Cricket

Rohit Sharma 's request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26. Virat Kohli 's request for a break from limited-overs games too has been accepted as Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul will lead the national team in T20Is and ODIs respectively. However, it is understood that Hardik Pandya is no longer an automatic choice for T20 captaincy in the T20 World Cup next year if Rohit decides to play the shortest format. "Rohit has been offered T20 captaincy but he is in UK on a holiday and wants an extended break after four months of gruelling season till end of the World Cup. But as captain, he has the highest respect for the dressing room and if he agrees to lead India in T20 World Cup, he will lead," a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity. After the T20 World Cup in 2022, Rohit had actually been re...

One of the greatest batters of modern era, AB de Villiers has revealed that he was snubbed by erstwhile Delhi Daredevils after spending three seasons at the IPL franchise. Before making it big at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the South African batting legend had three lukewarm season with the Delhi franchise, now known as Delhi Capitals. But in a team meeting, also attended by explosive Australian opener David Warner , de Villiers was told that he was going to be "retained" but it happened otherwise as the franchise released him before the 2011 auction. Recalling the incident in his YouTube channel, 'AB de Villiers 360', the former South African skipper said: "When I played in the 2010 season, I got called into the office and was told ‘you are going to get retained, young AB de Villiers'." "I sat alongside David Warner in that meeting. It came as a huge surprise to me a week or two later when I realised I had been released. "So the commun...

Shreyas Iyer brings a huge reputation as a T20 batter and is poised to make a big impact in the remaining two games of the five-match series, said young India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi on Friday. Designated vice-captain Iyer will be back in action after being rested for the first three matches as India will have another shot to seal the series from being 2-1 up. "It will make a big impact in our batting lineup," Bishnoi told reporters during the pre-match press conference. Shreyas amassed 530 runs in 11 matches of the recent ODI World Cup. "He brings a lot of reputation in T20 cricket and has been in good form in the World Cup. As a senior player his experience will also help us." The 23-year-old legspinner has been the pick of the bowlers in the series, having grabbed 6 wickets at 19.66. Bishnoi credited this to his skipper Suryakumar Yadav for giving the bowlers a "free hand". "As a captain, Surya bhai gives you a free hand, he gives you all t...

Dominica will be unable to meet the deadline for completing the construction work of their stadiums and the government on Thursday announced its decision to withdraw from hosting their allotted matches of the T20 World Cup next year. Windsor Park was shortlisted to host one group match and two Super Eight games as Dominica was one of seven countries in the Caribbean shortlisted to host the T20 World Cup. The T20 showpiece is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 4-30 next year. "Several tangible actions were taken both at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium and at the Benjamin's Park including the commencement of upgrading and enhancement of the practice and match venues, various assessments and the creation of additional pitches where necessary," a statement from the Dominica government's read. "However, the implementation timelines submitted by the various contractors revealed that it would not be possible to complete these works within the sti...

Former India opener player Gautam Gambhir applauded the contract extension of Rahul Dravid as Team India's head coach and believes it is promising news for the national side as the "T20 World Cup is around the corner." The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the extension of contracts for Dravid and the support staff of Team India (Senior Men). Dravid's second stint with Team India will be the tour of South Africa from December 10, which will have three ODIs and T20Is each and two Tests. The red-ball leg will start from December 26. Following that will be a five-match Test series against England at home, before the ICC T20 World Cup in June in West Indies/USA. Gambhir expects Team India to continue its domination and play good cricket. The former opener emphasises that the T20 format is different it will be challenging and hope that Rahul and the supporting staff can deliver. Batting coach Vikram Rathour, fielding coach T Dilip and bo...

