MELBOURNE: The workload has already claimed Josh Hazlewood, and the lack of it has led to Ravichandran Ashwin's shock retirement.
But come December 26, all the focus will be on cricket. Both teams have had a chance to see what works and what doesn't, and now, if ever, will be the time to ring in the changes.
In that regard, Australia has already made their move. The hosts have dropped opener Nathan McSweeney and brought in exciting young talent Sam Konstas. Fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott have also joined the squad, while all-rounder Beau Webster, who was added prior to the second Test in Adelaide, keeps his place.
The Konstas move stems from the fact that their top order has struggled to put pressure back on the Indians. McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne have been far too passive.
This story is from the December 22, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times East UP.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 22, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times East UP.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
'Idea was to prepare Gukesh so that there would be no surprises'
Paddy Upton described a scenario he played \"over a hundred times\" in his head as he flew from South Africa to Singapore. In it, he would meet Gukesh Dommaraju shortly after the Indian Grandmaster won the World Chess Championship title. They would embrace, and Upton would tell him, \"You deserve this.\"
Australia make their move, will India also follow suit?
Three Tests down, two to go. And that is the score that the team management from both sides will be key to tracking.
Anmolpreet Singh smashes fastest List A hundred
Anmolpreet Singh smashed the quickest List A hundred by an Indian, a 35-ball effort, to guide Punjab to an easy nine-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh in a Group C Vijay Hazare match here on Saturday.
Hero worship gone wrong
Pushpa 2: The Rule, the most successful film of 2024, is built around a man who ravages nature, and appears to care only for himself
US Congress passes bill to avert govt shutdown
Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early on Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
Rocket fired from Yemen strikes central Tel Aviv, hurts 16 people
A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass from nearby windows, the Israeli military said on Saturday.
Pakistan Taliban claim raid killing 16 soldiers
The Pakistani Taliban claimed a brazen overnight raid on an army outpost near the border with Afghanistan, on Saturday, which intelligence officials said killed 16 soldiers and critically wounded five more.
Germany's Christmas market attack death toll rises to 5, over 200 injured
Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticizing the religion
Sectarian violence in Syria has been mild since Assad's ouster
The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule.
Building the future vs remaking the past
Learn from history for sure, but one of the lessons to be learnt is that campaigns to rearrange the past could injure the present