It remains to be seen whether veteran Gautam Gambhir can make a comeback to the Indian ODI team after being recently called up to the Test squad to replace the injured KL Rahul.
Seamer R Vinay Kumar, on Thursday, threw his weight behind in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who was a surprise choice to lead the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
The peaks Prithvi Shaw scaled on the first day of his Test career in numbers, via Rajneesh Gupta.
The Indian team management, headed by coach Ravi Shastri, intimated the Committee of Administrators that the team will take at least 18 months to prepare for the Day-Night Test.
The Duleep Trophy final was Central Zone skipper Piyush Chawla's 100th first-class match and the thrilling nine-run win was termed by the UP leg-spinner as one of the "most memorable wins" in his career.
Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman Naman ojha is "not surprised" by his inclusion in India's 19-member Test squad for the tour of Australia. After all, he's been in his stupendous form with the bat in the past 12 months.
Known for his proficiency in Tests and a prolific scorer in first class cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara has set himself a task - of forcing people to take notice of his prowess in the T20 format too and play in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
'Under lights, with the late swing, it is challenging for batsmen'
Of all the things that went right in the Test series opener against New Zealand, Cheteshwar Pujara's transformation from an obdurate accumulator of runs to a free-scoring batsman when needed must be the most pleasing for India captain Virat Kohli.
Tendulkar, who had earlier voiced his concern about tackling the dew factor, said the Indian cricket think-tank should do a postmortem after the match gets over.
Out-of-favour India opener Gautam Gambhir feels spinners will decide the fate of the upcoming three-match Test series between India and New Zealand, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
Rohit Sharma knows he must score away from home to erase any lingering doubts about his Test credentials.
'A player need to have T20 skills otherwise he is not going to survive.'
'No matter how much runs you score in the Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy or Irani Trophy, if you don't have T20 skills in batting or bowling you are not going to go too far.'
The world was in a "sheer shock" in the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic but BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is confident that life will be back to normal once the vaccine for the virus is developed. Ganguly believes once the vaccine is out, the virus will be like any other health issues like flu or jaundice but with a cure.
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
Up-and-coming Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Karn Sharma were named in India's 19-man Test squad for the tour of Australia, which was announced after the selection committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Monday morning. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the opening Test, from December 4, at the Gabba in Brisbane, because of an injury and Virat Kohli will stand in for him.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
Wicketkeeper Kona Bharat has showcased his skills with the gloves and bat in the several games he has played for India 'A' in the past year or so and is close to selection in the Test team.
Yuvraj Singh says the thought of not being able to play for India again has crossed his mind and added that it will be very depressing if he fails to make a comeback into the Indian cricket team.
Despite just one bid and the sponsorship rights going for its base price, the Board of Control for Cricket in India expressed satisfaction with its deal with Star India Pvt Ltd and ESPN for all 13 home international fixtures till March 2014.
India's limited overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah is aware that bowling effective yorkers can't remain his only weapon at the highest level.
'Everything else runs because of the IPL, there is so much money involved so the IPL definitely needs to happen.'
Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul gave the selectors food for thought before the upcoming Australia tour, scoring a classy century which gave South Zone a vital first innings lead against Central Zone on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final, in Delhi, on Thursday. Replying to Central's first innings total of 276, South rode the opener's unbeaten 168 to end the day on 308 for three, a lead of 32 runs, at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary continued his blazing form in domestic competitions with a magnificent 151 that powered East Zone to a comfortable 52-run win over North in the Deodhar Trophy semi-final in Mumbai.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
'I think personally the home country should have the right to schedule matches as it sees fit and start them at whatever time of day they want'
The Australians, led by Steve Smith, arrived in Chennai from Bangladesh after drawing a two-Test series and the match tomorrow would give them opportunity to at least switch to the One-day format.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Ganguly said he is happy that India skipper Virat Kohli as well as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have agreed on a historic first at such a short notice.
'I was not sure whether such a big player would come to my house but he was quite happy to visit my place... which was just unbelievable!'
Sourav Ganguly will have his hands full during his nine-month tenure
'I am willing to help/assist in any way to help bring in a change. It's shocking to say the least that the payment system hasn't been changed since 2004. Imagine the value of 100 rupees then and now. It is so different' 'The guys can't even plan their future because they don't know whether they would earn Rs 1 lakh or Rs 10 lakh in that year and it leads to huge issues in their lives and families and (affects) state of mind. Anyway, let's try and gently make a change for our brothers'
Rahul was the only prominent batsman to miss out on a significant score in India's 358 all out on day two of the four-day tour game in Sydney.
'I know how to play and how to score runs; it is just that I am waiting for the opportunity. Whenever it comes, I will grab it with both hands.'
'I would have loved to see Dhoni play the first ever Test in Rajkot.' Fans from Saurashtra share their excitement with Haresh Pandya.
Going by the nature of the pitch on eve of the three-day game, senior player Ross Taylor said he does not expect the ball to turn much at Kotla, but is aware it won't be the case in the three-Test series, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
'The way they are playing, the bowlers we have, this is the best team in the world and I see them winning the World Test Championship.'
Wriddhiman Saha remained unfazed in his finest cricketing hour and said his twin half centuries against New Zealand in Kolkata carry 'more value' than his unbeaten 203 in the Irani Cup, perhaps one of his best knocks.
In a team that mostly includes aggressive stroke-players, the 22-year-old Rahul's fortitude makes him just the right choice. The fact that he played in Australian conditions in recent times, having opened for India 'A', will be an added advantage.
Ganguly convinced the Bangladesh Cricket Board to agree to a Day/Night Test just a few days before their team was to land in India.
