Meet the 15-member Indian squad selected for the ICC ODI World Cup, starting next month in Australia-New Zealand.
England start as the favourites but India have a golden chance to reverse the trend and get into gear just before the World Cup.
Suresh Raina smashed a quickfire half-century while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced a belligerent unbeaten knock of 63 as Chennai Super Kings outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs in their Champions League T20 match, in Ranchi.
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.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
'I had no doubt that Rishabh would be the best man for the job.'
With the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide at Lord's with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA) on Tuesday doubled the annual retainership amount to Rs 2 crore for seven Grade A cricketers, including captain Virat Kohli and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stone-walled questions on his Test retirement in the build-up to India's first ODI against Australia in the ongoing tri-series on Sunday.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
Dhoni has managed some cameos in the fag end of the innings and the skipper is expected to continue doing so despite calls of him coming up the order.
As India heads into the World Cup, battered and bruised, they will be hoping that all their four players on the injury list recover in time when they take on Pakistan in their campaign opener.
'Thank you Delhi Capitals for showing faith in me. I will give my 100 percent each and every day and hopefully we will cross the line this year.'
All set to defend their cricket World Cup crown in less than a month, India will get their preparations underway with the aim of finding the right combination for the marquee event.
Avesh Khan dismissed Dhoni and South Africa's Faf du Plessis for his two wickets during Delhi Capitals' seven-wicket win over CSK
Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Rishabh Pant? Whose knock did you enjoy most?
The sudden retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni from Test cricket has raised the question of who will be Virat Kohli's deputy.
'When Bumrah is not bowling, we should go on the defensive and keep them all tied up.' 'Just stop the flow of runs and wickets will fall.'
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that Ishant Sharma should step up in a leadership role as the bowling unit has the skill set and ability to take 20 Australian wickets in the third Test starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
On a roll after three consecutive wins, a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as overwhelming favourites against struggling Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
'I think it is very difficult to compare (M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli) because both have different teams and different attitude' 'If you do not win matches abroad, you cannot become number one in the world'
Do you feel Dhoni should bring in all-rounder Dhawan for Jadeja, or strengthen the pace attack by playing Ishant? Select your Indian team for the second match against Australia, in Brisbane, on Friday, January 15.
Whether it was promoting Sam Curran to the opener's slot or finishing pacer Deepak Chahar's quota upfront while using seven bowlers to dry up runs, every move produced desired result.
India's batsmen have gone about their job efficiently, posting big totals on the board but the bowlers have been ordinary at best, allowing the hosts to chase down those tall scores in each of the first three ODIs of the five-match series.
Mohit Sharma attributes his recent success in international cricket to the opportunities that was given to him by his IPL and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni but doesn't like if you only call him a line and length bowler.
After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and GujaratLions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Rajkot on Thursday. The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps. Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams. The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.
Their pride bruised following disastrous campaigns, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants will look for a graceful exit from the ninth edition of the IPL when they square off against each other for one last time in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Supergiants are coming into the contest after a victory over Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, their home ground, while Punjab have lost their last two outings -- against RCB and table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab's fourth and last win this season had come at this very ground, when they had got the better of Mumbai Indians.
Hardik Pandya has quit Gujarat Titans to rejoin his former team Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises.
Young all-rounder Pawan Negi was the surprise inclusion in India's squad for the World Twenty20 and Asia Cup even as the selectors reposed faith in old warhorses Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for the two tournaments.
India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday dispelled doubts about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future, stating that the stalwart is not even "half finished yet" and is very much in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup in England.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped four wickets as India hit back with two late strikes to wrest the initiative on Day 2 of the second Test against England despite Gary Ballance's gutsy century at Lord's, on Friday.
India will be looking for resurrection against Afghanistan.
During his tenure as captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gone from being extremely cautious to trying something fancy, hoping to catch the opponent by surprise. However, mostly, he's ended up with egg on the face, especially overseas.
Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
Reputations do go for a toss in the T20 format, but Delhi Capitals haven't been able to get past Chennai Super Kings in their last four meetings, and the margins of defeat -- 91, 27 and 77 runs respectively -- does paint a sorry picture.
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
Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the Indian cricket team's approach to batting in overseas tours has 'improved'.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
