In case Ravichandran Ashwin is ruled out, the Indian team management's preferred choice is Yuzvendra Chahal.
It remains to be seen whether veteran Gautam Gambhir can make a comeback to the Indian ODI team after being recently called up to the Test squad to replace the injured KL Rahul.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were ignored by the national selectors for the third time in a row as they continued with the younger crop for the ODI series against New Zealand.
Several top cricketers are expected to attend the meeting in the presence of at least one Committee of Administrators (CoA) member. They are expected to deliberate on the issue at length.
Pujara has so far scored 521 runs in seven innings with three hundreds at an impressive average of 74.42.
Finding a replacement for Dhoni will top the agenda when India's selectors meet in Mumbai on Sunday to pick the squad for the tour of West Indies.
Rishabh Pant is a 'champion cricketer in the making', who is very much in the mix for the 2019 India's World Cup campaign for his ability to seamlessly switch formats, says chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
Meet the Indian cricket squad selected for the Champions Trophy in England starting June 1.
To the future Chairman of Selectors, it revealed how simple and humble the batting colossus was.
Out of favour India veteran Yuvraj Singh's decision to do fitness training at the National Cricket Academy at the expense of Ranji Trophy matches has not gone down well with a section of the Board of Control for Cricket in India officials.
The Jharkhand team has qualified for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy but till date Dhoni has not given any indication that he would like to play.
Dhoni half a captain of Indian team, Kohli visibly rough without him: Bedi
Former India captain Kapil Dev feels that despite all his talent, speedster Ishant Sharma lacks the ability to bowl "wicket-taking deliveries" more consistently. Ishant, who missed the series against New Zealand due to Chikungunya, is back in the squad for the upcoming England Tests starting November 9 in Rajkot. The lanky pacer's Test statistics of 209 Test wickets from 72 games with a strike rate of 66.6 (nearly 11 and half overs for a wicket) stick out like a sore thumb and Kapil said he has to strive for consistency.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir kept his place, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the surprise inclusion in the 15-member Indian squad for the first two matches of the five-match Test series against England, starting in Rajkot, on November 9.
Issue of workload management may not arise due to 3-week gap, says KKR CEO
aptain Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, were both called back into a full-strength Indian squad, while Dinesh Karthik was left out of the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting in Visakhapatnam, on February 24.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli's wife and Bollywood actor Anuskha Sharma reacted strongly to former wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer's claims that the national selectors were getting her 'cups of tea' during the World Cup in UK earlier this year.
In case of Umesh, he bowls a fuller length, gets that lethal outswing going his way at 140 clicks but the question is, if India can afford to play a bowler, who has a propensity to bowl too many boundary balls.
'Rishabh is fine batsman but needs to do improve with gloves'
A section of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's old guard, especially from the Narayanaswami Srinivasan faction, is set to advocate a pull-out from the Champions Trophy despite the Committee of Administrators' (COA) warning of possible consequences.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni enthralled one and all with some breathtaking sixes but a young Bengal side put up a spirited display to beat Jharkhand by 41 runs and enter the Vijay Hazare final in Ranchi, on Saturday.
Despite being the world's top-ranked Test side India have struggled with their opening combination, which, in turn, has heaped pressure on the middle order.
Apart from Shastri, the other big names who will give presentations to the three-member committee include former Australia all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, along with ex-New Zealand and Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson.
Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.
Shankar believes how he prepares will be the key factor going into the tournament.
'At least 7 to 8 players, who are all Test team specialists will have to be in England in June'
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
The move comes after the 33-year-old was snubbed by the Indian team management, who preferred Mayank Agarwal as replacement for an injured Vijay Shankar in the World Cup squad.
While he continues to be available as a wicketkeeper-batsman in ODIs and T20Is, the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June could be an indicator whether he would continue as a player till the 2019 World Cup.
A World Cup victory will put Kohli in a league of his own and even those sceptical about his tactical nous, will have no other option but to grudgingly doff their hats at his heady achievements.
When India played their last time, the two four day games were played at Rustenberg and Pretoria while the tri-series was entirely played in Pretoria. The 'Test' series was drawn 1-1 while List A tri-series was won by India. The current tour has been scheduled after the 10th edition of Indian Premier League where all the top players are expected to play. "The A tours give ideal opportunity to the performers in domestic cricket to showcase their talent. Look at the likes of Priyank Panchal, who has scored over 1000 runs or youngsters like Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan who have caught the attention -- the selectors will get a chance to test if they are ready for the next level or not," a top BCCI source said.
'We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests'
The spotlight though was on the 36-year-old former India captain, who now has to fend off questions about his future with alarming regularity.
Shastri and Kohli were told that the Indian team is being provided each and every facility that it has sought and its performances on the field should match that input.
Selection committee looking to continue building towards World T20 in Australia in October 2020.
Speedster Umesh Yadav, on Friday, joined the growing list of Indian players who feel 'SG Test' ball was not ideal, saying the bowlers are unable to run through lower-order when it gets old.
'He is someone who has interacted with Sachin (Tendulkar), Sourav (Ganguly) and Rahul (Dravid) as a player and with youngsters as a coach'
BCCI boss Anurag Thakur on Tuesday slammed former selection commmittee chief Sandeep Patil, saying it was "unethical" on his part to reveal certain confidential details about Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni and others after his tenure ended earlier this month. Thakur stopped short of saying that action will be taken against Patil but said "right people in the BCCI" will speak to him soon over the issue which has created a major controversy. Patil, a former international cricketer, recently disclosed that the selection panel would have dropped Sachin Tendulkar before he eventually quit international cricket and that it had also considered removing M S Dhoni from ODI captaincy ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
Pant has broken into the Test mainly on the basis of his batting and not his glove work.
Veteran Ashish Nehra has mounted a stinging counter-attack on chief selector MSK Prasad for his comments on the seamer's retirement, saying he started playing without the selectors' permission and is leaving it likewise.
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