Ruturaj Gaikwad is once again on the outside, looking in. The young batter scored a fine hundred against South Africa in the recent series. Many felt it should have helped his case. But when India announced their squad for the ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday, Ruturaj’s name was missing.The selectors chose Rishabh Pant instead. Ruturaj is seen by many as a complete batter. He has shown consistency. He has technique. He has temperament. Still, he could not find a place in the team. This is not the first time it has happened.

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about the decision on his YouTube channel. He shared what many fans were already thinking.“Could Gaikwad have been kept in the squad? I think that was a real possibility,” he said.Ashwin explained that the selectors were forced to make a tough call. It was a straight choice between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rishabh Pant. Pant got the nod mainly because he is a left-hander.Ashwin felt Shreyas Iyer’s comeback was never in doubt. He said it was “his rightful position.” But he questioned the need for picking a second specialist wicketkeeper when a batter like Ruturaj was available.“Between a second wicketkeeper and a batter, you can get a keeper from anywhere to cover,” he added.Ashwin also praised Ruturaj’s batting skills. He said Ruturaj should not be seen only as an opener. In his view, Ruturaj can bat in the middle order as well.“At four or five, I’m sticking my neck out, his batting against spin, his running between the wickets, and his ability to close out an innings is phenomenal.”Still, Ashwin admitted he worries about Ruturaj’s situation.“My main concern is Ruturaj Gaikwad’s mindset,” he further stated.He pointed out that Ruturaj’s T20 numbers are strong, yet chances at the international level have been limited.“Right now, it’s a straight choice between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rishabh Pant, with Pant having the advantage of being a left-hander.”The road ahead is not easy. Big names like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continue to block the top order.“Ruturaj will likely get a long run in ODIs only after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retire from the format.”India’s squad for NZ ODIs: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer* (vc), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.*subject to fitness clearance

NEW DELHI: Joe Root and Harry Brook blunted Australia’s all-pace attack with an unbroken 154-run stand on Sunday, rescuing England and putting them in a strong position on a rain-hit opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test. Batting after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground, the pair guided the visitors to 211 for 3 before bad light forced the players off the field just before tea.Subsequent rain and the threat of lightning meant no further play was possible, with stumps called an hour early.

Root was unbeaten on 72 and Brook on 78 after the duo came together with England struggling at 57 for 3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) before lunch.The world’s top two-ranked batters counter-attacked on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, bringing up hard-fought half-centuries and keeping the scoreboard moving briskly despite dark storm clouds gathering overhead.“We’re in very good position, obviously three down at the end of the end of play,” said Brook.“Hopefully we can make the most of that going into tomorrow.“It was good pitch,” he added.“When I first went in it felt like the bounce was fairly steep. But then it it started to get a little bit lower and slower and just generally feels like a good wicket.”England entered the match buoyed by a four-wicket win inside two days in the previous Test in Melbourne and were eager to carry forward the momentum. That victory ended a 15-year winless streak in Australia but came too late to save the series, with the hosts having already retained the urn through wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.Australia sprung a selection surprise by including all-rounder Beau Webster in place of fast bowler Jhye Richardson, while off-spinner Todd Murphy was overlooked.It marked the first time in almost 140 years that Australia have gone without a front-line spinner in a Sydney Test.“Hate doing it,” said Australia skipper Steve Smith.“But if we keep producing wickets that we don’t think are going to spin and seam is going to play a big part and cracks are going to play a big part, you kind of get pushed into a corner.”England made one change, bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson, with frontline spinner Shoaib Bashir missing out for a fifth straight Test.The day began with a tribute to first responders following last month’s Bondi mass shooting that claimed 15 lives, drawing loud applause when hero Ahmed Al Ahmed — who tackled one of the gunmen — appeared.Duckett looked fluent early, hammering five boundaries off Mitchell Starc in a brisk 27 from 24 balls. However, Starc had the final say, inducing an outside edge from an angled delivery that was taken by wicketkeeper Alex Carey at full stretch — the fifth time the left-armer has dismissed Duckett in the series.Crawley was next to fall, trapped lbw by Michael Neser, leaving England 51 for 2 by the first drinks break.Bethell endured a tentative stay, taking 15 balls to score his first run before edging a moving delivery from Scott Boland to Carey as England slipped to 57 for 3.Root then joined Brook at the crease and the pair set about rebuilding. They rotated the strike effectively and punished loose deliveries, with Root bringing up his 67th Test half-century — and the 100-run partnership — with a single off Webster.Only India great Sachin Tendulkar, with 68, has scored more Test fifties.Brook enjoyed a slice of luck on 45 when he slogged Starc and the ball landed safely between three converging fielders. He kept his composure thereafter, reaching his 15th Test half-century four balls after Root by cracking Webster through the covers for a boundary.

Arsenal fought back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday, stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League as Aston Villa extended their winning run at home. A goal from Gabriel Magalhaes and two from the returning Declan Rice sent the Gunners six points clear of second-placed Villa and seven ahead of Manchester City.Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the character of his team, singling out Rice and Gabriel, whose sloppy pass set up Bournemouth for the opening goal.

