Sunrisers Hyderabad surprised quite a few by opting to release the fast bowling duo of Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn, while they also let go of England discard Kevin Pietersen.
Injured Australia captain Michael Clarke will arrive in the United Arab Emirates five days ahead of the rest of the Test squad as he races to be fit for the two-match series against Pakistan.
Top class left-armers are in short supply and chief selector Rod Marsh joked that he had mulled telephoning Johnson to see whether he might like to come out of retirement.
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
Mumbai Indians had a break of five days after their 20-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring Indian Premier League in Mumbai and captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday that the short respite was very helpful in recharging their batteries.
Jacques Kallis brought his years of experience into play as he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to its maiden Oppo Champions League T20 final having comfortably beaten Australia's Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Cricketing superpowers clash in an ODI series Sunday onwards. Rajeesh Gupta gives us all the numbers on India-Australia one day encounters.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has warned his team to beware a backlash from a wounded Australia in the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi starting on Thursday.
Aiden Blizzard played a blistering knock as Hobart Hurricanes beat Cape Cobras by six wickets in a group league encounter of the Champions League T20, to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semi-final alive.
A superb cameo from Glenn Maxwell helped Kings XI Punjab overcome a poor start to their chase and win the battle of first-timers against Hobart Hurricanes by five wickets in the Champions League T20 in Mohali.
Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 71 after Mohit Sharma's heroics with the ball to guide Chennai Super Kings to a comfortable seven wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match in Dubai.
Ravindra Jadeja's brilliant all-round display, after Dwayne Smith's fine batting, helped Chennai Super Kings defend a modest total and beat Rajasthan Royals by seven runs in Wednesday's IPL match in Dubai.
With an eye on the final spot, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings face high-flying Mumbai Indians in their first qualifier in the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Glenn Maxwell is on a roll. The Australian batsman continued with his incredible batting, blasting a 38-ball 90, as Kings XI Punjab scored a comprehensive 44-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League match, in Cuttack, on Wednesday night.
Chennai Super Kings overcame some anxious moments before huffing and puffing to a five-wicket win over a fighting Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match in Sharjah on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical performance to crush Delhi Daredevils by 93 runs and register their first win in the seventh edition of Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
Despite the weeks of debate about the make-up of the Australia team for next week's first Ashes Test, captain Michael Clarke is of the opinion that 11 of the 12 players are "no-brainer" selections.
Dwayne Smith cracked a blistering 79 as a dominant Chennai Super Kings steamrolled Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets for their sixth straight win in the Indian Premier League.
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the bowling landscape in India-Australia Tests.
Mumbai Indians have a 10-5 record against KKR. Can they maintain the advantage?
The IPL, all of a sudden, may have some catching up to do with the Big Bash.
A look at the squads for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League at the conclusion of the two-day auction in Bangalore.
IPL Action VIII: These players went unsold