Newly appointed skipper Shan Masood set Pakistan a tough target on Wednesday for their forthcoming tour of Australia -- make history. Pakistan have never won a Test series in the 12 times they have toured down under, with the south Asian side losing the last 14 five-dayers in a row there. But Masood, 34, who took over the Test side after Babar Azam relinquished the captaincy in all formats of cricket following Pakistan's disastrous World Cup campaign, sees an opportunity. "When you have not achieved something in history, then you have an opportunity to change it," he told a news conference in Lahore ahead of the team's departure. "So we will make an effort to produce positive results for Pakistan and for the World Test championship." Pakistan are on the top of World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with wins in both Tests against Sri Lanka, while India are second and Australia third on the nine-team table. But Australia are flying high after winning the...

Veteran Dinesh Karthik was back at his vintage best to smash a quickfire half-century as Tamil Nadu overcame a jittery start to down Baroda by 38 runs in a low-scoring group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-dayers, in Mumbai on Wednesday. Put in, Tamil Nadu were reeling at 52/5 when the skipper dig in with all his experience to rescue the team with a 51-ball 68 featuring nine fours and two sixes for his 40th List A fifty. Tamil Nadu were soon reduced to 52/6, but Karthik held fort and put together a 75-run partnership with Shahrukh Khan (31; 39b) to help them go past 150. Lukman Meriwala (4/21 from 7 overs) and Ninad Rathva (3/23 from 7.3 overs) were the pick of the bowlers for Baroda as Tamil Nadu's innings lasted just 33.3 overs. In reply, Baroda were shot out for 124 in 23.3 overs with T Natarajan leading the charge in his 7-1-38-4, while spin twins Varun Chakravarthy and R Sai Kishore sharing five wickets between them. Padikkal on song Karnataka batter ...

It was Glenn Maxwell show yet again at an Indian cricket ground. This time the venue was the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati and Indian cricket team was at the receiving end. India posted a huge 223-run target for Australia. While the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals, they stayed in chase with Glenn Maxwell playing the lead role. The Australia star scored 104* off just 48 balls, with eight fours and eight sixes. But what he did in the last over by Prasidh Krishna is going to be remembered for a long time to come.  Australia needed 21 runs off six balls to win. On the first ball of the last over by Prasidh Krishna, Australia captain Matthew wade hit a boundary and then took a single. The equation was then 16 needed off four balls. Maxwell first hit a six and then three straight fours to take Australia to their first win of the five-match series.  MAXWELL DOES IT AGAIN bounce back in the #IDFCFirstBankT20ITrophy and HOW! #INDvAUS #JioCinemaSports pic.tw...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to delay the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) of pacer Haris Rauf for his participation in the Big Bash League (BBL). Rauf's NOC certificate is likely to be delayed till December 11, four days after the start of the league. However, there is no confirmation that the NOC will be issued to the pacer immediately after, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo. The PCB wants the 30-year-old pacer to take part in the National T20 Cup in Pakistan, which will end on December 10, for which the apex body of the 'Men in Green' is holding the NOC certificate of the fast bowler, as per ESPNcricinfo. Recently, Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz attacked speedster Haris Rauf for backing out from the forthcoming Australia Tests and said that it would hurt the 'Men in Green'. While announcing the 18-member squad of Pakistan for their tour of Australia, the chief selector revealed that Rauf agreed to play Test cricket but later changed his m...

Iceland Cricket took to social media to express their interest in hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 in a hilarious post amid rumours of Pakistan losing on the hosting rights due to India's stance on not travelling. India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series for around a decade due to political tensions and several reports have claimed that the tournament can be shifted to Dubai. Iceland Cricket wrote an entire letter with jokes regarding their challenging weather conditions and lack of standard cricket grounds in a bid to host the competition amid the ongoing reports and rumours. "We are not people who hold back. We have today issued our bid to host the Champions Trophy of 2025, and we look forward to hearing what Greg Barclay of ICC has to say about it," the post read on X. Earlier, Iceland Cricket took a fresh aim at Pakistan star batter  Babar Azam , who recently stepped down as captain of the team across formats. We are not people who hold back. We have ...

