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Australia rest pace trio ahead of India series
Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) Saturday opted to rest pace trio Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Josh Hazlewood for the upcoming Sheffield Shield round matches, keeping in mind the upcoming Test series against India.
The move gave rise to the possibility that the three men have been earmarked to form Australia’s fast bowling attack for the first Test at the Gabba.
Hazlewood, fresh off nine wickets at an average of 14.66 runs per wicket in the One-Day International series against South Africa, would become Australia’s 440th Test cricketer if he’s selected for the first Test against India, starting Dec 4 in Brisbane.
Johnson is a certainty for the first Test after an outstanding year that has seen him claim the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Player of the Year award.
Siddle’s case to retain his spot in the Test XI got strengthened following his seven wickets for his team Bushrangers in the last round of Shield matches, including a second innings haul of 5-31.
Veteran pacer Ryan Harris is the other fast bowler in contention for a spot.
Nathan Coulter-Nile has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, joining injured captain Michael Clarke on the sidelines.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.