India's opener Shikhar Dhawan and vice-captain Virat Kohli have recovered from their injuries sustained during the second Test against Australia and are fit to play the third match beginning in Melbourne on December 26.
With an eye on the gruelling Australia series that follows the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, the Indian Tests specialists including Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari have begun preparations for the pink ball Test against Australia at the ICC Academy in Dubai, from Friday evening.
Marcus Harris will be the only change to the 11, with opener David Warner cleared to play after struggling with his groin strain in Sydney.
Australia and England will play the first day-night Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval in December next year, adding a bold new ingredient to one of cricket's oldest and fiercest rivalries.
'There is the World Test Championship final, which we are aiming at, so we need to win a few games to achieve it.'
Jhye Richardson will replace injured paceman Josh Hazlewood but opener David Warner has been cleared to play against England in the second day-night Ashes Test.
With day-night matches seen as a possible solution to Test cricket's dwindling attendances, Australia are hopeful that India will agree to play one at the Gabba next year.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Friday.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
The 36-year-old remains nominally in Australia's plans for the tour of India in February but is under pressure to perform in the three-match series starting at the Gabba on Saturday after struggling against a modest West Indies attack.
When the final Test at the Narendra Modi stadium ended in a draw on Monday evening, there was bon homie, with gifts like cricket bats and jerseys being passed around.
The report into the investigation has not been made publicly available, with CA citing confidentiality, and the information vacuum has been filled by speculation and innuendo as the years rolled on.
Former pacer Ashish Nehra said India should include senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, ranked No 2 in the world, in place of a fast bowler for the fourth Test against England, starting at The Oval in London on Thursday.
The reticence of South Africa's players to participate in a day-night Test has resulted in Cricket Australia unable to confirm whether a pink-ball match would go ahead against the Proteas.
pacer Ishant Sharma left the Gabba at lunch on the third day on Saturday, after finding that there was no vegetarian preparation in the menu.
India will be hoping to repeat their success of two years ago when they registered their first-ever Test series win in Australia, while the hosts would be keen to avenge that loss.
'How many more chances to Rishabh Pant?' is what folks on social media were asking after yet another white ball failure for the left-hander.
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
Australia will field the same team in the second Ashes Test against England, captain Steve Smith said on Friday, with uncapped local seamer Chadd Sayers and quick Jackson Bird again missing out.
Australia bowling coach Daniel Vettori was asked by reporters whether a trip to the Indonesian tourist destination was the ideal preparation for the second Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Langer has not ruled out a return to cricket for Tim Paine despite the wicketkeeper resigning
'I did say that they simply outplayed us and that they deserved to win but they left that one out. The Indian fans have been slamming me on social media. They say that I'm making excuses again but it's all good fun.'
South Africa lost Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock among several experienced batters in recent years, leaving Elgar and Temba Bavuma to shoulder a heavy burden.
Captain Joe Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes were among the first arrivals to touch down in Brisbane on Saturday ahead of England's Ashes series against Australia.
Phillip Hughes' death after being hit by a bouncer has left Ian Chappell shocked like most of the cricket world and the former Australian captain feels his country's pacers would find it tough to use the short-pitched delivery in the upcoming Test series against India.
Josh Hazlewood had to wait a while for his Test debut but no one can accuse him of wasting his chance when it came after he became the 33rd Australian to take a five-wicket haul on debut in the second Test against India on Thursday.
Has any cricketing legend asked the all-powerful BCCI Secretary Jay A Shah how selections are taking place without a chief selector in place for the last four months? Who takes all the important decisions at selection meetings?, asks Harish Kotian.
The T20 World Cup 2024 promises to be a tournament dominated by bowlers, particularly spinners.
Washington Sundar shared a picture with his father and Test debut cap.
With Smith at the non-striker's end during the Australian second innings at the Gabba, Rohit decided to do some shadow batting at the crease.
Australia captain Pat Cummins lavished praise on Mitchell Starc as the rangy left-arm paceman joined the 300 wickets club in style on Sunday during the first Test win over South Africa.
It is understood that the controversy has not gone down well with the travelling team and it is not amused with how Cricket Australia has so far handled the issue.
Under Ravi Shastri's tutelage, India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia when they upset the hosts 2-1 in 2018-19 before winning their second successive series two years later.
Pat Cummins is focused on doing justice to his appointment as Australia's new test captain and believes limited-overs leadership would be "too much" for him, the 28-year-old said on Saturday.
Australia is set to play two day-night Tests against South Africa and Pakistan next southern summer in a revamp of home international scheduling, according to reports.
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How often do we see a batsman get out on 99 and score a hundred in his next innings in Test cricket? Murali Vijay is only the eighth batsman (on the ninth occasion) to do so. Rajneesh Gupta provides the details.
David Warner gave the Australian camp a scare ahead of Thursdays' opening Ashes Test by hurting his neck during a fielding drill but the opening batsman is confident he will be fit to face England at the Gabba.
'I have done the wrong thing and accept the penalty. I'm gutted to miss a Test match, but the standards are there for a reason and the fault is mine'.
The Miracle Makers is an account of India's historic Test series of 2020-2021.