Hardik Pandya, who made his return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians (MI), on Monday reflected back on his journey with the five-time champions. After tasting success with Gujarat Titans in the past two years, the experienced all-rounder on Monday returned to the franchise where his career began in 2015."I am back. Rohit, Bumrah, Surya, Ishan, Polly (Pollard), Malinga. Come on let's begin. Obviously, the feeling of coming back to Mumbai is very special for a lot of reasons. How my cricketing journey started in 2015 with MI, them noticing me in 2013...when I look back...how my span of 10 years has been something very special. It has not sunk in yet that finally, I am back where my whole cricketing journey started. I have achieved all the possible things. They have been the most important part of my life," Hardik said in a video posted by MI on X Watch talk about his happy homecoming, teaming up with his and resuming his journey with #MumbaiIndia...

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin applauded Shreyas Iyer and said that playing spin and taking them down is the right-handed batter's speciality. Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Ashwin called Iyer a standout performer for the 'Men in Blue'. He also added that people don't appreciate him much instead they ask him not to do it more often. "Batting against spin and taking them down is Shreyas' speciality, and he is a standout performer. Chasing excellence is a rare commodity in sports. If somebody does something unique, people, instead of appreciating it, tell them not to do it," the 37-year-old spinner said on his YouTube channel. Ashwin added that Iyer chases excellence and takes a note to grasp the pull shot. The number one Test bowler added that the 28-year-old smashes the pacers over mid-off which is a sign of a champion batter. "What I love about Shreyas is that he chases excellence; he took a note to master the pull shot and worked...

Team India thrashed Australia by 44 runs in the second T20I of the five-match series on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram. The main architects of India's victory were opening batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj, who scored 53 and 58 runs respectively and propelled India to a whopping total of 235/4. Later, the hosts restricted Australia at 191/9 with Ravi Bishnoi and Prasidh Krishna taking three wickets each. It was a memorable match for Jaiswal, who brought up his half-century in just 24 balls.  After the match, Jaiswal spoke about the tragic mix-up which handed Gaikwad his diamond duck in the first T20I on Thursday. In the first match, Jaiswal and Gaikwad were caught in a mix-up while trying to take a double. Resulting which, Gaikwad had to depart without even playing a ball.  Jaiswal revealed that he admitted his mistake and went on to apologize to Gaikwad. He also praised his co-opener for being "humble" and "caring". "It was my mistake in the last ga...

After a rollicking 25-ball 53 against Australia, Yashasvi Jaiswal said on Sunday that being “fearless” while playing his natural game is his mantra for success. Fifties by Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan had pushed India to 235 for four, and eventually to a facile 44-run victory over Australia in the second T20I here. “It's really special for me. I was trying to play all my shots. I was trying to be fearless as I was sure of my decisions,” said player-of-the-match Jaiswal during the post-match presentation. The left-handed opener said head coach VVS Laxman and captain Suryakumar Yadav have backed him to play his style of cricket. “I have been told by Surya bhai and VVS sir to go and play freely. I have been asked to express myself. “For me, I think I can develop (as a cricketer) and I am not thinking about anything else. I am still learning,” said Jaiswal. “I am trying to develop all my shots. The mental stuff is something I am working on as it is important at this level...

Indian cricket team all-rounder Hardik Pandya completed a sensational move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, according to sources. The news came as a surprise for many fans as Pandya was named in the retention list submitted by Gujarat Titans on Sunday. November 26 was the deadline for the IPL franchises to submit their retention lists and although many reports claimed that Pandya will be returning to MI, he featured in the GT list. However, multiple sources confirmed that his move to MI was completed as part of an all-cash deal. This was possible because although the retention deadline had ended, the trading window will close on December 12. In this period, all trades between the IPL franchises will be valid and as a result, Pandya's trade to MI was completed despite GT naming the all-rounder in their list of retained players. Pandya had joined Gujarat Titans as their captain in 2022 and led them to title in the maiden season i...

