The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Fired-up England reduced India to 58/4 chasing 193 for victory in a highly-charged final session on day four on Sunday as a gripping third Test at Lord's.
India will take on the UAE in their tournament-opener on September 10 before facing arch rivals Pakistan at Dubai on September 14. Their third group match will be against Oman on September 19 before the Super Four stage.
The track is historically a high-scoring one and the outfield is quick. But on a red soil surface, the ball grips and can surprise the batters.
Kuldeep was instrumental to India's success at the Asia Cup, topping the wicket-taking chart with 17 wickets. Chopra explained the rationale behind dropping the left-arm wrist spinner, attributing it to batting depth.
Siraj, who bowled 185.3 overs in five Tests, ended with 23 wickets and his nine-for in the final Test at the Oval earned India a memorable series levelling six-run win over England.
'Sundar is the front-runner behind Ashwin right now. He's done well in whatever limited opportunities he's got and I feel he will get his due first before going to anybody else.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan?
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the must-win match against Zimbabwe on Thursday?
India remained on course for a 2-0 series sweep after enforcing the follow-on but West Indies produced a much better batting display in their second innings to reach 173-2 on day three of the second and final Test in New Delhi on Sunday.
Skipper Shubman Gill struck a sublime half-century, while off-spinner Washington Sundar returned with tidy figures of 3/15 as India outclassed Zimbabwe by 23 runs.
Sai Sudharsan, a rising star, playfully dubs GT 'Gujarat Tamilians'.
'The quality of Bumrah is exceptional. What he has been able to do is just unbelievable so far'
Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the second Test at Edgbaston, as part of his workload management.
India set to remain unchanged as team wants Reddy to settle in all-round role
While India left out Kuldeep Yadav for the second match in a row, Australia's leg-spinner Adam Zampa took a four-wicket haul and was named the man of the match.
The decision to allow Virat Kohli to complete his fitness in London has sparked a debate within the cricketing circles on whether this was a one-off allowance to a player of his stature.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said India may have missed a trick by not playing Kuldeep Yadav at Lord's and Manchester, as quality spinners come to the fore on the last two days of a Test match.
India begins their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA, aiming to leverage their strong team composition and recent form to secure a victory.
Virat Kohli's stroke-filled 91-ball 93 set up India's win in the series opener against New Zealand.
Padikkal's fourth VHT ton this season powers Karnataka to big win vs Tripura
According to Cricbuzz, Indian cricketers could collectively be staring at losses of around Rs 150-200 crore in endorsements.
The Indian selectors will be announcing the team for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, starting January 11 in Vadodara and there have been speculations about whether Pant can hold on to his place in the squad.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
All-rounder Washington Sundar is likely to miss at least the next two IPL matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad after suffering split webbing in his bowling hand, head coach Tom Moody said.
Arshdeep Singh, who took three wickets for 35 runs in the third T20I against Australia, in Hobart on Sunday, said he's been working on his process, trusting his skills, and executing the plans he practised.
Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that India's new T20 approach isn't just about fearless batting, it's about all-round aggression.
Australia held their nerve in a tense chase, edging past India by two wickets to seal the series 2-0 despite a late fightback from the visitors on Thursday in Adelaide.
An injury-plagued India could be forced to depart from their preferred template when they takes on a reinvigorated England in the fourth Test starting in Manchester on Wednesday.
Senior opener KL Rahul has been left out of the India squad which will travel to Zimbabwe for an ODI series next month after COVID-19 delayed his return from a long injury lay-off, while Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar made their comebacks.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England due to a knee injury.
He said he will never play football for warm-up before matches. "It was a weird accident that happened five or six years ago. I was playing football and broke my ankle. I will never play football in my life! There are so many things to do other than just play football."
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels the debate over preparing a spin-friendly track at the Eden Gardens for the opening Test against South Africa is pointless as the country has been laying out such wickets for ages.
Sundar went on to play a knock of 62 runs in his debut Test
India are favourites to secure victory and draw the series, but England will still fancy their chances of completing what would be by far the highest successful Test run chase at The Oval.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Monday.
Not handing the ball to lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to start the third day's play on a challenging Eden Gardens surface was "questionable", said the legendary Anil Kumble.
Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday criticized India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his inability to handle pressure and win overseas Test matches.
Indian cricketers, including Test skipper Shubman Gill and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, have cleared the pre-season fitness test which was conducted at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday.
