Aus Series Gambhir Dropped Harbhajan in.

India national selectors meet in Mumbai to pick the team for the 1st 2 Tests against Australia and decided to drop Gautam Gambhir from the team squad.

In replace of Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay have been included in the team.

The injuries to the pacemen have seen the selectors pick swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team as well. But the other big surprise is the inclusion of Harbhajan Singh in spite of a pretty ordinary Ranji season.

India Team for first 2 Tests vs Aus
No	Name	No	Name	No	Name
1	M.S. Dhoni (Captain)	6	Virat Kohli	11	Bhuvneshwar Kumar
2	Virender Sehwag	7	Ravindra Jadeja	12	Ajinkya Rahane
3	Shikhar Dhawan	8	Harbhajan Singh	13	Ashok Dinda
4	Cheteshwar Pujara	9	R. Ashwin	14	Murali Vijay
5	Sachin Tendulkar	10	Pragyan Ojha	15	Ishant Sharma

Asif spot-fixing ban starts inquiry CAS

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday kicked off an appeal hearing where Pakistan cricket player Mohammad Asif hopes for spot-fixing.

Matthieu Reeb, head of the Swiss-based tribunal, said the hearing was due to end at 6:00 pm that fast bowler Asif was there in person to fight his case.

On Friday, Pakistan Previous captain Salman Butt is due to attend a CAS appeal hearing on his own ban. The court is not expected to issue a ruling in their case this week. Butt, Asif and fellow fast bowler Mohammad Aamer was barred by the International Cricket Council for contrive to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010.

Salman Butt was banned for 10 years, with 5 suspended, Asif for 7 years with 2 suspended and the then teenager Aamer for 5 years. The trio was also jailed by a British court over the scandal in November 2011. All 3 were released last year after completing half of their sentences. Aamer, now 20, decided not to chase his appeal at CAS, after pleading guilty to the charges in Britain.

It's a high-profile case of 2 world-class players with the whole cricket world focused on it and we will fight to get the ban on its head, Asif's lawyer Ravi Sukul told AFP from London earlier this week. Asif was a terrific bowler and it was awfully unfortunate that a bowler of his class suffered this, but we will try our best to get this ban upturned and Asif is in high spirits.

Asif, 30, played 23 Tests and 38 ODI and was regarded as one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world. Butt, 28, was made Test captain on that important tour of England, and Aamer was regarded as the fastest emerging bowler in the world.

Clarke wins the fourth Allan Border Medal

Australian captain Michael Clarke won his 4rth Allan Border Medal as the nation cricketer of the year in Melbourne on Monday. 

Clarke, 31, and his precursor as previous Captain Ricky Ponting, are the only players to win the medal, considered Australian cricket most prestigious individual prize, 4 times. The Test and one-day skipper win for the 2nd straight year with 198 votes, ahead of joint runners-up Mike Hussey and 2-time winner Shane Watson, who each polled 165 votes.

Clarke also comfortably won the Test cricketer of the year award, again for the 2nd year in a row, after scoring 1,080 runs at an average of 77.14 in the 9 Tests covered by the voting period, from February 25 last year to January 28 this year.

Watson won the T20 award and also polled well for the one day international honor, which was won by paceman Clint McKay.

Top-order batsman Phil Hughes, who moved from New South Wales to South Australia ahead of the time of year, was named the domestic player of the year, and Queensland batsman Joe Burns was voted the Bradman young cricketer of the year.