Nature of pitch revealed for 3rd Test, Update on Ashwin and Jadeja's injury, and more - Cricket News Today, December 23 2018

Welcome to Sportskeeda's Cricket News Today, a section that covers a summary of the trending news topics of the day in the world of cricket.

Amidst a huge controversy regarding a few no-balls, the Windies played some superb cricket to win the third and final T20I against Bangladesh last night, thus winning the three-match series 2-1. Carlos Brathwaite was extremely unhappy with the umpiring and had a lot to say about it as well.

Meanwhile, the Big Bash League continued today, with some entertaining matches taking place.

All eyes are slowly starting to turn towards the third Test between Australia and India which is scheduled to take place on December 26 at the iconic MCG in Melbourne.

Having said that, let's take a look at the top news from today:

#1 Injury concerns for 3 Indian players ahead of the third Test

As India gear up for the highly anticipated Boxing Day Test against Australia, there are a few injury concerns amongst the members of the team.

Ashwin, who missed the second Test due to an abdominal strain, is still in doubt for the third Test. Meanwhile, Jadeja too is carrying a small shoulder injury, according to coach Ravi Shastri.

"Jadeja had taken an injection four days after coming to Australia because of some stiffness in his shoulder. It took a while for that injection to settle down," said Shastri.

"At Perth, we felt he was about 70 to 80 percent fit, and we didn’t want to risk him. If he is 80% fit here, he’ll play."

Shastri also confirmed that Rohit Sharma is not fully fit yet. He said, "Rohit Sharma will be monitored over the next day and a call will be taken after that."

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has been deemed fit but has not played much after recovering from his injury.

#2 7-year-old added to Australia's squad for 3rd Test

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 7-year-old youngster Archie Schiller has been named in Australia's squad for the third Test against India. He was named co-captain of the squad for the Boxing Day Test.

Archie had to undergo numerous heart surgeries after being born and has faced a lot of adversities. Australian captain Tim Paine supported the move.

"When his dad asked him what he wanted to do, he (Archie) said ‘I want to captain Australia’. I think it’s been picked up along the way and we’re rapt to have someone like that around. He adds a bit of perspective I think," said Paine to the media.

#3 Nature of pitch revealed for 3rd Test between Australia and India

MCG

Once again, a grassy wicket has been revealed as the pitch for the Test between Australia and India. However, both Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris opened up about the pitch, telling people not to get carried away by the tinge of green. The wicket for the second Test at Perth looked quite hard and green but then the contest went all the way down to the last day.

Interestingly, Lyon did exceptionally well for Australia on a hard, green surface and spin could well play a part in this Test as well.

Meanwhile, Khawaja said that the match is still four days away and the pitch could change by then.

#4 Aaron Finch desperate to play third Test despite finger injury

Aaron Finch

Aussie opener Aaron Finch, who suffered a blow on his finger in the second Test, joked that he would cut his finger off for the upcoming third Test against India.

He recently recovered from the injury and returned to training today.

"It was a bit of a shock, just the initial pain was the thing that got me. It felt like it was going to explode, which was quite funny," he said while speaking about the issue.

"I think just being hit a few times in the last month, a couple times by [Mitchell] 'Starcy' at training then Shami out in the game, but it's also an old break.

"I broke the same finger in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago, so I've got to start either catching them or use my bat instead of my gloves," he continued.