There was optimism mingled with conviction in VVS Laxman's tone and tenor as the batting great today predicted the start of an era of prolonged dominance by the current Indian Test team, akin to the great West Indian and Australian sides of the past. As the long home season begin with the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, India are seeking to become the numero uno side in Test cricket and Laxman, who called captain Virat Kohli a "trendsetter", felt achieving the number one status will just be the beginning of a long journey.
India have used 12 out of their 15 players in the first three games and it would be interesting to see if one among the two uncapped pacers Yash Dayal or Vysakh Vijaykumar gets a debut cap in case the pitch warrants an extra specialist speedster.
The country's leading players, including Ravindra Jadeja and VVS Laxman, will go under the hammer in the players' auction for the fifth Indian Premier League in Bangalore on February 4. Besides Jadeja and Laxman, several other Indian and foreign cricketers will be up for grabs when proceedings begin at 11:00 IST at the ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel.
Sachin Tendulkar, on Wednesday, wished the country on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fir.
Veteran batsman VVS Laxman was the last to arrive at the optional nets this morning and was seen asking for new balls as the Indians practised throwdowns with old balls, in Canberra, on Saturday.
Former Test batsman VVS Laxman was effusive in his praise for India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who lead the national team to back-to-back title triumphs at the Champions Trophy in England and Tri-nation series in the West Indies.
His talent was unquestionable but Shikhar Dhawan's success can be attributed to the fact that he has started to value his wicket a lot more, feels former star VVS Laxman.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram reckons that trio of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid gave India's batting line-up a 'monstrous' look in the just-concluded Test series against Sri Lanka.
Veteran India seamer Ashish Nehra underwent a surgery to treat a 'high-grade tendon injury' he had suffered on his right knee during an Indian Premier League match earlier this month.
Sachin Tendulkar (6018) is the first Indian and the third overall to aggregate 6,000 runs or more in Tests at home, joining Australia's Ricky Ponting (6790) and West Indian Brian Lara (6217).
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has said the tourists were beaming with confidence in the wake of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's retirement and are eyeing to unsettle India's batting line up with an element of surprise in the two-Test series, starting in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Laxman said the management had made up its mind before the 2020 auction to pick young Indian batsmen for the middle-order.
Seeking to clear air over the altercation Zaheer Khan had with Ricky Ponting, India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said the issue was a misunderstanding on part of Australia's captain. Harbhajan said Zaheer's remarks were not directed at Ponting; the pacer was just talking with teammate VVS Laxman.
India's most successful Test skipper Sourav Ganguly says the time is not right for senior players to retire and selectors should not force them to quit the game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's mentor VVS Laxman has said that opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan's form is not a matter of concern for the team and added that domestic players need to score runs.
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Thursday shot a letter to COA chief Vinod Rai, expressing 'pain' at the perception that appointments of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan were forced upon head coach Ravi Shastri.
Team India will tour Zimbabwe for a small ODI series. The first match will be played on August 18, the second on 20, and the third and final ODI will be played on 22.
The tributes continue to flow for Rahul Dravid following his retirement from international cricket.
With two days left and the track expected to deteriorate, the Proteas are faced with a stiff task of saving the second Test. Can India pull off victory and reign as the top Test team? India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the ground posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
Rejecting suggestions that selection goof-ups led to India's humiliating defeat in the first Test against South Africa, chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth on Monday said he is still ready to face the sack if held responsible for the debacle.
As the big three of Indian Test batting -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman -- enter the twilight of their careers, the spotlight is firmly on the men who seek to replace them in the years to come.
Prasad's departure means the Ganguly-led BCCI has gone by the old constitution that has a provision of a maximum of four-year term for the selection committee. The amended constitution had a maximum five-year term.
India scored a comprehensive five-wicket win in the first Test against the West Indies at the Ferozshah Kotla on Wednesday. The win gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Images from the fifth and final day's play of the opening Test between India and New Zealand at Motera on Monday.
Virat Kohli was joined by wife Anushka Sharma as the star India batter was felicitated for reaching the milestone of 100 Test matches, in Mohali on Friday.
He is only the 11th Indian to perform the feat. The Saurashtra batsman reached the milestone in his 80th Test.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala rode on a rollicking opening stand between Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman as they scored a challenging 161 for five against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their debut Indian Premier League match in Kochi on Saturday.
Images from the third day's play in the second Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
Stylish middle order batsman VVS Laxman is worried with India's dwindling spin resource and doesn't see a quality tweaker in the horizon.
The BCCI took to Twitter to share a photograph of Ganguly and Dravid on Tuesday.
The colts were given Rs 40 lakh each for their stellar achievement
Statistical highlights at the end of third day's play in the second Test between India and New Zealand on Sunday.
In Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India, says Haresh Pandya, has a bunch of exciting young batsmen who will go places, individually and collectively.
VVS Laxman scored a splendid 73 not out as India clinched a nail-biting win over Australia in the first Test at Mohali on Tuesday. Chasing 216 to win, the home team got to the target with a wicket to spare.
The very mention of an India-Australia series would invariably revolve around the stylish-yet-defiant VVS Laxman and his epic 281 at the Eden Test nine years ago.
Dravid's first assignment in his second stint will be the tour of South Africa from December 10, which will have three ODIs and T20Is each and two Tests. The red-ball leg will start from December 26.
Ganguly-Yuvraj partnership in the third Test against Pakistan is now the second highest partnership for the fifth wicket on Indian soil.
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman flopped with the bat but Team India discard Dinesh Karthik slammed a whirlwind 153 as South Zone posted 329 on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone in Bangalore on Thursday. In reply, Central Zone were 30 for no loss at stumps, with Tanmay Srivastava (13) and Shivakant Shukla (11) in the middle, still 299 runs behind South's first innings' total.
India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the Eden Gardens posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
Australia's Adam Gilchrist has replaced VVS Laxman as the captain of the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.
