'He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him'
Selectors name the Test squad on Thursday but will have to rely on their gut rather than hard numbers
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have been excluded from a 25-player squad for an intra-Australia clash that will go a long way to deciding the makeup of Tim Paine's Ashes side.
Earllier, Smith and Warner were reportedly banned for one year, ruling them out of the home series against India, while Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month suspension as Cricket Australia came down heavily on the errant trio which disgraced itself in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Trailing 0-1 in the series after the batting debacle in Adelaide and with Virat Kohli going back to India for the birth of his first child, India will be led by Ajinkya Rahane in the remaining three Tests.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was forced to cut short his training session in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets after being hit on the helmet by a bouncer on Tuesday, three days before the start of the third Test against India.
Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques is in line for his first Test in three years after being named in the squad for their three-match tour of Sri Lanka in July and August.
Opener Joe Burns, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, spinner Aston Agar, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and the pace duo of James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile were selected to the senior team for the ODI series against England and Ireland later this month by virtue of their fine performances in the ongoing Australia 'A' team's tour of India.
Australia secured a 23-run win over Ireland in a rain-interrupted one-day international, in Belfast, on Friday.
A few bruised egos will eye redemption when India square off against Australia in the second Test in Melbourne from Saturday, ready to bounce back in skipper Ajinkya Rahane's hour of reckoning after their batting debacle in the series opener in Adelaide.
His 39-ball 66 blitz may have helped Australia amass a massive 348-runs lead, but middle order batsman Joe Burns reckons that spin will play a major role as the fourth and final Test against India heads into the penultimate day.
There will certainly be some distinct home advantage for Australia along with the experience of playing more Day/Night Tests.
Babar Azam (104) hit his second Test century and Mohammad Rizwan 95 to stall Australia's march to victory and once they had departed, Pakistan were soon all out for 335.
Marnus Labuschagne scored a sparkling 185 to help Australia to a commanding lead before the home pace attack struck to leave Pakistan facing a heavy defeat on the third day of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Top-order batsman Shaun Marsh has been dropped from Australia's side for their second Test against West Indies, despite scoring 182 in the comprehensive first Test victory in Hobart.
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
Australia's number one opener David Warner on Saturday said he is 'highly doubtful' about attaining full fitness ahead of the third Test against India though he will do everything possible to respond to a desperate selection panel and team management's call.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Joe Burns scored his maiden Test century and his opening partner David Warner his 14th as Australia finished the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in a dominant position on 264 for four with a lead of 503 runs on Saturday.
IMAGES from the 1st Test played between Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne on Thursday
Australian batting star Steve Smith has no time to think about how India might plot revenge in the second Test in Melbourne but he does have a word of advice for the visitors jolted by the first game's battering -- 'Let it go and move on'.
South Africa routed Australia for 85 and then weathered a batting crisis of their own before pushing to a lead of 86 runs after a bowler-dominated opening day of the second Test in Hobart on Saturday.
'It's no secret that during the Ashes we relied too heavily on Steve so the rest of our top seven are really keen to score a lot of runs'
Paine knows well that he isn't a powerhouse performer like his predecessor but believes that he has been playing his role to perfection in the current Australian set up.
Varun Aaron and Jayant Yadav claimed three wickets apiece to help India 'A' stage a superb fightback courtesy of their bowlers and take a narrow two-run lead against Australia 'A' on day two of the first unofficial four-day Test at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, on Friday.
According to cricket.com.au: "Renshaw will fly to Johannesburg this evening to join the under siege tourists ahead of Friday's final Test against South Africa in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering crisis."
Manish Pandey blasted a quickfire 76-ball 77 before Mitchell Swepson returned with a four-wicket haul to dismiss India 'A' for 230 in their first innings against Australia 'A' in the opening match of the unofficial four-day Test Series in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
Nathan Lyon took 5-68 as a dominant Australia dismissed New Zealand for 251 before the home batsmen took over to extend their lead to 243 by the close of play on the third day of the third and final Test in Sydney on Sunday. Already 2-0 down in the series after thumping defeats in Perth and Melbourne, New Zealand have been ravaged by illness and injury and now face a huge battle to avoid a third heavy loss before they head home. Images from Day 3 of the third Test in Sydney on Sunday.
Coming into the series at the back of a convincing series win over Pakistan, Australia will look to seal their seventh day-night Test win when they face New Zealand in the opening Test beginning in Perth on Thursday.
Virat Kohli's woeful form continued as India 'A' were shot out for a paltry 135 by Australia 'A' in the second unofficial 'Test' in Chennai on Wednesday.
Australia, bidding to avenge their defeat in the Ashes Test series earlier in the tour, went 1-0 up in the One-Day International encounter when they beat England by 59 runs in Southampton on Thursday.
Hardik Pandya stood tall amid the ruins with an unbeaten 79 as India collapsed to 169-9 on a rain-hit opening day of the second four-day Quadrangular A Series match against Australia, in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh hit centuries but Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath picked up six wickets to restrict Australia's first-innings lead to 24 runs on the third day of the third and final Test on Monday.
Usman Khawaja found his scoring touch and fast bowler Mitchell Starc returned to his fiery best as Australia moved within sight of victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval on Sunday.
Australia have left no stones unturned in their preparation as they chase their first Test series win in over a year, captain Tim Paine said.
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the fourth cricket Test against India in Sydney after fresh scans revealed that the injury on his hamstring has further deteriorated.
India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who remains a sought after personality in the endorsement world despite his retirement from Tests, has been duped by one of the many brands he endorses -- Spartan Sports -- of over Rs 20 crore. It has been reliably learnt that a three-year bat and sponsorship deal worth Rs 13 crore has gone sour with Australia-based Spartan Sports, a sporting gear and equipment company, regularly defaulting on payments. With the royalty clause on Dhoni's bat deal included, the owed amount goes well over Rs 20 crore.
India A pacer Dhawal Kulkarni was involved in a verbal altercation with Australia A leg-spinner Adam Zampa at the fag end of the home team's mammoth chase of 335 runs during the second match of the cricket tri-series in Chennai.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
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