Sanjay Bangar termed Umesh Yadav, who has been providing the team with breakthroughs at crucial juncture, as 'the most improved bowler' in the last one and half seasons.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead following the nine-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International against England, India is likely to give a break to some of their key players in the inconsequential fifth and final match at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
Virat Kohli is the quintessential 'teacher's delight' but it is injury-prone Mohammed Shami, in his current fit avatar, that India's strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu considers his biggest achievement since joining the team.
Suresh Raina said he would have been left devastated had India failed to draw the fourth and final Test against Australia in Sydney following his failures with the bat in both innings.
Umesh Yadav says the current Indian attack has the ability to take 20 wickets in a Test match during its tour of South Africa, seen by many as the side's litmus test following a string of successes at home.
'In some matches I bowl badly and don't realise what went wrong and how to correct. A fast bowling coach can help us correct our mistakes and improve as bowler'
Ravindra Jadeja stole the show while Umesh Yadav bowled his heart out.
A few eyebrows may have been raised finding Umesh Yadav introduced into the attack in the 28th over but Indian team's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar termed it as a part of the plan knowing the Vidarbha speedster's ability to get reverse swing.
'KKR's form over the past two weeks is not going to be relevant tomorrow. They have got a lot of experience in that team. There are lot of players who know how to win play-offs. So, we make sure that we focus on us and play with the same mindset we have been playing so far'
India captain Virat Kohli reiterated that Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains an integral part of the ODI team and the veteran wicket-keeper batsman decided not to play the upcoming T20I series against West Indies and Australia only to make way for the much younger Rishabh Pant.
Rayudu's consistency at No. 4 slot will solve our middle-order conundrum, says Kohli
Coming back to form with a belligerent century against the West Indies, Virat Kohli said that he is getting used to the burden of expectations from people all around.
Rediff.com's Harish Kotian lists five reasons why Bhuvneshwar Kumar has struggled to make it to the playing eleven.
India batsman Suresh Raina says he is hoping to continue his strong showing in the Twenty20 International series against South Africa in upcoming tournaments, including the Indian Premier League, in his bid to make a comeback into the One-Day International squad.
Insisting that Indian players have played on worse tracks back home, vice captain Ajinkya Rahane termed the Wanderers' pitch as 'challenging' and not dangerous.
Kohli was at his aggressive best in the just-concluded second Test against Sri Lanka as he smashed a strokeful 213 off 267 balls to help India amass a huge first innings total.
India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar came to the defence of the under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying losing wickets at regular intervals did not allow the veteran campaigner to play freely in the second ODI at Lord's.
Check out PM Modi's personal messages to India's players at World Cup.
Glenn McGrath cautioned that an in-form Jimmy Anderson could make things tougher for the Indian captain this time too.
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun is confident that the team's speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to maintain speed as well as be accurate in the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 12 at Galle.
Batting has been South Africa's 'Achilles' heel' during the ongoing series against India
Batting legend Rahul Dravid has backed Virat Kohli to lead the Indian cricket team on a long-term basis, describing him as the ideal leader around whom the country can plan its Test future.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself to number four in the batting order.
India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday questioned his team's commitment after the series loss to South Africa, saying that the repeated fielding mistakes and soft dismissals by the batsmen were simply unacceptable.
Having reclaimed the World No 1 spot in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings, a beaming Indian captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the team has a good chance of holding on to the No. 1 position given the long home season.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
Lauding Chennai Super Kings opener Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 100 in his side's second consecutive win in Indian Premier League-8, SunRisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman said the New Zealender's first ton of the season was a 'special innings'.
On paper as well as on current form, West Indies are no match for defending champions India, who have registered convincing victories against Pakistan, South Africa and UAE in their first three matches of the ICC World Cup.
Ishant Sharma is another pacer that ranks high in the South Africa fast bowler's praise list.
Relishing the prospect of leading the side in the the first three ODIs against Sri Lanka, India's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli today said the hastily-planned series would be an exciting one, especially with World Cup spots up for grabs.
Even as the dust settles down on IPL 9, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com presents his Dream XI.
'It is not just about one skill anymore, so everyone needs to contribute with whatever they can.' 'It certainly puts the opposition on the defensive when you know that all eleven can bat.'
A near-perfect series for Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
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