“Of course, Virat was an option and that goes without saying and I know that the fans would’ve probably lent towards Virat in the first instance, but we’ve seen a lot of love for Rajat too,” Bobat said in an event in Bengaluru where Patidar was unveiled as the captain for IPL 2025. “Look, my … Read more
Afridi was fined 25% of his match fee for breaching Article 2.12 of the code of conduct, which pertains to “inappropriate physical contact” with a player or someone else during a match. In the 28th over of South Africa’s innings, Afridi was seen stepping into the path of batter Matthew Breetzke as he attempted a … Read more
South Australia 208 for 9 (Scott 47, Beardman 4-46) beat Western Australia 164 (Short 55, Turner 43, Scott 3-16) by 44 runs South Australia, who have not won the title since 2011-12, moved to the top of the table with one match to play before the final after dismissing last-placed WA for 164 in the … Read more
Queensland 310 for 9 (Hearne 107, Wildermuth 83, Nisbet 4-49) beat New South Wales 256 (Konstas 116, Guthrie 3-45) by 54 runs Sam Konstas overcame leg cramps to score his first domestic one-day century, but couldn’t prevent Queensland beating New South Wales. Despite Konstas’s impressive 116, NSW were dismissed for 256 chasing Queensland’s 310 for … Read more
Incoming PCA chair Oliver Hannon-Dalby has welcomed the sudden influx of cash into English cricket brought about through the Hundred sale, and urged the ECB to spend it wisely to address a number of issues, including closing the gender pay gap in the flagship competition. The veteran Warwickshire seamer, who has been elected as the … Read more
As a tall left-arm Australian quick, capable of hitting speeds consistently at 145 kph, comparisons to Mitchell Starc are unavoidable. Since he burst into prominence in the BBL in recent years, Spencer Johnson has been anointed as the successor to Starc, whose versatility and durability were again evident during a brilliant Test series against Sri … Read more
Rajat Patidar has been appointed captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for IPL 2025, which begins on March 21. The development was contrary to the wide expectation that it would be Virat Kohli who leads RCB once again after they did not retain Faf du Plessis, their captain from 2022 to 2024. RCB made the … Read more
Former South Africa offspinner and current Queensland and Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha believes Matthew Kuhnemann will always wear the stigma of having his action reported regardless of whether he is cleared or not when he undergoes testing in the coming weeks. Botha had problems with his bowling action throughout his career and said Kuhnemann … Read more
Big picture – Pakistan vs New Zealand is the ideal final match-up It’s rare for a tournament final to be a dry run, but that’s almost what this Pakistan vs New Zealand game will be. There’s a trophy on the line in Karachi, five days before another Pakistan vs New Zealand game in Karachi – … Read more
Aaron Finch believes Australia should drop Marnus Labuschagne for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June with his lean run having extended too far to be accommodated. Australia face some tough selection calls for the final following the recent successful debuts of Sam Konstas, Beau Webster and Josh Inglis which … Read more
Ed Joyce will step down as Ireland Women’s head coach following the World Cup Qualifier in Pakistan in April. Joyce has been in the role for almost six years but opted against extending his contract, whether or not Ireland secure a Women’s 50-over World Cup spot for the first time since 2005. Joyce, who represented … Read more
India beat England 3-0 quite comprehensively, but two irregularities in the batting department raised a few eyebrows, and both might have something to do with coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for right-left batting combinations. In two of the chases, Axar Patel was promoted, which left KL Rahul with little to do. It attracted criticism from commentators, … Read more
Du Plessis in turn had taken over the captaincy from Kohli, who ended his nine-season stint as RCB captain in 2021. To date, he has led RCB in 143 matches in the IPL, the second highest for a captain after MS Dhoni. His record stands at 68 wins and 70 losses with four no-results. While … Read more
Bangladesh haven’t had a great run in ODIs lately. In addition, they have little to no prep heading into the Champions Trophy 2025. But captain Najmul Hossain Shanto strongly believes Bangladesh are title contenders. “We are going to the Champions Trophy to become champions,” Shanto said. “All eight teams deserve to be champions in this … Read more
The route toward the international airport from Bengaluru’s CBD is dotted with a number of cricket academies. NICE – New Innings Cricket Enterprise – is one of them where Shreyanka Patil, the India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru off-spinner, trains. Long before the Women’s Premier League (WPL) took shape, Shreyanka moved out of her parental home … Read more
