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Fast bowler Rubel Hossain has replaced Shahadat Hossain in Bangladesh’s squad for the only Test against India, beginning on June 10

Mohammad Isam03-Jun-20151:00

Isam: Bangladesh have a very settled squad

Fast bowler Rubel Hossain has replaced the injured Shahadat Hossain for the only Test against India, beginning on June 10 in Fatullah. As this was the only change in Bangladesh’s 14-man squad, questions lingered on the batsman-heavy combination.Rubel was ruled out of the second Test against Pakistan last month with a Grade 1 left-side strain after he felt discomfort while bowling in the first Test. His replacement at the time, Shahadat, twisted his right knee after bowling just two balls in the second Test, which ruled him out for six months. Rubel was passed fit last week along with Tamim Iqbal (knee), Shakib Al Hasan (shin bone), Mushfiqur Rahim (finger) and Shafiul Islam (hand).

Bangladesh Test squad

Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Shuvagata Hom, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Shahid, Rubel Hossain, Jubair Hossain, Litton Das, Abul Hasan

Mushfiqur, too remains a wicketkeeping doubt though chief selector Faruque Ahmed said they are hopeful he will be fit in time for the India Test. He also said that they selected 14 players for the first Test instead of 13, at the behest of the BCB’s cricket operations committee.
“We have seven days before the first Test,” Faruque said. “I won’t say that Mushfiqur won’t play but it was important to keep a back-up. We prefer having a second wicketkeeper-batsman. Litton [Das] was in the squad for the Pakistan series.”The cricket operations committee asked us to take 14 players. We planned to take 13 but there is no domestic cricket at the moment, so it was thought that one boy can stay with the team.”The more pressing matter was the continued selection of Shuvagata Hom, who batted at No 8 and bowled harmless off-spin against Zimbabwe and in both Tests against Pakistan. There is still doubt about his role in the team, because he has mainly earned his keep as a batsman in the domestic arena but has been handy as a bowler during the 2014-15 season.Faruque said that Shuvagata is being considered as the second-best offspinner in the country behind Sohag Gazi, who, they feel, still needs time to get attuned to his new action after he was allowed to bowl last February.”We haven’t been able to achieve a desired bowling attack in Test cricket. We don’t have many options when it comes to offspinners. We had Sohag Gazi who got banned for his bowling action. He has batted and bowled well in domestic cricket but we want to pick him only when he is used to his new bowling action.”Shuvagata is our second-best offspinner. He got nine wickets in the last BCL match so he is our favoured choice among the offspinners,” Faruque said. “It is important to have variety in the bowling attack. We have left-arm spinners in the team so we kept an offspinner. It is not necessary that he will play but it becomes easier to pick him in the XI if he is in the squad.”Regarding legspinner Jubair Hossain, Faruque said that he was picked after being recommended by captain Mushfiqur and coach Chandika Hathurusingha. He added that he was not aware of reports that the captain and coach went to BCB president Nazmul Hassan to push for Jubair.”We select the team after discussing with the team management. The coach and captain had made a strong recommendation about him. They have a plan with him. We have included him as a result. I don’t know if they [captain and coach] went to him [BCB president] or not. We had a meeting three-four days before the team was announced.”Faruque admitted that their strength lay in their batting, although they picked seven batsmen instead of eight in the likely XI to play against India, and that their current bowling attack may not yet be well-equipped to take 10 wickets in Tests.”I feel that the bowling attack we have in Test cricket, it won’t be realistic to say that we have the ability to take 10 wickets. We are improving, but our main strength is batting. We should pick a team which can’t lose at home. We will discuss this thought process with the team management. I think playing seven batsmen is good enough. Mushfiqur and Shakib are allrounders.”