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a telling manifestation of their talent with twinkling fifties, the catalyst of India's 44-run win over Australia in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. India are now leading the five-match series 2-0. Opener Jaiswal led the charge of India's young brigade with a sparkling 53 off 25 balls, guiding India to a massive 235 for four in the company of Ishan (52 off 32 balls) and Gaikwad (58 off 43 balls). Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (3/32) then muffled the Australian top-order with two quick blows, and the visitors were eventually limited to 191 for nine despite aggressive knocks by Tim David (37 off 22 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (45 off 25 balls). Pacer Prasidh Krishna grabbed three wickets to accentuate Australia's fall as they lost five wickets for 16 runs. Australia needed to score at 11.8 runs per over to hunt down India's total. Openers Matthew Short and Steve Smith made an urgent beginning, procuring ...

England batter Joe Root has opted out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, announced his franchise Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. "England batter Joe Root will not be taking any further participation in the IPL, it was confirmed on Saturday," said a statement from the team. Root, one of the most decorated international cricketers for England, made his foray into the IPL set up last season, when the Royals picked him at the 2023 mini-auction. He made his IPL debut in the 2023 edition, playing 3 matches for the franchise. Root scored 10 in only one inning he played. Kumar Sangakkara , Royals' Director of Cricket, said, "During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024. Even in a short span of time, Joe was able to create such a positive impact on the franchise and the players around him. His energy around the group and the experience he brought to the Royals will be missed. We respect his decision totally and wish him su...

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif urged all-rounder Imad Wasim to reverse his retirement from international cricket. The 34-year-old all-rounder brought curtains down his cricket career on Friday with a post on social media stating that he feels it is the right time to retire. Latif on Saturday took to X, labelling Wasim as Pakistan's "best spinner" and urging him to reverse his retirement from international cricket. "Imad Wasim should withdraw his retirement decision, Pakistan team's best spin bowler is Imad and can help a lot in batting. In the World Cup, if the most effective player of the team will not be there, it is not a loss for Imad, it is a loss for Pakistan. Mohammad Hafeez wants them to bring Imad back. If you want to play leagues, then separate from the central contract, but keep yourself available for the Pakistan team," Rashid wrote on X. ... pic.twitter.com/hmrIUPdAB0 — Rashid Latif | (@iRashidLatif68) November 25, 2023 Wasim made ...

The players' auction ahead of the 2024 edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will be held on December 9 in Mumbai, the BCCI announced on Friday. The second edition of the WPL could take place in February-March next year. Mumbai Indians are the defending WPL champions, as they had beaten Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in the final on March 26 at the Brabourne Stadium earlier this year. Mumbai were led by Harmanpreet Kaur , while the recently-retired Meg Lanning captained Delhi in 2023. The five franchises -- Mumbai, Delhi, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz -- had retained 60 cricketers, including 21 from overseas, ahead of the auction. A total of 29 players were released from contract from the existing squads. These are the following players from the five WPL franchises who were retained and released from the squads: Delhi Capitals: Retained Players: Alice Capsey , Arundhati Reddy , Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen , Laura Harris , Marizanne ...

Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing curtains to his eight-year international career. Wasim took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce his decision, having played 121 international matches across ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan. Imad's final outing for his country was in April this year in a T20I against New Zealand at Rawalpindi. The Welsh-born Wasim made his international debut with the Men in Green in May 2015 in a T20I against Zimbabwe at Lahore. "In recent days, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my international career, and I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement from international cricket," the 34-year-old Wasim wrote in his retirement note. "I would like to thank the PCB for all their support over the years - it has truly been an honour to represent Pakistan. Each of my 121 appearances across the ODI and T20I formats was a dream come true....

