On December 18, 2024, the cricketing world was left stunned by the news of Ravi Ashwin's sudden announcement of retirement from international cricket following the conclusion of the Gabba Test. His retirement triggered an unprecedented wave of wishes that poured in from several corners of the cricket world, most notably from leading cricketing experts and former cricketers.

In a bid to pay a departing tribute to the spin-bowling wizard, Australian skipper Pat Cummins and top Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon gifted a signed Australian Test jersey on Wednesday. The indications of Ashwin's retirement became all too clear when he walked out with India captain Rohit Sharma and accompanied him during the press conference to address his international retirement.

See also: Travis Head doubtful for Melbourne Test? Cummins gives crucial update

Cummins and Lyon present the signed jersey

A video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), captured the very moment when the two Aussie players went up to Ashwin to hand a signed Australia Test jersey in the hallway of the iconic Gabba in Brisbane.

While giving him the signed shirt, Cummins was reportedly heard saying the following:

"Well done mate, thank you, you have been great."

Watch here:

A Legend Bids Adieu to International Cricket 👏👏

Hear what R Ashwin’s parting words were to the Indian dressing room 🎥🔽#TeamIndia | @ashwinravi99 https://t.co/6wtwdDOmzX

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 18, 2024

A peek into Ashwin's illustrious career

Ashwin started his Test journey in 2011 with a match against the West Indies, after which he established himself as a prominent player in red-ball cricket. Over the course of 106 Test matches, he bagged an impressive total of 537 wickets, which includes 37 instances of five-wicket hauls, while also accumulating 3,503 runs. 

Moreover, Ashwin's exploits with the bat also helped him evolve as a technically potent all-rounder across all formats. Ashwin currently holds the record of being the fastest Indian bowler to claim 350 Test wickets.

Australian pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been signed as supplementary players for the upcoming Big Bash League. While Pat Cummins will play for Sydney Thunder, Starc and Hazlewood will be featured for the Sydney Sixers for the upcoming season as well.

However, both franchises would confirm the signings on Thursday, December 12 as well. While the trio will be busy with their international commitments, it is expected that they won't feature a lot in the upcoming season too. Meanwhile, the trio are likely to be a part of the off-field side of things whenever they are available. Notably, Cummins had been a part of the Thunder side from the fifth to the ninth season as well, which was also his last one as well.

"I’m excited to have a voice and fully back the guys throughout the season" - Pat Cummins

On the other hand, Starc and Hazlewood have been with the Sydney Sixers from the very start and won the inaugural BBL title, alongside Cummins as well.

Pat Cummins also claimed that he was really proud to be a part of the Sydney Thunder. He also said that the current squad is shaping up to be a special one as well.

SEE ALSO: 'Good to see him working on the game' - Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli

“As a Western Sydney guy at heart, I’m really proud to be a part of the team this summer. While international duties mean I can’t be around as much as I’d like, I’m excited to have a voice and fully back the guys throughout the season. It’s fantastic to have talent like Sam Billings back. I first played with him in Penrith, so our Western Sydney connection runs deep. He’s a great addition to the squad," Cummins said.

Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are all currently playing the BGT

Australian captain Pat Cummins’ five-wicket haul guides a strong victory for Australia to level the five-match Test series by 1-1 with three Tests to go. 

Starting the third day of the day-night pink-ball Adelaide Test match from 128/5, India were bowled out for only 175 runs. Australia successfully chased down the 19-run target in the fourth innings in 3.2 overs without losing a wicket. 

India’s last hope was destroyed in the first over of the third day as Rishabh Pant (28) was caught by Steven Smith at the second slip and Mitchell Starc produced that important breakthrough. 

All the next Indian batters failed to reach double-digit scores, while the all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy set another fight with 42 runs from 47 balls with the help of six fours and one six. 

Out of five wickets on the third day, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins picked up three wickets to complete his 13th Test fifer. While he dismissed Indian opener KL Rahul and captain Rohit Sharma last night, the right-arm fast bowler took the wickets of Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy on the third day afternoon. He ended with the bowling figures of 14-0-57-5.

