Former India cricketer turned commentator Parthiv Patel has devised a solution for India's underperforming batting unit down under. The Indian batting unit has come under fire following their dismal show against the Black Caps at home. Similar batting woes have resurfaced in the ongoing BGT tour with the majority of the top order not being amongst the runs.  

Time and again, India's batting has experienced collapses which ultimately resulted in a heavy defeat in the Adelaide pink-ball Test. By looking at all of this, Parthiv has come up with a word of advice for the team on how to overcome the challenge while at the same time highlighting the team's major problem while facing spin. 

See also: Australian Media’s Mind Games: Targeting Kohli, Jadeja, and Now Akash Deep Before Boxing Day Test

Parthiv has his say on India's catastrophic batting collapses

While acknowledging the obvious problem, the former Indian cricketer feels that the downfall may not be solely attributed to just brute aggression but urges the entire batting unit to bat sensibly and apply themselves to different conditions with maturity. 

"There is no doubt that collapses have occurred, especially in home series. We have seen collapses on rank-turner pitches against New Zealand. When we toured Australia, the collapses continued there."

"I do not believe this has happened due to extreme aggression. If we respect the traditional style of Test cricket and bat with discipline, these are the same batters who have previously performed well. Indian batters need to apply themselves more because they have the ability. If they bat with discipline, they can succeed anywhere." 

A view of India's batting struggles in recent past

In October, India's batting stooped to an all-time low when they were bowled out for a record-low of 46 against New Zealand in testing seaming conditions. The Indian batting lineup has faltered under both spinning and swinging conditions in recent months. They were unable to counter the challenges posed by Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner during the home series against New Zealand.

Presently, in the ongoing BGT Test series, the Indian batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been severely short of runs. While Kohli managed to get a few runs under his belt, the Indian skipper has only managed to score 19 runs in the space of four Test innings. 

According to emerging reports, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is believed to have injured himself while playing in the nets on Sunday, December 22. As per the latest report published by Times of India, Rohit suffered a blow to his left knee while facing a warm-up delivery from throwdown specialist Daya during India’s second practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ahead of the fourth Test.  

After that blow, Rohit carried on for a little bit before holding up to receive medical attention from the physio.

See also: The Escalating Tensions Between Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and the Australian Media

What did the report say?

The report suggests that the Indian skipper did not suffer a very serious injury. The physio has adopted all the necessary precautionary measures to prevent Rohit's injury from aggravating any further.

“The blow didn’t look that serious, and the physio is taking precautions to ensure swelling, if any, subsides. There is still some time left for the Boxing Day Test to begin, and Rohit would hope the pain goes away."

Moreover, the report also described how Rohit reacted after getting hit on his left knee. The 38-year-old reacted in pain after getting hit. He removed his gear and sat on a chair with his left foot extended on another chair. The physio then applied the ice pack on the affected area to which Rohit responded with a certain degree of unpleasure. 

“The Indian captain removed his gear, settled into a chair, and the physio got the ice pack out. There was pain visible on the right-hander’s face when the pack was put on, and the physio later placed the left leg on a chair to get Rohit into a comfortable position."

Rohit's ongoing struggles in the BGT 2024-25

Rohit missed the first Test due to the birth of his second child. But his return to the series has not been an inspiring one. The T20 World Cup-winning captain has been woefully out of touch in the red-ball arena and has averaged just 6.33 in three Test innings down under.

In a surprising turn of events, emerging reports claim that Virat Kohli is preparing to leave with his family and settle in London along with his wife Anushka Sharma, and their two children, daughter Vamika and son Akaay. This astonishing revelation was made public by his childhood coach Rajkumar in an interview with the Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran.  

The Indian legend is currently with the Indian Test squad for the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (2024-25) tour but his frequent holiday visits to London have fueled rumors of a possible re-settlement plan. Kohli's possibility of settling with his family in the UK seems highly probable and the very possibility was confirmed by Rajkumar during his recent discussion with Dainik Jagran.

