Setback for India: Prithvi Shaw out of first Test with ankle injury
Sydney, Nov 30: Indian opener Prithvi Shaw was Friday ruled out of the first Test against Australia after suffering an ankle injury during the ongoing tour game against Cricket Australia XI here.
His injury is a massive setback for the visitors as the 19-year-old was expected to open in the first Test beginning December 6 at Adelaide.
With Shaw unavailable, K L Rahul and Murali Vijay will be India's openers in the first Test. The BCCI did not name any replacement for the Mumbai teenager.
"Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw suffered a left ankle injury while attempting a catch at the boundary ropes in the tour game against CA XI at The Sydney Cricket Ground," said the BCCI in a statement.
"Shaw underwent scans this morning and the reports revealed a lateral ligament injury. Shaw will be unavailable for the first Test against Australia. He will undergo an intensive rehabilitation program to hasten the recovery and be available for selection at the earliest," it added.
Shaw picked up the injury in the 15th over of Cricket Australia XI's innings, when Max Bryant latched on to Ravichandran Ashwin's delivery and hit him for a six at mid wicket.
Shaw managed to get under the ball and catch it, but spilled the chance while tumbling over the ropes. In the process, he injured his ankle.
Shaw was visibly in pain and didn't get up immediately. He was carried off the field by two members of the Indian support staff without putting any further pressure on his ankle.
Shaw had scored a hundred on Test debut in the home series against the West Indies last month, raising expectations from the batting sensation ahead of the Australia tour.
The series against Australia will feature four Test matches.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