Australia captain Pat Cummins lashed out at some of the commentators for creating misunderstanding in the Australian dressing room. Cummins was asked about the alleged rift in the Australian dressing room several times during his pre-match press conference in Adelaide on Thursday, 5 December, and he answered all the questions as well.

Commentators including Adam Gilchrist and Sunil Gavaskar reacted to Josh Hazlewood's comments on Day 3 of the Perth Test match, where he had lashed out at the Australian batting line-up for their poor performance at the Optus Stadium in the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Hazlewood had also blamed the batters after India put up a massive 534-run target in Perth and asked the journalists to question the batters about the Test match.

While Gilchrist, who was the broadcaster had said Hazlewood's statements as uncharacteristic, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar had chimed that there was a rift in the Australia dressing room as well. 

Speaking at the press conference, Cummins said, "The team's great. Some of the commentators got it a hundred per cent wrong. We prepared like we always do. It's a great feeling around the team. When things don't go right, there are enough commentators who will support you but some that will try and create headlines. We try not to notice those things. We try to concentrate our focus on how we prepare, give ourselves the best chance to win the games."

Mitchell Marsh fit to play the second Test

The Australia captain also shared the change in the side due to the injury of Hazlewood. They brought back Scott Boland in the line-up, who is well-known for his stunning accuracy with the ball. Cummins also gave an update on Mitchell Marsh's fitness claiming that Australia would not want him to bowl in the next couple of days as well.

SEE ALSO: Travis Head names one of the greatest pacers of the game

"We have made the call with the medical team to give him another couple of days off bowling. Expecting him to warm-up only in case he is required to bowl. I am guessing he will be required at some point," Cummins said.

Australia are under pressure after the defeat in the first Test

However, Australia are 0-1 down in the Test series after the defeat in the first Test against India and will get knocked out of the World Test Championship Final race if they lose the series. Following the defeat, the team is under pressure ahead of the pink ball Test match.

"When you are playing at home, any Test match will give pressure. When you are down, there is a little bit more. We have been in similar situations before, whether it is World Cups or other series, where you are in must-win situations. We are not there yet at the moment. We love playing here, we love playing in Australia. We know that we were not at our best last week, we know things that we had to work on. Excited for the last 4 Test matches. Everyone in this team has got personal pride, professional pride," he said.

"I was happy with the way I bowled. I felt that it came out (of the hand) all right. In the second innings, I tried a few more things. But ya, overall I think I am happy with my rhythm," Pat Cummins concluded.

Jaspirt Bumrah-led Indian side handed Australia their second-biggest Test defeat in terms of margin at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The 295-run defeat also marked the end of Australia's unbeaten run at that venue. 

The spirited performance from the visitors has sent shockwaves which as a result, has attracted sharp criticism from fans and leading cricketing experts from the country.  However, many are of the opinion that there are signs of a growing amount of discontent within the Australian players in the dressing room. 

A divide between the Australian batters and bowlers

The signs of a potential rift first came to light when Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood was asked about his side's approach in the first Test. He shockingly attributed the team's downfall to the batters who severely underperformed in the first innings. 

Many cricketing legends such as Adam Gilchrist were not amused with Josh's statement and indicated that a divide between the batters and the bowlers in the dressing room can really be detrimental to the team's success for the remainder of the series. 

Pat Cummins puts these theories to rest

Amidst deteriorating ties in the dressing room, the Aussie skipper Pat Cummins brushed all the claims of a possible rift aside stating that the unit is together and that the players “look after each other.”

In an interview with ABC Sports, Cummins reiterated that despite the horrendous defeat in the first Test, his side remains the top-ranked team in world cricket and vows to make a strong comeback in the second Test.

“We look after each other. There’s plenty of games where the batters drag us out of sticky situations and likewise, we do the opposite. So yeah, it’s such a great bunch. We get on really well. We challenge each other. We will stick firm; I think we are still the no.1 ranked side in the world, so this week doesn’t change that.”

India's dominant win at Perth has set the wheels in motion for the tourists. But they must brace themselves to face the hosts in the upcoming day/night Test at Adelaide starting on December 6. Australia are yet to be beaten in a D/N Test and India will have to be at the top of their mark once again to negate the impending threat. 

