Former India captain Sourav Ganguly called for the inclusion of pacer Varun Aaron keeping in mind the fast nature of the pitch in Manchester, the venue for the fourth Test between India and England, starting on August 7.
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.
The third specialist spinner's slot will be the subject of much deliberation when the national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, meets in New Delhi, on Thursday, to announce the squad for the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka, starting August 12.
Young Rishabh Pant's competition for the second wicketkeeper's slot with veteran Dinesh Karthik will be the highlight of the discussion.
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.
India should look at Shardul Thakur over Mohammad Siraj as the fourth fast bowling option in the side for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand in case of overcast conditions in Southamptom, said former selector Sarandeep Singh.
India dismissed two West Indies batsmen -- Leon Johnson and Dareen Bravo -- before rain forced an early lunch break and persistent drizzle ensured there was no further play for the rest of the opening day. The hosts were 62 for two in 22 overs with Kraigg Brathwaite (32) and Marlon Samuels (4) at the crease.
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
SRH pays the price for being too passive, says Lara
Mayank Agarwal scored his fourth Test half-century as India inched to 78-2 at tea on the third day of Trent Boult followed up his counter-attacking cameo innings of 38 to take three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, to put New Zealand on top against India at the end of the third day of the first test on Sunday. Trent Boult followed up his counter-attacking cameo innings of 38 to take three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, to put New Zealand on top against India at the end of the third day of the first test on Sunday. The visitors, who had not lost any of their seven previous International Cricket Council World Test Championship matches, were 144-4 at the close of play at the Basin Reserve, still 39 runs behind and staring at their potential first defeat.
Kohli, his deputy Ajinkya Rahane, the flamboyant Rohit Sharma and the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant -- batted in the nets
He has played most of his cricket under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and pacer Mohit Sharma says the revered former India skipper is a true leader who does not back off when it comes to taking responsibility in challenging times. The 31-year-old pacer has played under Dhoni both at Chennai Super Kings and the Indian team. He was to play for Delhi Capitals in the IPL this season but the lockdown has postponed the league indefinitely.
Darren Gough feels India have enough firepower in their pace attack to cover for the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah i
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad, while Parthiv Patel made a comeback for the three-Test series in South Africa.
'We will play about 10 Tests next year and hopefully we will put up much improved show'
KKR are heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
Siraj, who made his debut for India in Australia, played Test matches against England during the home series earlier this year.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten half-centuries to put India in firm control, on Day 3 of the first Test against West Indies in Antigua, on Saturday.
Controversial keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Test team, will still earn Rs 1 crore in annual income after being demoted from group B to C.
Mohammed Shami inspired India's fightback with a superb showing with the ball, on Day 5 of the World Test Championship Final.
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
'... But India lacks solid backup to Bumrah, Shami, and Yadav. Bumrah is a fine paceman. He has very good durability. I think India needs to use him in such a way that he is as fresh as possible for each Test match.'
For Kohli, a trophy-less cabinet doesn't do justice to the champion performer that he has been for a decade.
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.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Friday.
Images from Day One of the first Test between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Australia ended the day on 354-6.
India's hopes of breaking their ICC trophy drought after 2013, remained unfulfilled as Australia handed them a crushing loss at the WTC Final.
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.
Former Australia pacer Brett Lee is impressed with the current lot of Indian fast bowlers and has praised young pacer Jasprit Bumrah, among others, for his ability to bowl effective yorkers.
India's captain asserted that there was nothing wrong with India's choice of bowlers as they needed to score more runs in order to let their spinners call the shots.
Former India pacer Paras Mhambrey, one of the brains behind India's highly-successful India 'A' and Under-19 team programmes, has applied for the position of the senior squad's bowling coach on Monday, BCCI sources revealed.
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.
A Delhiite himself, Shikhar Dhawan was on Tuesday candid in his admission that the city's air quality is poor, but insisted that it cannot come in the way of going about their job of playing as professional cricketers.
Mumbai medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, who has played four ODIs for India (8 wickets), was named as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami in the One-day squad.
Former India seamer and bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad says the struggling pace trio of Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami must not try anything extraordinary in upcoming Cricket World Cup, starting February 14.
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
Having led India to three World Cup victories against Pakistan, former captain Mohammad Azharuddin feels the defending champions face no serious threat from their arch-rivals in the much-hyped encounter between the two sides in the cricket World Cup.
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.
