Sarfaraz has taken an unconventional route to keep himself battle-ready - turning up in the Kanga League, a competition few modern-day Mumbai internationals participate in.
England, the defending champions of the ICC T20 World Cup, have several areas to address if they want to defend their title
Gareth Southgate took charge in 2016 and oversaw 102 games, leading the team to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 as well as the Euros finals in 2021 and 2024.
Speaking to ICC in an interview, Cook said that the game has certainly made a big jump in regards to what is possible in Tests.
The legendary Anil Kumble has termed England's bowling attack for the opening Test against India, starting in Hyderabad on Thursday as "highly inexperienced", while predicting a comfortable 4-1 win for the hosts in the five-match series.
Ben Stokes joined the England squad for a training session for the first time after his six-month lay off from cricket at the Metrico stadium in the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on Thursday.
Among other developments, middle order batter Shreyas Iyer will miss the next three Tests due to injury.
England won the toss and put South Africa in to bat only for a shower to sweep in and put a stop to proceedings
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.
Having been there and done that, Graeme Swann is now mentoring a group of young England spinners, who would feature in a 'Shadow Tour' of India next month with a couple of them in contention to make it to senior team for five-Test series, starting January 25.
'Sundar is the front-runner behind Ashwin right now. He's done well in whatever limited opportunities he's got and I feel he will get his due first before going to anybody else.'
The ECB have also held talks with cricket boards of the other three visiting teams this summer -- New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan -- and agreed to cancel their tour matches against English county teams.
Injuries to Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steven Davies and his county colleague Kabir Ali has necessitated the England and Wales Cricket Board to make changes in the England Lions Squad to take part in the Duleep Trophy tournament to be held in West Zone centres.
Images from the Euro 2024 Group C match between England and Serbia, at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Sunday.
Sarfaraz's inclusion is well-deserved, backed by an exceptional performance in the unofficial Test match against England Lions,
France qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League despite a lacklustre goalless draw against Israel on Thursday.
In a big blow to the Indian team, the hosts will miss Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul for the second Test against England.
England Lions cricketer Ben Duckett was suspended for pouring a drink on a senior England player reported to be paceman James Anderson after an argument in a Perth bar.
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.
The life of Saurabh Kumar, veteran of a decade in domestic cricket, took a sharp turn on Monday when he made the Indian squad for the second Test against England starting in Visakhapatnam on February 2.
All the prominent Indian cricketers are contracted with their respective IPL franchises at the moment as the league's knockouts will be played on May 20, 21 23 before the final on May 25.
As Bharat faces scrutiny, the spotlight shifts to whether Jurel will get an opportunity to prove his mettle on the international stage.
The second day's play in the third Test between England and South Africa at The Oval will not take place on Friday following the death of Queen Elizabeth, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians announced the development on social media on Sunday saying, "Once a cub now a lion, the lion is back to be the king of the jungle again."
National flags should not be "messed with", British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday, after Nike's decision to use an altered design of the St George's Cross on England's soccer shirts angered some fans.
Batsman Jonathan Trott has been selected for the England Lions tour of South Africa, his first international call-up since leaving last year's Ashes tour with a stress-related illness.
The second match of the series will be played at Lord's, starting from August 29 and the final Test match of the series will take place at Kennington Oval on September 6.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will resume on May 17 with a match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru, the BCCI announced on Monday.
Derek Underwood, England's best spinner in the post-World War II era, who gave a torrid time to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, passed away at Kent on Monday. He was 78.
Patidar looked assured in his 72-ball 32 and one of his three boundaries came via a reverse sweep.
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.
'Archer brings excitement and an X-factor to the team'
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal K M Cariappa Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh The three highest-ranking military heroes of the Indian Armed Forces. They were the rarest of the rare. The bravest of the brave.
England's Harry Brook will miss the five-match Test series against India as the middle-order batsman will return home with immediate effect because of personal reasons, the ECB announced on Sunday.
Rajat Patidar, who made his ODI debut in South Africa last year, has emerged as the front-runner over Sarfaraz Khan for a spot in India's middle-order for the second Test.
After rain-marred ICC T20 World Cup preparation, England pacer Mark Wood insisted that the Three Lions will make 'no excuses' and said few players are gaming to get more runouts at the Oval to boost their confidence.
England have added opening batsman Keaton Jennings and spinner Liam Dawson to their squad for the final two Tests in India as replacements for the injured Haseeb Hameed and Zafar Ansari. South Africa-born left-hander Jennings comes in for teenager Hameed, who broke his little finger during England's defeat in the third Test in Mohali and will return home to undergo surgery.
England batting legend Alastair Cook lauded star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah for his magnificent six-wicket haul in the second Test against Three Lions, saying that he changed the course of the game single-handedly and "ripped the heart out of England batting line-up".
Pace bowler Graham Onions won selection ahead of Durham team mate Steve Harmison in the England squad named on Sunday for the first Ashes test against Australia starting in Cardiff next week.
India went into the first Test with one spinner in Anil Kumble, while Yuvraj Singh lost the battle for a No 6 or 7 slot to VVS Laxman and M S Dhoni.
