As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
Gujarat Lions will have their task cut out when they lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A dominant Indian team routed Pakistan at Old Trafford.
For the Indian team, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches -- by 31 runs Edgbaston and then by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the top 5 players who helped India perform superbly in Tests in 2016.
The IPL, which this year runs from April 5 until May 21, has been a trailblazer of sorts, inspiring similar tournaments elsewhere and even other sports.
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.
There were no demons in the wicket, says Virat Kohli.
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.
Ravindra Jadeja did the star turn with a five-wicket haul, after Ajinkya Rahane's brilliant century, as India took control of the fourth Test against South Africa by taking a commanding 213-run lead on the second day at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Friday.
Basu is most satisfied about the transformation he has brought in the fitness levels of speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav played all their 14 league games.
'Kohli is the kind of ethereal athlete who can not only help Elon Musk discover life on Mars, but also test out its gravitational parameters by stroking hundreds in the red dirt.' 'But when playing for India, he needs assistance,' says Dhruv Munjal.
Indian spin troika of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra kept their stranglehold on the inexperienced West Indies Board President's XI to bowl them out for a paltry 180 on the first day of the final warm-up game in Basseterre (St Kitts).
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma on Monday managed to retain their places despite their below-par performances in the Test series in West Indies, which India won 2-0.
Openers Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene hit centuries to power Sri Lanka to a crushing 161-run victory against India in the third match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Tuesday.
'We won the last World Cup and the Champions Trophy on the all-round performance -- so the Jajedas, Binnys, Ashwins could play a role in India defending the title' 'Stuart Binny could come in very handy in those surfaces with the seam bowling, as a lower order batsman also or as a floater' 'Yuvraj must be motivated to try and make a comeback'
Dhoni has turned back the clock with his last three innings, two of them half centuries, adding to the fine run of imposing all-rounder Shane Watson.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad took six wickets to skittle out India for 152 and the hosts finished on 113 for three in reply to take control on an absorbing opening day of the fourth Test on Thursday.
The skipper added that the journey since leading the side has been a learning curve for him, even as Australian cricket is just starting to come out of a period of strife.
Talented Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the Test squad for the West Indies series, which will also mark the farewell and landmark 200th Test of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, next month.
Tit-for-tat accusations of cheating and foul play only for it to rise magnificently in the wake of some quality cricket by the bitterest of antagonists.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would play a 'more prominent' role as a batsman in the upcoming Indian Premier League by batting 'relatively high' in the order.
Please fill in your choices and help the Indian selectors make up their mind!
Indian batsmen frittered away the initial advantage before reaching 248 for six against a disciplined Australia to leave the fourth and final cricket Test evenly poised, in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
IMAGES from the 1st ODI played between India and Australia in Hyderabad on Saturday
Virat Kohli has built such a formidable brand across the spectrum that even his occasional brash and indiscreet comments fail to tarnish it.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was ignored for the ODI series against New Zealand, made a statement with an unbeaten 150 for Saurashtra on the first day of their Group B match against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
India's batsmen got a much-needed workout ahead of the Test series against Australia, putting up 375 runs in 90 overs, before their two-day tour game against Cricket Australia XI ended in a draw at the Glenelg Oval in Adelaide on Friday.
Selection committee chairman MSK Prasad made it clear that the Gujarat speedster's 'workload management' is paramount for him.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad each took three wickets to leave India in trouble on 323 for eight, 246 runs adrift of England, after the third day of the third Test on Tuesday.
Kings XI Punjab spinner Axar Patel knows he can be predictable after a couple of seasons at the highest level and that is why he will be seen tossing up the odd ball during the upcoming IPL and not rely only on flatter deliveries. "You expect top batsmen to read you well after two three seasons at this level and that is why I felt the need to add more variety to my bowling. I am tossing up the odd ball in training but it doesn't mean I will only do that. I will continue bowling the flatters ones and try to mix it with the odd flighted ball," Patel told PTI from Mohali where he is training alongside his Kings XI Punjab teammates. The season starting on April 9 is crucial for Patel, who has been sidelined from the Indian team after the return of senior pro Ravindra Jadeja and another left-arm spinner Pawan Negi getting the selectors' nod over him for the recently concluded World T20. Though the 22-year-old was part of India's 50-over squad in Australia, he did not get a game and last played for the country in October. But the spinner, who is often criticised for not turning the ball enough, is not perturbed by the selectors' snub.
Indian bowlers, with the exception of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, were far from impressive as they struggled for wickets on the third and final day of the second tour match against the West Indies Board President's XI which ended in a draw in Basseterre, St. Kitts on Saturday.
You do wonder why this is so, especially because top Indian players earn significantly higher amounts than their international counterparts with similar or greater ability. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players in the IPL so far.
MS Dhoni is ready for limited overs series against South Africa.
Help Captain Kohli and Head Coach Shastri pick India's XI for the Rajkot Test.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating 0-3 series whitewash, a desperate India would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways against an unrelenting South Africa in the third and final Test, starting in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
India spinners once again held centre-stage as the hosts produced a clinical performance to cruise to a comfortable eight-wicket victory on the fourth day of the third cricket Test and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
