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The Cricket.com Weekly - Edition 23

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IPL 2023: Mumbai brace for a turbulent season 

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/60122/kl-rahul/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KL Rahul,</a> who was India&rsquo;s vice-captain till the second Test is going through a rut, one where his place in the Indian side is questioned having averaged just 15.90 since the start of 2022. Not just that, since his hundred in South Africa, the right-hander has blanked in most of the innings, including at home in the two Tests thus far against Australia.&nbsp;The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had not mentioned VC next to Rahul&rsquo;s name leading to a lot of debate. Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri jumped on the bandwagon, stating that he always believed India shouldn&rsquo;t appoint a vice-captain. Shastri also opined that the management should be watching someone like <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66818/shubman-gill/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shubman Gill</a> for the opener&rsquo;s position.&nbsp;&ldquo;The team management will decide (the vice-captain). They know his (Rahul&#39;s) form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching someone like Shubman Gill. I, for one, always had the belief (to) never appoint a vice-captain for India. I would rather go with by best XI, and if captain has to leave the field, you&#39;d zero in on a player that can take over at the time, simply because you don&#39;t need to create complications.&rdquo; Shastri said on the ICC Review podcast.At the same time, however, Shastri added that it is pertinent that team India have a vice-captain in overseas Tests. Last time when India toured Australia, it was the deputy of the team, Ajinkya Rahane, who led the side to a famous 2-1 win, including winning at Gabba.&nbsp;&ldquo;If vice-captain doesn&#39;t perform, someone can take his place; at least the tag is not there. I&#39;m being blunt and brutal, I never like vice-captain in home condition. Overseas, it&#39;s different. Here, you want prime form, you want someone like Shubman Gill, who&#39;s red hot. He will challenge. He has to bang that door down and get into the side. Now, he&#39;s not the vice-captain, it has to be team management&#39;s decision,&rdquo; Shastri further said.The former Indian coach also pointed out that &lsquo;talent&rsquo; can do only so much, and it remains to the player to convert the talent into consistent results. Shastri also in the most puzzling fashion mentioned that there are many in the middle-order and bowling line-up too but refused to name the players.&nbsp;&ldquo;They will have to see form, his state of mind. He&#39;s a tremendous player, but talent is only so much. You have to convert that into results and be consistent. There&#39;s so much talent in India who is knocking the door. It&#39;s not just KL Rahul, there are many in middle-order and bowling lineup as well,&rdquo; said the former India head coach.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Ravi Shastri also reckoned that it is tough for someone like Shubman Gill to get a look-in

Ravi Shastri

Shubman Gill

Always insisted that India should never appoint vice-captain at home: Shastri

With a slender lead of one run, the Australian batters turned up in the second innings of the second Test in New Delhi with a rather dubious approach. It all kicked off on day three, when the visitors employed the sweep shot vociferously without much rewards in return. The plan was evident, especially with the way skipper Pat <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/56964/pat-cummins/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cummins </a>came out sweeping the very first delivery.&nbsp;Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri insisted that the lack of belief in their own defence has come very costly for the visitors. He also reckoned that there was a severe lack of application on the part of Cummins&rsquo; and co&rsquo;s batting approach.&nbsp;&quot;I think application (has let them down) more than anything else. The lack of belief in their own defence,&rdquo; Shastri said in the latest episode of the ICC Review.&nbsp;&quot;The lack of application and the lack of discipline was unreal and Australia paid for it big time.&rdquo;Given that Australia have already conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shastri wants to see more of the basics from the Australian batters.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s very important to go back to the basics, go back to the drawing board,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;If you don&#39;t trust your defence, you have no chance because that&#39;s when you entertain thoughts of breaking free, much quicker than you normally should.&quot;Sometimes you&#39;ve got to spend some time at the crease, but how are you going to spend some time at the crease if you don&#39;t trust your defence?&nbsp;&ldquo;But I didn&#39;t see one Australian batsman (do that). What surprised me was some of their most senior players also came out there and looked to do things out of the ordinary, something they&#39;re not used to far quicker than later. And especially in conditions that suit the Indians.&nbsp;Australia&rsquo;s qualification hope for World Test Championship (WTC) final is still not a confirmed one, and a 4-0 loss here combined with a 2-0 win for Sri Lanka in New Zealand could well mean an exit for the World No.1 Test side.&nbsp;&quot;A 4-0 win here psychologically does send a strong signal to the opposition,&quot; Shastri noted.&quot;There will be an impact, but conditions are different as Australia will have their fast bowlers back as a lot of them are injured,&nbsp;&quot;But that psychological dent will make India believe that, even in those conditions, they&#39;re good enough to upstage Australia.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The former Indian coach also suggested that the Australians should go back to sticking to basics

