India will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies. While the T20I squad is expected to be a mirror image of the Asian Games squad with the matches starting from October 6, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar does have a job at hand to pick the 50-over squad from the options available.

Incidentally, Agarkar, who will be in Delhi for the team selection meeting, is likely to have a discussion with “decision makers” in the board on whether he will be given extension till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Return of Hardik Pandya

Pandya’s scheduled return to competitive cricket is September 20 as he has already been picked for India A’s three-match One Day series against Australia A in Puducherry from October 6.

However, the West Indies ODIs start in Thiruvananthapuram from September 27 and it will be up to the selection panel to decide whether Pandya is ready to bowl 10 overs and field for 50 overs straightaway in a full international game.

The lack of seam-bowling all-rounders is an issue for selection committee if Pandya is unavailable. The second option Nitish Kumar Reddy will be in Japan playing the Asian Games during the ODI series.

The third and fourth options — Suryansh Shedge and Venkatesh Iyer are currently injured.

Rishabh Pant’s 50 over comeback

Pant’s indifferent IPL form saw him lose Test vice-captaincy and also a place in the white-ball sides but with Ishan Kishan in Japan, the flamboyant southpaw might just get a look-in in the squad of 15, with KL Rahul being the first-choice ODI keeper. Rahul is also likely to be Shubman Gill’s deputy in absence of Shreyas Iyer.

In case Pant misses the bus, then selectors will go for Dhruv Jurel and send Pant to lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup.

Gaikwad, Patidar in the mix

With Iyer on Asian Games duty, Ruturaj Gaikwad is expected to take the No 4 slot in the line-up after skipper Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the reserve opener while reserve middle order batter in all likelihood will be Rajat Patidar.

Both Gaikwad and Patidar are also supposed to play for India A after the West Indies ODIs with the former leading the team.

Jadeja or Suthar?

Ravindra Jadeja, who was not picked for the ODI series in England, could earn a recall as Harsh Dubey picked up an injury during Central Zone’s semi-final against East Zone in the recent Duleep Trophy.

While Dubey along with Axar Patel were being looked at as the two left-arm spinners for ODIs, their absence due to forced reasons might prompt selectors to summon Jadeja unless there is a left-field selection like Manav Suthar. Axar will be playing in the Asian Games.

In case Kuldeep Yadav is called up for Asian Games if injured Varun Chakravarthy can’t make it, then selectors would have a real problem.

They will have to then resort to the likes of Vipraj Nigam or Zeeshan Ansari if they want a wrist spinner.

Siraj to be back in ODIs after rest

Mohammed Siraj was not a part of the ODI squad in England but he is supposed to come back alongside Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav, all of whom played the last series. Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available due to his Asian Games commitment.

As of now, it is highly unlikely that out-of-favour veterans like fast bowler Mohammed Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal will get a look in unless there is any massive external pressure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).

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India’s victorious Asia Cup triumph in Dubai has seen a host of their players make eye-catching improvements up the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings. India cruised to a 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final of the eight-team tournament to claim an unprecedented eighth Asia Cup title, and it was the likes of white-ball stars Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani that led the way, as per the ICC website. Charani picked up four wickets in that title decider at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to finish with 12 scalps for the tournament, and the left-armer has broken new ground on the latest rankings update as she moves further clear at the top of the rankings for T20I bowlers and becomes the first Indian bowler to surpass the 800-point barrier.

Only Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt (806) can lay claim to having reached a higher rating than Charani’s 802 points on the rankings for T20I bowlers, with the India spinner now joining an elite group that includes England tweaker Sophie Ecclestone (802) as the only female players to reach the magical 800-point mark.

And it is teammate Deepti Sharma who is now Charani’s closest rival in the rankings, with the star all-rounder rising four places to move to second on the list for T20I bowlers following her 14 wickets at the Asia Cup that included a spell of 3/19 in the final.

There is further joy for India on the rankings for T20I batters, with Shafali rising one spot to move to sixth on this star-studded list following her tournament best 236 runs at an average of 47.20. It also helped the right-hander make gains of five spots on the list for T20I all-rounders as she jumps to 15th.

It is still Australian duo Beth Mooney and Georgia Voll that hold sway at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, with Nigar Sultana (up one place to equal 20th), Imesha Dulani (up two spots to equal 20th), Sharmin Akhter Supta (up three rungs to equal 40th) and Shawaal Zulfiqar (up four slots to 45th) among the other players to make ground following some good performances at the Asia Cup.

And there are gains for a host of Bangladesh players in the latest rankings for T20I bowlers, with Marufa Akter (up three rungs to equal 15th), Rabeya Khan (up three slots to 18th), Sultana Khatun (up five places to 32nd) and Fahima Khatun (up six spots to 49th) all making progress on the back of some good efforts at the Asia Cup.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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High-flying Real Betis welcome Getafe to the Benito Villamarín Stadium in a Spanish La Liga match on Thursday. Real Betis have a slight historical edge in this fixture.

Real Betis have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and sit third in the La Liga standings, with four wins out of five in the Spanish top flight.

Aside from a 5-2 away loss to Levante on matchday three, Los Verdiblancos have been supremely efficient and defensively solid, with 1-0 victories over giants Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at home, as well as Valencia away.

In their most recent La Liga matchup, Manuel Pellegrini’s men travelled to face Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Monday, securing a come-from-behind 2-1 victory.

Gerard Moreno put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute, but Real Betis fought back as Cucho Hernandez and Natan netted before the halftime break to earn another impressive three points.

Meanwhile, Getafe are in 14th place in the La Liga table with five points from five games, tied on the same points as Levante, who are above Azulones on goal difference.

Getafe kicked off their league campaign with a 3-0 loss away to Alaves before earning their only win so far against newly-promoted Racing Santander at home.

A 1-0 loss away to Osasuna was followed by a pair of 1-1 home draws against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña.

José Bordalás’ side looked set for the win after they took the lead through Ramon Terrats in the 66th minute, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized late in the match at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Sunday.

Real Betis vs Getafe head-to-head stats and key numbers

• Real Betis have the slight upper hand in the head-to-head record against Getafe, with 17 wins out of 42 matches, along with 12 draws.
• Getafe have beaten Real Betis on 13 occasions, including their most recent clash in La Liga last season, when they secured a 2-0 victory at home.
• Despite that recent loss, Real Betis have dominated the fixture in the last five years, having lost to Getafe only twice in their last 11 matches.

Real Betis vs Getafe prediction

Real Betis are expected to dominate possession and dictate the tempo at home, using their creative midfielders and wide players to transition at speed and break down Getafe’s defense. Getafe will likely adopt a compact, low defensive block designed to disrupt Real Betis’ rhythm, before launching counterattacks and aiming to make the most of set-piece opportunities.

Real Betis have become masters of edging narrow victories, and we expect this encounter to end similarly in the home side’s favor.

Prediction: Real Betis 1-0 Getafe

Real Betis vs Getafe betting tips

Tip 1: Real Betis to win

Tip 2: Real Betis to keep a clean sheet

Tip 3: Under 2.5 goals