novak Djokovic pulls out of indian Wells Masters amid Us visa row

Daniel Vettori, arguably New Zealand's greatest spinner, said Murphy's performance in just his third Test had not gone unnoticed.

"Steve Smith singled him out around his performances in the last Test," Vettori said on Monday.

"His spell allowed everyone around him to take those wickets.

"The fact that (Virat) Kohli had never been stumped before that Test match in Delhi when Murphy got him out.

"I think Todd has that skill that he can be a defensive bowler and he can be an attacking bowler and work around pretty much whatever is required from him in the game.

"For such a young spinner, and inexperienced spinners as well, he hasn't played that much first-class cricket, to be able to come here and handle these tough situations and perform the role that's required has been impressive." nOvaK Djokovic has formally withdrawn from the Indian Wells Masters, in an indication the world number one's application for a COVID-19 vaccine waiver to enter the United States might have failed.

Australia will leave Indore on Monday for Ahmedabad ahead of the fourth Test, starting on Thursday at the 132,000seat capacity Narendra Modi Stadium.

Ahead of the ODI series in India, Australia has been dealt an injury blow.

Fast bowler Jhye Richardson will miss the three-match series because of a hamstring injury.

Tasmanian Nathan Ellis has been named as Richardson's replacement. The first match will be played in Mumbai on March 17, before the series moves to Vizag (March 19) and Chennai (March 22).

Djokovic — who is one of the highest-profile athletes unvaccinated against the virus — applied to the US government last month for special permission to play at ATP Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami.

The US currently bars unvaccinated foreigners from entry into the country, a policy that is expected to be lifted when the government ends its COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11.

Indian Wells tournament organisers confirmed on Monday that Djokovic had withdrawn, with Nikoloz Basilashvili taking his place in the men's draw.

Djokovic has not competed at the back-to-back ATP Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami — two of the biggest tournaments on the ATP calendar and known as the "Sunshine Double" — since 2019.

No-one from Djokovic's team was immediately available to comment on the withdrawal.

Last week, Florida senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden urging him to grant the waiver request.

Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas, the United States Tennis Association and the US Open were among those also hoping the 22-time major singles champion would be allowed to enter.

He would have been a heavy favourite to win his sixth Indian Wells title when the tournament kicked off in California on Thursday.

Djokovic was forced to miss last year's Australian Open due to his vaccination status.

He was not allowed into the US for last year's US Open.

The Serbian won his record-equalling 22nd major championship at the Australian Open in January.

BetH Mooney, fresh from her World Cup-winning heroics, has been brought rudely down to earth, suffering injury during a calamitous 143-run defeat for her Gujarat Giants side in the opening match of India's new Women's Premier League.

The Australian opener, in her first major captaincy role, reckoned she had been looking forward to the challenge of launching the lucrative new, potentially game-changing league in Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on Saturday.

But it all went wrong for the batting champion, player of the match in last Sunday's T20 World Cup final, and her expensively-assembled team, as Mooney asked Mumbai Indians to bat and watched them rattle up a huge total of 5-207. Leading the massive chase, the left-hander then faced just four balls before she had to retire hurt without scoring, having seemingly injured her left knee as she turned while running.

It proved only the start of a disastrous innings for the Giants as they capitulated for 64 off just 15.1 overs.

There's now a big question mark over whether Mooney will be fit to play in Sunday's second match against a UP Warriorz team captained by her Australian opening partner Alyssa Healy.

The Giants have invested heavily in Australian power, taking on Rachael Haynes as the coach, Mooney snapped up for $350,000 as captain and star batter, and all-rounder Ash Gardner as the joint-most expensive overseas recruit for $558,000.

Georgia Wareham, who like Mooney and Gardner had played in Australia's winning team in last weekend's T20 World Cup final win over South Africa in Cape Town, and Annabel Sutherland made up the Giants' powerful Aussie quartet.

But the three bowlers all got carted around, conceding 100 runs off 10 overs between them, with Gardner taking 1-38 off four, Wareham 1-30 off three and Sutherland 0-32 off three.

Big-hitting Gardner also failed with the bat, caught at slip for a golden duck.

But, fittingly, after all the Bollywood glitz that preceded the launch of the women's game's richest league, it was hometown hero, Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who did most to get the tournament off to a rip-roaring start in front of an enthusiastic crowd, cracking 65 off 30 balls.

"It was a brilliant start, it feels like a dream come true," said Harmanpreet, who has predicted the league will be a "game-changer" for women's cricket.

"We kept things simple and clear. Told players to play natural. Obviously it's a big day for women's cricket — but it was all about backing yourself."