Pat Cummins

Lack of belief in their own defence has cost Australia: Shastri

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/62023/travis-head/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Travis Head </a>came to India on a back of a successful home summer in which he amassed 525 runs at an average of 87.50. His knocks involved four half-centuries and a century but in a surprising move, the management decided to go with Matt Renshaw ahead of Head for the first Test against India in Nagpur.The move didn&rsquo;t pay dividends as Renshaw was dismissed for a golden duck and then Head made a comeback in the second Test, and with David Warner out with concussion, he opened in the second innings of the Delhi Test and batted with composure. On being asked if the drop in the first Test hurt him, Head revealed that while it was difficult for him to grasp, he had a &ldquo;robust&rdquo; conversation with the selectors which eased the concerns.&quot;The conversations were robust, I guess, and everyone has different opinions,&quot; Head said. &quot;But I respect the coaching staff and selectors. I have a really strong relationship with them so think that&#39;s what made the conversations the way they went because there&#39;s respect both ways and we are able to voice our opinions.&quot;It&#39;s something I didn&#39;t expect coming here, but sometimes that happens and thought I was able to go through that week and prepare myself for another chance&hellip; Now it&#39;s making the most of that.&quot;His 43 in the second innings of the Delhi Test put Australia ahead in the game but on the third morning, things came crashing down with Ravichandran Ashwin weaving his magic. Head stated that he found solace in the way he was going forward and backward on the length, which he attributed to the learning from watching other batters in the subcontinent.&quot;I was pleased with the way I was going forward and back, watching length, and a few things I&#39;ve worked on,&quot; Head said of his innings. &quot;It was a small sample piece but over here small sample pieces can be a little bit of gold to hopefully push forward for the next two Tests.&quot;Felt like the way I played the other day was a step forward in that direction. Would have loved to have done it in the previous series, but that&#39;s development, that&#39;s understanding, that&#39;s watching other teams go about it and other players and trying to learn on the go with not much experience in the subcontinent.&quot;[In] Sri Lanka, especially, when it was more spin-friendly than Pakistan, I found myself sitting on the crease a little bit and probably looking more to defend and waiting to attack, whereas here I&#39;ve come with the approach that I want to attack first and defend second. When I do that, and I&#39;ve found it in Australia, my feet move better and I&#39;m in better positions.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Head's 43 in the second innings of the Delhi Test put Australia ahead in the game but on the third morning, things came crashing down with Ashwin weaving his magic

Travis Head

Conversations were robust with the selectors after the first Test: Travis Head

At the age of 30, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/60122/kl-rahul/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KL Rahul</a> is no more a youngster in this Indian setup, with 47 Test appearances under his belt. But the performances have been sporadic, which has led to immense criticism from all corners, including a series of scathing remarks from former Indian pacer, Venkatesh Prasad.&nbsp;Since the start of 2022, Rahul has averaged just 15.90, with just the one half-century in the longest format. In his last ten innings, the average has fell further down to 12.50. But neither the Indian skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a> nor the Indian head coach Rahul Dravid have lost their faith in the opener, stating that the big innings is just around the corner.&nbsp;But the patience has run out from the public spectrum, including former Indian opener, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who insisted that it was time for India to bring back Shubman Gill at the top of the order at the expense of Rahul.&nbsp;&ldquo;I cannot pinpoint a technical deficiency in his game at the moment. I think this is more mental and all Rahul needs to do is take a break and sort his mind out. There&rsquo;s no reason why he can&rsquo;t come back with all guns blazing,&rdquo; Srikkanth told The Times of India.&nbsp;&ldquo;But with all due respect to Rahul, it is time to play Shubman. You can&rsquo;t keep a player waiting when he is in the form of his life,&rdquo; Srikkanth added.The 1983-World Cup winner also called Rahul a &lsquo;Rolls Royce&rsquo; but reckoned that nothing is quite happening for the right-hander, and wanted the 30-year-old to further take a break for a while.&nbsp;&ldquo;I have tremendous admiration for the class of Rahul, in fact I call him Rolls Royce Rahul... but it is just not happening for him at the moment. If I was the chairman of selectors, I would have gone up to him and told him to take a break for a while,&rdquo; Srikkanth added.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