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor showed refreshing patience and application to wear down the Sri Lanka bowlers for the better part of three sessions to set a solid platform for a big score

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran25-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKane Williamson was five short of his third Test century before rain arrived•Associated Press

In an otherwise one-sided tour, New Zealand finally took ownership of an entire day. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor showed refreshing patience and application to wear down the Sri Lanka bowlers for the better part of three sessions to set a solid platform for a big score. All talk of a bouncy pitch and seaming conditions were put to rest as the bowlers struggled to create chances, with both batsmen adding an unbeaten 209.One of the main reasons for New Zealand’s slump in Test form was the inability of their batsmen to occupy the crease and build partnerships. New Zealand have only five century stands this year, the highest being 124 between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum against Zimbabwe in Napier, until Taylor and Williamson overtook it, against a far superior bowling attack in foreign conditions.Taylor, himself struggling for consistency, had spoken about taking an aggressive approach to help his side compete better. However, unlike his blistering century in the Bangalore Test, Taylor was more watchful and with Williamson focused on wearing down the bowlers. New Zealand were more watchful from the second session, offered no chances and that was largely because their defence was more watertight. Both progressed at similar pace, and while Taylor brought up his eighth Test century, Williamson was five short of his third century before rain forced an early finish.The pair came together at 14 for 2 and it was an opportunity for New Zealand to put to practice all talk of showing better application with the bat. Taylor survived a few nervy moments, edging a drive wide of the slips on 14 and getting a thick inside edge off a square drive that went for four. A controlled upper cut over the slips got him going and it helped that Williamson got a measure of the conditions early and looked to be positive.While Taylor looked edgy at the start, Williamson didn’t. He began with a neat punch off Nuwan Kulasekara past the covers and once spin was introduced in the 15th over, he used his feet well. Rangana Herath posed questions straightaway when he got one to turn and grip from middle stump and nearly shave the off stump, one that had Williamson foxed. There weren’t too many such unplayable deliveries as the day wore on. Williamson didn’t let that trouble him as he charged Herath and lofted over mid-on and followed it up with a neat extra-cover drive.Taylor reached his fifty in the first over after lunch with a glance to fine leg off Shaminda Eranga and Williamson approached his milestone with two boundaries off the same bowler. Sri Lanka bowled 14 consecutive overs of spin, with no success. Suraj Randiv operated with a slip and a backward short leg and managed turn and bounce but the batsmen managed to smother the turn. He even bowled to a 6-3 on-side field from round the wicket, with a deep backward square leg for the sweep but the batsmen didn’t oblige. At one point, Herath had a short extra cover and a silly mid-off, but none of those field sets induced false strokes.Only five boundaries were scored in the second session, as the pair focused on rotating the strike, with the field getting more defensive. Kulasekara, who was brought back into the attack after a long spell of spin, couldn’t get the old ball to swing. An edged boundary to third man took Taylor into the 90s, but he wasn’t in any hurry to reach his century, ensuring New Zealand went to tea unbeaten.Taylor reached his century with a clip to deep square leg off Eranga and carried on with some pleasing drives off the fast bowlers. There was reverse swing after tea, but the batsmen negated it well. Williamson, who showed a lot of patience against the spinners, punched Herath against the turn to find the boundary that took him to the 90s.The only time Sri Lanka tasted success was in the first half an hour. Guptill, already struggling for runs, managed a thick outside edge to Angelo Mathews at slip to give the hosts a breakthrough in the first over.McCullum went forward to defend close to the pads but unfortunately, the umpire failed to spot a thick inside edge and sent him on his way. A peeved McCullum didn’t hold back his glare at the umpire as he walked off at 14 for 2 in the fourth over. From then on, it was all New Zealand.

Yusuf Pathan, the India allrounder, has said it is unfair to label him as a ‘one-day specialist’ given his performance on the first-class circuit

