Sachin Tendulkar said that Cricket Australia has taken the 'right decision' in banning captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner for one year after being found guilty of ball-tampering against South Africa during the Cape Town.
Kagiso Rabada is appealing the guilty verdict handed to him by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching their code of conduct in a last-ditch bid to be able to play in the rest of the gripping test series against Australia.
India's long winning streak in Test cricket is under threat in a quick-fire three match series against South Africa this month, where their status as the top ranked nation in the format faces a stiff examination.
South Africa need seven more wickets to win the third Test at the Wanderers and sweep the series after Pakistan were 153 for three wickets at the close of play on Sunday, still 228 runs short of a daunting winning target.
South Africa's Anrich Nortje took the vital wickets of captain Joe Root and talisman Ben Stokes as England struggled to 262 for nine at stumps on the first day of the second Test on Friday. Pace bowler Nortje, playing his fourth Test, finished with 2-54 off 17 overs as the home side restricted the tourists on a Newlands wicket that was expected to be full of runs. Images from the opening day of the second Test at Newlands on Friday.
The South Africa pacer was found guilty of a level two International Cricket Council code of conduct offence of "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player" after shoulder-charging Australia captain Steve Smith when he dismissed him in the first innings.
'They will learn very smartly that they are dealing with someone who has got the powers of concentration and his willpower, it's no different from a Steve Waugh or a Nick Faldo. That's exactly what will happen here'
Australia great Ian Chappell says Virat Kohli is an exceptional captain who has carried the Indian team to a higher level, whereas England's Joe Root is a "fine batter but poor captain".
The 33-year-old Steyn returned home for the operation in Cape Town, which was performed on Thursday, and had a screw inserted in his right shoulder blade.
South Africa's talismanic captain AB de Villiers has recovered from injury and been included in the Proteas squad for the One-day series at home against Australia starting later this month.
Australia's senior bowlers must step up to help captain Tim Paine lead an inexperienced team during their next tour against Pakistan, pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has said.
The Aussie opener is back with the Orange Army after he was not disallowed by the BCCI last year following his involvement in the ball tampering saga in the Cape Town Test in March 2018.
Australian cricket must move on from the damaging ball tampering scandal and the team could not have found a better coach to help them achieve that than Justin Langer, his predecessor Darren Lehmann has said.
India's head coach Ravi Shastri says his side will take no prisoners in their upcoming Test series against Australia, who are still formidable opponents despite results going against them in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
Plagued by injuries over the last couple of years, veteran South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn is aiming to retire from limited overs cricket after the 2019 World Cup in England.
'It's a stain on the game we all love and I have loved since I was a boy'
South Africa pacer Vernon Philander, on Wednesday, questioned India's claims of being fully prepared for the three-match series, saying a fair assessment of where the visitors stand could only be made after the first Test beginning Friday.
South Africa have promised a ruthless approach as they seek to inflict an historic series sweep when they host India for the third and final Test at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on Wednesday, says captain Faf du Plessis.
South African pacer Dale Steyn says he is hoping to be up and running in the next six weeks after recovering from the muscle tear in his left heel which has ruled him out of the ongoing three-Test series against India.
'We wanted one big partnership to get the job done, which we failed to do'
Shikhar Dhawan admits that he has been a direct beneficiary of facing Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan at the Sunrisers Hyderabad nets for the past two years.
Cheteshwar Pujara said his side's first innings 187 was "like scoring 300 on any normal pitch" and puts them on top after the opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa on Wednesday.
South Africa batsman AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of the team's three-Test series in New Zealand in March, but insists he is not retiring from the longest format of the game.
India Test skipper Virat Kohli has been named as the 'Captain of the Year'.
'Whichever team starts well, they will have always the advantage because it will be tough for the other team to bounce back in a three-match series.'
In case of Umesh, he bowls a fuller length, gets that lethal outswing going his way at 140 clicks but the question is, if India can afford to play a bowler, who has a propensity to bowl too many boundary balls.
Batsman Suresh Raina was on Sunday rewarded for his recent domestic performance with a recall to the Indian Twenty20 squad for the three-match series against South Africa, starting February 18.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
Australian players cannot be 'pussycats' while dealing with Virat Kohli during the series against India and they must get under the skin of the world's premier batsman, feels former captain Kim Hughes.
Temba Bavuma hopes his eye-catching innings in South Africa's seven-wicket victory over England in the first One-day international at Newlands on Tuesday will end the debate over whether he deserves his place in the side.
'Believe me, Virat will go out of his way to make the new captain comfortable.'
Ajinkya Rahane's wretched form will not be a big concern for the South Africa-bound Indian team, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly.
Simon Katich, who has been nominated by Cricket Australia's longest-serving director, Mark Taylor, to succeed him after resigning, turned down the offer sighting media commitments.
A contrite Kagiso Rabada admits he has let his team down after his two-Test suspension significantly weakened South Africa's chances of winning their home Test series against Australia.
Embattled Cricket Australia (CA) Chairman David Peever is set to step down in the wake of a review into the board's governance and culture, local media reported on Thursday.
South Africa are to gamble on the fitness of Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, who were named on Wednesday in a 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
Regular knock out defeats at global events gives rise to serious questions
South African pacer Lungi Ngidi on Thursday said the Indians were clearly 'frustrated and under pressure' as a controversial DRS call saved home skipper Dean Elgar.
The former Test vice-captain returned to the field in a recent Twenty20 tournament in Canada and followed that up with his first appearance in Australia on Saturday in a limited-overs competition in Darwin.
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