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Aus vs Ind: Rohit Sharma says he always wanted to be part of only the Tests

Star Indian batsman and a record five times IPL winning captain Rohit Sharma has cleared the air around his selection for the Australia tour. He has said that he injured his hamstring during the IPL and therefore decided against participating in the limited-overs format as too many matches were to be played in too little a time. “I didn't go to Australia for the white-ball leg as there are back-to-back games. Around 6 games in 11 days," he said, on the upcoming ODI and Twenty20 series. So I thought if I get to work on my body for 25 days, I can probably go and play the Test matches,” he said. Further, he said that that it was an easy decision for him, but really didn’t know why it became so complicated for others. The 33-year-old informed that his ‘Hamstring is feeling absolutely fine’ but some work was still needed to be done. “Of course, there is still some work that needs to be done on it,” he said. Admitting that he remained in constant communication with the BCCI throughout his injury in the IPL, Rohit said, “I don't know what was going on, to be honest, and what all were people talking about. But let me put this on record, I was constantly communicating with BCCI and Mumbai Indians.” Soon after being not named in any team for the Australian tour citing his medical conditions, Rohit was seen practicing in a video released by Mumbai Indians. That created uproar and a sea of rumors flooded the social media on how the Indian selection panel wasn’t transparent in its approach. Reacting to this, Rohit who scored a match-winning 68 in the finals of the IPL said, "I told them (Mumbai Indians) that I can take the field (during the Playoffs) since it is the shortest format and I will be able to manage the situation quite nicely. Once I made my mind clear, it was all about focusing on what I needed to do.”

I was disappointed: Suryakumar Yadav on India snub

Suryakumar Yadav, the prolific run hitter from Mumbai who showed what things he is capable of doing with the bat in this season’s Indian Premier League admitted that he was totally disappointed after not being able to find his name in the Indian squad bound for Australia. “Frankly, I was expecting to be selected this time. I was a bit disappointed when I found my name missing. I couldn’t even train that day and it was difficult to take my mind off from that dejection. Even Rohit (Sharma) asked me if I was disappointed and I told him I was,” the 30-year old told Hindustan Times. However, he is hopeful that if he keeps on performing there is no doubt that he will get a national call-up soon. “But never mind. I will wait for my chances. There is a lot of time to show my cricket abilities and make my case stronger for a national call-up. I hope I can score big in domestic games and then do well in the next IPL to catch the attention of the selectors,” Yadav, who became the first uncapped player to hit 2000 runs in IPL history said. Apart from his performances, Yadav also came into the limelight for his banter with Indian captain Virat Kohli during a match between his Mumbai Indians and Virat’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. In that game, the top-order batsman hit 79 of 43 balls to take his team to victory in an encounter which was crucial for both teams. But during his innings, Kohli tried to bully him with his overpowering attitude, to which Yadav reacted in an even powerful manner after getting his team to the victory. However, the Mumbai man said that it was all on the field and both the players laughed it off, afterward. “It was all very instinctive. Virat Kohli is a huge cricketing figure and he plays the game very aggressively. It was an important game for both teams and whatever happened, it did during the game. After the game, we laughed about it and he congratulated me on my batting,” Yadav explained. “Virat’s brand of cricket is top class and the way he dominates world cricket is just amazing. I too look up to him. In the end, it was great to win the game,” added the batsman who scored 480 runs in 15 innings at an average of 40 and a strike rate of more than 145.

Virat Kohli just a century away from breaking two big records at once

The Indian captain Virat Kohli is at fingertips reach from two precious records in international cricket. In the upcoming ODI series against Australia, which begins with the first ODI in Sydney on 27th November, if Virat Kohli hits a century, he would equal Sachin Tendulkar’s records of most ODI centuries by a batsman against Australia. As of now Tendulkar, who holds the record of most ODI tons against Aussies has hit nine centuries in 70 innings. On the other hand, his prodigy, the 32-year-old Kohli has already hit eight in just 38 innings. Along with this record, the Indian maestro would also go past Ricky Ponting for the most number of centuries scored as captain in all three formats. Punter and Kohli are both tied at 41 centuries till now. Although in his last 23 innings and for over a year, the Indian captain hasn’t been able to score an international century, his last coming off a Test against Bangladesh at home, his hunger for runs is unparalleled. After a lean patch that he has had, the Delhi born will be all the more charged up to perform his best.

Aus vs Ind: Stoinis happy to contribute irrespective of the batting order

Australian batting all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is just happy to contribute, no matter where he bats. Coming freshly out of the tutelage of Australian legend Ricky Ponting, the ace Australian all-rounder will be looking to make an impact under Justin Langer to fix his spot in the Australian XI. "I'm just happy to be involved wherever they feel I can have my biggest impact in the game, whether that's at the top of the middle. Punter's a big believer in me and wants to give me responsibility in the teams that he's been in charge of," Stoinis was quoted as saying to cricket.com.au. Saying that he has had a conversation with the coach about how he feels he can contribute, Stoinis believes that he has got to be adaptable. “I've got to be adaptable and I've had these conversations with Ricky and said 'just let me know and I'll put the pads on'," he added. The 31-year-old made 352 runs at a strike rate of 148 and took 13 wickets in the recently concluded IPL also knows the hunger of Indian captain Virat Kohli, having played alongside him for RCB. He said that Australia doesn’t need to worry much about Kohli as he won’t get extra dangerous because of the shortened tour. "Don't worry about Virat; he's up for every single game that he's playing. I don't think you can get any extra motivation than 110 per cent. He'll be ready to go,” said the Perth born.