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OUT: Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain
IN: Mehedi Hasan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain
List of contracted players for 2017: Grade A+: Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal
Grade A: Mahmudullah
Grade B: Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar
Grade C: Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Grade D: Taijul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mehedi Hasan

Mehedi Hasan is among the four new faces in the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s list of contracted players for 2017, along with other first-timers, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain and Taskin Ahmed. Rubel Hossain has also been included on the list, after missing out in 2016.Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain and Arafat Sunny have not been offered a contract. All three have been out of the Bangladesh team for extended periods. Nasir, however, returned to the ODI squad for the Ireland tri-series, having last played the format at home in October.Mehedi, Rabbi and Taijul Islam have been included in the grade D category and will receive US $15,000 each this year, an increase from the $11,250 awarded to players in the category in the previous contract cycle. Over the past eight months, Mehedi has become a regular member of the Bangladesh side while Taskin and Mosaddek have, this year, appeared in all three formats for the first time in their international careers.Rubel, Taskin, Mosaddek and Mustafizur Rahman have been slotted a grade higher, and are set to receive $22,500 each. The previous remuneration for players in grade C was $15,000.Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar have all been classed in Grade B, and will earn $30,000 this year. Mahmudullah is the only player in the list of 16 to be included under grade A, having been handed a demotion from grade A-plus, and he will receive $45,000. Those in grade A-plus will receive $60,000 this year, coupled with an incentive for being a captain or a vice-captain. Among players in this bracket, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza are the highest paid, and will receive $63,000 each. In the last contract cycle, players in the A-plus grade were paid $37,500.The BCB increased the salary of its contracted players this year after protracted discussions with some of the senior players, who, pointed out that they earn far less than all other Test-playing nations and less than their counterparts in Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Through the course of the 2016-17 home season, Umesh Yadav has played more matches and bowled more overs than any other Indian fast bowler. His efforts, though, haven’t always translated into wickets: before the start of the series against Australia, Umesh’s average for the season was 54.23.The rewards, though, have begun to arrive. Five bowling innings into the Border-Gavaskar series, he has taken 12 wickets at 22.00, at a strike rate of 44.5 – better than any other Indian bowler.Umesh has said his improved numbers in this series are a reflection of the confidence he has gained from playing regularly. He also said he has tried to weed out his weaknesses – including a widely-commented-upon tendency to bowl far too many loose balls.”Actually, I feel it is all the same. I’m doing the same things [through the season], but the confidence from playing matches, and the hard work that I have put in [have begun producing results],” he said at the end of the second day in Ranchi. “Usually, I used to be in and out of the team and so I didn’t understand what to do but as I started playing more matches, I was just focusing on my bowling – what I should do and what I shouldn’t.”I have figured out what my bowling is, where I must bowl, what my weaknesses are, and what my strengths are. Earlier, there was criticism in the media that I bowled a lot on the leg stump, and conceded boundaries on the leg side after building pressure for four balls. I have cut that down to a large extent. Slowly, I am getting back to my ways.”Australia batted first in Ranchi, and, on a pitch that played truer than expected, posted a first-innings total of 451. India began their reply confidently, ending day two on 120 for 1. Umesh felt it had been difficult for bowlers to control the flow of runs given the ease of batting on the pitch and the quickness of the outfield.”On this wicket, it is very difficult to stop singles,” he said. “450 has taken them four and a half sessions to get, so on an average [that is] 100 runs per session. We also made 120 in one session. On this pitch, it is hard to stem the flow of runs; it isn’t as easy to bowl as you might think because the singles will keep coming and the outfield is so quick that once it is in the gap, it will go to the boundary. 450 is there or thereabouts [as a good first-innings score here], 20-30 this side or that, but we will try to get to that total.”‘I have figured out what my bowling is’•AFP