See also: Major shake-up in the Australian squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test

More about Kohli's desire to settle in London

Following the birth of his second child Akaay on February 15, Kohli's bond with London took a whole new shape. London, being the birthplace of Akaay holds a special place in Kohli's heart. After the birth of his son, Kohli made his return to India to play for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Subsequently, he played an instrumental role in India's victory at the T20 World Cup, which took place in the USA and the West Indies.

Over the course of the past few months, Kohli has frequently been spotted vacationing with his family in London and other parts of the UK. Moreover, at the same time, the Indian batting legend is constantly striving to balance his family life and professional responsibilities. Although Rajkumar stressed that the 37-year-old remains committed to cricket as of now, his move to the UK can soon turn into a reality in the days to come.

"Yes, Virat plans to move to London with his children and wife, Anushka Sharma. The move is expected very soon, although he remains focused on his cricketing commitments for now."

Kohli was last seen in London after the conclusion of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka between July and August before returning for the home Test Series against Bangladesh in September.  

Kohli's ongoing struggles in the Border Gavaskar Trophy

It is a no-brainer for anyone to assume that the run machine has been struggling to regain his lost glory. In recent times, Kohli has found himself severely short of runs and his technical flaw outside the off-stump channel has severely been exploited by the Australian bowlers in this series. Excluding his solitary century in Perth, Kohli has looked in awful form with the bat and has averaged only 6.5 in the remaining four innings of this tour.

As the dust settles on a rain-hit Gabba Test, the focus now shifts to Melbourne where both India and Australia will be jostling to get past each other to strengthen their foothold in the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series (2024-25). In a bid to consolidate their standing in the series as well as the WTC 2023-25 points table, Australia have announced a series of unprecedented changes to bolster their Test squad ahead of the all-important Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. 

On Friday, Australia unveiled a 15-member squad for the remainder of the BGT series featuring some surprise selections and omissions. As many as four changes were made by the Aussie management following the conclusion of the drawn third Test. Here is a closer look at some of the eye-popping changes made to Australia's Test squad for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests.

See also: India beat West Indies to win their first bilateral WT20I series at home after 5 years

Sam Konstas In and Nathan McSweeney Out

The 25-year-old Australian opener Nathan McSweeney has failed to fire in the series. Often being labeled as the puppet of Jasprit Bumrah, McSweeney could only manage paltry scores of 10, 0, 39, 10, 9 & 4 and averaged a shocking 12 across six innings. He has been dropped from the squad to make way for the 19-year Sam Konstas. 

The youngster showed a great degree of promise with the bat in the two-day game in Canberra by scoring an impressive century against a potent Indian bowling attack. The Chair of Selectors George Bailey revealed in an official statement that it was a tough call for the management to select Konstas over McSweeney but at the same time, he praised the former's batting style and looks forward to seeing his game evolve. 

“Sam gets a call up to the Test squad for the first time. His style of batting offers a point of difference and we look forward to watching his game develop further. We remain confident Nathan has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level in the future. It was a difficult decision to leave him out."

Changes in the pace arsenal

Josh Hazlewood's injury for the second time in the series has cemented Scotty Boland's position in the squad. He is expected to feature as a second pace-bowling option along with Starc in the forthcoming Melbourne Test. In addition, Sean Abbott, Jhye Richardson, and Beau Webster have also been drafted to the Test squad. 

Abbott has yet to feature for Australia in the longest format but hasn't had much success playing against India in the limited-overs format managing only nice wickets in 12 matches. Jhye has played only three Tests for Australia but maintains a formidable average of 22.09 with 11 wickets to his name. Moreover, the young pacer scripted a memorable performance against India in the white-ball format by recording his career-best ODI bowling figures of 4-26 in the 2018-2019 ODI series. 

The uncapped Beau Webster has a reputation for his all-round abilities and is currently representing Melbourne Stars in the ongoing BBL tournament. Webster has a prolific record in FC cricket and averages nearly 38 with the bat whereas with the ball he has claimed 148 scalps in 93 matches which also included his career-best figures of 6-100. 

