Inglis loses captaincy of Australia after one day
Apologizes but won’t step down
MELBOURNE, Oct 2, (RTRS): Greg Inglis was stripped of the captaincy of Australia’s national rugby league team on Tuesday, just a day after receiving the honour, after being caught drink-driving by police.
Inglis was also suspended for two tests by the National Rugby League (NRL), ruling him out of matches against New Zealand and saying he wanted to see through the process.
“I don’t think I let my country down. I think I let a lot of people down where I stand in the game as a proud indigenous role model, and I think I’ve let a lot of kids down,” he said.
The decision was ultimately taken out of his hands.
“I know I did the wrong thing and, while I am disappointed at missing the tour, I accept the penalty,” the 31-year-old said later.
Sydney Roosters skipper Boyd Cordner, who led New South Wales to victory in the annual State of Origin series, is expected to replace Inglis as captain.
The drink-driving charge is another black eye for Australian rugby league and comes two days after the NRL Grand Final ended in controversy surrounding an injury cover-up by the victorious Sydney Roosters.
Roosters staff admitted to lying repeatedly about an injury to halfback Cooper Cronk ahead of the game against Melbourne Storm in a bid to influence their opponents’ preparations.
The deceit was slammed on Tuesday by media pundits, who demanded the NRL tighten rules on injury disclosure.
Agarwal, 27, was rewarded for a 2017-18 season in which he scored heavily across formats while the 18-year-old Shaw has already been tipped to have a bright future in national colours.
Agarwal and Shaw will be keen to make the most of their chances and book their place for India’s four-Test series in Australia, though Vijay has responded to being dropped by making a hundred and three half-centuries in his last five innings for Essex in the County Championship.
The trip to Australia will be the last chance in 2018 for Virat Kohli’s men to show they can match their formidable home form with success abroad and show the world why they are the world’s top-ranked Test side.
India, who last lost a Test series at home in late 2012 against England, started the year with a 2-1 loss to South Africa but then thrashed debutants Afghanistan at home in a one-off Test before flying to England.
Despite losing all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pace bowler Ishant Sharma to injury, India have opted to rest pace duo Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the West Indies Tests.
The visiting batsmen will still have to contend with India’s lethal spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja however, with left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav ready to chip in if pressed into action as the third slow-bowling option.
West Indies arrive in India on the back of strong Test form at home. They won both Tests against Bangladesh and drew 1-1 against Sri Lanka in a three-Test series.
However, previous form against India in the five-day format offers little optimism. West Indies’ last In this Sept 28, 2018 file photo, India’s Ravindra Jadeja bats during the final one day international cricket match of
Asia Cup between India and Bangladesh, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)