England on Tuesday rested IPL stars including Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow for the upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand while Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes were not considered for selection due to injuries.
Suryakumar Kumar Yadav's maiden half-century helped India beat England by eight runs and level the series 2-2.
Sri Lanka will have to produce something special to halt England's juggernaut at Sharjah.
England named an unchanged squad for first match of the three-Test series against Pakistan that begins on August 5 in Manchester, the country's cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday. England beat West Indies 2-1 in the first international Test series since the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the sport in March, winning the third match by 269 runs on Tuesday.
Images from Day 2 in the first Test between England and India, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Thursday.
Images from the first One-Day International between India and England, in Pune, on Tuesday.
England produced a brilliant comeback to beat Australia by two runs on the final ball of their first T20 international in Southampton on Friday after the visitors looked to be cruising to victory in their first competitive match for six months.
Joe Root scored a breezy, unbeaten 67 and will resume on the third morning with Jonny Bairstow, who has 24.
'When you are playing cricket, you will have lean phases as a batsman, so you need to get through them, you need to keep working hard and keep getting your processes right, and as a support staff we are helping them to do that.'
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
Former captain Michael Vaughan questioned if England are giving priority to Test cricket.
Virat Kohli finished unbeaten on a whirlwind 90 from 52 balls, with four sixes and as many fours, as RCB posted 169/4.
Devdutt Padikkal stroked a sparkling 63 from 45 balls, inclusive of a six and six fours, to propel RCB to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
Images from Day 5 of the fifth and final Test between England and India at The Oval in London on Tuesday:
Images from Day 5 in the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Monday.
Chennai Super Kings will aim to maintain their pole position with a victory over a struggling Kings XI Punjab
'More than anything, up from New Zealand (Lord's Test) I've changed a few things. I felt I got forward and back better'
Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
England skipper Joe Root has backed James Anderson to hit peak form again, saying on Wednesday that the pace bowler's spot in the team is not in question ahead of the second Test against Pakistan starting on Thursday.
England's selectors are acutely aware of the impact on players of bio-secure bubbles and with a demanding year ahead, are making sure they protect their key performers.
Images from Day 2 of the 4th Ashes Test played at the MCG in Melbourne on Wednesday
Rohit Sharma stroked an entertaining 64 from 34 balls, having hit five sixes and four fours, to power India to victory in the fifth T20I.
The 40-year-old Pietersen said a win against India is similar to a victory against arch-rivals Australia and urged the selectors to play both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the same XI.
England's most successful bowler James Anderson feels he and Stuart Broad should be paired together to lead the bid for a series win in the decisive Test against the West Indies. The hosts are spoilt for choice ahead of Friday's start of the third Test at Old Trafford with Anderson, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood all looking to return to the team.
Against England on Monday and then Wednesday's game versus Australia, the Indian team management would look to give the players who are still not automatic choices in the playing XI, more overs to bat or bowl to get a better idea about their current form.
India will welcome back regular skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the last three Tests in Australia to attend the birth of his daughter.
Panesar also expects the ICC to prepare a neutral wicket and not a green top as the WTC is supposed to be a good advert for the five-day game.
In the bowling department, pacer Mohammad Abbas (13th) and experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah (24th), who have in the past, been ranked third and first, respectively, and left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (32nd) are other Pakistan players to watch.
Dawid Malan smashed a 48-ball century and skipper Eoin Morgan made a blistering 91 to help secure a series-levelling 76-run victory in the fourth Twenty20 international against New Zealand.
Images from the IPL match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old is expected to open the batting with Surrey team mate Rory Burns for the one-off match against Ireland starting at Lord's next Wednesday.
The young Nepal leg-spinner picked 3/40 including the wickets of Kings XI Punjab's dangerous opening duo of Chris Gayle and K L Rahul.
England have not picked uncapped all-rounder Jofra Archer in a preliminary 15-man World Cup squad but have named him in squads for the warm-up games against Pakistan and Ireland.
Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins shattered the record for the most expensive foreign buy ever in the IPL auction as Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for a massive Rs 15.50 crore.
The 24-year-old, born in Barbados and who represented West Indies at Under-19 level, was not in England's provisional squad and only made his ODI debut little over a fortnight ago.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
England's Ben Foakes made a memorable debut to help the tourists recover from a terrible start and reach 321 for eight wickets on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday.
'I think the ECB has been very forward-thinking,' Buttler said, praising the board for recognising the challenges of living in bio-bubbles
Trent Boult finished with IPL career-best 4-18 in his four overs, including a maiden, while Jasprit Bumrah took 2-25 as CSK finished on a lowly 114-9 in their 20 overs.
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