Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Born in Wellington to parents hailing from Bengaluru, the mop-haired left-hander emerged as a big crowd favourite in India when he played for the Black Caps in last year's 50-overs World Cup and for Chennai in this season's Indian Premier League.
The story of Ravichandrean Ashwin remains incomplete without the mention of Ravindra Jadeja.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh?
Rohit has managed just one half-century in his last eight innings in which he has tallied 104 runs. Kohli's freefall in Test cricket continues. He has fallen to spin three times in the first two Tests. Ashwin, usually, dominant at home, managed just six wickets in the first two Tests at an average of 43.
Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are set for important milestones during the coming series against Bangladesh.
Shubman Gill was batting on 31 while Rishabh Pant was not out on one at stumps after India had come back into the game with Jadeja claiming 5-65 and Washington Sundar bagging 4-81.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on Tuesday that star Pakistan batter Babar Azam "should not be mentioned in the same line" as Indian icon Virat Kohli
India suffered a disappointing start to their Women's T20 World Cup campaign in Dubai, facing both on-field struggles and a contentious decision against New Zealand.
Having conceded a lead of 259, England were all out for 195 in the second session on day three of the contest.
India were in danger of suffering their first home test loss to New Zealand since 1988, despite Sarfaraz Khan's 150 and Rishabh Pant's 99, when the tourists bowled them out for 462 on the fourth day of their rain-interrupted series opener on Saturday.
Gautam Gambhir put up a stout defence of under-pressure skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli.
The future of some senior India players will be decided after the tour of Australia as the BCCI evaluates the shocking 0-3 drubbing against New Zealand at home while rolling out a structured phaseout policy before the start of the next WTC cycle.
India's ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will emerge as the future pillars in the overseas tours next month.
Pace spearhead Harshit Rana received a well-deserved maiden call-up, following his impressive performances.
Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Friday named vice-captain of India for the upcoming three-match home Test series against New Zealand, strongly indicating his possible elevation to the leadership role when the team travels to Australia from next month.
Ravindra Jadeja termed his spin partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin as 'Indran-Chandran'.
Ashwin took home the 'Player of the Match' award for his match-turning spell against RCB on Wednesday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has moved up a spot to seventh.
'Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different.'
'The biggest turning point in Ashwin's career was when he switched to bowling off-spin. And I must thank my wife Chitra for that decision.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against Australia in Adelaide?
Only once in the history of Test cricket has a team bounced back to win after being bowled out for less than 50.
India were still staring at a daunting challenge despite a much more assured performance in their second innings, trailing by 125 runs at the close with Sarfaraz Khan on 70 not out after Virat Kohli fell for the same score on the day's final ball.
A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand dismiss India for 156 before the tourists reached 198-5 at stumps on day two of the second test in Pune on Friday to tighten their grip on the three-match series.
Mominul Haque was batting on 40 with Mushfiqur Rahim on six at the other end when bad light forced players off the pitch and rain followed soon after.
Since making his debut in 2017, the highly rated Kuldeep Yadav has featured in just 13 Tests in seven years.
India spared Bangladesh the ignominy of a follow-on but grabbed an overall lead of 308 with seven wickets in hands to seize control of the opening Test in Chennai on Friday.
Robin Uthappa believes Tabraiz Shamsi, a left-arm chinaman bowler, could be a liability on the batting-friendly Barbados pitch.
Ravichandran Ashwin has taken criticism on the chin and has responded with a bagful of wickets, refusing to let that 'outside noise' disturb the equilibrium of his mind.
Shubman Gill, silenced his doubters with a noteworthy performance in the recent Test series against England.
The sight of a pitch with a fair smattering of grass and premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah putting in hard yards at nets might be the early signs of India sticking to the three pacers theory for the first Test against New Zealand
The Indian team will have a five-day training camp in Chennai ahead of the Test series.
Preparations are in the final stages by the Chennai-headquartered space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos for the maiden launch of India's first-ever private launchpad and the second rocket launch by a private sector player.
Shubman Gill believes that revisiting all the technical work that he did before the five-Test series against England earlier this year helped him find his bearings during an impressive knock of 90 on a rank turner that has put India in an advantageous position against New Zealand in the third and final Test in Mumbai on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals accomplished a nervy chase to stay alive in the Indian Premier League
'Firstly, I had this fear... personally I had thought that I won't lose a series in India as long as I am playing. But that too has happened.'
Ravichandran Ashwin continued his absolute dominance over batters during the first Test against Bangladesh, returning with a six-wicket haul, and the star off-spinner said he enjoyed every moment of bowling on the red-soil pitch, which is often perceived as pacer-friendly, because of the steep bounce it offers.
Dilip, who replaced R Sridhar as India fielding coach during Rahul Dravid's stint as head coach, continued in his role when Gautam Gambhir took over as well.