At the same time, Krishnamachari Srikkanth wanted India to play Shubman Gill as an opener

Rahul Dravid

Venkatesh Prasad

Cannot pinpoint a technical deficiency in Rahul’s game: Srikkanth

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57172/ashton-agar/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ashton Agar</a>&rsquo;s selection for the tour to India was quite a scratchy one. While experience and all-roundedness definitely did tilt the selection in his favour, his form and show over the last few months in the red-ball format was quite a tough pill to swallow. Since 2019, the Western Australian all-rounder had picked up only 20 wickets across 12 encounters, averaging a high 63.5.&nbsp;The man who was roped in from Australia &ndash; <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65047/matthew-kuhnemann/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Kuhnemann</a> &ndash; on the other hand, had a staggering average of 35, with 39 wickets, almost twice of Agar&rsquo;s tally. Not only did it see Kuhnemann leapfrog Agar in the Australian side, it has also left the selectors to release him from the Test setup.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/meet-matt-kuhnemann-the-steve-okeefe-regen-that-looks-up-to-jadeja-1676185080316" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Also Read: Matt Kuhnemann, the O&rsquo;Keefe regen that looks up to Jadeja</a>Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor expressed his opinion on the left-arm spinner, stating that it is quite a struggle for him to see Agar don the Baggy Green ever again for Australia.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s particularly worrying for Ashton Agar if he does harbour hopes of playing Test cricket again. If he was younger you&#39;d say, &#39;Well, he can come back from this&#39;, but right now I&#39;m struggling to see how he can put this behind him and play Test cricket again,&rdquo; Taylor told Wide World of Sports.&nbsp;Alongside that, Taylor also was puzzled by the management not trusting him after they showed the trust in selecting the left-arm spinner for the Sydney Test against South Africa before the start of the India tour.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t know what his future is as a Test player. They picked him for the Sydney Test, which I thought was a good selection because they were thinking about the series in India. But then they didn&#39;t pick him in India. So, I don&#39;t see what sort of future he has left,&quot; Taylor added.With Kuhnemann now leap-frogging the Western Australian all-rounder, Taylor has expressed his doubts over Agar&rsquo;s return to the Australian setup in the longest format of the game.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;ve got no doubt now that the selectors will be looking at the development of Matthew Kuhnemann as a left-arm spinner, so I don&#39;t know where that leaves Agar.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Earlier in the day, Ashton Agar was released to play Sheffield Shield after being dropped from the squad

Matthew Kuhnemann

Struggling to see how Agar could play Test cricket again: Taylor

The 36-year-old <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5380/david-warner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Warner</a>, who was subbed out of the second Test in New Delhi owing to concussion, has now been ruled out of the last two Tests due to elbow fracture. During his stay at the crease, the left-hander had hurt himself on the elbow after suffering a blow from Mohammed Siraj.&nbsp;Warner then was replaced by fellow southpaw, Matt Renshaw for the Delhi Test. As things stand now, the left-handed opener would be flying back home to Sydney, with all eyes on returning for the three-match ODI series later next month against India.&nbsp;&quot;David Warner has been ruled out of the Qantas test tour of India and will return home,&quot; CA said in a statement issued this afternoon.&quot;Warner was struck on the elbow in the second Test in Delhi and sustained a hairline fracture.&quot;After further assessment, he will require a period of rehabilitation which will preclude any further involvement in the remainder of the Test series.Earlier yesterday, Australia&rsquo;s head coach Andrew McDonald had indicated that they would continue to back Head as the opener in sub-continental conditions.&nbsp;If Dave&#39;s unavailable it would make perfect sense,&quot; McDonald said on the idea of Head opening the innings.&quot;We did discuss before coming over here, that if we were to lose an opening batter that Trav would be one we&#39;d look to put up there. We feel in the subcontinental conditions that he can get off to the fast starts which he showed.&quot;Australia would now be without the services of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Swepson and now Warner. It is widely expected that the duo of Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc are set to return to the playing XI for the third Test in Indore.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Australia would now be hoping for Travis Head to take that opening spot in Indore and Ahmedabad

