Ajit Agrkar, Maninder Singh top contender for chief selector's post

Former Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar is set to be the frontrunner to lead the 5-member panel of the selection committee of the Indian cricket team after he applied for a post of national selector. Agarkar had missed out earlier this year when vacancies opened up in the panel after the then chairman MSK Prasad and Gagan Khoda had completed their four-year-term in the selection panel reportedly due to a zonal policy which the BCCI had discarded on paper. However, he will be challenged by veteran left-arm spinner Maninder Singh who has played more Test matches than him.

Notably, there are four more contenders for posts in selection committee after former Indian left-arm spinner Maninder Singh, Chetan Sharma, Ranadeb Bose and Shiv Sunder Das have also thrown in their hats in the ring to be the part of a committee that has a role in shaping the future of Indian cricket and finding and backing new talents in the game.

There are three vacancies available in the selection committee which have been created by the departure of Sarandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjpe and Devang Gandhi after completion of their terms. The selection committee is currently headed by Sunil Joshi and his position as the chairman of the committee is on the brink as if either of Agarkar or Maninder will find their ways into the selection committee, one of them will lead the panel based on their longer Test career than that of Sunil Joshi.

Maninder Singh has played 33 Test matches which are highest among all the contenders followed by Ajit Agarkar who has played 26 Test matches while both Chetan Sharma and Shiv Sunder Das have played 23 matches each in the longest format of the game.

Sunil Joshi-led committee had picked the Indian squads for the tour of Australia and the next assignment is a bit far away as there is no certainty on the itinerary of the England tour of India and the BCCI has the time in its hands to decide how it wants to take forward the induction of newcomers into the selection committee.

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Nathan Lyon wary of Pujara-Rahane threat amidst Kohli’s absence

Australian spin talisman Nathan Lyon is disappointed that Indian captain Virat Kohli wouldn’t be a part of all four matches of the most anticipated Test series between the two nations. But at the same time, he is aware of the challenge that the Indian team can still put up with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the ranks. “It’s disappointing for the series. You want to play against the best players in the world,” Lyon told Fox Sports citing Kohli’s paternity leave which will see him leaving the Test series after the first of the four Tests in Adelaide for the birth of his and wife Anushka Sharma’s first child. “I believe he is the best player in the world along with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. It’s disappointing but they have still got superstars,” Lyon added. With 390 wickets in 96 Tests, Lyon is currently the highest wicket-taker among active spinners in the World. He believes that even after Kohli’s absence for the better part of the series, India are not to be taken lightly at all. “Look at Pujara, Rahane, and they have also got a couple of young guys coming in. It’s still going to be a massive challenge for us. Just because Virat’s not here doesn’t mean we get to hold the trophy up. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, a lot of homework to do,” he said. He has all the reasons to be buckling up and preparing hard as it was actually Cheteshwar Pujara who did most of the damage the last time India came touring for the four-match Test series and went away with a historic 2-1 victory. In that series, the 32-year-old Pujara scored 521 runs with three centuries and was the highest run-getter.

Won’t even think twice: Sean Abbott on batting up the order against India

Australian all-rounder Sean Abbott, who has been doing incredibly well in the Sheffield Shield this season, feels that he would not let go of any opportunity, be it batting up the order or getting wickets with the ball if he gets a chance to play against India in the upcoming Test series. "If there's an opportunity to bat higher up the order and the selectors and Painey [Tim Paine] think I can do that job, I won't even think twice about it. I'd definitely say... if a bowling spot came up, I'd be more in line for that one as opposed to someone who can bat at six or seven. But we'll have to wait and see,” he was quoted as saying in 7 news. Abbott hit his maiden first-class hundred playing for New South Wales against Tasmania during the current season of the Sheffield Shield. While he is averaging 130.5 with the bat in the current season, things weren’t always smooth for the Windsor born as he had to play majorly as a Night-Watchman during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. The 2019-20 Sheffield season saw his average improve drastically with Abbot consistently putting in the hard yards in the middle. Remembering those days, Abbott said, "I don't like losing, so every time I went out there and made a duck or not a big score, it really hurt.” “The work had always been done (but) I'd be lying if I said the motivation was always there. When I was asked to be a night watchman and batting at nine and 10, you almost just feel like going out there and start slogging so you can get to bowling,” he added. Abbott, who is also one of the leading wicket-taker in this year’s Shield with 14 already in the kitty in just three games including a six-wicket haul, credited his team New South Wales for backing him up. “I worked on my batting, I got better, I got some opportunities back up the order and scored some runs. I'm pretty fortunate that it worked out that way... they saw the way I was batting at training and they backed me in and believed in my ability to go back up the order," said Abbott.

Aus vs Ind: Tim Paine opens up on his relationship with Virat Kohli

Australia Test captain Tim Paine is not a fan of the on-field shenanigans of his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli was a talking point last time the two teams met together for a full series. In a recent interview with ABC Sport, the Australian described his relationship as something very complex where he loves to hate him and yet loves to watch him bat. "With Virat, it is a funny one, we love to hate him but we also love to watch him bat as cricket fans. He certainly is polarising in that type of scenario. We love watching him bat, but we don't like seeing him score too many runs," said Paine. Further throwing light on the on-field banters, the 35-year-old Tasmanian said that he really holds nothing for Kohli and he is as close to him as any other member of the Indian team. "He’s just another player to me it doesn't really bother me. There's not really a relationship there with him to be fair, I see him at the toss and play against him and that's about it," he said. Describing the on-field tensions between the two players, Paine said, "Australia and India, it's a heated competition and he's obviously a competitive person and so am I, so yeah there were a few occasions when we had words but that wasn't because he was the captain and I was the captain, it could have been anyone.” Saying that the intensity goes up when the best players in the world come out to the crease, Piane said he reacts in the same to Joe Root or Stokes as he does to Kohli. "There is always a bit more tension when a player is as good as he is, it's the same when you play against England, its Joe Root or a Ben Stokes," Paine said.

Mark Taylor bats for Puckovski, says he is ready for the big challenge

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor has backed emerging new talent Will Puckovski to play a big role in the Australia- India Test series. The 56-year-old said that instead of playing established opener Joe Burns, he would like to go ahead with a much younger but better-shaped batsman Puckovoski. "I would play Will Pucovski and leave Joe Burns out. Burns averages 38 in Test cricket he's been a solid player for Australia without being a great one," he said on Channel 9's 'Sports Sunday'. Calling him the batsman of the next decade, Taylor said, "Pucovski said he's ready - he's made two double hundreds. Pick him while he's in form. He has the potential to be a player for the next decade." Praising his openness to his mental health issues, Taylor said that it shows how strong he is and that would get him places. "He's been open and honest about it from the word go that wouldn't have been easy. In the sides I played in it would have been seen as a sign of weakness now it's seen as a sign of strength," he said. Batting at the top has helped the 22-year-old Moustache man and the former Aussie also agrees to it. "I like the fact Victorian coach Chris Rodgers has had a word to him about batting at the top of the order. He's done that, made two double hundreds,” he said. “His openness and his transparency with his mental health issues have really helped him, and I think has set a really good example for young sportspeople," Taylor added lauding Puckovoski. The Victorian batsman has indeed been sensational as he has scored two successive double hundreds in three-inning and is the leading run-scorer of the Sheffield shield while Joe Burns has given awfully dismal performances averaging just about 12 having scored 57 runs in five innings.