So Virender Sehwag has been dropped from the Test team after fellow compatriot Gautam Gambhir was. In my opinion, this was a wise and rational move. Viru had not scored a half-century in Tests since his Test century vs England last year, which came after 2 years.

Now all the talk about is who will replace Viru, and who will go to South Africa? Greats Laxman and Dravid had said that India needed Viru for the upcoming South Africa tour, at least in the middle-order but Sandeep Patil and his men have made many bold decisions and probably don't have him in their plans for SA.

The only other spot that probably was on the verge of being vacated was Ravindra Jadeja's, who if not for his bowling, would have certainly been told to go.

Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane have come into contention for that one opener's spot, after Murali Vijay has been confirmed as the other opener following his comeback at Hyderabad. Rahane has been on the waiting list for quite a while now, while Dhawan was chosen after a solid half-century in the Irani Cup.

What beats me is how the selectors keep ignoring Rahane, yet bring in new youngsters who are easily let in the Test team. Rahane averages 62.04 in first class cricket, has an amazing technique and really has done no wrong to be sitting on the bench for such a long period. He has been scoring runs for more than 3 years with great consistency.

Rahane was chosen for the Australia series in early 2012 along with Rohit Sharma, who at least got a chance in the ODI series. But Rahane was ignored until, of course, the IPL came by and he duly scored a hundred. Then came the West Indies and New Zealand series, where Raina and Pujara were chosen. The latter of course proved his worth but the former was not a great decision.

The England series came by, there was surely a spot in there now that Raina was not chosen, but wait - Yuvraj Singh recovered from cancer and was duly chosen. After Yuvi failed for two consecutive home Tests vs England, everyone knew this was Rahane's chance. But no, Jadeja had scored triple-centuries in FC cricket and he got the go.

Rahane waited a bit more, Vijay got the call for the Australia series and now here we are, wondering when he will get his chance.

Dhawan on the other hand, averages 45.79 in FC cricket, has a good technique and scored runs but should be second to Rahane. He has not done anything remarkable, but is definitely a batsman that could be useful in South Africa.

I'm not going to complain if Dhawan is selected for the last two Tests and performs - even scoring a couple half-centuries - but will be at a loss of words if he doesn't play well.

So to conclude, Rahane really deserves to get the chance for opening for the remaining two Tests. Sorry Viru, Gauti, and Dhawan, but you guys will have to wait.

The India-Australia series is days away and the countdown has already started. Indeed, the hype surrounding this series is justified. India are coming off a 2-1 drubbing from England in their home Test series, a series which many predicted India would whitewash England.

Australia, although having beaten Sri Lanka 3-0, were also beaten at home against a superior South African side 1-0. Although Michael Clarke continued his stupendous form during that series, his bowlers failed to back him up, especially in the second Test where Australia needed just 2 wickets to secure the win.

Australia's strength has always been pace, and most likely will be in the future. When a series is played anywhere in the sub-continent, the first thought that comes to mind is spin. With good reason too, as spinners  - like Monty & Swann showed - have always been successful, while the pacers - James Anderson - have done reasonably well.

Australia only have one lead spinner in Nathan Lyon, who, in my opinion, has been fantastic to be able to bowl on non-turning pitches. They also have Xavier Doherty, or rather x-man, who was definitely a surprise selection, but given Australia's recent rotation policy, not much of a surprise.

Michael Clarke and David Warner are the others who can turn their hand a bit. Mathew Wade will probably bowl a few overs, with his passion for bowling recently discovered.

This will be Australia's first series without the valuable & experienced Michael Hussey. Australia's batting looks weak on paper, but so does India's bowling unit. As the cliche goes, it doesn't matter what's on paper, but rather on the field.

As far as experience goes, Australia's squad consists of only Johnson and Clarke having played more than 50 Tests, with three debutantes. At the moment, only Clarke averages 40 or above in that squad. But if averages were everything, then cricket would be a completely different game today.

Michael Clarke averaged 35 in 4 innings the last time he was in India, under Ricky Ponting's captaincy. This time, he will have to lead from the front and show his mates the way to play spin in the sub-continent if they are to have any chance of winning the series.

Under-estimating the woefully out-of-form Indian spinners would not be a wise choice. At the same time, being over-cautious against them would not be rational either. The way to go is attack the bad balls, defend the good balls, and look to rotate the strike.

David Warner can do exactly that, and can get Australia off to an aggressive start. But when it comes to spin, Warner seems to be over-cautious and unsure of his wicket - which is why he likes to attack the quicks right from the start. His technique will definitely be tested this series.

Ed Cowan, Warner's opening partner, has also done a reasonable job with spin but has a long way to go. He should be the anchor, and let Warner do his part. Eddie should look to bat at least 50 overs, seeing off the new ball to make life easy for the ones coming in.

Shane Watson must be played as a batsman. It will reduce the burden and workload of Watto, who has a history of injuries. He looked extremely confident in the warm-ups as well. The last thing Australia would want is for someone like Watto to get injured and not play all the Tests.

