Australia's Brett Lee retires from international cricket

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.