Front press: The reason behind rising cases of concussion, says Gavaskar

AUS vs IND: Tim Paine banking on 'willing' teammates to trump Virat Kohli and team

The test series between Australia and India will be different in so many ways and it is evident even before any ball has been bowled in the series as the hosts which used to reveal their playing XI have opted to keep their cards close to their chests while the touring Indians have made revealed their playing XI for the Adelaide Test in a move not commonly associated with them. There are troubles for the hosts' captain Tim Paine with many players battling injuries and some lack of form. The absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski has made the selection calls complicated for Paine and Langer who are now weighing options of trying options such as the promotion of Matthew Wade to top of the order. Paine did not disclose the exact tactics the team was willing to walk into the Test but hinted strongly at giving Wade a go to open the innings. He praised the left-hander for showing a perfect attitude of a team man and pointed out the fighting spirit Wade had shown in the Test series against New Zealand when the Victorian had to put his body on the line against the barrage of short balls bowled by the Kiwi bowlers. "Look, he's (Wade) certainly an option to open the batting. No doubt about that. I think we've got a number of guys who are willing to open the batting. That says a lot about our group, not just Wadey. But Wadey in particular, we saw against New Zealand last year with the short-ball stuff, he's willing to put his body on the line for his team. We know he's as tough as nails and he'll do a good job no matter where he bats. It's been nice. Obviously, we have got a scenario where we could have a different opener and we've had a number of guys put their hand up to do it if that's the best thing for the team. That's a great thing for us as a side," Paine said on Wade’s credentials to open the batting for Australia in Tests. Concerns do not end here for Paine as the other opener who was a starter to the playing XI for the Adelaide Test, Joe Burns is horribly out of form but is not short of support from his captain and the leadership group that includes coach Justin Langer. Joe Burns was out of form in the first round of Sheffield Shield and hence was included in the Australia A team to find form but instead, the Indian pacers have been able to dent his confidence further by dismissing him cheaply in all the four innings he batted against them. But, captain Paine has reiterated his confidence in Joe Burns and said that the right-hander might be short of runs with the bat, but not lacking anywhere in terms of building up towards the first Test. Paine said that Burns averaged more than 40 runs per innings in Tests and it speaks of his class and consistency over a sling period of time. "Speaking to Joe, I don't think he is (lacking confidence). He's been looking forward to this Test match. His build-up in terms of runs hasn't been great but if you look at the work he's done solely in Test cricket for this team, it has been very, very good. He averages just over 40 in Test cricket," Paine added. Although Paine did not confirm that Burns will be included in the playing Xi, he dropped the strongest hint that the right-hander may well get a look in, saying that the team will back him to come good in Adelaide. He al;so said the selection of Burns will provide stability to the team selection and ultimately will benefit the team in the long run. "If Joe walks out to bat tomorrow we have full confidence in him doing the job, there's no doubt about that. Stability in good cricket teams, in good sports teams, is really important. That's something we've tried to build over the last two years is try and have that stability around selection, it takes the worry out of it for certain players," Paine added. The cricket fans and pundits were wondering what could have been the reason behind Steve Smith’s return from the nets on Tuesday. In the end, it turned out the right-hander was feeling soreness in his back but the team management was relieved that Smith came back to train on Wednesday. Paine confirmed that there were no injury concerns about Smith and that he will certainly play and also be an important factor for the Aussies’ batting line up. "He's played all the one-dayers. Once we got to Adelaide he batted for four days straight so his preparation has been pretty good... very good actually. He's been out in the middle of Adelaide Oval, batting under lights. We expect him to play. He's had a stiff back before. Yesterday was more precautionary; he's in to train today, so we'll see how he goes but yeah come tomorrow, whether he's fit and sore in the back, or stiff in the back - I think he normally gets up, gets through it and finds a way to score runs like he always does," Paine said on Smith’s batting form and injury concerns around him. Time Paine had said that the loss in the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar series was hard to swallow for both him and the team and that they were looking for opportunities to get back on a strong momentum against the Indian team which has won the last two Test series between the sides. Paine would need his team to put up a strong performance to ward off the bad record in the recent past against the Virat Kohli’s team.