Kerala 281 (Nizar 112, Saxena 67, Nabi 6-53) and 295 for 6 (Azharuddeen 67*, Nizar 44*) drew with J&K 280 (Wadhawan 48, Muzaffar 44, Nidheesh 6-75) and 399 for 9 decl (Dogra 132, Wadhawan 64).Kerala qualified on first-innings lead Salman Nizar was the hero for Kerala as they entered the Ranji Trophy semi-final only for … Read more
Toss South Africa chose to bat vs Pakistan Pakistan were asked to chase in what is a knockout match against South Africa in the tri-series, with the winner set to play New Zealand in Saturday’s final. Both teams have already lost to New Zealand and have made changes to bolster their teams, especially on the … Read more
AM Ghazanfar, the 18-year-old right-arm fingerspinner who has made such a bright start to his ODI career, has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 because of a “fracture in the L4 vertebra”. Left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who was originally in the list of reserves, has now replaced Ghazanfar in the main squad. The … Read more
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat against Australia Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will open the batting with Cooper Connolly listed at No. 3 as a weakened Australia start their preparation for the Champions Trophy in the first ODI. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat on a dry surface … Read more
Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect action following Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka. Kuhnemann, who claimed 16 wickets in the two matches in Galle, will now have to undergo testing at an ICC-approved centre with Brisbane the likely location. It is the first time in a professional career which began … Read more
Mitchell Starc has withdrawn from the Champions Trophy for personal reasons with Australia confirming a much-changed 15-player squad that will be captained by Steven Smith. Australia had already been forced into a number of changes due to the injuries to Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh alongside the retirement of Marcus Stoinis. Starc’s absence … Read more
Continuing his splendid form in domestic cricket this season, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane struck a match-winning 108 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Haryana to set up his side’s comfortable entry into the semi-finals. His returns in first-ball cricket have come as a solid follow-up to his performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) … Read more
Two seasons, two top-of-the-table finishes. Two finals, but no trophies. Delhi Capitals (DC) came close to title wins in WPL 2023 and 2024, before falling short in the final against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, respectively. But for captain Meg Lanning, continuing to do what they’ve done the last two seasons along with a … Read more
Vidarbha 353 (Nair 122, Malewar 75, Dubey 69, Vijay 3-75) and 272 (Rathod 112, Dubey 64, Sai Kishore 5-78) beat Tamil Nadu 225 (Siddarth 65, Paul 48, Thakare 5-34) and 202 (Sonu Yadav 57, Paul 53, Bhute 3-19, Dubey 3-40) by 198 runs Harsh Dubey starred with bat and ball, while Karun Nair continued his … Read more
The ICC has banned Bangladesh cricketer Shohely Akhter from all cricket for five years. Akhter, who has played two ODIs 13 T20Is, “admitted to breaching five provisions of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code”, an ICC statement said. The charges against her “relate to corrupt approaches made in relation to matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World … Read more
Sri Lanka Cricket will conduct an inquiry over allegations that Dasun Shanaka left a first-class match in Colombo hours early, in order to play for the Dubai Capitals in the UAE that same evening, on February 2. The board’s chargesheet to Shanaka includes the allegation that first-class match referee Wendell Labrooy had been led to … Read more
The Todd Boehly-backed Cain International have succeeded in securing a stake in Hundred side Trent Rockets. The group, led by Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein and backed by the football club’s joint-owner Boehly, put in the winning bid for a 49% stake in Rockets, valuing 100% of the team at what ESPNcricinfo understands to be around … Read more
Mumbai 315 (Kotian 97, Mulani 91) and 339 (Rahane 108, Suryakumar 70, Thakral 4-70) beat Haryana 301 (Ankit 136, Shardul 6-58) and 201 (Dalal 64, Sumit 62, Dias 5-39) by 153 runs A maiden five-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Royston Dias studded Mumbai’s 153-run win over Haryana at Eden Gardens. Up next in the semi-final … Read more
Gujarat 511 (Urvil 140, Jaymeet 103, Jadeja 5-120) beat Saurashtra 216 (Jani 69, Gaja 4-48, Desai 2-35) and 197 (Desai 54, Jadeja 4-32, Nagwaswalla 3-54) by an innings and 98 runs Urvil Patel, who had smashed the second-fastest T20 fifty in November, carried his fine form into the red-ball format to hit a maiden first-class … Read more
Big Picture: The knockout before the knockout The original Champions Trophy started as a knockout tournament so, as we build up to this year’s edition, here’s a bit of a throwback: Wednesday’s match between Pakistan and South Africa in the mini tri-series is a winner-takes-all affair, with New Zealand already through to Saturday’s final. It … Read more