Some of India's World Cup heroes, including Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj, opened up after the heartbreak at the last hurdle following a glorious run in the showpiece. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav on Thursday admitted that the pain of World Cup final defeat to Australia will linger and push him to work harder for the "next opportunity". Reactions from Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul followed, as the players tried to cope up with the six-wicket loss to Australia in the summit clash in Ahmedabad on November 19. "Our journey from Chennai to Ahmedabad ended in a disappointing result, but we take pride in our achievements over the six weeks. Despite the pain, we're determined to work harder for the next opportunity," Kuldeep said in a post on 'X'. "While the pain of defeat lingers, we must move forward; life continues, and healing takes time," said the wrist spinner. He said dealing with the setback was tough. "The Cup was beautiful, but it see...

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav shrugged off the disappointment of a World Cup final defeat with a captain's knock but it was Rinku Singh's composure that took a young Indian team to a thrilling two-wicket victory in the opening T20 International in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. This was India's highest successful chase in T20 Internationals. The skipper was in belligerent mood making a mockery of a 209-run chase with 80 off just 42 balls but Rinku's 22 not off 14 balls saved India from the blushes.  India needed 14 off 12 balls after Surya departed but Axar Patel bungled big time and the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh also were run-out in a jiffy. With a single needed off the final delivery, Sean Abbott was deposited into the stands by Rinku but to everyone's delight, it turned out to be a big no-ball and hence the maximum wasn't counted. India thus won with a ball to spare. However, what stood out was Rinku's fearlessness and the sense of occasion and e...

India started the T20I series against Australia in some style as they notched a two-wicket win on Thursday. There was no shortage of thrill in the match. Courtesy Josh Inglis ' 110, Australia notched a huge total of 208/3 in 20 overs. In reply, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan hit half-centuries as India cruised towards the target. However, both got out and it was left to Rinku Singh to take India over the line as India needed seven runs off six balls.  More drama ensued as India lost the wickets of  Axar Patel , Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh in the last over by Sean Abbott to go eight down. With India needing one off one ball, Rinku Singh hit a huge six to take India to win. However, the six was not counted and there was confusion over India's final score. The umpires then adjudged the delivery as no-ball. Since it was a no-ball, and India had got the required one run and had already won by its courtesy. Hence, the six was not counted. India ended on 209/8 in 19.5 ove...

Former Pakistan cricket team all-rounder Abdul Razzaq took aim at the Indian cricket team following their loss in the Cricket World Cup 2023 final against Australia and he said that India's defeat meant that 'cricket won'. In a recent interaction, he was asked about the World Cup final and he went on to accuse India of using home conditions to their advantage and said that a win for India over Australia would have been 'a sad moment for cricket'. Razzaq earlier courted controversy for his comment about the Pakistan team which contained a reference to Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai. The former cricketer faced a lot of heat for his comment and later, he tendered an official apology for his comment. “ Agar sahi baat kare toh aaj cricket jeeti hai. Aap conditions ko apni taraf utilise karke, ye kabhi bhi nahi aisa hota. Agar aaj India jeet jaati toh fir cricket jo hai naa vo India ki taraf ho jaati. Cricket ne bataya ki mai vo cricket hu jo brave hote hai, jo strong ...

Australia thrashed Team India by six wickets to clinch the ODI World Cup 2023 title on Sunday. Playing at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Pat Cummins -led side bundled out India for 240. Later, they chased down the target in just 43 overs with Travis Head smashing a century. It was a big heartbreak for India as despite winning ten matches on-the-trot, they failed to click on the ultimate day. On one side, Australia were lifting their record-extending sixth World Cup trophy while on the other hand, billions of Indians fans were left in despair. After winning the trophy, Australia batter David Warner showed a heartfelt gesture as he took to X (formerly Twitter) and apologised to an Indian fan, who called him out for breaking "billions of hearts". Replying to the now deleted post, Warner wrote, "I apologise, it was such a great game and the atmosphere was incredible. India really put on a serious event. Thank you all." I apologise, it was such ...