SA vs SL: Migael Pretorius gets maiden call up for the Proteas squad

The Knights pacer Migael Pretorius has received his maiden call up to the Proteas squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka series. Pretorius has taken 25 wickets in six matches, the ongoing South African First Class season. "We're pleased to include Migael in the Proteas Test squad for the Sri Lanka series. We're big on rewarding consistently good work and the player has done a lot to make a case for himself," Victor Mpitsang, CSA convenor of selectors said in a statement. The 25-year-old has so far played 34 first-class matches and taken 141 scalps in them. He isn’t a mug with the bat either, having scored 865 runs in 42 innings with an average of 25.44 including five fifties. "We hope that this experience will be a great learning one for him and that can serve as encouragement for players across the country, showing them that their chances may not be as far off as they think," Mpitsang added. Earlier Sarel Erwee, Kyle Verreynne, and Glenton Stuurman have been given their maiden call-ups as well. The Test series against Sri Lanka begins with the Boxing Day Test in SuperSport Park in Centurion. South Africa Squad Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne, Migael Pretorius

BBL | Scorchers vs Stars: Match gets abandoned after great showing from Scorchers

It proved to be a tame end to the 8th encounter of the Big Bash League as the match between the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars was abandoned and both the teams shared points. What proved to be a fascinating first half and had every prospect of becoming another nail-biting encounter fizzed out in the latter half as the rain gods had different ideas. Just like the previous match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes yesterday, the pitch had enough on offer for the fast bowlers. However, unlike the Adelaide Strikers’ bowlers, the Perth Scorchers relied more on 'hit the deck' approach and didn’t pitch it up on a consistent basis. They didn’t really make full use of the movement with the new ball and the pitch gradually allowed the batters to hit freely and get off the hook. The Perth Scorchers started off cautiously and lost Josh Inglis in the third over at the score of 14. The partnership between Colin Munro and Joe Clarke again changed the complexion of the match. Both then players looked in great touch and yet again, Munro showed why he is one of the most feared T20 batsmen in the world. The duo shared a 49 runs partnership before Liam Hatcher bagged back to back wickets in the form of Joe Clarke and Mitchell Marsh. Marsh, in particular, was pretty unlucky as replays showed that the ball would have missed the leg stump. Despite the loss of two quick wickets, there was no pressure on Munro and Ashton Turner what so ever. While Munro steadied the ship with some sensible batting, it was actually Turner who actually turned the game on its head with some exceptional power-hitting. Munro and Turner shared a stand of 70 runs before the dismissal of Turner in the 13th over. The latter scored a whirlwind 39 off 17 deliveries which included 5 maximums and by the time he departed, the Scorchers were well and truly on top with the score reading 133/4 in just the 13th over. However, Munro departed soon after and the run rate was bound to come down a bit. With rain being a possibility from the start of the match, it was a dubious decision from the Perth Scorchers to delay their power surge despite Munro being one of the most dominant batters in their line-up. And in the end, they didn’t get the opportunity to use the complete power surge as the rain started tumbling down at the conclusion of the 17th over and the umpires had to take the players off the field. For yet another, Cameron Bancroft never looked in any rhythm what so ever despite remaining unbeaten on 15 of 12 deliveries. Ever since the sandpaper gate scandal, Bancroft hasn’t quite managed to make a mark in any forms of cricket and his place has been grabbed with both hands by Marnus Labuschagne across formats. Meanwhile coming back to the 2nd innings, the match was halted for more than 1 and a half hours and when the match did resume, it was reduced to a 6 overs affair with the Melbourne Stars needing 78 to win from 6 overs. However only a solitary over was possible and the showers returned again only to bring down curtains on the 8th encounter. Powered by Froala Editor

