'I don't have to prove anything to anyone. What my ability is, I need to sharpen it. I don't have to show anyone what I can do. I need to challenge myself'
A World Cup victory will put Kohli in a league of his own and even those sceptical about his tactical nous, will have no other option but to grudgingly doff their hats at his heady achievements.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com assesses the Indian side after the 2-1 series triumph in Sri Lanka.
'With India's bowling so poor, there will be extra pressure on the batsmen to score more runs. The Indian team, which nonchalantly scores 300/350 runs in ODIs at home, has had problems making even 200/250 runs in Australia.'
The legendary Indian cricketer was the Man of the ODI series, but the Most Valuable Player title went to an unlikely Aussie, point out Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
'India has the best bowling attack they have ever had at any World Cup.' 'They have the best fast bowler in the world in Jasprit Bumrah and then they have got Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who looks good, (Mohammed) Shami looks good.'
The Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra were posthumously awarded to Major David Manlun and Major Satish Dahiya, who lost their lives while fighting with terrorists in Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.
Punjab batsman Gurkeerat Singh Mann, a surprise inclusion as the 17th member of the squad for the Bangalore Test, retained his place for the next two matches as well.
'At least 7 to 8 players, who are all Test team specialists will have to be in England in June'
India captain Virat Kohli today said that Murali Vijay's dismissal proved to be the turning point in their 48-run defeat against Australia in the first cricket Test, in Adelaide on Saturday.
Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Monday retained in Group A of the men's player contracts for 2015-16 by the BCCI.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc with a brilliant opening spell as he powered India into the final of the tri-series following a convincing 81-run victory over Sri Lanka via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match in Trinidad, on Tuesday.
Bowlers gave India the upper hand as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a below-par 205 in their first innings against India after opting to bat on the first day of the second Test in Nagpur on Friday.
The maestro wants a repeat of the teamwork from the current pace battery.
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
New Zealand's bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets to reduce India to 239 for seven on Day 1 of the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Friday. The 24-year-old from Christchurch, who replaced Ish Sodhi, dismissed Shikhar Dhawan (1) and Murali Vijay (9) in the first 50 minutes in his brilliant first spell of 6-2-14-2 as the Kiwis seamers utilised the grassy condition to full effect after Kohli opted to bat.
'What Super 30 really wants to say is Hrithik Roshan can be an action hero without showing off his sculpted torso,' says Sukanya Verma.
In-form skipper Virat Kohli (64) and teenage prodigy Prithvi Shaw (66) were among the five Indian batsmen who struck fifties before the visitors were bowled out for 358 on the second day of the rain-hit practice game against Cricket Australia XI in Sydney.
Corporal Nirala, disregarding personal safety and displaying indomitable courage, retaliated with effective lethal fire and gunned down two category A terrorists and injured two others.
India Blue reached the Duleep Trophy final on the basis of a massive first innings lead, completing a comprehensive performance against India Green even as the game ended in a draw in Greater Noida on Wednesday. There was only one team going into the final against India Red after India Blue took a huge 470-run first innings lead yesterday by dismissing the Green team for 237. India Blue had amassed 707
As we prepare to return to the land of silver screens and samosa, Sukanya Verma looks at notable theatre moments in Hindi films.
From Rohit Sharma's record breaking double century in One-Day Internationals, the team's never-ending woes in overseas Tests, to the controversy surrounding Board of Control for Cricket in India's president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan over the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, Indian cricket had the good, bad and ugly in equal measure in 2014.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue their rampaging run when they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Ishant Sharma exploited the seaming conditions brilliantly to return a career-best 6 for 51 as India took early control of the second and final Test by bowling out New Zealand for a paltry 192 in the first innings in Wellington on Friday. Opener Shikhar Dhawan then hit an unbeaten half-century as India reached 100 for 2 at close, still trailing by 92 runs at the Basin Reserve.
Out of favour for more than four years, veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra staged a comeback to India's Test squad for the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka, starting August 12.
Karthik is finally enjoying his time under spotlight, something he has so richly deserved
Indian batsmen and bowlers warmed up with a morale-boosting five-wicket win against Derbyshire in their second three-day tour game on Thursday, ahead of the first Test against England in Nottingham starting July 9.
On a high after sealing the series with comprehensive victories, an upbeat India will be aiming to complete a 3-0 rout in order to retain it's No 1 Test ranking, when they meet a listless West Indies in the final Test match of the series in Port of Spain on Thursday. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series after their crushing 237-run win in the third Test, Virat Kohli and his men will be aiming to go for the kill and keep their top ranking in Test. India were reinstated as the No.1 Test side after Australia 0-3 whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka.
It's no secret that the 37-year-old is the first choice wicketkeeper for the England World Cup but a lot will depend on how he performs in the last three ODIs against West Indies.
Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
Kohli's double ton was followed by a 50 in the second innings as he finished with 610 runs in the series, which India won 1-0 after the first and third Test ended in draws in Kolkata and New Delhi.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
New Zealand spinners claimed three wickets in the morning session but India extended their advantage to a daunting 308 runs by lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians lost their IPL cricket match against Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
India lost the crucial wicket of opener Murali Vijay after Steven Smith led Australia's fightback with a magnificent century on his captaincy debut. He received able support from Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, who both scored half-centuries. At close of play on Day 3 in the second Test , India were 71 for one in their second innings. Check out some images from the day's play.
Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara may have drawn criticism for his slow strike rate during the tour of West Indies but India coach Anil Kumble on Wednesday threw his weight behind the batsman saying he is a vital cog in the team's scheme of things and no one has put pressure on him to score quickly.