Australian squad for the last two Tests against India: 

Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Beau Webster, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson, Alex Carey, Scott Boland, and Josh Inglis.
 

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.

We are more than halfway through the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series with India winning the first, Australia winning the second, and the third ending in a rain-marred draw. Jasprit Bumrah has by far been the most threatening bowler for the hosts to contend with. While he continues to give nightmares to the Australian batters, the rest of the Indian bowling contingent has blown hot and cold in this entire tour so far.

The likes of Rana, Reddy, and Siraj have produced mixed results which do raise a need for another specialist seamer to step in apart from Bumrah. In all fairness, the national side is desperately missing the services of the ace pacer Mohammed Shami who was at the top of his mark in last year's ODI World Cup.

Following his glorious World Cup campaign, Shami had to endure an extended injury layoff which forced him out of major cricketing events including the T20 World Cup. However, the speedster has regained his fitness and made a glorious return to domestic cricket with a four-wicket haul for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.

See also: MCA reveals reason behind Prithvi Shaw's exclusion from Mumbai's Vijay Hazare Trophy Squad

Will Shami make an appearance in the Boxing Day Test?

Of late, there have been growing reports to suggest that Shami could well play a role in the upcoming Boxing Day Test starting on December 26 in Melbourne. However, the claim has not been officially confirmed by any major source till now. Speaking at the press conference, the Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma provided an update on Shami's availability and his potential participation ahead of the third Test. 

“I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talked about him. That’s our national cricket academy where he is rehabilitating. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update." 

Shami is currently undergoing rehab at the NCA. Rohit is looking forward to receiving instructions from NCA on how they can move forward with his case.

Rohit does not want to risk it with Shami

Shami has been competing in several domestic games back in India and has had resounding success. But the Indian skipper is reluctant to make him go the extra mile if he is not 100% fit. Shami has reportedly faced issues with his knee and Rohit does not want to take any chances unless he gets detailed clarity about Shami's fitness. 

“But look, I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. The last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens."

Shami's fitness is subject to NCA's clearance and it all depends on the evolving needs of India's pace department in the ongoing BGT series which is currently level at 1-1. 

Jasprit Bumrah has been the standout bowler for India in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Test Series (2024-25) and played a pivotal role in driving India to a famous win in Perth in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Lauded predominately for his leadership skills, Bumrah had a devastating impact with the ball as his figures of 5-30 in the first and 3-42 in the second innings left the Aussies reeling in Perth. 

But well into the second Test, Bumrah's struggle with fitness became all too evident when the star pacer pulled up during his 20th over owing to a cramp.  Eventually, Bumrah got back on his feet after receiving treatment and was able to carry on. But concerns over his fitness for the remainder of the series loomed. However, India bowling coach Morne Morkel quashed all those fears once and for all and stated that the speedster still has a lot of gas left in him to fire at full throttle.

See also: Australia unveils their playing Xl for the third Test, Hazlewood comes in for Boland

Bumrah surprises everyone by turning to spin

In the build-up to the third Test, a clip of Bumrah's bowling has gone viral where he could reportedly be seen bowling leg-breaks before switching to fast bowling. After having a few friendly warm-up deliveries of spin bowling, Bumrah upped his velocity and fired an immaculate thunderbolt to beat KL Rahul past the outside edge of his bat.

Jasprit Bumrah started off with a couple of leg-breaks alongside R Ashwin but he’s now running in hot & bowling at full tilt, being an absolute handful to KL Rahul & Yashasvi Jaiswal #AusvInd pic.twitter.com/3IRzE0QXbm

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) December 12, 2024

From the above clip, it is evident that Bumrah is at his fluent best and appears to be operating at a steady pace thus putting all the notions of fitness issues to rest. 

Fleming raises alarm bells and refutes Morkel's claims on Bumrah's fitness

Contrary to Morkel's belief, Australian cricketer turned commentator, Damien Fleming had a different opinion on this matter and raised questions on Bumrah's fitness. He believed that Bumrah was suffering from something far more sinister than a cramp and further revealed that his bowling in the second innings spilled a lot of secrets to his foes. 

