Heena Sharma Blog

  India have not named their playing XI for the fourth Test against Australia and will be announcing it on Friday before the match starts at The Gabba as they are monitoring the injuries of the players. This was informed by batting coach Vikram Rathour on Thursday. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is suffering from an abdominal strain and is a doubtful starter for the series decider. If he doesn't play, the visitors can bring in Shardul Thakur to join Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini in the pace department. With KL Rahul returning home due to a wrist injury and Mayank Agarwal hit on the hand at the nets, India also face a dilemma as they look to bring in someone to replace Hanuma Vihari, who injured his hamstring during the drawn third Test and is unlikely to play as the No. 6 batsman. There are also concerns over Ravichandran Ashwin's fitness as he woke up with a back tweak on the final day of the Sydney Test and then suffered a hit on his ribs by a short delivery from P...

  Australian cricket team has pushed India to the second spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday effected changes to the WTC rules. The changes in ICC WTC points system has be made as several bilateral series could not be played due to Covid-19 pandemic. Changes to the rules were made to determine the nine teams' standings on the points table. ICC World Test Championship new rules Although India (360 points) still has 64 more points than Australia (296) and more series wins, the Aussies have gone atop after the ICC Board approved that the matches played and the matches lost won't be treated as drawn and points would be split. Australia now has 0.822 percentage points (82.2 per cent), which propelled them to the No.1 spot, while India has 0.750 (75 per cent). Read More

All-rounders have always sold like hotcakes when it comes to Indian Premier League Auctions . The T20 format paves way for those who 'multi-task' to be more in demand and on Thursday, when IPL 2020 auction of the lucrative franchise league auction takes place here, it won't be any different. Glenn Maxwell, Australia cricket team Maxwell is returning from a break due to mental-health reasons and although he does not have great numbers to show for in the tournament -- 1397 runs at 22.90 in 69 matches -- his game changing ability is expected to pull franchises. Maxwell is handy with his off-breaks too and is a brilliant fielder. Chris Morris, South Africa cricket team Morris was released by Delhi Capitals ahead of the auction this year due to his low-key performances in 2019. But the South African bowling all-rounder who made a name from the IPL is always an asset when it comes to death bowling. He also has ability to take wickets regularly and although he is inj...

India captain Virat Kohli has managed to hold on to his second position behind Australia's Steve Smith in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen released on Monday. Kohli, with 903 rating points, is 34 points behind Smith (937). Besides former Australia captain Smith, compatriot Pat Cummins has also retained his one position in the ICC Test bowlers' rankings. Both Smith and Cummins player key roles in helping Australia retain The Ashes. The Ashes culminated with a 135-run victory for England in the fifth and final Test on Sunday. The series ended in a 2-2 draw with Australia retaining the Urn. Smith's scores of 80 and 23 in the two innings in the final Test helped him remain at 937 rating points, an incredible effort since he started the series in fourth position with 857 points before his surge that came courtesy 774 runs in four Tests. Cummins too is well clear of other bowlers as he enjoys a lead of 57 points over second-placed Kagiso Rabada after finishing...

India's ouster from 2019 World Cup triggered many controversies and murmuring about the mistakes the team committed during the tournament and also a possible way ahead by making right decisions. And one of the many was - Is it the time for split captaincy? Well, in cricket, the characteristic of a team is, more or less, defined by its leader. Be it New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who showed calm on and off the field despite umpiring blunders, or Virat Kohli, whose 'exaggerated' emotions on the field give camerapersons and viewers a reason to smile. Williamson's measured approach always looks good but Kohli's aggression, sometimes, sends cricket fans into tizzy. However, Kohli's animated aggression, to an extent, has borne fruit for Team India in Test matches. But his defensive tactics in limited over cricket has been widely criticised. India will have to start preparing for mainly three major tournaments - T20 World Cup in Australia next year, ...