Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has apologised to the nation for the team's failure in the World Cup quarter-final against Australia.
Struggling teams Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab take on each other in an Indian Premier League match in Mohali on Sunday as they desperately seek to get back to winning ways to stay in the hunt for a play-offs berth.
India's winning streak of eight successive bilateral series is a new record for the Men in Blue.
Hashim Amla notched his 20th Test century but three wickets for 34-year-old debutant Zulfiqar Babar allowed Pakistan to restrict South Africa to 245 for eight on the opening day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Dhoni returns to the Indian dressing room after three months and for him the series will be start of the preparation for next year's World Twenty20, that will be hosted by India.
South Africa have now lost five Tests in a row, including two shock home losses to Sri Lanka, and are struggling with on-field know-how to dig themselves out of tough situations.
Faf du Plessis scored his fourth test century but rain ruined the morning session as South Africa went to lunch on 289 for three on day two of the second Test against West Indies at St George's Park on Saturday.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
Openers AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla broke the backs of English bowlers, blasting a 125-run opening stand to beat England by 9 wickets in the 2nd T20 International at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Debutant Aiden Markram suffered a horror run out just three runs shy of a century as South Africa amassed 298 for one on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday.
South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has now reportedly turned the tables on the visitors by claiming that something was amiss about the ball reversing so early on the third day of the decisive third Test at Newlands.
Eighteen wickets fell on the second day, the most at this ground since 1914
Images from the World Cup match between South Africa and Zimbabwe at Hamilton, New Zealand.
Statistical highlights of a Group B ODI match of the ICC Champions Trophy between Pakistan and South Africa in Birmingham on Monday night.
Virat Kohli enters the three match ODI series against Bangladesh starting on Wednesday as the highest-ranked batsman on either side, in fourth place in the ICC rankings.
India have accumulated 122 points on the back of series wins over Australia and New Zealand and are placed behind England.
The Indian Premier League Players' Auction auctions are always 'tricky' and going unsold does not make him feel frustrated, reveals Cheteshwar Pujara as he fights the public perception of being a red-ball specialist.
South Africa need seven more wickets to win the third Test at the Wanderers and sweep the series after Pakistan were 153 for three wickets at the close of play on Sunday, still 228 runs short of a daunting winning target.
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
Two Indian batsmen are now in the top five of the ICC ODI rankings, with Virat Kohli remaining at number three and opener Shikhar Dhawan climbing up the ladder to fifth after earning four places in the latest list issued on Wednesday.
Uncapped spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were named in South Africa's squad for next month's three-match test series in Australia on Monday as the Proteas seek to exploit a perceived weaknesses in their hosts' batting. Faf du Plessis will again captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers after leading the side in the two-test series against New Zealand last month, which they won 1-0. "Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful under Australian conditions and against the test batsmen we are likely to face," selector Linda Zondi said in a statement.
Yuvraj Singh and Hashim Amla will be the star attractions in the Indian Premier League 8 auction, which will see quite a few Indian and international players go under the hammer in Bengaluru on Monday.
With four days lost in the drawn second Test, South Africa captain Hashim Amla candidly admitted that he is unable to find many positives from the rain-truncated game apart from AB de Villiers's knock of 85 in his 100th game.
Seamers Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell wreaked early havoc to set the platform for an easy South African victory in the third and final one-day International against England at Lords' on Monday.
For a visiting cricketer, an India tour conjures up the image of a batsman surrounded by a shoal of fielders and facing relentless spin from both ends and South Africa should not expect anything different in the four-test series starting on Thursday.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo said that a couple of crucial partnerships and performance of the spinners were the key to India's success in the fourth One-Day International in Chennai.
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Thursday.
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the South Africa Test squad for the day-night four-day Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.
Outstanding centuries from Quinton de Kock and captain AB de Villiers helped South Africa coast to a series-clinching 82-run win over Sri Lanka in the third and final one-day international on Saturday.
'We are known as a team who starts slow, so this time around we have to start well. There is a lot of pressure on players, (but then) it's international cricket and you want to keep it that way.'
South Africa recalled hard-hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel on Monday in their squad for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh starting next month.
A century from Hashim Amla laid the foundation for home success on Wednesday as South Africa beat New Zealand by 20 runs to win their opening one-day international at Centurion.
"It was tough up front, the Sri Lanka bowlers didn't give us much to work with," Markram told reporters.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn took four wickets as South Africa seized control of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Day 2 and went to the close on 126 for four, an overall second innings lead of 170 runs.
Kallis had earlier said that not entering the tournament as favourites could work in South Africa's favour.
The Proteas have been named Team of the Year at the 2013 South African Sports Awards function at Sun City.
Former South Africa coach Gary Kirsten is to make a surprise return to the national team just months after he resigned by rejoining as a "batting mentor," Cricket South Africa said.
Having regained his form with two unbeaten knocks in the league stage of the cricket World Cup, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gained two spots to be placed eight in the latest ICC batting rankings.