Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his best eleven on performances from the first half of the tournament.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
India got off to a horror start in their practice match as youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill failed with the bat on Day 1 of the three-day game against New Zealand XI at Seddon Park, in Hamilton, on Friday. All the batsmen were dismissed by fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn as India were reduced to 5/3 in the seventh over.
Changes on cards as no end to India's middle-order woes
MSK Prasad has just completed an eventful tenure during which he successfully oversaw the transition of leadership from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to Virat Kohli.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
Former batsman V V S Laxman believes tinkering with Team India's support staff is not a viable option and newly-appointed team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher should stay till the 2015 World Cup.
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Shubman Gill's stellar show for India A in the recently-concluded two-match unofficial Test series against New Zealand is an indicator that he is ready for Test debut, believes senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Shubman had scores of 83 and 204 not out batting in middle-order in the first unofficial Test for India A and then scored a hundred while opening the batting in the second game, showing his versatility at different slots. Prithvi Shaw, back in the Test squad after 16 months, is also a contender in the playing XI with his equally dazzling repertoire of strokes.
The raucous chants Jeetega bhai Jeeetega Hindustan Jeetega was met with the counter Jeetega bhai jeetega Pakistan Jeetega.
Justin Langer said the contest would likely be an exciting one thanks to the two teams being evenly-matched.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket has left the Indian think-tank fretting over the ideal playing combination that will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting next Tuesday.
IMAGES: Mumbai Indians versus Kings XI Punjab, Wankhede Stadium, May 16, 2018.
India's fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar is expecting some of the reserve players to get much-needed game time during the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand as the team management wants every player to be match-ready going into this year's ICC World Cup.
Two more failures in two home games could effectively mean end of the road for Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading India in the first Test in Kanpur, starting on Thursday.
Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia is a surprise inclusion in the 30-man shortlist, for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, to be held in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6. It includes young Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, Railways leg-spinner Karan Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.
Jadhav, who also played a significant role in the ODI series decider against Australia in Melbourne, said that everyone is trying to put their best foot forward and grab that spot in the UK bound squad.
The Australians are struggling against India's new spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and the hosts would like to ensure that it doesn't get any easy as the series progresses.
India will eye another dominant performance against hosts England in a three- match ODI series
IPL Season 11 begins on April 7. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Kings XI skipper George Bailey said his team deserved to beat Mumbai Indians by a bigger margin for the way his bowlers delivered earlier in Sunday's match at the Wankhede stadium.
Lendl Simmons smashed a scintillating 61-ball 100 to guide Mumbai Indians to a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali.
India's marauding cricket team will be aiming to reclaim the No 1 spot in ICC rankings when it takes on an unsettled New Zealand in the second Test starting, in Kolkata, on Friday.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
The Indian team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni got down to business with their first training session in Perth, ahead of the upcoming ODI series. It will be a crucial series for the Men in Blue as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in March-April.
IMAGES from the World Cup match played between India and Afghanistan in Southampton on Saturday
Unless they getting their batting and bowling woes sorted out soon, the 2023 World Cup looks another distant dream for the Men in Blue.
The big stars who failed to live up to expectations and ended up disappointing not only their IPL franchises but also their fans.
In terms of viewership, the IPL even outperformed some of the pay-per-view matches of the Premier League in Britain.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and young opener Prithvi Shaw are unlikely to be picked for the remaining Tests in Australia as India look to ring in wholesale changes after the batting debacle in Adelaide.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to pull out all stops to prevent the Mumbai Indians juggernaut.
It is time again to return to the shortest format of cricket as leading players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, get ready to represent their respective franchises in the sixth edition of the Champions League T20.
Ravindra Jadeja will have to improvise.
The Australia vice-captain struggled in the four-Test series in India preceding the IPL but has been at his attacking best in the Twenty20 tournament, where he has registered back-to-back 600-plus run seasons.
Having struggled in the past one year after suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia finally seemed to have picked their pieces and playing exactly like a five-time champions ought to.
Harbhajan Singh slammed an entertaining half-century but could not prevent Mumbai Indians from going down to Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.
This edition of the league will bear special significance with the mega ODI World Cup starting only two and half weeks after the final on May 12. In 2011 and 2015, the World Cup was held before the IPL and this is the first time that it will be held post the tournament.
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