Warner ruled out of Test series due to elbow fracture

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> slashed and cut through the Australian batting line-up in Delhi as if they were made of clay and he was wielding a real sword instead of a leather ball.&nbsp;The above or any kind of a mention of a sword and Jadeja in the same sentence doesn&rsquo;t feel odd anymore. It&rsquo;s not only because of his milestone celebrations while batting but also because of how he cuts through batting units like they were soft butter.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676956836087-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">He picked up 7 wickets faster than any Aussie could say Ravindrasinh Jadeja. Even with the bat, his performance has become such that he&rsquo;s guarding a fort during an enemy&rsquo;s siege.&nbsp;In fact, he has been so good with both the bat and the ball in recent years, that it&#39;s almost imperative that we ask these questions - Is Ravindra Jadeja the greatest all-rounder India has ever produced?&nbsp;Can we take his name alongside the great all rounders of the game like Botham, Kallis and Dev? Numbers do answer that question. It&rsquo;s time that we start acknowledging that as well.&nbsp;A Batting Career of Two HalvesWhen Jadeja arrived at the Test level, he was a bowling all-rounder who was an absolute menace with the ball in helpful conditions. His bowling was his stronger suit, as he dismissed visiting batters at home as if he&rsquo;s swatting flies on a hot summer afternoon.&nbsp;However with the bat, let&rsquo;s just say this - he was like an overactive toddler who had fun playing for a while but would get distracted as quickly as he got interested. If it was a prolonged innings filled with attrition that you needed, he certainly wasn&rsquo;t your man. Building an innings Test match style was as alien to him as following someone on Instagram (he follows exactly 0 people there)In his first 26 innings at the highest level of international cricket as a batter, his highest score was 68. In none of his initial five seasons of Test cricket, could he average more than 22.5 with the bat. In this initial period, whenever he was dropped from white ball sides, he used to go back to domestic cricket and hit a triple century and make it back to the side riding on those runs.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676956342493-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Commentators mentioning his triples to hype up his batting abilities almost became a running joke after a point. In fact, his famous sword celebration after getting those 50s started feeling over the top as he wasn&rsquo;t getting any centuries, and cricket lacked any precedence of a flashy celebration without a three-figure mark.But everything changed with his batting in 2018. The Indian team management wasn&rsquo;t happy with his fun fifties. They knew he had the defensive game to play long innings. Even he knew that he had it in him to build an innings. It wasn&rsquo;t his identical twin that got those triples after all.&nbsp;He showed that ability in red-ball cricket by scoring his maiden hundred at his home ground in Rajkot against the West Indies that year. It was the beginning of the era of Ravindra Jadeja - the all-rounder.&nbsp;Jadeja, the batter, was never the same since 2018. He was not only getting the crucial runs down the order at home, but was playing crucial innings in tough conditions as well. By the time he finished a decade in Test cricket in 2022, he had a hundred and three fifties in England. He was not only scoring runs, but was batting long as well. In fact, his batting became such a plus for the Indian side that they started dropping Ashwin and played him as the sole spinner overseas.&nbsp;With time he became so indispensable to the team&rsquo;s balance overseas, that his absence was touted as one of the key reasons India couldn&rsquo;t win the closely fought Test series in South Africa.&nbsp;The all-rounded artistry&nbsp;The measure of any Test all-rounder worth their salt is if they can take a five wicket haul and score a century in the same game. Jadeja is one of those.&nbsp;As a bowler, he was always capable of a fifer in any Test match. In fact, in a career where it was thought he&rsquo;ll be overshadowed by Ashwin&rsquo;s spin, he not only has made his own name, but has done it with immense panache. He has the best bowling average amongst all left-arm spinners who have taken at least 150 wickets. If one includes spinners of all types in this assessment, his average of 23.82 is just behind Jim Laker and Muttiah Muralitharan.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676956485483-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Since 2018, his batting numbers have massively improved as already shown above. Currently, his batting average stands at 36.9, rising significantly in recent years with him averaging more than 46 with the bat. A century by him is no more a novelty. It has become an expectation.&nbsp;While comparing all-rounders, the difference between the batting and bowling averages gives a good idea about the quality of all-rounders. The table above shows the list of currently active all-rounders with the highest average difference.&nbsp;No one even comes close to Jadeja here. Deservingly, he is the best all-rounder in the world, and in ICC rankings as well. In fact these numbers are so great, that when he completed a double of 250 wickets and 2500 runs in Test cricket, he was the second fastest all-rounder ever to achieve that, just behind Sir Ian Botham.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676956448048-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">When compared with other all-rounders who have taken 250 wickets and scored 2500 runs in Test cricket and their numbers arranged in descending order of average difference, he is right up there with the best all-rounders in the 145 year history of Test cricket.Who would have thought that this guy from Rajkot who couldn&rsquo;t hit a hundred until he was more than 5 years into his Test career, would end up just behind all time greats Jacques Kallis and Imran Khan? Actually with the way he&rsquo;s been batting, it won&rsquo;t be an exaggeration to predict that his batting average might cross 40 by the time he retires, and that he&rsquo;ll remove Imran from the second spot in the above list.&nbsp;The final verdictFor an all-rounder who was once reduced to being called a bits and pieces cricketer at the international level, he has surely come a long way in his career for his name to be taken in the same breath as Kallis, Botham and Imran.&nbsp;His achievements with the bat and bowl are so stratospheric, that it&rsquo;s even easy to forget how he&rsquo;s one of the best fielders in the world. He is not only the best Test all-rounder India has ever produced, but his numbers prove he&rsquo;s amongst the best all-rounders Test cricket has ever seen.&nbsp;Jadeja is no-longer just an all-time great on the basis of his potential, he is an all-time great on the basis of his performance. If you don&rsquo;t take notice, why are you here anyway?&nbsp;*Stats input from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/authors/anirudh-kasargod/Anirudh_Kasargod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anirudh Kasargod</a>Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Numbers prove that Jadeja is amongst the best all-rounders in Test history. It’s time for the cricket world to now cherish him as one