Phil Hughes showed his mettle in the recently concluded Sri Lanka Test and ODI series. Honestly, Hughes does look to be a batsman with a better technique, than the Hughes who would poke at balls outside off a.k.a. Gambhir style and edge the ball to the slip cordon. The one and only thing Hughes, who is likely to come in at 3 should do, is look to play his natural game.

Michael Clarke will obviously be the prized wicket of the Australian side. Despite averaging 8.75 in his last series in India, times have changed and Clarke has taken up the responsibility of not only the captaincy, but the backbone of Australia's line-up.

Clarke: The "golden" wicket (c)Getty Images

After the top-five, Australia may decide to have an all-rounder and play 4 fast bowlers and a quality spinner. I would go for Glenn Maxwell, who has shown immense talent over the ODIS he has played. Steve Smith looks to be a contender for that spot, but I just have that feeling that Maxwell will have a chance to prove himself rather than keep giving chances to Smith.

The four fast bowlers I would choose would be Siddle as the spearhead of the Aussie bowling attack, Pattinson, Johnson and Starc. Sorry Bird, but you've got to do the 12th man duties. Some may beg to differ with Mitch out and Bird in, but Australia need the experience of Johnson, who may not always take wickets, but break a few fingers which will help Australia on their way. :)

Everyone has seen Siddle's beauts, Pattinson's aggression, and Starc's jaffas, but to see all of them playing in the same Test in India would be something I would definitely pay to see. Australia have always been vigorous competitors, and I would expect no less.

Nathan Lyon must break a leg or have some sort of injury to not be chosen or for Doherty to be chosen and I'm sure 99% of Aussies are with me on that. This may as well be Lyon's breakthrough series, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him overwhelming the Indian batsmen with his masterful guile.

Sticking to your strengths while also having a "horses for courses" policy is the way Australia must go. Whether Australia opt for Watto and Cowan to open, choose Steve Smith over Maxwell, or even go for 3 pacers and 2 spinners, Australia must find their feet and go in with a winning attitude.

Michael Hussey, one of Australia’s most consistent, hard-working batsman who formed the backbone of their middle order, has retired from all international cricket after having whitewashed Sri Lanka in the three-match Test Series 3-0.

Truly, Mike Hussey has got to be one of Australia’s all-time greats, purely because of the fact that he amassed so many runs, despite being picked after he was 30 years old, an age where the retirement talk looms.

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Having been part of an Ashes winning squad that whitewashed England 5-0, to having won the ODI World Cup in 2007, Hussey has had an exceptional career, given that he had just a 7-year career, compared to other greats that didn’t win an ODI WC, such as Jacques Kallis.

Hussey has always proved to be a ruthless finisher, and two knocks that come to mind are the 61* vs England off 66 balls during the 2nd Test of the Ashes 2006/07 and the 60* off 24 balls vs Pakistan in the 2010 T20 World Cup – which remains his highest T20I score.

In the rapid knock vs Pakistan in the crucial semi-final, Australia needed 34 runs from 2 overs. Mr. Cricket at the crease? No worries. First, he took apart Mohammad Amir who had bowled a fine spell until then (3-0-19-3), playing some smart shots like paddles and scoops to take him for 16 runs.

A further 18 runs from 6 balls was required, that too of the lethal Saeed Ajmal who continues to be a threat to the opposition even today. Not that it mattered to Hussey though. All that he needed was the strike, which Mitch Johnson gave him after taking a single.

17 runs off 5 balls, pressure all around. Hussey absolutely crushed Ajmal taking him for 6,6,4,6 to end the game and take Australia to the finals. It was so epic, that Cricinfo described the match-winning shot thus:

Australianism prevails! …. Michael Hussey has played like a dream. Whaddaplaayaaaa! …. U N B E L I E V A B L E. …. Take a bow Michael Hussey. Respect.

The second knock, which was the 61* vs England, was really special. It helped England win the Test in quick time, after the Aussie bowlers had bowled England out for 129. The fact that he hit only 5 fours in that innings display his stamina and intelligent batting. It was only fitting he hit the winning runs, establishing his role as a finisher.

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So as you can see, two of my more cherished knocks of Hussey’s weren’t hundreds, but they contributed to the team when Australia badly needed them. A man for the team, it was no surprise his nickname was “Mr. Cricket”!

Apparently, he was a Australia's secret weapon when it came to bowling, as he could take wickets out of nowhere, being Clarke's go-to man whenever Australia needed a wicket. He even took Kumar Sangakkara's wicket in SL, not something everyone can do!


The magnificent slip catching, the sunscreen smeared over his face and the stunning consistency shown in such short time will surely be missed. So long, Mr. Cricket.

January

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February

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March

April

May

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June

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July

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13th - Brett Lee retired from ODIs and all international cricket, ending a career lasting nearly 13 years

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Sachin Tendulkar, India's batting icon and leading run-scorer, has retired from One-days, marking the end of the longest, and arguably, the greatest ODI career of all time. 

"No one can drop him". - Sourav Ganguly