Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. They now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.
Unlike in the T20I series, England do not have the option of battling this phenomenon with a practice outing against the spin-bowling machine, Merlyn. With both teams travelling to London on Friday, there might not even be enough time to sit down for some video analysis. In that light, the English batsmen will have to contend mentally with how to play Yadav on Saturday.
Considering Hardika Pandya's heavy recent workload, the decision was made to negate any possibility of a major injury concern, the BCCI said on Friday.
Selectors once again ignored Ashwin and Jadeja for the 3-match T20 series against Australia.
Captain Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten half-century, while Krunal Pandya picked up a career-best four-wicket haul to guide India to a series-levelling victory in the third and final T20 International against Australia.
Gujarat Lions would look to better their debut season's success and aim for a winning start against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match, in Rajkot on Friday.
Choosing between a third spinner and an extra batsman will be the topic of discussion when the three-member national selection panel decides on the Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, starting June 1 in England.
Sri Lanka has been losing to all Test playing nations whether at home or away.
Images from Wednesday's World Cup match between India and South Africa, at Southampton.