Ravindra Jadeja

Sir Ian Botham

The all-rounded greatness of Ravindra Jadeja

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/56964/pat-cummins/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pat Cummins</a> as a captain had earnt himself quite a laurel, following Test series wins against Pakistan, England and South Africa. In both the Asian series that the pacer had captained, Australia put on a show, with a 1-1 draw in Sri Lanka and a 1-0 series win in Pakistan. But India were always going to be the strongest of the challenge.&nbsp;Starting from the first Test, the defensive nature of the 29-year-old has really shaken the fans, including several former Australian cricketers. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3434/michael-clarke/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michael Clarke</a>, who knows the challenge of playing India away from home, tore the Australian skipper apart, stating that his defensive strategy while defending the total in Delhi was bemusing.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to say, I&rsquo;m not sure what happened with our tactics either. We had 100 runs on the board, at one stage Pat Cummins had four blokes on the boundary,&rdquo; Clarke said on Sky Sports Radio&rsquo;s BSB.&nbsp;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re either bowling India out for under 100, or you&rsquo;re losing. If you lose in 20 overs or you lose in two days, it&rsquo;s irrelevant. So fielders get up, (put a) bat-pad off side, bat-pad leg side, slip. If the ball turns, if the ball bounces, if the ball shoots along the ground, if you make an error in judgment, you are getting out. That&rsquo;s what Australia had to do. We had mid-off back, mid-on back, deep point, deep square-leg &mdash; what was I watching?&rdquo; he added.Ahead of the India series, Australian coach Andrew McDonald made the brave call that the Kangaroos wouldn&rsquo;t play a tour game in India. Clarke points out at that, stating that the lack of preparations in these conditions has ultimately cost Australia the series, after the visitors conceded a handsome 2-0 lead in the series.&nbsp;&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have a tour game. Major, major, major mistake. At least one tour game over there to get used to the conditions,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;Our selections for the first Test &mdash; major, major, major mistake. One cost us a chance, I reckon, of winning the T20 World Cup, and this 100 per cent cost us the first Test if not the second Test.&rdquo;What was bemusing though is how the Australian batters took on the Indian spin challenge. While England had a similar ploy during their series back in 2021, Australia plotted their own downfall, with the shot selection at the Arun Jaitley Stadium during the second Test. Clarke pointed at that, insisting that the Australian batters are not getting the basics of playing spin right.&nbsp;&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t adapted to conditions,&rdquo; Clarke said on Sky Sports Radio&rsquo;s BSB. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying don&rsquo;t sweep in India, I&rsquo;m saying the opposite. I&rsquo;m saying you sweep at the right time, at the right stage of your innings, on the right pitch and, generally, with the spin. It&rsquo;s very hard to sweep against the spin when the ball is not bouncing. So, basics of batting and facing spin bowling in those conditions we are getting so wrong.&rdquo;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Clarke also called not playing a tour game as a ‘major mistake’ considering the conditions in India

