Afghanistan offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has replaced his countryman AM Ghazanfar in Mumbai Indians’ (MI) squad for IPL 2025. Ghazanfar was ruled out of the Champions Trophy, which starts on Wednesday, and also the the IPL that follows, due to a back injury. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had tweeted about Ghazanfar’s absence from the … Read more
Toss Ireland chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and elected to bowl in a bid to level the series in the second ODI in Harare. The visitors named an unchanged XI from the first ODI, while Zimbabwe made one tweak, bringing in right-arm quick Trevor Gwandu in place of … Read more
Three contentious run-out decisions occurred in the closing stages of Delhi Capitals’ (DC) last-ball win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Vadodara. In all three instances, third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan ruled not out, seemingly not considering the LED stumps lighting up as the point at which the wicket should be considered broken. Former India captain Mithali … Read more
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been ruled out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semi-final game against Vidarbha, starting on Monday in Nagpur, after injuring his right ankle during training this weekend. Jaiswal, who was originally in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad, was left out as a late change, with the team management opting for Varun Chakaravarthy instead. He … Read more
Toss Delhi Capitals chose to bowl vs Mumbai Indians Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning made the expected choice of bowling in the second game of WPL 2025, against Mumbai Indians. Lanning cited the tournament-opening run-fest of 403 runs which saw the chasing side (RCB) win. Dew could also play a role later in the evening … Read more
Who’s playing Gujarat Giants vs UP WarriorzKotambi Stadium, Vadodara, February 16, 2025, 7.30pm IST What to expect: Teams with inexperienced Indians Even a total of 201 wasn’t enough to defend for Gujarat Giants in their last game. The six-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru exposed their reliance on their four overseas players. Captain Ash Gardner … Read more
England’s Champions Trophy prospects have received a boost after Ben Duckett was given the all-clear, following a left groin injury sustained during last week’s ODI series against India. Duckett’s form at the top of the order had been one of the positives for England in an otherwise disappointing campaign. He made two half-centuries across the … Read more
Sudharsan had returned to action from sports hernia in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final clash against Vidarbha recently, but his availability for the TNPL is unclear as he might be picked in the India A or India squad for the England tour. In a bid to fill that void, Kovai Kings snapped up Siddarth for … Read more
Defending champions Washington Freedom retained 15 players, the most across all teams, but let go of Head, who was their joint-highest scorer last year alongside captain Steven Smith. Akeal Hosein and Andrew Tye were the other overseas players released by Freedom. San Francisco Unicorns, runners-up in 2024, also kept a majority of their core intact, … Read more
“It was brilliant to watch,” Mandhana, who was out for 9 in the second over of the chase, said after the game. “They [Ahuja and Ghosh] have been doing that in the nets in the last seven to eight days to all our bowlers. So, really happy that things clicked on. But yeah, I think … Read more
Charlotte Edwards has offered to help the ECB during its review into England’s 16-0 Women’s Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia. Edwards, the former England captain turned decorated coach, has not ruled herself out of taking over the head coach role if it becomes available in the aftermath of the review, saying in an … Read more
Sonny Baker, Hampshire’s 21-year-old fast bowler, has been awarded an England Men’s development contract by the ECB after impressing for the Lions. Baker, a former England Under-19, came through at Somerset before joining Hampshire over the winter. He was called up for the England Lions tour of Australia, making his first-class debut against Australia A … Read more
Lancashire officials have played down the idea that Manchester Originals could be seen as a consolation prize by the RPSG Group, who are finalising a deal for 70% stake in the franchise after missing out on a minority share in London Spirit. Lancashire shortlisted four bidders with links to IPL franchises, though Reliance, the owners … Read more
Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, February 15, 2025, 7.30pm IST What to expect: All eyes on in-form Shafali The contest is not only a rematch of the 2023 WPL final, but also a repeat of the first match of last season which ended in a thrilling last-ball finish. MI may have … Read more
Toss Royal Challengers Bengaluru chose to bowl vs Gujarat Giants Smriti Mandhana called correctly at the toss as Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions, opted to bowl first against hosts Gujarat Giants in Vadodara. Mandhana was keen to “get in as many overs as possible before the dew kicks in.” RCB are depleted courtesy injuries … Read more