Steven Smith top-scored for Australia with an unbeaten 178, his second hundred of the series and his sixth in his last seven Tests against India. Umesh said bowling to Smith was tricky given his unorthodox technique and his pronounced shuffle across the stumps.”Actually, it can be quite difficult,” he said. “You know you what to bowl in a certain way, but sometimes when he keeps moving, moves from leg to off and opens up, then it becomes a bit difficult – your plans are no longer effective. So you have to wait till the last minute, depending on how much he moves, before deciding what to do.”Umesh ended Australia’s innings with figures of 3 for 106. India’s most successful bowler was Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with 5 for 124 from 49.3 overs. Umesh said Jadeja was in the form of his life as a bowler.”I think he is bowling the best he has been. He has got a lot of five-wicket hauls in recent times and he is bowling really well. Jadeja is the kind of bowler whose bowling style suits any type of wicket. His variations and his control are very good. If he gets even a bit of rough, he knows what his aim is, where he has to bowl. I think he is bowling at his best and he is getting his rewards for that.”Virat Kohli went off the field with an injured right shoulder in the 40th over of Australia’s innings, and did not return thereafter. The BCCI have said he is fit to bat, and Umesh said he had already begun batting in the nets.”The bandage will obviously be there because if you have a shoulder injury, you need the bandage to hold it together but he [Kohli] is ready to play,” Umesh said. “He has been batting in the nets as well, so obviously he will come back.”Umesh wasn’t sure if the pitch would continue to behave as it has through the first two days, but did not think it would break up too quickly.”For now, I don’t foresee much change but still hope for the best,” he said. “If there is some change, good, but for now, as you can see, it still is good for batting. Normally you can’t say much about the wicket – how much it will change or help the bowlers.”

ScorecardSteven Smith and Shaun Marsh struck boundary-laden centuries on the first day of Australia’s warm-up game against India A at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Smith and Marsh, at Nos. 3 and 4 respectively, both retired out soon after reaching their hundreds and the Australians went to stumps at 327 for 5.After India A chose to field, David Warner began in sprightly fashion, hitting four fours in his 25 before he was caught behind off 25-year old seamer Navdeep Saini. Matt Renshaw was more sedate: making a 11 off 41 balls. Subsequently, Smith and Marsh added 156 together to carry the Australians along in the middle session. Smith made 107 with 12 fours and a six, while Marsh made 104 with 11 fours and a six.Peter Handscomb, at No. 5, got in some useful batting time too, playing 70 deliveries for his 45. Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade were unbeaten at the close of play on 16 and 7 respectively.”Everyone got a bit out of it today, which was great,” Marsh told reporters at stumps. “As individuals and as a team, it always gives you a bit of confidence when you have a good day in a warm-up game. Smithy batted really well, and all the other batters got a bit out of it as well. So, it was a good day. Hopefully we can continue that over the next couple of days and make sure we’re ready to go [for the Test against India] next week.”The pitch and conditions were relatively tame for Marsh’s maiden first-class game in India. “It nibbled a bit early, it was a bit damp. But as the day went on, it was quite nice to bat and spend some time out there against the quicks and the spinners.” But he knew that could change quite quickly.”I haven’t played Test cricket over here yet. But they’ll take spin, like Sri Lanka did the last year,” Marsh said. “So we know what wickets we’re going to get. It’s just about being ready for it and players having a really strong game plan and sticking to it. Just challenging each other, it’s going to be good fun.”

