ABD to replace Kohli? Dhawan shuts trolls and more, Cricket News Today - 07th September 2018

International cricket is back again, with England and India locking horns with each other for the fifth and final Test of the Specsavers series, at the Oval starting today. India has already surrendered the series 1-3 and will be looking to save its face with a consolation win that will make the margin virtually disappear for good.

As latest reports come from the venue, England has won the toss (again) and have opted to bat first, currently at 172/5 after 78 overs. The match will also be remembered for being Alastair Cook's last ever game for England.

As the match progresses, here we bring you the best of today's cricketing news from all over the world. Read on, to know more.

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#5 India Blue clinches Duleep Trophy

The Duleep trophy

The final match of the 2018 Duleep Trophy took place between September 4th and today, and India Blue emerged victorious after defeating India Red by an innings and 187 runs. The Reds were the defending champions from the previous season.

Brief scores: India Blue 541 all out in 167.3 overs (NR Gangta 136, Anmolpreet Singh 96, Swapnil Singh 69, Parvez Rasool 4/150, Mihir Hirwani 3/190) beat India Red 182 all out in 69.1 overs (B Sandeep 57, Swapnil Singh 5/58) and 172 all out in 38.5 overs (Abhinav Mukund 46, Saurabh Kumar 5/51, Deepak Hooda 5/56) by an innings and 187 runs.

Nikhil Gangta, Anmolpreet Singh, Swapnil Singh, Saurabh Kumar, and Deepak Hooda were the standout performers for the winning side. Gangta was also the man-of-the-match for his hundred.

On Day 4 earlier today, spinners Hooda and Saurabh needed less than 11 overs to bundle out India Red for the second time, with Ishan Kishan and Writtick Chatterjee falling initially triggering a huge collapse.

#4 Rumors: RCB reportedly looking up to ABD for captaincy role

Could AB de Villiers turn RCB's fortunes around?

IPL side RCB is looking at everything possible for them to do, if it will mean that they can win the trophy that has eluded them for the past 11 years. They have already roped in Gary Kirsten to coach the team, with Ashish Nehra making himself available to assist the South African.

And now, rumors have surfaced on the owners speculating on shifting the mantle of captaincy from Virat Kohli to AB de Villiers.

Reports released by media handles like Asianet Suvarna News and News 18 speaks of how Kohli has "already been removed" from captaincy. The 2018 season was dismal for the two-time finalists, and that has been cited as the triggering reason.

Apparently, de Villiers will be the new man at the helm, and due to the fact that he has retired from representing his nation, he would be available for the entire season as well - enough reason for the media to speculate on the chances of it happening.

#3 Sunil Gavaskar "furious" at Karun Nair's exclusion from the squad for fifth Test

Karun Nair after his glittering 300 against Australia

The fifth Test of the England-India series is up and running at the Oval, and India has come up with an unchanged XI except for Hardik and Ashwin, with Hanuma Vihari making his debut and Jadeja replacing injured Ashwin. And the rest of the squad remains the same from the previous games in the series.

The squad selection has apparently not gone well with Sunil Gavaskar, who slammed the management for forgetting Karun Nair. There was a call to include him in the previous game as well, but that did not happen, either.

In the pre-match special telecast by SPN Sports India, he said: "He is not your favorite player. The selectors seem to have brought him. Don't think the team management likes him. Karun Nair has every right to ask the team management why he is not in the team. You didn't pick an extra specialist batsman earlier, but now that you have, Karun Nair deserves an answer."

Apart from Kohli, Rahane or Pujara, no other batsman made a real impact in the series. And for Nair, he has a 300 from the only seven innings which he has played in Tests so far - enough evidence to say he hasn't been tested enough yet.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan shuts Team India's trollers down

Shikhar Dhawan

With India losing yet another Test series in England, it isn't surprising to see that several fans came down hard on the No.1 ranked Test team in the world. But some took it one step further by commenting on a photo posted by Shikhar Dhawan on his official Instagram account but the Indian opener gave the perfect response to the trolls and keyboard warriors, who were quick to criticise both Dhawan and the Indian team.

It all began with a rather innocuous photo of himself, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant that Dhawan posted. The picture showed all four of them having some fun and sharing some laughs. The photo was seen widely as of how lightly the side is taking a series defeat, and that did not go well with the fans, as they started bashing the player and the rest of the side as well.

In response to all the criticism, Shikhar later wrote: “We cannot change the past. So we do our hard work at the ground as always and keep our process strong. After practice, it is important to laugh and be happy so we create positivity in the team. That’s what champions do. Easy to be happy when winning. Warriors stay positive when things are down too. Thanks to the fans who are still supporting us."

#1 AB de Villiers all set to play in the upcoming PSL 2019

ABD smashing one of his specials

It has been officially announced that he has signed up for participation in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), with him slated to play in the upcoming 2019 edition.

It was known to all that ABD will be playing when PSL's twitter handle released a video that showed ABD speaking of his latest decision.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s newly-appointed chairperson Ehsan Mani is visibly delighted on the latest piece of news. While speaking to the media, he wholeheartedly welcomed the Protean champ and said, "We are delighted with the signing of de Villiers for Pakistan Super League. He is a modern-day great and he will add immense value to the tournament. His involvement in PSL will also provide great learning opportunities for our youngsters."

Undoubtedly, ABD will be one of the biggest attractions in the soon-to-commence player auctions ahead of the PSL 2019, which is slated to happen between February and March the next year. It is also an opportunity for de Villiers to reach the 300-mark in sixes in T20 cricket, with his current tally standing at just one less.