Young England batsman Zak Crawley believes Ben Stokes will have no trouble filling the captain's shoe in the absence if Joe Root as the all-rounder is already a "big leader" of the team. Root will miss the Test series opener against West Indies, which starts on Wednesday at the Ageas Bowl to attend the birth of his second child, handing over the captaincy duties to England's World Cup hero Stokes.
Meanwhile, the Board has given the names of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik as India's representatives in the World XI team that will play West Indies in a charity Twenty20 match at the Lord's on May 31.
Twenty20 world champions West Indies enjoyed a second easy win over Zimbabwe with a 41-run victory in Antigua on Sunday.
West Indies legend Viv Richards, on Thursday, said India have a 'lot of ground to cover' in terms of winning series overseas but hoped they will have the last laugh in the ongoing duel in Australia.
Brian Lara's countless fans heaved a huge sigh of relief after he declared on Tuesday evening "I am fine and will be back in my hotel room tomorrow" following hospitalisation in Mumbai due to chest pain.
Rajneesh Gupta tells you all you need to know about India-West Indies Tests.
Rahane fell short of the three-figure mark again when he was bowled by paceman Shannon Gabriel
Rohit bats in the middle order in the longest format but has never really flourished as a Test batsman.
Mithali was left out of the team despite being fit and Kaur had gone on to justify the call even after the humiliating eight-wicket loss on Friday. Both the senior players along with manager Trupti Bhattacharya met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim.
West Indies' skipper Jason Holder has called for his team to raise their game and close the gap with India in the second Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
His inexperienced team might have been outclassed by India in the opening Test but West Indies chief coach Phil Simmons believes there is no need to be demoralised and urged his boys to work hard and make it even in the second match of the four-Test series.
India captain Virat Kohli lauded a "complete performance" by his team after they thrashed West Indies by an innings and 92 runs inside four days in the first Test in Antigua on Sunday.
'With more and more young people relocating outside their home states for work, an all-India MLDA of 21 would be a good way to ensure that more Indians can go with the flow,' recommends Kanika Datta.
The pace of Kemar Roach and the confidence of Chris Gayle led West Indies to a nine-wicket victory in the first of their two-Test series against struggling New Zealand on Sunday in Antigua.
An outstanding opening stand of 254 from Chris Gayle (150) and Kieran Powell (134) helped the West Indies build a 91-run lead with four first innings wickets remaining after the third day of play in the first Test against New Zealand in Antigua on Friday. The Caribbean side was 442 for six at the close and while New Zealand will take some comfort from a good effort in the evening session, West Indies are well in charge.
Martin Guptill fell three runs short of his third Test century as New Zealand closed the first day of the first Test against West Indies on 232 for four at North Sound, Antigua.
West Indies opener Chris Gayle will miss the One-Day International series against England with a back problem, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Saturday.
West Indies appointed Floyd Reifer as their new interim head coach on Thursday, replacing Richard Pybus as part of a series of administrative changes less than two months before the World Cup.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has said that his batsmen will have to take more responsibility on a "result-oriented" green wicket laid out for the second Test against the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.
Batting legend Sir Viv Richards of the West Indies has been singed up by the Melbourne Stars as a mentor for the team during the second edition of the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Virat Kohli made history with his first double century to become the first captain from India to compile a Test double century overseas when he pulled a single to deep mid-wicket just before the lunch break, on Day 2 of the 1st Test, in North Sound in Antigua.
Roston Chase was disappointed to have thrown away his wicket after scoring 48 runs in the opening Test against India, unable to do justice to the advice given by batting legend Brian Lara.
"The ebbs and flows of the game made it such a good one for the spectators. It was just unfortunate we came out on the other side of it."
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be the key to India's success in the Test tour of the West Indies, their first series under head coach Anil Kumble.
The former West Indies captain, who spent a couple of hours with young kids at the Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai on Friday, teaching them the finer nuances of batting, reveals what it takes to be the best in the world.
The West Indies' bowlers produced a clinical performance, after Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons laid the foundation with fluent fifties, to beat India by 103 runs in the fourth One-day International, in Antigua, on Monday.
According to Goal.com, Messi was set to return to the Catalan capital with his family at the weekend, but will now not be back until around July 12.
An unbeatable 3-0 lead in hand, India will now aim for a cleansweep while trying out new players when they take on a demoralised West Indies in the inconsequential fourth game of their five-match one-day international series to be played in Antigua on Monday.
Amit Mishra has taken seven wickets at an average of 13.85 in three games -- his career-best performance in an ODI series.
The victory helped the visitors take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series going into the third one-dayer in Antigua on Saturday.
Indian opener Murali Vijay will miss the second Test against West Indies due to a thumb injury and will be replaced by Lokesh Rahul, skipper Virat Kohli said ahead of the match that begins at Kingston's Sabina Park later on Saturday.
Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas claimed three quick wickets as Australia hobbled their way to 136-3 on Wednesday, chasing a mammoth target of 462 in the first Test in Dubai.
Cheteshwar Pujara warmed up in style for the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies with a fluent century in the warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President XI.
West Indies are reeling at 90 for the loss of three wickets at lunch on day 3, as India extended their advantage in the first Test at Antigua on Saturday. Pacer Mohammed Shami bagged his second wicket of the innings after dismissing Darren Bravo (11) at the stroke of lunch.
West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo has said that the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a batting friendly where the bowlers need to be patient in order to get wickets.
The morale-shattering 103-run loss to West Indies in the third One-dayer, notwithstanding, India's vice-captain Harbhajan Singh has exuded confidence that the visitors will sign off the series on a winning note in the fifth and final ODI in Kingston, Jamaica.
Statistical highlights of Monday's fourth one-dayer between India and the West Indies in Antigua.
It was the biggest knock of his young international career but far from celebrating, West Indies pacer Andre Russell was a disappointed man as his hurricane 92 failed to fetch his side a win in the third one-dayer against India in Antigua.
Stand-in captain Suresh Raina is happy that the new-look Indian team that got very little time to prepare for the West Indies series have produced results.
Rohit Sharma scored a fantastic unbeaten 86 under pressure as India beat West Indies by three wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Antigua on Saturday.