It’s an odd anachronism that 21 is still considered such an important age.In Australia, for example, 21st birthdays are widely celebrated much the same as 18th birthdays, even though minors legally become adults once they turn 18. Cards are adorned with keys, cakes are baked in the shape of them, symbolizing the bestowing of the keys of adulthood to people who have been adults for three years.For whatever reason, turning 21 remains a mystical moment. The coming of age.If Mitchell Marsh plays in Bengaluru, his Test career will turn 21. But it feels as though he’s been coming of age for a very long time.Consider Marsh when he first hit adulthood. After captaining Australia to victory in the U19s World Cup, he was playing for Deccan Chargers in the IPL as an 18-year-old alongside Adam Gilchrist in a team coached by Darren Lehmann, a fact that seems almost ridiculous in its generational incongruity.Seven years and 20 Tests down the track, Marsh has a batting average of 22.79 and 29 wickets at an average of 37.27. That he is blessed with an abundance of talent is undeniable; that talent comes with expectations his critics feel have not been met.Marsh-bashing is a frequent occurrence on social media and the selection of brothers Mitchell or Shaun is guaranteed to spark a new round. The younger brother has the added burden of being an Australian allrounder, a position that attracts more scrutiny and criticism than most.Just ask Shane Watson.In fact, Marsh does just that. Heralded as the natural replacement for Watson at the end of his Test career, Marsh now seeks him out for advice.”I’ve spoken to Watto,” Marsh said. “Since he’s retired he’s been fantastic. He’s always been open to me giving him a call or a text. I could use him a little bit more, he’s always open for a conversation which is great.”Watson could no doubt give just as much advice on how to cope with flak off the field as he could on how to perform on it. When he passed the allrounder’s mantle on to Marsh it came with a target attached, something that unsettled Marsh to the extent he stopped reading comments about himself on social media altogether.”I try not to look too much into it,” said Marsh. “I wouldn’t have too much confidence if I read all the comments on Facebook. That’s part and parcel of playing cricket for Australia at the top level. People are always entitled to their opinion, that’s fine by me. It doesn’t stress me out. I used to read a lot of it then I had 10 innings where I didn’t get over 30, I didn’t have much to read so I stopped reading it.When the selectors cut a swathe through the Australian squad in the wake of the humiliating loss to South Africa in Hobart they didn’t miss Marsh. He had played only the Perth Test and was left out of the Hobart match in favour of Callum Ferguson. With no opportunities available to play first-class cricket, he returned home to join up with the Perth Scorchers.”In a way it was probably a good thing because I just went back to the Big Bash and enjoyed myself, tried to slog a few and managed to get a few out of the middle,” said Marsh. “But away from the game I worked on a few things that I feel will hold me in good stead if I can play in Australia again or play in other conditions. Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the spotlight. I was obviously under a lot of pressure for a while so in a way it was nice to get back to play with the Scorchers and here I am.”Marsh wasn’t required for bowling duties in the first Test but he applied himself for a watchful 31 runs on the crumbling pitch. For a powerful, attacking batsman, it was a commendable show of restraint in such conditions. It was followed by dressing-room celebrations that Marsh described as the best four hours of his life.”It was good, it gave me a lot of confidence,” said Marsh. “Even though I made only 30, being out in the middle for 80 balls certainly gave me a lot of confidence. Hopefully this wicket is a little better and I can turn it into a big score for us.””I think it’s just about adapting. That’s something we always speak about, Steven (Smith) always talks to us about it. In these conditions you’ve got to earn the right to attack and that’s by having a solid defence. That’s what I’ve been working on.”Marsh has also been working on gaining the trust of his brother. Shaun’s nine-month old son, Austin, is on the tour and Uncle Mitch is being allowed to babysit his nephew for the first time.”You earn your trust,” said Marsh, while conceding he wasn’t very confident on nappy-changing.”It’s taken me a while but I’ve got there now.”If he can produce his best in India, that’s a statement he may make for many Tests beyond his 21st.

Allrounder Mona Meshram has replaced the injured Smriti Mandhana in India’s 14-member squad for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers, which begin in Colombo from February 7.Mandhana, who represented Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League, had hurt her knee during a match against Melbourne Renegades on January 15.

