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Sri Lanka batsman Shehan Jayasuriya has decided to not play for the country anymore and will be relocating to the USA with his family, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement on Friday.

The batsman has informed the board that he will no longer be available for the selection for domestic or international cricket tournaments.

"National player Shehan Jayasuriya, who represented Sri Lanka in both ODIs and T20I formats have informed SLC, that he will no longer be available for the selection of domestic or international cricket tournaments with immediate effect.

Mohammad Siraj, speaking after the end of day’s play on Thursday at the SCG, said he was thinking about his late father when the two teams had been lining up for the national anthems at the start of the day. Siraj had been teary-eyed just before the 3rd Test started at the SCG.

Siraj’s father died in November. The pacer had stayed back in Australia to fulfill his dream of seeing him play for India.

Asked about Thursday’s emotional moment that was captured on camera, Siraj said: “Just remembered my father at that time. I was really emotional. He wanted me to see playing Test cricket.

Australia's Claire Polosak who had become the first woman to officiate in a men's one-day international is now set to become the first female match official in a men’s Test match.

Polosak will take up the fourth umpire’s role in the third Test between India and Australia from Thursday. 

The 32-year-old had umpired when Namibia played Oman in the final of the World Cricket League Division 2 in Windhoek in 2019.

The match referee will be David Boon of Australia. As per ICC rules for Test matches, the fourth umpire is appointed by the home cricket board from their nominees to the International Panel of ICC Umpires and from the host country.

Former Pakistan cricketer and pace legend Shoaib Akhtar has been actively speaking on issues surrounding the gentlemen’s game. The legendary pacer, who keeps sharing opinions on his YouTube channel, interacted with his fans through a question-answer session on Twitter on Sunday.

During the candid conversation with the cricket fans, Akhtar answered many questions and won hearts with his responses. On being asked to describe the former India captain MS Dhoni, he reacted saying, “Its the name of an era."

Here’s the tweet: Its the name of an era — Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) January 3, 2021

Mahendra Singh Dhoni stunned his fans and the cricketing world by announcing retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. At the time of his retirement, he remained the 3rd highest run-getter for India in T20Is. The former skipper is also the 5th and 13th highest run-getter for India in ODIs and Tests respectively.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has adviced Indian team in a strongly worded statement to respect the protocols in place or rule themselves out of playing eleven. Manjrekar's statement comes after five Indian players including Rohit Sharma were caught breaching Covid-19 protocols in place.

Earlier one of the disgruntled Indian team member spoke to website 'Cricbuzz.' He said: "We think it's contradictory if you are going to allow fans to come to the ground and enjoy that freedom, and then ask us as performers to go back to the hotel and quarantine. That is especially after we've been tested negative for the virus. We don't want to be treated like we are animals in the zoo," the source reporters.

"It goes back to what we've said from the beginning. We want to follow the same rules as every Australian citizen in the country. So, if crowds weren't allowed inside the ground, then it makes sense for them to ask us to quarantine inside the hotel," he added.