With new rivalries, fresh team colours, and familiar faces reunited, this isn't just the start of a new season-it's a blockbuster waiting to unfold.
India's outgoing fielding coach R Sridhar finds himself extremely fortunate to have coached and interacted with 'amazingly talented cricketers' and said that every mistake made was a learning experience along the way.
The fifth Test match between England and India, which starts in Manchester on Friday, is doubtful after Team India's support staff tested positive for COVID-19.
India's head coach Ravi Shastri, along with bowling and fielding coaches Bharath Arun and R Sridhar, respectively, would need to undergo a "fit to fly" test post recovery from COVID-19, which led to the cancellation of the fifth Test against England in Manchester last week.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and throwdown specialist Dayanand Garani tested positive for COVID-19, while two others were placed in precautionary isolation as the dreaded virus hit the Indian cricket team ahead of next month's Test series against England.
Team India's cricket director Ravi Shastri has played a massive role in getting Shikhar Dhawan back on track after a prolonged lean patch during the tour of Australia that preceded the ongoing World Cup.
Shastri, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Bharath Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar have all reached from their respective home cities on Sunday.
India head coach Ravi Shastri has tested positive for COVID-19 in the confirmatory RT-PCR test as well and will remain in isolation for at least the next 10 days, ruling him out of the team's fifth and final Test against England, starting in Manchester on Friday, September 10.
England vice-captain Jos Buttler on Thursday said he expects the fifth and final Test against India to proceed as scheduled despite a fresh COVID-19 case in the visiting camp.
Pacer Umesh Yadav was on Thursday ruled out of the remainder of the series against Australia due to the calf injury he sustained during the second match in Melbourne and the Indian team management is likely to prefer Shardul Thakur over left-arm pace sensation Thangarasu Natarajan for the third Test.
India's bowling coach Bharath Arun said that English batsmen are "wary of Ravichandran Ashwin's abilities" on tracks with "assistance" but a call on the senior off-spinner's inclusion will only be taken on Thursday morning ahead of the fourth Test.
A couple of days after convincing former India captain Rahul Dravid to take up the responsibility, the BCCI on Sunday issued advertisement for the post of head coach and three support staff as per Lodha Committee mandated constitution.
'It's really unfortunate that Umesh didn't get to play a lot in South Africa and in England. The reason being, bowlers who played, performed exceptionally well'
A testimony to KKR's problems has been the fact that 20 players have played in 12 games. There has not been a single game, where the playing XI has been retained, making the outfit look completely unsettled.
The BCCI is trying to work out the logistics to smoothly transfer the squad from one bio-bubble in the UAE to another in Australia where they might have to go for a two-week quarantine unless the rules are relaxed.
Former opener Vikram Rathour will replace Sanjay Bangar as India's new batting coach while Bharath Arun and R Sridhar were expectedly retained as bowling and fielding coaches respectively.
It may be possible that both Bumrah and Shami will play the ODIs where they can bowl their 10 over quota and then switch to Test match mode
The International Cricket Council, in a first, has acceded to Sri Lanka cricket team's request to allow them to wear their second choice "yellow jersey" for the remaining World Cup games, as they consider it to be "lucky" after winning against England.
India head coach Ravi Shastri says he has no regrets about organising the book launch, which was widely perceived to be the reason for a COVID-19 outbreak that forced the cancellation of the fifth Test against England in Manchester.
Indian cricket team's chief coach Duncan Fletcher has left for his home in South Africa following the death of his father-in-law and is set to miss team's next World Cup game against UAE on Saturday.
Siraj's elevation as a Test bowler has happened in the wake of some great performances for Hyderabad and India A at the first-class level.
A welcome news for India fans will be Ravichandran Ashwin is doing fine and although he sustained a painful blow from a Jofra Archer short ball during the Indian second innings and needed immediate attention from the physio Nitin Patel.
Effusive in his praise for Indian team's head coach Ravi Shastri, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday called him an "incredible" mentor with an "unbelievable" ability to motivate youngsters even in their lowest phases.
With inter-state travel still banned due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown, Indian cricketers will have to avail the grounds of their respective home states to indulge in running and focus on their skillwork, said Team India bowling coach Bharath Arun. Confined to their homes since a nationwide lockdown was enforced to contain the health crisis, the Indian cricketers have not been able to indulge in running which is an important part of their fitness regime.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
Images from India's training session in preparation for Thursday's match against the West Indies.
The selection of Ravi Shastri's coaching team will take place on Monday and the interviews for the batting, bowling and fielding coaches will be conducted by the national selection committee headed by MSK Prasad.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj attributes his success to his good showing on the domestic circuit, the IPL and India 'A' team.
Bumrah was rested for the second Test at Chepauk, which India won by 317 runs to level the four-match series 1-1.
Former Team Director Ravi Shastri is set to apply for the post of chief coach of the Indian cricket team after the Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to extend the deadline till July 9.
It is believed that if Saini stays back, it will help bowling coach Bharath Arun to invest more time in the 26-year-old Karnal-lad
A lot of premier players and coaches now feel that the use of external substances should be allowed to shine the ball in order to maintain a balance between the bat and ball.
Bharath Arun, who has overseen the golden era of Indian fast bowling, believes that a lot of exciting fast bowlers are coming through the ranks and coaches, along with selectors, should be identifying the next batch in earnest.
Jasprit Bumrah started off from where he had left before being laid low by stress fracture as he bowled flat out at the India nets in Guwahati ahead of their first T20 International against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Closely monitored by team's support headed by Ravi Shastri, Bunrah hit the straps straightway, bowling with pace on a breezy winter evening on Friday even as the Sri Lankan team decided to take rest for the day.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's inability to rotate strike in the middle overs is cause for concern for some time now but India's bowling coach Bharath Arun says it's not that head coach Ravi Shastri is not speaking to the former skipper or other batsmen on how to improve.
The all-rounder also speaks of how coach Ravi Shastri has inspired him and the challenge of opening in Test matches.
India's most successful bowling coach Arun spoke about each of the three pacers.
The last time he took charge, Ravi Shastri gave the Indian team a new josh after the 2007 World Cup debacle. Can he do so this time as well?
'India is known for its guru shishya parampara and the Guru always gets more.'
The Indian media manager, denied a rift in the Indian team management, following a media report that chief coach Duncan Fletcher was being ignored in meetings and also not being kept in the loop about team strategy.
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