India's chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth clarified that it was purely Sourav Ganguly's decision to call it a day. 'I think it is the right decision. I hope now he plays with a free mind and scores a lot of runs and wins this series for India. I think he deserves it because he has done so much for the country,' he said.
Sourav Ganguly cannot seek a finer redemption than to excel against Greg Chappell's newly ordained protgs.
The selectors also picked uncapped Delhi spinner Amit Mishra and Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath in India's 15-man squad.
The newly-appointed senior selection panel, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, will name the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia in Mumbai on Tuesday amid speculation that former skipper Sourav Ganguly might call it quits if not picked. Ganguly was ignored for the Irani Cup tie, touted as a selection trial by the previous committee, which had Dilip Vengsarkar at the helm.
The Indian and international cricket community on Sunday paid glowing tributes to Anil Kumble, calling him a great competitor, role model and a true fighter and his decision to retire as an end of an era. Chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth summed up the reactions, saying he was an extraordinary cricketer and a role model not only for youngsters but also for future generations.
'Ranveer Singh is on a different level, he is a super human.' 'The kind of energy, the kind of seriousness and dedication he has towards his work, it is just phenomenal.'
A galaxy of sports stars including currnet India captain Virat Kohli and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar will help raise funds for the underprivileged children battling cancer, on November 18.
Images from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Chennai, on Wednesday.
Srikkanth seemed pretty happy with the composition of the 15-member squad for the World cup, which he believes has all the ingredients to emerge victors.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are India's main run-getters at the moment but they need some support from the rest of the batsmen, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
'We had a lot of communication today while we were batting, slowly we will build on it, now that I know he's going to open for the next few games as well'
Vijay Shankar's performance increases India's options, and as and when Shikhar Dhawan returns, it will make for an interesting selection dilemma, says Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Take the Rediff Biz Quiz and find out how much you know about India's finance ministers since Independence.
T T Vasu, well-known industrialist and son of late Union Finance Minister, T T Krishnamachari, died in a corporate hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday following brief illness, his family said.
Pranab Mukherjee's stewardship of the economy will stand out as much for the manner in which he managed controversies as for creating quite a few of them, says A K Bhattacharya.
Virat Kohli too has stated that choosing between Dhawan and Rahul will be a tough call
The former India batsman plays the role of coach in the Tamil film 'Periyamana Tozhi'.
For India, having someone who can go and get not just hundreds but even double hundreds is a major asset and also relieves the pressure on Virat Kohli a little, says former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Let's looks at 10 former India players, who missed the IPL but had they been active today, they could have forced the Ambanis and the Shah Rukh Khans to loosen their purse strings a tad more.
Good intentions are best left to political parties, governments and religious establishments, suggests T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Chief Minister Stalin seems to have drawn a line between his personal beliefs and those of others in the family, beginning with wife Durga Stalin, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Good shot, yaar; but why are you batting so aggressively, almost angrily?' Amarnath wants to know. 'Jimmy pa, you don't know, he swore at me in Madras. I have been waiting for an opportunity to give it back!' Yashpal responds.
Magical! When cricket meets cinema...
The only concern for India is that the batting at the moment is slightly the Virat Kohli show.
1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes Virat Kohli's captaincy, and Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal's excellent bowling, were the key to India's narrow victory over Afghanistan.
The BCCI has decided to invite all the former India captains to celebrate the occasion of country's '500th Test match' that will be played against New Zealand in Kanpur from September 22.
Board of Control for Cricket in India N Srinivasan and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan appeared before the Justice Mudgal Committee in connection with the probe into the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal, in Chennai.
We've tried Dinesh Karthik, we've tried Jadeja, we've tried Vijay Shankar, three guys have been tried and they've not proved useful so maybe we can find a good youngster for No 5, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
36 summers have gone by but Kapil Dev's toothy grin with the Prudential Cup remains the most defining moment in Indian cricket.
Rajneesh Gupta picks instances of sledging which backfired spectacularly and the players had to pay dearly for their misadventures.
The tri-series in Australia, India's final ODI engagement before the World Cup, gets underway on January 16, says Chandresh Narayanan, casting a fascinating look at the survivors from earlier World Cups.
India have won six ODI series on the trot. New Zealand have never won an ODI series in India.
'We have a fabulous combination. The best part about all these players is that they are young and they will play for a while. I see this team playing together for 8-10 years and dominating world cricket'
The start to the 13 Tests long season could not have been better for India. A convincing win in their 500th Test over New Zealand with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja weaving their magic on a turning track to hand India a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq receiving the Test mace for their meteoric rise to No.1 ranking in cricket's traditional format. Also, football took precedence once again, a struggling Manchester United ran riot at Old Trafford as they beat Premier League champions Leicester 4-1. An outstanding first-half performance by Arsenal helping them beat London rivals Chelsea. Other top teams like Manchester City and Liverpool also taking full points.
The continued suspense over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future has revived the debate on whether the biggest icons in Indian cricket know when the time is right to bow out of the scene gracefully.
Avantika Bhuyan on how Feroze Gujral is making her mark on the world of art.
