With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Or should they include a fast bowler for the Eden Gardens Test against Sri Lanka?
Senior Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik on Thursday earned a recall to the Indian team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after Manish Pandey was ruled out due to a side strain.
The five-Test series starts with the first match in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
Is Kohli not a great captain in spite of so many wins? My answer is, yes, declares Dr Sudhir Bisht.
India speedster Umesh Yadav on Saturday admitted that being a senior bowler he needs to perform better in the death overs if he has to consistently feature in the playing XI in the limited overs cricket.
The jovial RJD chief, known for his earthy humours, apparently could not digest that his party drew a blank in its stronghold Bihar and also in the neighbouring Jharkhand.
Two years is long hiatus from limited overs cricket and a fit-again Mohammed Shami is ready to come out all guns blazing in the upcoming Champions Trophy in England from June 1.
Meet the Indian cricket squad selected for the Champions Trophy in England starting June 1.
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun is confident that the team's speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to maintain speed as well as be accurate in the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 12 at Galle.
Will the struggling Manish Pandey make way for Dinesh Karthik?
The hits and misses of the week.
India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha said Bhuvneshwar Kumar's surprise inclusion was done keeping in mind the grassy Eden Gardens wicket as the seamer scalped a five-for to tightened the noose around New Zealand in the second cricket Test, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
'I don't see Hardik getting a new ball. He is a certainty in the side as playing four fast bowlers would mean a long tail. He is your ideal No 7 batsman but you can use him for 4-6 overs depending on the situation'
Meet the 15-member Indian squad selected for the ICC ODI World Cup, starting next month in Australia-New Zealand.
'Ashwin against the left-handers could play a big role. Kuldeep has done brilliantly but I feel India should persist with Ashwin. Kuldeep is young and can learn along the way'
India's excitement around their current pace attack is palpable but they would do well to temper their sunny optimism in Australia.
Buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their winning momentum when they face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
Virat Kohli's participation in the fourth and deciding Test match against Australia, in Dharamsala, hangs in balance even as young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has been included in the team.
Team India, set for a gruelling tour of Australia, looked in top gear as they practiced diligently during a nets session on the eve of the first Test in Adelaide on Monday.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday expanded his 17-month old cabinet, inducting seven ministers, and indicated that excise minister H Nagesh would be dropped. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
All the injuries that happened to top Indian cricketers prior to and during the Australia series along with their current status.
Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, on Thursday reached St Kitts to play a four-Test bilateral series against the West Indies starting with the opening match at Antigua on July 21.
Deve Gowda indicated on Sunday that they were ready to compromise.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday made a comeback to the Indian team for the first two Tests against South Africa, replacing veteran Harbhajan Singh, who was the only casualty from the team which won the Test series in Sri Lanka last month.
Indeed, this might be the easiest way to select India's World Cup team of 15, by picking the top 15, with only No 16 Vijay Shankar perhaps replacing No 13 Khaleel Ahmed to bolster the batting!
Harbhajan Singh has said that except Bhuvneshwar Kumar, other bowlers have not been consistent enough which has been the bane of India in their disappointing tour Down Under.
Factbox on Saturday's World Cup Pool B match between India and Zimbabwe at Eden Park in Auckland.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the first three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka next month and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will lead the side in his absence.
Clinical India notched up another resounding win to humble a hapless Sri Lankan side by six wickets and clinch the five-match series in the third One-Day International in Hyderabad.
Pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was promoted to Grade A, but Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir, who have lost favour with the selectors, were dropped from the list of BCCI's contracted players for 2014-15.
Buoyed by their spectacular win over Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of this season's campaign, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on spirited qualifiers Lahore Lions in their second game of the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was on way back home on June 14 to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.
A look at this week's hits and misses.
Rajneesh Gupta presents interesting numbers from Day 2 of the second Test in Colombo, on Friday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Play Selector and pick India's playing eleven for Thursday's semi-final in Birmingham.
