India are unlikely to rush Shami back into the playing XI as the five Test series against England could be played on turning tracks.
Mohammed Shami's possible omission from the Indian Test squad for the England tour was doing the rounds for past one week but the eternal optimist would have loved to believe that those artistic wrists would be at work in the Old Blighty.
But Rohit's deplorable form in red-ball in red-ball cricket may have forced this decision.
Rohit Sharma last went past the 50-run mark five months ago, when he made 52 against New Zealand during the Bengaluru Test in October.
His Bradmanesque sequence of scores in domestic cricket in recent years have mingled with the most testing time of his career, but Karun Nair picks the "end of 2022" as the toughest he has had to endure, describing it as "quite a dark place."
Given India's batting collapses in the last two matches, key changes to the playing XI are anticipated.
England have retained old warhorse James Anderson who is seven shy of reaching the landmark 700 wickets and become the first pacer to achieve the feat.
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.
The 40-year-old Pietersen said a win against India is similar to a victory against arch-rivals Australia and urged the selectors to play both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the same XI.
India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav was named the icon player for the Triumph Knights Mumbai NorthEast, while Shreyas Iyer went to SoBo Mumbai Falcons.
Virat Kohli fit to play 2nd ODI.
England's makeshift one-day international team put the COVID-19 issues that hit the previous squad behind them to bowl out Pakistan for 141 runs before cruising to a clinical nine-wicket win in the series opener in Cardiff on Thursday.
Multiple reports indicate that captain Rohit Sharma will be 'rested' for the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
With the Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh just around the corner, India's star batsman KL Rahul focused on power-hitting during a training session in Dubai.
Dilip Doshi had great success on Indian tracks but it was the tour of Australia in 1980-81 where he picked up 11 wickets (6 in Adelaide and 5 in Melbourne) in more than 150-plus overs on non-responsive pitches.
Jonny Bairstow slammed an unbeaten century and Scott Borthwick claimed five wickets for 31 runs, as an England XI beat Hyderabad XI by 253 runs in their second 50-over warm-up match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
England indicated that they're in a position to field a playing XI in Rawalpindi against Pakistan in the opening Test.
'As a captain and a player, he never played for a draw, he always wanted to win.'
Former Australia Test batsman Mark Waugh smashed a quick 42 in a four-wicket victory.
The collective brilliance of the Indian XI in the 2023 World Cup makes a compelling case for each player to be considered for inclusion in every World XI.
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri firmly believes Australia should select experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood ahead of Scott Boland for the WTC Final against South Africa in June.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI against Pakistan on Sunday?
Bumrah's exclusion wasn't solely about workload management-his leadership potential played a crucial role in the decision. The BCCI has all but finalised him as India's next Test captain.
'What I like about them is their stubbornness. If you doubt them, they'll double down on it and go even more stubborn.'
The Australians had been relaxing by playing golf in the city during a week-long break between games. No one else was hurt in the incident.
Now, Javed brushed away concerns over Bumrah's ability to get the better of Pakistan if he features in India's playing XI on February 23.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Sunday's match against South Africa?
Mohammed Shami's much-awaited return to top-flight cricket did not receive too many supporting signals during the seasoned pacer's nearly hour-long stint of varying intensity at the India nets here on Friday. Despite working hard on finding his bowling rhythm, Shami never really hit his flowing peak. While he was expected to feature in the playing 11 during India's first T20I against England at Kolkata on Wednesday, the management decided to delay his comeback. Shami's rhythm and sharpness gradually hit a higher gear but the whole picture was one of rustiness, raising questions about his current form and the decision to select him for the series against England and the Champions Trophy.
The tourists won the three-day match, ahead of their Duleep Trophy campaign, by 30 runs, at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Friday's opening ODI against the West Indies?
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the fifth Test against England?
England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope has no doubt that Chris Woakes will expertly spearhead their pace attack in the three-test series in Pakistan beginning in Multan on Monday.
Eden Gardens will host the first game of the five match T20I series between India and England on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma's career has been a mix of brilliant moments and inconsistencies. While his Test record may not be impressive, his white-ball dominance and leadership qualities make him a legend.
In India's last ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rahul kept wickets in the first two matches, scoring 31 and 0, while Pant played the third game but managed only 6 runs. India could opt to include both players in the XI, but that would likely come at the expense of Iyer.
India's emphatic win over England was a tailor-made series for the debutants. The absence of key players gave India the perfect opportunity to test their bench strength and boy, did the youngsters grab the chance with both hands!
Opener Ian Bell plundered 187 off 145 balls and Stuart Broad captured four wickets as England crushed the Australian Prime Minister's XI by 60 runs in Canberra on Wednesday. Bell starred in England's imposing 391 for six to set the PM's eleven a run-chase of almost eight runs an over at Manuka Oval.
Left-arm paceman Neil Wagner has been rewarded with a place in New Zealand's squad for the first Test against England after taking six wickets in the ongoing tour match in Queenstown.
Defending champions Mumbai announced their 16-member squad sans India stars Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer to take on Meghalaya in their must-win Ranji Trophy Elite Group A
