Sachin Tendulkar has made an expected return to the Test team while VVS Laxman, despite his woeful run of form in the series against Australia, retains his place for the NZ series.
Indian batsmen, including Sachin Tendulkar, were pushed down the order in the latest ICC Test rankings following the 196-run bashing by England in the series opener at Lord's, on Monday.
VVS Laxman, who is recuperating from a back injury, has pulled out of Hyderabad's upcoming Ranji fixture against Bengal beginning at Eden Gardens from Saturday.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's mind wanders in several directions while he is batting but he manages to keep the focus by humming songs even when the bowler is running in from the other end.
Embattled batsman VVS Laxman has quashed talks of his impending retirement following his dismal performance in the ongoing Test series against Australia, saying that such reports were untrue.
Guptill wants to utilise his time facing Rashid Khan at the nets to prepare for the World Cup game against Afghanistan on June 8.
Lot of players can make it to the squad with some good performances in the upcoming IPL.
There might be growing criticism against Sachin Tendulkar after a string of poor performances but former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu feels the senior batsman's presence is crucial at a time when the team is going through a transitional phase.
India captain Virat Kohli has called for changes to the 'soft-signal' rule for outfield catches after team mate Suryakumar Yadav was controversially dismissed in Thursday's fourth T20 International against England.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram questioned if the Indian team has the bench strength to replace opening duo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag ahead of the England series at home.
Retired batsman VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy Group 'A' league match against a Punjab Cricket Association team in Mohali from November 2.
The IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad was relegated to the sidelines as cricket fans at the Wankhede stadium used the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of Mumbai's darling son Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 45 on Tuesday.
Middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh returned to the top tier of BCCI's contracted cricketers, while Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli were also promoted to Grade A in the new list announced on Saturday.
Mithali Raj joins England's Charlotte Edwards in the elite club
Fit-again Australian pacer James Pattinson believes India still boast of a "class batting line-up" despite the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and the visitors will have to work really hard to beat the hosts in their own backyard during the four-Test series.
He is one of the most successful Indian captain's. Now part of the BCCI cricket advisory committee alongside Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, Ganguly, 43, prefers to play with a straight bat to the team's response of Virat Kohli as Test captain and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the ODI leader.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli's exploits with the bat in the two-Test series sweep of New Zealand will encourage India to believe they have pinpointed the right men to help carry the team through a tricky transitional period.
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has paid tribute to Indian veteran VVS Laxman, who recently retired from international cricket, saying that the game will be poorer without one of the finest players of this generation.
India finally confront the tricky transition problem that has been on the horizon for quite some time when they launch the two-Test series against New Zealand this week.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid hoped that Sachin Tendulkar would continue to shoulder responsibility in his and VVS Laxman's absence during the upcoming India-New Zealand series beginning on August 23 in Hyderabad.
The discussion about Virat Kohli's position as No. 3 batter in T20 cricket is the proverbial elephant in the room but it is understood that BCCI may not address the issue till the end of the T20 World Cup.
India succumbed to its second successive overseas series whitewash on Saturday and the bulk of the blame should go to its famed batting line, which failed miserably in what has turned out to be a disastrous Test series against Australia.
Miffed with reports that its senior players were contemplating retirement after failing in the Test series loss to Australia, the Indian team management rejected the speculation as "baseless" and refused to answer queries on the matter.
Ian Bell's brilliant 159 allied to a sporting reprieve saw England into a commanding lead on the third day of the second Test against India at Trent Bridge.
Former Indian captains Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly slammed Michael Vaughan for kicking up the 'Vaseline controversy' unnecessarily, terming the comments by the ex-England skipper as "ridiculous" and aimed at a psychological game against the visitors.
The country's leading players, including Ravindra Jadeja and VVS Laxman, will go under the hammer in the players' auction for the fifth Indian Premier League in Bangalore on February 4. Besides Jadeja and Laxman, several other Indian and foreign cricketers will be up for grabs when proceedings begin at 11:00 IST at the ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel.
Ravindra Jadeja became the first Indian batsman and only the eighth in the first-class history to hit three triple-centuries as his career-best unbeaten 320 helped Saurashtra reach a mammoth 534 for six against Railways in a Ranji Trophy Group A match, in Rajkot on Sunday.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and his Mumbai counterpart Rohit Sharma are eyeing spots in the Indian middle-order which has opened up following the retirement of Test greats Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman even as they are focusing on their current jobs in the Ranji Trophy.
Just one Test into the four-match series against Australia and India are confronting the grim reality that they remain international cricket's slowest starters, especially on tour.
Having retired from international cricket only a few months back, VVS Laxman struck his 55th first-class ton to guide Hyderabad to 341 against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against Madhya Pradesh.
Veteran batsman VVS Laxman was the last to arrive at the optional nets this morning and was seen asking for new balls as the Indians practised throwdowns with old balls, in Canberra, on Saturday.
Is Bhuvneshwar going to be around for the T20 World Cup in 2024 with a sharp decline in his pace?
With international cricket returning to India, the second Test of the four-match series is the first time that fans have been allowed to attend, considering the ever-improving COVID-19 situation in the country.
Chahar also recorded the best bowling figures in a T20I match.
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has said the tourists were beaming with confidence in the wake of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's retirement and are eyeing to unsettle India's batting line up with an element of surprise in the two-Test series, starting in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Batting great Rahul Dravid, the second most prolific batsman in the game's history and India's middle order bulwark for years, on Friday, bid adieu to Test cricket, bringing down the curtains on a glorious 16-year career.
Sachin Tendulkar is all set to return to the Test arena after a break of two months but all eyes will be on another veteran VVS Laxman's future when selectors pick the squad in Mumbai on Friday for the two-match series against New Zealand starting August 23.
Dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Sri Lankan master batsman Mahela Jayawardene and R Vinay Kumar will attract top bids when 144 players from eleven countries go under the hammer in the IPL V auction in Bangalore on Saturday.
As many as 144 players, including Indian Test batsman VVS Laxman, pacer S Sreesanth and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, will go under the hammer at the players' auction for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on February 4.
