Former Indian cricketer wants Pant to replace Dhoni, Kohli turns vegan, and more - Cricket News Today - October 7, 2018

Welcome to Sportskeeda's Cricket News Today for October 7, 2018.

It was supposed to the be fourth day's play between India and West Indies, however, India were ruthless and dismantled Windies within three days itself.

The first Test between Pakistan and Australia began today, with Pakistan currently on top with 224 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets. Mohammed Hafeez silenced his critics with a fantastic century and Imam ul-Haq chipped in with 76 runs as well.

Apart from this, the Vijay Hazare Trophy continued today with three matches taking place in Chennai.

Let's take a look at the trending news from today:

#1 Reports: Virat Kohli turns vegan

According to reports, Indian captain Virat Kohli has turned vegan. This means that he has cut out all sources of animal products from his diet.

If the reports are true, Kohli will be joining a long list of sportspersons who have turned vegan in the recent past.

“Kohli started this diet four months ago and is feeling stronger as his digestive power has increased. He isn't missing meat, eggs or dairy," sources close to Times of India said

“Two years ago, when he was on a normal diet, he had said that he would go vegan if given a choice. He is now feeling stronger than before,"

#2 Former cricketers feel Prithvi Shaw should work on his technique

Prithvi Shaw

At the age of 18, Prithvi Shaw became the youngest ever debutant to score a century in the first innings of his debut Test. Shaw achieved the feat against a hapless Windies side in Rajkot just a couple of days ago.

India went on to thrash them and achieve an easy innings victory. Shaw was named the man of the match for his effort.

However, former cricketers like Carl Hooper and Aakash Chopra felt that he needs to work on his technique.

"He seems to be a great talent but tends to play away from the body. Clearly, he likes to be on the back foot and play square off the wicket. It worked here (in Rajkot) but with so much gap between the bat and body, he could face issues in England and Australia," Carl Hooper told PTI.

"What we have just seen is perhaps a trailer of the things to come. It looks very promising. You cannot grudge about the opposition and pitch was flat. But he will be tested (overseas) and I am sure he is aware of it. We will get to know whether he can weather the storm and what all he needs to do," said Aakash Chopra.

#3 Ajit Agarkar wants Rishabh Pant to play ODIs

Rishabh Pant

Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar, while speaking to ESPNCricinfo, felt that Rishabh Pant should replace MS Dhoni in Indi's limited-overs setup.

Pant recently made his Test debut for India in the tour of England and is keeping wickets against Windies as well. However, he still hasn't made his ODI debut.

Agarkar feels that it is time for Pant to take up his role behind the wickets in ODIs as well.

“I can’t believe Pant is not a part of India’s shorter format setup,” Agarkar told ESPNCricinfo.

“Hopefully they do that sooner, rather than later, against the West Indies in the ODI series. I mean, there are five ODIs and there will be an opportunity to play him somewhere in the middle order as a batsman or as a wicket-keeper. Everyone knows what Dhoni can bring to the side, and there is no harm in resting him for a couple of games.”

#4 The finger might not be the same again, says Shakib al Hasan

Shakib al Hasan

Bangladesh's star all-rounder, Shakib al Hasan, underwent a surgery on his injured finger recently. He was ruled out of the final two matches of the Asia Cup due to this injury

Speaking to reporters at the Dhaka airport, Shakib opened up about the injury and the surgery.

"The finger might not be the same again, but the surgery will enable me to continue my career. Doctors will run the operation in a manner that will help me to handle the pressure of cricket," he said.