Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
Jofra Archer showed why England could not leave him out of their final ICC Men's Cricket World Cup squad as he bowled them to opening win against South Africa.
The tour will start with the first ODI in Johannesburg on December 5, while the two-Test series will begin on December 18 at the same venue.
The three-day practice game will give a chance for the players who are already in the West Indies to shift from limited overs to the five-day format.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was on Thursday hit by a bug, compounding the visiting team's misery, but opener Tom Latham sounded optimistic about the batsman's availability in the second Test against India beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
The teams are ready to battle it out and with no established name figuring in India's bowling department
Cricket has few examples of players calling it quits when very much at the top their game. It is anything but coincidence that most of them happen to be from the most successful nation in the history of the sport.
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
India will need to win at least a game in the upcoming one-dayer series against Australia to retain their current second position in the ICC ODI Team Championships, even as second-placed Virat Kohli looks to close in on AB de Villiers in the batting chart. World champions Australia go head to head with former winner India in a five-match series in Perth on Tuesday. Australia (127) lead second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if they lose all the five matches of the series, they will drop points but still finish a point ahead of India.
The eighth edition of the Indian Premier League, says Haresh Pandya, provides Yuvraj Singh a chance to make up for time lost and opportunities missed or squandered.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy smashed her way to a brilliant 133 off 115 balls with the Southern Stars piling up a massive 332 for 7.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia will be the first in more 35 years to be held without spectators after organisers introduced tighter measures to protect against the coronavirus. Here is a list of international sports events hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
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India will take on Australia in the second ODI of the tri-series, also involving England, on January 18, after Cricket Australia decided to swap the first two matches to give appropriate recovery time to the Indian players following the rescheduling of the four-Test series.
The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
Star medium-pacer Jhulan Goswami said India will look to get maximum points during the limited-overs series against New Zealand in their quest to qualify for the 2017 women's World Cup.
Inexperience cost England, feels Morgan
'Experience is the key. There are basically two ways to read leg-break bowling. Either you pick up from the wrists or wait for the ball to pitch. No two batsmen would employ the same technique'
Carlos Brathwaite's inclusion will lift the spirits of Delhi Daredevils.
The raucous chants Jeetega bhai Jeeetega Hindustan Jeetega was met with the counter Jeetega bhai jeetega Pakistan Jeetega.
Should Mayank Agarwal make his Test debut at the MCG? Will Kohli/Shastri pick Hardik Pandya for the Boxing Day Test? Pick India's playing XI for the third Test.
From Captain Cool losing his, well, cool to Rabada's super over, and Malinga's unbelievable bowling for the cup, IPL 2019 was not short of magical moments. Here are a few.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
VVS Laxman said that the English experience would help the cricketers do well in the gruelling Australia tour that precedes the World Cup.
Cleared by International Cricket Council of suspect bowling action West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine would be more dangerous and confident in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
While current coach Anil Kumble is an automatic entry into the process, the others in the fray are Australian Tom Moody and Englishman Richard Pybus.
Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine, who has been reported for suspect bowling action again, is available for the contest against Rajasthan Royals but skipper Gautam Gambhir says they're still pondering whether to risk the Windies.
Hardik Pandya threw light on life in the bio bubble, gearing up for cricketing action after a year-long break, working hard on his fitness to go one level up post-surgery, the joy IPL will bring to the fans and most importantly on becoming a father.
Speculation is rife that Younis Khan will quit One-day cricket after the World Cup and chances are it would be far from a fairytale farewell for one of Pakistan's modern batting greats.
The instant stardom associated with impressive performances in the Indian Premier League has not changed Rashid Khan's ultimate cricketing dream -- to bowl lethal googlies to the best in the world while donning Afghanistan whites.
Hosts India might have outplayed them in the first three ODIs but Sri Lankan team management is keen to include experienced spinner Ajantha Mendis in the playing XI for the fourth ODI scheduled on Thursday.
'It helps me get into a mindset that I have nothing to lose and play accordingly.'
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
IPL Season 10 saw the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Rashid Khan grab the spotlight. Let us check out what they did.
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood received his reward for some fine domestic form on Wednesday when he was included in a pace-heavy 13-man squad for the first two One-Day Internationals against South Africa next month.
Walee Bukhatir and Mazhar Khan, the men who drive cricket in the UAE, tell Harish Kotian/Rediff.com what the game is missing by India and Pakistan not playing at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Kohli started his English summer on a bright note hitting an unbeaten 52 off 55 balls while Mahendra Singh Dhoni also played some delightful strokes square off the wicket.
'I don't see Hardik getting a new ball. He is a certainty in the side as playing four fast bowlers would mean a long tail. He is your ideal No 7 batsman but you can use him for 4-6 overs depending on the situation'
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