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2011Yusuf Pathan, the India allrounder, has said it is unfair to label him as a ‘one-day specialist’ given his performance on the first-class circuit, where he’s averaged 41.38 from 46 games. Yusuf is representing India Red in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, and aiming for a comeback into the national side after missing out on the ODI series in England and the first two ODIs against the same opposition for the home series starting this week. His exclusion followed an ordinary World Cup with the bat and a poor time in the West Indies, where he averaged 10.5 from four ODI innings.”I can play at any position. If the team management wants me to bat up the order, I am ready for it,” Yusuf told the . “Whenever I spent time in the middle, I have made it count. Last year, I scored a match-winning hundred against New Zealand and then scored another hundred against South Africa. Besides, I have also scored big hundreds in Ranji and Duleep Trophy over the years. I enjoy batting for long periods.”Yusuf, who usually bats in the lower-middle order for India, played what he described as the “best innings of my career” when he smashed 210 in 190 balls for West Zone against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy in February last year, helping his team chase a record-breaking 536. He’s been preferred in the shorter versions for his big hitting, but Yusuf insisted his game is also suited for the five-day format. “The T20 craze has started only now, but I have been playing first-class cricket for a decade. I would also like to play Test matches. It’s unfair to label me as one-day specialist.”There is more to my batting than just hitting. You can’t succeed at the international level if you have limited strokes. I can play all round the wicket. If you analyse my hundreds, you will see I have scored runs on both sides of the wicket. I like to play aggressively and that’s the way I have played cricket all my life and I will continue to do so.”Due to India’s powerful batting line-up, with several of the big names batting in the top order, Yusuf said it was difficult not to adopt a risk-free approach when he came in to bat. “More often than not, one of the top-order batsmen scores big. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh love to bat long.”When I go in to bat, I normally get five to eight overs in which I have to score as many runs as possible. You can’t do that without taking risks. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes not. It can go either way. But I always try to give it my best shot. I won’t be making hundreds everyday, but if my quick 30s or 40s can make a difference, I will be a happy man.”

VVS Laxman has reached Bangalore after a brief halt in his hometown of Hyderabad, but didn’t train with the team two days before the Bangalore Test.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2010VVS Laxman, the hero of India’s gripping first Test win in Mohali, has reached Bangalore after a brief halt in his hometown of Hyderabad, but didn’t train with the team two days before the Bangalore Test. The rest of the team had a long nets session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Laxman had to fight back spasms in that match-winning 73, and is still recovering from the injury. He came in to bat at No. 10 in the first innings, and didn’t play any further part in the game until the end of day four. During the course of the game, he had to take three painkiller injections and tablets during every break on the final day.Laxman has been advised rest for his injured back, but a team source said he is feeling much better now. There is no word yet on whether he will play the second Test. In case he is ruled out, Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is likely to make his Test debut.India are, not for the first time this season, struggling with injuries in this series. Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir have already been ruled out of the second Test. Both of them were unavailable at various points of time in Mohali. Australia are battling injury worries of their own: Doug Bollinger pulled out with an abdominal strain on the last afternoon in Mohali, and is yet to resume training.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced their 15-man squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which takes place in New Zealand from January 15-30, 2010

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced their 15-man squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which takes place in New Zealand from January 15-30, 2010. Talented batsman Azeem Ghumman, who lead the side to the final of a tri-series in Sri Lanka involving the hosts and Bangladesh recently, will continue to captain.The bi-annual tournament involves 16 teams with Pakistan facing West Indies, Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh in the group stages. Pakistan’s first match in the group stages will be against West Indies on January 15, followed by Papua New Guinea on January 18 and Bangladesh on January 20. The top two teams in each group will progress to the quarter-finals.The squad will leave for New Zealand on December 30. Prior to that it will assemble for a training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from December 16-27 under the supervision of coach Ijaz Ahmed.Pakistan’s best result at the U-19 World Cup was in 2003 when they defeated West Indies to win the tournament and then in 2006 when they trumped India in a thrilling final.Squad: Azeem Ghumman (capt), Babar Azam, Ahsan Ali, Ahmed Shahzad, Rameez Aziz, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Waqas, Hammad Azam, Sarmad Bhatti, Anop Ravi, Raza Hassan, Usman Qadir, Shahzaib Ahmed, Kaleem Sana, Fayyaz Butt.

India batter suffered a knee injury on the eve of the match

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2025Virat Kohli has been ruled out of the first ODI against England in Nagpur due to a knee injury he suffered on the eve of the game. He was replaced in India’s XI by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was making his ODI debut along with bowling-allrounder Harshit Rana.India captain Rohit Sharma said at the toss that Kohli had injured his right knee on Wednesday night.Jaiswal was slotted to open with Rohit on the BCCI’s team sheet with vice-captain Shubman Gill, who would have opened if Kohli was fit, listed at No. 4, though it remains to be seen if that order remains. India lost the toss and were bowling first in Nagpur.The three matches against England are India’s last ODIs before the Champions Trophy begins on February 19. They haven’t played ODI cricket since August last year, when they lost a three-match bilateral series 2-0 in Sri Lanka, with one match tied.Kohli’s form has been under scrutiny in recent months, and after a poor tour of Australia where all of his dismissals were edges to the wicketkeeper or slip cordon, he spent a week working with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar. He then played one Ranji Trophy match for Delhi – his first appearance in the competition since 2012 – where he was bowled for 6 against Railways.ODI cricket, however, is Kohli’s strongest format, and he is 94 runs away from becoming only the third batter to reach 14,000 runs in the format. Only Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara have got there before, but Kohli is certain to become the fastest to the milestone.

