The Indian team welcomed star batsman Rohit Sharma back into their fold as he began training ahead of the third Test against Australia.
Sharma is fighting to be match ready for the match which begins in Sydney on January 7. He joined the team in Melbourne after spending two weeks in quarantine in Sydney after joining the tour late following a hamstring injury.
The limited overs opening batsman is almost guaranteed to start the Test, having been named the vice-captain of the team.
If Sharma is match-fit, he will most likely replace the out-of-form Mayank Agarwal. However, that would mean he would walk straight into opening the innings against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood having not played competitively for two months.
Also, left-arm seamer T. Natarajan was named as the replacement for injured paceman Umesh Yadav ahead of the last two Tests against Australia.
Yadav bowled only 3.3 overs in Australia's second innings in the second Test before limping off as India went on to level the series 1-1 with an eight-wicket victory in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old will miss the remaining matches in Sydney and Brisbane in the latest injury setback to the tourists, who are also without regular captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli, who has returned to India for the birth of his child.
"The fast bowler will not recover completely ahead of the remaining two test matches and has been ruled out of the series," Jay Shah, the secretary of India's cricket board, said in a statement.
Veteran seamer Ishant Sharma missed the entire tour with a side strain while experienced paceman Mohammed Shami was ruled out after fracturing his forearm while batting in the opening match in Adelaide.
Natarajan, 29, was initially picked as a net bowler for India's tour Down Under after his strong showing in the Indian Premier League T20 tournament.
Shardul Thakur, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2018, replaced Shami in India's squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test and is likely to get the nod for the third Test. Thakur has the ability to swing the ball and is a more than capable batsman.
Meanwhile, Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald said David Warner may play the third Test against India even if he is short of full fitness.
Warner was ruled out of the first two Tests in Adelaide and Melbourne after tearing an adductor muscle, but has been included in the 18-man squad for the match in Sydney.
With opener Joe Burns dropped after a woeful Melbourne Test, Australia will have a new opening partnership as they look to rebound from an eight-wicket defeat and take a 2-1 lead in the series.
McDonald said having Warner pad up if not completely fit would be a "clear option" and a matter for the player and head coach Justin Langer.
"He may not be 100 per cent. Who is coming off an injury? You never know until you get out there," McDonald said.
"Look, if he's 90-95 per cent fit and the conversation is that he's fit enough to be able to go out there and perform his duties for the team, then I'm sure that'll be a conversation the coach has with the player.
"Most times Justin is pretty open with the players in terms of giving them accountability around that."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EXPATS
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
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