Rumoured bookie link for World Cup winner, Kohli on top, and more - Cricket News of today, 23rd August 2018

Hi there, folks! International cricket is enjoying a break, with the conclusion of the third Test of the England - India series, and it is not until August 30th that we get to see the next game in the series. In other regions across the world, various T20 leagues and domestic tournaments are going on, while a few countries are preparing for their impending international outings.

Here is a compilation of the top cricketing stories from today, August 23rd. Have a look!

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#5 Jhulan Goswami retires from T20I cricket

Jhulan Goswami has been performing for India at the topmost level across formats for nearly 15 years

Arguably the greatest woman bowler of the current generation, Jhulan Goswami has been performing for India at the topmost level across formats for nearly 15 years. She has now officially retired from T20I cricket, as announced today.

She has featured in 68 T20I matches so far, having picked up 56 scalps, with a best of 5/11 and an economy of just 5.45. She last played in a T20I against Bangladesh Women on June 10, 2018, which was also the finals of the Women's Asia Cup 2018.

With this latest news, it is hence decided that India will have to find a replacement for Jhulan, in the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup, slated to begin in the Caribbean islands from November 9th, 2018. India will be playing the opener against New Zealand Women, on the same date.

She was named the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2007 and was also awarded the Arjuna and Padma Shri in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Although she retired from T20Is, she will continue to feature in the Test and ODI formats for the country.

#4 Ambati Rayudu voices his opinion on the Yo-yo Tests

Ambati Rayudu failed to find a spot in the Indian setup in the limited-overs contests against England, due to his failure in the yo-yo tests

Ambati Rayudu failed to find a spot in the Indian setup in the limited-overs contests against England, due to his failure in the yo-yo tests. Despite so, he has nothing against the strict fitness benchmark laid out by the Indian team management.

"I was disappointed with myself that I could not clear the test. Nothing against the test at all as everybody has to attain a certain fitness level playing for India. To be honest, I believe in it, and was disappointed with myself as to why I could not clear the test so I worked towards it and cleared it," Rayudu told reporters in a recent post-match press conference.

"I cleared it a few days back and I also got a call-up and am happy to be back in the scheme of things," he said.

He was speaking after making an unbeaten 62 runs, which became instrumental in India A's five-wicket win over Australia A in a quadrangular one-day series encounter at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

#3 England squad for the fourth Test announced

The match will begin on 30th August 2018, at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced the 14-man squad for the fourth match of the Test series against India. The match will begin on 30th August 2018, at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton.

The squad that has been named, is as follows: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (back-up wk), Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, and Chris Woakes.

Hampshire batsman Vince's last game for England was in April 2018 against New Zealand at Christchurch, made it to the squad. The 27-year-old right-hander has been selected by virtue of his excellent form in the County Championship.

He is also the captain of Hampshire side, with whom he has averaged 56 per game in the first division this season.

His most notable performance so far came in the win against Nottinghamshire earlier this week - when he made 74 and 147 in either inning - at the Rose Bowl itself, where the fourth Eng-Ind test will be played.

Jonny Bairstow's finger in his left hand had been fractured courtesy of an Anderson late-swinger in the third innings of the third Test, after which he did not keep wickets.

It is not sure as to whether he will make it into the final eleven, so Vince does stand a chance of actually donning the whites for England again, come August 30.

#2 2011 World Cup winner was reportedly "in touch with bookies"

The Indian side with the coveted prize

The lead investigator of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal recently revealed that a 2011 World Cup winning Indian player was involved in touch with a bookie before an international game in 2009.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Police Officer BB Mishra who investigated the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scam, said: “There is one such instance related to an international match that was played in India. But I could not probe that instance to its logical conclusion. That is what I am suggesting. This thing happened during an international cricket match, probably in the run-up to the match. Just a day or two before the match. It happened in 2008-09,” he said.

While Mishra did not reveal the identity of the player, he said that could not investigate further. “It was a phone conversation (between the player and the bookie) that was recorded… It would have taken a lot more time (beyond) October 31," he said. There were two voices on the telephone - allegedly one is that of the player and the other one is of the bookie.

“I would have confronted the player with the information I got from the bookie. But (that) evidence didn’t come from the bookie though I knew the evidence existed, I could not pursue it. I knew of this specific instance where the bookie had confided in somebody else, I got that information, the bookie accepted that information before me also, he was willing to give the evidence but in the last minute he decided not to,” he explained.

#1 Virat Kohli reclaims No. 1 spot in Test batting rankings

Kohli, who moved to the top of the rankings after the first Test, was pushed back by a place after the second Test at Lord's

After leading his team to a magnificent 203-win over hosts England in the third Test of the five-match series, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has yet another reason to celebrate as he has reclaimed his position at the top of the ICC Test rankings for batsmen.

Kohli, who moved to the top of the rankings after the first Test, was pushed back by a place after the second Test at Lord's with 919 points compared to Steve Smith's 929 points. But, a stroke-filled 97 followed by his 23rd Test century in the third Test meant that Kohli gained 18 points from the match and moved to the top again with 937 points, which is the highest he has accumulated in his career so far.

With this, Kohli has also registered the maximum rating point by an Indian batsman in Tests. Kohli is now just a point outside the top 10 of an all-time rating points list which features the likes of Don Bradman (961 points), Steve Smith (947), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (both on 942), Peter May (941), and Gary Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Vivian Richards and Kumar Sangakkara (all on 938 points).

In the ICC Test team rankings, India continues their dominance at the top of the table with 125 points.