Ishant released from Test squad; to captain Delhi

Ishant Sharma will rejoin Delhi's squad and lead them in a crucial home fixture against Maharashtra at Palam grounds in New Delhi on Friday after being released from the Indian Test squad. Ishant, who was originally picked in India's squad of 15 for the Sri Lanka Tests, wasn't picked in the XI for the ongoing Kolkata Test that began on Thursday. A BCCI press release stated he will rejoin the Test squad ahead of the second Test in Nagpur.

Ishant had missed Delhi's previous game, against Karnataka in Alur, upon instructions from the team management, asking all the fast bowlers to rest. Rishabh Pant, the 20-year old wicketkeeper, had led in his absence. With 17 points in four matches, Delhi are currently second in Group A with two rounds remaining. A win in one of their two remaining games could smoothen their passage to the quarter-finals.

Tamil Nadu will go into a must-win game against Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Friday without wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who has been ruled out due to a hip strain. Karthik is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, but is expected to be fit for Tamil Nadu's last league match, against Baroda beginning from November 25.

Karthik's international committments - he played three ODIs against New Zealand - have meant that he has been able to play only one match for TN in the season so far. While he managed only 5 in his lone game against Tripura, he was in good form against New Zealand in the ODI series, with scores of 37, 64* and 4*.

With only two league matches left, Tamil Nadu need to beat both Madhya Pradesh and Baroda to have a chance of progressing to the knockouts. The outcome of their previous match, where they dropped first-innings points against Odisha despite a score of 530 for 8, hasn't helped. Tamil Nadu are currently on eight points and are fourth in Group C behind Andhra, Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai.