CRICKET NEWS

India registered a thrilling victory over England in the fourth T20I match on Friday in Pune. Asked to bat first, India struggle a bit but managed to post 181/9 in 20 overs with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube hitting half-centuries. Later, England got a terrific start but eventually fumbled against India's bowling lineup and got bundled out for 166. With this 15-run victory, India gained an unassailable 3-1 lead over England in the five-match series. Despite this win, India also sparked a small controversy during the match. After the first innings, Shivam Dube did not take the field as he got hit by a short delivery from Jamie Overton while batting. In his place, pacer Harshit Rana came as a concussion substitute and made his T20I debut. Rana made immediate impact in the game and walked away with the figures of 3/33. However, Rana coming-in as the replacement of Dube left many former cricketers, including England skipper Jos Buttler unhappy. Former England skipper Michael Va...

Talented pacer Harshit Rana , who has played two Tests, quite surprisingly made a surprise entry into the India playing XI in the fourth T20I against England in Pune on Friday. Though initially not named in the XI, Rana was called upon to replace allrounder Shivam Dube as a 'like-for-like' concussion substitute after the latter was struck on the helmet in the final over of India's innings. Dube, who scored 53, was hit on the helmet in the penultimate ball of the Indian innings by a Jamie Overton delivery. Following the mandatory concussion test, Dube was cleared to play. However, he was run out on the final delivery of the innings. Dube is a pace allrounder, while Rana has so far played the role of  specialist fast bowler in the Indian cricket team. Rana, who had recently played in the opening Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, came in to bowl in the 12th over and made an immediate impact, dismissing Liam Livingstone for 9. Rana finished with three w...

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has heaped massive praise on ex-opener Virender Sehwag . According to Ganguly, Sehwag is the greatest India opener after Sunil Gavaskar . Sehwag, who played for India from 1999 to 2013, was one of the most fearless batters the world of cricket ever witnessed. He played 104 Tests and 251 ODIs, scoring 8586 and 8273, runs respectively. In 19 T20Is, Sehwag scored 394 runs. He was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup. Ganguly made the statement in the trailer of "The Greatest Rivalry - India vs Pakistan", a documentary series on the cricketing rivalry between India and Pakistan. The documentary is set to premiere on Netflix on February 7. "After (Sunil) Gavaskar, the greatest opener is Virender Sehwag," said Ganguly. Ex-India opener Sehwag made his ODI debut against arch-rivals Pakistan in 1999 and played his first Test against South Africa in 2001. He is the only Indian batter to hav...

Amid rising concerns over the readiness of Champions Trophy venues in the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore would be handed over to the ICC on February 11, a little over a week before the start of the ODI showpiece. The PCB posted a video of the new-look stadium on 'X' and wrote, "Under the lights, it's a sight to behold!...We can't wait to welcome fans, officials and teams for the tri-nation series and Champions Trophy." The mega-event begins on February 19. A Board source told PTI that the stadium will be handed over to the International Cricket Council (ICC), "for branding and other stuff on February 11" after Pakistan's tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa. The ICC had set January 31 as the deadline for the handover of all three stadiums -- Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore), National Stadium (Karachi) and the Rawalpindi Stadium -- which will host the global event in Pakistan. The ...

After failing to do so in the 5th and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, Australia stand-in skipper Steve Smith finally breached the 10,000-run milestone in Tests, on Day 1 of the first match against Sri Lanka. After completing 10k runs in the longest format of the game, Smith also brought up his 35th Test ton, 17 of which have come away from home. In doing so, Smith managed to surpass India great Virat Kohli in the list of batters with the most away centuries in Test cricket. Kohli held the No. 1 spot, with 16 away tons to his name in Tests but lost the spot to Smith on Wednesday.  Missing the chance to reach the mark in his home city of Sydney during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Smith brought up the five-figure milestone in Australia's first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, playing his signature flick toward mid-on, setting off for one before raising his bat to acknowledge the applause. The moment was marked by an ovation from the Australian group...

The fixtures for the semi-finals of the ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup 2025 have been confirmed with defending champions India playing against England on Friday. While South Africa will take on Australia in the first semi-final on Friday itself, as the ICC announced the dates, times and venues for the knockout stages of the tournament. Both matches will take place at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, with the first semi-final between South Africa and Australia to commence at 10:30 AM local time and the second semi-final between India and England to start four hours later at 2:30 PM local, as per ICC. The winners of both semi-finals will then meet in the final at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, February 2, from 2:30 PM local time. India and South Africa topped their respective groups without a loss, with India winning all their four matches in Group 1 and getting eight points, whereas South Africa won three matches and one ended in a no-result, giving them seven points. Aust...

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has had a curious journey of late. In and out of the national team over his injury issues, Hardik 'the all-rounder' has become a more reliable player for the team ever since he took up his role as a bowler more seriously. Especially in the T20 format, Hardik has been bowling a lot more consistently of late, hence becoming indispensable to the team's balance. Indian pace great Zaheer Khan , highlighting Hardik's importance as a seamer, feels that the all-rounder himself has also understood how important his role as a bowler is. Hardik is also a part of India's ICC Champions Trophy squad where his role as an all-rounder will be crucial to the team's ambition of lifting the title. While it isn't yet known if Hardik can bowl 10 overs in a match, Zaheer is just happy to see the all-rounder enjoying his role as a pacer more than before. "That's what we've been saying... that if Hardik the bowler comes to the party, t...

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav admitted his team failed to mop up the England tail after having the visitors on the mat and credited "world-class" spinner Adil Rashid for making life difficult for his batters during their 26-run loss in the third T20I in Rajkot on Tuesday. India had reduced England to 127/8 in 16 overs but allowed the visitors to post 171/9 in 20 overs. In their chase of 172, the hosts managed just 145/9, falling short by 26 runs. "I felt there would be a little dew later in the day. I feel we had the game in our hands when Hardik and Axar were batting. Credit goes to Adil Rashid, he bowled really well. That's why he is a world-class bowler. He didn't allow us to rotate the strike," Suryakumar said during the post-match presentation. "I feel you always learn something from a T20 game. I felt when we were bowling around 127/8 to 170, I think that was too much at the end. We've got to learn from the batting point of view. Got to go ...

Virat Kohli , former Indian cricket team captain, trained at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday ahead of Delhi's Ranji Trophy game against Railways starting Friday. The match marks Kohli's return to Ranji Trophy for the first time since 2012, after BCCI's diktat made it mandatory for all India stars to play domestic cricket. While domestic cricket matches rarely see much fan interest, the return of Kohli for this particular game saw a greater number of media-persons turn up at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. According to a report in The Indian Express , seeing the presence of many journalists and camerapersons outside the Virender Sehwag gate at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, a 'shocked' Delhi police sub-inspector Pradeep Rana alerted his superior: " Sir do log hi hai jyada security lag sakti hai, kuch aur log bhej do (We'll need more security for today, please send more force)." Just like Rishabh Pant did in the last game against Saurashtra...

The performances of several veteran Indian cricketers, including the likes of Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli , Mohamed Siraj, etc. have come under the spotlight over recent poor performances. While Rohit and Virat are even being pushed to quit Test cricket, no such verdict exists at present for head coach Gautam Gambhir . With the Champions Trophy being India's next big assignment, there are some who feel the team's poor show in the ICC event could lead to Gambhir's exit. However, former India opener Aakash Chopra feels the Test tour of England will define whether the head coach will stay or not. Gambhir was brought in as India's head coach after Rahul Dravid 's exit, following the team's ICC T20 World Cup triumph last year. As Gambhir nears completion of one year at the job, Chopra feels the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is bound to review his performances as well. "I feel one more England tour. I don't think the BCCI will say anything to...

The ICC said on Monday that the ticket sales for the Pakistan leg of next month's Champions Trophy will begin from Tuesday despite the stadium renovation work in the host nation is yet to be completed. The venues at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are still getting readied as a January 30 deadline looms for the handover of the stadiums to the ICC. This edition of the Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held across Pakistan and Dubai from February 19. India will be playing their games in Dubai and the ticket information regarding those matches will be made available in the coming days. The Pakistan Cricket Board had rubbished speculations that the showpiece will be moved out of the country due to delayed construction work at the three venues — Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi's National Bank Stadium. The PCB asserted that the presence of ICC delegation, including broadcast, hospitality and event operations officials in the country, was an aff...

India spinner Kuldeep Yadav expressed gratitude to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) team for his recovery after groin surgery. Kuldeep took to social media to post an emotional message ahead of his return to competitive cricket. "Recovery takes a team. Grateful to the NCA and its team for all the work behind the scenes," he wrote on X. The left-arm spinner has been named in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against England and next month's ICC Champions Trophy. He last played for India in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Kuldeep recently posted a video of his bowling in the nets at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, promising his much-awaited return to the white-ball format. The 30-year-old is gearing up to lead the spin attack in the upcoming ODIs against England and the eight-team marquee tournament. He will be supported by all-rounders Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep, a left-arm unorthodox sp...

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has showered big praise on youngster Tilak Varma , comaring his match-winning abilities to that of legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni . Manjrekar's remarks came after Tilak single-handedly took India to a win over England in the second T20I on Saturday, despite wickets falling at the other end. Manjrekar highlighted how Tilak managed to keep his composure till the end, something which Dhoni used to during his playing days. Needing 166 to win, Tilak's 55-ball 72 steered India home with four balls to spare. "Absolutely. The confidence he has that he will be able to see India through the very end and even in this run chase, there was no panic around the 18th over. Even in the 19th over, you could see that India wasn't getting the boundary that could take the pressure off. But he was quite happy to virtually be there till the end. It seems the guy who is confident and being the man who can take his team through, just like we had a...

Tilak Varma on Saturday gave a brilliant example of his growing prowess in the Indian T20I team as he played a mature knock of 72* to rescue his side to a second successive win against England in Chennai. He stitched crucial partnerships with the lower order to take India to victory. Among the lower order batters, Washington Sundar scored 26 while Ravi Bishnoi scored crucial nine runs off five balls. Arshdeep Singh also looked like making a significant contribution with the bat before perishing while attempting to go after Adil Rashid . After the dismissal the camera turned towards India coach Gambhir and his ice cold reaction went viral. There was a mild hint of smirk too. India were eight down after that and the match could have England's way from there. However, Tilak and Ravi Bishnoi saved the day. Gambhir Face pic.twitter.com/40mYmfGhcG — Nikita. (@bae_stvrrie) January 25, 2025 Arshdeep getting out, trying hitting six, we have seen this before Arshdeep singh dhoni #...

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif claimed that Indian senior duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are being targeted for their red-ball form and are forced to play domestic cricket ahead of the crucial white-ball assignments. India Test and ODI captain Rohit turned up for Mumbai in their ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir. He scored three and 28 runs in the match. On the other hand, Kohli will join Delhi's squad for the match against Railways at Arun Jaitley Stadium from January 30. Other than the star duo, members of the Test squad that faced a 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia are also featuring for their respective state sides for the latest round of Ranji Trophy matches. The other notable players include Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Rishabh Pant (Delhi), Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra) and Shubman Gill (Punjab). According to former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, Rohit and Kohli should focus on their upcoming white-ball assignment...

In what was a rare sight, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane was called back by the on-field umpires almost five minutes after he entered the dressing room, following his dismissal. Rahane was recalled from the dressing room as the third umpire revealed that the bowler had overstepped. The incident happened on Friday, the 25th over of Mumbai's second innings on day 2 at the Bandra Kurla Complex Cricket Ground. J&K pacer Umar Nazir bowled a short-pitched delivery to Rahane, who managed to glove it to the keeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan. While Rahane had walked back to the dressing room after the dismissal, the umpires, to everyone's surprise, recalled the former India captain minutes later, after coming to a conclusion that Nazir had indeed overstepped As soon as the no-ball was confirmed, umpires recalled Rahane and asked  Shardul Thakur to go back to the dressing room. As the Mumbai captain returned to the middle, the on-umpire told him that he had asked him to wait for the no-bal...

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed India's move to delay Mohammed Shami's much-anticipated international return following a prolonged injury lay-off, saying the team think tank and the veteran pacer will make the "right call at the right time". Shami, who has proved his fitness in practice sessions and domestic cricket for Bengal, was not included in India's playing XI for the first T20I against England here on Wednesday. All eyes were on Shami's return after a 14-month injury lay-off, but India opted for three spinners instead, a decision that paid off as they bowled out England for a meagre 132 before cruising to the target in 12.5 overs with seven wickets in hand. Irfan said Shami is experienced enough to take an honest assessment of his body. "When you've been such a seasoned campaigner and are among India's top 10 bowlers, you understand your body's limits well," said Irfan at a promotional event here. "Shami always p...

Madhya Pradesh (MP) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer fought an injury on Thursday to return to bat for his side on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy game against Kerala at Thiruvananthapuram. India all-rounder Iyer, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a massive sum of Rs 23.75 crore at IPL 2025 auction in December last year, first came out to bat when MP were reeling at 49 for 4. Playing just three balls into his innings, he twisted his ankle and fell on the ground. The pain he was going through was quite visible and such serious was the injury that the batter had to be carried off the field. The match continued with MP eventually being reduced to dire straits, and Iyer came back to bat again and ended up scoring crucial 42 for his side. Iyer's courageous act was praised by fans on social media with his IPL franchise KKR even putting up a post for him. Fighter hai apna Iyer Venkatesh Iyer | #TeamMan | #AmiKKR | #RanjiTrophy pic.twitter.com/IMdYL8ZmbR — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKR...

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg said that star India batter Virat Kohli 's poor performance in recent times could be because of "drama off the field" more than things happening on the field and added that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s new policy on families during international tours could put more stress on the veteran batter. Virat, who could just make 190 runs in 10 innings during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was among players who came under scrutiny after the 1-3 series loss to Australia. Virat ended the last year with just 655 international runs in 23 matches and 32 innings, averaging 21.83, with a century and two fifties to his name. His best score was 100*. Following the team's collective failure, BCCI introduced a new policy for players, touching on several aspects like luggage, family involvement in tours, playing domestic cricket etc. As per the new policy, the player's family time during away tours has ...

Well past the deadline set by the International Cricket Council, the Pakistan Cricket Board is yet to announce its squad for the Champions Trophy. The unreasonable delay in announcing squad for the marquee event has left many baffled, including former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali, who has repeatedly questioned the board's preparedness for the event. "Pakistan kya darr gaya jo abhi tak team announce nahi ki? Nahi dara nahi hai. Samajh nahi aa rahi hai -- karein to kya karein? (Is Pakistan scared to announce their squad? No, it isn't, just unsure what to do and what not)," said Basit in a video on his YouTube channel. One of the reasons behind Pakistan's extensive delay in squad announcement has been identified as the suspense over batter Saim Ayub 's availability. "The biggest issue is Saim Ayub, whether he can return fit or not. It's still not clear," he said. Basit also identified some big problems with Pakistan's middle-order, with a la...

The jury is still out on his coaching methodology as far as traditional formats are concerned but India's young T20 stars, including opener Abhishek Sharma gave a thumbs up to embattled Gautam Gambhir after the hosts blitzed past England by seven wickets in the opening match here on Wednesday. The 24-year-old struck 79 off just 34 balls to help India chase down a small target of 133 in just 12.5 overs at the Eden Gardens. "I wanted to express myself but special mention to captain ( Suryakumar Yadav ) and coach (Gambhir), the freedom they have given us as youngsters is tremendous," Abhishek said at the post-match presentation ceremony. While there were talks about Gambhir not being on same page with senior players during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Abhishek swore by the dressing room atmosphere. "Never seen an environment like this, express yourself, hit your shots, even from the first ball," Abhishek added. Asked about his plan, he revealed that it was a si...

After India's disastrous Border Gavaskar Trophy, the murmurs surrounding the Indian dressing room has refused to die down. From allegations on discipline to 'leaks' to calls for a total transition, Indian cricket had a roller-coaster ride since the first week of this year. There were even reports that Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir 's performance will be reviewed after the Champions Trophy 2025, starting next month. In the midst of this, came a suggestion that Indian cricket team can opt for two different coaches.  "I think so. I think that's a good option," Monty Panesar , who has 167 wickets in Tests and 24 wickets in ODIs for England, told Times of India. "I think maybe the workload is too much for Gambhir...He's just transitioned into a coach. Sometimes it can be difficult for some of the senior players who actually will be thinking, 'Well, I was his teammate a few years ago, now he's telling us how to play cricket'. It can be ...

Former cricketer Madan Lal on Tuesday said that he is feeling "very happy" to see Indian men's cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli taking part in the second part of the Ranji Trophy. India captain Rohit Sharma will take part in the upcoming second phase of the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. Kohli has also confirmed his availability for Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Railways, according to sources in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Virat's last appearance in the Ranji Trophy dates back to November 2012 against Uttar Pradesh, in which he was dismissed for 14 and 42 runs in both innings by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Speaking to ANI, Madan Lal said that senior players like Rohit and Virat's presence in the first-class cricket will help other cricketers to grow. "I'm so happy that all these players (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) are going to play first class. You need to play matches in the tournament which has made you the player. You shou...

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is the darling of Indian cricket fans, and now ICC's No. 1 Test bowler is also receiving praise from popular British band Coldplay and their lead singer Chris Martin . Coldplay are performing five concerts in India between January 18 and 26, and took time out of their songs to pay tribute to Bumrah, even playing a replay of his famous toe-crushing yorker to Ollie Pope in a Test against England in 2024. Bumrah took to social media to thank Coldplay. "This made me smile! Incredible vibe at the Coldplay concert in Mumbai (from what I've seen here) and even more special to be mentioned," Bumrah wrote on Instagram, reacting to the band's tribute to him. In the opening Coldplay concert at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, lead singer Martin had joked that Bumrah was present backstage and had asked him to pause the concert for 15 minutes so that he could bowl to him. View this post on Instagram ...

India all-rounder Axar Patel has been given a new responsibility - being the vice-captain in T20I cricket. However, while T20I cricket is in a healthy state for the country, Test cricket has seen a tumultuous few months, culminating in a 1-3 loss for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and questions being raised over Gautam Gambhir 's support staff, with reports stating that assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate were under scrutiny from the BCCI. However, Axar has reiterated faith in the team management and also stated that he wasn't aware of team happenings in the Australia tour. Axar also stated that being vice-captain comes with the responsibility of having to take strong calls at times. Speaking at a press conference ahead of India's five-match T20I series against England, Axar backed the support staff. "Regarding support staff, I wasn't with the team for the last three months so I don't know what happened in Australia but here the s...

The implementation of the 10-point policy guidelines for the Indian cricket team has begun with the BCCI communicating to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) that no separate vehicle should be arranged for any player as all are required to travel by the team bus. The Indian team is in Kolkata for the T20I series-opener against England at the Eden Gardens on January 22. After the Australia series debacle, the BCCI has come out with a 10-point SOP. As per the SOP, "all players are required to stay for the entire duration of scheduled practice sessions and travel together to and from the venue. This rule ensures commitment and fosters a strong work ethic within the team." India skipper Rohit Sharma has already expressed his reservations on certain clauses but it is understood that BCCI has already put at least one of the 10 clauses in force. The 10-point 'policy document' outlining the new guidelines was shared with all state cricket boards, hosting the India-Engla...

Former Indian cricket team batter Vinod Kambli was present at the Wankhede Stadium for the ground's 50th anniversary celebrations. Kambli has been suffering from several illnesses in the recent past and he had to be admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with brain clots. However, he was discharged after a few days and on Sunday, he was seen being helped by wife Andrea Hewitt to walk into the stadium for the ceremony. Few days ago, Kambli also attended a felicitation event at the stadium where a number of former cricketers were awarded by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Having brought two ICC trophies to the Wankhede Stadium -- the 2007 T20 World Cup as a member of the team and the 2024 T20 World Cup as skipper, India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday promised that his team will do it's best to bring the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy to the iconic venue for another round of celebration. View this post on Instagram ...

India's squad for the upcoming ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy 2025 were announced on Saturday and some of the selections left everyone shocked. Batter Shubman Gill was named as skipper Rohit Sharma 's deputy in the series over all-rounder Hardik Pandya . Apart from this, another big shock came in the form of Sanju Samson 's exclusion from the squad. Despite giving breakthrough performances in both ODI and T20I cricket in 2024, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul were chosen over Samson as India's wicketkeeping options for the tournament. Samson hammered three centuries in five T20Is he played in 2024. In his last ODI appearance for India, which came against South Africa in December 2023, he scored 108 runs.  Despite these stats, he has been snubbed from India's ODI squads while he has found a spot in the five-match T20I series against England. Samson's position in the Indian team has always been an inconsistent one. However, the wicketkeeper-batter ha...