MELBOURNE: India’s fast bowlers were rested from training on Wednesday ahead of the fourth test against Australia amid reports pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the decider in Brisbane.
Indian media, citing unnamed team sources, said Bumrah would not be selected for the test, which starts on Friday, after suffering an apparent abdominal strain in the draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Bumrah’s omission would be a huge blow for Ajinkya Rahane’s side, with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja already confirmed to miss the series finale with a thumb injury and batsman Hanuma Vihari almost certain to be scratched due to a hamstring strain.
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who batted through the entire final session in Sydney to help India save the match, is also nursing a sore back.
An India team spokesman declined to comment on the team’s injuries, or Bumrah’s availability for selection, but confirmed the paceman did not take part in training at the Gabba on Wednesday along with the squad’s few remaining fast bowlers.
With seasoned quicks Mohammed Shami (broken arm), Ishant Sharma (side strain) and Umesh Yadav (calf) out of the series, Bumrah’s absence would mean calling up either one-test paceman Shardul Thakur or giving left-armer T. Natarajan an unlikely test debut.
Two-test Mohammed Siraj, who bowled in Sydney with Bumrah and debutant Navdeep Saini, could end up the most experienced member of a very raw India pace attack at the Gabba, traditionally a fast bowler’s paradise for its speed and bounce.
India will also have to decide how to replace Vihari, and whether wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant will be fit enough to take his place behind the stumps.
Wriddhiman Saha took the gloves after Pant suffered an elbow injury during the Sydney test, but both could be picked for the Gabba, with Pant retained just for his batting in the wake of his brilliant 97 in the fourth innings.
India then face an unenviable choice between a pair of out-of-form openers in Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw to replace Vihari.
RAUTAHAT: Janata Samajwadi Party cadres have converged at an assembly in Santapur of Rautahat to protest the 'autocratic' move by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli of dismantling the Lower House, on Saturday. Addressing scores of attendees at the demonstration, JSP leader Anil Kumar Jha stated that th Read More...
Kathmandu, January 16 A health worker is seen through a door inside the intensive care unit of COVID-19 isolation ward at Teku-based Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH), in Kathmandu, on Saturday. The ward currently has 11 COVID-19 patients under treatment. Dr Anup Bas Read More...
NEW DELHI: India started inoculating health workers Saturday in what is likely the world's largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign, joining the ranks of wealthier nations where the effort is already well underway. India is home to the world’s largest vaccine makers and has one of the biggest Read More...
A heavy downpour frustrated Australia on day two of the fourth test decider in Brisbane on Saturday, with play abandoned after tea and India spared from resuming on 62 for two in reply to the home side's first innings 369. India number three Cheteshwar Pujara was eight not out, with stand-i Read More...
BIRGUNJ: Most of the vegetable oil and ghee industries in Parsa and Bara districts have been affected after India imposed a ban on import of palm oil. It is estimated that 90 percent of these industries are adversely affected due to restriction on import decreed by India. Large investments of ind Read More...
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Health Ministry shared the latest updates on coronavirus contagion from across the country. READ MORE: 131 new Covid-19 cases recorded today in Kathmandu valley Till date, 2,008,944 tests through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method have been carried out wherein 3,819 t Read More...
KATHMANDU: Nepal's young shuttler Prince Dahal has taken a big leap in the junior badminton world ranking. Dahal has climbed to the third place in the ranking published on Friday by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). He was in the seventh place in the previous ranking. Danish Mads Juel Moller Read More...
KAMPALA: Uganda’s electoral commission says longtime President Yoweri Museveni has won a sixth term while top opposition challenger Bobi Wine alleges rigging and officials struggle to explain how polling results were compiled amid an internet blackout. In a generational clash widely watched Read More...