Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
He has been a calming influence for India in the opening slot, the proof of which was visible during his half-century knock in the fourth ODI against West Indies here, but consistency is something Ajinkya Rahane is striving for to cement his place in the national team.
Former captain Rahul Dravid threw his weight behind India discard and Rajasthan Royals team-mate Ajinkya Rahane saying the youngster deserves a longer run in international cricket.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has described Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a century in each innings of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Ferozshah Kotla, as the most complete Indian batsman in the current team as he has "done well in all conditions".
Prithvi should bat just like he does for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy, said Rahane
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
India finished the second day on 308 for four in 81 overs. They trail West Indies by just three runs, after the visitors were bowled out for 311 earlier in the day.
With India's injury list on the ongoing tour of England continuing to grow, Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma were ruled out of the upcoming One-Day International series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Monday, named Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane and Jharkhand pacer Varun Aaron as replacements for the Delhi duo.
'Rahane led the side brilliantly, bowlers were relentless but the biggest positive is the performance of two debutants. Both of them were confident and not overawed by the big occasion. Strength of Indian cricket is their strong bench strength'
'The moment you are representing your country, you are supposed to do whatever you are assigned. When I was carrying drinks during the Champions Trophy, I had no ego issues. That's how I am as a person' 'The biggest lesson of life for me is to keep things simple'
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni said he will decide on his IPL future after working hard for 6-8 months and assessing whether his body can cope with the demands of the game.
Cheteshwar Pujara, one of India's finest Test batters, called time on his illustrious career on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane hailed Ravindra Jadeja's contributions in the longest format
'Lyon has over 400 Test wickets and dismissed India's best batter in this crucial moment.'
Ajinkya Rahane insisted he does not have preference for a particular batting position and that he was willing to bat at any number.
Veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur said a cooling off period is essential for players of this era where they go through hectic schedules.
Ajinkya Rahane scored an unbeaten hundred but skipper Virat Kohli's poor form continued as the touring Indians put up 314 for six on the opening day of their only three-day tour game against Sri Lanka Board President's XI in Colombo, on Thursday.
Mhatre's maiden ton, Dube blitz fire Mumbai to seven-wicket win over Vidarbha
Batting was a challenge on an atypical Eden Garden wicket said Ajinkya Rahane but also conceded that he and Cheteshwar Pujara were guilty of not making their partnership big enough.
'I am happy people are talking about me -- I always believe people talk about important people. I am not too concerned about that. It is all about contribution for the team.'
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
Rahane and his teammates are enjoying the phase where the current batch under Virat Kohli is expected to win Test series outside sub-continent following their historic triumph in Australia last year.
Controversial keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Test team, will still earn Rs 1 crore in annual income after being demoted from group B to C.
Short of match practice, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashish Nehra and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at CCI, Mumbai next week. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up here on January 10. Rahane, who is coming back from an injury, will captain the team in the second warm-up on January 12.
Rajasthan Royals have traded bowling all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham to Kings XI Punjab before the IPL players' transfer window expires on Thursday.
Saurabh Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria scored centuries as India got into a good position to register an innings victory over Australian Institute of Sports in the concluding three-day encounter of the Emerging Players Meet, at Endeavour Park, Townsville.
While Ajinkya Rahane has been named vice-captain, pacer Navdeep Saini was recalled into the Test squad.
A day after India announced their squad for the all-important tour of South Africa, former spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday questioned Yuzvendra Chahal's selection for the tour, and said that they gave him a "lollypop to suck on."
India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy believes the IPL presents a different challenge, stating that it's a "different beast".
Chawla lauded Hardik's sharp tactical awareness, which played a pivotal role in MI's emphatic 8-wicket triumph, helping them bounce back after two consecutive defeats.
Ajinkya Rahane will have his task cut out once he dons the captain's armband after Kohli returns to India following the opening Test.
Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain Ajinkya Rahane has praised the BCCI 'for giving importance to domestic cricket.'
A look back at a few memorable showdowns in the last decade and half that had the quintessential crests and troughs of Test cricket.
One of India's most dependable batsman outside the sub-continent has hit a rough patch but Ajinkya Rahane found support from teammate Cheteshwar Pujara, who backed him to come good in the coming matches.
Wankhede Stadium witnessed a gathering of cricketing royalty in the past two days
'The pitch looks pretty similar, I do not know how it is going to play, we have to wait and see'
Prithvi Shaw expressed his frustration after being dropped from Mumbai's squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy beginning on December 21.
Chappell still believes that Australia might have a slight edge in Test matches
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
Stylish batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has been named the vice-captain for India's upcoming tour of the West Indies, said he enjoys taking responsibilities and the new role will help him to improve his performance. "I had toured the West Indies as part of India A around 3-4 years back, at that time the wickets were little slow. In international cricket, there will be different wickets. I have heard there is good bounce and pace in Barbados, Jamaica," Rahane told PTI in Mumbai. "At the same time, I feel the wickets may be spin-friendly. We will get the idea of the wickets once we go there. But it is an exciting tour in the West Indies. We are going with a young Test team. We have done well recently and so we are looking forward to the tour," he added. Talking about his new role as a vice-captain, Rahane said: "As a vice-captain there will be responsibilities and I like to take responsibilities. When I toured Zimbabwe as a captain, I learned a lot from my team-mates, it was a good experience and we had won in Zimbabwe.
