India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was dropped while India's medium pacer Bhuvaneswar was recalled to the 16-man squad for the next three Tests against England.
Looking for a proper tune-up before the three-match Test series against hosts Sri Lanka gets underway, India would be hoping that rain stays away from their one and only three-day practice game beginning at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Thursday.
It is every cricketer's dream to be acknowledged by Sachin Tendulkar, and spinner Kuldeep Yadav who made his Test debut against Australia on Saturday, was showered with praise by the cricket legend as he weaved a wrist spinner's web around the tourists during the decisive fourth Test in Dharamsala.
All the Indian batsmen and bowlers will get a look in and skipper Virat Kohli is expected to decide his best possible combination for the playing eleven for the first Test depending on their performances in the coming two days.
Images from Day 3 of the fourth and final Test in Delhi, on Saturday.
Ahead of the selectors' meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 20, Harish Kotian picks the team he considers best to take on Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14.
India were eyeing a series-leveling win in the second Test by reducing Sri Lanka to 72 for two after setting the hosts a daunting victory target of 413, riding on Ajinkya Rahane's sparkling century.
New Zealand spinners claimed three wickets in the morning session but India extended their advantage to a daunting 308 runs by lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.
For the legion of CSK fans, it will be a homecoming like no other as the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side will play at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai for the first time since May 2015.
Jimmy Anderson showed he remains a deadly proposition in English conditions, taking 5-20, as England bowled out India for a miserly 107 on the second day of the second Test at Lord's, on Friday.
Images from Tuesday's IPL Qualifier 1 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, in Chennai.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead an 18-man squad for the Test series against England. Opener Gautam Gambhir, whose last Test was in 2012, makes a comeback while two uncapped medium pacers - Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh - find a place in the team after Zaheer Khan, who had to set out of the India leg of the Indian Premier League following a back injury, was overlooked.
Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik were named in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan.
Virender Sehwag replaced Yousuf Pathan in the Indian side for the one-off Twenty20 international, while Murali Kartik came in for all-rounder Joginder Sharma.
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.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Chennai Super Kings will be aiming to tie up loose ends ahead of the play-offs when they take on a listless Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils will play table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in a crucial Indian Premier League match, in Pune, on Monday.
It will be an uphill task for the defending champs given their opponents' form and formidable line-up.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to bounce back when they take on Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Captain Virat Kohli played a pivotal role with a workmanlike 82, lifting India from a double blow at the beginning of innings to 172 for three in the second Test against Australia in Perth on Saturday.
Should India go in with six batsmen and three fast bowlers?
Injuries have forced India to make changes to their winning combination. With Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha returning home, the visitors are likely to field a new combination.
Getting his team composition right will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's primary aim as Rising Pune Supergiants meet an out-of-sorts Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter, in Mohali on Sunday.
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
Spoilt for choice with a pool of top quality performers in their ranks, formidable India are overwhelming favourites against minnows Bangladesh in a proverbial 'David vs Goliath' one-off cricket Test that starts in Hyderabad on Thursday.
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.
Images from the opening day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Thursday.
Ajinkya Rahane has been a conspicuous absentee from the ongoing Indian runfest against Sri Lanka but the middle order batsman appears to have the backing of the team management ahead of the tour of South Africa later this month.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
India were 227 for eight in their second innings at stumps on the third day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Edens Garden on Kolkata on Sunday. India, thus, took an overall lead of 339 runs over New Zealand with two wickets in hand. Rohit Sharma made 82 while Wriddhiman Saha was unbeaten on 39 along side Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8 not out).
Does India need two spinners for the Nagpur Test?
Opener Murali Vijay hit a half-century as India's batsmen survived some intense pressure from Australia's bowlers on the last day to draw the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the first three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka next month and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will lead the side in his absence.
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.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full strength India squad for the two-match Twenty20 series against the West Indies in the United States on August 27 and 28.
Harish Kotian evaluates the Indian team's performances in the first Test.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes India can win the Adelaide Test if they remain in a positive frame of mind despite another good batting show by Australia on the fourth day of the match.
A Delhi court on Friday extended till July 24 the judicial custody of nine accused, including former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla, who have been arrested in connection with the Rs 10 crore railway bribery case.