Updated squad for WC qualifiers

Mithali Raj (capt), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Thirush Kamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Sushma Verma (wk)
Out: Smriti Mandhana

Meshram was originally left out for the World Cup qualifiers though she was part of the ODI squad in India’s most recent series – against West Indies in November. She has played eight 50-over matches for her country having made her debut in June 2012.India play a practice game against South Africa on February 5 before they start their World Cup qualifiers campaign against hosts Sri Lanka on February 7.The tournament also includes Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. The top four teams go through to the World Cup, joining Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies who automatically qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship. World Cup 2017 will be held from 26 June to 23 July in England.

ScorecardElyse Villani hit nine fours to lead Scorchers’ charge•Getty Images

Under the safety of then Docklands Stadium – with rain hammering down in Melbourne – Perth Scorchers simply proved too powerful for the Melbourne Renegades, who sit bottom of the table with just one win having played half their matches.The Scorchers’ triumph was built on a brilliant innings from Elyse Villani, with some fine late hitting from the lower-middle order setting up a steep target of 156 for the hosts.All five of the Scorchers’ bowlers then impressed, with Katherine Brunt and Suzie Bates tight, and Emma King and Heather Graham picking up two wickets each. Only Anya Shrubsole gave away more than 26 from her four overs, but she picked up the vital wicket of Danni Wyatt, just as she looked set to purr.Unusual opening
It’s not often Suzie Bates falls cheaply, and it’s even more seldom to see the New Zealander – the ICC ODI and T20I Player of the Year – out hit wicket. But that’s exactly what happened with the fifth ball of the match, as her New Zealand team-mate Lea Tahuhu dug in a swift bouncer, which Bates fended away behind square to the leg side, only to drag her bat around and fall hit wicket in the process.You cannot keep a player of Bates’ quality down, however. Typically, it was Bates who put the brakes on the Renegades’ fast start to the chase with a brilliant caught and bowled to dismiss another national team-mate, and the hosts’ key player, Rachel Priest. She proved very difficult to get away, with her four overs costing just 18 runs.This was not Bates’ last moment of brilliance, though; with Renegades needing 13 runs an over and five wickets down, Molly Strano attempted an ambitious ramp off Heather Graham. She caught hold of it nicely, but Bates was stationed at short fine leg, and stuck out her right hand and took a brilliant catch falling backwards.Villani the hero
After Bates’ early dismissal, her opening partner Villani was in plum form, making a magnificent 60 from 43 balls. Early on, she took Molly Strano for consecutive boundaries – over mid-on and straight over the bowler’s head, then peppered the fence at midwicket with five fours in a single Tahuhu over. By the time she fell – caught smartly at long-on in Danni Wyatt’s first over – she had 60 of the Renegades’ 81 runs, while Claire Piparo contributed just seven in the pair’s partnership of 50. Villani’s innings set the Scorchers well on their way to victory.In addition to claiming the wicket of Danielle Wyatt, Anya Shrubsole put in a valiant effort on the field•Getty Images

Renegades fail to capitalise on starts
The Renegades’ chase just never quite got going, with key players getting in then getting out. Sophie Molineux ,who had earlier bowled beautifully to take 1 for 16 from her four overs, put on 32 with Priest to get them off to a good start, before Priest and Kris Britt fell in quick succession. Molineux and Danni Wyatt then looked good as they shared 29 to rebuild, with each striking fine sixes, but they too fell in consecutive overs, with half the target still required.The task proved too steep for the lower order and, despite the best efforts of Strano and Maitlan Brown, they fell short by 32 runs. The Renegades’ star recruit Grace Harris misfired in her first few matches but has missed the last two, apparently with injury; her return cannot come soon enough as the Renegades look to move up the table.Start of Scorchers’ hot streak?
The Renegades were the only team below the Scorchers when this game began, although the table was not telling the whole story, because Scorchers had played just four games (winning two and losing two), fewer than anyone else. Their list certainly looks the part, with the batting prowess of Villani and Bolton, the English opening bowling duo Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, as well as the all-round brilliance of Bates. This was a performance befitting of that side, with plenty of individuals playing their part and only a dropped catch and missed run- out chance blotting the copybook. Is this the start of their rise up the table?