“There’s no way that’s cramp. He was very ginger after the break in the first innings. He bowled again, not quite as slow second innings. I don’t even know why he bowled that over [in the second innings]. That actually gave some secrets away to everyone." 

There has been considerable attention on Bumrah's workload due to his previous injury history. With players such as Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana delivering inconsistent performances in the initial two matches, there are recommendations for India to bring Mohammed Shami to Australia for the remainder of the series to alleviate some of the pressure on Bumrah.

India's brutal hammering by a margin of 10 wickets in the Adelaide Test has been a major talking point in recent times. But it is not the only subject that is dominating the headlines. Siraj's on-field verbal spat with Head has been buzzing the internet for quite some time now. This incident has sparked strong reactions from several cricketing legends (retired and present) from both nations.

While a vast majority of the viewers held critical views on the on-field controversy, the ICC quickly sprung into action to settle the issue once and for all. As a form of punishment, Siraj received one demerit point and was docked 20% of his match fees. However, on the flip side, Head got away with one demerit point and was surprisingly not charged with any monetary fines as was the case with Siraj. 

See also: ICC punishes Siraj and Head for their on-field incident

Bhajji not impressed as ICC imposes harsh fine on Siraj  

While speaking to Star Sports, Harbhajan was visibly not pleased with ICC's decision to punish Siraj on financial grounds and expressed his displeasure about the same.  

“Well, I think ICC is a bit too strict on players. These things happen in the ground. Obviously, forget what has happened and move forward. The players have patched up and talked to each other. Anyways, ICC being ICC has sanctioned the players. Let’s put that aside now and let’s move forward which is obviously, Brisbane. Let’s focus on cricket rather than all these controversies. Enough is enough." 

However, in the end, he stressed that the matter should not prolong much further as the ICC has passed a resolution and the two players reportedly patched up right after the end of the second Test. Furthermore, he urges the cricketing fraternity to now shift their focus to bigger aspects of the game that have the potential to define the outcome of the series. 

Piyush Chawla in alignment with Harbhajan Singh's viewpoint on this saga  

Indian spinner Piyush Chawla also extended his support to Harbhajan Singh on this recent controversy, suggesting that the matter should be closed since the ICC has acted on it. According to him, it is difficult to ascertain what exactly was said during that moment, and believes that there is no point in picking sides. 

"You can't really say who was wrong, who was right here. What I feel is that this should be the end of this thing right now. There's no on this thing to the next match or the fourth test match, and just that, what I feel personally is, that things will definitely get heated from the next Test match again, but what incident happened here, should leave it here in Adelaide." 

India received a crushing blow after their defeat in Adelaide by 10 wickets. Besides, South Africa's 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka have thrown them out of the top two positions in the WTC table. With so much at stake, India's upcoming Test match in Brisbane will be of paramount importance.  

The 35-year-old veteran pacer Dane Paterson hit the ground running at St George's Park in Gqeberha where he registered his career-best 7-104 to power South Africa to a resounding 109-win in the second Test. He was roped in to replace an injured Gerald Coetzee and walked into the second Test averaging well over 36 with only 12 wickets in five matches. Not known for his ability to generate express pace or swing, Paterson was not a major threat Sri Lanka would have expected to contend with before the start of the first Test. 

However, as fate would have, he emerged as the unlikely hero for South Africa in the second Test. His ground-breaking five-wicket haul in the first innings, followed by figures of 2-33 helped South Africa conclude the Test series on a high and bolster their chances of securing their maiden spot in the WTC final. His three-wicket burst inside the space of one over played a crucial role in helping South Africa eke out a crucial 30-run lead which in turn paved the way for an emphatic win for his side. After the match, his figures improved drastically as his average dropped to 28 whilst his strike rate lowered to 58.6.

