It's still not an advantage for us: Nathan Lyon on India's injury woes

IPL this time wasn’t ideal timing for anyone: Justin Langer

Coach Justin Langer has questioned the timing of the Indian Premier League after both India and Australia have some injury concerns during the on-going series between the two nations. India’s injury woes continue after Jasprit Bumrah was also ruled out of the fourth Test against Australia. The IPL was held in Dubai during September-November. “It is really interesting how many injuries (it) has been throughout this summer. I can’t help and think that the IPL this year (2020) was in really, probably wasn’t ideal timing for anyone, certainly for such a big series like this,” Langer said at a virtual press conference. Langer said that he “loves” the IPL but the timing of the tournament has certainly created some problems. “I love the IPL, I look at IPL now like I used to look at county cricket for our young players. They go and play county cricket and it helps them (in) their cricket development enormously, I think it is the same with the IPL, helps their white-ball development. “But the timing of it…because of what happened with COVID…probably wasn’t ideal, and I just wonder whether that is having an impact on the injuries that we are seeing for both teams throughout the summer, so I’m sure they’ll review that,” said the Australian head coach. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin were injured during the third Test. Jadeja and Vihari have already been ruled out of the last match while are also likely to miss the first two Tests against England. Earlier, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav were ruled out after sustaining individual injuries. The fourth and final Test begins on January 15 in Brisbane with the series levelled at 1-1.

Amir was dropped as his performances were not up to the mark: Babar Azam

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has explained the reason behind Mohammad Amir’s exclusion from the side. Azam said that the left-arm pacer wasn’t performing well and was out of form. "Mohammad Amir was dropped as his performances were not up to the mark. If he regains his form and continues to perform, then selectors will definitely consider his return and talk to him," he said. Amir had announced his retirement from the international cricket after being snubbed from the side for the New Zealand tour. The pacer had earlier alleged that he was facing mental torture from the team management. Earlier, head coach Misbha-ul-Haq had said that the team management had decided to drop Amir as his performance wasn’t up to the mark. "Nobody was supporting his selection on the basis of performance. I have no idea why he made up everything and tried to give this whole scenario a context that is out of proportion. For him, it was a simple method: go back and prove his form and get back in the team and everything else is irrelevant," Misbah said in a press conference. Babar Azam who missed the New Zealand tour due to a thumb injury will be back in action against South Africa at home. The South African team is slated to play a two-match Test series and a three-match T20I series against Pakistan. The first Test begins from January 26 in Karachi while the second will take place in Rawalpindi. The teams will then travel to Lahore for the T20I series.

It is something I do in games: Smith defends scuffing of Pant’s guard

Steve Smith, the former Australian captain has defended his actions where the camera caught him erasing the guards marked by Rishabh Pant during the drinks break on the fourth day of third Australia- India Test at Sydney Cricket Ground. Explaining his actions, Smith told News Corp, “It’s something I do in games to visualize where we are bowling, how the batter is playing our bowlers and then out of habit I always mark center.” “It’s such a shame that this and other events have taken away from what was a great batting performance by India yesterday,” he added. Earlier, Tim Paine, the Australian skipper too had defended Smith’s actions saying that it is one of Steve Smith’s quirkiness which he needs to improve upon, but it was definitely not cheating. “If you’ve watched Steve Smith play test cricket, that’s something that he does every single game five or six times a day,” Paine had told reporters. “He’s always standing in the batting crease shadow batting. As we know, he’s got those many Steve Smith quirks and one of those is he’s always marking the center. It’s something that he might need to look at because of the perception of it,” the 36-year-old skipper, who took over the captaincy from Smith post the sandpaper gate case added.

Deepak Hooda controversy: Pathan attacks Baroda Cricket Association for overlooking promising talents

Former Indian all-rounder and Baroda captain Irfan Pathan has come out in support of bereaved Baroda and Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Deepak Hooda after the latter had left the Baroda Syed Mushtaq Ali team camp following altercations with skipper Krunal Pandya. Pathan,36, wanted the cricket association to treat a player of Hooda’s caliber well, especially at the time of the pandemic, when the mental health of players is very important. “During the difficult times of this pandemic wherein mental health of a player is of utmost importance as they have to stay in a bio-bubble as well as keep themselves focused on the game, such incidents may have adverse effects on a player and should be avoided,” said Pathan in a statement that he posted on his Twitter account. The Baroda-born who represented India in 173 internationals including 120 ODIs, 29 Tests, and 24 T20Is further requested the association to look into the matter extensively. “Requesting all the members of the BCA to look into this and condemn such actions since they are not good for the game of cricket,” said Pathan. The junior Pathan also pointed out the inconsistencies of BCA in dealing with the talent prospects saying, “In the recent past, there have been episodes wherein the deserving young talents who have performed well and are under the age of 30 have been overlooked for selection.” “Also, the likes of Aditya Waghmode, who was the highest run-scorer for the Baroda team in the last season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 364 runs and Swapnil Singh, who had all-round performance, scoring 216 runs and took 10 wickets, were overlooked,” he added. Pathan, who was Man of the Match in the 2007 T20 World Cup and who has taken 301 international wickets, hitting out at the BCA Chief Executive Officer, who had hinted at taking harsh disciplinary action against Hooda, said, “If what I have heard about the Deepak Hooda episode is true, it is indeed shocking and disheartening. No player should be treated like this.” Baroda in their SMA campaign have got two wins from two games and look like a formidable unit.