“I love the character of Gabriel, the way he overcome that situation — it’s just unbelievable, it says a lot about how much we’ve grown,” he told Sky Sports.“The team found a way to beat them and it’s a massive win.”The Spaniard said that Rice had worked hard to be available after missing Tuesday’s 4-1 home win against Villa with a knee problem.“He has stretched himself to the very limit and the team were awarded with two great goals,” he added.Evanilson gave impressive Bournemouth an early lead, stroking home after Gabriel’s error but the Brazil defender made up for his mistake just minutes later, converting after Noni Madueke’s drive to the byline.England midfielder Rice side-footed the Gunners ahead in the 54th minute from the edge of the area and gave them breathing space with about 20 minutes to go, producing a low finish from substitute Bukayo Saka’s cutback.Junior Kroupi brought Bournemouth back into the game with a thunderous right-footed finish but Arsenal held on for a fifth straight Premier League win — keeping them firmly on course for a first English title since 2004.– Villa’s home comforts –Earlier, Unai Emery’s Villa bounced back from their chastening defeat at Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1, recording their 11th consecutive home win in all competitions.England forward Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead on the cusp of half-time with a powerful strike from just outside the area and John McGinn scored twice in the second half, either side of a Morgan Gibbs-White goal.Villa boss Emery said his players and coaching staff had held a meeting after their drubbing at the Emirates Stadium.“I am so happy,” he said. “We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important.“Forest are competitive. After the Arsenal match we met — the players and staff — (and discussed) how we are doing this season, how we are feeling, how we needed to keep the same consistency as before, how we needed to be together and strong.”Sean Dyche’s Forest, who have now suffered four straight league defeats, remain one place above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, who slumped to a damaging 3-0 loss at Molineux.Relegation-threatened West Ham travelled to face winless basement club Wolves in desperate need of a victory.Jhon Arias gave the home side an early lead and Hwang Hee-chan doubled their advantage from the penalty spot shortly after the half-hour mark.Teenager Mateus Mane drilled in his first Premier League goal shortly before half-time, all but guaranteeing Rob Edwards’s team a first league win of the season.Nuno Espirito Santo’s Hammers are in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League along with Wolves and Burnley.“Everybody needs to think and reflect and question ourselves,” Nuno said. “It’s about actions. It’s been very bad, very bad.”Wolves, who drew with Manchester United in midweek, remain 12 points from safety.“We have been improving and progressing and you saw that today,” Edwards told the BBC. “It is another step in the right direction, that is all it was and it is nice it has culminated in a win.”Elsewhere on Saturday, Brighton beat Burnley 2-0 to end a six-match winless run, courtesy of goals from Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari. City host managerless Chelsea on Saturday while Liverpool and Manchester United are also in action.

Australia vs England 5th Ashes Test Live Cricket Score: Joe Root and Harry Brook staged a steady recovery after England lost three wickets in a torrid opening session of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. At lunch, Root was unbeaten on 31 and Brook on 23 as England reached 114 for 3 after choosing to bat in front of a sold-out crowd.

England’s top order struggled early, with Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) all dismissed. Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser and Scott Boland shared the wickets for Australia.

The visitors entered the match buoyed by a four-wicket victory inside two days in the previous Test in Melbourne, eager to build on the momentum. The win ended a 15-year drought in Australia but came too late to salvage the series, with the hosts having already retained the urn through victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Australia sprung a selection surprise by handing an opportunity to allrounder Beau Webster in place of fast bowler Jhye Richardson, while off-spinner Todd Murphy was left out. It marked the first time in nearly 140 years that Australia fielded a side without a specialist spinner in a Sydney Test.

England, meanwhile, made a solitary change, bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson.

Duckett looked fluent early, smashing five boundaries off Starc in a brisk 27 from 24 balls. However, Starc had the final say, inducing an outside edge with an angled delivery that wicketkeeper Alex Carey collected at full stretch — the fifth time the left-armer has dismissed Duckett in the series.

Crawley soon followed, trapped plumb lbw by Neser. Although he reviewed the decision, it was always heading for dismissal, leaving England 51 for 2 by the first drinks break.

Bethell endured a cautious stay, taking 15 deliveries to score his first run and never appearing settled. He was dismissed for 10 after pushing at a moving ball from Boland, edging faintly to Carey as England slipped to 57 for 3.

Root then joined Brook and the pair knuckled down to guide England safely to the interval, adding an unbroken 57-run stand to stabilise the innings.

The day began with a tribute to first responders following the recent Bondi mass shooting that claimed 15 lives, drawing loud applause when hero Ahmed Al Ahmed — who confronted one of the attackers — was acknowledged.

Steve Smith has moved swiftly to shut down talk of an imminent retirement, insisting he remains fully invested in Test cricket ahead of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, starting January 4. Australia’s stand-in captain acknowledged that recent years have not quite matched the extraordinary standards he set earlier in his career, but stressed that speculation around his future is premature. Smith’s peak years saw him dominate red-ball cricket, averaging over 70 across multiple seasons between 2014 and 2019. While his numbers since then remain strong — averaging above 50 in 2021, 2022 and 2025 — the absence of sustained, match-defining spells has prompted outside chatter about his longevity. Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Sydney, Smith made it clear that he has no fixed timeline in mind and is focused only on the present.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing at the end of this week. I’ve said it for a while. I’m taking it day by day, series by series. We’ll see where things land,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m doing all right at the moment. I’m enjoying it. I’m contributing and having fun. There’s no real end date for me, I suppose. I’m still playing. I’m enjoying it.” Smith also reflected on Australia’s recent success in Test cricket, pointing to the collective strength of the side rather than reliance on individual brilliance. Australia have reached two World Test Championship finals in the last few years, a run Smith believes highlights the depth and balance within the squad. “I think we’ve got a really good team,” he said. “The team we’ve had over the last three or four years, obviously making two World Test Championship finals, different people have stood up at different times. It’s never been one or two people just getting the job done. It’s been shared across.” As one of the senior figures in the dressing room, Smith sees his role evolving beyond just runs. “As an older player now, hopefully I can help some of the players coming through and help teach them the game of Test cricket. I guess that’s my role now,” he added. For now, Smith’s focus remains firmly on the SCG and the task at hand, with retirement a conversation he is in no rush to have.