Australia head coach Justin Langer on Wednesday hinted that the Indian Premier League could be responsible for the large number of injuries suffered by India in the ongoing four-match Test series.
Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
Kohli promoting Pandya ahead of Dhoni is an indication that the skipper is looking to use his former captain more as an accumulator -- in Javed Miandad mould who would rotate strike, frustrate bowlers and launch a furious counter-attack after getting his eye in.
It was history in the making as Quinton de Kock scored a century and shared a record opening stand with skipper K L Rahul.
Ahead of the three-match series, here's the schedule and key stats between the teams.
India will be hoping to put up an improved bowling show with their front line pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah back in action for the third ODI
'Since we cannot trust the net bowlers about their exposure to COVID, it would be ideal to go with a large contingent as we can be assured of all the players' safety as they will be in a bio-secure environment.'
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal shone with the ball as Rajasthan Royals finally won their first game of this IPL season after outclassing Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets in Jaipur on Tuesday.
'India's is fantastic; Bumrah and Shami have been amazing'
'Everyone in the contingent will be undergoing 14-day quarantine in India'
Former wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel said India have all the 'bases covered' for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, to be played in Southampton from June 18 to 22.
Kohli's deputy Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the final three Tests.
Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was dropped while India's medium pacer Bhuvaneswar was recalled to the 16-man squad for the next three Tests against England.
The bullet-riddled bodies of Ahmad and Ashraf were taken away from the spot as tension gripped the area after the sensational killing.
From Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma sharing the limelight with their raw talent, to SRH's Travis Head smashing some brutal boundaries to notch up big runs and totals for his franchise, this season has had some real power hitters on show.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand, starting on Friday?
The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly. The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.
Before the selectors meet again to finalise the squad, you can take on the role and pick 15 players from the 30-member probables list you feel are best to represent the country at the 2015 World Cup.
Australia were 221 for 4 at close of play, in response to India's 408, on Day 2 of the second Test at the Gabba, on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches played on Sunday.
Joe Root hit an unbeaten century as England beat India by 86 runs to level the three-match series at 1-1, in Lord's in London, on Saturday.
Mahela Jayawardene, back to his openers role blossomed with a sparking century to lead Sri Lanka to a convincing 161-run victory against India in the third match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Tuesday.
Pacers Umesh Umesh and Ishant Sharma shared four wickets between them in absence of injured R Aswhin as Essex batsmen made India toil hard by reaching 237 for five on the second day of the three-day practice game, in Chelmsford, on Thursday.
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.
The change in format may bring about some strategic shift in the playing eleven for India with captain Virat Kohli expected to open the innings.
With the second Test set to start on Wednesday, here is a quick fact check on how both teams stand at the Gabba.
The chinks in India's pace bowling armour were badly exposed in the three-match T20s against Australia.
Virat, Ishant set to return for England series starting Feb 5 as selection for first two Tests takes place on Tuesday.
Images from Day 3 of the second and final Test between Bangladesh and India in Dhaka, Mirpur on Saturday.
Former India pacer Rudra Pratap Singh believes the defending champions have found form at the right time and sent out a warning to other teams in the ICC World Cup.
It wasn't very difficult to read between the lines as to what he meant after Ravindra Jadeja was preferred in the West Indies.
India captain Virat Kohli chalked up his seventh double hundred in Tests before his pacers claimed a few early wickets to leave South Africa reeling, on Day 2, of the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
Former India pacer Paras Mhambrey, one of the brains behind India's highly-successful India 'A' and Under-19 team programmes, has applied for the position of the senior squad's bowling coach on Monday, BCCI sources revealed.
Putting up an all-round show, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their fourth position in the points table with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
India head into the third Test with momentum after dampening Australia's Christmas cheer with a dominant eight-wicket win in the second match in Melbourne.
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
Pakistani pacers have managed to subdue the rival batsmen en route to the Champions Trophy final but Gautam Gambhir does not see them posing any serious threat to Indian batsmen in the title clash on Sunday.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dominated with the ball for India while Virat Kohli ended his long wait for a Test century.
