Virat Kohli Impressive as Skipper, Needs to Improve Batting Technique: Gundappa Viswanath

In 2015, Kohli scored 623 runs from 20 games at an average of 36.65
Australia India
Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath
Virat Kohli
Australia vs India 2015-16
Cricket
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Virat Kohli Impressive as Skipper, Needs to Improve Batting Technique: Gundappa Viswanath
Former India batsman Gundappa Viswanath praised Virat Kohli's captaincy skills but feels the Test captain needs to improve as a batsman ahead of the tour to Australia.
NDTVSports
Friday, 01 January, 2016 19:02 IST
Virat Kohli may have been struggling with the bat of-late but he has found support from former India batsman Gundappa Viswanath. The Little Master, known for his touch and fineness, feels the star India batsman can bounce back after making few adjustments to his batting technique. (Virat Kohli's Stance, Balance Faulty: Sunil Gavaskar )
Viswanath feels Kohli has been error-prone, making the same mistakes over and over again. This could prove costly in Australia, he said.
"Virat needs to learn to stay at the wicket in Tests. He has strokes all around and sometimes he plays one too many. He gets out the same way too many times. He must avoid that," Viswanath told Hindustan Times.
Kohli has often been guilty of chasing wide deliveries. His feet wide-apart stance has also been criticised by Sunil Gavaskar during the recent Test series with South Africa. (Virat Kohli Named Board of Control for Cricket in India Cricketer of the Year )
"It requires major adjustment. But to start with, instead of playing towards cover and cover point he should play straight and to mid-off. And instead of following the ball, he should let it go," Viswanath added.
Regarded as India's best player in ODIs, Kohli struggled in the Carlton Tri-series in Australia last year. He could only manage 29 runs from four matches.
Kohli started the World Cup on a strong note smashing a match-winning century against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval. But since then his performance has been below par. In 2015, Kohli scored 623 runs from 20 games at an average of 36.35, which included two centuries and one half-century.
While Kohli might be struggling with the bat, Viswanath was impressed by his captaincy. (Virat Kohli's Aggressive Approach a Breath of Fresh Air, But Bigger Challenges Await Team India)
"He has the qualities needed for a good captain. He is giving chance for players to excel. If he feels strongly about something, he does it," said the 66-year-old.
"Virat believes in horses for courses and takes good decisions. If he wants to play five bowlers, he will. If he wants to play spinners on a wicket that suits them, he is not afraid to ignore seamers," Vishy added.
India will play five ODIs and three Twenty20 international in Australia starting from January 12. India will be led by MS Dhoni and Kohli will be free from the burden of captaincy. Will the runs flow?

Australia-Windies Test to Raise USD 380,000 for McGrath Foundation

Beginning January 3, the Pink Test has become an iconic event, in particular Day 3 of the Test that has come to be known as Jane McGrath Day.
West Indies Australia
Glenn McGrath Cricket
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Australia-Windies Test to Raise USD 380,000 for McGrath Foundation
Glenn McGrath, who is the co-founder and president of the McGrath Foundation presented the Australian team with their baggy pink caps and announced the need for increased funding to address the national shortfall in breast care nurses.
Indo-Asian News Service
Friday, 01 January, 2016 20:23 IST
The Australian Test cricket squad on Friday joined the McGrath Foundation to help raise awareness of the need for breast care nursing services in the country and announce the fundraising goal of $380,000 for the eighth Pink Test -- the third match between Steven Smith's men against the West Indies starting here on Sunday. ( Read More in Cricket)
McGrath Foundation co-founder and president Glenn McGrath presented the Australian team with their baggy pink caps for the traditional pre-Test team photo and announced the need for increased funding to address the national shortfall in breast care nurses, according to a Cricket Australia (CA) release.
"With 43 Australians diagnosed with breast cancer every day there is critical and continuing need for more McGrath Breast Care Nurses to support families through breast cancer," McGrath said.
"This year we've set our Pink Test fundraising goal at $380,000, which will fund one new McGrath Breast Care Nurse for three years."
Beginning January 3, the Pink Test has become an iconic event, in particular Day 3 of the Test that has come to be known as Jane McGrath Day. On that day the entire crowd turns pink to support the McGrath Foundation and raise funds to place McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities all over Australia.
Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland said: "We're incredibly proud to be supporting the McGrath Foundation, with the Pink Test in Sydney now truly one of the great occasions on the Australian sporting calendar."
"Every year we're amazed by the overwhelming support the Pink Test generates for the Foundation and its important work. From the two competing teams to the thousands of fans who bathe the SCG in pink, it demonstrates the positive difference sport can make to society," he said.
"Thanks to the cricket community, the Test has raised more than $5 million, helping the McGrath Foundation place 110 breast care nurses across Australia and demonstrating cricket's ability to galvanise public support behind an important cause," Sutherland added.
Research from the McGrath Foundation shows that in 2016 there will be a shortfall of 85 breast care nurses across the country and this figure will grow by 28 percent by 2020.

