Australian batsman hit on his head while fielding, Harbhajan Singh slams selectors and more - Cricket News Today, 1 October 2018

The members of the Indian team are preparing themselves for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies that gets underway on October 4 in Rajkot. While a few players made it to Rajkot today, some are expected to join the team tomorrow ahead of the practice session.

Ahead of the Test, the Saurashtra Cricket Association are unhappy with BCCI for flying in curator Daljit Singh to prepare the wickets for the first Test. Apart from these, a lot of other things also happened in the world of cricket over the last 24 hours.

Let us take a look at some of them.

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Harbhajan Singh slams Indian selectors for not picking Rohit Sharma

A couple of days back, the Indian selectors announced the Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies. While many are happy that the selectors have rewarded the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj for their consistent performances in the domestic circuit, some are disappointed that the likes of Karun Nair and Rohit Sharma were overlooked for the series.

It includes out-of-favour Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was seen commentating for India's matches in England and the Asia Cup.

He was extremely critical of the selections and took to Twitter to express his displeasure where he demanded an answer from the selectors for dropping Rohit Sharma, who was brilliant, both as a captain and a batsman in the recently-concluded Asia Cup.

He wrote: “No @ImRo45 in test team against West Indies..what r the selectors thinking actually??? Anyone have a clue ??? plz let me know as I can’t digest this.”

No @ImRo45 in test team against West Indies..what r the selectors thinking actually??? Anyone have a clue ??? plz let me know as I can’t digest this

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 30, 2018

Not just Harbhajan but also former India captain Sourav Ganguly was in favour of the right-hander getting picked in the Test side despite not making full use of the chances he got in the whites. After the Asia Cup win, Ganguly tweeted out, "Great win Rohit and the team @ImRo45 ..u were exceptional...I get surprised every time I don’t see ur name in the test team ..it’s not far away .."

Great win Rohit and the team @ImRo45 ..u were exceptional...I get surprised every time I don’t see ur name in the test team ..it’s not far away ..

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) September 29, 2018

Matt Renshaw suffers hit on his head while fielding

Australia A Training Session

Australian opener Matt Renshaw suffered a freak injury in the second day of Australia's practice game against Pakistan A ahead of the team's two-match Test series against the Men in Green which gets underway in the United Arab Emirates next week.

The incident happened when Renshaw was fielding at short leg to spinner Nathan Lyon. Batsman Abid Ali pulled a short delivery and the ball directly hit on Renshaw's helmet and the southpaw was immediately taken off the field and the team management announced that he will not take any further part in the game.

Interestingly, the ball that ricocheted off Renshaw's helmet, was caught by Tim Paine and was given out as the ICC now deems the catches coming off fielder's helmets legal.

Washington Sundar returns from injury

FINAL - ICC Under 19 World Cup

Discarded Indian Test opener Murali Vijay and all-rounder Washington Sundar have been named in the Tamil Nadu side for their remaining games of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The duo will be replacing top-order batsman and fast bowler V Yo Mahesh in the remaining three matches.

Washington Sundar had a great start to 2018 as he was named the Player of the Tournament in the Nidahas Trophy earlier this year and was rewarded with a place in the Indian team for the subsequent T20I and ODI series against England.

Unfortunately, the all-rounder injured his ankle while training before the Ireland T20Is and was ruled out of the tour. He underwent surgery and was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and it looks like the Royal Challengers Bangalore man has regained full fitness and thus, earned a call-up to his state side.

Though it has been five months since Washington last played a competitive match, the all-rounder, along with Vijay, is expected to walk into the Tamil Nadu side

MSK Prasad responds to Karun Nair's claims

Australia A v India A

Chief selector MSK Prasad has responded to Karun Nair's claims of not given him any explanation for dropping him from the Indian side for the Test series against West Indies. Karun was included in the Indian team for the Afghanistan Test and the tour of England but did not get a single game to prove himself before he was dropped from the side. Even Hanuma Vihari, who was called up to the squad, got a chance ahead of Karun in England.

"I personally spoke to Karun soon after the selection of the Test Team against the West Indies and also told the ways to make a comeback. The selection committee is very very clear with regard to the communication process. Communication has always been the strong point of this committee. It's really tough to inform any unpleasant news to any player. You need to have valid reasons to explain them about their exclusion though they may not agree with it," Prasad told PTI.