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BCA suspends Deepak Hooda for entire domestic season

Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda has been suspended by the BCA for the entire domestic season. The right-handed player had earlier left the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after a spat with captain Krunal Pandya. "The apex council decided that Hooda won't be considered to represent the Baroda team for the current domestic season. The decision was taken after considering reports from team manager and coach about the incident as well as communication with Hooda," said Satyajit Gaekwad, chairman, BCA press and publicity committee. BCA joint secretary, Parag Patel said, "Hooda did the wrong thing by walking out of the team without discussing his issues with the management. But banning him for the entire season was unnecessary. He could have been reprimanded for his act and then allowed to play." Hooda had been appointed as the vice-captain of the Baroda side before leaving the having an altercation with Krunal. The all-rounder in fact fired a mail to BCA. "At this moment, I am demoralised, depressed and under pressure. As from last some days, my team captain Mr Krunal Pandya is using abusing language to me in front of my teammates and also other state teams who have come for participation at Reliance Stadium Vadodara," Hooda wrote in the letter to BCA, a copy of which is in possession of PTI. "Today I was practising in nets and doing my preparation for tomorrow's game with the permission of head coach Mr Prabhakar. Then Krunal came in nets (and) started misbehaving with me," alleged Hooda.

New ‘Running’ test to test the endurance Indian players introduced by BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to introduce a unique running test alongside the dreaded Yo-Yo test as a standard of physical fitness for its contracted players. The new test is a mandatory 2-km time trial that will measure the speed and endurance levels of the players. This new test mandates that fast bowlers complete the 2 km run in 8 minutes and 15 seconds. On the other hand, batsmen, wicket-keepers, and spinners can take up to 8 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the run. The minimum yo-yo level for all remains at 17.1. Talking about the new test, a BCCI official, as quoted by Indian Express said, “The Board felt that the current fitness standard played a huge role in getting our fitness to the next level. It is important to take our fitness level to another level now. The time trial exercise will help us to compete even better. The Board will keep updating the standards every year.” The players were informed about the Tests and it has decided to create three windows in February, June, and August/September to conduct the Tests. The England Test series has been exempted from the newly inducted testing methods but the players vying for a place in the ODI team would have to undergo these Tests in February. In the past, the Yo-Yo test has brought doom for players like Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, and Sanju Samson who had failed the test and lost their place in the team. In other South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, the fitness testing methods are similar as far as Yo-Yo is concerned. Yo-Yo has a qualifying mark as set differently by different teams. India have set 17:1 as the qualifying speed level. To qualify means to run between two cones set apart 20 meters each and the players have to move between them as and when the beep goes and till the time the beep keeps ongoing. Neighbouring countries like Pakistan have a minimum level of 17:4 in the Yo-Yo test while West Indies and England are at 19. The New Zealand team has the highest level which is set at 20:1.

Shastri ensured the team did not go down despite Adelaide debacle: Inzamam

India created history after beating Australia 2-1 away from home to defend the Border-Gavaskar trophy earlier this week. India were handed a target of 328 runs on the last day of the final Test and they went over the line by 3 wickets. Shubman Gill scored 91 runs while wicket-keeper batsman remained unbeaten at 89 during the course. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has praised the Indian team for their performance while has lauded head coach Ravi Shastri as well. “One factor that people are not mentioning is Ravi Shastri. He started as off the team director and returned as the head coach, the experience and the game sense he has I feel has helped the Indian team and its players a lot. Everyone has watched him play; he was a big player for India, a terrific all-rounder,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel. “I remember when he used to do commentary, the kind of things he used to say and the eye for talent that he had, you could figure how much knowledge he had of the game. That I believe has helped this Indian team a lot. "He is a tough campaigner and it was evident by the fact that despite the Adelaide debacle, he ensured the team did not go down, and instead pulled them back up,” Inzamam added. With this series win, India have moved to the top spot in the points table of WTC. India were without captain Virat Kohli who had returned home for the birth of his first child. India had suffered a number of injury blows during the series. Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari had been ruled out of the series after sustaining individual injuries while R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah weren’t a part of the side for the fourth Test as they were not fully fit.

WATCH: Panelist calls Virat Kohli's gestures a disorder

India skipper Virat Kohli is a pretty animated player on the field and his gestures are often compared with other captains in the world. Recently, a mainstream Hindi news channel also pointed out at Kohli’s celebrations gesture and one of the panelists even termed it a “disorder”. Kohli has returned to the side for the England series at home slated to begin from February 5 in Chennai. With Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has also been picked but as a pure batsman. India have been undergoing some injury concerns. Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja had been earlier ruled out of the series against Australia after sustaining individual injuries while Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were also not picked as they were not fit. Ishant though has been picked for the England series. The spin department has got a new addition after Axar Patel alongside Washington Sundar and R Ashwin. T. Natarajan and Prithvi Shaw haven’t found a place for themselves in this squad. Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul (subject to fitnsess after first Test), Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Standbyes: KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Abhimanya Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar, Net Bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, K Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar