'That so many have reached such an advanced stage of their careers without obvious replacements is certainly a reflection of their quality, but will be a matter of concern in the case of more injuries during the series.'
Virat Kohli's passion and detachment from personal glory coupled with Rohit Sharma's humility and elegance will not just be etched in record books but will be engraved forever in the hearts of fans, feels former India head coach Greg Chappell.
'This was one of those days when I was lucky that I did not know that I would be playing, and it turned out to be lucky for me.'
Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped from the Test side during the tour of West Indies in June-July, has since hit three centuries in one-dayers and a couple more in Sheffield Shield for Queensland.
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
'Nobody cared for me, everyone had turned their back. People thought I wouldn't survive.'
The cricketing fraternity on Monday paid glowing tributes to India's batting talisman Virat Kohli on his retirement from the longest format after an illustrious 14-year-career.
Mayank Yadav, the young speedster, made a sensational debut in international cricket, leaving Bangladesh batters struggling to keep up with his fiery pace in the first T20I at Gwalior on Sunday.
Vipraj Nigam's all-round heroics not only sealed a sensational win for Delhi Capitals but also announced his arrival on the IPL stage in style.
Rinku smashed 17 fours and six sixes during his stay in the middle. He was batting on 98 at stumps on the third evening and faced a total of 247 balls across two days.
Former National chairman of selectors MSK Prasad says Nitesh Kumar was identified at the age of 12, and from day one he stood out as a player with abundant talent.
The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
On Sunday, Goud repaid the faith shown in her with a telling spell of 3 for 20, that included three maidens, to derail Pakistan's chase of 247.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is unlikely to play the full season for Bihar as he will be in contention to be a part of India's squad for the Under-19 World Cup to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia early next year.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Rishabh Pant's 'chaotic' leadership style and batting might be the wildcard India need to level the Test series against South Africa, former cricketer Jonty Rhodes said on Friday.
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2013 farewell became a national pilgrimage, a vibrant celebration befitting a cricketing deity, the exits of many other Indian icons this century have been quieter journeys into the twilight.
'Sometimes it might look wrong in the fans' eyes, but please don't twist things or create narratives that aren't even close to the truth.'
The first three matches were low-scoring affairs, but the fourth T20I was a run-fest, with both India and Sri Lanka registering their highest-ever totals in the format.
'We are busy ensuring that the we improve and build upon sports in which we are doing reasonably well, there is no time to get involved in something like this.'
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar paid tribute to his former team-mate Syed Abid Ali, who passed away on Wednesday.
Vijay Hazare: Pant's unbeaten half-ton in big Delhi win over Services; Axar hits century for Gujarat
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.
The 22-year-old Layne, who hails from Barbados, is a seam bowling all-rounder.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
The lack of runs from captain Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill remains a talking point.
While many captains have buckled under the pressure, the responsibility to lead a team followed by a billion-plus fans appears to have brought the best out of Gill.
Australia all-rounder Beau Webster described his impressive debut against India during the fifth and final Test in Sydney as a 'dream come true' moment.
UP batters, spinners overpower Hyderabad by 84 runs in Vijay Hazare opener
Australia, England registered shameful record during first Ashes Test at Perth as express pace dominates proceedings
Australia captain Steve Smith has declined to rule out a surprise return for fast bowler Pat Cummins for the second Ashes Test against England.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with a doughty 68 as a dominant India outclassed Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the fifth T20I to complete a 5-0 series sweep.
Rohit Sharma shared a few words of encouragement before presenting the cap to the youngster.
Over 25 years, societies evolve and tastes change. Cinema absorbs and reflects this transformation. Picking only 25 films from the first quarter of the century is tough.
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
India opener Rohit Sharma bettered Pakistan's Shahid Afridi's record for maximum sixes (352) by a batter in the history of One-Day Internationals in the first ODI against South Africa, in Ranchi, on Sunday.
Rinku Singh has built his reputation as a fearless six-hitter in T20 cricket, but the 27-year-old insists he doesn't want to be boxed into that label. For him, the ultimate dream lies not under floodlights but in the whites of Test cricket.
Disappointing, wanted to go out on a high: Emotional Devine bids farewell to game
'Everyone wants to be the best in the country. I would like to be someone the team can depend on to win games. That is what I want to be known for.'
Cheteshwar Pujara understands more than anyone else that time was right for him to bid adieu without any regrets.
