"One stat stands out: 375,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 350,000," Shastri said.
All eyes will be on Captain Shubman Gill and Coach Gautam Gambhir to lead the Indian Test team into a bold new era.
A heated exchanged between India captain Jasprit Bumrah and Australia opener Sam Konstas lit up an eventful Day 1 of the fifth and final Test.
India's limited overs vice-captain Smriti Mandhana slammed a 39-ball 45 to power defending champions Sydney Thunder to a six-wicket win over Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash league.
Gambhir non-committal about Playing XI for Sydney Test
Syed Abid Ali, the former Indian all-rounder and one of the finest fielders of his time, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83.
Bumrah will miss a few initial games of the tournament as he is currently recuperating from a back injury at the BCCI Centre of Excellence at Bengaluru.
Across four Tests, Australia's fifth bowling option Marsh has bowled only 33 overs, a statistic that underscores his underutilisation. However, McDonald defended the all-rounder.
Australia levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in the day-night Test after losing the first Test at Perth by 295 runs.
In a country where it becomes awkward to handle the retirements of legends like Kohli and Rohit, the selectors has shown the required foresight.
Images from Day 2 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma's decision to 'opt out' of the ongoing fifth and final Test against Australia was bizarre as it sends wrong signals, said former opener Navjot Singh Sidhu.
'Indian cricket will be in safe hands till honest people stay in the dressing room.'
Will Pucovski was once seen as the future of Australian cricket as he made a half-century on his Test debut against India in 2021.
Rohit Sharma has managed just 38 runs in four matches at an average of 9.50 in IPL 2025.
Australia all-rounder Beau Webster described his impressive debut against India during the fifth and final Test in Sydney as a 'dream come true' moment.
Sam Konstas has been added to Australia's list of contracted players in a huge vote of confidence for the two-Test opener.
Mumbai Indians announced the development on social media on Sunday saying, "Once a cub now a lion, the lion is back to be the king of the jungle again."
'This Border-Gavaskar Trophy (series) has had the biggest Boxing Day crowd ever passing the Ashes and the series is so delicately poised now, it is living up to every hype.'
India were dealt a solid blow on Saturday, Day 2 of the fifth Test against Australia, as skipper and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah left the Sydney Cricket Ground for precautionary scans after feeling some discomfort in the post-lunch session.
Rohit Sharma has certain choices to make in the best interests of the Indian team heading into the fifth and final Test against Australia.
SCG curator Adam Lewis said there is grass cover which will help pacers go hard at the batsmen.
Melbourne Cricket Club's chief executive officer Stuart Fox said though he wants Sydney to retain the hosting rights of the third Test, the situation is "extremely complicated" in the wake of a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 cases there.
Virat Kohli's subdued 17 off 69 balls extended his lean patch in the series.
'The Pataudi Trophy vanished overnight -- no farewell, no tribute, just a quiet replacement.' 'If a name can be erased this easily, what faith can we place in the permanence of Tendulkar-Anderson?'
BCCI mourns Syed Abid Ali's passing
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season has been officially suspended due to escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, is the other Indian giving Bumrah company in the top-10, having climbed a spot to be joint-ninth.
'I think Bumrah is that good... he's so much better than the other bowlers they had in the team.'
On a rain-marred third day of the ongoing Brisbane Test, Kohli copped yet another failure when Josh Hazlewood had him caught behind for 3 as a struggling India ended at 51 for 4 when the stumps were drawn.
But Rohit's deplorable form in red-ball in red-ball cricket may have forced this decision.
Cricket Australia has allowed filling up the stadiums to upto 50 per cent of their capacity in the India-Australia series.
Bumrah finished as the leading wicket-taker with an incredible tally though India lost the series 1-3 after the six-wicket defeat in the fifth Test at the SCG
Family and friends paid tribute to the late Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on Wednesday to mark the 10-year anniversary of his tragic death.
Cricket Australia said on Sunday they are still planning to play the third Test against India in Sydney in early January, despite an outbreak of COVID-19 in the north of the city.
Flintoff's 16-year-old son Rocky hits maiden ton for England Lions
Former world number one Andy Murray's quest for a first ATP title in over two years ended in defeat at the hands of top seed Aslan Karatsev at the Sydney Tennis Classic on Saturday, with the Russian easing his way to a 6-3, 6-3 win.
KL Rahul sees shades of himself in 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, who on his first trip Down Under, seems to be in a similar position like he was on his maiden Australia tour 10 years back.
'If the chairman of selectors believes in the future health of Indian cricket, he has the power to decide whether your career should end now, whether you get a few more matches, or one more series.'
