The in-form Virat Kohli was on Monday rested for the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, while Delhi's left-arm spinner Pawan Negi was a surprise inclusion for the three-match series.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is highly impressed with young Gujarat pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has given the Australian batsmen hard time during the limited overs series in Australia that concluded in Sydney on Sunday.
The International Cricket Council will issue all umpires with helmets in the upcoming World T20 tournament in India as part of a growing trend towards the increased safety of officials in the sport. The move comes on the back of two umpires being hospitalised in the past two months after being struck by deflected straight hits from batsmen. In December, Australian John Ward was hospitalised after being hit on the head during a Ranji Trophy match in India, while English umpire Richard Kettleborough received a nasty blow to the shin while officiating an ODI between Australia and India in Canberra on January 20, spending the night in hospital before being cleared to fly to Sydney for the following match.
India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said he is not intimidated by the Australian batsmen's strategy of attacking him as he has the ability to handle the onslaught and pick wickets as well.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
Outplayed in the ODIs, a faltering India will look to get the balance right as they eye redemption in a three-match Twenty20 series against Australia starting in Adelaide on Tuesday which also kicks off their build-up for the World T20 Championships in March-April.
'In the merry-go-round of Indian cricket, amid abhorrent match-fixing scandals and incessant politicking, Ravi Shastri is a multifaceted personality who, when called upon, can don any hat with ease.'
India might have been thoroughly outplayed in the ODI series in Australia, but former Australia batsman Dean Jones said the visitors will do much better in the three T20 Internationals as they have a balanced side, which was missing in the One-dayers.
India's bowling woes dominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni's assessment of the ODI debacle.
Manish Pandey struck his maiden one-day century in a high-scoring thriller to secure India a pride-salvaging six-wicket victory against Australia in the fifth and final ODI in Sydney on Saturday.
Former Australia batsman Dean Jones feels the standard of bowling in international cricket has touched an "all-time low", voicing his concern at a time when 300-plus totals have become the norm in One-Day Internationals.
A Canberra-based singer/song writer Jack Biilmann has paid a musical tribute to the late Phillip Hughes, releasing a track called 'Forever Unbeaten'.
Paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar will miss India's three-match Twenty20 series in Australia with a thumb injury and will be replaced by all-rounder Rishi Dhawan.
Swashbuckling Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell dismissed reports that he had criticised Virat Kohli, saying it is "completely untrue" and the Australian team is actually "in awe" of the India Test captain. Despite nursing a bruised tendon above his right knee and a sore left hamstring, which rendered him doubtful for the fifth and final ODI on Saturday, Maxwell on Friday took to social media to clear the air about the reports. "Taken out of context... I also complimented him (Kohli) on how well he had played and got his team into a winning position," Maxwell wrote on his twitter handle on Friday. Maxwell, who had hit 96 and 41 in the 3rd and 4th ODIs to help Australia clinch the series 4-0, also spoke to Cricket Australia to clarify his comments about Kohli.
Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell claimed Indian batsmen, including Virat Kohli, who has scored two centuries in the series so far, are 'milestone-driven'. Do you agree?
Battered and bruised after four successive defeats, India will make a last-gasp effort to avoid the embarrassment of being whitewashed by an unrelenting Australia when the two sides clash in the fifth and final One-Day International in Sydney, on Saturday.
India have not beaten Australia in any format since 2013. The tourists looked like ending that barren run when they were on 277 for one, chasing 349 for victory, only to lose their last nine wickets for 46 runs in Canberra.
The Canberra ODI saw the second part of the now famous Virat Kohli-James Faulkner good humoured banter bordering a sledge with the Indian superstar trying to upset the Australian all-rounder during another of his superlative innings. During the Melbourne match, when Faulkner tried to instigate Kohli, the Indian batsman's classic retort was "I have smashed you enough in my life. Go and bowl." In Canberra, Kohli started from where he left at MCG belting the left-armer for 29 runs off 16 deliveries that included four boundaries. But according to Australian newspaper 'Perth Now', when Faulkner missed a chance to run Kohli out, the Indian vice-captain did not miss an opportunity to ask the Aussie as to why was he "fast asleep". Two days back, Kohli while interacting with fans on Indian team's facebook page said, "The opposition has every right to use that as long as it doesn't cross the line. "And you have every right to reply as long as it doesn't cross the line again.
India has lost four matches in a row in the ongoing series Down Under but if Australian batting great Michael Hussey is to be believed, the visitors have not fared badly.
Pacer John Hastings has provided fill-up to Australia's ambitions of notching up a 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series against India, saying he is thriving on the extra responsibility following a few impressive performances. Hastings took the important wickets of centurion Shikhar Dhawan and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to play a key role in the home team's victory in the fourth ODI in Canberra yesterday, their fourth in a row. With his show in the Australian capital, Hastings has proved that leadership is something that comes naturally to him.
