'He (Smith) will be so excited to turn up and play cricket. That's what he loves doing and that's what he is very, very good at. Smith and Warner are two of the best players in world cricket, I think Smith will be giving a lot and integrate with the team'
A 'special message' from India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah on the eve of Cameron Green's back surgery gave the Australian all-rounder the much-needed reassurance about his decision to go under the knife.
Steve Smith stayed top with 937 rating points, an incredible effort since he started the series in fourth position with 857 points before his surge that came courtesy 774 runs in four Tests.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Sunday.
Smith has been the South Asians' nemesis since first setting eyes on them in Test whites seven years ago.
Australia paceman Pat Cummins is eager for banned duo Steve Smith and David Warner to rejoin the national side, saying it feels like they have already spent "five years in cricketing isolation".
Australia must avoid defeat in Melbourne to keep their hopes alive of taking back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
If the humiliation of India being able to declare their second innings on 487/6 reflected poorly on the bowling unit, it was the Australian batting line-up dismissed for 104 in their first innings that bore the brunt of the blame.
Australia declared their first innings on 473/9 and then reduced England to 17/2 after a near-flawless evening session to take charge of the day-night second Ashes Test on Friday.
As Ashwin nears his 500th Test wicket, here are some of the batters who have been unable to read him and have been his victims one time too many.
With recent matches indicating that chasing teams have fared slightly better, the toss-winning captain may opt to bowl first.
Steve Smith and David Warner's first batting partnership on home soil since their ball-tampering suspensions helped Australia to a series-sealing nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Brisbane.
Nathan Lyon donates bats signed by Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah to support cricketers with disability
Ben Stokes played his first IPL match this season in Rajasthan Royals' win over SunRisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Days after Steve Smith redefined the art of run-scoring in an Ashes series that belonged to him, his formative coach, Trent Woodhill said uniqueness and unorthodox styles should be celebrated.
Just when Smith was on the brink of reaching his 31st Test century, an issue with the spider cam caused the Aussie to move away from his stumps before the ball was delivered.
Before the start of the series, Smith had warned that he has "found his hands", referring to the rhythm he was enjoying.
Australian captain Steve Smith reached out to Indian Premier League teammate Ajinkya Rahane and the Indian team, offering a round of beer after the end of the bitterly-fought Test series which the hosts won 2-1.
The pair are serving year-long bans for their part in the Cape Town incident in March and were barred from the 2018 IPL tournament.
Cameron Green's injury could open up the door for Cameron Bancroft's Test recall in the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India next month.
Steve Smith continued his outstanding Ashes form, striking an unbeaten 60 as Australia recovered from another failure by their openers to reach 170-3 at the close of the rain-affected first day of the fourth Test against England.
Pat Cummins will captain Australia at the Champions Trophy after being named in a preliminary 15-man squad also featuring fellow quick Josh Hazlewood on Tuesday.
Australia captain Steve Smith reached a career-high 939 rating points which are the sixth-best ever after Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (both 942) and Peter May (941).
India's batters will need to fire on all cylinders when they come out to bat and former India spinner Harbhajan Singh lists key strategies the visitors will need to adopt to claw back into the game.
What each team from Group B needs to do to make the semis.
Steve Smith might be taking a wee bit more time to adjust to sub-continental tracks but his poor returns in the first two ODIs against India is least of concern for the Australian team management, senior speedster Mitchell Starc said on Tuesday.
Travis Head conceded that he was immensely fortunate to survive a fine spell from Jasprit Bumrah on the Day 2 of the third Test in Brisbane on Sunday.
Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) president Greg Dyer said the contrition of the players should be taken into account along with the precedent -- no player has previously received more than a one-match ban for the offence -- and a lack of due process in the Cricket Australia probe.
Ishant Sharma had mimicked Smith during the second Test of the four-match series at Bengaluru in 2017. It was a crucial match for India, as the side had lost the first Test at Pune.
Travis Head's counter-attacking hundred and his unbroken 251-run stand with Steve Smith put Australia in charge on 327/3 on the opening day of the WTC final against India.
The spotlight will be on Smith when Rajasthan Royals clash with Punjab in their IPL opener on Monday.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
Australia's Steve Smith was out for 92 after resuming his innings having been forced to retire hurt when he was struck by a short ball from England fast bowler Jofra Archer on the fourth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Saturday.
Steve Smith's brilliant hundred and a clinical show by the bowlers at the death helped Australia beat England by 12 runs in their World Cup warm-up match, in Southampton.
Ashwell Prince, South Africa's batting coach, labelled Aiden Markram as the "man for the big occasion" after the opener steered the Proteas towards what could be a famous run-chase in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday.
Australia captain Steve Smith struck a cultured unbeaten century on Thursday to steer Australia to 299 for four wickets on the opening day of the third Test against India in Ranchi, signalling he has put the review controversy at Bengaluru behind him.
Former Australia captain Steve Smith will return to cricket after the ball-tampering scandal as a marquee player at next month's Global T20 Canada league.
Australia's batting mainstay Steve Smith dared the lethal Indian fast bowling unit to bring on the short stuff in the four-match Test series starting next month.
Virat Kohli's refusal to make changes in his batting to overcome a weakness outside the off-stump has seen his average drop from the 50s to 48.13, says former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar.
Assistant coach Ricky Ponting, 10 rooms down the hotel corridor, has heard him shadow practising in England and coach Justin Langer said Smith hones his cover drives in shower.
