India could miss skipper Rohit Sharma for one Test in Australia
New Delhi, Oct 10: India could miss the services of skipper Rohit Sharma during one of the first two Test matches in Australia due to personal reasons which have communicated to the BCCI.
The Indian team will embark on tough five-Test series in Australia starting November 22 in Perth and there is a possibility that Rohit could give either the first or the second game in Adelaide (December 6-10) a miss.
"There isn't any complete clarity about the situation. It is understood that Rohit has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that due to a pressing personal matter, he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the series," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"In case, the personal issue is sorted before the start of the series, he might play all five Tests. We will get to know more in coming days," he said.
The 37-year-old Rohit played both the home Tests against Bangladesh. India will next host New Zealand for a three-Test rubber starting October 16.
In case Rohit misses a Test match in Australia, the in-form Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover although Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are also players with enough experience in the opening slot.
Easwaran will also be in Australia with the India A team which he is supposed to lead.
However, there is no word who the vice-captain of the Test team will be as there was no official deputy for Rohit during the recent home series against Bangladesh.
"I think we need to understand that we have got a lot of IPL captains in this team. When you talk about the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, hopefully a Yashasvi (Jaiswal) going forward.
"There are a lot of players who have led their franchises," Abhishek Nayar told the media on the eve of the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
There are three candidates for the role -- Rohit's white ball deputy Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has led India in a Test in England, and keeper-batter Rishabh Pant.
"I wouldn't look at them as youngsters anymore. Yes, they are youngsters in terms of age and the amount of cricket they have played. But, I think overall, mentally and in their development as a cricketer, I think they have the leadership qualities that are required. You don't need to have a vice-captain that should be designated," Nayar had stated when asked about the red-ball vice-captaincy.
"I think overall, the thought process of these youngsters is of a senior player. It's of someone who has played a lot of cricket."
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Mohsin's fifer helps LSG restrict KKR to 155/7 despite Rinku's 83
Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan added another sordid chapter to Kolkata Knight Riders' batting woes, taking five wickets to restrict the three-time champions to a modest 155 for seven in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Mohsin’s 5 for 23, a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format, tore apart an already struggling KKR batting unit, as he snaffled the cream wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy.
Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls) made a well-paced fifty and punished Mohammed Shami in the 19th over for 6, 4, 4 and the smoked four sixes in a row against spinner Digvesh Rathi as KKR made 43 runs in the last two overs to go past the 150-run mark.
But his fifty remained a lone act, as Mohsin firmly stood in the limelight.
His bowling ethos were rooted in simple tactics — bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce or use cutters at various pace to keep the batters guessing.
Mohsin, who started the night with a wicket maiden, showed his variety across two dismissals.
He followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to go over the covers, but the ball’s trajectory forced the KKR skipper to just slice the ball up for a simple catch for Aiden Markram.
The 27-year-old stayed calm when Green, who looked comfortable out there while smashing George Linde for two successive sixes, slammed him for a huge maximum.
Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull and the Australian all-rounder took the bait.
The into-the-body angle worked again as Green could only sky the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Green’s ouster also ended a fifth wicket alliance worth 42 with Rinku Singh.
Bizarre dismissal of Raghuvanshi
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If the existing turmoil was not enough, KKR had to bear the dejection of seeing Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting dismissed obstructing the field.
On the final ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi nudged one towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be rejected by Green.
Raghuvanshi put in a dive to save himself but he came in the line of the throw from Shami.
Subsequently, third umpire Rohit Pandit accepted LSG’s appeal and decided that the batter’s turning radius was more than required, eventually resulting in the batter’s dismissal in a rare manner.
