Indian team director Ravi Shastri also made it clear that Shami will figure in the playing XI during the two warm-up games against West Indies (in Kolkata, on Thursday) and South Africa in Mumbai on March 12 in order to assess his fitness.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has said hosts India will be the toughest team to beat in next month's World Twenty20 Championship due to their familiarity with the conditions.
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Ashish Nehra has been the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes every time the Doubting Thomases write his cricketing epitaph.
The maestro, who played an incredible 200 Tests in his illustrious career, said even though India have had some quality seamers but never had the 'luxury' of an attack of such variety.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says if India wants to win the ongoing five-match ODI series in Australia they need to find a way to dismiss home team skipper Steven Smith early.
West Zone produced a clinical all-round performance to score a comprehensive 133-run victory over North Zone in the final and win their third successive Deodhar Trophy in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Riding on Kedar Devdhar's 94 and skipper Cheteshwar Pujara's patient half-century, West Zone posted a challenging 281 for 3 in 50 overs. Spinners Arpit Vasavada (3-20) and Akshar Patel (2-23) then emerged the pick of the bowlers as North Zone were bundled out for 148 in 37.1 overs at the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
What does Tendulkar miss the most about not being an active player? "I miss the laughter, the seriousness, the celebrations."
India's up and coming pacer Barinder Sran attributes his good showing in the ongoing Zimbabwe series to a tweak in his bowling action and fruitful experience in this year's Indian Premier League.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar criticised India for their 'over-confident approach' during their shock defeat against New Zealand in the World T20 opener at Nagpur on Tuesday. The Men in Blue had been expected to edge out the Kiwis, who were without their retired skipper Brendon McCullum, as India began their campaign as warm favourites to win the tournament for a second time. But the start-studded Indian batting line-up was undone by NZ's spin trio - Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi and man-of-the-match Mitchell Santner - to be bundled out for just 79, their fifth loss from five completed T20 internationals against the Black Caps. Gavaskar said India's batsmen had to take the blame for the loss. Chasing just 127 to win, only three Indian batsmen managed to get into double figures, including three of their top four batsmen dismissed inside the first three overs. "You've got to show a little bit of respect to the opposition," Gavaskar said during commentary. "If the (target) was 160, then I understand that the first ball you face from a bowler, you look to score a few runs because you cannot really afford a dot ball.
Riding high on a comfortable win over Dolphins in their last encounter, Chennai Super Kings will look to keep the momentum going when they lock horns with Lahore Lions in the Champions League T20.
Ashish Nehra concedes that Steve Smith was wrong in orchestrating ball-tampering but it will be sad if the under-fire Australian captain is barred from participating in the Indian Premier League.
Former India batsman V V S Laxman says India's recent success shows a captain is as good as his team and the presence of other finishers in the team has made lifer easier for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni can still torment the bowlers around the world for at least two-three years and can win more matches for India if he consistently bats at No 4, former opener Virender Sehwag said.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that it will be difficult for Mohammed Shami to either replace Jasprit Bumrah or Ashish Nehra.
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on Friday did not come for Indian team's pre-match day training after being advised rest ahead of the crucial Asia Cup T20 game against Pakistan, in Fatullah on Saturday. While Dhoni is suffering from back spasms, the injury-prone Nehra has his own specific training programme, which is different from the general team routine. Dhoni had played through pain against Bangladesh but back spasms need adequate recovery time, which is specifically the reason he has been given 48 hours to recuperate before the Pakistan match. His cover Parthiv Patel had his first training session but had precious little do as he did not get to bat in the main nets. Unless Dhoni's physical condition deteriorates further, Parthiv's chances of playing are minimal. There was one interesting sight during the training session on the match-eve. Both India and Pakistan trained adjacent to each other inside the main stadium at the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium and trained at the same time between 4-6:30 pm local time. However, during the entire two and half-hour training session, no pleasantries were exchanged between the members of the two sides.
Unstoppable so far with clinical performances, a formidable India will square off against a passionate and sprightly Bangladesh in their quest for continental supremacy in the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Sunday.
World cricket's most intriguing rivalry will once again be renewed when India take on an unpredictable Pakistan with rehabilitated pacer Mohammad Aamir being the focus of attention in a round-robin league encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament, in Mirpur, on Saturday.
The much talked about young duo of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will also be seen in action for India 'A' during the two-day warm-up match against Bangladesh, starting in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
India captain Virat Kohli says he is benefitting from the immense experience of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in decision-making in the limited overs format.
Virtually assured of a berth in the playoffs, Chennai Super Kings will aim to tighten their grip on the No 1 position in the points' table when they take on out-of-contention Delhi Daredevils in Tuesday's IPL match in Raipur.
High on confidence after their fourth consecutive victory, Mumbai Indians will look to extend their winning run and sneak into the top-four when they lock horns with table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match at the Chepauk on Friday.
Mumbai Indians will look to extend their winning run and sneak into the top-four.
Chennai Super Kings would seek to get back to winning ways and consolidate their position at the top while Royal Challengers Bangalore would hope to build on the momentum when they lock horns in an Indian Premier League match on Monday.
Delhi Daredevils have no option but to go all out when they take on Kings XI Punjab.
It's going to be Chennai Super Kings' war cry Whistle Podu versus Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo re.
Struggling to be consistent, Kings XI Punjab will have their task cut out when they take on the in-form Chennai Super Kings.
Chahal finished with 5-22 in 8.2 overs, ripping through the middle-order as India won the toss and skittled their hosts for 118, South Africa's lowest total in home ODI matches.
More stars than they are in heaven were at the Sachin: A Billion Dreams premiere.
Veteran Ashish Nehra dished out a brilliant spell of pace bowling after Suresh Raina's sparkling half-century as Chennai Super Kings registered a comfortable 27-run victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match in Bangalore, on Wednesday.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
Skipper Virat Kohli had to once again come to the rescue of under-fire former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose painstaking 37 off 58 balls came in for sharp criticism after England beat India by 86 runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Saturday.
Lack of intent in Daredevils players has been very surprising.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form will remain in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant square off against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune, on Saturday.
The destructive show of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during their first meeting of Indian Premier League 9 still fresh in his mind, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said he has a few ideas up his sleeve to stop the marauding Royal Challengers Bangalore duo.
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has said his team has no special plans for restricting opposition captain and star player Virat Kohli when the two teams meet in the Indian Premier League.
The coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad Tom Moody is hoping for Yuvraj Singh's speedy recovery ahead of season nine of the Indian Premier League. The Hyderabad-based franchise made some smart picks in the 2016 IPL Player Auctions. But the biggest name that caught everyone's attention was Yuvraj. However, the senior all-rounder is recovering from an injury, that he sustained during the World T20 and is expected to miss out on the first two weeks of IPL. "A player like Yuvraj Singh is important to any team. He is not only a match-winner with the bat but he is a very useful bowler in those middle overs," Moody said. "Sadly, Yuvraj will be out for a couple of weeks but we don't know how long that is going to be," Moody hoped for Yuvraj's speedy recovery from an ankle injury.
Virat Kohli termed the entire series as a memorable one with a lot of positives for the national cricket team going forward.
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