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah’s 36* was his fourth 30-plus score in eight BPL matches•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans took sole lead of the BPL after their six-wicket win over Barisal Bulls. Khulna’s bowling returned to its parsimonious ways, rattling Barisal with early wickets and remaining disciplined as they notched up their sixth win in eight games. Junaid Khan, Shafiul Islam and Mosharraf Hossain took a wicket each, and their fielding was mostly tight.Barisal lost their openers by the fifth over before Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim added 42 runs for the third wicket. But once Nafees fell lbw to Mosharraf, Barisal further lost Nadif Chowdhury and Mushfiqur to run-outs, with Nadif falling to a cheeky bit of work by Khulna wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran.It could have been worse had Junaid latched on to an easy chance at long-on, offered by Thisara Perera who, along with Enamul Haque, helped Barisal eke out 38 runs in the last five overs.Khulna’s first chase in the tournament started poorly after they lost two wickets cheaply. Mohammad Hasanuzzaman and Rikki Wessels were both unlucky, having been bowled by deliveries that kept low.Taibur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom got the chase on track with a 33-run third-wicket stand, before Shuvagata and Mahmudullah got them closer to the target with their 57-run fourth-wicket partnership.Shuvagata’s 40 off 34 balls was his highest score in the BPL. His boundaries came mostly on the leg side, pulling fours over mid-on and fine leg, while hammering Monir Hossain for a big six over long-on. Mahmudullah struck a four over cover apart from hitting two beautiful straight sixes. The win was achieved with eight balls to spare.

“A challenging situation in Test cricket is the most exciting thing a viewer can see, and for a player playing to feel. You can sense that energy, which no other format can provide for you.”When India’s most popular current cricketer, their Test captain who can lead crowds like the Pied Piper, says these words, you can relax that at least for this generation Test cricket is safe in India, and that as a player he will do his best to hand it down.Through the second Test, which India won to become the No. 1 Test team in the world, Virat Kohli kept asking the small Eden Gardens crowd – still often big enough to fill out some stadiums – to make noise every time New Zealand put together a partnership. He entertained them with a sparkling knock of 45 in a crisis situation in the second innings, which was cut short by a shooter.”It’s our responsibility to keep Test cricket where it belongs,” Kohli said, “and if we play cricket like this – you saw how engaged the crowd was, they like to see exciting cricket, and we have to provide it. You have to interact with them, you have to make sure they are a part of the whole thing. You feed off their energy. It happens so much in limited overs, so why not in Test cricket?”A loud crowd, Kohli said, makes a big difference for the home team. “We experience that when we go to Australia, when we go to England, South Africa. They get a couple of wickets, the crowd gets behind really loud and as a batsman you understand that it creates a lot of pressure, you feel nervous. So I just try to think as a batsman, how I would feel. Walking in, the ball is reverse-swinging and the crowd’s going mad behind a bowler who is warm, who is willing to take a wicket. It makes a huge difference.”We were able to pick up two, three wickets. The crowd also loves it, you engage them for the betterment of the team. A bowler who is tired… Shami would have bowled three overs but he fed off the energy and he bowled 12 more balls for the team, got another wicket. So we will not be waking up at 6:30 again tomorrow.”Virat Kohli applauded the crowd at the end of the second day in Kolkata•BCCI

