Umesh Yadav and wife blessed with baby girl; BCCI wishes the paceman

BCCI confirms T Natarajan as replacement for Umesh Yadav

Left-arm pacer T Natarajan has been added into the Indian squad as a replacement for the injured pacer Umesh Yadav for the remainder of the ongoing Test series against Australia. Umesh picked up an injury in his calf on the third day of the second Test at the MCG and went off the filed to never come back. On the other hand, Shardul Thakur was added into the squad as a replacement for Mohammed Shami who had broken his wrist after taking a hit on the third day morning in the first Test. Both Shardul Thakur and Natarajan are in contention for a place in the laying XI in place of Umesh Yadav in the third Test starting January 07 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). There have been reports about Shardul being considered ahead of Natarajan as the third seamer in the third Test, but Natarajan’s left-arm pace may bring in a much -needed variation in the pace department. “The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named T Natarajan as Yadav’s replacement. Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Shardul Thakur was added to the Test squad as Mohd. Shami's replacement after the senior fast bowler suffered a hairline fracture in his right forearm. Both Shami and Umesh Yadav will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for further rehabilitation of their injuries,” BCCI said in its release. The BCCI has said that both Yadav and Shami will head to the National Cricket Academy to undergo their rehabilitation process after arrival in India. India will have other concerns to manage in the batting department as well with the return of Rohit Sharma, who is certain to play if he is physically in shape to take the field, and that will leave the team management with a key decision on whom to leave out among Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill.

Marnus Labuschagne admits Australians batsmen have been choked for runs

Marnus Labuschagne has been one of the top scorers with the bat for Australia, but he too will admit that he has looked way below he was batting against New Zealand and Pakistan in the last Australian summer. In Labuschagne's views, it is more to do with the pinpoint accuracy of the Indian bowling line up along with perfect field placement. Labuschagne has said that the tourists’ bowlers have been able to contain Australian batsmen as they have been relentless with their line of attack on stumps, along with packed leg aide field. He also said a lot of shots they used to get away with a four, have resulted in mere a single against India. "They've certainly come in with a plan... and made sure they're really not leaving the stumps and having a really heavy leg-side field. It obviously slows your scoring rate down because those shots you do get on your legs go for one, not four. We need to be very disciplined and we also need to come up with ways to put them under pressure," Labuschagne said in the virtual press conference. Labuschagne was troubled by Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, and after getting a reprieve by DRS, the right-hander was caught at the slip off Ashwin on a delivery that kept on going with the arm from round the wicket angle. The ongoing tour is fourth of Ashwin, and the wily off-spinner is showing all his tricks on Australian pitches and really making great use of his experience over the last three tours. Labuschangne commended Ashwin for his quality bowling and said that the way he has shown his class in the series, he deserves all the stats he owns in Test cricket. "I've never faced Ashwin before until this series. You don't have the stats that Ravi has without being a great bowler and also a great thinker. He's (Ashwin) obviously come in really prepared and they're being really crafty with their field and what they're trying to do. We have fallen into their trap a few times," Labuschagne said. Australia will challenge India’s comeback in Sydney in the third Test, and Labuschange has batted well on the SCG pitch. In the last summer, he scored a masterful double century against New Zealand, while he also showed his promise against the same opposition-- India during the last Border Gavaskar series. As the series has progressed to the third Test with Australian top order under pressure, Labuschange will be looking forward to rediscovering his fluency with the bat.

Sachin Tendulkar lauds Indian team for MCG win; analyses Ashwin vs Smith battle

Indian bowlers have bowled brilliantly against Australian batsmen in the first two Tests of the series, and more so against their star batsmen in Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. The right-handed duo was touted to be the biggest challenge for the tourists and by far in the series, Indians have been able to dismiss Smith quite cheaply while Labuschagne has not been allowed to run away with the game. Indian pacers and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been able to forge tactics that have been consistent and they have earned praises from all quarters but they would certainly enjoy the plaudits from batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who has deciphered the tactics adopted by the Indian side. In the first Test at Adelaide, Smith was deceived by an arm ball bowled with a flatter trajectory and Smith was standing deep in the crease in hope of turn to him. In a sign of perfect setup, Ashwin got Smith flicking to Pujara at the leg slip tp ball that turned from the line of stumps and Tendulkar has commended the control of Ashwin to dominate Smith's technique in the first two Tests. Tendulkar also spoke very highly of Indian stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane for performing the dual role of leading the side on the field and the batting performance on the back fo a splendid century. Tendulkar said that Rahane was not lagging in aggressive intent, but he was also cautious and reasonable in his approach and batted for a long period of time to wear the Australian bowler down. “I thought Ajinkya batted brilliantly. He was calm, relaxed and composed. He had aggressive intent, but aggression was rightly balanced by calmness and surety. So he did not miss opportunities when a boundary ball was there. And when one had to be patient, he was patient. The intent was very good. I felt this was a brilliant performance by our team, the manner in which our team was able to play and the way Ajinkya led the team. Also, if you look at senior cricketers and their contribution, it has been good. People shouldn't get into comparisons with Virat. Ajinkya has [a] different personality. His intent was aggressive. I would like to remind everyone that they are both Indians and they both play for India, so no individuals come above India. Team and country is above everything else,” Tendulkar said. The win at the MCG was earned on the back of strong performances from the debuting duo of Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj, and Tendulkar noted that both of them looked ready for the Test arena. He said that neither of them showed any signs of playing their first matches. He commended Gill for his confidence on debut and also his ability to play good shots against quality short-pitched bowling by Australian pacers."Shubman looked confident and comfortable," Tendulkar said. "He played some good shots off the short-pitched stuff that the Australians bowled.” For Siraj, Tendulkar said that the pacer was on the money from his very first over, and at the same time showed composure to set up batsman over a period of time. Siraj bowled his heart out in both innings, and the words of praise from Tendulkar would make him feel a lot sweeter about his Test debut. "Let's also not forget how Siraj has bowled. It did not appear to me that he was playing his first Test match. The way he bowled his first over and then built it up gradually, but never did it look that he was playing his first match. The plans were well thought out. He executed it well. Both debutants were comfortable in the execution of their plans,” Tendulkar said of the pacer from Hyderabad. India have had to face multiple crises of injury to star players, and all except Jasprit Bumrah among the first-choice pacers of the team have gone back to India after sustaining injuries. India will look to keep the momentum going at the SCG, but they will have their task cut out with David Warner returning at the top of the order for Australia, while India will be playing two rookies in the pace department.

Gill's iron fist in a velvet glove

The young prodigy doesn't shy away from expressing himself whilst straddling a neat line between vigilance and flair.