The fourth and final Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy gets underway in Sydney tomorrow and all eyes are on the fitness of R Ashwin, who is racing against time to get match-fit to be a part of the XI. With the wicket expected to assist the spinners, the probable absence of India’s premier Test spinner has delighted Australian skipper Tim Paine and his fellow batsmen.

Also read: Tim Paine relieved at R Ashwin’s likely absence in Sydney Test

In the Ranji Trophy, Abhimanyu Easwaran’s unbeaten 183 helped Bengal chase down 322 and beat Delhi. Apart from this, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan etc. registered wins in their respective matches.

Also read: Abhimanyu Easwaran helps Bengal make an incredible comeback to defeat Delhi

Apart from this, a lot of other things happened in the world of cricket over the last 24 hours. Let’s take a look at the top news from today.

India’s 13 for the fourth Test announced

With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy already in their kitty, the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team will enter the fourth and final Test at SCG with everything to play for as they are just one draw away from a historic series win in Australia.

The Indian team has already announced the 13-member squad from which the final XI will be picked on the day of the match. As expected, Rohit Sharma is not included in the 13. There were quite a few surprises in the squad as KL Rahul has been included in the squad while Ishant Sharma misses the cut due to an injury and is replaced by Umesh Yadav. R Ashwin, who failed the fitness test earlier today and was ruled out of the Test, has been surprisingly included in the 13 which also features Kuldeep Yadav.

The team management has said that a call on Ashwin’s availability will be taken just before the toss.

India’s 13-man squad for the fourth Test: Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

Also read: India’s 13 for the fourth Test announced

Kagiso Rabada responds to comparisons between India and South Africa’s pace attacks

South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has said that the Proteas’ pace bowling attack remains the best in the business in spite of the emergence of the Indian pace trio in Tests over the last 12 months. He also praised the Indian bowling attack before insisting that his team has the best attack and can knock over any batting lineup in the world.

During a press conference ahead of the Cape Town Test against Pakistan, a reporter asked him, “There’s a photo on social media with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma as the best (bowling) attack in the world. How do you feel about that and especially the guys who you have played alongside with?”

Rabada responded by asserting, “People will have their opinion. Obviously, when we play, we will believe that we are the best (bowling) attack. They are, if not the best, a good attack. Everyone experienced it when they came to South Africa. But when we play against them, we will believe that we are the best (attack) - we have to.”

Also read: Kagiso Rabada responds to comparisons between India and South Africa’s pace attacks

Sachin Tendulkar’s childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar passes away

The man behind Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman, Ramakant Achrekar is no more, with the 86-year-old breathing his last earlier today.

He has been battling old age-related ailments for the past few days and the news of his death has been confirmed by his close ones. “He (Archrekar Sir) is no more with us. He passed away this evening,” his kin Rashmi Dalvi told PTI.

Apart from Sachin, Achrekar was instrumental in shaping the careers of BS Sandhu, Praveen Amre, Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar etc.

“The BCCI expresses its deepest sympathy on the passing of Dronacharya award-winning guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. Not only did he produce great cricketers, but also trained them to be fine human beings. His contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense,” BCCI said in a tweet.

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar’s childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar passes away

Virat Kohli opens up about his back injury

In the last Test match, Indian skipper was seen suffering from a back injury and that gave the Indian fans something to worry about. However, the right-hander himself has played down the fears of back injury as he said that he has been having this issue since 2011 and it is not something that came all of a sudden.

While speaking to the media, Kohli said, “I’ve had this issue since 2011, it’s nothing new. I’ve been able to manage it because of the physical effort I’ve put in over the past few years. And when you have a back that has these issues you can only maintain it that way.”

He also said that it is impossible to play without niggles and it is fine to have some here and there. “If the workload gets high it can get into a spasm, I mean you don’t necessarily get serious issues, you get fine in two or three days I’m not too concerned with it, you just have to manage it physically and stay ahead of the injury and I have been able to do it for now,” he concluded.

Also read: Virat Kohli opens up about his back injury

Australian PM shares a light moment with Rishabh Pant

It looks like Rishabh Pant has already become a fan favourite in Australia. If the picture of him holding Tim Paine’s kids after being asked to ‘babysit’ during the third Test wasn’t enough, his encounter with the Australian PM Scott Morrison is a fine proof of him becoming a favourite Down Under.

On January 1, the Indian players were greeted by the Aussie PM one-by-one at his residence in Sydney. When it was Pant’s turn, he was recognized by Scott Morrison as the ‘guy who sledges’ during the game. When Indian team manager Sunil Subramaniam introduced Pant to the Aussie PM, he said, “Ahh yes! You sledges right? You are very welcome, we like competitive game.”

Also read: Australian PM shares a light moment with Rishabh Pant

Pant has been involved in some serious banter with the Australians in the ongoing Test series.

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