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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed star batter Babar Azam as the ODI and T20I captain months after removing him from the role. Babar had stepped down after Pakistan&rsquo;s forgettable show at the 2023 ODI World Cup last year with Shan Masood taking over the Test captaincy while Shaheen Afridi handed over the reins of T20I side.

	No decision was taken on ODI captaincy back then but after a meeting between Babar and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, suspense over the leadership role has ended.

	&ldquo;Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB&rsquo;s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men&rsquo;s cricket team,&quot; PCB said on X (formerly Twitter).

	PCB&rsquo;s announcement means Test captaincy will stay with Shan.

	Earlier, various media reports claimed that Babar would agree a return to captaincy only on the condition if he gets to lead across formats.

	Moreover, it has been reported that Shaheen Afridi wasn&rsquo;t kept in the loop when PCB was discussing about replacing him as the T20I captain.

	&ldquo;Shaheen is rightly upset as being the national T20 captain he expected that even if the board/selectors wanted to remove him they have the decency to also inform him for the reasons behind this and keep him in the loop about everything,&quot; a source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

	Shaheen reportedly was willing to step down from the role had PCB informed him about their plans.

	The 23-year-old left-arm pacer was made the captain after his success with Lahore Qalandars as he captained them to two successive Pakistan Super League titles.

	However, in his first assignment, Shaheen-led Pakistan suffered a 1-4 T20I series defeat against New Zealand and then in the recent PSL, Qalandars finished at the bottom of the points table.

	&nbsp;

Babar Azam back as Pakistan's white-ball captain

Netherlands will host Ireland and Scotland in a T20 tri-series as part of the three teams&#39; preparations for the T20 World Cup, which begins on June 2. The tri-series will take place in Amstelveen from May 18 to 24, with matches on all days other than May 21.

	The all-European tri-series will follow a pure round-robin format, with no final, with each team meeting the others twice.

	&nbsp;

	Tri-series fixtures
<ol>
	<li>
		May 18 Netherlands vs Scotland</li>
	<li>
		May 19 Netherlands vs Ireland</li>
	<li>
		May 20 Ireland vs Scotland</li>
	<li>
		May 22 Netherlands vs Scotland</li>
	<li>
		May 23 Ireland vs Scotland</li>
	<li>
		May 24 Netherlands vs Ireland</li>
</ol>

	&nbsp;

	Ireland, who completed an all-format home series against Afghanistan earlier this month, have three home T20Is lined up against Pakistan in May before they travel to the Netherlands this tri-series. For Scotland and Netherlands, who have recently played 50-overs games in World Cup League 2, the tri-series is their last chance to tune up their T20I plans before they head to the West Indies and the USA for the World Cup.

	&quot;We are excited to host this Tri-Series as part of our preparation for the T20 World Cup played in America and the West Indies in June,&quot; Roland Lefebvre, high performance director at the KNCB (Royal Dutch Cricket Association), said. &quot;Twenty teams will be competing in this year&#39;s event which makes this World Cup a truly global event, with more than a billion TV viewers worldwide. The Netherlands team will be aiming to emulate the success they had in Australia in 2022.&quot;

	In the World Cup, Ireland have been drawn in Group A alongside Canada, India, Pakistan and USA; Scotland in Group B alongside Australia, England, Namibia and Oman; and Netherlands in Group D alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

	&nbsp;

Netherlands to host Ireland and Scotland in T20I tri-series before World Cup

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the schedule for Pakistan&#39;s tour of Ireland for a three-match T20I series. The matches, which are set for May 10, 12, and 14, will take place on Castle Avenue in Dublin.

	The series is part of Pakistan&#39;s 12-match preparation for the T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies. Before Pakistan leaves for Ireland, New Zealand arrives in Pakistan in April to play five T20Is, the first of which is on April 18.

	The final game will take place on April 27. Following that, Pakistan will embark on a four-T20I tour of England, which begins on May 22.

	Pakistan&#39;s last visit to Ireland was during the hosts&#39; inaugural Test match in 2018. That was also the last time the two teams clashed in a variety of formats.

	Pakistan was set to play Ireland in two T20Is in Dublin in July 2020, however, they were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

	Ireland, meanwhile, will enter the T20Is against Pakistan after losing the ODI and T20I series against Afghanistan in the UAE earlier this month, albeit they did earn a historic first Test win in Abu Dhabi to begin off the tour.

	Pakistan and Ireland are building up to the ICC Men&#39;s T20 World Cup in June, and will meet each other on June 16 in the first Group Stage of the tournament.

	 
	&nbsp;

Ireland To Host Pakistan For Three-Match T20I Series In May

Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been ruled out of Kolkata Knight Riders&#39; IPL 2024 campaign due to injury and will be replaced in the squad by his countryman, the 16-year-old Allah Ghazanfar.

	Rajasthan Royals signed South Africa&#39;s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj as a replacement for fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who is currently recovering from surgery on his left proximal quadriceps tendon.

	Ghazanfar, also a mystery spinner, made his international debut earlier this month during the ODI series against Ireland, though he went wicketless in the two matches he played. He was Afghanistan&#39;s second highest wicket-taker at the recently concluded Under-19 World Cup, taking eight wickets at an average of 16.75. Ghazanfar has played six List A matches and three T20s. He joins KKR for his base price of INR 20 lakhs.

	Maharaj, a South Africa veteran, has played 50 Tests, 44 ODIs and 27 T20Is, with a total of 237 wickets in international cricket. Additionally, he has played in T20 leagues around the world, including for Durban&#39;s Super Giants in the SA20, and Fortune Barishal in the BPL. Maharaj, who took 15 wickets from 13 matches in this year&#39;s SA20, had arrived in India earlier this month, training with the Lucknow Super Giants squad.

	KKR, who opened their campaign with a four-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, face Royal Challengers Bengaluru next on Friday. Royals also began their season on a victorious note against Super Giants.

Mujeeb ruled out for KKR; Royals bring in Maharaj

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is investigating if Usman Khan&#39;s decision to declare his intention to play for Pakistan constitutes a breach of his contract with the UAE board.

	ESPNcricinfo understands the ECB is conducting a review of the case to assess potential breaches of contract not just with the board itself, but also with white-ball leagues he has played in the UAE as a local player, including the ILT20 and the T10.

	The decision of the review, which ECB sources told ESPNcricinfo will be finalised in the next fortnight, could carry significant ramifications for Usman. It is understood he could face a ban from league cricket in the UAE, thus depriving him of the most financially lucrative cricket he has played in his career thus far.

	If a breach of contract is deemed to have occurred, it is also set to have consequences for the player&#39;s work permit, under which he has lived in the UAE to complete the residency requirement to be able to qualify to play international cricket for the UAE; he still has 14 months to go before he satisfies that criteria.

	For his part, Usman believes he has not breached any contract, contesting that his contract includes an exit clause with a 30-day notice period. It is understood he is resigned to whatever sanction the ECB levies on him, and that the allure of playing for Pakistan when the PCB came calling after the PSL was too enticing to turn down.

	Usman was asked by the PCB if he still wished to play for Pakistan, to which he responded in the affirmative. On Monday, he was named in the Pakistan camp that is currently training with the Pakistan military in a PCB initiative to boost player fitness. He linked up with the camp on Sunday evening, and ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB are looking to fast-track him into the Pakistan side ahead of a five-match T20I series against New Zealand next month.

	In an interview with ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the PSL final - in which he was the second highest run-scorer - Usman appeared to downplay his chances of playing for Pakistan, talking up the ease of obtaining NOCs to play in leagues around the world as a UAE player, and the advantages of being considered a local player in the UAE&#39;s limited-overs leagues. But events have moved swiftly since then.

	But given he hasn&#39;t yet played international cricket for either nation, a tug of war has broken out for a player who seems at the peak of his prowess at the moment. The ECB&#39;s decision to announce an immediate review has indicated they are unwilling to roll over and let what they view as their player be poached by the PCB from under their noses.

	For Usman, the decision comes down to the attraction of playing the world&#39;s biggest tournaments - such as the T20 World Cup in June which he appears to be a shoo-in for with Pakistan - balanced against the lucrative nature of a freelance T20 specialist affiliated with the UAE. While he appears to have chosen the former over the latter for now, much may rest on the outcome of the ECB&#39;s review.

	&nbsp;

UAE investigating Pakistan-bound Usman Khan for breach of contract

Chennai Super Kings moved up to the top spot in the IPL 2024 points table after registering their second win of the competition. Shivam Dube and the fast bowlers produced commendable performances as the five-time champions defeated Gujarat Titans by 63 runs. As a result, they have 4 points from 2 matches and the best Net Run Rate (NRR) among all the ten franchises. They were followed by Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This was the first loss in two matches for GT who are currently in the sixth position with two points.

	The fortress at Chepauk stood untouched as the Chennai Super Kings registered a comprehensive 63-run win over the Gujarat Titans on Monday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

	After flying high in the first inning with the bat, Deepak Chahar provided the ideal start by picking up two wickets in the powerplay, dismissing Wriddhiman Saha (21) and skipper Shubman Gill (8).

	Despite stumbling twice, GT managed to put 43/2 on the board at the end of the powerplay.

	In the middle phase, GT started to fall behind the asking rate, making the record chase of 207 at Chepauk an unchasable dream.

	MS Dhoni showed his class with the gloves as he went airborne to take a diving catch and send Vijay Shankar back for 12.

	Sai Sudharsan (37) got off to a positive start, but David Miller (21), Vijay Shankar (12) and Azmatullah Omarzai (11) struggled to stitch up meaningful partnerships.

	Tushar Deshpande scalped two in the middle phase, while Daryl Mitchell and Matheesha Pathirana claimed a wicket each to ensure the pressure kept mounting on GT.

	Mustafizur Rahman came in to remove Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan to further put a dent on GT&#39;s chase.

	GT never threatened to chase down the target in the final six overs, as CSK inflicted GT&#39;s biggest defeat in terms of runs.

	&nbsp;

Chennai Super Kings Grab Top Spot With Massive Victory Over Gujarat Titans

UAE&#39;s Pakistan-born top-order batter Usman Khan has been called up to Pakistan&#39;s training camp with the army in Kakul. In a clear sign of Pakistan&#39;s desire to lure him to play international cricket for the country of his birth, Usman was named alongside 28 other players for the camp, which runs from March 26 to April 8.

	There is, however, no word yet from the PCB concerning Usman&#39;s inclusion, or any official change to his status as a UAE player. Over the past month, he played in the PSL as a registered overseas player, racking up the second-highest run tally in the tournament. Before the PSL, Usman also played in the ILT20, which is the UAE&#39;s own franchise T20 league, and the Abu Dhabi T10 just before that, both as a local player for the UAE.

	And earlier this month, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Usman had appeared to downplay his chances of featuring for Pakistan in the near future, citing his determination to instead complete the residency period to qualify for the UAE. However, another 14 months still remain before he becomes eligible to represent UAE.

	 
	Usman had pointed to the uncertainty in Pakistan, as well as the ease of procuring no-objection certificates from the Emirates Cricket Board, as reasons to switch allegiances. But given he has not yet played for the UAE, Usman can still switch back to Pakistan without any waiting period. However, with the speed with which developments have taken place at the PCB&#39;s end, it seems almost certain that Usman will be included in Pakistan&#39;s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, with a firm eye on the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in June.

	&nbsp;

	Imad, Amir and Rauf also part of the camp

	Pakistan&#39;s training camp also marks the return of two players who recently reversed their decisions to retire, and declared ambitions to play for Pakistan anew. Imad Wasim, whose success in the PSL and whose track record in the CPL makes him an enticing prospect for Pakistan, came out of retirement over the weekend. He was followed by Mohammad Amir, who said he still dreamed about playing for Pakistan, and was thus making himself available.

	Haris Rauf, who is currently recovering from a shoulder injury, is also included after his central contract was reinstated by the PCB.

	&nbsp;

	Pakistan training camp members :

	Aamer Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Haseebullah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Irfan Khan, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	 
	&nbsp;

UAE-bound Usman Khan included in Pakistan training camp ahead of NZ T20Is

Mohammad Amir has made himself available for selection to Pakistan for the upcoming T20 World Cup that starts on June 1 in the USA and the West Indies. Amir&#39;s last match for Pakistan was a T20I against England in 2020, and he retired from international cricket in December that year, saying he felt mentally tortured.

	&quot;I still dream to play for Pakistan!&quot; Amir, 31, said in a post on social media. &quot;Life brings us to the points where at times we have to reconsider our decisions. There have been a few positive discussions between myself and the PCB where they respectfully made me feel that I was needed and can still play for Pakistan, and after discussing with family and well wishers I declare that I am available to be considered for upcoming T20 WC. I want do this for my country as it comes before my personal decisions. Donning the green jersey and serving my country has always been, and will continue to be, my greatest aspiration.&quot;

	Amir most recently played the 2024 PSL, where he finished with 10 wickets in nine games with an economy of 8.41 for Quetta Gladiators. Amir&#39;s announcement comes a day after allrounder Imad Wasim reversed his retirement and also made himself available for selection for the T20 World Cup.

	While Amir had an unremarkable PSL campaign, his performances in the CPL in recent seasons stand him in promising stead for a World Cup that will largely be held in the West Indies. He has taken 43 wickets at an average of 14.39 and an economy rate of just 6.50. With Shaheen not at full tilt since his injury return, Naseem only recently back from a lengthy layoff and Haris Rauf currently injured, Pakistan&#39;s pace bowling stocks are depleted, potentially giving Amir the opportunity to elbow his way in.

	The decision also has ramifications for his county Derbyshire, whom he will not be linking up with when the season starts on April 5.New Zealand visit Pakistan for 5 T20Is from April 18-27, and Amir&#39;s decision to make himself available for international cricket means he will be in Pakistan during this period. In a post on social media, he thanked the county, as well as head coach Mickey Arthur, for &quot;being understanding&quot;.

	&nbsp;

Mohammad Amir comes out of retirement for T20 World Cup

Pakistan allrounder Imad Wasim will be available for T20I selection once again after he withdrew his retirement from the format on Saturday.

	In a statement on social media, Imad said he was delighted to declare his &quot;availability for Pakistan cricket in T20I format leading up to ICC T20 World Cup 2024&quot;. He told ESPNcricinfo his availability does not extend beyond the T20 World Cup that begins on June 1 and that he does not expect to sign a central contract.

	Imad last played for Pakistan over a year ago but speculation over his return had been mounting after the allrounder enjoyed a successful 2024 PSL season, culminating in a five-wicket haul in the final as his side Islamabad United won the title. Imad told ESPNcricinfo the PCB had asked him to reconsider his retirement earlier this week and said he did not have any conditions to play for Pakistan.

	Imad&#39;s all-round ability and his record in the Caribbean Premier League makes him an attractive option for Pakistan in a year where the bulk of the T20 World Cup will be held in the West Indies. His CPL record over the years is stellar - 61 wickets at an average of 18.88 and economy rate of 6.20.

	There is no word yet from the PCB on whether Imad&#39;s availability results in a change in his contractual status. While he is currently not believed to be interested in a central contract, signing one would tie him to the same NOC policy as other players, under which no player can participate in more than two T20 overseas leagues a year. As things stand, though, Imad&#39;s availability until a T20 World Cup where he looks like a selection certainty is an arrangement of convenience for all parties concerned.

	Imad has played 66 T20Is for Pakistan so far, scoring 486 runs at a strike rate of 131.70 and taking 65 wickets with an economy of 6.26.

Imad Wasim comes out of retirement for T20 World Cup

IPL has always been blessed with the biggest cricketers in the world but in its glittering exitance of 17 years, it is hard to find matches which were centred on one player alone. The IPL 2024 match no.2 between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings is so much about Rishabh Pant and him alone that it could well be the first such instance

	Pant is coming back after 15 months. He survived a horrific car crash. He was in crutches for months. Took a few more months to hold a cricket bat and some more to be declared IPL-ready. But he finally is after an immense show of grit, courage and determination.

	It&#39;s a unique amalgamation of relief and excitement between fans and experts alike to see Pant back on the cricket field. Will he still still be able hit those one-handed sixes? Can he last the entire tournament? Will he be able to keep wickets? The questions are there but so is the satisfaction to see ready to lead DC again.

	The newly-constructed Maharaja Yadavindra Singh cricket stadium in Mullanpur will have all the answers on a Saturday evening.

	It is not yet clear whether Pant will start his keeping duties immediately. In case he doesn&#39;t, DC will fall back on either West Indian Shai Hope or South Africa&#39;s Tristan Stubbs.

	DC have a potent fast-bowling arsenal but their spearhead Anrich Nortje is yet to arrive in India.

	Warner, who recently retired from Test cricket, will be hoping to make a mark and secure a spot in the T20 World Cup-bound Australian side.

	In Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Pant and Stubbs, DC have explosive batting line-up, while Anrich Nortje will lead their bowling attack in the company of Indian veteran Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

	&nbsp;

	DC Likely (If batting first):

	David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Kumar Kushagra, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	DC likely XI (If bowling first):

	David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed.&nbsp;

Will Rishabh Pant keep wickets? Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings Likely XI, PBKS vs DC head-to-head record

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been unveiled as the new captain of Chennai Super Kings a day before the opening game of IPL 2024, where defending champions CSK take on the visiting Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk. This brings to an end MS Dhoni&#39;s long stint as captain of CSK - which began in the tournament&#39;s first season back in 2008 - though he had stepped away from the position in 2022 too, when Ravindra Jadeja was made captain. But Jadeja stepped down after eight matches and Dhoni took back the reins, continuing in 2023 when CSK won the trophy for the fifth time and drew level with Mumbai Indians at the top of the title leaderboard.

	That triumph was widely expected to be Dhoni&#39;s IPL farewell - he had retired from international cricket following the 2019 World Cup - but he vowed to return for at least one more season if his body allowed it. Troubled by a knee issue right through the 2023 season, Dhoni underwent surgery days after the final. The 42-year-old joined CSK&#39;s pre-season camp in Chennai earlier this month.

	In all, Dhoni captained CSK in 235 of their 249 games in all competitions, leading them to two titles in the defunct Champions League T20 to go with the five IPL titles, in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Such was CSK&#39;s consistency under Dhoni&#39;s leadership, that the team finished outside the top four in just two seasons - 2020 and 2022 - while also reaching the final 10 times, including four consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013.

	He also captained Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 games during CSK&#39;s two-year ban from the IPL in 2016 and 2017. In all, he led teams in 226 IPL games, which puts him far ahead of Rohit Sharma (158) on the captaincy leaderboard.

	The size of the shoes Gaikwad steps into can be gauged by Dhoni&#39;s win-loss ratio of 1.461 in the IPL, a figure bettered only by Hardik Pandya (2.444) and Steven Smith (1.470) among captains who have led teams in 20 or more matches.

	The 27-year-old Gaikwad has been tipped to take over from Dhoni ever since he finished the 2021 IPL season - his second in the competition - with a chart-topping 635 runs. The Maharashtra batter has since grown into one of CSK&#39;s most consistent performers, and his run-scoring feats in the IPL have earned him a place on the immediate periphery of India&#39;s first-choice white-ball squads. He has played 6 ODIs and 19 T20Is so far.

	With 1797 runs from 52 matches at an average of 39.06 and a strike rate of 135.52, Gaikwad is currently CSK&#39;s seventh-highest run-getter. Among the first issues he is expected to handle as captain is deciding who he will open alongside, with his regular partner Devon Conway ruled out until May with a thumb injury.

	Gaikwad has himself only just recovered from a finger injury, and has only played one competitive game in 2024 - a Ranji Trophy match against Services, where he top-scored with 96 in Maharashtra&#39;s first innings.

MS Dhoni hands over CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings&#39; designated death bowler Matheesha Pathirana will miss the start of IPL 2024 due to a hamstring injury. The 21-year-old Sri Lanka slinger sustained the injury during the second T20I against Bangladesh in Sylhet earlier this month, when he was unable to finish his spell.

	Pathirana also missed the third T20I against Bangladesh, and has since been undergoing rehab with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) physio. ESPNcricinfo understands that he will join CSK&#39;s squad once he gets clearance from SLC.

	Pathirana&#39;s injury is a major blow to CSK, who are already without New Zealand opener Devon Conway, who has been sidelined until May with a thumb injury. Pathirana&#39;s economy rate of 8.00 at the death (between overs 16 and 20) was the best among bowlers who had bowled at least 90 balls during this phase in IPL 2023. He also emerged as the leading wicket-taker during that phase, with 18 strikes in 12 innings.

	Pathirana&#39;s absence could potentially open up a slot for Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman, who also operates at the death. Mustafizur had suffered cramps, and a stretcher was required to carry him off the field in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Chattogram on March 18. But he has since recovered to join CSK in Chennai, and is available for the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 22. If the Chepauk pitch is a turner, though, CSK also have the option of including Moeen Ali in their team ahead of Mustafizur, along with Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Maheesh Theekshana.

	Dwayne Bravo, CSK&#39;s bowling coach, had stressed on the importance on death bowling in the lead-up to the tournament. Shardul Thakur, who has returned to CSK after two seasons, is among their options in Pathirana&#39;s absence.

	&quot;Death bowling is my speciality. I believe that in T20s, [death overs] is a very important segment of the game,&quot; Bravo had said at an event in Chennai last week. &quot;It requires a lot of skill, bravery and planning - from preparation in practice to the games, match awareness, and situations.

	&quot;You have to implement it in practice and get these guys to believe in philosophy and work towards it. Last year, we had the best death-bowling team, and we look forward to repeating it&hellip; Shardul [Thakur] is also back, which gives more depth. It is always good to have depth in the squad.&quot;

	Meanwhile, CSK&#39;s designated spin-hitter Shivam Dube, who had missed the Ranji Trophy knockouts with injury, has also linked up with his IPL side after completing his rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

	CSK, the defending champions, begin their IPL 2024 campaign with back-to-back home games against Royal Challengers (March 22) and Gujarat Titans (March 26).

	&nbsp;

Pathirana to miss start of IPL 2024 due to hamstring injury

Gujarat Titans have gone for a like-for-like replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami, roping in fast bowler Sandeep Warrier.

	Warrier, the Kerala-origin India international who now represents Tamil Nadu, has played five IPL games - all with Kolkata Knight Riders between 2019 and 2021. The 32-year-old has also been with Royal Challengers Bangalore (2013-15) and Mumbai Indians (2023) without getting a game.

	Warrier joins a fast-bowling group that includes Mohit Sharma, Josh Little, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, Kartik Tyagi, Darshan Nalkande and Sushant Mishra.

	Shami, who underwent ankle surgery in London after finishing as India&#39;s highest wicket-taker at the 2023 ODI World Cup, has also been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in June. His return is slated for late 2024.

	The Titans will also miss Matthew Wade for their first two games, with the keeper-batter set to play for Tasmania at the Sheffield Shield final. Jharkhand batter Robin Minz is also in doubt. The two-time finalists and IPL 2022 champions will be led by Shubman Gill this season after Hardik Pandya left for Mumbai Indians. The two teams will face off in their season-opener on Sunday evening.

	&nbsp;

Gujarat Titans sign Sandeep Warrier as Mohammed Shami's replacement

To increase the accuracy and speed of decision-making, IPL 2024 will have the Smart Replay System.

	ESPNcricinfo has learned that under the Smart Replay System, the TV umpire will receive inputs directly from two Hawk-Eye operators who will be sitting in the same room as the umpire and provide him with images captured by Hawk-Eye&#39;s eight hi-speed cameras across the ground. The TV broadcast director, who used to be a conduit between the third umpire and the Hawk-Eye operators until now, will no longer be involved under the new system.

	It is understood that the Smart Replay System will allow the TV umpire to refer to more visuals than they previously had access to, including split-screen images. Take the example of a relay catch taken mid-air by the first fielder on the boundary rope. In the past, the broadcaster was unable to provide a split screen of the fielder&#39;s feet and hands at the precise moment when the ball was caught. Under the new system, a split screen can show the umpire when the ball was caught, or released, alongside synchronised footage of the feet.

	Similarly, a split screen can now show, in case of an overthrow that goes for four, whether the batters had crossed or not when the fielder released the ball (think 2019 World Cup final for an example of a specific use case). Previously the TV umpire did not get such clear visuals, primarily because the broadcaster couldn&#39;t marry the two images.

	There are eight Hawk-Eye cameras at any match: two on each side of the ground on the straight boundaries and two on each side square of the wicket. Until IPL 2023, Hawk-Eye cameras were mainly used for ball tracking and UltraEdge. So, outside of checks for lbws and edges, the broadcaster largely used footage from their own cameras for any on-field referral. That included referrals for stumpings, run-outs, catches and overthrows.

	In the case of a stumping referral, under the Smart Review System, the TV umpire can ask the Hawk-Eye operators to show him the split screen. In case there is a visible gap when the ball passed bat, he will not ask for the UltraEdge (to see if it was a caught behind) and instead directly proceed to check the side-on replay for the stumping. If the TV umpire doesn&#39;t see a clear gap between bat and ball, only then he will refer to UltraEdge.

	For stumpings, the new system will show the TV umpire tri-vision - essentially footage from side-on cameras as well as from front-on in a single frame. The front-on camera angle is important because it gives an accurate picture of bails being removed. Previously the broadcaster would show the side-on angle from each side along with footage from Stump Cam. But Stump Cam records the action at a low speed of approximately 50 frames per second, as opposed to the Hawk-Eye cameras which record at approximately 300 frames per second, meaning there will now be more accurate footage for the umpires to base their decision on.

	The Smart Review System is also likely to provide more clarity in the case of a catch taken inches off the turf. Such referrals have in the past sparked debate over the TV umpire&#39;s decision, with the video evidence upon which that decision was based seemingly not conclusive. Under the old system, the TV umpire would ask the TV director to provide him with the best angle available to provide clarity on whether the ball bounced before the fielder pouched it or if the fingers were under the ball. Even the zoomed-in visuals did not always provide conclusive evidence.

	Now, under the Smart Review System, Hawk-Eye will show a single frame straightaway with images from front-on and side-on angles. The TV umpire can then choose to zoom in from a particular angle.

	It is understood that the conversations between the TV umpire and the Hawk-Eye operator are likely to be aired live, allowing the viewer to understand the thought process behind decisions better.

	Speed of play is critical in T20 cricket, and the Smart Review System aims to hop over unnecessary steps to arrive at the right decision in the smallest amount of time. One good example is lbw reviews. The protocol so far involves the TV umpire being provided initially with Spin Vision, which comes from a camera that is positioned in front of the wickets outside the boundary on each side of the pitch. If the ball is close to the bat, the TV umpire would then ask to check UltraEdge. Once satisfied there was no bat involved, he would then proceed to check ball tracking. Under the Smart Review System, if the Hawk-Eye operator spots that the ball had pitched outside leg, he will tell the TV umpire immediately and they will then prioritise ball tracking.

	The ECB has previously trialled a similar referral system in the Hundred.

	The BCCI conducted a two-day workshop on the new system in Mumbai on Sunday and Monday for select umpires. It is learned that about 15 umpires, comprising both Indian and overseas umpires, will work with the Smart Replay System during IPL 2024 which starts on March 22.

	 
	&nbsp;

IPL introduces Smart Replay System for quicker, more accurate reviews

For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans, Ee Sala Cup Namde, which roughly translates to &ldquo;this year the Cup is ours&rdquo;, finally turned into a reality as Smriti Mandhana-led side made it count when it mattered the most for them, beating Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets to lift the Women&rsquo;s Premier League (WPL) title at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium on Sunday. As a result, this is the title for the RCB franchise in both men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s cricket.

	Until the big final, Smriti Mandhana-led RCB had to endure losses in their four previous head-to-head meetings with the Capitals at the WPL.

	Delhi Capitals had themselves to blame for their adventurous approach in the final after opting to bat on a Kotla track where there was spin on offer for the slower bowlers.

	The Capitals were on track till the powerplay with young Shafali Verma (44) and skipper Meg Lanning (23) setting the tone with a 64-run opening stand before the RCB spinners got into their act with Sophie Molineux (3/20) striking thrice in the 8th over to reduce the hosts to 64/3.

	Thereafter, it was one-way traffic for the RCB spinners, making full use of the conditions, with Shreyanka Patil (4/12) and Asha Sobhana (2/14) running through the middle and lower order batting to eventually bundle the home side for 113 in 18.3 overs. The RCB spin trio accounted for 9 of the 10 wickets and in return leaked mere 46 runs from their combined 10.4 overs.

	In reply, Sophie Devine (32) and captain Smriti (31) got RCB to a strong start by putting on 49 runs with Devine unleashing her full range of shots against Delhi spinner Radha Yadav before being trapped in front by Shikha Pandey. But the joy was momentary for the Kotla crowd that turned up in numbers as Smriti and Australian star Elise Perry (35 not out) added 32 runs for the second wicket to take RCB within sniffing distance of the victory before Smriti departed.

	Needing another 32, young Richa Ghosh (17 not out) and Perry kept the required run-rate under control and ensured that there were no more hiccups in RCB&rsquo;s way to lift the WPL trophy as the RCB players rushed into the middle to celebrate the moment.

	Star all-rounder Elise Perry took the Orange Cap after ending as the tournament&rsquo;s highest run-scorer with 346 runs while Shreyanka Patil bagged the Purple Cap, picking 13 scalps.

Perry and spinners steer RCB to WPL title

Dilshan Madushanka, who left the field during Sri Lanka&#39;s second ODI against Bangladesh on Friday, has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour and is unlikely to play the first few matches of the IPL, where he is a part of Mumbai Indians.

	In a statement on Sunday morning, Sri Lanka Cricket said that an MRI scan has confirmed that Madushanka &quot;has suffered a left hamstring injury&quot;, and he will &quot;return [home] to start rehabilitation work&quot;.

	&quot;We got the report on his injury only today [Sunday], and it shows a small tear,&quot; Sri Lanka team manager Mahinda Halangoda said. &quot;It&#39;s a new injury. We&#39;re not yet sure how long it will take for him to recover, but he&#39;ll have to be assessed again when he goes home by the medical team at the high-performance centre. For now we know he&#39;s out of the ODI tomorrow for sure.&quot;

	In the second ODI in Chattogram, which Sri Lanka won by three wickets to level the series with one to play, Madushanka opened the bowling and picked up the first two Bangladesh wickets to fall, but went off after bowling just 6.4 overs.

	Madushanka, and his Sri Lanka colleague Nuwan Thushara, were among the new players acquired by Mumbai Indians in the latest IPL auction, held in December last year. Madushanka was brought on board for INR 4.6 crore (US$554,000 approx.), and formed formidable fast-bowling line-up alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorff, Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar and Thushara; captain Hardik Pandya, Romario Shepherd and Anshul Kamboj are also in the line-up as fast-bowling allrounders.

	Madushanka picked up two wickets each in the two ODIs in Bangladesh, and now has 41 wickets from 23 ODIs (average 24.87) to go with 14 wickets from 14 T20Is (economy 9.41). He made his Test debut against Pakistan in Colombo in July last year, but went wicketless in one innings of bowling.

	There is some doubt over Coetzee&#39;s participation in the IPL as well. While he has linked up with Mumbai Indians, Coetzee is understood to be recovering from a groin injury and is being monitored by the Mumbai Indians medical team. He last played competitively in the Boxing Day Test against India in Centurion, where he developed pelvic inflammation and was unable to take part in the next match, the SA20 or the opening rounds of the domestic T20 tournament.

Madushanka to miss rest of Bangladesh tour, initial stages of IPL 2024

The stop clock to help speed up over rates will become a permanent feature in men&#39;s ODIs and T20Is between Full Members from June 1, the ICC announced after its board meetings in Dubai this week.

	According to the rule, which has been trialled in international cricket since December last year, the fielding side must be ready to start an over within a minute of the previous one ending. If they fail to do so, they will be allowed two warnings by the umpires, after which a five-run penalty will be imposed for the third offence and every subsequent one.

	&quot;The results of the stop-clock trial were presented to the Chief Executives&#39; Committee (CEC), which demonstrated that around 20 minutes per ODI match had been saved in time,&quot; an ICC said in a statement laying out the reasons for making the rule permanent. During the trial period, no team was found to have exceeded the one-minute limit between overs three times in an innings, and so the five-run penalty has not yet been imposed for this offence.

	In addition to the stop clock, there are two other penalties that can be imposed to police over-rates in limited-overs cricket - a fielding penalty and monetary fines.

	The fielding penalty is laid out as follows: if the fielding side fails to begin the final over of the innings by the stipulated cut-off time, after accounting for delays, they will have to bring an extra fielder into the 30-yard circle for however many overs are remaining in the innings. So they will be allowed only four fielders outside the circle, instead of five, for the duration of the penalty. This rule, introduced in early 2022, applies to both men&#39;s and women&#39;s limited-overs games.

	The monetary fine includes a 5% cut in the team&#39;s match fee for every over they are short of the minimum required over rate, after the umpires have taken into account allowances for unavoidable delays. The fine for the captain is double that of his team-mates, and the fines are capped at 50% of the match fee.

	&nbsp;

	2024 T20 World Cup: 10 overs minimum for knockout games

	&nbsp;

	The 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June will have reserve days in place for the semi-finals and final, in case of delays and interruptions. And each of those knockout games will require a minimum of 10 overs per innings to constitute a completed game. For the group stages, the minimum requirement remains five-overs-per-side to constitute a match, as is the norm for T20 cricket.

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	2026 T20 World Cup qualification at stake in 2024 edition

	&nbsp;

	The 2026 Men&#39;s T20 World Cup, like the upcoming edition, will comprise 20 teams, with 12 automatic qualifiers: the two hosts India and Sri Lanka as well as the other teams that make the Super Eights at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Then, two to four teams (it will be fewer than four if India or Sri Lanka finish outside the top eight in 2024) are decided by who are the next highest-ranked teams in the ICC&#39;s T20I rankings on June 30, 2024. The remaining eight spots for 2026 will be decided through the usual regional qualifiers pathway.

	&nbsp;

ICC makes between-overs stop clock a permanent feature in ODIs, T20Is

Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade on Friday said he will retire from first-class cricket after the upcoming Sheffield Shield final, but will remain available for selection in white-ball formats.

	The Sheffield Shield final between Tasmania and Western Australia, beginning here on March 21, will be Wade&rsquo;s final red-ball match of a career that started in 2012.

	After that game, the left-handed batter will join Gujarat Titans for IPL 2024, though he will miss the first couple of matches as the Shield final clashes with the league&rsquo;s schedule.

	&ldquo;I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that the long-form game provides, and although I will continue to play white ball cricket, wearing the baggy green while playing for my country remains a highlight of my career,&rdquo; said Wade in a statement.

	Wade appeared in 36 Tests for Australia and made 1613 runs with four centuries at an average of 29.87.

	His last Test appearance was against India at Brisbane in 2021 after which lost his place to Alex Carey.

	&ldquo;Red-ball cricket has always been my number one and favourite format. What I&rsquo;m going to miss is sitting down after four days of really grinding it out in a First-Class game and having a beer with your teammates.

	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played franchise leagues around the world and you don&rsquo;t get that feeling,&rdquo; he added.

	However, Wade has developed himself as a finisher in T20 format in recent years, and played a significant role in Australia&rsquo;s triumphant run in the T20 World Cup 2021.

	His unbeaten 41 off just 17 balls against Pakistan in the semifinal at Dubai remains one of his most memorable knocks.

Wade to retire from first-class cricket after Sheffield Shield final

England batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from IPL 2024 to be with his grieving family following the death of his grandmother in February.

	&quot;I can confirm that I have made the very difficult decision not to play in the upcoming IPL,&quot; Brook said in a statement. &quot;I was so excited to be picked by Delhi Capitals and was so looking forward to joining up with everyone. Whilst I don&#39;t think I should need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this.

	&quot;I lost my grandmother last month - she was a rock to me and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home; my attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather. When at home, there would hardly be a day go by that didn&#39;t include seeing her. It makes me so happy that she was able to see me play cricket for England. I&#39;m proud that she could collect some of the awards I have won over the last couple of years when I couldn&#39;t be there and I know she enjoyed doing that.

	Brook had also pulled out of England&#39;s recent five-Test series in India from January to March after being part of the pre-tour training camp in the UAE. He left the team in the UAE and did not travel to Hyderabad for the first match.

	&quot;I made the decision to leave the India Test tour the night before we flew from Abu Dhabi to India because I was told for the first time that my grandmother was ill and didn&#39;t have long left,&quot; he added. &quot;Now that she has passed my family and I are grieving and I need to be around them. Over the last few years I have learned to prioritise my mental wellbeing and that of my family&#39;s, honestly nothing is more important to me than family. So whilst this may come as surprising to some, I know it&#39;s the right decision for me. I&#39;m young and hope to have many, many more years of cricket to come which I intend to make the absolute most of.

	&quot;I couldn&#39;t be more grateful for the support I have received, especially from the ECB and Delhi Capitals, thank you.&quot;

	The statement comes ten days before Capitals play their first match of the season - against Punjab Kings on March 23 in Mullanpur. There has been no information on whether Capitals will look for a replacement player for Brook, whom they had bought for INR 4 crore (US$ 482,000 approximately) at the auction in December.

	Brook, 25, made his IPL debut in the 2023 season after Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for INR 13.25 crore (US$ 1.6 million approximately) based on the power-hitting he displayed in the T20Is in Pakistan in 2022. In his maiden IPL season, however, Brook scored only 190 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 123.37; one of those innings was an unbeaten 100 off 55 balls against KKR.