England vice-captain says the team has been “overthinking” during this World Cup, instead of playing the “entertaining” brand of cricket they’re known for

Matt Roller25-Oct-20231:40

What’s gone wrong for England?

England have lost their spark and sense of enjoyment at the World Cup, and would rather go out of the tournament “with a bang” than with a whimper. That is the view of their vice-captain, Moeen Ali, who looks set to make his second appearance of the tournament against Sri Lanka in Bangalore on Thursday.Moeen played in England’s nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Ahmedabad on the opening night of the tournament but has not featured since. Being dropped has given him perspective on where his team-mates have fallen short, particularly in defeats to Afghanistan and South Africa which mean they probably need to win all five of their remaining group games in order to reach the semi-finals.”Our intent hasn’t been there,” Moeen said. “When you see it from the outside, it’s just like that spark is missing; that thing is missing where they’re enjoying taking bowlers down and enjoying going out to bat. The situations haven’t always been easy but still: I feel like it’s a game of cricket, at the end of the day, and I think we’re probably taking it too seriously in certain ways.Related

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“It’s almost having that carefree kind of attitude: who cares? It’s a game of cricket. If you’re going to make mistakes, you might as well make them doing what you’re good at doing. And we’re making mistakes anyway, so do it with a smile on your face… I think we as a group have been overthinking too much.”In both the 2019 World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup, early group-stage defeats left England with no margin for error in their last four games. On both occasions, they rediscovered their attacking batting style after being confronted with the prospect of elimination. “We’ve been in this position before – probably not to this degree – but we know everything is a must-win,” Moeen said.”There’s no point playing the way we’re playing and then [we will] go out and go home and have regrets. I’ve always believed – and I believe still – that if we play how we play and we know we can play, most teams, we’ll beat… let’s at least go out with a bang, if we’re going to go out. And be entertaining. That’s really important, because that’s something we haven’t been at all.”2:33

Moeen: ”Batting deep makes a big difference at the Chinnaswamy’

England made three changes for their most recent game, a 229-run drubbing at the hands of South Africa on Saturday. Seemingly based on data from the IPL, Jos Buttler opted to bowl first on the third-hottest October day Mumbai had seen in a decade and England’s bowlers fried in the heat; South Africa’s 399 for 7 was the highest-ever score England had conceded in an ODI.In selection, at the toss, and in their general approach, Moeen suggested that England have been guilty of overthinking. “For us, it’s just about playing how we play and not worrying too much about what the trend is at the moment,” he said. “A lot of the time, I feel England have set the trend for the last few years, and we’ve probably moved away from that.”Moeen echoed the views of Rob Key, England’s managing director. “This is a unique place to come and play: it’s bloody tricky to work out what the best thing to do is,” Key said. “But what you can do is focus on what you actually do best – and regardless of any decisions that get made, you need your players to be playing at their very best in this competition. And we haven’t had that.”Buttler is yet to fire at the World Cup, with 87 runs in four innings, and has a heavy workload as a keeper-captain. In Mumbai, he found himself running from behind the stumps to pass on advice to his bowlers and then back again while England were hammered at the death. “It’s not always that easy for a keeper to communicate,” Moeen said, adding that players have told him they “miss having me at mid-off”.Among Moeen’s biggest challenges as vice-captain has been giving his inputs on selection and weighing up whether or not he believes he should play. “When Jos asks me what I think for the side and I don’t put myself in, or if I put myself in, that’s the hardest bit,” he said. “You try and do what’s best for the team as much as you can.”That same mantra will underpin Moeen’s approach on Thursday: “I’m going to use all the intent that I have and take it on. That doesn’t mean slogging… it just means being brave and taking a risk if I need to – just being me, really. I’m going to take the situation out [of it] a lot of the time and just enjoy it as much as I can.”

Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain left out, while Shan Masood, Haider Ali and Naseem Shah make comebacks

Umar Farooq30-Jun-2022Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain, who is back after serving a suspension for a faulty bowling action, have been left out of the list of Pakistan’s centrally contracted players, while Shan Masood, Naseem Shah and Haider Ali are all back in the mix after missing out last year.Related

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In the list announced on Thursday, the trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been placed in the highest category for both white- and red-ball cricket.In other major updates, Hasan Ali, who has had a poor year in the shorter formats, has been demoted to Category C in white-ball cricket but has earned a Category B deal for Test cricket. Imam-ul-Haq had an overall [white and red ball] Category C contract last year, but has moved to Category B in white-ball cricket while remaining in Category C for the red-ball format.Azhar Ali was in Category B last year, but has moved into Category A for red-ball cricket alone. Shadab Khan and Fakhar Zaman have also earned Category A contracts for white-ball cricket.The PCB restructured its player contracts this year, splitting the players into two pools – for white- and red-ball cricket. Along with the overhaul, PCB has also increased the number of contacts from 20 to 33, including placing seven players in the emerging category: Salman Ali Agha, Haseebullah, Mohammad Huraira, Ali Usman, Kamran Ghulam, Qasim Akram and Mohammad Haris.In another update, the PCB has also hiked the match fee across all formats by 10% for playing members. Non-playing members’ fees have also been increased; they used to earlier get 50% of what the playing members earned as match fees, but will now get 70%.Babar, Pakistan’s all-format captain, will also get a special allowance as a part of a renewed agreement to “compensate the team captain for additional responsibility”.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I want to congratulate all those who have earned central contracts for the 2022-23 season, especially our younger players… for the first time as part of our vision and strategy to identify, groom, and develop specialists for the traditional and purest format of the game,” chief selector Mohammad Wasim said in a press interaction in Rawalpindi. “I understand there will be a few disappointed players who have missed out on contracts, but I want to reiterate that we are not limiting and restricting ourselves to these 33 players. As and when required, players from outside the list will be included.”We have also expanded our category of emerging cricketers from three to seven as it is very important for us to groom those cricketers who have the potential to make it to the top level and give an incentive to those players who have excelled in our domestic tournaments.”Ashraf had a Category B contact in the last cycle, but struggled to make it into the playing XI in ODIs and T20Is. He has, however, been on the fringes of the Test team since he offers balance in the XI with his multiple skills. But in the past 12 months, he played five Tests, getting eight wickets and scoring 141 runs, not enough to be a top pick in the side. In the same period, he played just three ODIs, with no wickets and just 16 runs, and was not considered for T20Is at all.In Hasnain’s case, though he has been in and around Pakistan’s white-ball teams, the suspension for the illegal action might have worked against him even though he can now bowl internationally again.

Lancashire captain remains unbeaten on 158 after rescuing side from top-order wobble

Paul Edwards09-Apr-2021
Counties nowadays do plenty of research before they invest in overseas players. There is little doubt Lancashire had a good idea what they were getting when they signed Dane Vilas in advance of the 2017 season. Yet even the most painstaking official could scarcely fail to have been surprised by Vilas’s impact on life at Emirates Old Trafford. Time and then time again he has changed games. His influence as captain on the dressing room is deep and abiding. And today, as spring’s impertinent ambition transformed the so recently skeletal trees around this most urban of grounds, Lancashire’s captain performed his familiar trick once more.There are occasions when too much importance is attached to sportsmen’s body language. But as Vilas marched off the ground with an unbeaten 158 to his name and Sussex’s players dragged themselves back to their dressing room after they had suffered the sort of mauling handed out by an irritable lion, it was plain where the balance of this game lay. Although only 64 of his runs had come in boundaries, Vilas had harried Ben Brown’s bowlers at every opportunity, constantly exhorting his partners, Alex Davies, Rob Jones and Luke Wood to sprint harder and increase the pressure on a young attack.But admirable avarice has been one of Vilas’s trademarks at Lancashire and it has only been satisfied because the captain takes pride in his fitness. During the course of his century against Sussex he passed 3000 runs in his 50th first-class match at an average exceeded by only three Lancashire batsmen at similar stages of their careers. Then there is the multi-faceted leadership; Vilas is not simply Lancashire’s skipper; he sets the standard and provides the example for others to follow. Rob Jones, with whom Vilas put on 125 for the fifth wicket against Sussex, is a far better player for having been encouraged to assess situations by his captain and then bat according to his findings.This has been a match of dropped catches. Yet as Vilas took Lancashire into a 38-run first-innings lead late in the evening session, it became clear that the most significant spill will not be those that allowed Tom Haines to make 155 on the first day but the diving chance at slip that George Garton put down off Jack Carson’s off spin when Vilas was a mere 47. It would certainly have improved Carson’s day, albeit the young off-spinner at least claimed the final wicket to fall when Jones reverse-swept a full toss straight to Tom Clark at backward point and departed for 58.Related