Mohammad Amir is Back in Pakistan team

Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Amir and Shahid Afridi chat during the national team's practice session in Lahore.
Pakistan Shahid Afridi
Mohammad Amir
Pakistan Cricket Board Cricket
Shahid Afridi Welcomes Mohammad Amir Back in Pakistan Squad
Pakistan Twenty20 skipper said that he will back Mohammad Amir and expect him to serve Pakistan cricket with total dedication and commitment.
Press Trust of India
Friday, 01 January, 2016 23:52 IST
Mohammad Amir's international return may have been a contentious issue in Pakistan cricket, but Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi welcomed him with open arms, saying he is "happy" with the young pacer's comeback to the limited-overs squad. ( Mohammad Amir Named in Pakistan Squad For New Zealand Series)
Pakistan Cricket Board included Amir in the ODI and T20 squads for the away series against New Zealand, giving him a lifeline to make amends for his spot-fixing act in 2010.
"Happy to have Amir back in team," Afridi today wrote on his twitter handle. "He told me truth first time I asked him in England. He admitted his mistake we should back him now." (Mohammad Amir Promises Wickets And Love on Comeback Trail )
Happy to have Amir back in team. He told me truth first time I asked him in England. He admitted his mistake we should back him now3/4
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial)
January 1, 2016
Amir's return has been a subject of debate in national cricket with teammates Mohammad Hafeez and ODI skipper Azhar Ali even threatening to leave the team if the tainted pacer was selected. Though Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan intervened in the matter and reasoned with players, the opinions still seem to be divided in the Pakistan camp.
Afridi said he respected Azhar and Hafeez's stance. "We suffered a lot due to spot fixing scandal and our image was tarnished everywhere," he tweeted.

Kevin Pietersen Advises International Cricket Council to Increase Test Wages or Lose to Twenty20 Leagues

Kevin Pietersen said he has been interacting with young cricketers of late and none were interested in playing in Tests.
Kevin Pietersen Cricket

Australia Bring in Stephen O'Keefe in Place of Peter Siddle for Final Test vs West Indies

Steve O Keefe made his debut against Pakistan in Dubai and he finished with figures of 4/219.
West Indies Australia
Peter Siddle Stephen O'Keefe
Cricket
Australia Bring in Stephen O'Keefe in Place of Peter Siddle for Final Test vs West Indies
Stephen O'Keefe replaces injured paceman Peter Siddle in the only change to the team that trounced the Windies by 177 runs in Melbourne to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy.
Agence France-Presse
Saturday, 02 January, 2016 08:52 IST
Sydney: Stephen O'Keefe was named on Saturday in a two-prong spin attack in Australia's side for the third Test against the West Indies in Sydney.
O'Keefe replaces injured paceman Peter Siddle in the only change to the team that trounced the Windies by 177 runs in Melbourne to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy.( Hazlewood Ready for Sydney Test)
Siddle has not recovered from an ankle injury he sustained in the Melbourne Test and was not 100 percent fit for Sunday's final Test, skipper Steve Smith said.
"He (Siddle) felt it wasn't best for him to come into this Test match the way he is at the moment," Smith told reporters at the ground.
"He's a great team man and felt he would be letting the team down (if he played).
"We were probably going to go the two spinners option anyway."
Smith said Australia had gone with the twin spin option as he expected the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch to turn.
"The wicket looks dry so I think it'll take some spin," he said.
"Peter Siddle is still a little bit sore.
"He'll have a rest for a couple of weeks and hopefully get himself right for (February's tour of) New Zealand."
It will be the first time in a decade that Australia will play two specialist spin bowlers at home, after leg-spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill bowled together against South Africa in Sydney in 2006.
O'Keefe will partner front-line spinner Nathan Lyon and the left-arm finger spinner said he was confident the pair could succeed bowling in tandem against the Caribbean tourists.
"I enjoy playing with Nathan, he is a humble, lovely guy who I admire a lot and fingers crossed we can get that opportunity again," O'Keefe said.
"There are a couple of situations we have bowled the majority of the overs and enjoyed going each side of the bat."
O'Keefe, 31, made one Test appearance against Pakistan in Dubai over a year ago, claiming four wickets in a 221-run loss.
He was named in Australia's Test squad to travel to Bangladesh in October last year before the tour was cancelled amid safety concerns.
O'Keefe has taken 17 wickets at an average of 25 in this season's domestic Sheffield Shield, and was included in the Test squad for the first-ever Adelaide day-night Test last month before being released.