Apurv Shukla – 
Black Caps carried building on their successful home summer of cricket by beating Bangladesh 2-0 in the recently concluded test series.
This followed convincing wins over the same opponents in One Day and T-20 matches. It was an underwhelming display by Bangladesh; especially considering that coming into this tour, they had won four of their last 10 tests and lost two.
The wins included beating England at home.
Gruelling contest
In what is sure to be a sell-out series, Australia follows Bangladesh for the three match Chappell-Hadlee contest.
Any sporting encounter between the Trans-Tasman rivals makes for riveting viewing and hence this series will be no different.
New Zealand at home will be a completely different team to the one that surrendered tamely to Australia in the last Chappell –Hadlee contest (3-0).
Rounding off the summer will be a visit from South Africa for a three test and five match one day series.
Proteas rebuild
The Proteas are in a rebuilding stage. New additions to the team like fast bowler Kagiso Rabada bode well, and pace bowler Vernon Philander is stepping up to take over the role of the leader of the bowling unit in the absence of an injured Dale Steyn.
This will be the first major overseas tour for the team under new test captain Faf du Plessis. Premier Batsman Ab De Villiers has decided to sit out the tour to manage his workload in the lead up to the next World Cup.
His absence will considerably weaken the South African batting line up.
Black Caps performance
This is an important season for the Black Caps.
A successful Cricket team helps the sport grow in the country.
It would encourage larger funding for grassroots cricket and attract youngsters to the game.
India under the new One-Day and T20 Captain Virat Kohli, carried its dominance over England from the tests to the One-Day series by winning 2-1.
The series created the record for most runs scored in a three-match bilateral contest. Maharashtra’s Kedar Jadhav enhanced his reputation as a champion finisher of the innings by winning the Man of the Series Award.
Australia, after the Chappell-Hadlee series travels to India for a four-match test series.
In a first for Australia, the selectors have picked four spinners for the tour.
Australia’s last outing to the subcontinent led to a 3-0 test series defeat to Sri Lanka in August last year.
The last time the team won a test in India was in 2004.
For Australia to be competitive in the series, Captain Steven Smith and the best batsman David Warner must perform better against the spin attacks of R Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja.
Adding to the international cricket scene is the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.
The coming months will offer cricket fans exciting games from around the world.