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By then, however, Vilas was in full flow. His unbroken stand of 82 with Luke Wood has set Lancashire up for further riches tomorrow and Sussex may well have a tricky task saving this game even though the pitch remains true and blameless. Yet none of these riches had appeared likely to come the home team’s way as they slipped to 41 for 3 just before lunch on what now seems so distant a session that it could have taken place on another day altogether.To forget the morning’s play, though, would do little credit to Ollie Robinson, whose pace and accuracy with the new ball induced Keaton Jennings to edge to Aaron Thomason at fourth slip and Josh Bohannon to nick the ball to Ben Brown. When Steven Croft’s attempted pull off George Garton merely gloved another catch to Brown, Lancashire were 41 for 3 and the home coaches may have been reflecting sombrely on the fact that for something like an hour, 24 hours previously, their side was within two wickets of having their boots on Sussex’s neck.Instead they watched a trifle nervously today as Davies pulled and punched his way to 61 and put on 91 with Vilas before the debutant left-arm seamer Sean Hunt brought one back off the seam to have him leg before wicket. Hunt bowled well on his first appearance and deserved his wicket but Sussex’s other bowlers faded in the face of Vilas’s calibrated attack. Brown’s attack is young and in time his players will learn much from days like today. Yet as the spring sun took command and the day deepened into afternoon, our attention shifted from callow bowlers trying to further their careers and focused instead on the iron will of a Lancashire batsmen intent on preventing them doing so.”Nothing is so beautiful as Spring,” wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins and on afternoons like this it was easy to agree. Even photographers who had talked darkly of their chances of ending this game with a full complement of toes observed that the temperature had gone up a notch or two. So we took details of the snappers’ next of kin, loaded them up with Kendal Mint Cake and sent them out to sunbathe. Then Vilas punched another four through the covers and suddenly we again noticed the lack of a crowd and their warm salutes for one of Lancashire’s finest.

What the players will be looking for from the tour game in Vizianagaram

Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Sep-2019Rohit Sharma, the openerContrary to widespread belief, Rohit Sharma has done a pretty good job when he’s got the opportunity to play Test cricket. Since the start of 2016, he averages 53.00 in 11 Test matches. It’s a sign of the depth of India’s batting resources that he can’t command a consistent spot in the middle order.

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Thanks to KL Rahul’s long run of poor form and Prithvi Shaw’s doping ban, however, he now has an opportunity to try and turn himself into a long-format opener. Moving to the top of the order transformed Rohit’s ODI career. Can he make a similar move up the order work in Test cricket too?Rohit doesn’t have much previous as a red-ball opener. In 137 innings in first-class cricket, he has opened just three times, the last of those occasions – when Mumbai attempted to chase an improbable target of 155 in 11 overs – coming in December 2012.Apart from the Test-match combination of Rohit and Mayank Agarwal, the Board President’s XI squad also includes two other openers, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal. Those two will probably have to accept a move down the order for now.Can South Africa’s batsmen crack the Asia code?Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis. Only one member of that world-class middle order remains standing now.This isn’t to say South Africa have an inexperienced batting line-up, per se. Dean Elgar (56 Tests) has only played two fewer Tests than du Plessis, while Temba Bavuma (36) and Quinton de Kock (40) have been around Test cricket for a while, and Aiden Markram (17) is well settled at the top of the order.But all of them have poor records in Asia.