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David Warner To Miss Last Odi T20 Series Likely To Play In Test Series

David Warner to miss last ODI, T20 series, likely to play in Test series

Australia suffered a big blow for their upcoming T20I series against India when their ace opening batsman David Warner was ruled out of that bilateral event. The left-handed batsman had to limp off the field during India's innings in the second ODI against India played at the Sydney Cricket Ground after sustaining a groin strain.

Since the ODI series has already been won by the Aussies, his absence in the third and final match of the series won't be such a big issue. However, the home team would be desperately hoping for the prolific run-scorer to get fit before the all-important Test series against India begins on December 17.

D'Arcy Short, a highly-talented left-handed opening batsman who has made a big splash in the Big Bash League, has been drafted into the Aussie squad to replace Warner. Short has played international cricket but hasn't been able to pin down his place in the team. He gets another chance to make his case for a place in the team for shorter formats.

Apart from Warner, pacer Pat Cummins is also set to miss the last ODI against India, in his case to get some well-deserved rest before the key Test series. This match will be played on December 2 at Canberra. With the match being part of the ICC World Cup Super League, the match is more than a dead rubber. Warner, who got two fifties in the first two games, would have been a key player if fit.

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World Test Championship could be scrapped, ICC Chairman hints

The new chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC), Greg Barclays, has expressed his disappointment with the way World Test Championship (WTC) has had to be conducted. He candidly told journalists in a press conference that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely damaged the value of the ongoing Test tournament. Answering a specific question about whether the WTC has achieved the intended goal of making Test cricket more appealing, Barclays answered, "In short, I don’t think so. The COVID has probably highlighted its shortcomings of the championship." The chairman further added that: "The issues that we have already got, I wonder whether some of it was because of an attempt to develop a Test Championship, clearly designed to drive interest back into Test cricket, provide a bit of context and relevance around the Test matches. "From an idealist’s point of view, probably it had a lot of merit but practically, I do disagree, I am not sure whether it has achieved what it intended to do." The WTC began last year and was progressing as per the schedule but then COVID-19 threw the calendar into a muddle. As a result, many of the bilateral series that teams had to play can no longer take place before the date of the final, set to take place at Lord's Cricket Ground next year. ICC had to change the rules of the tournament in order to accomodate the altered circumstances. What is even more ominous is the fact that the ICC chairman dropped a hint of actually scrapping the tournament altogether after the first edition gets finished. "My personal view is let’s get through with the little bit that we can in this COVID-19, with reallocation of points and all that. But once we have done that, let’s go back to the drawing board as I am not quite sure whether it (WTC) entirely fits the purpose and has achieved what it intended to after being conceptualised four to five years back," Barclays commented. The new chairman discussed several other issues like making changes to the cricket calendar, providing context to bilateral series, and handling T20 leagues around the world. Now, at the helm, he will have to face all these issues head-on.

Don’t think Kohli is under any captaincy pressure: Harbhajan Singh

Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that he doesn’t think that Virat Kohli is under any sort of pressure as far as captaincy is concerned. “I don’t think Kohli is under any kind of pressure with captaincy, don’t think it’s a burden for him. I think he enjoys those challenges,” he said. “He is a leader, who leads from the front and sets an example for the team to do the needful; for the team to win games,” the Punjab man added after Team India’s consecutive loss at the hands of hosts Australia. With this loss in Sydney, the Aussies attained an unassailable lead in the three-match series before the third and final game in Canberra. Refraining from any comments on Rohit Sharma as potential captain, 36-year-old Bhajji, however, hinted that these two are the ones leading Team India. “One guy cannot win you the game. As I said, even after the World Cup, you know you have Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, standing and taking the team forward and scoring most of the runs,” Bhajji explained. Rohit is being touted as the next captain after Kohli has now had his second ODI series loss in a row, not to mention how his IPL team’s performance is also playing a part in pushing the issue.

If Kohli won IPL instead of Rohit, captaincy woulnd't be an issue : Nehra

Former India bowler Ashish Nehra believes that if Indian captain Virat Kohli would have won the Indian Premier League as captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, then all the talk regarding the change in the captaincy of the Indian team would have been shunned. Speaking on a cricket website’s talk show, Nehra, in a reply to a viewer’s question whether Indian should ask Virat Kohli to leave captaincy and focus on his batting, said, “All the time people come up with Rohit Sharma’s name as an alternative. I say, had RCB won the last two IPLs instead of Mumbai Indians, would people have still wanted a captaincy change, the answer is simple, and it’s a ‘no’.” The Delhi cricketer, who represented India in a total of 164 international games and took 235 wickets, further said, “Even if BCCI or selectors want to make Rohit Sharma the captain, then they should do it till 2023 World Cup. It can’t happen that you make Roghit the T20 captain and then ask Virat to captain the ODI and Tests team.” With India losing the last game against Australia in Sydney, it was the team’s fifth consecutive ODI loss and the second consecutive series loss after England. It is this very reason that has cropped up the captaincy talk once again.

England in SA: Supporting cast turn showstoppers in South Africa's near-glory vigil

Battered and bruised, South Africa's warriors will curl into their beds tonight with a bittersweet feeling of 'so near, yet so far.'