Wriddhiman Saha remained unfazed in his finest cricketing hour and said his twin half centuries against New Zealand in Kolkata carry 'more value' than his unbeaten 203 in the Irani Cup, perhaps one of his best knocks.
It is understood that barring captain Virat Kohli, almost all the Test team regulars will be in action in the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team.
Karthik's selection over the young Rishabh Pant became the talking point after the team was announced on Monday
"The only sad thing about being a selector is that you end up losing some of your friends," said Sandeep Patil after the selection panel, headed by him, picked the last Indian cricket squad of its tenure in Mumbai on Monday. Patil, who was appointed the chairman of selectors following the sacking of Mohinder Amarnath in September 2012, said he ends his term as a happy man.
'It was a great experience to share the dressing room with names like Virat Kohli, M S Dhoni, Rohit Sharma. It is important to watch and learn from the seniors in the team'.
Assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, on Thursday, said neither opposition nor conditions would really matter for a supremely-confident Indian team, eyeing its first series win in South Africa.
It's no secret that the 37-year-old is the first choice wicketkeeper for the England World Cup but a lot will depend on how he performs in the last three ODIs against West Indies.
Ashwin, Jadeja likely to be rested; Team selection on Aug 13
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was almost ruled out for a crunch India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup last year after he suffered an injury but the then Captain's determination saw him not only turning up for the game but also winning it, according to national chief selector M S K Prasad.
For the Delhi speedster, if someone can bowl well with the red ball, he is good enough to play any format.
'Aggressive intent' was the key behind India's overwhelming success against New Zealand in the Test series and the hosts aim to continue playing the same brand of cricket in the upcoming five-match ODI series, middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane said, in Dharamsala, on Friday.
India, without captain Virat Kohli and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, won't have it easy against T20 World champions West Indies, who are bolstered by the arrival of star players Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
The 33-year-old was the subject of an intense debate with many even questioning his World Cup selection over the highly-talented Rishabh Pant.
Kohli, who was named man-of-the-match for the 2nd Test that India won against Sri Lanka in Nagpur on Monday, will play the third and final Test in New Delhi.
Gambhir said Rayudu not making the cut is the most unfortunate bit about the squad announced on Monday.
A look at what can happen if the Supreme Court decides to implement the reforms the Justice Lodha panel recommended for the BCCI.
Pant had so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, but the latter's experience helped tilt the scale in his favour for the mega-event, starting in England from May 30.
News of all that's transpired on and off the cricket field.
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Virat Kohli wants Rishabh Pant to 'show his credentials' in Dhoni's absence.
Dhoni would be the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn't spoken about it till now.
A fragile middle-order with over-the-hill players like Jadhav and Karthik has been the current team's biggest weakness and the World Cup semi-final result was a disaster waiting to happen.
The Mumbai youngster took the place of Kedar Jadhav, who was dropped from the T20I squad after his below-par showing in the three-match series against Australia.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is irreplaceable in the Indian ODI team right now, feels national coach Ravi Shastri
Ashish Nehra is hardly bothered about the doubters and cynics as he revels in the feeling of being a sought after pacer for India at the age of 38.
'First time in my life I have not had the 90s butterfly. Otherwise, I don't remember previous centuries, but I used to have butterflies from what I can remember. In today's game when I batted I was in a different zone.'
Rishabh Pant's form is a 'healthy headache' for India who are contemplating playing the 21-year-old wicketkeeper as a specialist batsman at this year's World Cup
Formidable India will hope to get more answers for their unsettled middle-order puzzle when they take on a reeling West Indies in the five-match ODI series, starting Sunday and ticking off the home team's countdown to the 2019 World Cup.
Images from Wednesday's IPL Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, in Visakhapatnam.
It would be interesting to see whether the selectors repose faith in veteran Gautam Gambhir, who made a half-century in the second innings of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore, if KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are both passed fit to play.
Mayank Agarwal, who was the third opener for the West Indies series, is a contender for the yet-to-be-decided squad of 17 that will travel Down Under.
Thampi, Rana, Tripathi are big gains from IPL-10.
Any other result than India's resounding win looks highly unlikely, consdering the visitors' rampaging run in the preceding Test and ODI series, where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
India captain Virat Kohli wants specific roles for certain players keeping a two-year time frame leading upto the 2019 World Cup in mind.
India will begin the journey to identify the core of their 2019 World Cup squad when they square off against a low-on-confidence Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series, starting in Dambulla, on Sunday.
'The point is that if as a player I have always played for the team, then I deserve chances more consistently. That's the least I am asking.'
During Sandeep Patil's four-year tenure as chief selector, India continued to be dominant at home in Tests but struggled to win an away series outside Asia, except for the West Indies, as it suffered series losses in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Monday
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