Andrew McDonald

Michael Clarke

Not sure what happened with our tactics: Clarke on Cummins’ defensive strategy

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed fast bowler <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4255/josh-hazlewood/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Josh Hazlewood</a> has been ruled of the India Tests as he continues to recover from an achilles heel injury, according to Cricket.com.au. Hazlewood has not featured in any of the two Tests so far, but Australia do have the services of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and uncapped Lance Morris, if needed.Australia are 2-0 down in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, following defeats in Nagpur and most recently in Delhi. Skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/pat-cummins-returns-home-due-to-a-serious-family-health-issue-1676864245496" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pat Cummins too has flown back home</a> home for personal reasons but is expected to lead Australia in the third Test in Indore, starting March 1.As far as Hazlewood is concerned, he had been training hard in India but has been unable to shake-off the injury and will now continue his recovery at home in Sydney. He has also not been cleared to play for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield as yet.However, Australia d have some good news. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66870/cameron-green/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cameron Green</a> is 100% fit to play the third Test, while Starc too remains in contention. Cummins was the sole pacer in the Delhi Test as Matthew Kuhnemann played as the third spinner alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.Murphy complained of a side injury in Delhi, but McDonald believes there&#39;s enough time for him to recover ahead of Indore Test. &ldquo;He had a slight niggle in the side,&rdquo; McDonald told reporters on Monday (February 20).&nbsp;&ldquo;It looks as though the timeframe between now and the next Test should be enough to resolve that. So he&#39;ll have not a test but he&#39;ll have a good workout two days before &hellip; it looks good.&rdquo;Australia may also have to ring in the changes at the top as <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5380/david-warner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Warner</a> faces race against time to be fit for the rest of the series after suffering a hairline fracture on his left elbow. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/62023/travis-head/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Travis Head</a> opened the innings in Delhi in the second innings as Warner was ruled out due to a concussion.&nbsp;He top-scored a counter-attacking 46-ball 43 and after missing the first Test, could be retained at the top of the order if Warner fails to recover.Australia lost the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and 132 runs. Despite being in command in the second Test in Delhi, a batting collapse on Day Three saw India cash in and go on to win the game by six wickets. The hosts as a result have retained the Border-Gavaskat Trophy.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The Australia fast bowler will continue to recover from the achillies heel injury back home in Sydney

Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of India Tests, Andrew McDonald confirms

Australia captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/56964/pat-cummins/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pat Cummins</a> has returned home due to a serious family health issue, but is expected to be join the squad in India for the preparation for the third Test at the Holkar Stadium, Indore, starting March 1.Australia are 2-0 down in the four-match Border-Gavaskar series with the second Test in Delhi finishing on Day Three after Australia batters&#39; capitulation to hand India an easy six-wicket victory.Cummins was Australia&#39;s only pacer in the second Test, but did not bowl a single over in the fourth innings as the hosts chased down the target of 115with relative ease. If Cummins were to miss the third Test in Indore, vice-captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4308/steven-smith/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Steven Smith</a> will be handed the responsibility to lead the side.Smith has lead Australia twice in Cummins&#39; absence - at the Ashes 2021-22 after Cummins was identified as someone who was in close contact with someone who was covid positive. He was also forced to miss the day-night Test against the West Indies last year due to a quad injury.Cummins who was appointed the One-Day International (ODI) captain recently is expected to lead the side in the three-match series against India, starting March 17.However, a rest for &nbsp;the fast bowler to manage his workload cannot be completely ruled out.Australia also have plenty of fast bowling cover for the remainder of the Tests, with the likes of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4255/josh-hazlewood/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Josh Hazlewood</a>, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and the uncapped Lance Morris waiting on the wings. All-rounder Cameron Green too is expected to play the second half of the series after recovering from a finger injury.Australia however sweat over the fitness of opening batter David Warner, after he suffered a hairline fracture on his left elbow while batting in Delhi. He was also hit on the head during the innings that led to a concussion with Matt Renshaw replacing him in the second innings. There were concerns over Todd Murphy as well, who had a bit of side soreness, but the off-spinner managed to bowl close to seven overs on Sunday (February 19).Fellow spinner Mitchell Swepson who also flew back home for the birth of his first child is also expected to link up with the squad ahead of the third Test. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/australia-call-up-matthew-kuhnemann-for-india-tests-1676177686841" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Australia flew in Matthew Kuhnemann in as Swepson&#39;s replacement</a> and the left-arm spinner made his Test debut in Delhi, getting Virat Kohli as his maiden wicket.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The Australia captain is expected to return to India to lead his side ahead of the third Test in Indore, starting March 1

IND vs AUS Test 2nd Test, Australia tour of India, 2023 - Commentary

IND VS AUS,2nd Test

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