Buoyant Bangladesh will face a different ball game when they meet formidable India in the two-match home series, beginning in Chennai on Thursday.

On a spin-friendly pitch New Zealand face an emboldened Sri Lanka who last week ended a 10-year wait for a Test win in England.

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha labelled the current Test team the ‘most rounded’ Tigers’ squad and said the recent 2-0 series win over Pakistan gave them the confidence to be ‘competitive’ in the upcoming two-match Test series against India.

The ICC has lifted the total prize pool for the 2024 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set to take place next month in the UAE to an impressive $7,958,080 — more than double that of the 2023 edition.

Fresh from their first-ever Test series win over Pakistan, Bangladesh will chase more cricket history when they face India in Chennai from Thursday.

A 2-0 clean sweep of Pakistan has propelled Bangladesh into the top four and neck-deep in the running for a World Test Championship Final spot.

“Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Almighty Allah, I am excited to share that I've officially qualified as an ICC Level 3 coach,” Ashraful wrote on Facebook.

“I genuinely believe this is the best Test team I have seen from them [Bangladesh] for a very, very long time,” Bhogle said in a video posted on his Youtube channel today.

The three-match series finished level at 1-1 after Liam Livingstone's 87 helped England win the second T20 in Cardiff on Friday following Australia's commanding 28-run success in Wednesday's opener in Southampton.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed said he was thrilled by Bangladesh’s current pace attack in an impromptu press conference after the winning bonus handing over ceremony for the national team at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel today, going against the board’s own directive that there would be no media interaction at the event.

Morkel oversaw India’s practice session in Chennai before their opening game against Bangladesh on 19 September. The 39-year-old praised India’s background setup which benefitted from the presence of responsible senior players.

Bangladesh will go into the India Tests carrying over confidence from their recent away series win against Pakistan. However, the first Test in Chennai against the Asian giants is likely to serve up challenges that would test Bangladesh’s batting which showed signs of frailty even during the 2-0 sweep in Rawalpindi.

Afghanistan's adopted home ground at Greater Noida, on New Delhi's outskirts, has been hit by persistent rain, forcing officials to call the match off without even staging the toss.

Coaches and selectors believed that Jaker Ali’s call up for the India Tests was very well-deserved, saying his dedication and adaptability in crisis situation could be an asset for the team in the tough tour.

The 25-year-old leg-spinner missed the one-off Test against New Zealand in India, which is likely to be washed out after four days of rain delays, because of medical advice to rest his back.

"It was a nice start," said player-of-the-match Head at the presentation ceremony, adding: "For me it was about using the pace well which I think I did."

Smith has been a rock in Australia's middle-order for more than a decade, but was moved up to an unfamiliar role at the top alongside Usman Khawaja with mixed success when fellow veteran David Warner retired from Test cricket at the start of the year.

The one-off Test at Afghanistan's adopted home near India's capital New Delhi was supposed to start on Monday but the toss is yet to take place because of rain and the poor condition of the Greater Noida ground.

Bangladesh’s latest pace sensation Nahid Rana said that although he admires all the pacers of the national team, he emulates none and wants to remain as himself in international cricket.

The opening day of the Test at Afghanistan's adopted home ground at Greater Noida was called off on Monday because of a wet outfield. Despite a sunny morning, the outfield remains damp following 10 days of rain.