After his failure to replicate the success of Perth in Adelaide, there were growing calls of dropping K L Rahul back to No.6, but the Karnataka right-hander continued to enjoy the backing of the team management, and walked out as the opener at the Gabba.
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting feels Virat Kohli’s recent batting slump in Test cricket is a ‘concern’, and went on to state that with that kind of form, few in Test cricket would have had the same faith in terms of ongoing selection that Kohli has.
Bangladesh have so far played three Tests in India and lost all three (two by an innings).
Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar has said the business of bashing India has to be countered with aggression, citing the recent comments made on the possibility of Joe Root surpassing Sachin Tendulkar as the leading run-getter in men’s Test cricket.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes Joe Root getting a century in Australia should be the next big goal for him in Test cricket, adding that achieving it would give tons of satisfaction to right-handed batter, who recently hit a record 34th ton.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead gave an update on the charismatic captain of the World Test championship side on the eve of the match, saying Hamish Rutherford will replace him in the squad.
As they prepare to host Australia in their backyard, Sri Lanka now has an excellent opportunity to repay the favour. The current T20 world champions are ranked fifth in the ICC T20I rankings as the series begins. Sri Lanka is ranked ninth in the world.
On Thursday, McCullum, the former New Zealand captain who has worked majorly as a white-ball coach in T20 franchise cricket, was handed the job of England's Test coach. His first assignment will be England's three-match home Test against New Zealand, the current World Test Championship (WTC) winners, in June.
Stokes plans to bat himself at six and is hoping that prospective players that harbour aspirations of batting in England's recently frail top and middle-order will give him plenty to ponder by scoring a bulk of runs at the county level ahead of the first Test of the summer against the Kiwis at Lord's on June 2.
On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released their annual ranking update, and Australia now leads second-placed India by nine points with a rating of 128 points.
