The retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin has opened the door for other spin all-rounders to step up, and Vidyut is confident that Washington Sundar could be the one to watch.
With an impressive blend of composure and aggression, Iyer has been a standout performer in the 50-over format, particularly against the Blackcaps.
It will also the first three-Test series between the countries since the West Indies tour of Australia in 2015-16.
One of the factors that contributed to the downfall of the Indian team was the shambolic batting display throughout the series. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja thoroughly underperformed.
'I think any captain who wants to lead from the front, they want to lead through performance as well, and that's what Temba's done exceptionally well.'
India's group match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday will be the first ICC Champions Trophy between the two teams in 25 years.
ICC chairperson Jay Shah has been inducted into the newly formed World Cricket Connects Advisory Board, an independent group that will discuss the future of cricket at the Lord's on June 7 and 8.
Travis Head impressed in Australia's 2023 tour of India showing his proficiency against spin
Pakistan completed a clean sweep of their One-day International series in South Africa with victory by 36 runs in the third and final clash at The Wanderers on Sunday.
Gambhir non-committal about Playing XI for Sydney Test
Pat Cummins said that the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch looks "nice and firm" with a "bit of grass coverage"
Yashasvi Jaiswal on Monday termed his maiden tour of Australia a learning experience and vowed to come back stronger
Jasprit Bumrah has been nominated for the ICC men's Player of the Month award for December 2024 after his standout performance against Australia.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
'I want him to get out there, smash it, try and win this Test match.'
Bumrah who would lead his side in the first Test, said that Team India are banking on self-belief and they are having the conversation in the team.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is all but ruled out of the Champions Trophy while fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is also a doubt for the tournament.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
Ajinkya Rahane, who was appointed KKR captain and led Mumbai into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals and scored 467 runs, said he would carry the confidence from domestic cricket into the upcoming edition of the IPL.
The ICC launched the WTC last year to lend context to bilateral Test series, giving the format its standalone showpiece like the World Cup in other formats.
South Africa have a chance of reaching the 2025 World Test Championship final but would likely have to win both Tests against Sri Lanka, and the two-match home series with Pakistan that includes Boxing Day and New Year fixtures.
Shubman Gill has gone past the 50-run mark just once in his last 11 innings, failing in three successive series -- against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.
Travis Head has been a thorn in India's side, hitting three centuries and two fifties in his last seven innings against them.
Bumrah's exclusion wasn't solely about workload management-his leadership potential played a crucial role in the decision. The BCCI has all but finalised him as India's next Test captain.
AB de Villiers feels the criticism that has come South Africa's way is unwarranted and they have rather done well to reach the WTC final despite experiencing "so many changes" in the last three to five years.
'But we'll savour this for a couple of hours at least and then it'll be recovery for the next few days.'
Steve Smith became the 15th member of Test cricket's 10,000-run club as he and opener Usman Khawaja smashed hundreds to help Australia rack up 330/2 on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
The tourists went to the close on 213 for one in their second innings, but still trail South Africa by 208 runs after they were forced to follow-on having been bowled out for 194 earlier in the day.
Both the stars were woefully out of form during the just-concluded Test series against Australia that the visitors lost 1-3 to surrender the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well as a spot in the World Test Championship final.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is on the cusp of making history after he went level with former spinner Bishan Singh Bedi for most wickets in an overseas Test series for India.
With Kohli and Rohit misfiring, the pressure has mounted on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and India's middle order to put the kind of scores on the board their bowlers can defend.
The push for a two-tier system gained traction following Australia's blockbuster series against India, which set attendance records.
Harbhajan Singh has strongly criticised the Indian team management for their handling of pacer Jasprit Bumrah
Shaheen Shah Afridi's Test future is under scrutiny after he was sidelined for the two-Test series against the West Indies at home.
'He is a brilliant player, the way he started in one-day cricket, he has been exceptional. He has been a huge part of India's success at top of the order.'
South Africa are within touching distance of a place in next June's World Test Championship final at Lord's but must win at least one of their two Tests against Pakistan
Australia's bowling was of the highest quality on the final day and there were positives in the batting, too, throughout the third Test in Melbourne.
South Africa have now won six successive Tests, starting with success in the West Indies in August and following it with two-Test series wins in Bangladesh and then home to Sri Lanka last month.
Proteas edge Pakistan to win thriller at Centurion
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