'This will be a testing time for Indian cricket. And I'd say this truly marks the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era.'
In a candid conversation on The ICC Review with Sanjana Ganesan, Shastri named two young stars he believes are ready to be groomed for the role - Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.
His potential absence from the England tour signals a major transition in India's leadership and batting order.
Smith has rarely, if ever, doubted his own talent but even he was aware that his spell at the top of the order was proving unpopular.
The Indian team will tour Australia later this year for a multi-format limited overs series comprising three ODIs and five T20 Internationals.
The white-ball games that were held in Sydney indicated that the deck was a flat one and express pace comes in handy on such surfaces.
What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes Rohit Sharma has earned the right to walk away from Test cricket on his own terms.
Pakistan selectors rule out T20 role for Babar, Rizwan and Afridi in near future
Australia have kept their bowling options wide open for India tour
Kohli's skill and spikiness on the field reminded many of their own: Australian media
Rohit Sharma exhorted his teammates to shut down outside noises and rumours and focus on winning the ongoing fifth Test against Australia that will help them retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins said a more dedicated window for Tests is needed so that players can chalk their individual schedule and preparation.
The difference between the bowling averages of Jasprit Bumrah and his seam-bowling teammates stood at 21.76, suggesting Bumrah operated as India's one-man army with the ball.
After former wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist created quite a stir with his revelations about the infamous Sydney Test in his book, it is the turn of skipper Ricky Ponting to give his take on the racism row that shook world cricket.
Head coach Jason Gillispie said Shaheen Afridi understands the "situation" and the break will give him quality time with his family.
Senior batter Rohit Sharma missed out Mumbai Indians' match against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League in Lucknow on Friday after he was hit on the knee during a nets session, according to captain Hardik Pandya.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting on Monday said if the match-fixing slur on his team's Sydney Test win over Pakistan is proved right, all individual milestones by his players in that game would be "tainted".
The Sydney Cricket Ground track was "not ideal" for a Test match, according to batting great Sunil Gavaskar, but India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir praised the wicket as "spicy" and "result-oriented".
A look back at some of the most painful moments when South Africa came heartbreakingly close -- but always fell short -- before finally breaking the curse at Lord's.
In a country where it becomes awkward to handle the retirements of legends like Kohli and Rohit, the selectors has shown the required foresight.
Following David Warner's retirement from Tests, Steve Smith opened the batting for Australia in series against West Indies and New Zealand.
The 24-year-old, who played his last Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in September, has been included alongside regular spinner Nathan Lyon for the Jan. 4 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He reserved his best for the longest format in which he amassed 28 hundreds including a memorable 329 against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Continuing his tirade against Twenty20, embattled Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf on Thursday blamed the proliferation of this format for his team's bizarre defeat in the Sydney Test against Australia.
Australia levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in the day-night Test after losing the first Test at Perth by 295 runs.
If one has to analyse Ashwin the cricketer, it is very difficult to ignore Ashwin, the person, who had a very independent mind and a brain that probably ticked 24x7. He believed in de-construction of his art and became craftier one ball at a time.
Sam Konstas has been added to Australia's list of contracted players in a huge vote of confidence for the two-Test opener.
Travis Head was a notable absentee in Australia's net session on Monday
The Indian team kicked off final preparations for the third Test against Australia with a gruelling practice session at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Syed Abid Ali, the former Indian all-rounder and one of the finest fielders of his time, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83.
"One stat stands out: 375,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 350,000," Shastri said.
Josh Hazlewood ruled out of next week's opener in Nagpur, which begins on Thursday.
Sourav Ganguly stressed the need for India to discover their form in England and backed skipper Rohit Sharma to lead the turnaround.
Virat Kohli's subdued 17 off 69 balls extended his lean patch in the series.
Australia opener David Warner had decided to call time on his One-Day International and Test careers to spend more time with his family.
Will Pucovski was once seen as the future of Australian cricket as he made a half-century on his Test debut against India in 2021.
Beau Webster believes playing against India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be an enormous challenge for the Australian pacers on the seamer-friendly SCG pitch.
'This Border-Gavaskar Trophy (series) has had the biggest Boxing Day crowd ever passing the Ashes and the series is so delicately poised now, it is living up to every hype.'
In-form Karun Nair's career could see a resurrection.