See also: Watch: Jasprit Bumrah gets a special name from Aussie commentators

Australian captain Pat Cummins is confident that Australia will be winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). The series will see five Tests for the first time. Before the first Test on 22nd November in Perth, Cummins spoke to the media in a Press Conference where he expressed his excitement, saying, "It would be great to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy. India are a great side, but we are prepared."

When he was asked about the series, Pat Cummins shared that while India is a tough team, Australia are well-prepared for the much-awaited challenges. The BGT is always a big contest, and winning it would be a huge achievement for Australia. 

“Having five Tests for the first time here is big,” he said.

Bumrah and the rise of pace bowlers leading teams

However, Pat Cummins shared his view on pace bowlers taking the lead role in teams. He strongly believes that pace bowlers should play a key role in leading teams, especially in Test cricket. On Jasprit Bumrah captaining India in the first test, Cummins said, “It should happen more (pacers leading teams),”.

SEE ALSO: Mohammed Shami takes a dig at Sanjay Manjrekar after his IPL prediction

Pat Cummins also spoke about the all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, claiming that he will bowl in this Test series as well. Marsh’s role will be important to Australia’s balance during the series. He also praised Alex Carey.

“He’ll definitely bowl in this Test. He’s an all-rounder. With four pacers, we didn’t want our all-rounders to bowl a lot of overs,” he said. “Alex Carey has been brilliant. He has been really impressive and in a good place.”

Pat Cummins praised Nitish Reddy

He also shared his thoughts on the talented youngster Nitish Reddy as well. He said that Reddy is a talented cricketer who can swing the ball and has great potential as well. Notably, both have played together in IPL team SRH in 2024.

“He is an impressive youngster, he can swing the ball.” Pat Cummins said.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 will begin on November 22nd in the Optus Stadium in Perth. India, who have won the last four BGTs, is up against a home team eager to end their winning streak. Rohit Sharma's unavailability will be felt, as Jasprit Bumrah leads the Indian team. 
Let's check out Three key player battles to watch include:

Jasprit Bumrah vs Travis Head: 

Jasprit Bumrah, India's top fast bowler, will face Travis Head, Australia's in-form batter. Head has a long history of troubling Indian bowlers, so Bumrah will have to be at his best to contain him. Bumrah's unique action and capacity to generate reverse swing may be the key to dismissing Head cheaply. Travis Head's Test cricket career has been significantly impacted by Jasprit Bumrah, who dismissed him twice during their encounters. Despite this, Head has scored 50 runs off 126 balls against Bumrah, averaging 25.

Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Starc:

Virat Kohli, an experienced and successful Indian batter, will compete against Mitchell Starc, Australia's top fast bowler. Starc is known for extracting speed and bounce from perhaps the most benign pitches, making him an uphill battle for Kohli. Mitchell Starc dismissed Virat Kohli four times in Test cricket matches. Notably, Kohli has still scored 236 runs off 394 balls against Starc, with an impressive average of 59. This suggests that, despite being dismissed four times, Kohli always performed well against Starc, demonstrating his versatility and batsmanship.

Ravindra Jadeja vs Steve Smith:

Ravindra Jadeja, India's veteran off-spinner, will face off against Steve Smith, Australia's experienced and successful batter. Smith is known for his history of handling Jadeja well, but Jadeja has been developing his variations and can be unpredictable. The duel between these two will be critical in determining the series' outcome, as both players have the ability to change the game with a few well-placed deliveries completely. Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Steve Smith eight times in Test cricket. Despite this, Smith has scored 270 runs from 735 balls, averaging 33.

Pat Cummins vs KL Rahul:

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will open the batting against Pat Cummins. His biggest challenge will be Pat Cummins, who is tall and fast. The Australian speedster hasn't been at his best in a few months, and the same is true for the struggling KL Rahul. Both players will attempt to get on top of each other. KL Rahul has been dismissed twice by Pat Cummins in Test matches. Nonetheless, he has managed to score a respectable 80 runs off 157 balls against Cummins. His batting average of 40 and strike rate of 51 show his ability to counter Cummins' bowling.