The eight innings in the ongoing Australia versus India has produced an unprecedented 2498 runs and Cricket Australia bosses have admitted that they are trying to ring in change to make all the pitches batting friendly. In all the four ODI matches, batsmen have had the upper hand with 671 runs being scored in the Canberra game - third most in an ODI played in Australia. "In an ideal world we've got some of the best fast bowlers in the world who like it hard, fast and bouncy and we're not getting that at the moment," CA's general manager of team performance Pat Howard was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Beleaguered Mahendra Singh Dhoni has found backing from former Australia cricketer Mike Hussey, who says the Indian captain was the most suitable to lead the team as he still has a lot of fire in his batting.
Australia's Glenn Maxwell is a doubtful starter for the fifth and final One-Day International against India to be played in Sydney on Saturday after the middle-order batsman injured his knee while batting in the fourth ODI.
'T20 isn't the killer. The T20 format is good for the game.' 'The majority of international cricketers still value Test cricket.'
Rajneesh Gupta has interesting numbers from the fourth ODI between India and Australia in Canberra. Check them out.
Australian pacer Kane Richardson, who grabbed a five-for felt that the dismissal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni proved to be a turning point as the home team recorded a 25-run win against India.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Wednesday called for harsh steps in the setup of the struggling Indian cricket team in Australia, saying some of the players have not learnt from their past mistakes despite making the trip Down Under multiple times. "We have to take harsh step after the series is done. I am not calling for a complete overhaul but there are players who have not learnt from their past mistakes. "There are players who have made 3-4 trips to Australia but they have not learnt from their mistakes. If we are looking at building a team for the 2019 World Cup, we need to blood some youngsters in," a disappointed Gavaskar told NDTV after an unexpected batting collapse pushed India 0-4 down in the five-match series. Gavaskar was more critical of the bowlers who let the team down and said dropping star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the second game in a row made little sense.
Paceman Kane Richardson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to script India's spectacular collapse and bowl Australia to a 25-run victory in the high-scoring fourth one day international on Wednesday. Three batsmen struck centuries in the 671-run match between the world's top two one-day teams but it was Richardson's (5-68) incisive bowling that clinched the contest, while also earning him the man-of-the-match award. Chasing 349 for victory, India were cruising at 277 for one before losing their last nine wickets for 46 runs to succumb to their fourth successive defeat in the five-match series. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (126) and Virat Kohli (106) featured in a 212-run stand for the visitors before the wheels came off India's chase at Canberra's Manuka Oval.
Taking full responsibility for the inexplicable collapse against Australia in the fourth ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he should have steered the team home after fluent centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
Images from the fourth One-Day International between Australia and India in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Star India batsman Ajinkya Rahane on Wednesday split the webbing of his right hand while fielding during the fourth One-Day International against Australia.
Australian pace legend Brett Lee on Wednesday heaped accolades on Virat Kohli, describing the swashbuckling Indian batsman as a legend whose aura is comparable to the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli notched up his second successive hundred, a 92-ball 106-run innings studded with 11 fours and a six, in the fourth and penultimate ODI against Australia and Lee doffed his hat to the Indian Test captain. "Hats off to Virat Kohli. He is a legend. He has been in terrific form. Where do you bowl to the great man, it is almost like Sachin Tendulkar when he used to come out to bat.
India's batsmen have gone about their job efficiently, posting big totals on the board but the bowlers have been ordinary at best, allowing the hosts to chase down those tall scores in each of the first three ODIs of the five-match series.
David Warner has said that the Indian top-order is in great shape, but chasing 300 hasn't been too tough so far in this series.
Team Director Ravi Shastri claimed the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side can certainly arrest the slide in the ODI series against Australia if the inexperienced bowling line-up learns from its mistakes.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels the team needs a 'brave' bunch of youngsters going forward.
Back in the Australian ODI fold after more than a year, off-spinner Nathan Lyon says he cannot wait to challenge the Indian batsmen in the fourth one-dayer in Canberra, a venue he knows inside out after being a part of Manuka Oval's ground staff. Life has come a full circle for the 28-year-old, whose work as a curator took him from Canberra to Adelaide, and he is looking forward to not only extend his eight-match ODI career but also make a foray on the international Twenty20 stage. "I have got the opportunity and I will perform. I am very grateful and thankful to the selectors for giving me the opportunity, but I am just looking to go out there and hopefully keep winning games for Australia," Lyon told reporters. "I am feeling confident. I have enjoyed my time at the Sydney Sixes. I had some good performances there. As a team we didn't do too well, but I was pretty happy personally with the way the ball was getting off the hand.
The One-day International series in their bag, Australian big-hitter Glenn Maxwell, on Sunday, said the hosts are 'desperate' to achieve a 5-0 whitewash against India.
Dashing Australian opener David Warner took to instagram to announce the birth of his second child, a daughter with wife Candice. The daughter has been named Indi Rae. Warner and Candice have a 16-month old daughter named Ivy Mae. The proud father posted pictures of the newborn Instagram along with the mother and elder daughter. "@candywarner1 and I welcomed beautiful little Indi Rae Warner into the world this morning. Mum was absolutely amazing. #prouddaddy," Warner posted.
Aus all-rounder James Faulkner says that the new Powerplay rule crucial to team's total