AUS vs IND: Virat Kohli's 'new India' ready for every challenge in Australia

Indian captain Virat Kohli has warned his team to shed any sense of complacent on the back of stellar performance on the last tour of Australia as the men in lue is gearing up to face the hosts Australia from tomorrow at the Adelaide Oval. He reminded his players about the difference in challenges they are likely to encounter in the upcoming series that they faced and won in the last series in 2018-19. ‘Stay in the present’ He reiterated the ‘staying in the present’ that the vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said yesterday and said that the team is looking to win the Adelaide Test as their main priority before heading for the other Tests. "I like to keep things simple. I do not quite carry forward anything from the past. It is very important to stay in the present and understand the process you are going through. Last time around, our challenge was different. Starting in Adelaide, we had a goal, which we wanted to achieve - we wanted to win, so it was important to start well. The goal remains similar this time as well," Kohli said in the pre-match press conference conducted virtually on Wednesday. Pink ball challenge Of all the different challenges waiting for the Indian team, the fact that this series will start with a day-night Test will be the most potent one for the tourists who had won the first Test of the last series they won in Australia and Virat Kohli is not shrugging off from it. He pointed out that the pink ball will move more than the red ball and that playing, especially batting, becomes very tricky under lights. However, he put his faith on his team and backed them to come up with strong defence and tactics to counter whatever challenges will be thrown at him and the team. "Pink-ball Test is probably going to be a bit more challenging in terms of conditions and how the ball moves around in the evening and stuff like that. For us as a team, it is about adaptability. Probably, the focus will be to understand the situations we are presented with and counter that as best as possible with our abilities. Every challenge is new and different and you have to understand the difficulties and requirement to fulfil that particular challenge and hopefully, make sure you come out on top," Kohli added. Reliance on young players Bucking the usual trend in Indian cricket of not disclosing the playing XI before the toss of a Test match, the Indian team released their playing Xi for the Adelaide Test, showing signs of a team who is assured about the tactics and role of players going into a big game. Prithvi Shaw has been picked to partner Mayank Agarwal at the top of the order while Wrridhiman Saha has been preferred over Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper's slot and Umesh Yadav has been selected to fill in the voids of Ishant Sharma. Kohli had dropped hints about retaining Shaw at the top of the order who has not been in great touch and does not have the statistics in his favour for a strong case to trump Gill who looked great in warm-up games. However, the class of Gill has not gone unnoticed and Kohli said that he will get opportunities at some point of time sooner rather than later. He also praised Mayank Agarwal for showing character on the last tour when he was called in mid of the series to open the batting. "They are obviously very talented and that's why they are here. Shubman (Gill) hasn't got opportunities in Test cricket yet. So, as and when he gets opportunities, it needs to be seen how he goes about things. He is a confident young man. Prithvi has performed well at Test level, but he will be playing in Australia for the first time, so it's very exciting to see his progress as well. Mayank came around in the last tour and batted brilliantly without any baggage. That's what you expect from the younger guys - just go out there, express themselves and play fearless cricket," Kohli said of the Indian top-order which is heavily reliant on young players. ‘Representation of New India’ Virat Kohli has an outstanding record as a batsman in Australia and has batted with supreme attitude and flair and whenever he has got the opportunity to take the attack to the opposition, he has not backed away from getting under their skins. A few days back, former Australian captain and Indian coach Greg Chappell had said “most Australian non-Australian” cricketer of all time. Virat did not shy away from responding to such words from Chappell and responded about the brand of cricket both him and the Indian team under his leadership want to play. He said that the Indian team of now has started to stand up to the challenges posed by the Australian and it does not matter to him if his mindset is comparable to an Australian or not. "I have always been myself. The way my personality and character is... it is the representation of a new India. For me, that's how I look at it. It's not a comparison of me being similar to an Australian mindset or anything like that. It's how we have started to stand up as a team, and my personality has always been like this from day one," Kohli said. Playing in Australia Kohli has had an interesting time while captaining or playing with the Indian team in Australia. He was rebuked for reacting in an obscene manner against Australian spectators whom he had called hostile in his first series down under in 2011-12. However, as his stature grew with the number of runs he kept on piling in the country after hitting his debut century at the Adelaide Oval in his very first series, the crowds in Australia started to respect his style and flair of batting and aggressive intent on the field and Kohli too accepted that fact. "It's a wonderful place to play cricket. When you play well here, you earn the respect of the public and there is anticipation and chat around, wanting to see you play. Similarly with Jasprit as well. Last time, he performed really well, so there is going to be anticipation and excitement to watch him bowl," Kohli added. Leadership and Ajinkya Rahane Virat Kohli will return home after the first Test for the birth of his child and many experts and fans believe that the real test for the men in blue will begin after his departure. Kohli has been the mainstays of the Indian batting line up, more so since the time he was promoted to lead the side in the very country after MS Dhoni had decided to hang his boots in Test cricket in 2013-14 series. Kohli became the first Indian captain to lead the country to a series win in Tests in Australia and hence, it is understood the level of analysis that is happening on the aftereffects of his early departure. But, Kohli believes that his deputy, Ajinkya Rahane is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team and that he will do a great job once he leaves for India. He said that the strategies the team has been making since they have taken the leadership position has been a collective effort and not just him taking all the crucial decisions and that familiarity with the decision making process will help Rahane take important decisions on and off the field. "We have had a lot of mutual understanding over the years. We have had some great partnerships batting together, which is based on trust. Jinks has done a tremendous job in the two practice games. He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our teams and how we need to go about it. The way we have played the game has been a collective effort. It's a cultural effort and not just me strategising things and putting things in front of people, it's the whole team that's involved. We already know the template we play with and how we are to go ahead. We are absolutely on the same page and I am sure he (Rahane) will do a tremendous job in my absence. The focus remains, till the time I am here, to be able to provide captaincy and leadership and performances to the best of my abilities," Kohli said of Rahane. Ajinkya Rahane has the experience of leading the side in two test matches- once when Kohli had injured his shoulder against Australia in the 2017 Border Gavaskar series and on another instance when Kohli was rested for a one-off Test against Afghanistan, both played in India. India had won both the Tests Rahane had captained but challenging a full-strength Australia in their own backyard will be a completely different ball game altogether and Rahane does not have the luxury of captaining an Indian team that has Virat Kohli as its premier batsman like Virat Kohl, the captain has.