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.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the WTC final against Australia?
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has backed K L Rahul to seal his place as a wicketkeeper-batter for the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in June.
Australia finished the 2021-23 WTC cycle on top of the table, their only loss being the 2-1 away defeat to India earlier this year.
Plenty of hopes will rest on the young shoulders of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who, at the age of just 23, has earned a reputation as one of the world's best openers in the longest format of the game.
India face Australia in the WTC final on June 7 at The Oval in London.
IPL had paved the way for Ajinkya Rahane's Test comeback after more than a year, but it was not the case for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
England captain Ben Stokes said fast bowler Jofra Archer is 100 percent ready to play his first Test since February 2021.
Ahead of the WTC final between India and Australia, Ricky Ponting picked Australia's playing XI.
Cheteshwar Pujara will get a chance to sneak peek into Steve Smith's preparations ahead of the high-profile World Test Championship final, starting June 7, as the former Australian skipper gears up to play three English county games for Sussex this month.
Sunil Gavaskar believes switching from the T20 mode in the IPL to Test cricket will be the biggest challenge for the Indian players when they take on Australia.
''The Oval can present itself with some spin occasionally, particularly as the game wears on. So we could face some sort of similarities to what we had in India at certain stages of the game.'
Only two batters have managed to achieve this unique record before him.
Sri Lanka bid to sweep New Zealand and reach WTC final
Despite the ups and downs, The Oval remains a ground of rich memories and monumental moments for Indian cricket.
Besides, Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was fined 10 percent of his match fee and received a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
Former South African captain Graeme Smith is confident that his country will end its long wait for an ICC trophy in 2023, with the Champions Trophy and World Test Championship final on the horizon. He believes the team is in a strong position to break their drought and is focused on developing the nation's cricket ecosystem ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
India slipped to the fifth spot in the latest WTC points table
'Bumrah's 2024 exploits were a masterclass in skill, precision, and relentless consistency,' ICC said in a statement.
Shubman should focus on his decisions and not how outside world perceives him: Tendulkar
Former Australia captain Tim Paine has slammed the lack of transparency surrounding Kagiso Rabada's failed drug test.
'We had hoped that however behind we were, we could've shown more fight but we knew we needed exceptional performances. It was not a 469-run wicket. We gave away a lot of runs -- bowling was disappointing. We played some poor shots yesterday.'
Rahane stands at crossroads in his comeback Test
Top Australia batter Travis Head on Saturday shattered day-night Test records at Adelaide, continuing his golden run against India.
Travis Head's blistering century powered Australia's innings on Day 2 of the second Test against India
Ponting said at the end of the day it comes down to individual preparation.
India have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee and penalised two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over-rate against England in the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham.
Pakistan slipped to eighth in the World Test Championship standings following their 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh.
Sourav Ganguly names Rishabh Pant as the next-best red-ball batter after stalwart Virat Kohli and predicts him to have a "huge impact" in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth on Friday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the ICC WTC final against New Zealand?
Following the SGM in Ahmedabad, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said the World Cup schedule is expected to be announced during the WTC Final.
Kohli, widely considered one of the batting greats of the modern game, has managed just two centuries in the last five years and only two fifties in his last 12 innings in the longest format.
Travis Head hammered a solid ton at the Oval as Australia dominated the proceedings over India on Day 1 of the WTC Final.
Anirudha Srikkanth heaped praise on talisman batter Virat Kohli's captaincy and said that he was the reason why India could win Tests outside home soil.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between India and Australia in Indore on Friday.
Vettori also expects Cameron Green to play a big part in the WTC final, especially after his superb showing in the just-concluded IPL.
India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh?
'Whichever team is able to adjust and adapt to the conditions, the pitch will win the match.'
