Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
Stead, who guided New Zealand to the WTC title, T20 World Cup final in 2021, 2019 ODI World Cup final and 2025 Champions Trophy title clash, is now entrusted with the task of giving a fillip to Andhra cricket.
India will miss Virat Kohli more than Rohit Sharma in the marquee Test series against England and the duo's recent retirement from the format will "hurt" the transitioning team's chances in the rubber starting on Friday, reckons the legendary Geoffrey Boycott.
Ganguly is hopeful that Virat Kohli's men will bring the World Test Championship trophy home
Gillespie said that he feels that either one of Labuschagne or Usman Khawaja, the 38-year-old who failed to touch double-digits in both WTC final innings, will miss out on West Indies tour, which comprises three Tests, starting June 25.
'If we can get some pace and bounce in the pitch, but not too one-sided towards seam movement, we'll be happy.'
Rohit is confident of tackling the New Zealand attack, having faced it enough in the shorter formats.
India stumbled to second place in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 table after suffering a 0-3 series whitewash against New Zealand.
South Africa have eight wickets in hand and are now overwhelming favourites to finish off the job, and take the title away from champions Australia, who had set them a daunting fourth innings target of 282 in the final on Friday.
India were 146 for 3 against New Zealand before bad light stopped play in the weather-marred World Test Championship final, in Southampton, on Saturday.
The Indian players will get a 20-day break from the bio-bubble life in the UK after the completion of the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, to be played in Southampton from June 18 to 22.
Images from Day 2 of the ICC World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand, at The Hampshire Bowl, in Southampton, on Saturday.
India consolidated their second spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) standing following their five-wicket win against Ben Stokes' England in the fourth Test at Ranchi on Monday.
Aus ODIs: Bumrah, Gill workload to be discussed, battle between Jaiswal and Abhishek
'...The players and staff deserve a lot of credit for the standard of cricket we have played over the past two years. It would be a great reward for everyone to finish as World Test Champions.'
The final hour or so of Day 3 is expected to remain clear, but overcast skies promise to remain throughout, which may once again lead to light issues in the final stages of the day.
'The Diary of a Cricketer's Wife' penned by Puja Pujara, capturing the journey of her husband Cheteshwar, found a hallowed introduction place at the Lord's Cricket Ground library and the author termed the book as "something for everyone."
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
'These quicks are dominating every day,' the skipper tweeted.
Australia's victory hinged on the dismissal of Virat Kohli on the final day.
Among other developments from the RCB camp, West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd and England's Liam Livingstone have returned to India and rejoined the squad on Wednesday.
During match no. 43 of IPL 2023, LSG skipper KL Rahul limped off the field during their home match against RCB.
Proteas edge Pakistan to win thriller at Centurion
Bavuma, in his Test journey of over a decade, as the first black batter for South Africa, has faced a lot of ups and downs. A magnificent century against England in Cape Town back in 2016 attached to him plenty of expectations.
India go with Ashwin and Jadeja with three seamers for WTC final
The first day of the final match was washed out due to rains.
New Zealand's chances of delivering a famous series whitewash in India will depend on how well they adapt to the Mumbai pitch
England captain Ben Stokes said fast bowler Jofra Archer is 100 percent ready to play his first Test since February 2021.
We have to play aggressive cricket, says stand-in skipper KL Rahul
Gibbs said leadership develops with time, and Gill possesses the composure to grow into the role.
Australia's Travis Head and Steve Smith gave India a repeat of their nightmare in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
It has been 10 years since Australia won the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia legend Steve Waugh believes under-fire Rohit Sharma can't afford to be 'complacent or relax' if he wants to continue serving Indian cricket.
India's captain asserted that there was nothing wrong with India's choice of bowlers as they needed to score more runs in order to let their spinners call the shots.
Kyle Verreynne revealed his emotions almost got the better of him before he hit the winning runs to end South Africa's wait for a global trophy.
Despite doing well over the last three years, Umesh is not a sure starter in the playing eleven considering the competition which has gotten stiffer with the emergence of Mohammad Siraj.
Fast-bowling great Richard Hadlee expects swing bowlers to dominate the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) between India and New Zealand in Southampton next month.
The tension and nervousness caused during New Zealand's run chase on the final day of the ICC Word Test Championship final against India forced their star pacer Kyle Jamieson to hide inside the bathroom.
The win propelled New Zealand from sixth to fourth in the updated standings, with a win-loss percentage of 44.44%,
Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for penalising only England for slow over rates during the third Test against India at the Home of Cricket, Lord's.
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