Ben Stokes' first big decision as captain will be to name his team along with coach Chris Silverwood and there are tricky choices to be made with his bowling attack.
Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, have done an excellent job in restricting the oppositions but KKR's top-order batting has hurt them the most.
Up against Delhi Capitals, RCB will need to address their middle-order woes, to return to winning ways, in what could be touted as a battle of equals.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is all set to resume on Sunday with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns against each other.
England skipper Joe Root has backed James Anderson to hit peak form again, saying on Wednesday that the pace bowler's spot in the team is not in question ahead of the second Test against Pakistan starting on Thursday.
Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes hit an unbeaten half-century as the hosts took a lead of 128 with seven second-innings wickets remaining against England on the second day of the second and final Test in Dhaka, on Saturday.
England's most successful bowler James Anderson feels he and Stuart Broad should be paired together to lead the bid for a series win in the decisive Test against the West Indies. The hosts are spoilt for choice ahead of Friday's start of the third Test at Old Trafford with Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all looking to return to the team.
The left-handed batsman now has 497 points in the all-rounder rankings, while second-placed Jason Holder has 459 points.
England coach Trevor Bayliss defended India's much-criticised preparation for the ongoing Test series, saying the beleaguered visitors couldn't have fit in more practice than what they did before the disastrous first two games.
There were close matches, acrobatic fielding, some sharp bowling and big runs scored in the round-robin phase. Here are some memorable moments from the World Cup so far
Ben Stokes returned to practice with England on Wednesday after the condition of his critically ill father improved, but three others missed out as illness continue to plague the tourists, 24 hours ahead of the first Test against South Africa at Centurion. Stokes spent Tuesday at the bedside of father Ged, who was hospitalised the day before due to a "serious illness".
England also named their final one-day squad before the World Cup, with fast bowlers Tom Curran and David Willey returning to a unit who defeated Sri Lanka 3-1. Tom replaces brother Sam as Liam Dawson and Olly Stone also miss out.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
England made a bright start to their second Test against Pakistan at Headingley on Friday, after being hammered at Lord's last week, with Stuart Broad taking two early wickets and the visitors reduced to 68-4 at lunchtime.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
Jonny Bairstow has been rested and injured pacer Jofra Archer was left out while spinner Moeen Ali was unavailable for Test selection.
Another England bowler to advance in the rankings was Chris Woakes, whose five-wicket haul in the second innings lifted him to 20th position and a career-best rating points tally of 654.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the first week of IPL 2021.
England pace bowler Stuart Broad swept aside the India middle order batting in an inspired spell on Sunday to propel his team to a crushing innings and 159 runs victory on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord's.
Along with Jonny Bairstow, Wood joined the England squad ahead of the third Test.
A keen contest is on the cards as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals cross swords in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Away from nets for a long period due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the players including Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks and Raymon Reifer trained at the Kensington Oval behind closed doors
The Australia batsman has overtaken New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and is now only nine points behind India skipper Virat Kohli.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the Lord's Test.
Shardul Thakur hit a local ground at Boisar in Maharashtra's Palghar district along with some domestic players.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd and final Test played between England and Pakistan played at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday.
Alex Hales scored an excellent 109 to lead England to an emphatic 95-run victory over Pakistan in the second One-day international in Abu Dhabi on Friday that levelled the series at 1-1.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir blamed his fielders for their 48-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter.
England trail New Zealand's first innings by 69 runs but need to survive the remaining 31 overs in the final session to stop the hosts from taking a 1-0 lead in the two match series.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and as many Twenty20 matches against England. The first Test will begin at Lord's on July 30.
Influenza has ravaged England with several players and staff taken ill since arriving on Dec. 14.
The court decision on Ben Stokes is expected this week and the ECB said it would assess his availability once the trial is over.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has urged his top order "to go big" in the third Test against England at Edgbaston starting on Wednesday. England levelled the four-match series at 1-1 with a crushing 330-run win in the second Test at Old Trafford - a margin of victory that was testimony to the tourists' batting woes. It was all a far cry from Pakistan's 75-run win in the first Test at Lord's, which featured an inspiring century from Misbah. Poor starts have been a problem for Pakistan in this series.
England have rested fast bowler James Anderson and batsman Jonathan Trott from the next month's One-day series against India and replaced them with Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler.
England will rest Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood for the three-match one-day international series against South Africa starting in Cape Town on February 4. Worcestershire seamer Pat Brown, Somerset batsman Tom Banton and the Lancashire pair of Matthew Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood received their maiden call-ups.
Archer has been on the receiving end of racist abuse in the past, notably during the second Test defeat by New Zealand last year.
'But there are no real shock defeats in this competition. They're a strong squad'
Sri Lanka pace bowler Lasith Malinga ripped through the England batting line-up with four wickets as the former champions handed the favourites a 20-run defeat in a low-scoring World Cup match.
Pakistan recovered from a dreadful start, thanks to a century by Sarfraz Ahmed, to post a respectable total of 251 before Root and captain Eoin Morgan shared a third-wicket stand of 112 to lay the platform for the hosts to go 2-0 up in the series.
Jofra Archer took six wickets as England's bowlers gave their side a handy lead on the second day of the final Ashes Test, reducing Australia to 225 all out in reply to their own first innings score of 294.
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