See also: SA-W vs ENG-W Dream11 Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Probable Playing XI For 3rd ODI Match

Paterson lashes out at his critics over his selection

Prior to his heroic exploits at St George's Park, Paterson came under intense scrutiny as many experts were skeptical about his place in the team. Against an underwhelming Test record, the veteran pacer became a prime target of several media houses. Following the conclusion of the second Test, Paterson was awarded the "Player of the Match" award and that was the very moment when the Cape Town-born pacer wasted no time in answering his critics with a befitting tweet on his Twitter account which read as follows:

Hi to all the haters that doubted my selection. This one is for you. Thanks for all the negative comments about my selection. At the end of the day it’s not about you. It’s about the team. @PoppingCreaseSA please relook at my first class stats before having a GO at me. Cheers🍺 pic.twitter.com/bsQSoTHGhj

— Dane Paterson (@DanePaterson44) December 9, 2024

Furthermore, he also tagged a sports journalist in his post advising them to revisit his first-class stats before making premature assessments about his capabilities. Paterson was pumped up after his maiden five-wicket haul and was happy to win a game for his side in such a crucial encounter. He went on to laud Rickelton, Bavuma, and Maharaj who performed well in certain passages of play. 

More about Dane Paterson

Paterson has over 166 FC games under his belt and has accumulated 603 wickets at a remarkable average of 23.67 which includes his best figures of 10/62. In addition, the 35-year-old also has 18 four-wicket hauls & 23 five-wicket hauls to his name as well. Paterson burst into the international stage when he made his Test debut against England in 2020 and has since then featured in six Tests, four of which came in this year alone.

From the highs of India's glorious Test win in Perth, the 10-time BGT title champs came crashing down in Adelaide where they were folded in less than two and half days on the back of a thumping 10-wicket defeat. Former Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara commented on India's recent defeat in Adelaide and highlighted key changes that India must make ahead of their crucial third Test.

Pujara offers two possible solutions to India that can help them stay alive in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (2024-25) series.  First, the 36-year-old stressed that an underperforming Ravi Ashwin must make way for Washington Sundar who had a sizeable impact in the first Test. And second, he insisted the Indian think tank to retain Harshit Rana for the third Test despite his hot-and-cold show in Adelaide. 

See also: WTC qualification scenarios for top four teams teams

So what's on Pujara's mind?

During his conversation with Star Sports, Pujara presents a visual depiction of what India's potential playing eleven may look like at the start of the third Test. He feels only one change may be necessary and R Ashwin can miss out due to his poor show with the bat in Adelaide. But at the same time, he expresses his support for Rana who failed to deliver an all-round impact with the bat and the ball.

“I feel only one change might happen. Since the batting wasn't good, Washington Sundar can come in place of R Ashwin. Should someone come in place of Harshit Rana? In my opinion, no. You backed him and he performed well in the first match.”

The suggestion to pick Sundar over Ashwin seems justified as Ashwin failed to help himself with the bat when his team needed him and only managed to pick up a sole wicket. Whereas on the contrary, Sundar is comparatively a more astute all-rounder and can come in more than handy with the bat in fairly tricky conditions. He showcased his class with the bat and the ball chipping in with a handy 29 in the second innings and picking 2-48 with the ball to hand India one of their biggest Test wins against Australia.

Rana showed a lot of promise with the ball in the first Test and picked up three crucial wickets in the first innings but failed to live up to the expectations when all eyes turned to the pink-ball Test. He proved to be very erratic with his control and leaked a significant chunk of runs while going completely wicketless.

Moreover, Pujara feels that removing a player after one ordinary performance can lead to a negative impact on a player's physiological health. 

As it stands

India's horror show with the bat has led to the undoing in the second Test. In both innings, team India failed to go past the 200-run mark. Moreover, the form of batting stalwarts such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has also been a cause for concern. Apart from their brilliant fightback in Perth which saw them post 487 for the loss of six wickets, India's batting has lacked the edge and the resilience for which it had been so famously renowned for. 

With the series level at 1-1, India needs a win in Brisbane to keep their WTC aspirations alive. At present, the management is currently confronted with challenging choices concerning the selection of the playing eleven.