Ashwin out, then back in
Federer comes up trumps
Mystery surrounds Ravi Ashwin’s availability for today’s final match of the series, with the Indian spinner bizarrely added back to a 13-man squad after captain Virat Kohli said at a press conference two hours earlier he would not be right to play.
India are yet to name their team to face Australia at the SCG but a team spokesperson confirmed just before midday yesterday that Ashwin would take no part in the fixture.
Ashwin suffered a side strain earlier in the summer and was ruled out of the second test. He also didn’t feature in the Boxing Day test in Melbourne, but there were hopes he would be cleared to play in Sydney on a pitch that usually favours spinners.
The 32-year-old bowled in the SCG nets yesterday morning and was sending them down with no trouble but medical staff made the initial call shortly after that he didn’t have the required fitness.
"He’s very disappointed with the fact he is not able to recover in time,’’ Kohli said.
‘‘You can’t really predict an injury when it happens, you can just manage it.’’
However, after Australia’s prematch press conference, in which captain Tim Paine did not provide a starting XI, India backtracked on their earlier news by saying Ashwin had been named in a 13-man squad.
A final decision on Ashwin’s availability was to be made before the toss today.
Before Ashwin was brought back into selection calculations, Paine said he was surprised the off-spinner had been scratched from the match.
Earlier, Kohli said: ‘‘The physio and trainer have spoken to him in terms of what is required in order to get over that injury.
Virat Kohli (C), A Rahane (VC), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, C Pujara, H Vihari, R Pant, R Jadeja, K Yadav, R Ashwin, M Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
‘‘He is very important for sure in test cricket. He’s a big part of this team and we want him to be 100 per cent fit so he can contribute more to us in the test format.’’
Meanwhile, Paine said Australia were still mulling over their best side and would assess how the SCG pitch looked during an afternoon training session.
‘‘It’s just [about] team balance,’’ Paine said. ‘‘There is ongoing discussion the last day or two but we’ll have a final look at wicket once I’m done here and we’ll have our last chat then. We’re not too far away.
‘‘We’ll be looking to pick the best XI that we think is the best combination to win this test and the wicket will play a part in that.’’ Roger Federer came out on top in his highly anticipated match-up with Serena Williams to help Switzerland clinch their Hopman Cup tie against the United States 2-1. Federer gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead with a 6-4 6-1 win over Frances Tiafoe. Williams then overcame a case of the first-set wobbles to post a 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over Belinda Bencic, levelling the tie. The mixed doubles clash was always going to hog the spotlight given it was the first time Federer had faced off against Williams in a competitive match. But the fact it would also decide the tie winner added extra intrigue. The US, who lost to Greece in their opening tie, needed to beat Switzerland to keep their title hopes alive. But it was Switzerland who came out on top, winning the Fast4 format 4-2 4-3 (5-3) in 46 minutes.
India 13-man squad: