Virat Kohli and Shaheen Afridi [Source: @Johns, @BDCricTime/x]
Several Indian cricket players, including Virat Kohli, were heckled by an unruly crowd in Adelaide during a training session. In other part of the world, the Indian Under-19 team compensated for their opening defeat to Pakistan by crushing UAE to qualify for the 2024 Under-19 Asia Cup semifinals.
Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest news that emerged out of Wednesday, December 4.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Heckled By Fans During Training
Senior Indian batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were heckled by disorderly fans during a training session at the Adelaide Oval. Prepping themselves for the upcoming second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia, several Indian cricketers reported misbehaviour from who turned up to watch the session at the venue.
A BCCI official confirmed that nearly 3,000 fans attended the Indian training session in Adelaide. The official stated that some fans hurled down unwanted comments towards the likes of Kohli and Sharma, and players even got to risk of getting mobbed by the spectators at one stage. The incident has prompted Cricket Australia to organise India’s next nets training session behind closed doors.
Harbhajan Singh Confirms Rift With MS Dhoni
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has confirmed that he has not spoken with ex-skipper MS Dhoni in over a decade. The former Indian teammates, who last shared the national dressing room back in 2015, also turned up for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in IPL in 2018 and 2019. However, Harbhajan confirmed that the two cricketers only engaged in any conversation during their time at the field in CSK games.
During an interview with News18, Harbhajan Singh revealed that he has nothing against MS Dhoni, and he is open to a conversation if the former Indian skipper makes a move.
India Under-19 Qualify For Asia Cup Semis
The Indian Under-19 team crushed hosts UAE in their final Group A match of the 2024 Under-19 Asia Cup in Sharjah to qualify for the semifinals. New ball pacemen Yudhajit Guha (3-15), Chetan Sharma (2-27) and left-arm spinner Hardik Raj (2-28) picked up seven wickets between them to restrict UAE to just 137 in 44 overs after home captain Aayan Afzal Khan won the toss and opted to bat first.
In pursuit of 138, Indian Under-19 openers Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi unleashed blazing half-centuries during their unbroken stand to seal a 10-wicket victory in just 16.1 overs. The outcome ensured the ‘Boys in Blue’ finish at number two on the Group A points table, and will now go up against Sri Lanka in the second semifinal on December 6.
Temba Bavuma Goes Past Virat Kohli In ICC Rankings
South African captain Temba Bavuma soared past Indian cricketing icon Virat Kohli on the latest ICC rankings for batting in Tests. Bavuma plundered scores of 70 and 113 during South Africa’s clinical 233-run routing of the visiting Sri Lankan team in Durban last week.
Bavuma now occupies number ten position on the latest ICC charts among Test batters while Virat Kohli lost a rung to slip to number 15, even though the latter smacked a match-winning ton against Australia a couple of weeks ago in Perth.
Shaheen Afridi Dropped For South Africa Tests
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped seasoned paceman Shaheen Afridi from the Pakistan team for their upcoming two-match Test trip to South Africa. Afridi, however, did found a spot in Pakistan’s ODI and T20I teams for the tour. It is worth nothing that the prolific fast bowler was also dropped from the Pakistan team during their recently-concluded Test series against England at home.
The ‘Men in Green’ are scheduled to play a series of three T20Is, three ODIs and two WTC Test matches in South Africa between December 10 and January 7.