Chandimal ruled out of Asia Cup, Vihari on what Dravid told him and more - Cricket News Today, 10th September 2018

Ahead of the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka have been dealt a major blow. Batsman Dinesh Chandimal is ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury. Wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella takes his spot in the squad.

Meanwhile, Indian batsman Hanuma Vihari has shed light on his confidence-instilling conversation with 'A' team coach Rahul Dravid prior to his debut Test innings. England icon Alastair Cook has broken an all-time record during his final Test innings.

Here are all of today's important developments from the cricket world.

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Gilchrist backs Indian pacers to shine in Australia

Gilchrist is impressed by the performance of India's seamers in the England series

Iconic wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist has backed the Indian fast bowlers to challenge Australia in the upcoming Test series Down Under. Pointing to their collective performance in the England series, the legendary gloveman believes that they can go toe to toe with their Australian counterparts.

"In England, they've (India's fast bowlers) shown the potential to rip through the batting line-up. And they're all fit, strong and aggressive young men so those are all the virtues you need to take on Australia in Australia", Gilchrist told ESPNCricinfo.

He added, "And from an Australian perspective, we have Starc, backed up by Pat Cummins who is outstanding and Hazlewood is almost McGrath like with his methodical repetitious bowling. So there's three guys there, and there are a couple in the wings as well. As the series goes on, we're going to find out who has the better pace attack and that is going to be the most intriguing part of the series."

Vihari attributes his promising debut to Dravid's motivation

Hanuma Vihari scored a fighting 56 under challenging conditions in his first Test innings

Indian batsman Hanuma Vihari has attributed his promising Test debut to the confidence instilled by 'A' team coach Rahul Dravid. Hailing the batting icon's priceless influence on his formative years, the 24-year old also opened up on those motivational words which helped calm his nerves.

Vihari affirmed, "I called him (Dravid) the day before I made my debut and told him I was making my debut. He spoke to me for a couple of minutes and gave his inputs and I thought it eased my nerves a little bit, because it is coming from a legend and you know that you belong here. He just told me that you have the skillset, you have the mindset and the temperament, just go out there and enjoy yourself."

The talented right-hander added, "I would like to give him a lot of credit for that because my journey with India A was very important for me to come here, because not only that I performed there but the way he gave us inputs, that made me a better player."

Ankle injury forces Ishant Sharma to leave the field after one over

Ishant Sharma's absence compounded India's woes on the fourth day

At the start of the fourth day's play at the Oval, India would have had a flicker of hope as England lead stood at 154 runs. However, the visitors' day began on a rather nightmarish note. After bowling just one over, seam spearhead Ishant Sharma was forced to leave the field due to an ankle injury.

Ishant's absence meant that India were left with just Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in the pace department. While the nature as well as severity of his injury remain unclear at the moment, the 30-year old has received treatment on his left ankle from the team's medical staff.

With 18 wickets from nine innings at an average of 24.27, Ishant is the leading wicket-taker for India in the five-match series.

Dinesh Chandimal ruled out of Asia Cup

Dinesh Chandimal has been sidelined with a finger injury

Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup. Upon failing to recover from a recent finger fracture, the right-hander has been replaced by wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella.

While playing for Colombo, Chandimal had fractured his right middle finger during the recently completed SLC T20 League. The injury will now see him make way for Dickwella. The attacking southpaw was one of the five players kept on stand-by for the Asia Cup.

Updated Sri Lanka squad: Angelo Mathews (c), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera and Lasith Malinga

Cook overtakes Sangakkara to become the leading left-hander in Test history

Alastair Cook registered a sublime 147 in his final Test innings

England stalwart Alastair Cook brought his memorable Test career to a close by registering a stellar 147 in his last innings. In doing so, he has overtaken Sri Lankan maestro Kumar Sangakkara and become the leading run-scorer among all left-handers in Test history.

Cook's 33rd century also enabled him to become only the fifth batsman to score a century in both debut and last Test match. The other batsmen to achieve the unique feat before him were Reginald Duff (1902-1905), Bill Ponsford (1924-1934), Greg Chappell (1970-1984) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1984-2000).

Top 5 left-handed run-scorers in Test history

#1 Alastair Cook - 12,472 runs from 161 Tests

#2 Kumar Sangakkara - 12,400 runs from 134 Tests

#3 Brian Lara - 11,953 runs from 131 Tests

#4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul - 11,867 runs from 164 Tests

#5 Allan Border - 11,174 runs from 156 Tests