Hampshire have signed 18-year-old South African opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius as one of their overseas players for this year’s Vitality Blast. Pretorius has yet to be capped at senior level by South Africa, but finished as the leading run-scorer at the recently completed SA20. He caught the eye of Hampshire’s coach, Adi Birrell, when scoring 97 … Read more
MCC have discussed renaming London Spirit and having them play in the club’s egg-and-bacon colours with their new Silicon Valley co-owners. MCC will enter into a joint-venture with Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a consortium of US-based entrepreneurs who have been dubbed the “Tech Titans”, to run the Lord’s-based Hundred franchise from 2026. They were the … Read more
Toss Pakistan choose to bat vs New Zealand Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the tri-series final in Karachi, five days before the two teams meet again in the Champions Trophy opener at the same venue. The hosts brought back seam-bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf in place of fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain. This … Read more
Toss Ireland opt to bowl vs Zimbabwe Paul Stirling, the Ireland captain, decided to chase in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare. Zimbabwe are looking to snap a losing streak, looking to avoid a fifth defeat in a row. Sikandar Raza slotted into the Zimbabwe XI after a successful campaign at the International League … Read more
Ben Sears has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with a hamstring injury. Sears, who was also part of New Zealand’s squad for the tri-series in Pakistan, felt pain in his left hamstring at the team’s training session in Karachi on Wednesday. A subsequent scan revealed a minor tear that would require at least … Read more
The winners of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 will receive US$2.24 million as prize money along with the trophy they lift on March 9. The runners-up will get $1.12 million, and the losing semi-finalists will be awarded $560,000 each. The total pot is worth $6.9 million, a jump of 53% from 2017, when Pakistan had … Read more
Toss Sri Lanka chose to bat vs Australia Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell will add considerable batting firepower for Australia in their final match before the Champions Trophy starts next week. Quick Ben Dwarshuis and legspinner Tanveer Sangha were also included for the second ODI in Colombo, with Cooper Connolly, Alex Carey, Marnus … Read more
Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, has rejected suggestions that his players did not take their preparation seriously on the tour of India, saying it was “factually incorrect” that the team had not done enough training during the T20I and ODI series, both of which ended in one-sided defeats. During a discussion on TV commentary for … Read more
Despite the fact IPL owners make up half of the new investors in the Hundred, the ECB does not expect India’s male cricketers to be made available for the tournament, nor does it anticipate issues with players from Pakistan taking part in England’s flagship competition. On Thursday, the ECB confirmed it had entered … Read more
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had missed the final cut for the Champions Trophy, is set to play for Mumbai in their semi-final clash against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Jaiswal’s presence bolsters a Mumbai side that already has a number of other internationals in captain Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur. Dube is part … Read more
Mark Robinson has left his role as Warwickshire’s first-team coach after the club conducted a restructure of coaching and support staff. He will be replaced in the role by former Warwickshire batter Ian Westwood. Robinson was appointed in early 2021 and went on to lead Warwickshire to the County Championship title in his first season. … Read more
Vastrakar has been a “big player” for MI, as their head coach Charlotte Edwards alluded to during the pre-season press-conference, so filling the void created by her absence could be a challenge. Sisodia, the left-arm fingerspinner isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Vastrakar, but her recent form is encouraging for MI: she took five wickets across … Read more
Mohammad Rizwan has backed Babar Azam to come good with his form, as Pakistan prepare to take on New Zealand in the tri-series final in Karachi on Friday. Runs in that game will be handy, though the bigger goal of a long-term return to runs will be handier. Babar has struggled across formats for a … Read more
Former India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule has been appointed as Rajasthan Royals’ spin-bowling coach for IPL 2025. He worked in the same capacity with RR from 2018 to 2021. “Joining Rajasthan Royals again is a tremendous honour,” Bahutule said in a release. “The franchise’s commitment to nurturing talent and playing an exciting brand of cricket resonates … Read more
Tasmania 270 for 5 (Jewell 105, Owen 48, Wakim 44*, Sutherland 2-45) beat Victoria 266 for 9 (Rogers 68, Harper 50, Elliott 46*, Webster 2-41) by five wickets Mitchell Owen unleashed some more fireworks and Caleb Jewell cracked a sparkling century to lead Tasmania to a five-wicket One-Day Cup win over Victoria at Bellerive Oval. … Read more