	The Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had told media that the team management led by Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting had slotted Brook as No.6 to add strength to a batting order comprising David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant.

	Brook&#39;s absence leaves Capitals with an overseas roster comprising Warner, Marsh, Tristan Stubbs, Shai Hope, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Jhye Richardson. Capitals had finished ninth out of ten last season, having won only five out of 14 games under Warner&#39;s captaincy. They will be led in IPL 2024 by Pant, who was given clearance to play as a wicketkeeper-batter by the BCCI after recovering from injuries suffered in a car accident in December 2022.

Harry Brook withdraws from IPL 2024 following grandmother's death

Former captain of Sri Lanka, Lahiru Thirimanne was hospitalised on Thursday morning following a catastrophic head-on collision involving the car he was traveling in close to the country&rsquo;s north-central city of Anuradhapura, says a report.

	According to ESPNcricinfo, the exact nature of Thirimanne&rsquo;s injury is not understood yet, but he is presently in stable condition at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital.

	&ldquo;At least one other passenger from the car Thirimanne was in, is also receiving care at the same hospital. Thirimanne is understood to have been on pilgrimage when the accident occurred. Essentially the car had crashed into a lorry traveling in the opposite direction,&quot; quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

	Thirimanne played 26 T20Is, 127 ODIs, and 44 Test matches after making his debut on the international scene in 2010. He participated in three T20 World Cups, one of which saw Sri Lanka win in 2014, and two ODI World Cups. He captained Sri Lanka in five one-day matches as well. His final outing abroad took place in March 2022. After 13 years of play, he announced his retirement from international cricket in July 2023.

Sri Lankan cricketer Lahiru Thirimanne and family hospitalized after car accident 

Rishabh Pant, who is set to make his long-awaited comeback in the IPL later this month, can play the T20 World Cup for India &quot;if he can keep [wicket],&quot; said BCCI secretary Jay Shah. Pant has been out of action since a horrific car accident in December 2022.

	&quot;He is batting well, he is keeping well. We will declare him fit very soon,&quot; Shah told PTI. &quot;If he can play the T20 World Cup for us, that will be a big thing for us. He is a big asset for us. If he can keep, he can play the World Cup. Let&#39;s see how he does in the IPL.&quot;

	The accident had left Pant with a severe right knee injury that required a ligament reconstruction surgery besides a fractured wrist and ankle.

	His head coach at Delhi Capitals, Ricky Ponting, had already said that Pant would play the IPL. Last month, Capitals&#39; co-owner Parth Jindal told ESPNcricinfo that Pant &quot;has started his wicketkeeping&quot;. Jindal also said Pant was &quot;likely to be fully fit for the IPL&quot; and that he expected Pant to &quot;lead from match one&quot;.

	&nbsp;

	Shami expected to be back later this year

	Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who is recuperating from an ankle surgery, is expected to make his comeback during the home Test series against Bangladesh later this year, Shah said. Shami underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon in London in February.

	Shami missed the five-match Test series against England, and will also sit out of the IPL. He last played for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was a standout performer. India will host Bangladesh for two Tests and three T20 internationals in September.

	&quot;Shami&#39;s surgery is done; he is back in India,&quot; Shah said. &quot;Shami&#39;s return is likely for the home series against Bangladesh. KL Rahul needed an injection, he has started rehab and is at the NCA.&quot;

	Rahul missed the last four Tests of the England series after complaining of pain in his right quadriceps. He is expected to turn out for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, having undergone treatment in London. However, it is understood that Rahul still awaiting clearance to join Super Giants.

Pant can play T20 World Cup if he can keep wicket - BCCI secretary Jay Shah

Kolkata Knight Riders have brought in Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy for IPL 2024 after Roy pulled out citing &quot;personal reasons&quot;. Having remained unsold in the latest auction after representing Delhi Capitals last year, this will be Salt&#39;s second season in the IPL. He was acquired by KKR at his reserve auction price of INR 1.5 crore (approx $181,000).

	Salt&#39;s most recent T20I appearances came in December 2023 in the Caribbean, where he recorded scores of 40, 25, 109 not out, 119 and 38, topping the run-scoring charts with his 331 runs, at a strike rate of 185.95. Unfortunately for him, the two centuries came on December 16 and 19, the latter the date of the auction. With Roy opting out, though, he became an option for KKR.

	His 48-ball century in the fourth T20I in the West Indies is the joint-fastest in the format for England, and Salt now has a stellar T20 record, with 5308 runs from 221 innings at a strike rate of 153.41 and an average of 25.89. And he has played around the world, too, including in the BBL, the Caribbean Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, and in leagues in Sri Lanka, the UAE and South Africa.

	Roy, for his part, hasn&#39;t had a regular run at the IPL despite his reputation as a short-format champion, even though he has been around a bit, playing for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2017, Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in 2018, and subsequently for Sunrisers Hyderabad and KKR; he had been acquired by KKR at the December 2023 auction for INR 2.8 crore.

	This, though, isn&#39;t the first time he has opted out of the IPL. He had withdrawn in 2020 (Capitals) for personal reasons and then in 2022 (Gujarat Titans) when he took an &quot;indefinite break&quot; from the game.

	The swap doesn&#39;t change the overseas/Indian balance of the KKR line-up. Salt becomes an option for the opening slot along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with Sherfane Rutherford the other specialist overseas batter in the mix. That aside, they have old regulars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, as well as quick bowlers Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera, who had earlier replaced Gus Atkinson, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the fingerspinner.

	Shreyas Iyer is the designated captain of the side, which will play its IPL 2024 opener on the second day of the tournament, March 23, against Sunrisers at home in Kolkata&#39;s Eden Gardens.

Phil Salt replaces Jason Roy at KKR

The BCCI has announced a &quot;Test Cricket Incentive Scheme&quot; that will increase a player&#39;s match fee by 300% if he features in more than 75% of the Tests played during a season.

	&quot;This scheme is not only designed to encourage players to engage in the purest format of the sport but also addresses the evolving dynamics of the cricketing landscape, ensuring parity with match fees in other formats and league cricket,&quot; the BCCI said in a statement, with president Roger Binny saying, &quot;This initiative aligns with our vision of promoting Test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport.&quot;

	ESPNcricinfo has learnt the move was recommended by Ajit Agarkar&#39;s selection panel to encourage cricketers to give importance to first-class cricket. The scheme will come into effect retrospectively from 2022-23.

	This means that someone like Cheteshwar Pujara, who featured in seven of the nine Tests (77.8%) India played in the 2022-23 season, will earn INR 45 lakh per Test in addition to his match fee of INR 15 lakh per Test. This amounts to a total sum of INR 4.2 crore (including incentives), as against the INR 1.05 crore he would have earned, as a reward for &quot;prioritising&quot; Test cricket.

	In a social-media post, made soon after India&#39;s innings win in Dharamsala that helped them beat England 4-1, BCCI secretary Jay Shah emphasised that this was a &quot;step aimed at providing financial growth and stability&quot; to Test players.

	According to the new scheme, players featuring in 50-75% of Tests in a season will stand to earn INR 30 lakh per Test (in addition to their match fees), while those who play in less than 50% of the games will not be eligible for the scheme. This incentive, however, isn&#39;t linked to BCCI&#39;s annual retainers, which is a separate component.

	Late last month, while announcing the annual retainers for 2023-24 that increased the player pool from the existing 26 to 30, the board hadn&#39;t mentioned the amounts for the four contract categories, but ESPNcricinfo has learned that they are likely to go up.

	This, however, wasn&#39;t part of the announcement on Saturday. Last year, players in the A+ bracket earned INR 7 crore, A earned INR 5 crore, B took home INR 3 crore, and C got INR 1 crore.

	Additionally, the board had announced fast-bowling contracts for five players - Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, V Kaverappa and Yash Dayal - to ensure they have access to BCCI&#39;s NCA facility all year round, apart from being eligible to avail the board&#39;s insurance scheme to cover for surgeries and recuperation from injuries.

	The development comes at a time where the BCCI has sent out a clear message to players to prioritise domestic - especially first-class - cricket. In a letter addressed to all contracted players, Shah asked players to &quot;prove&quot; themselves in domestic cricket if they aspired to play for the country and warned that non-participation would have &quot;severe implications&quot;.

	This came in the wake of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer choosing to skip the Ranji Trophy for their respective teams despite not being in the national team. Both of them were left out of the list of 30 players who were handed the central contracts.

	 
	&nbsp;

Indian players stand to earn INR 45-60 lakhs per Test

India captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill struck sublime hundreds as India pressed the advantage in the fifth Test against England by reaching 264 for one at lunch on Day 2. Rohit (102 batting off 160 balls) and Gill (101 batting off 142 balls) walked out in the middle in bright sunshine and milked the conditions to take India well past England&#39;s first innings total of 218 after resuming the innings at 135 for one. En route to their brilliant partnership, Rohit went on to equal Sachin Tendulkar&#39;s record of scoring the most number of centuries in international cricket after turning 30, for an Indian.

	Both Rohit and Sachin have now scored 35 centuries each since turning 30. The list overall, however, is led by Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara who has 43 hundreds to his name since turning 30.

	&nbsp;

	Cricketers with most centuries in international cricket after turning 30:
<ol>
	<li>
		43 - Kumar Sangakkara</li>
	<li>
		36 - Matthew Hayden</li>
	<li>
		36 - Ricky Ponting</li>
	<li>
		35 - Rohit Sharma</li>
	<li>
		35 - Sachin Tendulkar</li>
</ol>

	&nbsp;

	As for the match, India led the visitors by 46 runs at lunch and were on course for a massive first innings total. England tried everything to contain them, whether it was employing the leg-slip for Rohit when Shoaib Bashir was in operation or Mark Wood using the odd short ball against the opening duo with as many as six fielders on the leg side.

	However, nothing worked for the visitors despite the Barmy Army making a lot more noise than the Indian fans at the stunning HPCA stadium. Rohit and Gill collected 129 runs from 30 overs in the two hours of play.

	Rohit and Gill, who were batting on 52 and 26 overnight, gave themselves an over each after start of play before going for their strokes.

	Off-spinner Bashir opened the bowling alongside veteran pacer James Anderson and was put under immense pressure by Rohit, who deposited him for a straight six and a four in his second over to set the tone.

	Gill, who played some audacious strokes on the opening day, carried on in the same vein as he took two steps forward against the great Anderson for a straight six, which was followed by a square cut.

	The only real chance that England had in the session went begging when Zak Crawley could not latch on to a sharp catch offered by Rohit at leg-slip.

	Mark Wood replaced Anderson and Gill put him under the pump with a square cut and a beautiful cover drive. Sixty runs in 15 overs in the first hour of play summed up India&#39;s intent.

	Bashir returned for his second spell but Gill ensured he did not settle down by smashing for a maximum over the bowler&#39;s head. The off-spinner then decided to go round the wicket but to no avail.

	Rohit completed his 12th Test hundred and second of the series by flicking Tom Hartley for a single.

	Two ball later, Gill followed him into three digits by slog-sweeping Bashir for a four. After completing his second ton of the series, Gill took his helmet off and bowed to the spectators in the stands including his proud father.

Rohit Sharma Equals Sachin Tendulkar's Monumental Record With Century In Dharamsala

Hamilton Masakadza has resigned as Zimbabwe Cricket&#39;s director of cricket after the team failed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean. Masakadza had been appointed to the post in October 2019 after he retired from international cricket.

	Masakadza&#39;s resignation comes three months after Dave Houghton had stepped down as head coach.

	&quot;This decision has come about after careful consideration of the successes and failures of our cricket and my responsibilities,&quot; Masakadza said in his resignation letter. &quot;As much as there has been a lot of progress in my tenure, the fact remains that we are the only Full Member nation not participating at the next T20 World Cup after our shock loss to Uganda.

	&quot;This was indeed one of the lowest points of my career and I take full responsibility as Director of Cricket.&quot;

	Under Masakadza&#39;s tenure, though, Zimbabwe had qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where they progressed to the Super 12s. Masakadza also oversaw the successful staging of the Men&#39;s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022 and the Men&#39;s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 in Zimbabwe. Masakadza is now open to working in a different capacity for Zimbabwe Cricket.

	&quot;This decision was a very difficult one to make and I remain fully committed to Zimbabwe Cricket and would very much be interested in serving in a different capacity as the organisation looks forward to hosting the Men&#39;s Under-19 World Cup in 2026 and the Men&#39;s 50-over World Cup in 2027,&quot; Masakadza said.

Hamilton Masakadza steps down as Zimbabwe director of cricket

India&#39;s spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday reached the milestone of 100 Test matches, with his appearance in the fifth and final game against England in Dharamshala. He was felicitated by India&#39;s head coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the game for achieveing the feat. Ashwin, who is one of the most successful all-rounders of the modern era, credited the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, besides thanking his family on playing playing the 100th Test of his career.

	&quot;I mean, I&#39;ve been lucky and blessed to have Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara at slip and leg slip. I had Virat Kohli at short midwicket, Pujara at leg slip, Ajinkya at slip forever. That is impenetrable. If I have to thank someone beyond my family, it&#39;s those three. Along with Rohit (Sharma) taking some catches at short leg. Rohit has filled in for Ajinkya at slip,&quot; Ashwin told The Cricket Monthly.

	Before the match on the green fields of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) amid the beautiful and snowy mountains, Ashwin received a special cap meant to symbolise his 100th Test appearance, a privilege that only 13 Indians could get before him.

	Now, he has joined the elite company of Sachin Tendulkar (200 Tests), Rahul Dravid (163 Tests), VVS Laxman (134 Tests), Anil Kumble (132 Tests), Kapil Dev (131 Tests), Sunil Gavaskar (125 Tests), Dilip Vengesarkar (116 Tests), Saurav Ganguly and Virat Kohli (113 Tests), Ishant Sharma (105 Tests), Cheteshwar Pujara, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag (103 Tests) in the elite company of Indian players having made a century of matches in white coloured clothing.

	Present with Ashwin during the felicitation ceremony was his wife Prithi and his children, who were also really happy to see the Indian legend receive this special honour of playing a century of Tests for the Asian giants.

	Following this, a special guard of honour was also given to Ashwin by his teammates as they took to the field for the match.

Ravichandran Ashwin's Special Mention To "Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma" On Playing 100th Test

India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is set to play his final IPL season this year when he appears for Royal Challengers Bangalore over the next two months. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Karthik, who turns 39 in June, will also make a final decision soon on his international future.

	Karthik, who started his IPL career at Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) is part of a select group of seven players to have featured in every season of the IPL since the BCCI launched the tournament in 2008, along with MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey. Perhaps more impressively, Karthik has missed just two matches in 16 seasons.

	The first one was in his maiden season, against Kolkata Knight Riders and second was in 2023 when Karthik sat out the league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

	Karthik endured a poor 2023 IPL with the bat, scoring just 140 runs overall with an average of just over 11. It was a total contrast to the stellar season he enjoyed in 2022, the year Royal Challengers bought Karthik at the auction for INR 5.5 crore (US$ 662,000 approx.). Mainly playing the role of the finisher, for which he trained diligently on his power-hitting pre-season, Karthik scored 330 runs in 16 matches at an average of 55 and an explosive strike-rate of 183.33. Karthik was one of the key reasons Royal Challengers reached the play-offs that season, before bowing out in the second qualifier.

	The scorching IPL form earned Karthik a berth in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. However, he managed just 14 runs in three innings as India lost to eventual champions England in the semi-finals.

	The current stint with Royal Challengers is Karthik&#39;s second, having played a single season with them before in 2015. Overall, Karthik has represented six IPL teams: starting with Daredevils (2008-14), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings - 2011), Mumbai Indians (2012-13), Gujarat Lions (2016-17), Knight Riders (2018-21) and Royal Challengers (2015, 2022-present). Overall in 240 matches, Karthik has scored 4516 runs at an average of nearly 26, striking at over 132 with 20 half centuries. As a keeper, Karthik is second on list behind Dhoni in overall dismissals (133) as well as stumpings (36).

	An established captain at Tamil Nadu, Karthik has also led in the IPL - on six occasions as an stand-in skipper at Daredevils, and 37 matches between 2018-20 at Knight Riders before he stepped down. Overall, his captaincy record reads: 21 wins, 21 losses and one tied match.

	Even as he gets ready to say farewell to cricket as a player, Karthik has already settled into what is deemed to be a second career. In 2021, while he continued playing, Karthik simultaneously got his feet wet in broadcasting, working as a pundit for the inaugural World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand and then at the Hundred. Karthik is now well established as a broadcaster, currently doing commentary in the India-England Test series.

	Royal Challengers will play the tournament opener against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 23 at his home ground in Chepauk.

	 
	&nbsp;

Dinesh Karthik set to end IPL career after 2024 season

Ireland are contemplating postponing their first ever men&#39;s bilateral series against Australia due to financial and logistical pressures.

	Under the Future Tours Programme, Australia are scheduled to tour Ireland for three ODIs and a one-off T20I in August and September before journeying to England for further white-ball series.

	But the likely strains of a hectic home summer ahead for Ireland has forced a reconsideration of the Australia fixtures and whether they can feasibly go ahead. Australia have previously played one-off ODIs in Ireland around tours to England.

	Pakistan and South Africa are set to tour for white-ball series, while Ireland will also host a T20 tri-series with the Netherlands and Scotland. Ireland, who just recently won their first ever Test match against Afghanistan, are set to play Zimbabwe in a one-off Test and white-ball cricket. Ireland have not hosted a Test match since their debut against Pakistan in 2018.

	England, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands are also earmarked to tour Ireland in women&#39;s cricket. Ireland&#39;s home schedule is expected to be announced within a fortnight.

	&quot;What we had in the FTP as a whole... it&#39;s a real challenge to deliver all of it. We&#39;ve got almost too much cricket for the amount of venues that we&#39;ve got,&quot; Cricket Ireland high performance director Richard Holdsworth told ESPNcricinfo.

	&quot;Costs of putting on games in Ireland have gone up considerably since Covid. Hotel prices, putting up temporary infrastructure for grounds have gone up astronomically.&quot;

	Holdsworth said the Australia white-ball series would not be shifted to England, where Ireland have previously hosted matches in Chelmsford and Bristol. After this year, Australia are not set to tour the UK until the 2027 Ashes.

	&quot;England have a really heavy schedule around that time, and we certainly wouldn&#39;t be considering playing the likes of Australia at a very small county ground,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;re still looking at all options in terms of whether or not we can host [Australia] this summer or whether we move [them] into a different part of the FTP.&quot;

	Holdsworth said delivering the entire international schedule would have been easier if Ireland had access to its full allocation of ICC funds from the new distribution model.

	Some of the funds allocated to members in the distribution model will go into a retained surplus fund, which will be invested and distributed back to members at a later time. Around US$3 million of their $18 million a year allocation is earmarked for the surplus fund.

	&quot;It has meant that our budget is not as great as we thought it would be,&quot; Holdsworth said. &quot;If we had more revenues coming in this year, there&#39;s no question that we could have been able to deliver more.&quot;

	Holdsworth said Ireland, along with Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, may be able to reduce the withholding of funding by a small percentage with discussions over the issue set for next week&#39;s ICC meetings in Dubai.

Australia men's tour of Ireland could be postponed due to financial and venue pressures

Jasprit Bumrah will return for the Dharamsala Test as India&#39;s designated vice-captain. The BCCI confirmed as much on Thursday, naming a 16-player squad for the final Test of the England series, which starts on March 7. While KL Rahul was ruled out, allrounder Washington Sundar was not part of the 16, released from the squad to join his state side, Tamil Nadu, who will be playing Mumbai from March 2 to 6 for a spot in the Ranji Trophy final.

	Washington will &quot;join the India squad after the completion of the domestic fixture, for the fifth Test, if need be,&quot; the BCCI statement said.

	Bumrah was released from the squad for the fourth Test against England, in Ranchi, to allow him to rest. India won that Test, thereby sealing the series against England 3-1 with one to play. Despite missing that game, Bumrah is India&#39;s joint-highest wicket-taker in the series, with 17 wickets at 13.64 from the first three games.

	While the series is already decided, India and England still have World Test Championship points to play for in Dharamsala. India currently sit second on that points table, with England down at eighth.

	The BCCI also confirmed Rahul is still unavailable as he consults with doctors in London over a quadricep-tendon injury that ruled him out from second, third and fourth Tests of the series. &quot;The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring him and coordinating with specialists in London for further management of his issue,&quot; the statement said. If Rahul is forced to miss the first few games of the IPL, which starts on March 22, his franchise Lucknow Super Giants will be led by vice-captain Nicholas Pooran.

	On Mohammed Shami, who had surgery on his right Achilles tendon earlier this week, the BCCI said: &quot;He is recovering well and will soon head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to commence his rehabilitation process.&quot;

	&nbsp;

	Updated India squad for the Dharamsala Test

	Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.&nbsp;

Bumrah back for Dharamsala Test, Rahul ruled out

New Sri Lanka Twenty20 captain Wanindu Hasaranga was given a two-match ban by the International Cricket Council on Saturday for abusing an umpire during this week&#39;s series-ending loss against Afghanistan. The 26-year-old remonstrated with onfield umpire Lyndon Hannibal after the match for failing to call a no-ball on a high delivery to Kamindu Mendis in the final over, when Sri Lanka needed 11 from three balls. The ICC said in a statement the encounter had breached its code of conduct on &quot;personal abuse&quot;, with Hasaranga accumulating enough demerit points over the past two years to earn the ban and a fine of 50 percent of his match fee.

	&quot;Hasaranga stands suspended from Sri Lanka&#39;s first two T20Is against Bangladesh next month,&quot; the statement said.

	Replays confirmed that Wafadar Momand&#39;s delivery had been above waist-high and Hasaranga continued to vent his frustrations after the match.

	&quot;If you can&#39;t see that, that umpire isn&#39;t suited to international cricket,&quot; he said, according to Cricinfo. &quot;It would be much better if he did another job.&quot;

	Sri Lanka went on to lose the match by three runs after Mendis hit a six on the final ball but won the series 2-1 in an otherwise wretched tour for Afghanistan, who lost all three ODIs and the sole Test.

	The ICC also fined Afghanistan&#39;s Rahmanullah Gurbaz 15 percent of his fee for the same match for disobeying umpire instructions.

	&quot;The sanction was imposed on Rahmanullah for changing the grip of his bat on the field of play despite being repeatedly warned not to do so,&quot; the statement said.

	It said both players had &quot;admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions&quot;.

Sri Lanka T20I Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga Gets Two-Match Ban By ICC

Rishabh Pant will start IPL 2024 as Delhi Capitals&#39; captain but will not keep wicket in the first half of the season, franchise co-owner Parth Jindal has said. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, Jindal also said Capitals were expecting South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje to be fit to play from their opening game, against Punjab Kings on March 23.

	Jindal said the Capitals think-tank, led by the team director Sourav Ganguly and head coach Ricky Ponting, was confident about Pant starting the IPL, subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI which is imminent.

	&quot;Rishabh is batting. He&#39;s running. He has started his wicketkeeping. He is likely to be fully fit for the IPL,&quot; Jindal said on Thursday. &quot;I am expecting Rishabh to play IPL and he will lead from match one. First seven games we are going to play him only as a batter and depending on how his body reacts, we will take a call for the rest of the IPL.&quot;

	The IPL will mark Pant&#39;s return to competitive cricket since the Test series in Bangladesh in December 2022. After his horrific car crash on December 30, 2022, Pant has worked hard to make a remarkable recovery post successful surgeries to three major knee ligaments in his right leg. Having told his doctors that he would shave at least six months off their prescribed time of recovery, Pant played practice matches in Bengaluru this week, which were organised by the National Cricket Academy.

	On Tuesday, Pant also posted a video on his Instagram doing some wicketkeeping and mobility drills, which have become part of his lower-body conditioning over the past six weeks. On Wednesday, he batted and fielded in a 20-over match, which comprised a series of match simulation exercises. The game was overseen by the BCCI medical staff. There were no visible concerns. Pant is expected to play at least a few more such games before joining Capitals. Once the BCCI clearance comes, he will join the side for a preparatory camp in Visakhapatnam, where the team will also play two home matches.

	With the second half of WPL 2024 - comprising 11 games including the playoffs - set to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the Capitals men&#39;s team had to shift their home base for the early part of the IPL to ensure they didn&#39;t start on tried pitches. In the 21-day IPL schedule released on Thursday, Capitals are scheduled to play two home and three away matches. Jindal confirmed the team would return to Delhi for their remaining five home games. 
	&nbsp;

Pant to lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 but will not keep wicket in first half

Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from the fourth Test against England beginning on February 23 in Ranchi. KL Rahul, who missed the second and third Tests, is set to miss the fourth Test as well, while his participation in the final Test in Dharamsala is subject to fitness.

	The decision to give Bumrah a break has been made keeping his workload in mind - he&#39;s bowled 80.5 overs in the first three Tests - with an IPL season coming up followed closely by the 2024 T20 World Cup beginning on June 1. There was speculation that Bumrah was going to be rested for the third Test in Rajkot but, with the series level at 1-1, he eventually played the fixture.

	Mukesh Kumar, who was released from the squad for the third Test in Rajkot, has joined the squad in Ranchi. He played the Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Bihar after being released, where he picked up a career-best match haul of 10 for 50 in a massive win for Bengal.

	India now lead the five-match series 2-1 after a record 434-run victory in Rajkot, and they will have to find a way to make up for Bumrah&#39;s absence: he&#39;s the leading wicket-taker in the series with 17 wickets at 13.64 apiece. He was the Player of the Match in India&#39;s win in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, where he took 9 for 91 across both innings.

	Mukesh, meanwhile, had played the second Test against England when Mohammed Siraj was rested but bowled only 12 overs in Vishakapatnam for figures of 1 for 70. If India play two fast bowlers in Ranchi, the choice for the second quick will be between Mukesh and the uncapped Akash Deep, who was included in the squad for the last three Tests after topping the wicket charts for India A in the recent first-class games against England Lions.

	Rahul had made scores of 86 and 22 during the defeat in the first Test in Hyderabad - the highest aggregate for India in the match - before missing the second Test with a quadriceps injury. He was included in the squad for the third Test subject to fitness, but was eventually ruled out with a sore knee.

	The fourth Test between India and England begins this Friday, just four days after the end of the third Test, while there is an eight-day gap between the end of the fourth Test on February 27 and the start of the fifth and final Test on March 7.

	&nbsp;

	India squad for fourth Test:

	Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.&nbsp;

Bumrah rested for fourth Test against England

India made a mockery of England in the third Test of the five-match series, smashing the visitors by 434 runs in Rajkot on Sunday. This is their biggest win in terms of runs in their 577 Test history, and also the first time that they&#39;ve won by a margin of 400 runs or more. India surpassed their 372-run victory over New Zealand in 2021. The win allowed India to go 2-1 up in the series and leapfrog Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. The Rohit Sharma-led side are now second in the WTC points table.

	New Zealand remain on top with a point percentage of 75% after four Tests in the cycle. India are second with 59.52% while Australia are just behind with 55%.

	Coming back to the match, Yashasvi Jaiswal&#39;s unbeaten double century and five wickets by Ravindra Jadeja helped India crush England by a record 434 runs.

	Chasing 557 for victory, England batting fell like a pack of cards to lose eight wickets in the final session and get bundled out for 122 on day four in Rajkot.

	Jadeja got Mark Wood out for 33 as the final wicket, and he kissed the pitch as India&#39;s registered their biggest ever win in terms of runs.

	England lost their openers including first-innings centurion Ben Duckett, run out on four before tea, and Jadeja rattled the middle-order with his left-arm spin.

	Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root extended their poor run in the five-match series and got out for four and seven respectively.

	Skipper Ben Stokes attempted to resist the Indian bowling force, but fell lbw to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for 15 in his landmark 100th Test.

	The left-handed Jaiswal stood out with his 214 off 236 balls to flay the opposition attack as India declared their second innings on 430-4.

	The opener returned to bat in the morning session after he retired hurt on 104 late on day three due to back pain. He raised his second double ton in consecutive matches with a single off Root -- and jumped in joy.

	Jaiswal hit a record-equalling 12 sixes in his knock which included three straight hits over the fence off James Anderson -- a first for the veteran quick with 696 wickets in 185 Tests.

	England won the opener by 28 runs but India bounced back in the second match before their second straight win.

	The fourth Test starts on Friday in Ranchi.

	 
	&nbsp;

Updated World Test Championship Table After India's Historic Win Over England In Rajkot

The Indian cricket team received a big boost on Day 4 of the third Test against England, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the player will rejoin the team on Sunday. Ashwin had taken a break after the conclusion of Day 2 of the Rajkot Test due to a family emergency. But, he is set to rejoin his teammates on the penultimate day of the match. In Ashwin&#39;s absence on Saturday, the Indian team did well in bowling out England for 319 in the first innings, with the four bowlers stepping up.

	In a release, the BCCI said: &quot;The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pleased to announce the return of R Ashwin to the squad after a brief absence due to a family emergency. Ashwin had to temporarily withdraw from the squad after Day 2 of the 3rd Test in Rajkot to attend to a family emergency.

	Both R Ashwin and the team management are pleased to confirm that he will be back in action on Day 4 and will continue to contribute towards the team&#39;s cause in the ongoing Test match.

	The team management, players, media, and fans have shown immense understanding and empathy, acknowledging the importance of family as a priority. The team and its supporters have stood united in support of Ashwin during this challenging period, and the management is delighted to welcome him back to the field.

	Ashwin and his family kindly request privacy as they navigate through these challenging times.&quot;

	It was Mohammed Siraj who shone with the ball as Ashwin had to take a leave of absence, picking up 4 wickets. But, the Indian team will have the services of the veteran spinner to rely on in the second innings, as Rohit Sharma&#39;s men look to take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series.

Ravichandran Ashwin Set To Rejoin Team On Day 4 Of 3rd Test After Family Emergency

India offspinner R Ashwin has withdrawn from India&#39;s Test side in Rajkot, effective immediately, because of a family medical emergency.

	&quot;The BCCI extends its heartfelt support to the champion cricketer and his family,&quot; the Indian board said in a media release. &quot;The health and well-being of the players and their loved ones are of utmost importance. The Board requests respect for the privacy of Ashwin and his family as they navigate through this challenging time.

	&quot;The Board and the team will continue to provide any necessary assistance to Ashwin and will keep the lines of communication open to offer support as needed. Team India appreciates the understanding and empathy of the fans and media during this sensitive period.&quot;

	Ashwin&#39;s withdrawal could leave India with only ten players, with three days of play left in the Rajkot Test. Ordinarily, playing substitutes are only permitted for players ruled out by concussions or Covid-19. In the absence of Ashwin, India are left with Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as frontline spin options for the rest of this Test.

	On the second day in Rajkot, Ashwin had reached a significant milestone, becoming the ninth bowler to 500 Test wickets.

	&nbsp;

Ashwin withdraws from Rajkot Test because of family emergency

Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of Australia&#39;s three-match T20I series in New Zealand due to a back issue with fellow West Australian allrounder Aaron Hardie called in for Australia&#39;s last series before the T20 World Cup in June.

	Australia vice-captain and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is also set to miss game one of the series on Wednesday in Wellington due to the impending birth of his third child but is expected to be available for the final two games in Auckland on Friday and Sunday.

	Stoinis tweaked his back in the warm-up of the second T20I against West Indies in Adelaide last Sunday but was still able to play. He made 16 off 15 with the bat but played a role in feeding the strike to Glenn Maxwell in an 80-run stand before picking up 3 for 36 to continue his excellent bowling form.

	But after the long flight to Perth, he missed Tuesday&#39;s third match against West Indies and has subsequently been ruled out of the T20I series against New Zealand having not fully resolved the back complaint. Stoinis is expected to be fit for the IPL which begins in late March.

	Hardie is currently playing for Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Hobart and did not travel with the squad on Saturday but will join the squad before the opening match.

	Stoinis remains a key figure in Australia&#39;s T20I set-up despite losing his place in the ODI side for the World Cup semi and final last year. He was one of Australia&#39;s most important players in the T20 World Cup triumph in 2021, playing match-winning hands against South Africa and then Pakistan in the semi-final. He also made a stunning half-century against Sri Lanka in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. His bowling has been important for Australia as well, having become a key wicket-taker over the past year in both the powerplay and middle overs.

	But his injury issues remain a concern for both he and Australia&#39;s hierarchy. Australia have been reluctant to bowl him in back-to-back games due to his history and he missed games in the lead-up to and during the ODI World Cup because of several different soft tissue injuries.

	Australia&#39;s other allrounders also have their bespoke injury concerns with captain Mitchell Marsh&#39;s ankle requiring ongoing management as does Maxwell&#39;s previously broken leg.

	Spin bowling allrounder Matthew Short also has an injury cloud heading to New Zealand after suffering a low-grade hamstring injury in the ODI series against West Indies which forced him to miss the T20Is.

	Hardie gets his chance to put forth a case for the T20 World Cup as a back-up allrounder who can bat in the middle-order if Stoinis has more injury trouble at the tournament proper. Cameron Green was not considered to be called into the New Zealand series with Australia&#39;s selectors preferring him to remain red-ball focussed ahead of the New Zealand Test tour. Green will then play a full IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore to push his case for the World Cup squad.

	Fast bowler Nathan Ellis returns from a rib injury and looms as Australia&#39;s preferred back-up quick behind Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, who will all play in the New Zealand series.

	Sean Abbott and Jason Behrendorff are on standby for the New Zealand series although Abbott is still managing a shoulder issue that ruled him out of the final two T20Is against West Indies.

	Steven Smith and Travis Head both return to the T20 side for the New Zealand tour after resting from the West Indies series and look likely to be given several opportunities each in the top three as Australia tries to bed down their best side for the World Cup.

	&nbsp;

Stoinis ruled out of NZ tour, Hardie called up

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been appointed as Bangladesh&#39;s captain in all three formats. Shanto has been handed the reins for a year, according to BCB president Nazmul Hassan. The news comes as a surprise at least in the T20I format, in which Shakib Al Hasan was set to lead till the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.

	Shanto led impressively in the recent Tests against New Zealand, and also later during a white-ball tour of New Zealand. Shanto&#39;s appointment marks a shift in the BCB&#39;s policy to give some of the younger cricketers a permanent leadership role. Shakib, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim are still an active part of the international sides, but Shanto&#39;s promotion as the 12-month captain means that the board is prepared to move on from the vaunted seniors.

	BCB chief Hassan said that they considered Shakib as their No. 1 choice for captaincy in all formats, but the board went ahead with Shanto for the role after Shakib informed them of a condition in his eye. Hassan said that they couldn&#39;t any wait longer to make a decision on the leadership.

	&quot;We have elected (Najmul Hossain) Shanto as captain in all three formats,&quot; Hassan told a packed press conference following a board meeting in Mirpur on Monday. &quot;We discussed the national team captaincy for the longest time in this meeting. We spoke to Shakib, who told us that his eye problem hasn&#39;t gone away. We are not sure of his availability in the Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe home series. We also have to consider the T20 World Cup that&#39;s coming up.

	&quot;Shakib is definitely our first choice. But we don&#39;t want to stay in any uncertainty. We didn&#39;t want to delay the decision. We had the World Cup in mind so to run the team smoothly, we had to pick a captain.&quot;

	Shakib had announced before the World Cup last year that he would give up the ODI captaincy after the 50-over marquee event. He had also hinted that he was unlikely to continue in Tests but expressed his interest in leading the side during the T20 World Cup. Shakib had built an impressive T20 side in the last 12 months, notably winning against England.

	Shanto takes over a side that will face Sri Lanka in three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests in March and April this year at home. Bangladesh are also likely to play five T20Is against Zimbabwe, also at home, before embarking on the World Cup in West Indies and USA in June.

	&nbsp;

Najmul Hossain Shanto named Bangladesh captain in all formats

Jasprit Bumrah has become the first India quick to reach the top spot in the ICC&#39;s Test bowlers&#39; rankings. Bumrah, who climbed three places to be ranked No. 1, replaces his team-mate R Ashwin in the position. Before this, his highest ranking had been No. 3.

	The previous highest ranking achieved by an India fast bowler was No. 2 - on the retrospective Test bowlers&#39; table - by Kapil Dev from December 1979 to February 1980. Apart from Bumrah, Zaheer Khan has also occupied the No. 3 spot, in October-November 2010.

	Bumrah&#39;s rise follows a match haul of 9 for 91 in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, where he was named Player of the Match as India levelled the series 1-1. Six of those wickets came in the first innings, when he picked up his tenth five-for in only his 34th Test, a match he finished as the fastest Indian to 150 Test wickets.

	He put India on top with a spell of two-way reverse swing, getting Joe Root to edge to slip before cleaning Ollie Pope up with a searing inswinging yorker to dismantle both middle and leg stumps. He later dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to give India a 143-run first-innings lead.

	Bumrah also had an impact in the second innings, where he picked up 3 for 46. With Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley threatening to keep England alive in their chase of 399, Bumrah had Foakes caught-and-bowled, foxing him with a slower offcutter.

	Bumrah is currently the leading wicket-taker in the series, with 15 strikes at 10.67. He picked up six wickets in the first Test in Hyderabad, which India lost by 28 runs.

