Subhayan Chakraborty

Shubman Gill stood still at the crease, eyeing the spot where the ball pitched and zipped past his bat, taking a slender edge during India's net session at the Gabba on Friday, the eve of the third Test against Australia. It was the last 15 minutes of his net session, and the 25yearold had looked solid until that moment. India's bowling coach Morne Morkel and several local net bowlers, all pacers, were bowling to Gill. Among them, one stood out. Nathan Barnwell, Surrey pacer with 8 List-A appearances and one first-class game to his name, currently in Queensland to refine his bowling during England's winter season. Although Barnwell didn't bowl many deliveries to Gill, perhaps only around ten, he earned praise from Morkel and Ryan Ten Doeschate for his show.

With rain playing spoilsport at the Gabba, only 13.2 overs could be bowled. Heavy downpour halted play, leading fans to leave the stadium early, even before the match was officially called off. As thousands of fans were exiting the stadium, among them was Australian pacer Spencer Johnson.

Subhayan Chakraborty in Brisbane Indian bowlers appeared clueless on the field on Day 2 of the ongoing GaBrisbane, as Travis Head, yet

Jasprit Bumrah, India’s pace spearhead, has come out in strong support of Mohammed Siraj, despite the latter’s fluctuating form during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Siraj has been under…

And that was it from Ravichandran Ashwin in international cricket. No build-up, no hype, and no farewell as a teary-eyed Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket after the completion of the Gabba Test on Wednesday. The series is poised at 1-1, but India will not have the services of one of the greatest spinners the cricketing world has seen. For Harbhajan Singh, the mid-series announcement came as a surprise; the legendary Indian spinner wished the 38-year-old the best for his post-retirement life, adding that Ashwin has taken the legacy of Indian spinners to new heights.

At least half an hour before anyone else arrived at the nets, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was spotted grinding it out with two throwdown specialists in a bid to regain his form ahead of the much-awaited Boxing Day Test against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting December 26. Not only Rohit but also players like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, who joined him later, focused on leaving balls that were anywhere outside the fourth stump channel. Leaving as many deliveries as possible was the flavour of the session.

Subhayan Chakraborty in Melbourne The Australian media is at it again, and you can call it dark arts, with the series tied at 1-1 and a place in the World Test Championship final is at stake.

Rohit Sharma was seen resting his left knee with an ice pack after being hit on the flap of his left pad during a throwdown session at the nets in the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. The veteran batsman walked off gingerly and did not continue batting after the incident, spending about 30 minutes seated, resting his knee while conversing with team analyst Hari. Rohit was also observed limping slightly as he made his way to the dressing room as he had a word with bowling coach Morne Morkel and the set of batters at the nets.

The cult of Jasprit Bumrah continues to grow as India and Australia gear up for the much-awaited Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting December 26. Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy started, the chatter was mainly about Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma – the two megastars of Indian cricket. When the Indian team landed Down Under, the Aussie newspapers flashed photographs of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, praising them with a variety of adjectives in English, Hindi, and even Punjabi. The message was clear: the Indian team is in the country, and the batting stars are going to be the show-stealers. But the real show-stopper from the visitors has been Jasprit Bumrah, whose stardom has reached a different level during the ongoing series.

The MCG nets are designed in such a way that the area where fans and the media stand is only about 10-15 metres elevated; thus, conversations from above are clearly audible to those inside the nets. Due to this, there were numerous instances where Indian batters looked up, disturbed by the shouting. This had previously led to the Indian players expressing their displeasure during an open nets session in Adelaide arranged by Cricket Australia.