Ishant is on course to become only the second Indian fast bowler, after the great Kapil Dev, to complete 100 Tests for the country.
Former Delhi stalwart K Bhaskar Pillai is being considered as a front-runner for the state Ranji team chief coach's post and will face a tough fight from ex-India off-spinner Aashish Kapoor after a series of interviews were conducted by the DDCA. Medium pacer Amit Bhandari could retain his position as the bowling coach. Five candidates who were interviewed for the post are Kapoor, Bhaskar, Bhandari, Hitesh Sharma and last season's coach Vijay Dahiya.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli has decided to take rest while teammates Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma will be playing for Delhi's home fixture against Baroda in their opening group league match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, to be played on Thursday.
Shikhar Dhawan's prolonged bad patch is more about his mindset rather than technique, feel former players, who have watched the Indian opener's dip in form over the past few months.
India's former mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton revealed how Gautam Gambhir, despite being one of the finest Indian batsmen of his time, was perhaps also 'one of the weakest and mentally most insecured'.
'I don't see Hardik getting a new ball. He is a certainty in the side as playing four fast bowlers would mean a long tail. He is your ideal No 7 batsman but you can use him for 4-6 overs depending on the situation'
India's One-day captain has received solid backing from former players to continue leading the team.
There are bowlers who know what needs to be done in a particular match situation and there is Ashish Nehra, who has skill-sets to execute exactly what he is thinking.
One of Australia's finest ever captain Ian Chappell never ever believed that a professional cricket team needs a specialist coach. "An international 'coach' is something the Australian team travels in around England," is one of Chappell's iconic pun-intended quote on what he exactly thought about cricket coaches. Back in India though, coaching senior teams - from international to IPL is a well-paid job, not discounting the glamour which is associated with it. But reality bites when one climbs down -- just a notch below at the first-class level where it's not always a bed of roses for all those plying their trade.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played across the country
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
A summary of the day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.