In the process, Kohli said, this Test showed them important lessons too. “This was a Test match that had to be fought out,” he said. “Which took character from all the players. This was a Test match that players took as an opportunity to build character rather than pressure. The more we win Test matches like this the more we will understand how Test cricket is played, how Test matches can be won. So we can keep repeating those things. It’s all about feeding those things into your head and keep repeating it.”If it was Ravindra Jadeja scoring crucial lower-order runs in Kanpur, Wriddhiman Saha did it in Kolkata. Rightly they won the Man-of-the-Match awards. Kohli said their batting was the biggest gain from these Tests. “The batting contributions of Jadeja and Umesh Yadav a little bit in the first game – Jadeja in both innings. And Wriddhiman Saha both innings in this game,” Kohli said of the gains. “The rest of the guys, we obviously understand that given their day and in a good frame of mind, they will come good. But these two guys are batting at positions that are very important in Test cricket.”For them to understand their own abilities and get confident, that was one of the main reasons why we waited for three more overs [for the declaration] in Kanpur, to let Jadeja cross 50. Because that way you understand how to get to that again and again. If you declare on 45, he will never get that extra boost of having gotten a half-century in a Test match.”So it was all about building confidence for a particular individual, because we understand how important his character can be in a situation where maybe you need to play out an hour or you need 40 quick runs again. And that is the guy who is confident and can do the job for you. So as a captain, I think the contribution by Jadeja in the first game and Saha here (were the main gains). Saha has been doing really well this year, I wish him well to keep going. Obviously a keeper coming good for you is an added bonus.”

As he ponders changes to Australia’s badly malfunctioning top order, coach Darren Lehmann has admitted that increasingly homogenised domestic pitches – and drop-in wickets at multipurpose stadiums – have played a role in stunting the adaptability of batsmen.When Lehmann and his contemporaries were learning their trade, each major venue had a pitch of unique character, from the bounce of Perth to the seam of Brisbane to Adelaide’s something-for-everyone, Sydney’s spin and Melbourne’s variable bounce. However the contrasts have diminished in recent years, not helped by the installation of drop-in pitches at the MCG, the Adelaide Oval and, soon, Perth’s new stadium.Another factor over time had been the preparation of increasingly friendly pitches for seam bowlers to aid each state’s bid for the Sheffield Shield, followed by a reverse directive from the team performance manager Pat Howard for flatter surfaces. While the number of runs scored in Australian first-class competition has risen, batsmen are clearly not facing the same challenges that so confounded them in Kandy and Galle.”I think we have said for a while that we would like the Shield wickets to go back a little bit in time where they are all different,” Lehmann said. “You had Perth which was grassy and bouncy and went through and swung, and Brisbane seamed and Adelaide reversed and spun and Sydney spun from day one.”All those things we would love to see happen, but the problem we’ve got now is we’ve got drop-ins at a couple of grounds, so it’s hard to do. You would love that to be the case but you are living in a different world and so it’s a bit harder. In terms of Test wickets, whatever we get we’ll trust the curators to do the best they can. I think you see it has been pretty fair in Australia for a couple of years but there is no reason it can’t improve either.”Groundsmen in Australia are hard at work trying to find ways to improve the variety of pitches they can prepare. Adelaide Oval’s head curator Damian Hough is at the forefront of experimentation with moveable surfaces, developing more porous drop-in trays that allow moisture to escape and so create the right environment for the pitch to deteriorate. Last year Adelaide provided a pitch made more or less to order for the use of the pink ball in the inaugural day/night Test.The desire to change and improve has been visible in the flurry of thoughts around the Australian team over the past few days, starting with a team decision to play more proactively in the second innings in Galle. This was most dramatically shown by Adam Voges, who repeatedly tried the reverse sweep to break up the line of the spinners, before falling to the same shot.”We have had those discussions already,” Lehmann said of the brainstorming that led to Voges’ innings. “It’s probably him going ‘I have to change’, thinking he can play a certain way, and change in other ways. So, that’s learning the game, isn’t it, and trying to adapt. But being proactive is the key to having good success in the subcontinent, not being reactive.”Lehmann said he agreed with the captain Steven Smith’s contention that the selectors needed to choose batsmen more suited to the prevailing conditions in future. However, he also added that if this were so, public and media perceptions needed to change, given the fact that no member of the current squad “deserved” to be missing from the Sri Lanka squad given their performances last summer.”Totally agree,” Lehmann said of Smith’s suggestion. “The interesting thing, though, if you have a look at our summer and the way our batters played, if we didn’t take any of those batters, how would we be viewed in the press? It’s always tough. We haven’t had the success, now we have to look outside the square.”Shaun Marsh is in contention to come into the Test XI for Colombo, as a top-order batsman with a decent record against spin and runs on his last visit to Sri Lanka in 2011. None of Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja or even Voges could have too many complaints were they omitted for the third Test, a decision Lehmann said would not count against their chances of being chosen again on more familiar home turf.”Everyone in the squad will be considered, that’s what happens when you don’t have the results you would like, we will need to have a look at the wicket, sum it up and go from there,” Lehmann said. “You don’t like dropping anyone, you feel for them when they don’t play as well as they would like. That’s the hardest thing as a coach and a selector – you have to make tough decisions sometimes.”We are playing a Test match in tough conditions; [we will] pick the best XI for that and then worry about the summer when we get home. It won’t hold against anyone, this is a squad that we think is right. Obviously results show different and say different but we have to make sure we are picking the best XI to play.”

