With momentum on their side, Dhoni and Co need to justify the favorites' tag and go the distance.
In opting for an extra spinner, says Harish Kotian/Rediff.com, India have picked a batsman less.
Eyeing their first win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to put up an improved show in their home ground where they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who would also be keen to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League.
The BCCI will hold its Special General Meeting (SGM) in New Delhi on December 1 to discuss a three- point agenda including the all-important Future Tours Programme (FTP) of the Indian team spanning 2019-2023.
The captain says that the series might be the perfect opportunity for spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Parveez Rasool to seal their spots as T20 specialist spinners for the future
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has said hosts India will be the toughest team to beat in next month's World Twenty20 Championship due to their familiarity with the conditions.
'Dhoni has got his own ways of captaining the Indian team. He might not give out details or might not explain, but in his mind he knows very well how to captain the side, which players to pick and the right combination for a particular condition.'
England are the favourites, but India's tried-and-tested squad are in the hunt in the Champions Trophy.
Stung by a batting debacle, Royal Challengers Bangalore have the onerous task of picking up pieces when they face defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, with a singular aim of keeping their hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
While the auction ahead of the ninth edition, starting in April, was great for Indian players in general, there were a few surprises in store. Rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who secured themselves the best deals.
For India, who are considered as title contenders, a good showing in the Asia Cup will give them the much-needed boost going into the World T20.
Riding high on a comfortable win over Dolphins in their last encounter, Chennai Super Kings will look to keep the momentum going when they lock horns with Lahore Lions in the Champions League T20.
A look at the 10 cricketers who were punished for drug related offences.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
Mumbai Indians will look to extend their winning run and sneak into the top-four.
It's going to be Chennai Super Kings' war cry Whistle Podu versus Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo re.
Mumbai Indians will have their task cut out when they lock horns with Chennai Super Kings.
The destructive show of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during their first meeting of Indian Premier League 9 still fresh in his mind, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said he has a few ideas up his sleeve to stop the marauding Royal Challengers Bangalore duo.
After a jittery start, Chennai Super Kings will look for a turnaround to get their campaign back on track when they take on South African team Nashua Dolphins in a Group A match of Champions League T20 in Bangalore on Monday.
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah says the zeal to learn something new with each game has helped him survive in international cricket.
Suresh Raina feels that Chennai Super Kings' stupendous success as the most consistent team in the eight editions of Indian Premier League tournament should be attributed to their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership skills.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli is expecting an intensely-fought IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad since he and rival skipper David Warner are fierce competitors on the field.
Rajasthan Royals will look to extend their four-match winning streak.
It will be a different sort of challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he captains a new-look Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of a short series starting in Harare on Saturday.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
It will be a battle for survival for struggling Rising Pune Supergiants when they lock horns with formidable title-contenders Sunrisers Hyderabad in Tuesday's Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
Rayudu's consistency at No. 4 slot will solve our middle-order conundrum, says Kohli
Former India opener Virender Sehwag says he would love to be a mentor or a batting consultant for any IPL team which will give him a chance to share his knowledge with youngsters.
The all-round ability of the current Indian cricket team excites former captain Rahul Dravid, who feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are a certainty for at least the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships. Dravid, who was here for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus' in his capacity as a member of its World Sports Academy, said India looks to be the most "formidable" team of the tournament, the main draw of which gets underway from March 15. "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. "I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good all-round depth at the moment," Dravid said. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says if India wants to win the ongoing five-match ODI series in Australia they need to find a way to dismiss home team skipper Steven Smith early.
India's selectors went on expected lines, leaving out former champions while giving the nod to top performers in domestic circuit in the 30-man probables' list for the 2015 World Cup.
'People tell me to forget, but it is something to learn from.' 'A couple of seconds can change your life completely.'
He along with Sunrisers' bowling coach and spin legend Muthiah Muralitharan were seen engaging in an intense planning from the dug-out when Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were batting in full-flow at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday. Sunrisers batting coach VVS Laxman may be disappointed with his team's defeat in the first game of IPL 9, but the legendary Indian batsman had special praise for U-19 star and RCB finisher Sarfaraz Khan. Laxman also feels that it was Sarfaraz, who took the game away from them, when the 'enormously talented' Mustafizur Rahman had pulled it back by dismissing AB and Watson in quick succession. Here is what Laxman had to say after the match.
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
The series already in their pocket, India would aim for a clean sweep against the hosts and end the tour of Australia on a high when the two teams clash in the third and final Twenty20.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings for the ongoing IPL 8.
A summary of the matches in the Vijay Hazare One-day championship.
Left disappointed after their Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 was washed off without a single ball being bowled against Lahore Lions, Chennai Super Kings would be looking to shut out Perth Scorchers on Saturday to book their last-four spot.
Inspired by skipper David Warner's whirlwind fifty, Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs to notch up a much-needed win and hand the table-toppers their second consecutive defeat in the IPL match on Saturday.
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