	Meanwhile, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also made big gains among Test batters. Jaiswal raced up 37 places to No. 29 following a career-best knock of 209 in Visakhapatnam. His England counterpart Zak Crawley also had a good Test, scoring 76 and 73 to climb eight spots to No. 22.

	Kane Williamson continues to occupy the top spot among Test batters, having cracked 118 and 109 in the first Test against South Africa in Mount Maunganui. 
	&nbsp;

Jasprit Bumrah becomes first Indian fast bowler to be ranked No. 1 in Tests

Mitchell Marsh looks set to lead Australia into this year&rsquo;s Twenty20 World Cup after being named captain of a full-strength squad for a three-match series in New Zealand this month, the team&rsquo;s last before June&rsquo;s global showpiece.

	Aaron Finch, who led Australia to their first T20 World Cup triumph in 2021, retired as captain in the shortest format a year ago but Cricket Australia have yet to formally anoint his successor.

	Test and one-day skipper Pat Cummins is one of the big-name players returning to the squad after being rested for the upcoming home series against West Indies but Marsh will retain the captaincy for the matches in Auckland and Wellington.

	First-choice batsmen Travis Head and Steve Smith and left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc return along with Cummins in the 15-man squad for the series, which begins at Wellington Stadium on February 21 before two matches at Auckland&rsquo;s Eden Park.

	&ldquo;The next six games will provide us the opportunity to start shaping what we think our World Cup squad will look like and potential roles within that,&rdquo; head selector George Bailey said in a news release.

	&ldquo;We will also fully utilise the opportunity to monitor and watch the performances of the Australian players in the (Indian Premier League) immediately preceding the World Cup.&rdquo;

	Matt Short, one of the batters hoping to replace Finch at the top of the order, was included in the squad despite a low-grade hamstring injury that has ruled him out of the West Indies series.

	Pace bowler Nathan Ellis is recovering from a rib injury and Spencer Johnson is on standby to replace him in the squad for the West Indies series should he need more time to be ready for the trip to New Zealand, Cricket Australia said.

	Australia take on West Indies in a three-match T20 series starting in Hobart on Friday as part of their preparations for the June 1-29 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States.

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Australian Squad:</h3>

	Mitchell Marsh (captain), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

Australia name strong 15-member squad for New Zealand T20Is

Uncapped right-arm seamers Chamika Gunasekara and Milan Rathnayake have been named in Sri Lanka&#39;s squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting on Friday. Also in the mix are opener Lahiru Udara, and batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis.

	Omitted, meanwhile, is Pathum Nissanka, who was part of Sri Lanka&#39;s last Test squad, though he has not played a Test since the middle of 2022. Dilshan Madushanka, who is currently in the UAE playing in the ILT20, is not in this squad either. The same goes for Kusal Perera.

	This is the first Test squad named by Sri Lanka&#39;s new selection committee, headed by Upul Tharanga. The match, which starts on Friday, will also be Dhananjaya de Silva&#39;s first as captain.

	Elsewhere, there are no major surprises. Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka are likely to open the batting, as they did against Pakistan last year, with Kusal Mendis likely at No. 3, and Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and de Silva coming in lower down. Sadeera Samarawickrama may take the gloves again.

	On the bowling front, Sri Lanka are likely to go with Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya as their primary spin options, with the likes of Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando to choose from on the seam-bowling front. Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who had taken 11 wickets on debut in 2021 but has had less impressive outings since then, has not been named in the squad.

	Gunasekara has been selected partly on the back of good form in the ongoing National Super League (NSL) four-day competition. In two matches over the last two weeks, Gunasekara has taken eight wickets at an average of 16.5. Rathnayake, meanwhile, has been chosen based on a larger body of work - he has in the past been impressive in the Sri Lanka A side. This is the second Test squad Rathnayake has been selected in, though he is yet to represent Sri Lanka.

	Udara, who has also not played a Test, gets into the squad having also impressed at the NSL recently. He had hit 100 and 72 against a Galle attack featuring Ramesh Mendis and Rathnayake, in the last fortnight.

	Afghanistan are without Rashid Khan for this Test. This is the first time these teams will play a Test against each other.

	&nbsp;

	Sri Lanka squad for Test against Afghanistan :

	Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake.

	&nbsp;

Sri Lanka name uncapped Gunasekara, Rathnayake and Udara for Afghanistan Test

Indian cricket team star batter Virat Kohli opted out of the first two Test matches against England citing &#39;personal reasons&#39; and according to a report by Times Of India, there is no clarity on his possible return for the remaining three matches. In the report, a BCCI official was quoted as saying that they have not heard anything from Kohli regarding his possible return to the India squad. &ldquo;We haven&#39;t heard anything from him on his return as yet,&rdquo; a BCCI official told TOI on the condition of anonymity.

	Besides Kohli, India will also be missing KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja after they were ruled out of the second Test match starting February 2 due to injury concerns. While Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury, Rahul injured his thigh during the first Test match that India lost against England.

	According to the report, Rahul seems likely to return to the squad later in the series but Jadeja&#39;s injury is &#39;more serious&#39; and it can end up ruling him out for the remaining four matches.

	&quot;Rahul could perhaps return later in this series, but Jadeja&#39;s injury could be more serious. Let&#39;s see what the NCA&#39;s medical team tells us,&quot; the BCCI official further stated in the report.

	Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sundar have been added to India&#39;s squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

	&quot; Jadeja sustained a hamstring injury during play on Day Four of the first Test in Hyderabad while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain,&quot; the BCCI said.

	The BCCI said its medics are &quot;monitoring the progress of the duo&quot;.

	&nbsp;

	India Test squad:

	Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, K.S. Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar.

Virat Kohli To Return For Last 3 Tests Against England? 

Rashid Khan hasn&#39;t been named in Afghanistan&#39;s 16-man squad for their one-off Test against Sri Lanka starting February 2, as he continues to recover from the back surgery he had last November.

	Rashid&#39;s absence paved the way for the selection of legspinner Qais Ahmad, whose only Test was back in September 2019. Afghanistan also selected four uncapped players in batter Noor Ali Zadran, left-arm spinner Zia-ur-Rehman, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Ishaq and right arm medium-pacerNaveed Zadran for the Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

	Noor, an uncle of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, is the most experienced of the new entrants, having played 51 ODIs and 23 T20Is since his debut in 2009. Zia, meanwhile, boasts an enviable first-class bowling record with 159 wickets in 28 games at an average of 19.1. He could also provide handy lower-order contributions; his first-class batting average is 16.58.

	As for Qais, he had played the third T20I against India earlier this month, although he hasn&#39;t played a first-class match since his Test debut. Eighteen-year old Naveed, who also earned his maiden call-up to the Test side, has taken 35 wickets in just seven first-class matches, including three five-wicket hauls.

	Rashid&#39;s last appearance had come in the 2023 ODI World Cup in October-November, after which he had a back surgery. Since then, he has missed the BBL and Afghanistan&#39;s tour to India, and has also opted out of the PSL, which begins on February 17.

	Afghanistan last played a Test in June 2023, when they lost to Bangladesh by a whopping 546 runs in Dhaka. From that tour, they have left out allrounders Karim Janat and Amir Hamza for the Test against Sri Lanka. However, their batting line-up remains the same; apart from captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, it includes Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik and Rahmat Shah.

	Afghanistan have played only seven Tests since their denut in 2018, and are yet to face Sri Lanka in the format. Apart from the one-off Test, their tour also includes three ODIs and T20Is.

	&nbsp;

	Afghanistan squad :

	Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood, Mohammad Saleem and Naveed Zadran.&nbsp;

Afghanistan name uncapped Noor, Zia, Ishaq and Naveed for one-off Test against Sri Lanka

Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been ruled out of the second Test against England starting on February 2 in Visakhapatnam.

	Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad, while Rahul complained of pain in his right quadriceps, the BCCI said in a statement. Middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and allrounder Washington Sundar have been added to India&#39;s squad.

	Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh, who has 290 first-class wickets at 24.41, has been part of the India Test squad before - he was picked for their tour of Bangladesh in December 2022 - though he is yet to make his debut. He comes into the squad in excellent form, having picked up a second-innings five-wicket haul in India A&#39;s recent innings win over England Lions. That match also included a 160-ball 161 from Sarfaraz, who has been knocking at the selectors&#39; doors constantly over recent seasons with his prolific first-class returns; he presently averages 69.85, with 14 centuries in 45 games.

	The absence of Jadeja and Rahul leaves India significantly weakened in their bid to bounce back from their 28-run defeat in the first Test. Apart from the injured pair, they will continue to be without Virat Kohli, who withdrew from the first two Tests for personal reasons.

	Jadeja, who pulled up in seeming distress after being run out during India&#39;s fourth-innings chase, took 3 for 88 and 2 for 131 in Hyderabad apart from scoring 87 and 2. Rahul made 86 in India&#39;s first innings. While it seems likely that the uncapped Rajat Patidar, who was added to the squad after Kohli&#39;s withdrawal, will take Rahul&#39;s place in India&#39;s middle order in Visakhapatnam, India may find it trickier to replace Jadeja.

	Since the start of 2016, Jadeja has been one of the foremost allrounders in world cricket, averaging over 40 with the bat and under 25 with the ball over a span of 53 Test matches. Sundar comes closest to being a like-for-like replacement with his ability to bat at No. 6 or 7 and bowl fingerspin, but it remains to be seen if he can take on a bowling workload comparable to that of Jadeja, who sends down an average of nearly 44 overs per home Test. Sundar&#39;s four previous Tests - the last of which came in 2021 - have brought him three fifties and a batting average of 66.25, but only six wickets at an average of 49.83.

	With India&#39;s preferred XI also containing two other spin-bowling allrounders in R Ashwin and Axar Patel, it is likely India will look to replace Jadeja with a frontline spinner, in which case Kuldeep Yadav, the attacking left-arm wristspinner, is likely to come into the side. Kuldeep has an excellent Test record - 34 wickets at 21.55 - though he has been a sporadic presence in India&#39;s attack thanks to the presence of Jadeja and Ashwin, only playing eight Tests since his debut in 2017. Kuldeep was Player of the Match in his most recent Test appearance, picking up a match haul of 8 for 113 in a 188-run win over Bangladesh in Chattogram in December 2022.

	&nbsp;

	India&#39;s squad for second Test against England :

	Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar.

	&nbsp;

Jadeja and Rahul ruled out of second Test against England

The ICC Board has lifted the provisional suspension on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with immediate effect, a statement from the body on Sunday evening said.

	SLC was suspended on November 10 for being in &quot;serious breach of its obligations as an ICC Member&quot;. Specifically, this had to do with &quot;the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka&quot;.

	The ICC Board said it had been monitoring the situation since the suspension and &quot;are now satisfied that SLC are no longer in breach of membership obligations&quot;.

	The lifting of the suspension had been somewhat expected since Sri Lanka&#39;s president sacked sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe in late November. It had been with Ranasinghe that SLC&#39;s top brass had had a feud lasting over a year. Since the new sports minister, Harin Fernando, was installed, it had seemed likely that SLC were more amenable to having their suspension lifted. In fact, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice had met with Fernando and Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickramasinghe this month.

	Fernando had also said in the days before this ICC announcement that he expected a change in Sri Lanka&#39;s status at the ICC.

	When the suspension was announced, it was understood to be a warning to Sri Lanka, and ESPNcricinfo had reported that the SLC itself had requested the suspension to illustrate to Sri Lanka&#39;s government that the ICC would not tolerate further meddling on its part.

	In the aftermath of the suspension, the men&#39;s Under-19 World Cup, which is currently on, was shifted from Sri Lanka to South Africa. That aside, there was no immediate implication on the daily running of cricket in Sri Lanka, and the ICC Board had agreed that cricket at all levels, including any bilateral and domestic series and tournaments, would not be disrupted by the suspension. As for the ICC annual funding, that would be controlled until the suspension is lifted. Since then, Sri Lanka have hosted Zimbabwe for a white-ball series, in early 2024.

	In early November, Ranasinghe had sacked the SLC Board and installed an interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, but Sri Lanka&#39;s courts reinstated the board a day later by issuing a 14-day stay order on the gazette that had dissolved the board.

	But when the ICC suspension came, it was the elected SLC Board that was running cricket in the country.

	The ICC&#39;s lifting of the suspension had been somewhat expected since Sri Lanka&#39;s president sacked Ranasinghe in late November. It had been with Ranasinghe that SLC&#39;s top brass had had a feud lasting over a year. Since the new sports minister, Harin Fernando, was installed, it had seemed likely that SLC were more amenable to having their suspension lifted. In fact, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice had met with Fernando and Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickramasinghe this month.

	Fernando had also said in the days before this ICC announcement that he expected a change in Sri Lanka&#39;s status at the ICC.

	SLC had become the second Full Member to be suspended by ICC in the recent past after Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended in 2019 for similar reasons.

ICC Board lifts suspension on Sri Lanka Cricket

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has begun bowling full tilt after rehabilitation from his ankle injury, clearly indicating that he is on course for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League where he will captain Mumbai Indians. Pandya, who sustained an ankle injury during World Cup last year, was seen bowling here in a video footage shared on his Instagram. &quot;I feel good to be back. My journey started 17 years back at this same ground,&quot; said Pandya, who was seen sending down a few deliveries while also doing some running drills and exercises.

	&quot;I am giving it all I got, every single day.&quot; Pandya, who was named Mumbai Indians captain in place of highly-successful Rohit Sharma on December 15 following a high-profile trade from Gujarat Titans, has been out of action after sustaining the injury in November during World Cup clash against Bangladesh.

	He missed the home T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this month.

Recovering From Ankle Injury, Hardik Pandya Begins Bowling Full Tilt

UP Warriorz have brought in Chamari Athapaththu as replacement for Lauren Bell, who has withdrawn from the upcoming edition of the Women&#39;s Premier league (WPL). Athapaththu has been signed for her base price of INR 30 lakh (US$36,000 approx.).

	ESPNcricinfo has learned that Bell informed the Warriorz set-up recently that she wanted to focus on preparing for the New Zealand series, which begins on March 19 in Dunedin, just two days after the WPL final in Delhi. There is no update yet on the rest of Warriroz&#39;s England contingent, including head coach Jon Lewis (who is also head coach of England Women), Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt, on whether they would finish their WPL engagements before heading to New Zealand.

	&quot;I look forward to giving my best to the team and working closely with head coach Jon Lewis and skipper Alyssa Healy and help my team lift the coveted title,&quot; Athapaththu said. &quot;The WPL is a very dynamic tournament, and the UP Warriorz is a strong squad.&quot;

	Athapaththu, the Sri Lanka captain, went unsold during the WPL 2024 auction. This came as a shock to many considering the kind of year she had had in the 20-over format in 2023. She scored 470 runs in 16 T20Is last year at 31.33 at a strike rate of nearly 131 and picked up eight wickets at 26.62. Athapaththu also led Sri Lanka to a historic first series win over England, finishing the series as the leading scorer and the joint-leading wicket-taker.

	The 33-year-old Athapaththu had a sensational time of it in domestic T20s as well. Drafted in as an overseas replacement after initially being overlooked in the overseas draft, Athapaththu tore up the WBBL. Turning out for Sydney Thunder, she finished the competition as the second-highest run-scorer with 552 runs, just five runs behind top-scorer Beth Mooney, in 14 innings at 42.46, which included five half-centuries. She also picked up nine wickets at an economy rate of 6.83 and was named the Player of the Tournament.

	Athapaththu was more recently involved in the Women&#39;s Super Smash in New Zealand, turning out for Northern Districts, where she scored 221 runs in nine games while striking at 128.48, with one half-century. She also chipped in with nine wickets with best bowling figures of 4 for 19. Northern Districts&#39; competition ended earlier on Friday when they lost in the Eliminator to Central Districts by 45 runs.

	Overall, Athapaththu has played 122 T20Is and scored 2651 runs at 22.65 with eight fifties and one century, the only one scored by a Sri Lankan woman. She has also picked up 40 wickets in the format with an economy rate of 6.70.

	Athapaththu was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year by the ICC recently and she also became the first Sri Lankan to top the ODI women&#39;s rankings last year.

	At Warriorz, Athapaththu could make for a destructive opening pair with Healy. The 2024 edition of WPL will be played from February 23 to March 17 in Bengaluru and Delhi. Warriorz will begin their campaign on February 24 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

	&nbsp;

Warriorz name Athapaththu as Bell's replacement for WPL 2024

Rachin Ravindra is set to add to his three Test caps after being named in the New Zealand squad for the two-Test series against South Africa that starts on February 4 in Mount Maunganui. New Zealand have also handed a maiden call-up to Canterbury fast bowler Will O&#39;Rourke, who is known as the clone of Kyle Jamieson, although only for the second Test in Hamilton.

	New Zealand have named Kane Williamson in the side after he missed the last three T20Is against Pakistan due to a hamstring injury. Tom Blundell and Jamieson, who are also recovering from injuries have been included as well.

	From the Test squad that toured Bangladesh in November-December last year, Ish Sodhi and Ajaz Patel have not found in a place against South Africa because of the conditions expected at home.

	Ravindra comes into the squad at the expense of Henry Nicholls, who has suffered somewhat of a form slump. Barring an unbeaten 200 against Sri Lanka in Wellington in March 2023, the batter hasn&#39;t crossed 40 in his last 11 Tests.

	Ravindra made his Test debut in November 2021 against India in Kanpur but has not played the format since the new year&#39;s Test against Bangladesh in 2022. However, a breakthrough 2023 which culminated in him bagging the ICC Emerging Player-of-the-Year award has seen him get a Test recall.

	O&#39;Rourke, 22, recently made his ODI debut in the three-game series against Bangladesh at home picking five wickets at 23.00. He is currently playing the Super Smash - the domestic T20s - where he has picked nine wickets in the last five games.

	Mitchell Santner kept his place and so did Glenn Phillips, who showed his wares in Bangladesh. With scores of 87 and 40 not out, the middle-order batter was named Player of the Match in the second Test in Mirpur which New Zealand won by four wickets. He also picked a three-for in the first innings.

	 
	Since making his debut against Australia, this will be the first time that Phillips will be playing a Test at home since January 2020, if picked in the XI.

	&quot;It was pleasing as a selector to see different players making contributions during the recent series in Bangladesh,&quot; head coach Gary Stead said. &quot;Glenn and Mitch both earned selection on the back of their recent work in red-ball cricket. Will O&#39;Rourke has impressed us in stepping up from domestic cricket to New Zealand A and then international level. Rachin Ravindra is another player who has really impressed us with his contributions to the team over the past 12 months in international cricket.

	&quot;Tom Blundell, Kyle Jamieson and Kane Williamson are all at slightly different points in their rehabilitation plans. But we&#39;re confident they&#39;ll be good to go at Bay Oval.&quot;

	New Zealand are chasing their first-ever Test series win against a weakened South Africa, who have as many as eight uncapped players in the side, including captain Neil Brand. Duanne Olivier is the most experienced member of the side with 15 Tests to his name. Stead, however, expected stern challenges from the South Africa unit regardless.

	 
	&quot;The Proteas are a highly competitive team across formats and, having never won a Test series against them home or away, we expect two stern challenges,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#39;s an honour to be involved in any Test match and I know the players are looking forward to the start of a big Test summer - in what is a big year of Test cricket home and away.&quot;

	&nbsp;

	New Zealand Test squad :-

	Tim Southee (capt), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O&#39;Rourke (second test only), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young.&nbsp;

Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra In New Zealand Test Squad For South Africa Series

Allrounders Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta have been banned from all cricket for four months by Zimbabwe Cricket for recreational drug use. They have also been fined 50% of their salaries for three months with effect from January 2024.

	Batter Kevin Kasuza, who played last of his seven Tests in 2021, has also been suspended from all cricket activities with immediate effect after he tested positive for a banned recreational drug during an in-house doping test last week.

	During an in-house dope test last month, Madhevere and Mavuta tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case and were suspended immediately. They received the sanction following a hearing on last Wednesday when they admitted to charges of &quot;breaching the ZC Employment Code of Conduct&quot;,&quot; a board release stated.

	Their rehabilitation will be overseen by ZC&#39;s medical personnel and the duo has been ordered to train at the high performance programme. &quot;In taking the decision, the Committee also considered some mitigating factors, with both players showing remorse and having already started working on withdrawing from the habit and getting their systems clean,&quot; ZC said in a statement.

	Both Madhevere and Mavuta were part of the Zimbabwe side that faced Ireland in a home series in early December. Madhevere played all three T20Is while Mavuta played just the third T20I and the three ODIs after that. While Mavuta hasn&#39;t played any competitive cricket since then, Madhevere featured for Mashonaland Eagles in the ongoing Logan Cup, Zimbabwe&#39;s first-class competition.

Madhevere, Mavuta banned for four months by Zimbabwe Cricket for recreational drug use

Glenn Maxwell has stood down as Melbourne Stars captain following the club&#39;s failure to make the BBL finals.

	First reported by the Daily Telegraph and confirmed to ESPNcricinfo, Maxwell told team-mates following Stars&#39; final game of the season against Hobart Hurricanes.

	By then, they were out of contention for finals following Adelaide Strikers&#39; victory over Sydney Thunder after they lost control of their own fate by losing to Melbourne Renegades.

	Maxwell, 35, has two years left to run on his current contract. This season, he made 243 runs at 34.71 and a strike rate of 173.57, although his top score was an unbeaten 35, while claiming seven wickets.

	Stars are one of only two clubs, along with Hurricanes, never to have won the BBL. They have been runner-up three times, including back-to-back in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and had the BBL8 title within their grasp before an astonishing collapse against Renegades.

	&quot;We left our run in someone else&#39;s hands which is never what you want to do in this game,&quot; Maxwell told Fox Cricket during the final game of this season.

	&quot;After the first couple of years, having so much dominance and not being able to get over that final hurdle, it feels like the last four years out of finals contention is quite frustrating.

	&quot;We feel like we&#39;ve had a good enough list, probably haven&#39;t had enough luck with injuries and timing, replacements and it just all seems to compound on itself.&quot;

	Peter Moores, the former England coach who was in his first season at Stars, praised Maxwell&#39;s impact on the club.

	&quot;Credit to him, he comes off the back of a World Cup, and what a World Cup for him personally and Australia, but to get the enthusiasm and the drive, that&#39;s all your looking for as a coach, and he&#39;s had that every day,&quot; Moores said during the final game of the season.

	&quot;The Stars is where he captains, and he&#39;s put his heart and soul into it. I&#39;ve had good laughs with him on and around the game, and also off the field, it&#39;s been great fun.&quot;

	Marcus Stoinis is also out of contract with Stars but it&#39;s understood that the club is keen to re-sign him.

Maxwell step down as Melbourne Stars captain

Bangladesh allrounder Nasir Hossain has been banned from all cricket for two years by the ICC for breaching the Emirates Cricket Board&#39;s Anti-Corruption Code during the 2020-21 Abu Dhabi T10 League. He will be eligible to resume playing international cricket on April 7, 2025.

	Hossain was one of eight people associated with the Pune Devils franchise who were charged by the ICC in September 2023. He accepted the three charges against him and received a two-year ban, of which six months are suspended.

	According to the ICC&#39;s Anti-Corruption Unit, the first charge against Hossain was that he &quot;failed to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of a gift that was offered to him that had a value of over US$750, namely the gift of a new iPhone 12.

	The second charge was that Hossain &quot;failed to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official full details of the approach or invitation he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct via the new iPhone 12.&quot;

	And finally, &quot;he failed or refused, without compelling justification, to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official&#39;s investigation in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code, including (without limitation) failing to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (whether as part of a formal Demand pursuant to Article 4.3 or otherwise) as part of such investigation.&quot;

	Hossain has played 19 Tests, 65 ODIs and 31 T20Is for Bangladesh, and while his last international match was in January 2018, he was playing domestic cricket as recently as May 2023.

Nasir Hossain banned for two years

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has added an eighth uncapped player to the Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand as opener Edward Moore will travel with the touring party. Moore&#39;s inclusion comes in the wake of Tony de Zorzi&#39;s unavailability for international duty after landing a deal with the Durban Super Giants for SA20.De Zorzi delivered a promising performance against India in the opening Test at Centurion, hitting 28 in the only innings the Proteas batted. However, the left-hander fell for single-figure scores (2&amp;1) in both innings in Cape Town as the hosts lost by 8 wickets within two days. Nevertheless, de Zorzi has joined all the star players in skipping the Test series to make themselves available for SA20.

	Moore, meanwhile, boasts of a strong first-class record, having mustered 7,743 runs in 117 fixtures, averaging a healthy 40.96 with 17 centuries. The current CSA 4-day series division 1 saw the right-hander muster 414 runs in 5 matches at 51.75 with two centuries.

	Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad addressed the decision to send an undermanned squad, claiming that the Test team cannot play without SA20. He said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo:

	&quot;Our hand has been forced. Everybody understands the SA20 has to happen. SA20 has to happen because it is the lifeblood of South African cricket. If it doesn&#39;t happen, we are not going to have Test cricket anyway. We&#39;ve got to find a way to coexist with the league, we&#39;ve got to co-exist with leagues around the world to ensure the sustainability of the game.&quot;

	While the series begins on February 4th, the Proteas will leave on Friday to give themselves enough time to familiarize themselves with the conditions. South Africa are currently 3rd in the WTC standings, with 1 win and 1 loss each.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	South African Squad:</h3>

	Neil Brand (captain), David Bedingham, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin, Zubayr Hamza, Tshepo Moreki, Edward Moore, Mihlali Mpongwana, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Keegan Petersen, Dane Piedt, Raynard van Tonder, Shaun von Berg, Khaya Zondo.

South Africa Announces Test squad for New Zealand tour

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are back in India&#39;s spin-heavy squad for the first two home Tests against England. Mohammed Shami, who is working his way back from an ankle injury, is a notable absentee, though.

	Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan make up the seam attack while R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja make up the spin attack along with Kuldeep and Axar.

	While Shami was optimistic about making a return for the England Tests, the selectors and the BCCI medical staff might have wanted to give him further rest as a precautionary move. The 33-year-old fast bowler has not played any competitive cricket since the ODI World Cup final in November last year.

	Dhruv Jurel, the Uttar Pradesh player, earned his maiden call-up to the India side - in any format - as the back-up keeper to KL Rahul, who had kept wickets in the two Tests in South Africa, and KS Bharat.

	Ishan Kishan, who had taken a break from the two-match Test series in South Africa and the ongoing T20I series at home against Afghanistan, wasn&#39;t part of this squad as well. Avesh Khan, who was recently called up to the India Test squad in South Africa as a replacement for Shami, retained his spot. The 27-year-old has played eight ODIs and 19 T20Is so far, but he is uncapped in Test cricket.

	However, Prasidh Krishna, who made his Test debut in Centurion, was not named in the squad. The fast bowler had sustained a quadriceps injury on the first day of Karnataka&#39;s second-round Ranji Trophy clash against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. The Karnataka team physio is currently taking care of Prasidh, but as a BCCI-contracted player, he can also link up with the India A support staff, who are also in Ahmedabad for the two-day match against the touring England Lions.

	Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is nursing a finger injury, also missed out along with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who had replaced Gaikwad as the reserve opener in South Africa. Shardul Thakur, who leaked 101 runs in 19 overs at SuperSport Park, was also left out of the squad.

	Jurel had recently scored a half-century for India A in a four-day first-class fixture against South Africa A in Benoni and is currently playing against Lions in Ahmedabad. In all, he has played 15 first-class games and averages nearly 47. His journey to the top has not been straightforward. He was vice-captain of the India Under-19s at the World Cup four years ago and more recently made heads turn at the IPL in 2023 scoring 152 runs at an average of 22 and strike rate of 173 for Rajasthan Royals.

	Ashwin is on the brink of two major landmarks in Test cricket. He is ten strikes away from 500 wickets in the format and five matches away from 100 Tests. The five-match series against England will begin in Hyderabad on January 25 and will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC). India are currently second on the WTC points table, behind defending champions Australia.

	&nbsp;

	India squad for first two Tests against England :

	Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

Kuldeep, Axar in India squad for first two England Tests

All-rounder Shivam Dube defied bitterly cold weather to hit an unbeaten half-century and take one wicket as India eased to a comfortable win over Afghanistan in the first Twenty20 international on Thursday. Dube, a left-handed batsman, made 60 off 40 balls for his second T20 fifty as India chased down their victory target of 159 with 15 balls and six wickets to spare at Mohali. India lead the three-match series 1-0 as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in June. India&#39;s bowlers led by spinner Axar Patel restricted Afghanistan to 158-5 despite an attacking 42 by Mohammad Nabi on a chilly winter evening.

	Temperatures plummeted to just nine degrees (48 Fahrenheit) in the northern city where summer heat can soar to a scorching 40-plus degrees.

	Some players were seen using hand warmers to keep out the bone-jarring chill.

	&quot;It was extremely cold to be honest,&quot; returning skipper Rohit Sharma, who was run out for a duck after a mix up with Shubman Gill, said after the win.

	He added: &quot;There were a lot of positives, especially with the ball. Wasn&#39;t the easiest of conditions but our spinners bowled particularly well.&quot;

	Axar and fast bowler Mukesh Kumar took two wickets each while Dube returned figures of 1-9 from his two overs of medium-pace bowling.

	But it was his batting that made the difference as he steered the chase with key partnerships including a 45-run stand with Jitesh Sharma, who made 31, and an unbeaten 42 with Rinku Singh, 16 not out.

	The 30-year-old Dube won the game with a six and four and was named man of the match.

	Rohit returned to lead India after over a year&#39;s absence in the T20 format and elected to field first.

	Afghanistan skipper Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on 50 for the opening wicket before the Indian bowlers hit back with Axar returning figures of 2-23.

	Axar, a left-arm spinner, had Gurbaz stumped for 23 and Zadran fell to Dube, who had earlier dropped the skipper on one, on 25.

	 
	Rahmat Shah had a forgettable debut after he was bowled by Axar for three but Nabi came in to steady the innings and then launch an attack with Omarzai.

	Kumar cut short Omarzai&#39;s innings on 29. Nabi smashed three sixes and two fours in his 27-ball knock before falling to Kumar.

	&quot;We were quite lazy with the fielding today,&quot; Zadran said. &quot;We will try to improve batting as well. Bowling we have no issue. Will focus on what we did wrong today.&quot;

	India&#39;s Virat Kohli missed the game due to &quot;personal reasons&quot; while Afghanistan spin king Rashid Khan remains out of the series as he recovers from a back surgery.

	The second match is in Indore on Sunday.

All-Round Shivam Dube Helps India Freeze Out Afghanistan In Chilly T20I Opener

Nepal court has sentenced cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane to eight years of imprisonment for a rape case, which he was convicted of in December 2023, as per multiple reports from local media.

	The bench of Shishir Raj Dhakal handed over the verdict along with compensation and penalties after a hearing today, confirms court official Ramu Sharma.

	Lamichhane, 23, was once the poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, and the leg spinner&rsquo;s onfield success had boosted the sport&rsquo;s profile in the Himalayan republic.

	Former Nepal cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane was convicted of rape on Friday after a repeatedly delayed trial that had left him free to continue his sporting career.

	Lamichhane, 23, was once the poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, and the leg spinner&rsquo;s onfield success had boosted the sport&rsquo;s profile in the Himalayan republic.

	Last year he was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a Kathmandu hotel but was freed on bail in January and returned to the squad to compete in international tournaments.

	His lawyer Saroj Ghimire told AFP that a court had convicted Lamichhane on Friday.

	&ldquo;His sentence will be decided in the next hearing,&rdquo; he added.

	District court official Ramu Sharma confirmed the verdict to AFP.

	&ldquo;The event was not consensual,&rdquo; he said.

	When authorities issued an arrest warrant, Lamichhane initially failed to return from Jamaica, where he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League. He was dismissed as national captain and arrested last year, but Nepal lifted his playing ban after he was freed on bail.

	&nbsp;

Sandeep Lamichhane sentenced to eight years in jail for rape

Angelo Mathews is in line to play his first T20I in nearly three years after being named in Sri Lanka&#39;s T20I squad for the series against Zimbabwe. Also in the squad are batters Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva, who are not in the squad for the ongoing ODIs, as well as spinner Akila Dananjaya, round-arm seam bowler Nuwan Thushara, and batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis.

	This will be Wanindu Hasaranga&#39;s first series as captain. There is still a spot in the squad for previous captain Dasun Shanaka.

	Among the omissions from this squad are of opener Avishka Fernando and top order batters Nuwanidu Fernando and Janith Liyanage, who was Player of the Match in the second ODI against Zimbabwe. Also not in the squad are allrounder Dunith Wellalage, seamer Pramod Madushan, and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay. Pathum Nissanka has been named subject to fitness, after he was admitted to hospital last week with suspected dengue.

	These three T20Is will mark Sri Lanka&#39;s earnest preparation for the T20 World Cup to be held later this year. Sri Lanka only played seven T20Is in 2023.

	All three T20Is will be played at Kettarama, on January 14, 16 and 18.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Sri Lanka squad:</h3>

	Wanindu Hasaranga (capt), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Akila Dananjaya.

Angelo Mathews back in T20I squad after three-year absence

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to India&#39;s T20I squad after an absence of more than a year from the format for the three-match series against Afghanistan, India&#39;s last T20I series before the T20 World Cup in June.

	Rohit has been named captain of the squad while those who led the side in his absence, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, are injured and unavailable for selection.

	Rohit and Kohli have not played T20Is since India&#39;s semi-final defeat to England in the T20 World Cup in November 2022, choosing to prioritise Test cricket and ODIs in the lead-up to the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup in 2023. Their selection now, which comes after India&#39;s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar flew to South Africa during the New Year&#39;s Test in Cape Town, means that both players are back in India&#39;s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.

	India have mostly been led by Hardik in T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup, and Suryakumar stood in as captain after Hardik injured his ankle during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Suryakumar led India in the five-match T20I series at home against Australia and the three T20Is in South Africa in December but has also been ruled out for a couple of months because of an ankle injury he picked up in South Africa. Both Hardik and Suryakumar are expected to return for the IPL in March.

	Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn&#39;t been picked as he continues to nurse a finger injury that he picked up in South Africa last month. There is no place for KL Rahul in the 15-member squad, while Ishan Kishan has opted out, citing the need for a break to help him refocus on his game. Kishan also missed the two-Test series in South Africa for the same reason.

	Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, who was part of the T20I series against both the Australia and South Africa recently, retained his spot and Sanju Samson, who hasn&#39;t been in India&#39;s T20I plans since touring Ireland with a second-string squad in August last year, comes in as his back-up. Samson struck his maiden international century during the ODI leg of the South Africa tour last month.

	Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube also gets another crack in T20Is following an impressive IPL 2023 where he was Chennai Super Kings&#39; spin-hitter in the middle overs. Dube was most recently part of India&#39;s second-string squad that clinched the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou in October last year. From there, he went into the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy and produced some useful cameos for Mumbai batting down the order. His role with the ball, though, was minimal.

	Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested keeping in mind their workloads ahead of the upcoming five-Test series at home against England. Also missing are Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja, who was vice-captain during the South Africa T20Is that India drew 1-1. Jadeja missed the first Test against South Africa because of a neck spasm.

	Deepak Chahar, who was named for the South Africa T20Is but didn&#39;t take part due to a personal emergency, misses out altogether, with the selectors continuing with Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi form the spin attack. Kuldeep, who picked a five-for in his most recent T20I in South Africa, picked up three wickets for Uttar Pradesh in the first-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Kerala.

	Following the three T20Is against Afghanistan on January 11, 14 and 17, India host England from January 25 to March 11, after which the players will disperse to join their respective IPL teams for the 2024 season, which will conclude only a couple of weeks before the T20 World Cup begins on June 1.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	India&#39;s T20I squad for series vs Afghanistan :</h3>

	Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

Kohli and Rohit return to India's T20I squad for Afghanistan series

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has been in the news recently for his run-in with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, has been included in the national team squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India.

	Mujeeb, along with Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq, refused to sign the central contract for 2024. Mujeeb also missed the T20I series against the UAE to take part in the Big Bash League tournament while the other two played in the series, having held talks with the board. The ACB then revoked his No Objection Certificate, which brought an abrupt end to the 22-year old&#39;s stint in the BBL.

	Rashid Khan, the regular T20I captain, is also part of the 19-member squad but his participation in the series is in doubt as he continues to recover from a back surgery he underwent recently. Ibrahim Zadran will lead the team in the three-match series against India. Ikram Alikhil is also part of the squad, as the backup wicket-keeper batter, having been in the reserves for the UAE series.

	&nbsp;

	Afghanistan squad:

	Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.

	ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf said: &quot;We are delighted to be embarking on our maiden tour to India for a three-match series. India is the top-ranked side in the world and it&#39;s very pleasing to witness AfghanAtalan competing in a three-match T20I against them. We believe that AfghanAtalan are no longer underdogs &amp; have excelled well in the recent past and we look forward to a highly competitive series against India.&quot;

	The opening game of the series will be played in Mohali on January 11. This will be followed by matches in Indore and Bengaluru on January 14 and 17 respectively. India are the No.1 ranked team in the T20I format while Afghanistan are placed in the 10th position.

Mujeeb returns to Afghanistan squad for India T20Is

Melbourne Renegades have sent an SOS to Netherlands captain Scott Edwards to be available for the last two games of the BBL season as a replacement for the injured Joe Clarke.

