Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan's power-hitting will be the focus of all eyes when the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders taken on Delhi Capitals with an aim to light up the Sharjah skyline in what promises to be another six-hitting IPL contest in Sharjah on Saturday.
India last won a Test series in England in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, and it will be no easy task ahead of the Virat Kohli-led side to replicate that feat.
It has been learnt that the Indian team management wants tracks that are hard and bouncy without any major grass covering for all three home Tests -- something they will be getting in South Africa.
Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not "innovative and proactive enough as captain, especially in Tests" although India would remain a strong contender to retain their World Cup title in Australia next year.
Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun had a close look at the pitch which wore a dry look, indicating that it would have something for the spinners.
Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath says India's bowling attack remains a "world-class" one despite the recent debacles against New Zealand and blamed the under-whelming performance on factors such as injury lay-offs and toss.
Vernon Philander's brilliant all-round show played a major role in South Africa's recovery against India on the second day of the first Test.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
Ajinkya Rahane is scouring the missing runs. By batting at the nets in shorts spans, against a variety of bowlers, and by doing everything else that is in his control, the seasoned Rahane is bracing up for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, knowing well it could decide his future in the Indian team.
Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer grabbed their chances with centuries, but seniors like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma had a forgettable series.
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.
Ravichandran Ashwin will become only the 14th Indian player and 77th overall in world cricket to complete the milestone of 100 Test matches.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
Saha said that they haven't yet checked how much movement is on offer as far as pink ball is concerned.
Mohammed Siraj's meteoric rise is hardly a surprise for India skipper Virat Kohli. Kohli said that the pacer's confidence has now risen to a level where he believes that he can get any batsman out at any point of the game.
The weather stands in the way of India going 2-0 up in the series after rain forced an early end to play on day four with the West Indies in deep trouble at 48/4 in their second innings and 256 runs behind the visitors, in Kingston, on Tuesday.
Intense bidding is expected to be the order of the day when 10 teams jostle to grab their preferred players in the IPL players' auction in Kochi on Friday.
The duo of Vyas and Desai took the opposing bowlers to the cleaners throughout the innings while stitching a massive first-wicket partnership of 282 runs.
India's new chief coach Anil Kumble will be keeping a keen eye on speedster Mohammed Shami's fitness along with the form of opener Shikhar Dhawan when the team begin its tour of West Indies.
Before the selectors meet again to finalise the squad, you can take on the role and pick 15 players from the 30-member probables list you feel are best to represent the country at the 2015 World Cup.
Chasing a daunting target of 386, the hosts collapsed after skipper Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 110, his seventh Test century, and were dismissed for 268.
Troy Cooley is considered one of the best fast bowling coaches in world cricket. His moment of glory came as England's bowling coach during the historic 2005 Ashes, when the home team's fast bowlers were a nightmare for the Aussie batters.
All-rounder Staurt Binny is likely to replace injured bowler Mohammed Shami for India's next World Cup match against the UAE.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
Kohli will be wary of the challenge that can be posed by the new ball pair of Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel
Bharath Arun, who has overseen the golden era of Indian fast bowling, believes that a lot of exciting fast bowlers are coming through the ranks and coaches, along with selectors, should be identifying the next batch in earnest.
Debutants Afghanistan were bowled out twice in a day to lose the one-off Test match against India by an innings and 262 runs, in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Ganguly convinced the Bangladesh Cricket Board to agree to a Day/Night Test just a few days before their team was to land in India.
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
As Ravichandran Ashwin prepares to step onto the field for his 100th Test in the upcoming Dharamsala fixture on March 7, he is poised to join a prestigious group of 14 Indian cricketers
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 4 of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
Congratulatory messages pour in for badminton superstar PV Sindhu on winning her second Olympic medal on Sunday.
India's pacers stole the show as they bowled the visitors to a superb 151-run victory in the second Test against England at Lord's on Monday.
Shardul said he loves to deliver in crunch situations.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
According to reports, Bumrah has been released due to personal reasons.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur on Sunday said that the board is not averse to having different coaches for different formats in future just like Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni captaining teams across Tests and limited overs respectively.
'To answer your first question, for me personally, it (winning in England) means nothing more than winning a Test match or a Test series anywhere else in the world.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the first Test against England, starting on Wednesday?
The Indian team is scheduled to play the WTC final against New Zealand from June 18-22 before taking on England in a five-Test series.