R Ashwin, whose 5 for 62 helped India dismiss West Indies for 196 on the opening day of the second Test at Sabina Park, said he was “pretty surprised” by Jason Holder’s decision to bat first. Speaking to the media after India had moved to 126 for 1 in their reply at stumps, Ashwin said the pitch was a “bit sticky” early on, and that it might have suited West Indies’ strengths more to bowl first.”I was pretty surprised that they won the toss and batted first today,” Ashwin said. “Like Virat mentioned at the toss, there was a bit in it, it was a bit sticky. Maybe I would’ve batted as well. But with their strengths, I thought it was a bit surprising.”Despite India ending the day on top, Ashwin cautioned that there was a long way still to go in the match. “I was really taken aback by the counterattack that [Jermaine] Blackwood did,” he said. “It sort of put the game in the balance. And we had to break [through] twice and brought the game back. It’s clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments. I would put it that way. With a little bit of experience and nailing the right moments, the game could get closer.”This game has a lot of uncertainties. We just saw one when Sri Lanka pulled it off against Australia [in the Pallekele Test]. And they did the same against us in Galle [in 2015], so we can’t be lacklustre with that, we will have to keep doing our process properly.”Ashwin said his variations of pace had been key to picking up five wickets on a damp first-day pitch.”A little bit of bounce and speed variation, that was important, I thought. Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight. This ball, once it gets older, it becomes easier to bat. There’s a lot more time. I think it was more about bounce and speed variation that created the problem.”Playing only his 34th Test match, Ashwin has already picked up his 18th five-wicket haul. At this moment, his rate of taking five-fors is even better than that of Muttiah Muralitharan, who picked up 67 in 133 Tests.”Everybody wants to start playing cricket one day to achieve what nobody else could achieve,” Ashwin said. “I am happy to be there, at some stage of my career where I am better than everybody else who has played the game. It feels nice, but the only thing that is constant is trying to improve from wherever you are. I think change is very very important. Keeping on benchmarking yourself is more important. This is good, but tomorrow is a different day and you have to keep improving.”Coming in for the injured M Vijay, KL Rahul got India off to a near-perfect start to their reply, and ended the day batting on 75. Ashwin wasn’t surprised by his performance, and said he had nicknamed him ‘batting machine’ for the amount of batting he does in training.”We all know that he’s a quality cricketer,” Ashwin said. “He’s made a lot of runs in first-class cricket. He has pretty much arrived at this level.”Beforehand, when he made hundreds for us, it has been crucial knocks. He made one in Sri Lanka which is very very memorable. As a matter of fact, the way he played in the IPL, it’s just an extension. Everybody wants Rahul to do well, which is a big tick for him.”I’ve nicknamed him batting machine. He keeps batting all the time and it’s not a surprise that he’s made runs and I’m very happy for him.”