	Edwards is currently in South Africa with the Netherlands team on a training tour that includes five practice matches against SA20 teams before the start of that tournament and a month-long camp.

	But Edwards, who also holds Australian citizenship, is leaving South Africa early to return to Melbourne, where he grew up, to be available for Renegades&#39; final two BBL matches, as they will be without a specialist wicketkeeper-batter after Quinton de Kock departs for the SA20 following the match against Hobart Hurricanes on Thursday.

	Renegades don&#39;t have a local wicketkeeper on their list, having traded Sam Harper to Melbourne Stars for legspinner Adam Zampa. They had recruited de Kock to keep in the six games he was available for, and were relying on Clarke to fill the role for the remaining matches. But Clarke&#39;s season-ending quad injury threw a spanner in the works.

	Englishman Jordan Cox was recruited as a replacement player for de Kock, and has played two matches for Renegades already as a specialist batter - one before de Kock&#39;s arrival, and the other as Clarke&#39;s replacement in the Melbourne derby on Tuesday. Cox has played as a wicketkeeper in 24 of his 88 T20s at professional level, but has not kept in his last 26 matches dating back to January last year.

	Edwards, 27, qualifies as an Australian local, and had played in Renegades&#39; practice matches before the BBL. But the Netherlands ODI and T20I captain, who had a very impressive ODI World Cup in India with both bat and gloves, was not signed by any of the BBL teams despite being fully available for the tournament, even as Stars only carried one specialist wicketkeeper in their 18-man squad.

	Edwards instead spent December playing club cricket in Melbourne before heading to South Africa with the Netherlands team. But he will return to Melbourne on January 11, and will be available for the second Melbourne derby against Stars at the Marvel Stadium on January 13 and for their final match of the home-and-away season against Sydney Thunder on January 17 if required.

	Edwards has never played in the BBL or been contracted despite winning the Ryder Medal as the best player in Victoria&#39;s Premier Cricket competition in 2021. He has also never been contracted to play domestically in Australia despite being eligible as a local, although he has played second XI cricket for Victoria in Cricket Australia&#39;s second-tier four-day competition that sits underneath Sheffield Shield cricket.

	&nbsp;

	Renegades replace Mujeeb with Hosein

	Renegades have also added West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein for the last two games of the season after Mujeeb Ur Rahman was ruled out of the remainder of the BBL following the Afghanistan Cricket Board&#39;s decision to revoke his No-Objection Certificate.

	It continues a tumultuous season for Renegades, with their captain Nic Maddinson dropping himself mid-season due to being out of form, while long-time captain and all-time leading run-scorer Aaron Finch was also left out of their most recent match despite being fit, and has announced he will retire at the end of the season despite having a year to run on his contract.

	&nbsp;

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards called up by Melbourne Renegades

David Warner has announced his retirement from ODI cricket alongside the end of his Test career although kept the door ajar to play the 2025 Champions Trophy if Australia felt they needed him.

	&quot;I&#39;m definitely retiring from one-day cricket as well,&quot; he said at the SCG on Monday. &quot;That was something that I had said through the World Cup, get through that, and winning it in India, I think that&#39;s a massive achievement.

	&quot;So I&#39;ll make that decision today, to retire from those forms, which does allow me to go and play some other leagues around the world and sort of get the one-day team moving forward a little bit. I know there&#39;s a Champions Trophy coming up. If I&#39;m playing decent cricket in two years&#39; time and I&#39;m around and they need someone, I&#39;m going to be available.&quot;

	Barring a surprise return in two years&#39; time it means that the World Cup final against India in Ahmedabad was his final ODI leaving him with a tally of 6932 runs at 45.30 with 22 centuries. He is Australia&#39;s sixth-highest run-scorer in men&#39;s ODIs and second on the hundreds list behind Ricky Ponting who played 205 more ODI innings than Warner.

	Warner had already been expected to miss next month&#39;s three-match ODI series against West Indies so that he could take up his ILT20 deal with Dubai Capitals. He is also set to miss the T20I matches before then but wants to continue his career in that format until at least June&#39;s World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA. He is one game away from bringing up a century of appearances in every format.

	After the ODI World Cup in November, Warner had hinted at pushing on until 2027 although he would have been 41 by then and said that the way the team had rebounded in India made it the ideal finishing point.

	&quot;It was a decision that I was very, very comfortable with,&quot; he said. &quot;To win in India, from where we were, was absolutely amazing.

	&quot;When we lost two games in a row in India, the bond just got stronger with each other and it&#39;s not by fluke or by chance that we were able to get to where we were. The heroics of Maxi [Glenn Maxwell], the captaincy and the skills and execution of the way that we played against India was phenomenal, and not to dismiss the Kolkata semi-final as well.&quot;

Warner retires from ODIs but leaves door ajar for Champions Trophy

Dasun Shanaka&#39;s reign as Sri Lanka&#39;s white-ball captain has come to an end as Sri Lanka&#39;s new selection committee appointed Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga to lead the ODI and T20I sides, respectively. With Dimuth Karunaratne currently leading the Test side, this is the first time Sri Lanka have three different captains in the three formats.

	Shanaka first captained Sri Lanka in 2019, on the team&#39;s first tour to Pakistan since the 2009 Lahore attack, but it was not until 2021 that he became their regular captain. Under him, Sri Lanka won 23 out of 41 ODIs and 22 out of 48 T20Is. The highlight of his tenure was the 2022 T20 Asia Cup victory in the UAE where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final.

	Also notable were ODI series wins against South Africa and Australia, and a T20I series win against India at home, all at home. Shanaka also oversaw Sri Lanka&#39;s unbeaten run through the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. But all these achievements were interspersed with poor showings in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup.

	However, it was his poor form with the bat, primarily in ODIs, that put him under the most scrutiny and made people question his place in the side. As such, it was widely expected that the new selection committee would look elsewhere in terms of the captaincy.

	His replacements, Mendis and Hasaranga, both have recent experience in leadership roles. Mendis is a former Under-19 captain and the current skipper of Dambulla Aura in the LPL. Midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup, he took over the reins from Shanaka when the latter got injured. Hasaranga, who is currently recovering from a hamstring surgery, had earlier this year led B-Love Kandy to their inaugural LPL title.

	Shanaka may still play a role in Sri Lanka&#39;s white-ball set-ups after he was named in the preliminary squads for the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe at home in January. 
	&nbsp;

Mendis replaces Shanaka as Sri Lanka's ODI captain; Hasaranga to lead in T20Is

Play was held up in bizarre circumstances during the second Australia-Pakistan Test at the MCG because the third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift.

	Players returned to the middle after the lunch break on Thursday, in time for the scheduled 1.25pm start to the second session. But in unusual scenes, the two central umpires wouldn&#39;t allow a ball to be bowled because Illingworth was unable to return to his post in the grandstand.

	It left Australian batters David Warner and Steven Smith waiting to resume, with the hosts stuck on 6 for 2 in their second innings with an overall lead of 60.

	After a few minutes the fourth umpire, Phil Gillespie, ran from the boundary into the third umpire&#39;s box so that play could resume and Illingworth made his way a few moments later, giving a light-hearted wave as he sat down.

	Cricket Australia and the MCG both produced light-hearted responses to the peculiar delay, which lasted seven minutes.

	&quot;The game is delayed because the third umpire...is stuck in the lift,&quot; Cricket Australia&#39;s social media arm posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

	The MCG was quick to reply: &quot;Sorry.&quot;

	Channel Seven host Mel McLaughlin was also in the lift that became stuck and said that it took about 10 minutes for them to be left out.

	Meanwhile, a busy afternoon for fourth umpire Gillespie continued later in the session when he was briefly called on to stand in the middle alongside Michael Gough when Joel Wilson needed to leave the field for an over.

	&nbsp;

Play delayed due to third umpire stuck in lift at MCG

Kieron Pollard has been appointed England&#39;s assistant coach for the Men&#39;s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America. It is a sole assignment with the objective &#39;to provide expertise of local conditions.&#39;

	Pollard has represented West Indies in 101 T20Is and was part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2012, he also captained them in the 2021 edition. He retired from international cricket in 2022 but is still active in the franchise-league circuit.

	Pollard recently captained New York Strikers to victory in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and Trinbago Knight Riders to the final of CPL 2023. He leads MI Emirates in the ILT20 and is Mumbai Indians&#39; batting coach in the IPL.

	England go into the tournament as defending champions but are coming off of a disastrous ODI World Cup defence in India, where they lost six of their nine games and just about managed to qualify for the Champions Trophy in 2025.

	The upcoming edition of the World Cup will be played from June 4 to 30 across seven Caribbean and three American venues.

	&nbsp;

Kieron Pollard appointed England's assistant coach for T20 World Cup

New Zealand cricket team have encountered a setback as their captain, Kane Williamson, and the talented pacer, Kyle Jamieson, have opted to withdraw from the national squad for the upcoming T20 International series against Bangladesh. This decision comes at a crucial juncture as Bangladesh are currently on a tour of New Zealand, engaging in a competitive ODI series before moving on to the three-match T20I series. The absence of Williamson and Jamieson is likely to be felt keenly, given their pivotal roles in the team.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	The reason behind withdrawals</h3>

	Although named as a skipper in the original squad, Williamson finds himself sidelined as he continues to undergo additional rehabilitation following knee surgery conducted last April. The decision to withdraw from the eminent contests is a strategic move to ensure his full recovery before returning to competitive cricket.

	Simultaneously, Jamieson, another prominent figure in the team, is facing his own fitness challenges. Currently nursing a hamstring injury, the 28-year-old has recently expressed concerns about tightness in his right hamstring. The team management, prioritizing player&rsquo;s welfare and long-term fitness, has opted to rest him to allow for the necessary recovery and rehabilitation, recognizing the significance of having both players in peak condition for future engagements.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Replacements and new skipper :</h3>

	Dynamic all-rounder Rachin Ravindra and skilled seamer Jacob Duffy have been named as the replacements of the two stalwarts to bolster the team&rsquo;s capabilities. Furthermore, in a leadership reshuffle, the responsibility of captaining the side will now fall on the capable shoulders of Mitchell Santner.

	&nbsp;

	New Zealand&rsquo;s updated squad for T20I series against Bangladesh :

	Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

	&nbsp;

Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson withdraw from T20I series against Bangladesh; here is the reason

Virat Kohli has returned home from South Africa for personal reasons, but is likely to rejoin the Test squad ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. Kohli didn&#39;t take part in the Indians&#39; three-day intra-squad match, the only red-ball outing for a number of senior players including captain Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, ahead of the two-Test series.

	Ruturaj Gaikwad, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the two-Test series because of a finger injury. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is currently part of the India A squad that is on a shadow tour of South Africa, has been sounded out to replace Gaikwad as the reserve opener. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to continue their partnership at the top of the order, like they did in the Caribbean in July-August, which was India&#39;s most recent Test assignment.

	Abhimanyu struck an unbeaten 61 on the second day of the practice game in Pretoria before he was retired by the team management. As things stand, Abhimanyu is likely to feature for India A in the second four-day match against South Africa A, also beginning on December 26, barring any last-minute changes. He will then link up with the national squad ahead of the New Year&#39;s Test in Cape Town.

	Gaikwad is expected to head back home and to the BCCI&#39;s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He picked up the injury on the ring finger of his right hand while fielding during the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. In his absence, India handed a debut to Rajat Patidar for the series-deciding final ODI in Paarl, which India won.

	India&#39;s Test squad has been in preparation for the past four days in Pretoria under Rahul Dravid&#39;s coaching staff. KL Rahul, India&#39;s stand-in ODI captain, and Mukesh Kumar are expected to link up with the Test squad after a day&#39;s rest following the ODI series. Shreyas Iyer, who was also part of the ODI mix, had been released from the squad after the first ODI to prepare for the Tests.

	Iyer and Rahul will be returning to Test cricket after a prolonged absence. Both of them last featured for India during the Border-Gavaskar series at home against Australia in February. Rahul, who opened in the series, lost his place after the second Test. He missed the subsequent WTC final and the Caribbean tour because of a hamstring injury. He is likely to take over wicketkeeping duties for the Tests. Iyer, too, hasn&#39;t played a first-class game since March, and has been on a steady diet of ODI cricket following his comeback from back surgery.

	The upcoming series is India&#39;s second assignment in the new WTC cycle for 2023-25. They won the first Test in the Caribbean and were denied an opportunity to win the second by rain.

Kohli returns home from South Africa, likely to be back for first Test

Dean Elgar, South Africa&#39;s former Test captain and stalwart opening batter, will play his last international series against India this summer. Elgar, 36, announced his decision to retire from international cricket after the New Year&#39;s match, which is scheduled to start on January 3 in Cape Town.

	If in the playing XI for both Tests against India, Elgar will finish on 86 Tests in a career that has spanned 12 years. &quot;Playing the game of cricket has always been a dream of mine but having the opportunity to represent your country is the ultimate! Having had the privilege to do it for 12 years internationally is simply beyond my wildest dreams,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;It has been an incredible journey that I have been fortunate enough to have.

	&quot;The Cape Town Test will be my last. My favourite stadium in the world. A place I scored my first Test run against New Zealand and hopefully my last too.&quot;

	With 5146 runs, Elgar is South Africa&#39;s eighth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket - only eight have gone past 5000 runs - and 352 runs behind Mark Boucher, who is seventh on the list.

	We understands that Elgar was informed that he was not part of red-ball coach Shukri Conrad&#39;s long-term plans. He has been linked with Essex as an overseas player for the 2024 season.

	Elgar&#39;s decision means he will be unavailable for South Africa&#39;s two-Test series in New Zealand, where they will be forced to send a makeshift side because several frontline players will be involved in the SA20 league. Elgar does not have an SA20 deal and would have been the most experienced player in the squad, and potentially even asked to captain in Temba Bavuma&#39;s absence. Instead, Titans&#39; batter Neil Brand is expected to lead South Africa and partner Tony de Zorzi at the top of the order. Brand and de Zorzi opened the batting together for South Africa A against West Indies A in a recent three-match series.

	Asked ten days ago whether Elgar was considering ending his international career, CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe told ESPNcricinfo that &quot;nothing has come to my table&quot;, but would be meeting with players and their agents &quot;over the next couple of weeks&quot;. Nkwe has held several discussions in the interim and paid tribute to Elgar&#39;s contributions over the years.

	&quot;Dean Elgar represents a rare brand of cricketer in an age where everything is about innovation and power-hitting. He is a real old-school cricketer that can dig in, absorb and fight. I have no doubt the game will dearly miss him,&quot; Nkwe said. &quot;He has always given everything for his country and never showed any fear, no matter the opposition. He was always there to take on the challenge, leading as captain when the country needed him most.&quot;

	Elgar made his debut in Perth on South Africa&#39;s tour of Australia in 2012, when they were ranked No. 1 in the world, and became the 38th player to record a pair on debut - a list that stands at 45 now - but scored a century in his third match and went on to record 13 hundreds, against all Test opposition other than Pakistan and Zimbabwe. His favourite opponents were Sri Lanka, against whom he scored a match-winning hundred in Galle in 2014, followed by two more centuries in 2017 and 2021.

	Elgar stood in as captain for Faf du Plessis, who was on paternity leave, for the first Test of South Africa&#39;s 2017 tour of England and again for two Tests against Pakistan in 2019, and was named permanent captain of the Test side in mid-2021. He led South Africa to series wins in the West Indies and against India at home, and drew a series against New Zealand in early 2022, which saw them top the World Test Championship (WTC) table at the time. But away losses to England and Australia in 2022-23 meant South Africa missed out on the WTC final earlier this year. Elgar was replaced as captain when there was a reshuffle of the coaching staff in February but continued to play under Bavuma.

	It is understood that Elgar was unhappy with the decision to be stood down but accepted a new central contract at the end of March. With South Africa only due to play two Test series in the 2023-2025 WTC cycle, Elgar felt his Test career would be limited by the schedule and sources have confirmed he wanted to finish on a high at home.

	&nbsp;

Elgar to retire from Tests after India series

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auctions are here and all the ten franchises have arrived in Dubai for the showpiece event. The likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Rachin Ravindra and others are ready to go under the hammer for the available 77 slots. A total of 333 players will be going under the hammer, out of which, 214 are Indians and 119 are overseas players of which 2 players are from associate nations. The total capped players are 116, uncapped players are 215 and 2 from associate nations.

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	IPL 2024 auction sold players</h3>
<ul>
	<li>
		Rovman Powell (Base price INR 1 crore) sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 7.4 crore (USD 892,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Harry Brook (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 4 crore (USD 482,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Travis Head (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 6.8 crore (USD 819,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Wanindu Hasaranga (Base price INR 1.5 crore) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1.5 crore (USD 181,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Rachin Ravindra (Base price INR 50 lakh) sold to CSK for INR 1.8 crore (USD 217,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Shardul Thakur (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to CSK for INR 4 crore (USD 482,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Azmatullah Omarzai (Base price INR 50 lakh) sold to Gujarat Titans for INR 50 lakh (USD 60,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Pat Cummins (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 20.50 crore (USD 2,470,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Gerald Coetzee (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 5 crore (USD 602,000 approx)</li>
	<li>
		Harshal Patel (Base price INR 2 crore) sold to Punjab Kings for 11.75 crore (USD 1,412,000 approx)</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	 
	IPL 2024 auction unsold players</h3>
<ul>
	<li>
		Rilee Rossouw (Base price INR 2 crore)</li>
	<li>
		Karun Nair (Base price INR 50 lakh)</li>
	<li>
		Steven Smith (Base price INR 2 crore)</li>
	<li>
		Manish Pandey (Base price INR 50 lakh)</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;

IPL 2024 auction: The list of sold and unsold players

Australia named their 13-player squad for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan in Melbourne after going one up in the three-match series. The World Test Championship holders have decided to go against the urge to trifle with their squad that walked away with a thumping 360-run victory in Perth on Sunday. This time instead of naming a 14-player squad, Australia decided to leave one player behind. Uncapped speedster Lance Morris dropped out of the squad to return to domestic duties.

	In his absence, the experienced pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and skipper Pat Cummins are likely to lead the attack while Scott Boland&#39;s presence could further add another option should Australia decide to tinker their playing XI.

	Young all-rounder Cameroon Green is another player who is running in contention to feature in the playing XI, but skipper Pat Cummins feels it is hard to force any changes in the squad.

	&quot;I don&#39;t think injuries are going to be an issue, so I dare say it will be a pretty similar line-up at this stage. I think all the bowlers are pretty fresh after (the win in Perth). It&#39;s basically the ideal start to the summer,&quot; Cummins said of the XI who will play in the Boxing Day Test (December 26) as quoted from ICC.

