Sri Lanka, who won the tournament in 1996 before making consecutive finals in 2007 and 2011, enter the 2019 edition on a difficult recent run of form.
India master blaster Virender Sehwag and champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar are the biggest movers in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings after splendid performances in the recent series against New Zealand. Sehwag, who scored 299 runs against the Black Caps, has jumped nine places to sixth position in the latest ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, which is still headed by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Black Caps strike bowler Shane Bond has been ruled out of the Test series against Pakistan with an abdominal tear.
World champions India will worry more about the fickle Kiwi weather than the composition and strength of Daniel Vettori's team when they meet New Zealand in the first Twenty20 cricket international at the AMI Park in Christchurch on Wednesday.
Two new venues, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Barsapara in Assam are in contention to host international matches during the home season in which India are set to play a record 23 international matches at home between September and December.
Indian openers have not replicated the kind of starts the Indian batting has grown accustomed to from its top-order.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
West Indies thrashed New Zealand by 203 runs in the fifth and final one-day international at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Wednesday to draw the series 2-2.
Jasprit Bumrah produced a master-class in limited-overs bowling to lead India to a seven-run victory over New Zealand in their fifth Twenty20 international. Images from the fifth T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Lauding the affable demeanour of the Kane Williamson-led side, Kohli said they are great ambassadors for the sport.
New Zealand wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi retired from international cricket but will continue to play in franchise-based Twenty20 tournaments around the world, the country's cricket board said on Thursday.
New Zealand's proposed tour of Zimbabwe has been condemned by the country's prime minister, who believes a visit to the African nation would be neither safe nor healthy for the players. The Black Caps are due to play three one-day internationals in July under the International Cricket Council's programme, but Prime Minister John Key said on Tuesday that as well as moral objections, there are other reasons not to tour.
The 27-year-old Australian pacer gained four places in the ICC Players' rankings and moved to No 8 after match figures of 5-85 in Australia's victory over New Zealand in the second Test.
According to Krunal Pandya it was the middle overs that proved costly during India's 80-run loss to New Zealand in the first T20 International.
West Indies captain Jason Holder will miss the third and final Test against England after being banned by the International Cricket Council because of his team's slow over rate during the second match in Antigua.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on Monday.
India regained the No 1 ranking in One-Day Internationals after Australia lost the fourth ODI in their ongoing series against England by 57 runs on Friday.
Their pride hurt in the Twenty20 internationals, India would be aiming to rediscover their winning momentum when they take on a rampaging New Zealand in the first match of the five-ODI cricket series starting in Napier on Tuesday.
Fast bowler Ian Buttler's impressive showing in the just-concluded Twenty20 internationals earned him a place in New Zealand's One-day team, after a hiatus of five years, for the first three games of the five-match series against India, starting March 3. Apart from Buttler, Kyle Mills also made a comeback to the ODI squad after a two-week injury lay-off to augment an already lethal Kiwi pace battery, led by Iain O'Brien, Butler and Tim Southee.
On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
Player of the Tournament Williamson leads a team that includes six players from Sunday's dramatic final at Lord's.
England captain acknowledges and appreciates diverse culture in team
Former New Zealand fast bowler Geoff Allott says the national team's performance in the World Cup has brought the 'lost fans' back to the game.
India opener Prithvi Shaw is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven for the second Test against New Zealand, starting Saturday, while Ravindra Jadeja may replace Ravichandran Ashwin.
53-year-old Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda was administered the oath of office by President Ram Baran Yadav during a function at the Rastrapati Bhawan in Kathmandu.
India can move into third place in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship if it remains unbeaten in the tri-nation series involving Pakistan and host Bangladesh, starting in Dhaka on Sunday. Currently on the same ratings points as New Zealand (113) but behind the Black Caps when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, India can take a two-point lead over Daniel Vettori's side if it wins the two league matches and then the final on June 14.
Australian perfection has yet to be achieved in the eyes of Mitchell Starc despite guiding his side to a seventh win at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Starc's record-breaking third career World Cup five-wicket haul proved characteristically destructive as Australia bowled New Zealand out for 157, securing victory by 86 runs at Lord's.
Former New Zealand skipper Glenn Turner is quite surprised that his country has its "nose ahead" in the ongoing bilateral series against India and the reason, according to him, is the underwhelming performance of the Jasprit Bumrah-led visiting pacers. However, Turner expects Bumrah and Mohammed Shami to lift their game in the upcoming two-Test series, which begins on February 21.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor is confident he will be back to full fitness by the start of the World T20 in India after making his comeback from injury by participating in a domestic competition in Wellington. Taylor scored an unbeaten 26 off 16 balls as he helped his side North Island close out a comfortable six-wicket T20 victory over the South Island at the Basin Reserve on Sunday. It was the former Black Caps skipper's first spell at the crease since he suffered a side strain five weeks earlier while batting against Pakistan in a one-dayer across town at Westpac Stadium. The 31-year-old right-hander didn't shy away from playing his cut and pull shots and hit three boundaries. "It was good to get through that, but I'm confident it will get a lot better come the next couple of weeks," Taylor told cricket.com.au. Taylor said he felt a bit stiff, but had been told that would ease over time.
National cricket coach John Bracewell will not seek reappointment when his contract expires next April, New Zealand Cricket said on Friday. "John has informed me that he will not be looking to extend his contract for another term and will instead pursue other coaching opportunities in cricket," New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said in a statement.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
Led by skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian Test squad sans opener Lokesh Rahul and coach Anil Kumble arrived in Kolkata along with the New Zealand team ahead of second cricket Test starting on Friday. Rahul has been ruled out of the match because of a hamstring injury while Kumble is slated to join the team on Wednesday morning ahead of their practice session at Eden Gardens in the afternoon, local manager said.
India captain Virat Kohli said that his team is not looking to strengthen its T20 World Cup preparations in the ODI series against New Zealand as he believes the upcoming Indian Premier League is the 'right platform' for it.
Insisting that South Africa have come a long way from their 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat against New Zealand, captain AB de Villiers has exuded confidence on his team, saying they are ready for the Champions Trophy.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has injured his ankle and is a doubt for his side's Twenty20 matches against England next week.
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
Australia's bowlers backed up captain Ricky Ponting's second successive ODI century to lead their side to a 114-run win and series victory against New Zealand.
'You don't need do anything extra (in a situation like Pandya's). Whoever comes out of it positive, his career can scale new heights, like we have seen with many cricketers in the past. I hope he goes on that right path and emerges as a better cricketer and I think he can do that'
'It's important we learn from this and when we get back together as a red ball team, we face India and we can hopefully play our brand of cricket'.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
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