The big question mark is whether England can cope with the level of expectation that surrounds them as favourites on home soil.
India made a strong reply with the bat after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up yet another five-wicket haul as the hosts reached 146 for one on the second day of the fourth Test against England in Mumbai, on Friday.
Meanwhile, Middlesex middle-order batsman Dawid Malan has been confirmed the replacement of Stokes in the ODI squad.
Australia, bidding to avenge their defeat in the Ashes Test series earlier in the tour, went 1-0 up in the One-Day International encounter when they beat England by 59 runs in Southampton on Thursday.
The expected loss of all-rounder Ben Stokes from the third Test against Pakistan has left "a bit of a hole" in the England team, coach Trevor Bayliss has said ahead of the match at Edgbaston, starting next Wednesday.
Captain Eoin Morgan hammered 66 from 33 balls, while Dawid Malan hit an unbeaten half-century to power England to a five-wicket victory against Pakistan, in the second T20 International, in Manchester, on Sunday.
England beat Pakistan by 44 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis scoring method in a rain-affected first One-Day International in Southampton on Wednesday.
England's lower-order gave India a taste of their own medicine on a benign Chepauk track racking up a commendable 477 in their first innings on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test in Chennai.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
England's chase of 330 appeared all but over when they were reduced to 257-8 in the 40th over but Sam Curran and Mark Wood, who scored 14, kept the side in the hunt with a stubborn 60-run stand for the ninth wicket.
The match officials decided to take an early lunch, moving the scheduled break ahead by 30 minutes. Even after lunch, there was no respite from the rain and it went on throughout the afternoon.
Lokesh Rahul has jumped nine places to reach a career-high third spot in the latest ICC T20 rankings
India was able to finish Day 1 of third Test on 307 for six because their batsmen capitalised well on the conditions at Trent Bridge and did not offer any chances in the middle session, said England pacer Chris Woakes.
Buttler hits quickest T20 half-century to give England win in one-off match
Wood, who has 11 one-day international caps but missed the winter tour of India, is joined by fellow paceman Liam Plunkett who is yet to play for Yorkshire this season because of a calf injury.
Out of India's total tally of 842 runs in five matches, the duo has rattled up 471 runs -- which accounts to 55 percent of the runs -- at a strike rate of 160.
Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan made half-centuries as Pakistan ambled to 222 for three at the close on day three of the second Test on Saturday, 358 runs ahead of England after Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah had scuttled the tourists lower order before lunch.
England beat New Zealand by four runs in their third one-day international on Saturday.
India captain's 937 rating points are the 11th best in the all-time list for batsmen.
The West Indies laid down a significant marker ahead of the ODI series as they comfortably beat England by 21 runs in their sole Twenty20 fixture at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
Former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq will continue to help the touring English spinners in the upcoming ODI series in India.
New Zealand, who beat England by 12 runs in their previous match, advanced to the February 21 final on net run rate. They had only needed to score 175 to have the superior run rate.
As the 16th edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League is set to unfold, let's take a look at the driving force of the T20 league and what's in store in this edition.
Virat Kohli strengthened his position at the top of ICC ODI rankings for batsmen by touching a career-high 911 points, while Kuldeep Yadav broke into the top-10 of the bowlers' chart at sixth, on Wednesday.
Among others, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved up to take top position among bowlers with some fine performances in a 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe.
South Africa needed three off the last two balls but Tom Curran, who had just been smashed for 12 runs in three by Dwaine Pretorius, got him lbw then had Bjorn Fortuin caught off the final ball to cap off a day of almost unrelenting excitement and set up a thrilling decider in Centurion on Sunday.
Australia made a stuttering start to coach Justin Langer's tenure as they lost by three wickets to England in the opening match of the one-day series at The Oval.
India survived a scare before managing to draw the first Test against England, who gained the psychological advantage after enjoying the upper-hand for the better part of the five days, in Rajkot, on Sunday.
With 871 rating points, Virat Kohli is at the top followed by Rohit (855) and Pakistan's Babar Azam (829).
Krunal Pandya smashed the fastest half-centuryr by a debutant in ODIs to power India to victory in the first ODI against England.
England beat Sri Lanka by 211 runs inside four days in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the Galle International Stadium on Friday.
England could play three spinners in the first game of their five-match series against Pakistan in Southampton on Wednesday, said one-day captain Eoin Morgan. A fixture guaranteed to make history, because the third umpire will call front foot no-balls, will take another interesting twist if England field Liam Dawson alongside Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.
Should India should include an extra batsman in Karun Nair? Or should all-rounder Hardik Pandya be added to give the team more balance?
Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
Wood believes Morgan's audacious ball striking, which helped England to a massive 397-6, sums up the team's fearless approach to one-day cricket in recent years.
Roy failed to reach double figures as World Cup favourites England suffered a surprise defeat to Pakistan last time out, but the 28-year-old was in imperious form to put England on course for their highest ever World Cup batting total and a 106-run victory over Bangladesh.
A brilliant century by Jos Buttler and a more routine one from Jason Roy fired England to an 84-run win over Pakistan in a high-scoring final one-day international in Dubai on Friday and a 3-1 victory in the series.
Roshen Silva struck a combative fifty and expertly guided Sri Lanka's lower order to help the hosts gain a first-innings lead of 46 against England on the second day of the second Test on Thursday.
Rishabh Pant's disappointing outing against Zimbabwe isn't a cause of concern for head coach Rahul Dravid, who hinted that the flamboyant left-hander could start in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England at Adelaide on Thursday.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between England and New Zealand in Brisbane on Tuesday.
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