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Rohit Sharma Out Of SCG Test, Taskin Spell And BBL Update – January 2 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Rohit Sharma and Taskin Ahmed [Source: AP Photos,  @raisul_rifat88/x]Rohit Sharma and Taskin Ahmed [Source: AP Photos,  @raisul_rifat88/x]

Rohit Sharma pulled out of India’s playing XI for the impending SCG Test against Australia amidst his ongoing struggles as a leader and as a batter. In Bangladesh, senior fast bowler Taskin Ahmed recorded one of T20 cricket’s best bowling figures in history. Additionally, South Africa made some surprise omissions from its playing XI for their series-deciding Cape Town Test against Pakistan.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Thursday, January 2.

Jasprit Bumrah To Lead India As Rohit Sharma Pulls Out

Indian captain Rohit Sharma pulled out of his team’s playing XI for the impending fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test match against Australia at the SCG. The legendary Indian opening batter has managed to tally just 31 runs from five innings on the tour at a dismal average of 6.20. Under his leadership, the Indian team also crashed to two huge defeats at the Adelaide Oval and at the MCG, and escaped with a rain-marred draw in Brisbane.

In Rohit Sharma’s absence, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will serve as India’s captain at the SCG. The speedster previously led his national team in the opening Test of the tour at Perth’s Optus Stadium, where the visitors secured a historic 295-run victory.

Chris Lynn Goes Berserk Against Renegades

Adelaide Strikers opener and perennial T20 legend Chris Lynn went bonkers against Melbourne Renegades in a run-chase of 143 at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium in match number 20 of the BBL 2024-25 season. Earlier in the game, Strikers fast bowlers Henry Thornton (3-22), Jamie Overton (2-30) and spinner Lloyd Pope (2-34) restricted the Renegades to just 142-9 upfront.

In response, Lynn clattered 10 boundaries and four sixes in his 51-ball knock of 88 to make lightwork of Strikers’ run-chase. Lynn’s evening of batting mayhem ensured the Adelaide Strikers claimed an easy five-wicket win with nearly three overs to spare.

Taskin Ahmed Scales BPL Height With Record T20 Spell

Senior Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed registered one of the best bowling figures in T20 history, doing so for the Durbar Rajshahi against Dhaka Capitals in match number five of the BPL 2024-25 season. The speedster picked up seven Capitals wickets at an expense of just 19 runs from his four overs, to record BPL’s best bowling figures ever in a single innings. Moreover, Taskin’s spell also marks the third best bowling performance by any player in T20 cricket, finding himself only behind Colin Ackermann’s 7-18 and Syazrul Idrus’s 7-8.

The 29-year-old was fittingly declared the ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance after the Durbar Rajshahi cantered themselves to an easy seven-wicket win.

Corbin Bosch Dropped After Dream Debut Vs Pakistan

Cricket South Africa (CSA) unveiled South Africa’s playing XI for the upcoming second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan at the Newlands Cricket Ground. Interestingly, the South African team management dropped Corbin Bosch from the XI even though the speedster delivered a remarkable all-round performance on his debut last week.

Dane Paterson, who picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the series-opener, was also dropped from the playing XI as senior pros Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder made their respective returns to the team. The second Test between Pakistan and hosts South Africa will launch from January 3 in Cape Town.

Najmul Hossain Shanto To Step Down As Bangladesh Captain

Najmul Hossain Shanto stepped down as Bangladesh captain from T20Is. As per a Cricbuzz report, the senior Bangladeshi batter was not keen to lead his team in the truncated format for a while, and he even contemplated to step down as T20I skipper following the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA last year.