The Board of Control for Cricket in India is likely to pose a few questions to chief coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli depending on how the third Test against England pans out after being left disappointed by the team's meek surrender in the first two games.
The future of India's bowling coach Joe Dawes and fielding consultant Trevor Penny will be decided at the all-important Working Committee meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in Chennai on September 26.
Former Team India Director Ravi Shastri has applied for the chief coach's post of the Indian cricket team, staking strong claims of returning at the helm.
The BCCI finally invited applications for the head coach of the Indian cricket team, on Wednesday, with the circular comprising a nine-point criteria including one stating a 'desire' to have a Hindi speaking coach.
Former Team India Director Ravi Shastri along with his support staff which includes Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and Ramakrishnan Sridhar are all set to re-apply after the Board of Control for Cricket in India advertises for the national coaching positions in the next couple of days.
Ravi Shastri was retained as the Team Director of the Indian cricket team till the 2016 T20 World Cup at home, based on the recommendations of the BCCI advisory committee.
India coach Ravi Shastri is happy that his team responded magnificently after he sought accountability post back-to-back defeat in the first two Tests.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar says not losing the ability to swing the ball despite adding extra pace to his armoury has made him a much better bowler than what he was two years ago.
Former batsman V V S Laxman believes tinkering with Team India's support staff is not a viable option and newly-appointed team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher should stay till the 2015 World Cup.
Kuldeep Yadav picked 5-99 in his maiden Test Down Under.
Bumrah, who has so far taken eight wickets in the third Test against Australia, in Melbourne, has 47 Test wickets to his kitty after making his debut in January.
The ignored trio of KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma were part of an optional practice session at Newlands, even as South Africa coach Ottis Gibson warned they would continue to torment India with pace.
Indian team director Ravi Shastri also made it clear that Shami will figure in the playing XI during the two warm-up games against West Indies (in Kolkata, on Thursday) and South Africa in Mumbai on March 12 in order to assess his fitness.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says it was not a surprise that India struggled to wipe off the bottom half of the Sri Lankan batting line up since it was team's old habit and the pitch also tends to settle on the second and third day of a Test match, making batting easier.
Ashish Nehra rates India's bowling attack as one of the best and said the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka on a "green" Eden wicket is an ideal preparation for the hosts ahead of their gruelling tour of South Africa.
Rishabh Pant is a 'champion cricketer in the making', who is very much in the mix for the 2019 India's World Cup campaign for his ability to seamlessly switch formats, says chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
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.
Overwhelmed by 'surreal' bidding for him during the Indian Premier League auction, it took Jaydev Unadkat some time to believe that franchises were so willing to break their banks to grab a fast bowler.
The skipper said that there has been a lot of experimentation at number four, and while the batting line-up at Adelaide, where Rayudu batted at four, was an ideal one, they would like to keep things mixed up until someone assumed responsibility at number four.
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun, on Sunday, took a dig at the Sri Lankan cricketers, stating that home team captain Virat Kohli did not require anti-pollution mask to bat for nearly two days in the third Test in New Delhi.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur said a shortlist of names of individuals who are interested in taking over from Duncan Fletcher, whose contract expired at the end of World Cup, is yet to be made.
Promising that India will not back down from their "aggressive brand of cricket", team director Ravi Shastri feels consistency and patience would be key to success as the hosts gear up to face South Africa next month.
Shardul Thakur is yet to get a game for India despite receiving his maiden call-up more than a year ago but the Mumbai pacer says he has been patiently preparing himself for the big moment all this while.
'The 2014 Australia tour and the brand of cricket played by the team laid a great foundation of the brilliant run of success enjoyed across all formats and conditions.' 'It also coincided with Virat Kohli enjoying the responsibilities of leading the team and then putting his heart and soul into taking the Indian team to ascend many unconquered summits.'
Praising Team Director Ravi Shastri for lifting the morale, Test opener Murali Vijay has said that the former all-rounder has entered the Indian cricket dressing room at the right time as things have fallen into place with the current coaching set-up.
The pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) has attracted a lot of attention.
India's bowling coach Bharath Arun made it clear on Tuesday that Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are first choices for Test matches, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the preferred option for the limited-overs' format.
Rishi Dhawan has realised that international cricket demands unwavering mental toughness and he would like to believe that he has overcome the mental demons of the Australia tour ahead of a crucial trip to Zimbabwe next month. Dhawan, despite only playing a couple of games for Kings XI Punjab this IPL, has managed a spot in the second string squad for the three ODIs and two T20 Internationals in Zimbabwe, beginning June 11. "I did not get to do much in IPL but I was expecting to be picked. I had done well in Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare and I was confident that I will be rewarded for consistent performances in domestic cricket," Dhawan told PTI on Wednesday. The poster boy of Himachal cricket might be a consistent performer on the domestic cricket but he did not take much time to realise that playing for India is a different ball game.
With 36 different playing XIs in as many Tests under Kohli's captaincy, the Indian line-up is begging for some consistency.
Newly-elected Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur, on Sunday, said the Board will advertise for the post of the coach of the Indian team.
The Indian team management took this decision during this afternoon's net practice after having a look at the pitch. Although there was no official word on why the match was shortened, Indian coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding.
India couldn't have hoped for a worst start to a long South African sojourn but pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Thursday asserted that if one debacle dents the team's confidence then it 'does not deserve' to play Test cricket.
In white-ball cricket things are different -- over there you outsmart the batsman, and over here in Test cricket it's all about patience and consistency. That was my main focus today. You can't blast the batsmen out. I was looking to bowl good lengths and always challenge the batsmen with good lengths and good line. So in the end it was a good day.'
Criticising Duncan Fletcher's coaching reign between 2011-15, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that work ethic during the Zimbabwean's tenure was "pretty abysmal" as players reported late in practice sessions.
Perhaps for the first time, India's pace strength is not centred on any one individual, or set of individuals.
The controversy over the batting track prepared for the fifth ODI between India and South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium, where the visitors hammered the hosts by 214 runs to win the series last month, is yet to die down.
Bowling coach Bharat Arun said that India are in a comfortable position currently and targetting a first innings lead of around 100 runs, in the second Test match against Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
Ravichandran Ashwin has said he rediscovered himself after critically analysing his bowling, as he left the Sri Lankans bamboozled with a six-wicket haul, which gave India an upper hand in the first Test in Galle.
Arun acknowledged that newcomers Kuldeep and Chahal have done exceptionally well because wrist spinners do not rely overtly on pitches and conditions.
A bundle of nerves ahead of his international debut in the ongoing Asia Cup, India all-rounder Pawan Negi said emotions were getting the better of him before senior players like skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped in with their calming words.