De Villiers was set to lead the side in Kohli's absence but the South African was ruled out of the team's opening game of the season on Wednesday.
Shane Watson has gone from fringe Test candidate to one of the most important cricketers in the country within a month.
Intimidated by the marauding Shane Watson, Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore joked that his team will either have to poison the Australian all-rounder's food or hope that he has a bad day in office in their crucial World Twenty20 Super Eight clash in Colombo on Tuesday.
Shane Watson would be honoured to stand in for Michael Clarke as Test skipper against India next month even if he thinks it's increasingly unlikely that Australia will need a caretaker captain.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has been ruled out of the first Test against South Africa starting on Wednesday after a slow recovery from a calf injury.
India has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe allegations relating to a conspiracy to kill a Sikh extremist on American soil.
The spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said they are "coordinating and consulting" with Canada and also "engaging" with the Indian government.
Bubba Watson conjured a miraculous par from pine straw to become only the third left-hander to win the Masters with an emotional playoff victory over Louis Oosthuizen at Augusta National on Sunday.
Tiger Woods needs to show some humility and appear in public to admit he "messed up" by cheating on his wife, eight times major winner Tom Watson said on Wednesday. The world number one has taken an indefinite break from the sport after admitting in December on his website that he had been unfaithful to his wife.
In a televised interview, the former Australian captain also spoke of his dressing room bust-up with Simon Katich among other controversial topics
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was forced to cut short his training session in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets after being hit on the helmet by a bouncer on Tuesday, three days before the start of the third Test against India.
A belligerent 76 not out by Shane Watson helped Rajasthan Royals score their first win in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday night.
Former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener says Shane Watson of Australia is the best in the business when it comes to performing with both bat and ball at the moment.
After guiding Australia to a 3-0 whitewash over Bangladesh, Shane Watson and Brett Lee will be in action for Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively when the teams clash in the IPL on Friday.
As expected, Rajasthan Royals retained the services of Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson ahead of the 2014 auction for the Indian Premier League's seventh season.
Images from the athletics action at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, on Wednesday.
David Warner is set to lead the Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL season and assistant coach Shane Watson said the opener will have a point to prove in the tournament.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's Stuart Binny said he is not vying for the all-rounder's spot in the IPL team with Shane Watson and added that it will be the Australian veteran who will be in competition with other foreign players. "I don't think it is between me and Wato (Watson). He falls under foreign category. He will be vying with foreign players. I am not worried whether I will get into the playing XI from the very first match. My role is to get as much as practice right now," he told reporters after a practice match played under lights at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Asked what he expects from his RCB team mates Chris Gayle and A B De Villiers, Binny said he is eager to share the dressing room with Gayle and De Villiers, having spent some time with Watson at Rajasthan Royals. "I have played with Wato for five IPL seasons. So, I know exactly how Wato plays this brand of cricket, and the boldness he has when he comes out to play his cricket," he said.
Prolific Australian all-rounder Shane Watson could be ordered to return midway through the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 by the country's Cricket Board, which wants him to take a break after his stellar performance in the recent World Twenty20.
Australia captain Michael Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson will miss the final one-day match against England in Perth on Sunday to get some rest before the World Cup, Cricket Australia said on Thursday. Adam Voges, another all-rounder, and offspinner Jason Krezja would join the Australia team in Perth for the match and series vice captain Cameron White would lead the side in Clarke's absence.
Skipper Ricky Ponting and all-rounder Shane Watson returned from a short break along with fit-again wicketkeeper Brad Haddin in the 15-member Australian cricket squad announced on Tuesday for the ODI series against Sri Lanka next month.
The Australian all-rounder was ruled out of the first Test against England after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.
Star all-rounder Shane Watson and pacer Doug Bollinger on Wednesday returned to Australia's 13-member squad after a brief break for the first two One-Day Internationals of a five-match series against the West Indies starting on February 7.
Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson scored unbeaten centuries as Australia thrashed England by nine wickets to storm into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Centurion, on Friday. Ponting smashed his 28th century in ODIs to finish unbeaten on 111 in 115 deliveries, while Watson blazed his way to a strokeful 136 from 132 deliveries, which was laced with ten boundaries and seven sixes.
Alexander Zverev got the better of older brother Mischa at the Citi Open in Washington on Thursday, winning their first meeting at an ATP Tour event 6-3, 7-5.
Shane Watson came to the party for the second straight match. He stamped his authority with a magnificent innings of 105 not out as Australia beat New Zealand by six wickets to successfully defend their ICC Champions Trophy crown, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, on Monday.
India will play Germany on June 8 in their next match at the same venue.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson says they will take a cue from the way England successfully countered the Indian spinners this winter, in the upcoming four-match Test series starting on Friday.
Australia's batting sensation Steven Smith tells Harish Kotian switching over from the Test and One-day mode to T20 will not be a problem for him in the upcoming eighth edition of the IPL.
Rajasthan Royals' chief coach Paddy Upton has backed Australian all-rounder Shane Watson to succeed the just-retired Rahul Dravid as captain. He says the franchise would want to retain the former India skipper in some capacity.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said memories of Phil Hughes will flood him the moment he steps out to compete in the fourth Test against India in Sydney, starting on January 6.
Once the Canadian investigation runs its course, Ottawa may put on the public domain further accusations passing for "evidence" -- and that could happen at some point closer to our general election. All in all, the big question is, what is it that the US is really up to, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Australian batsman Shane Watson has said that Shane Warne could still dominate batsmen if he wants to, as he is still the best spinner around.
Mickey Arthur has blown the divisive feud between Michael Clarke and Shane Watson out of the proportion and the root of the rift between two players has been the all-rounder's shuffling around the Test match batting order by the Aussie skipper, believes legendary spinner Shane Warne.
Injury-prone all-rounder Shane Watson has been named in Australia's 13-man squad for Twenty20 matches against South Africa next month as he recovers from a calf strain.
Pace bowler Dhawal Kulkarni, who has played a lot of domestic cricket before gaining his India cap, claimed he has learnt quite a bit from the likes of Austalian Shane Watson, his current captain at Rajasthan Royals.
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
'I heard that this is the last IPL of MS Dhoni but I don't think'
Australia have named Shane Watson and five pace bowlers, including Mitchell Johnson, in a 14-man squad for the third and final Test against South Africa in Perth after drawing the second Test in Adelaide on Monday.
Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson said the incredibly talented Prithvi Shaw has been inconsistent and has been disappointing this season.
