Shadab Khan ruled out of first Test against New Zealand

Pakistan's woes ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in the upcoming two-match Test series, begining on Boxing Day at Mount Maunganui, continue to grow. After the unavailability of their premier batsman and captain Babar Azam, as well as that of opener Imam-ul-Haq, now leg-spinner Shadab Khan has also been ruled out of the opening Test.

In his absence, Zafar Gohar, a left-arm spinner has been called up as his replacement. Pakistan have four fast bowlers and two spinners in their squad for the first Test. As a result, while Babar's absence is bound to hurt the team greatly, that of Imam and Shadab is less certain to have an impact.

Yasir Shah is bound to be a part of the starting XI. Hence, Shadab was unlikely to get into the team. However, the batting abilities of the young leggie might have given the team the temptation of picking him as an all-rounder.

So far, Shadab has played six Tests but has only managed 14 wickets, at an average and strike-rate of 36.64 and 68.1 respectively. The modest stats of the 22-year old are another reason why he was never a certainty in the final XI.

Gohar has played 39 first-class matches in which he has picked up 144 wickets at an average of 28.56 and strike rate of 60. His international career consists of just one ODI. Despite being selected for the Test squad, it would, in all probability, take an unforeseen sequence of events for him to make his Test debut.

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Seifert and Southee rise high in T20 rankings, Malan and Rashid remain atop

The International Cricket Council (ICC) released its latest T20I rankings. The biggest movers in the last period of calculation have been two New Zealanders - Tim Seifert and Tim Southee. This shooting up of these players position in the points table is the result of their performances in the recently-concluded three-match T20 series the Kiwis and Pakistan. Seifert, the opening batsman, scored 176 runs in the three matches against Pakistan and was named Man of the Series. This effort has helped him go up an astonishing 24 positions to break into the top-10 and occupy the ninth position. Southee, one of the most skillful bowlers in world cricket today, also made a big jump. He entered the top-10 again thanks to his six wickets in the three games against Pakistan. He now is at seventh in the rankings. Dawid Malan, who batted brilliantly in the last series for his team, continues as the top batsman in T20I cricket. He has attained his all-time high rating of 915 points. At no. 2 is Babar Azam, trailing by 95 points, at 820. Just trailing the Pakistan captain is India's KL Rahul with 816 rating points. Despite his stellar performance for Pakistan against New Zealand, Mohammad Hafeez is only at 33, up by 14 places. Among bowlers, the top ranked player is Rashid Khan, with 736 points. These are not the highest rating points he has achieved though. He had 816 points in 2018. The second-placed bowler is also an Afghan - Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. He is just six points behind his senior compatriot. At third is another spinner - Adil Rashid of England. He has exactly 700 points. In fact, all the bowlers in the top-6 of rankings are spinners. Southee is the highest-ranked seamer at no. 7. The best all-rounder, according to the rankings, is Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi. Shakib Al Hasan and Glenn Maxwell are at the second and third position respectively.

Keegan Petersen, Beuran Hendricks out from SA squad for not entering bio-bubble

In the ongoing saga of South African cricket team's struggles with COVID-19 infections, the latest episode involves Beuran Hendricks and Keegan Petersen being withdrawn from the Proteas squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka as the two men failed to enter the bio-bubble created for the players ahead of the first match. The squad, which initially consisted of 19 players has now been reduced to 17. The remaining players have gone through three stages of testing and have all been found negative for the dreaded infection. This means the bio-bubble is secure. To keep it that way, no further additions will be made to the group. This exclusion is a big blow for Hendricks. A talented left-arm seamer who has been on the fringes of the national side for years, he finally made his Test debut during the last home season for his team, against England a Johannesburg, and managed to grab a five-for in the second innings. With Kagiso Rabada missing in action due to an injury, his place in the team was almost certain. Having squandered this opportunity, he now will yield his place to someone among a list of new names - Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, or Migael Pretorius. This would be a big blow for him. Petersen would be even more dejected by his failure to get into the bubble in time. South Africa have a vacancy in their middle order and he could have easily filled it. He too would make way for a new name, if South Africa go for a seven-men batting line-up. Otherwise, with Quinton de Kock batting at no. 6, the Proteas may be happy to play with a five-man bowling attack. The first Test of the two-match series begins on Boxing Day at Centurion. The secon Test would be played at Johannesburg, begining on January 3. Cricket South Africa have already suffered due to lax COVID protocols. The tour of England to South Africa had to be cut-short and the ODI series fully postponed due to players in the home team testing positive. The administrators wouldn't like any further cancellations this season.

David Warner won't play in Boxing Day Test against India

Despite all the hope and hype to the contrary, Australia's ace opening batsman David Warner won't be able to play in the upcoming Boxing Day Test match against India as he hasn't fully recovered from the groin injury he suffered during an ODI against India last month. The state of Warner's injury may have been a redundant issue anyway as the protocols in place for preventing the spread of COVID would have prevented the left-handed batsman from joining the Aussie squad in the bio-bubble anyway. In Warner's absence, Australia have declared an unchanged squad for the second Test and the team management and selectors have been rid, for the time being, the trouble of having to pick who will be the unlucky player to miss out from the playing XI after their comprehensive win over India in the first Test at Adelaide. In the absence of Warner, the Australians opted for the opening pair of Joe Burns and Matthew Wade. While both the batsmen failed in the first innings, they were able to put up a very impressive 70-run partnership in the second innings which smoothed the path for the team's victory in the match. Burns, who brought up his fifty by hook shot for six, off the last ball of the match, was certain to open. That left a difficult choice for the home team. In order to accomodate Warner, they would have had to drop either Wade or Cameron Green. Both would have been considered unfortunate if the axe fell of them. Along with Warner, seamer Sean Abbott has also not been cleared to join his team in the bio-bubble. His absence though, would not be felt since Australia's first-choice and very successful bowling attack is in top form and does not need any tinkering.

Ashwin: A rolling stone which does gather moss

India's premier off-break thrives in a constant state of evolution and his wizardry in the first Test against Australia was a testament to the fact.