Fresh after claiming the number one Test spot, India can narrow the gap with ODI table-topper Australia if they win the one day series against Sri Lanka but they also risk going down the list if they lose the five-match series starting in Rajkot on Tuesday.
In the individual rankings, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has to perform very well to defend the number-one spot in batting list while Yuvraj Singh can return to the top-three and Virender Sehwag can regain a top 10 spot with some stellar performance in the series. (more…)
Former Australian captain and leading commentator Ian Chappell has said India don’t have the resources to retain their No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for a long enough period to emulate Australia and the great West Indies teams of the past. Chappell said that India’s batting alone will not sustain them and to do so, they will have to unearth a couple of champion bowlers.
Looking to make up for their fielding lapses in Nagpur, the Indian team, which takes on Sri Lanka in the second and final Twenty20 International here on Saturday, toiled hard on Friday with some new drills included in their practice session.
Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun and Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha have been included in the 15-man squad for the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur on February 6. Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath has also been called up to bolster a team that lost Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to injuries sustained in Bangladesh.