Josh Hazlewood decided to give this year's IPL a miss in order to spend some time with his family.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
New rules, new captains, but same excitement as two months of cricket extravaganza kicks off in Kolkata.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting advised struggling batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to trust their game akin to star India batter Virat Kohli.
India's Abhishek Sharma has surged to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters after a stunning 135-run innings in the fifth and final T20I against England.
'It's going to be different. It's a lot different wicket with the pink ball than Melbourne, so it is going to be a fresh start for both batters and bowlers.'
Both teams have struggled in the ODI format recently. World champions Australia lost to Sri Lanka (0-2) and Pakistan (1-2) in their last two series, while England, now coached by Brendon McCullum in all formats, haven't won an ODI series since their disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, is the other Indian giving Bumrah company in the top-10, having climbed a spot to be joint-ninth.
Several other pacers are unavailable due to injury including Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis.
Their pre-tournament decision to fill the squad with five spinners drew a lot of flak from all corners, but it is now proving to be a masterstroke on the slow pitches in Dubai.
Varun Chakravarthy now holds the best figures by an Indian bowler on Champions Trophy debut. His five wicket haul in just his second ODI is the earliest by an Indian in 50 overs cricket.
Selectors have recalled pace stalwart Hazlewood for the second ODI after he missed the MCG match to play Sheffield Shield cricket.
Former skipper Ricky Ponting predicted that the Baggy Greens will dominate the Rohit Sharma-led side in the five-match series.
'I do not believe this has happened due to extreme aggression.'
Uncapped McSweeney to open with Khawaja in India series
Fans can expect a wide open tournament in the absence of an overwhelming favourite in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
'The more number of times you reach the playoffs, the probability of winning the championship is quite near.'
'That's one we need to tick off, definitely, in particular at home... we should pretty much win every series here at home.'
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth, on Friday.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
Pat Cummins defends team behaviour, terms Travis Head 'a big boy' who can speak for himself
Bumrah leads a competitive field, including South African speedster Kagiso Rabada (856) and Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood (851).
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
The first Test of the four-match series, beginning on December 17 will be played at the Adelaide Oval in a day-night contest. Australia have an unbeaten record in day-night Tests having won all the pink ball Tests they have played.
Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia romped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets inside three days in the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after skittling India for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket.
Sanjay Manjrekar believes the Aussies will likely target Kohli's off-stump, a tactic that has proven effective in recent times.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes K L Rahul's impressive ODI form has cemented his position as the team's first-choice wicketkeeper.
In his 13th pink ball Test since 2015, the 34-year-old Australian pacer has taken 72 wickets at an average of 17.
Cricket Australia named Bumrah as the captain of its Test team of the year, which also features Yashasvi Jaiswal.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Back-to-back Test series wins over Australia are almost unheard of but India have won the last four they have played.
IMAGES from the Group B Champions Trophy match between Australia and England in Lahore on Saturday
Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood ripped through England with three crucial wickets in the final session to leave Joe Root's side trailing by 297 runs with five wickets remaining after the third day of the fourth Ashes Test.
With 539 scalps in 134 matches at an average of 30.39 and best figures of 5/39, Lyon is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Tests and has 24 five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket hauls.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin says New Zealand, despite the absence of the long-serving pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have quit playing the 50-over format, will pose a challenge to India.
Pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed career-best Twenty20 international figures of 4-12 to guide Australia to a 20-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, in a rain-affected opener of the five-match series.
Nathan McSweeney, who opened in the first three Tests with little success, has been dropped.
Jasprit Bumrah has reached an impressive milestone in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings, sitting at 904 rating points
The ICC Champions Trophy is set to kick off in Pakistan, marking the country's first ICC event since the 1996 World Cup.
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