Under fire, Dhoni's men will look to plug all loopholes as the in-form Bangla tigers aim for a clean sweep
The career statistics of 15-member squad - overall, in India and against New Zealand.
Middle-order batsman Suresh Raina made a comeback to the team fold after the newly appointed senior selection committee announced their India squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Following is the list of players who have been released by the different franchises ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.
World number one India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in less than three days as New Zealand completed a 2-0 series sweep in the second Test, in Christchurch, on Monday. India were all out for 124 in their second innings to set New Zealand an easy target of 132 to win the match. The hosts cruised to victory, with openers Tom Latham (52) and Tom Blundell (55) both hitting half-centuries.
Buoyed by their crushing 157-run victory in the fourth Test at The Oval on Monday, a confident Indian team will seek to continue their winning momentum in the fifth and final Test against England at Manchester.
A few eyebrows may have been raised finding Umesh Yadav introduced into the attack in the 28th over but Indian team's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar termed it as a part of the plan knowing the Vidarbha speedster's ability to get reverse swing.
De Villiers was in quarantine for six days after arriving in the UAE and hit the nets after clearing three COVID-19 tests. The session was also attended by Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel and Gurkeerat Singh among others.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers that matter from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India at The Oval, on Thursday, September 2, 2021.
Kohli said it is imperative to think about the future teams.
Images from Day 5 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Sunday.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Sunday.
Senior India fast bowler Ishant Sharma on Saturday passed the fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and will now join the team in New Zealand for the two-match Test series starting on February 21. Ishant is expected to fly to Wellington for the first Test.
'The auctions were necessary up to a point, but now the time has come where continuity is very, very, important.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in another must-win Indian Premier League encounter
The Motera track may have received a lot of flak after the pink ball Test ended inside two days but it is unlikely to attract any severe sanctions from the game's governing body ICC with the pitch for the final game set to be a batting beauty.
The Indian team is fully focussed on winning the ongoing Test series in England but both skipper Virat Kohli and the BCCI mandarins are also discussing the roadmap for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be an acid test for the captain himself.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli on Saturday cut a specially customized cake kept by the hotel authorities as a part of celebration of India's upcoming historic '500th Test' against New Zealand starting at the Green Park on September 22. The New Zealand team will arrive on Monday.
Avesh Khan dismissed Dhoni and South Africa's Faf du Plessis for his two wickets during Delhi Capitals' seven-wicket win over CSK
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.
How do India and Australia's teams stack up? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Rohit Sharma's hopes of a Test comeback took a slight jolt as he was dismissed for a duck on the third and final day of the warm-up match between Board President's XI and South Africa.
The Indian pace attack has been talked up of late and to be fair, they have done a decent job in South Africa.
The big question is of bench strength and chances for the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav.
Pat Cummins blasted the quickest half-century in IPL history to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic five-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at the MCA stadium in Pune on Wednesday.
Shikhar Dhawan moved up 10 places to achieve a career-best 24 while teammates Murali Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja also moved up in the latest Test rankings.
IMAGES from the second One-Day International between India and New Zealand in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Dhoni's men will have to adapt to the conditions quickly to avoid any such hiccup in the play-offs.
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.
India's growing strength in depth in the pace department has given captain Virat Kohli the right kind of headache ahead of the tour of Australia.
Mayank Agarwal will make his debut in the Boxing Day Test.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.
India's top order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is down with flu and did not come out to field on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Four consecutive Tests involving the West Indies have ended in three days, notes Rajneesh Gupta.
With the series already in pocket, the Indian team management has decided to rest senior batsman Suresh Raina for the fifth and final ODI in Ranchi on Sunday.
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.
Virat, Ishant set to return for England series starting Feb 5 as selection for first two Tests takes place on Tuesday.
'Siraj, leader of the attack in his first Test series and he has led from the front.'
'Like MS Dhoni, I try to detach myself from the result and focus on small things, which I also refer to as process. And this helps in getting the desired outcome'
