Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing first Test against South Africa after he continues to be under observation in a Kolkata hospital for a neck injury.
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's.
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
Nathan McSweeney is on the brink of a major debut, set to partner Usman Khawaja as Australia's opening batters in the series against India.
Shubman Gill has been guilty of taking too much load on himself since his T20 comeback and the Indian team wants him to bat as freely as he does in the IPL, said assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Shubman's T20I series participation against South Africa doubtful; Samson, Jaiswal contenders for the slot
Mark Wood, who was one of England's standout bowlers in the 2021-22 series when he claimed 17 wickets, had been sidelined since February due to a knee injury and was hoping to build up match fitness in this week's warm-up match ahead of the Ashes.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi was felicitated with the 'Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar' by the President Droupadi Murmu on Friday
'I'm feeling strong. I am feeling fit, and I am feeling ready to go,'
The 3rd Test match in Kingston, Jamaica, will mark Australia's first day-night Test away from home and if they opt for a pace-heavy attack, Scott Boland could come into the side.
Since making a comeback to the T20 team for the Asia Cup, Shubman Gill has struggled to tally just 184 runs in 10 innings.
England batter Harry Brook has cautioned against underestimating Australia in the Ashes series, even as doubts linger over the availability of their captain and fast bowler, Pat Cummins, for the opener in Perth.
England have not won an Ashes Test match in Australia for nearly 15 years but their batting firepower could prove decisive in the series starting in Perth next month, according to former captain Alastair Cook.
'Cricket West Indies, I really think a few heads should roll for this because they've made some decisions and this is the result of those decisions.'
Joe Root scored his 37th Test hundred on Friday to go past the tally of former India skipper Rahul Dravid and contemporary Steve Smith.
Gautam Gambhir, India's head coach, may have expressed support for the Kolkata pitch, but it continues to draw criticism from all quarters.
Ganguly backs fit-again Shami, says he should play for India across formats
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
Uncapped McSweeney to open with Khawaja in India series
Mohammed Shami was once ignored for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, despite having proved his fitness in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
Rishabh worked on his defence after Australia failures, says childhood coach Devender Sharma
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
'The tailenders should have looked to bat with Jamie Smith. Really poor from the batters towards the end. The plan should have been to give him the strike and let him do the heavy lifting.'
Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test against India in Adelaide with a low grade side injury.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the fifth Test against England?
Following a disappointing return to international cricket in the first ODI at Perth, Virat Kohli spent a considerable time in the nets on Tuesday, firing some of his trademark shots during the Indian team's first training session ahead of the second ODI in Adelaide on Thursday.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
India's first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev says a modern-day head coach's role is more about "managing" players than actually coaching them, amid criticism surrounding Gautam Gambhir's working style.
Mitchell Owen made an impressive debut as Australia beat West Indies by three wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
India's opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is set to feature for Mumbai's Elite Group D fixture against Rajasthan in Jaipur in the third round of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, scheduled to commence on November 1.
With two Tests left, India trailing the five-match series 1-2, and Bumrah available for only one of them, Panesar feels India needs to go all out in Manchester next week.
The IPL auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24-25, clashing with the Perth Test scheduled from November 22.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald hinted at a rejig in the top order after misfiring in the World Test Championship final defence against South Africa at Lord's.
A key blow for JioStar came from an unlikely source: The Indian government's ban on real-money gaming, the sector that had become cricket's biggest advertiser.
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