The Frenchman won his second ATP Tour title when he outplayed third seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the final.
With Australia sealing its borders and putting restrictions on travel to contain the dreaded disease, cricket authorities are trying to find ways to manage health and safety of the visiting teams if the series goes ahead as planned.
While Sheffield Shield game for South Australia on a bouncy track would have been ideal preparation for Perth, Head feels that he will relax bit before resuming training for the India series.
The rowdy but good-humoured camp followers have become a fixture on all England cricket tours over the last couple of decades but the tour of Australia is the one that attracts the biggest numbers.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly was baffled at the abject surrender of the Indian batsmen at the batting surface at Adelaide Oval in the fourth and final Test, saying that even good pitches creates problems for batsmen low on confidence.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said that Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant, two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters will be extremely important for their respective sides during the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
Ashwin's age is certainly a factor that is being kept in consideration.
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Michael Clarke, who was entangled in a war of words with Cricket Australia over his availability, is still a doubtful starter for the first Test following question marks over his fitness.
The fifth match of the Commonwealth Bank series between India and Sri Lanka in Adelaide ended in a thrilling tie on Tuesday. While the bowlers helped India stay on course for a third straight win by restricting Sri Lanka to 236 for nine on a placid Adelaide Oval wicket, the batsmen paid the price for leaving too much for the end.
'Guys like Rishabh Pant have got a muscle memory and the thirst for victory.' 'He was such a key player last time he played there and the Australian public loved him as well, because of the nature of the way he played his game.'
Reader Shirley Priyanka found Ms Chopra shooting in Australia.
Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne said there has not been any talk about him opening the batting in the first Test against India but he is ready to bat at that slot if the team management asks him to do so.
Burns made his debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test when Lehmann was Australia's head coach. The right-handed batsman has been Australia's first choice as opening batsman alongside David Warner.
Resurgent Australia had enigmatic paceman Mitchell Johnson to thank for their crushing win over England in Brisbane and will put their hopes on another unknown quantity when the coin is tossed for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
41/4 is the worst start in a Test from which India has gone on to win a match. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Virat Kohli is the quickest among all subcontinent players to score 1,000 runs in Australia. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Monday.
The former South African quick explained the pre-set plan against Head, though it eventually fell flat on its back.
'Jassibhai told me "Don't run after wickets, just keep bowling consistently in one area and enjoy your bowling".'
Ravi Shastri guided India to back-to-back series wins in Australia and his short advice to current head coach Gautam Gambhir is to "stay calm" over the course of five Tests Down Under and avoid knee-jerk reactions.
"To be honest, I was not serious when I was young," he said in a video released by the BCCI on Thursday.
Key players, such as pacer Mitchell Starc, are hitting form at the right time, while star batter Steve Smith is facing early setbacks in his preparations.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Shubman Gill's thumb fracture is certainly a "jolt" for India ahead of the series opener against Australia
Batsman Kevin Pietersen labelled groundstaff at Australia's Adelaide Oval "pathetic" after England's practice session was forced indoors due to rain just two days before the start of the second Ashes Test.
'I like it when opposition guys try to attack me and try to whack me out of the attack.'
Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Friday named vice-captain of India for the upcoming three-match home Test series against New Zealand, strongly indicating his possible elevation to the leadership role when the team travels to Australia from next month.
Australia cruised to a seven-wicket consolation victory in the day-night third Test on Sunday after dismissing South Africa for 250 and knocking off the 127 runs for victory for the loss of three wickets before dinner on day four. - Scorecard: There was a minor scare when, with 63 runs still required, Dave Warner was run-out for 47 and Usman Khawaja dismissed for a duck inside one over but there was never any real doubt that Australia would avoid a first ever 3-0 sweep on home soil.
'You have to respect if the ball's moving, you have to give it to the fast bowlers and just soak in that pressure and wait for your time to score runs.'
In case Rohit misses a Test match in Australia, the in-form Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover although Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are also players with enough experience in the opening slot.
Feuding for the past 30 years, former Australia captain Ian Chappell and legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham reportedly came to blows during an angry showdown on the fourth day of the just-concluded second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
Virat Kohli has said that the greatest moment of his career so far is the Test series in Australia, which India lost 0-2, but not before giving a tough fight to the hosts.
Travis Head scored his second successive hundred while veteran Steve Smith wore the opposition down with a statement century to put Australia in control
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
Australia have lost their last four Test series against India, including two successive defeats at home.
Two games at the makeshift Nassau County Cricket Stadium, including India's opening fixture against Ireland, have got an "unsatisfactory" rating from the game's governing body which remains bullish on promoting cricket in the United States.
Legendary Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist believes Nepal and the Netherlands could surprise teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and India in Brisbane on Tuesday.
The pitch in Guyana has favoured the bowlers in the past by slowing down as the game goes on.
