Kohli will end up captaining more than any other skipper in history of the game: Bangar

Steve Smith laments sub-continent tours as physically, mentally & emotionally challenging

Former Australia captain Steve Smith has said that he is looking forward to the upcoming Test fixtures which include Ashes and sub-continent tours. The right-handed batsman further added that the sub-continent tours test a player mentally, emotionally and physically. "I have had a look at the Future Tours Programme and it is pretty hectic, so there is plenty to look forward to, obviously including the Ashes and then tours to the subcontinent which, particularly in Test cricket, they challenge you physically, mentally and emotionally. They are great tours to be involved in and really test you as a player. I am certainly looking forward to those," Smith told cricket.com.au. Talking about the World Test Championship, Smith lauded the idea and also expressed his disappointment on failing to make it through to the final. Australia suffered a 2-1 defeat in the four-match series against India at home. "I think (the WTC) is a pretty cool concept - to have more relevance in every game you play, I think is great. We were obviously very disappointed not to be in the final, and over the last couple of years we talked about it being our focus of where we wanted to get to, but we fell short. So we have got some work to do as a team to give ourselves the best chance to be there next time," he added. Smith who is recovering from elbow injury had earlier opted out of West Indies tour and could skip the World T20 as well to be fit for the Ashes series.

Saba Karim surprised at Shubman Gill 'hiding' his injury, backs Mayank Agarwal against England

Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has expressed surprise over the extent of Shubman Gill’s leg injury that would well rule him out of the entire series against England. He suggested that Gill hid his injury and travelled to the United Kingdom despite being injured which should not have been the case in the first place. “I was surprised to see Shubman Gill hide his injury. He has been travelling for a long time with the Indian team. There are physios and other medical staff tracking the fitness of the players. It’s very surprising in the first place, how it happened and why it didn’t come up earlier,” Karim said. Gill’s absence from the side will open the door for Mayank Agarwal, who he said has been treated in a ‘harsh’ manner after a handful of failures against Australia. He has thrown his weight behind Agarwal’s candidature for the series against England if Gill misses out. “Mayank should be given preference. We have been harsh towards Mayank. He was sidelined after just 2-3 failed innings,” he added. Shubman Gill has suffered a stress fracture in his leg and would need rest for a minimum period of six weeks and it could well rule him out of the five-match series starting in the first week of August.

Kapil Dev rejects idea of addition in Test squad, asks Kohli- Shastri to respect selectors, players

India’s world-cup winning captain Kapil Dev has outrightly rejected the idea of another opener in the Indian squad for the upcoming Test series against England as was reported by TOI. Giving his opinion of ABP News Kapil Dev asserted that the team management that includes the skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri must have given ‘these are the players we need’ opinions to selectors, and hence theory of an extra opener is demeaning one for the selectors. He also pointed out that the squad already possess two ‘big’ openers in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and hence India’s search for another option does not seem to be the right move. "I don't think there is any need for it. There should be some respect for the selectors too. They have picked a team and I'm sure it wouldn't have happened without their (Shastri and Kohli) consultation. I mean, you have two such big opening batsmen in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Do you really need a third option? I don't think it's right," Kapil said on the 'Wah Cricket' show on ABP News. "I want that the captain and the management should have a say, but not at the expense of over-ruling the selectors and say that 'these are the players we need'. In that case, we don't even need selectors. I am feeling a bit odd knowing that something like this has happened because if it has, it demeans the selectors and their role," he said. The conundrum over India’s opener for England Test developed after Shubman Gill developed a stress fracture in his leg that may well force him out of the entire series. Earlier this week, TOI reported that the team management is eager to get Prithvi Shaw back in the squad in England after the series in Sri Lanka although they have Abhimanyu Easwaran in the ranks as well.

Seven Bangladesh players to miss part of LPL

Seven Bangladesh players who are in the draft of the Lanka Premier league won’t be available for the initial phase of the competition due to national duties. The tournament is slated to be played between July 30 to August 22 while Bangladesh are scheduled to host Australia for a five-match series between August 2 to August 8 which will be followed by series against New Zealand and England at home. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar are the players in the LPL draft. ''They (Bangladeshi cricketers) will not be available from the beginning of LPL as we have series against Australia,'' BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan confirmed Cricbuzz on Saturday. ''We also have other series lined up but in between, we have some time and they can go at that point and play in the LPL,'' he said. Akram further added that the above mentioned players have said that they are available for selection across all formats. ''All the cricketers are ready to take part across format and they have informed national duty is their first preference,'' said Akram. ''They have said that if they are picked and if they can manage to have time to play in LPL they will play there but not at the expense of skipping any national duty,'' he said.