Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the fifth Test against England?
England were second-best in all departments in a heavy Test loss to India at Edgbaston after they misread the pitch and made the wrong decision at the toss, coach Brendon McCullum said after his team lost by 336 runs on Sunday.
This was India's seventh defeat in their last nine matches as their poor run in Test cricket continues following successive series defeats against New Zealand at home and in Australia.
English all-rounder Ben Stokes was given a royal honour at the Buckingham Palace after he guided his side to the ICC World Cup triumph last year. Along with Stokes, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, coach Trevor Bayliss, and Joe Root also received the honours as part of the New Year's Honours List.
Led by Shubman Gill, a defiant India put on a mentally strong and technically disciplined response to keep the series alive with England 2-1 up. While there were plenty of positives to take forward, a few concerns continue to linger as the series heads to a decider at The Oval.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes had a miraculous reprieve on day three of the fourth Ashes Test after Australia's Cameron Green hit his off-stump but could not dislodge the bail at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Opener K L Rahul expressed disappointment as India failed to gain a lead against England on Day 3 of the third Test of the five-match series at 'Home of Cricket', Lord's, on Saturday.
Southgate watched as KKR downed RR by one run and later took a trip down memory lane, recalling the time when he used to watch Test cricket 'all day long.'
Ben Stokes came up with a witty response after an Australian newspaper ridiculed him following the controversy over Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in the Lord's Test.
'Whenever India bowls, Reiffel feels it's not out. Whenever India bats, he feels it's out.'
'Stokes is done with one format aged 31, which can't be right, really.'
'We obviously want to wheel him in, but we also want to respect where his body's at, and on the basis of that, we just felt that it wasn't worth including him in the squad.'
Ben Stokes wants to bombard Australia with express pace, while also banking on typically seaming home conditions, when the arch-rivals clash during the Ashes later this year.
Bumrah's pace has dropped noticeably in the ongoing fourth Test against England in Manchester - from his usual 140kph to the 130-135kph range. While he consistently touched 140-plus at Headingley and Lord's, Old Trafford has told a different story.
'Congratulations Joe Root, magnificent.'
'If you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in that World Test Championship final, then it is great, but it is a real weird one knowing that you are playing for something over a long period of time.'
Spinner Adil Rashid returns to both T20 and ODI squads after missing the series against India to make The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Jasprit Bumrah's appointment as India's stand-in Test captain is a 'courageous decision' based on his 'tactical nous', and his leadership duel with England skipper Ben Stokes is providing a fascinating sidelight to an entertaining game in Birmingham, said the legendary Ian Chappell.
"We're fully aware he's not the finished project and I think it's important for his inclusion not to be looked into too much."
'I don't know if it's symbolic of where the game itself is at around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive to be honest.'
Ahead of England's five-match Test series against India at home, head coach Brendon McCullum hailed young all-rounder Jacob Bethell
'Looking at them, five or six Tests between them, to bowl the way they did yesterday without Joe -- what they produced was incredible.'
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
England's Jacob Bethell will bat at number three for the first time in first-class cricket when he makes his Test debut against New Zealand at Christchurch's Hagley Oval on Thursday.
While Stokes's availability comes as a welcome boost to England's bowling department, they will not be able to call upon first-choice spinner Jack Leach, who suffered a stress fracture in his back earlier this month.
Was it an injury? A missed opportunity? Captain Shubman Gill has an explanation-but it's not one many are buying.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said the team is "leaning towards" playing lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test in Manchester as the visitors look to pull themselves back on level terms in the five-match series against England.
Plenty of hopes will rest on the young shoulders of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who, at the age of just 23, has earned a reputation as one of the world's best openers in the longest format of the game.
'Ben (Stokes) has done it before, he has done special things in an England shirt.'
England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, with pacer Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad.
England will require more heroics from Ben Stokes if they are to pull off an unlikely victory
'There have been a lot of 6:30 wake-ups on day four and day five when my alarm has been set for 8:15.'
The all-rounder bludgeoned 18-year-old Josh Baker for 34 runs in an over which included five sixes and a boundary -- the second time in his county career he had cleared the rope in five consecutive deliveries.
The ground brought sanity to the wild, soaring numbers for the batters in the series. The wicket had grass, and it made the batters struggle.
'If a person makes a decision because they think it's the best for themselves, the future and security of their families, then it's very hard to disagree with that.'
Gautam Gambhir has always been against the mega-star culture prevailing in Indian cricket but Mohammed Siraj's Herculean effort throughout the English summer has definitely given the Indian head coach a real shot in the arm.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff's three best performing players in all the 17 IPLs (2008-2024).
Stokes begins his tenure with a two-Test series against New Zealand, in June.
Bumrah, when quizzed about the repeated ball change, maintained a neutral tone on the matter.
Bumrah was speaking about tackling with judgment when the funny moment took place.
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