Marnus Labuschagne vs Ravindra Jadeja:

The battle between Marnus Labuschagne and Ravindra Jadeja will be crucial in determining the series' outcome. Labuschagne's adaptability to different bowling styles will be tested against Jadeja's spin. Jadeja's experience and skill will make it difficult for Labuschagne to score freely, making this a battle to remember. Ravindra Jadeja knocked out Marnus Labuschagne five times in Test cricket, while Labuschagne has 99 runs off 301 balls at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 32.

Australia's young batting brigade has come under immense fire as the home side suffered an unimaginable series defeat against the Men in Green for the first time in the ODI format since 2002. Some fiery exhibition of fast bowling from Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah reduced the all-might Aussie batting lineup to rubbles as Australia were bowled out for less than 180 in the remaining two ODIs. The obvious reason for their swift downfall can be pointed out to their paltry batting which led to their undoing in the series.

The Australia batting department experienced some new lows in that series. This 1-2 series defeat also marks the first instance where none of the Aussie batters failed to register a fifty or fifty-plus score. 

Hussey dissects the underlying reason behind Australia's catastrophic batting failure

Former Australia cricketer and sports commentator Michael Hussey commented on air about the players' inclination towards playing an aggressive brand of T20 cricket. He highlighted that the heavy-risk brand of cricket has infiltrated the Aussie batting lineup. Due to the high proliferation of franchise cricket, their batters have now become more susceptible to getting out in a rash manner. 

“Playing a lot of T20 cricket and seeing what’s happening around the world, batters these days are going really hard – playing high-risk games. When it comes off, it looks great and it’s exciting for everyone to watch. But when it doesn’t in the face of high-quality bowling, you can get exposed.”

It has been a go-to strategy, especially for the likes of Josh Inglis and Jake Fraser-McGurk to go all out from ball number one in the recently concluded three-match series. This strategy can do wonders on some days while on other days, it can backfire. The 49-year-old urges the youngsters to adopt a slightly different approach to 50-over cricket and shift their focus on converting small starts into big scores. 

“You’ve got a bit of time, you can build that innings … turn that 20-30 into a 50-60 and then hopefully an 80-100, but that’s part of the development. 50 overs is sort of that in-between game … you do have a bit more time.” 

Michael Vaughan shell-shocked after witnessing Australia's horror show with the bat

Former England captain Michael Vaughan shared the same concerns as his counterpart Hussey and admitted that he had never ever seen the Aussie batting lineup crumble against such a high-quality seam attack. Vaughan felt that the potent Pakistan pace attack troubled the batters with swing and pace, although not being express pace, to lose all 20 wickets under 200 in both games was simply unthinkable by his standards. 

“Let’s be honest, for three games I don’t remember seeing an Australian batting lineup look so exposed.” Three games on the trot against a bit of pace, a bit of movement – it’s not express, it’s not rapid. But they’ve been completely exposed.”

Following the conclusion of a highly entertaining ODI series, the focus now moves to the T20I series that will commence on November 14 at the Gabba. Some big names from the Australian camp will be missing as the likes of Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood are all but away to prepare for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy that will start on November 22. 

See also: Australian squad announced for Perth Test with two potential Test debutants

The extraordinary might of the Australian team was crushed at the Adelaide Oval as Pakistani speedster Haris Rauf ran through the batting lineup like a hot knife through the butter. On a steamy pace-friendly wicket, Rauf extracted prodigious bounce and seam movement to trouble the Aussie batters early on. He received ample support from his pace counterpart Shaheen, who accounted for three dismissals while Naseem and Hasnain finished with one wicket apiece.

Four out of five of his dismissals featured soft dismissals that came in the form of caught behind whereas one solitary dismissal came in the form of bold dismissal. Inglis, Labuschagne, Hardie, Maxwell, and Cummins succumbed to his hostile pace bowling. His figures of 5-29 are his best-recorded ODI figures on Australian soil and on the back of such a ground-breaking performance, the Men in Green can now dream of a potential victory in this series. 

A look into Haris Rauf's obliterating bowling spell   

Out-class Spell by Haris Rauf Today #PAKvsAUS pic.twitter.com/9zKl7mAYAb

— Ahsan Shah 💙 (@parh_ly_ahsan) November 8, 2024

Inglis was the first victim to fall to Rauf's hostile bowling. He was dismissed during the 14th over when he attempted to pull a shortish delivery angling down the leg side. Haris was rewarded for this ordinary delivery as Inglis only managed to get some glove on the way making it all too easy for Rizwan to complete a simple catch behind the stumps. 

Labuschagne was the next batter to depart and he was dismissed at a very crucial time when Australia needed a partnership to stay afloat. Rauf bowled an absolute peach in the form of a seam-up delivery and Labuschagne poked at it tentatively to find the outside edge through to Rizwan behind the stumps. 

Hardie was the next victim to fall and he too succumbed in a very similar fashion as his predecessor Labuschagne during the 26th over of the match. A regulation seam-up delivery on a length deviated very late to take the outside edge of Hardie's bat which ultimately resulted in his demise on 14.

Then a big wicket of Maxwell which completely derailed Australia during the 28th over. Maxwell made a very poor choice to counter-attack Rauf for which he paid a hefty price.  Maxwell's eyes lit up after seeing a short and wide delivery outside off. He tried to take a swipe at it only to drag the ball back onto his stumps.

And then finally, Rauf delivered a final nail in the coffin by removing the skipper Cummins who could have threatened Pakistan in the dying phase of the innings. His dismissal broke the back of the Australian innings as the home side failed to put up a big score on the board.

Where does the match currently stand? 

Shaheen Afridi picked up the final wicket of the innings to clean up Australia for 163. Haris's inspirational bowling spell has given the visitors a fighting chance of getting back into the series. The Men in Green narrowly missed out in the first ODI at Melbourne but with such a relatively small target to chase, Pakistan find themselves on the cusp of a maiden ODI victory in Australia since 2017. 

See also: Low scoring Oman vs UAE ODI enters the record books

Josh Inglis will assume the captaincy role following the conclusion of the second ODI at Adelaide and will lead the Men in Yellow in the third ODI as well as the forthcoming T20I series against Pakistan which is expected to commence on November 14. He will lead the side in the absence of premium stalwarts such as Mitch Marsh and Travis Head who are both unavailable due to paternity leave and Test preparation. 

In addition, Australia's Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins and vice-captain Steve Smith will also not be available to feature for the remainder of the series in order to prepare for the grueling Border Gavaskar Test series. 

Inglis to lead a whole new-look Australia squad 

Following his captaincy appointment, Inglis becomes the 14th T20I captain and the 30th ODI captain to lead Australia. He will have his work cut out as his side will be without the services of experienced Cummins, Smith, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Marnus Labuschagne, all of whom will be away to prepare for the much-awaited Border Gavaskar Test series. 

The squad will feature some fresh faces in the form of Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, and Josh Philippe who have made limited yet impactful international appearances for Australia in recent times. Moreover, Lance Morris has also been included as a cover for Josh Hazlewood and is likely to feature in the last ODI of the three-match series. 

Dissecting Inglis' captaincy background

Unlike his teammates Matt Short, Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa, and Nathan Ellis, Inglis does not have any credible captaincy experience under his belt. The 29-year-old does not have any captaincy experience at the BBL level unlike some of his fellow teammates. But the flamboyant wicket-keeper batter is widely renowned for his leadership qualities and his tactical instinct at the domestic level.  

Inglis served as the vice-captain for the Perth Scorchers during the previous season and played a significant role within their leadership team. He was a leading candidate to assume the captaincy following Ashton Turner's season-ending injury. However, Aaron Hardie was ultimately selected for the position. This decision was primarily influenced by a preference to avoid appointing a wicketkeeper as captain, particularly given the time constraints faced by the younger bowlers.

In the ongoing three-match ODI series, Australia have taken an early 1-0 lead following a nervy win at the MCG. The hosts will once again lock horns with the visitors in the second ODI at Adelaide where they will look to wrap up the series in one of the most clinical ways possible. 

See also: ICC WTC 2023-25: A saga of strange wins and shocking defeats