	The only injury concern that Australia had after the first Test was of star batter Marnus Labuschagne. On Day 3 of the 1st Test, Pakistan debutant Khurram Shahzad hit the right-handed batter on the finger of his right hand with a rearing delivery that jumped off a length. Labuschagne sought medical assistance right away but returned to batting after a few minutes.

	But he is expected to get fit in time for the 2nd Test match on December 26.

	Coming to the changes in the World Test Championship table after the 1st test, Australia is currently fifth on the WTC standings with a 41.67 win-loss percentage, while Pakistan are tied at the top with India with a 66.67 percentage.

	&nbsp;

	Australia Test squad :

	Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner..

	&nbsp;

Australia Name 13-Player Squad For Boxing Day Test Against Pakistan

Kyle Jamieson will sit out the second and third ODIs against Bangladesh &quot;and will instead have a period of rest&quot; ahead of the three-match T20I series. Meanwhile, Finn Allen has also been taken out of the squad for the second ODI to turn out for Auckland Aces in their Super Smash opener on Tuesday.

	In a statement, NZC said that the decision on Jamieson was made after he &quot;experienced stiffness in his hamstring following his arrival home from Bangladesh last week&quot;.

	New Zealand were in Bangladesh for a two-Test series, which ended 1-1. Ben Sears, who had been brought in as cover for Jamieson prior to the ODI series, will stay on with the squad.

	&quot;There&#39;s a lot of cricket ahead of us and we want to make sure Kyle&#39;s in the best place possible without taking any unnecessary risks,&quot; Gary Stead, the team coach, said. &quot;As we flagged when naming the ODI squad we see the series as a chance to provide opportunities to some new players, and Ben fits that category.&quot;

	Allen will miss just the one ODI and will rejoin the squad for the third game.

	Neither Jamieson nor Allen played the first ODI of the series against Bangladesh, in Dunedin on Sunday, which New Zealand won by 44 runs (DLS method). Will Young and Tom Latham were the batting stars in that match, scoring 105 and 92 respectively, as New Zealand racked up 239 for 7 in their 30 overs. Bangladesh were then restricted to 200 for 9, with Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Josh Clarkson all picking up two wickets apiece.

	The second ODI will be played in Nelson on Wednesday.

	&nbsp;

	New Zealand squad for rest of ODI series:

	Tom Latham (capt), Will Young, Tom Blundell (wk), Henry Nicholls, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Rachin Ravindra, Adithya Ashok, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, William O&#39;Rourke, Ben Sears, Finn Allen (only third ODI).&nbsp;

Jamieson rested for remainder of Bangladesh ODI series

India&#39;s best bowler in the recently-concluded ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, Mohammed Shami, has been ruled out of the two-Test series against South Africa, that starts on December 26.&nbsp; Mohammed Shami, whose participation in the Test series was subject to fitness has not been cleared by the BCCI Medical Team, according to a press release from the Indian cricket governing body. Mohammed Shami was the Cricket World Cup highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps, despite not playing the first four matches.

	There were some other major updates regarding the Touring side of India in South Africa. After India drew the T20I series 1-1 against South Africa, the two teams will face each other in an three-ODI contest. The ODI team will be assisted by India A&#39;s coaching staff comprising - batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, bowling coach Rajib Datta and fielding coach Mr Ajay Ratra.

	Team India (Senior Men) head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach MVikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach Mr T. Dilip will link up with the Test squad and oversee their preparations for the inter-squad game and the Test series.

	After the conclusion of the first ODI in Johannesburg on 17th December, Shreyas Iyer will join the Test squad to prepare for the Test series. He will not be available for the second and third ODI and will take part in the inter-squad game

	Meanwhile, Deepak Chahar has informed the BCCI that he will not be available for the upcoming ODI series due to a family medical emergency. The Men&#39;s Selection Committee has named Mr Akash Deep as his replacement.

	&nbsp;

	India&#39;s updated ODI squad:

	Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	During a recent interaction, Shami revealed his diet that allows him to maintain his fitness and even joked about the stories regarding his love for biryani. Shami said that earlier he did not follow a strict routine but following his injury, he has become more careful and now he has a set diet and workout plan for himself.

	 
	&nbsp;

Mohammed Shami Ruled Out Of Test Series vs South Africa

Hardik Pandya will captain Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, taking over from Rohit Sharma, who led the team through a decade of thrilling highs. Rohit, who led Mumbai to five IPL titles, is the joint-most-successful captain in the tournament&#39;s history alongside Chennai Super Kings&#39; MS Dhoni.

	The leadership change comes less than a month after Mumbai brought Hardik back to his original franchise after he had captained Gujarat Titans to a title and a runners-up finish in back-to-back seasons.

	While the development might come as a surprise to some, Mumbai had a clear plan when they traded Hardik from Titans. The franchise had identified Hardik as Rohit&#39;s successor and wanted to ensure a smooth transition as in the past, when the captaincy baton had passed from Sachin Tendulkar to Harbhajan Singh and then Ricky Ponting to Rohit.

	It is understood that Rohit will continue playing for Mumbai in the IPL.

	&quot;It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready,&quot; Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai&#39;s global head of performance, said in a statement. &quot;Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season.

	&quot;We express our gratitude to Rohit Sharma for his exceptional leadership; his tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians since 2013 has been nothing short of extraordinary. His leadership has not only brought unparalleled success to the team but has also solidified his place as one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL.

	&quot;Under his guidance, MI became one of the most successful and loved teams ever. We will look forward to his guidance and experience on and off the field to further strengthen MI. We welcome Hardik Pandya as the new captain of MI and wish him all the very best.&quot;

	In all, Rohit led Mumbai 163 times in the IPL and the Champions League T20, winning 91 games, tieing four and losing 68. Under him, Mumbai reached five IPL finals - in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 - and won all of them. The last three seasons have been less successful for Mumbai, though. They failed to make the playoffs in 2021 and 2022, and went out of the 2023 tournament with a loss to Titans in the second Qualifier.

	It remains to be seen whether the captaincy change at Mumbai is a precursor to a similar shift in India&#39;s T20I team. Rohit is currently India&#39;s all-format captain, but has not played a T20I since the semi-final defeat at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. In that time, Hardik has captained India in the format when available - he has led them in 13 of their last 25 T20Is - but is currently out of action with an ankle injury sustained during the recent ODI World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav - another Mumbai Indians player - captained India in the recently concluded T20I series in South Africa.

	&nbsp;

Hardik takes over from Rohit as Mumbai Indians captain

Shreyas Iyer will return as Kolkata Knight Riders captain for IPL 2024 after missing the 2023 season with a back injury. Nitish Rana, KKR&#39;s stand-in captain last season, is their vice-captain for IPL 2024.

	Iyer was bought by KKR for INR 12.25 crore (approx. USD 1.5 million) ahead of IPL 2022 and led the franchise to a seventh-place finish that season, with six wins and eight defeats. A back injury in April 2023 ruled him out of the IPL and the World Test Championship final that summer. Under Rana&#39;s captaincy, Knight Riders finished seventh again with six wins and eight defeats in IPL 2023.

	&quot;I believe the last season presented us with several challenges, including my absence due to injury,&quot; Iyer said in a statement. &quot;Nitish did a great job not only filling in for me but also with his commendable leadership. I am delighted that KKR has named him vice captain. No doubt it will strengthen the leadership group&quot;

	A lot has changed at KKR since Iyer was their captain. Having earlier led the side with Brendon McCullum as coach, he will now be working with Chandrakant Pandit and new team mentor Gautam Gambhir. It was under Gambhir&#39;s captaincy that KKR won their only two IPL titles - in 2012 and 2014.

	Iyer has previously worked with Pandit in the Mumbai state set-up in his formative years and alongside Gambhir briefly at Delhi Daredevils. Iyer&#39;s first stint as an IPL captain came in 2018, when he succeeded Gambhir at Delhi Daredevils midway through the season.

	KKR had released 12 players including Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav ahead of the IPL player auction on December 19. They have a purse of INR 32.7 crore to spend.

	&quot;It was indeed unfortunate that Shreyas missed IPL 2023 due to injury. We are delighted that he&#39;s back and at the helm as captain,&quot; KKR CEO Venky Mysore said. &quot;The way he has worked hard to recover from his injury and the form he has displayed is a testament to his character.

	&quot;We are also grateful that Nitish had agreed to step into Shreyas&#39;s shoes last season and did a great job. There&#39;s no doubt Nitish as vice-captain will support Shreyas in every possible way for the benefit of #TeamKKR.&quot;

Shreyas Iyer back as KKR captain for IPL 2024

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced junior Team India&#39;s 15-member squad for the upcoming tri-series followed by the Under-19 World Cup squad in South Africa. Punjab&#39;s Uday Saharan will continue to lead the side while the rest of the squad stays similar to the one currently involved in the junior Asia Cup. The defending champions will be involved in a tri-series also featuring England and South Africa starting December 29 and ending on January 10 before starting their World Cup campaign on January 20 against Bangladesh.

	Punjab batter Uday Saharan will lead India&#39;s title defence at the 2024 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in January and February. India are the most successful side in the tournament&#39;s history, having won it five times in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018 and 2022.

	Saharan, who is currently captaining India at the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai, was the highest scorer at the Under-19 Challenger Trophy held in Guwahati last month. He made 297 runs in four innings, with four half-centuries and a best of 93 not out. The tournament had 45 players competing for World Cup slots, picked by India&#39;s junior selection panel headed by former Karnataka wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu.

	Allrounder Musheer Khan, who bats in the middle order and bowls left-arm spin, is one of only two players - Baroda&#39;s Priyanshu Moliya being the other - in the 15-man squad with first-class experience. Musheer is the younger brother of Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan, who had played for India in the 2014 and 2016 Under-19 World Cups.

	Musheer had scored 127 off 47 balls and took two wickets in a quadrangular U-19 series match in November, and was the third highest scorer in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy with 268 runs at a strike rate of 108.

	Last year, he led Mumbai to the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy, where he was named Player of the Tournament for his 670 runs and 32 wickets. Those performances earned him a Ranji Trophy debut against Saurashtra. He has played three first-class matches so far and has been shortlisted among 333 players at the IPL 2024 auction on December 19.

	Another breakout star in the squad is Maharashtra allrounder Arshin Kulkarni, who impressed talent scouts at the Maharashtra Premier League. He bowls medium pace and is a top-order bat. Following his MPL exploits, Kulkarni played for Maharashtra in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and is among the uncapped Indian players at the IPL auction.

	Karnataka&#39;s Dheeraj Gowda and Baroda&#39;s Raj Limbani lead a strong pace attack. Gowda was the top wicket-taker at the Challengers (nine wickets with an economy of 4.42) while Limbani took 7 for 13 against Nepal at the Under-19 Asia Cup on Tuesday. Himachal&#39;s Innesh Mahajan and Hyderabad&#39;s Avanish Rao are the two wicketkeepers.

	Before the World Cup, India will play a U-19 tri-series against the hosts South Africa and England from December 29 to January 10.

	India are in Group A along with Bangladesh, Ireland and USA at the World Cup and play their first match against Bangladesh on January 20 in Bloemfontein. They then play Ireland on January 25 and USA on January 28.

	&nbsp;

	India squad for tri-series and Under-19 World Cup:

	Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (capt), Aravelly Avanish Rao (wk), Saumy Kumar Pandey (vc), Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan (wk), Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

India announce 15-man squad for U-19 World Cup 2024 in South Africa, Uday Saharan to lead

The UAE-based ILT20, one of the major franchise-run T20 leagues around the world despite being just a season old because of the quality of players it has attracted, has been given List A status by the ICC just over a month off the start of its second season. It&#39;s the first T20 league run by the board of an Associate nation to be given the status.

	What it means is that the tournament will now be recognised as an official T20 tournament, with all tournament statistics given official status. In a statement, the ILT20 called the update &quot;a major milestone&quot; and a &quot;major boost&quot;.

	&quot;Earning the List A status is a major milestone for the DP World International League T20. We would like to thank the ICC for the acknowledgment,&quot; David White, chief executive of the league, said. &quot;The recognition is a clear indication of the strength and stature of our league.&quot;

	The second edition of the tournament will kick off on January 19 and end on February 17.

	And despite the dates of the tournament overlapping to some extent with a bunch of other T20 leagues, like the BPL, the SA20 league in South Africa, the Australian BBL, the Super Smash in New Zealand, and possibly the PSL, T20 stars like David Warner, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Alex Hales, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Woakes, Maheesh Theekshana and others are going to be in action at the ILT20.

	The ILT20 is currently a six-team league, with three of the teams - Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals and MI Emirates - owned by groups that own IPL teams. Gulf Giants, led by James Vince, won the first edition when they beat Desert Vipers in the final.

ILT20 becomes first Associate-run franchise league to get 'official' List-A status

The uncapped Indian pair of Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh walked away with top honours at the WPL auction in Mumbai, attracting bids of INR 2 crore (Gujarat Giants) and INR 1.3 crore (UP Warriorz) respectively.

	Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland was the most expensive overseas player, attracting the auction&#39;s joint-highest bid at INR 2 crore, with Delhi Capitals exhausting 88.8% of their remaining purse of INR 2.25 crore on her.

	The biggest surprise was Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu missing out for a second time running. The WBBL&#39;s MVP, the second-highest run getter in the tournament, also failed to make it back into the accelerated rounds of the auction, where teams nominated players from the initial unsold list of players.

	Some other significant exclusions were of Deandra Dottin, the former West Indies captain, and Australia allrounder Kim Garth, who were among only three players in the highest price bracket (INR 50 lakh). Scotland&#39;s Kathryn Bryce was the lone Associate player picked at the auction, by Giants at her base price of INR 10 lakh.

	Ekta Bisht at INR 60 lakh attracted the highest bid (Royal Challengers Bangalore) among capped India players, while Veda Krishnamurthy (Giants) and S Meghana (RCB) went at base prices (INR 30 lakh) in the final accelerated round of auctions after finding no takers early on. Among the big Indian misses was Devika Vaidya, the allrounder, who was expected to be high on the wish list of teams. She was released by the Warriorz, who had bid INR 1.6 crore for her ahead of the inaugural season.

	In what was a sharp auction where teams mostly looked to fill gaps, the Giants came in with the biggest purse after offloading more than half their squad. Having released four seam-bowlers - Sutherland, Garth, Mansi Joshi and Monica Patel - they went all out to secure the lanky 20-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Kashvee, who plays for Chandigarh.

	Giants and RCB began an intense tussle before Warriorz swooped in at INR 75 lakh. They pursued the bid until the Giants pipped them right at the end to sign Kashvee at a record INR 2 crore. For perspective, Kashvee&#39;s bid was higher than the one Harmanpreet Kaur attracted (INR 1.8 crore) at the inaugural auction in February.

	It was no surprise that Kashvee was in high demand, since skilled seam-bowling allrounders are a rarity. Kashvee is a swing bowler who has worked on improving her pace, based on feedback given to her after the inaugural auction in which she was unsold.

	At the Senior Women&#39;s T20 Trophy last month, she picked up 12 wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 4.14. Since then, she has also gone on to play for India A in the recently-concluded home series against England A. In June, she was part of India&#39;s triumphant Under-23 squad at the ACC Emerging tournament in Hong Kong.

	Like Kashvee, Vrinda has been on the radar of the selectors and scouts alike. In August, Vrinda trialled with all five franchises. RCB, the franchise from her home state, first raised the paddle before Giants entered the tussle to quickly elevate the bids. But it was Warriorz, who entered the bidding at INR 65 lakh, who stayed the course to finally sign her for INR 1.3 crore.

	A prolific scorer over the past two seasons, Vrinda has earned plaudits for her ability to blend consistency with robust power-hitting up front. At 22, she has already broken through the ranks of India A, having recently been part of the squad that played three home games against England A.

	Earlier this year, she played a key role in Karnataka&#39;s run to the final of the Senior Women&#39;s one-day competition. She finished as the tournament&#39;s fifth-highest run-getter, behind Jasia Akter and Priya Punia, with 477 runs in 11 innings at 47.70. This included 81 in the semi-final against Rajasthan.

	Australia&#39;s Phoebe Litchfield was the first player up for grabs and was signed by Giants for INR 1 crore. The left-hander, who first broke through as a social media sensational as a 16-year-old in 2019, has had a dream run lately, finishing the WBBL as its third-highest run-getter. She began her international career in India last year, during the T20I series, and made the move up quickly.

	She kept Grace Harris out of the Australia side earlier this season and was used in the middle order, from where she struck a record-equalling 18-ball fifty against West Indies. Earlier this year, she was handed Test and ODI caps.

	Also among those who got onto the WPL bandwagon after finding no takers in the inaugural season were the England duo of Danni Wyatt (Warriorz) and Kate Cross (RCB). South Africa quick Shabnim Ismail went to the Mumbai Indians for INR 1.2 crore.

	The second WPL season is set to be played in February 2024. The first season was played across three venues in Mumbai owing to logistical considerations. The BCCI hasn&#39;t yet made a decision on the venues for the second edition, although Mumbai and Bengaluru are believed to be in the running to host matches.

	&nbsp;

Sri Lankan All-Rounder Chamari Athapaththu Goes Unsold Again

Andre Russell has been named in West Indies&#39; T20I set-up for the first time since the 2021 T20 World Cup, as part of a 15-man squad to face England in next week&#39;s five-match series in the Caribbean.

	Russell, 35, has spent the past month in the UAE, where his Deccan Gladiators team lost to New York Strikers in the final of the Abu Dhabi T10 on Saturday. He will link up with the squad in Barbados this week, with the first T20I getting underway at Bridgetown on Tuesday.

	Matthew Forde, the uncapped 21-year-old allrounder, has also been named in the squad after his maiden call-up to the ODI set-up this month, while Sherfane Rutherford is also back in the T20 reckoning for the first time since 2020.

	Gudakesh Motie, who impressed with his left-arm spin in the second ODI against England in Antigua, has been recalled to the squad after missing the recent India tour through injury. Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder, both of whom have been unavailable for 50-over selection in recent months, also return.

	The five-match series against England, the defending T20 World Champions, is an important staging post for West Indies ahead of their co-hosting of the next T20 World Cup, alongside the USA, in June and July 2024.

	Shai Hope, West Indies&#39; captain and stand-out batter in the ongoing ODIs, has been named as vice-captain to Rovman Powell, while Johnson Charles, Obed McCoy, Odean Smith and Oshane Thomas all miss out on selection having featured against India in August.

	&quot;This will be the final home T20I series for the West Indies in 2023, as they prepare to be one of the two host teams for the ICC Men&#39;s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA in June 2024,&quot; Desmond Haynes, CWI&#39;s lead selector, said.

	&quot;We have selected a squad that we think gives us the best chance of success in that tournament. We will continue to assess in the lead up to the competition.&quot;

	The selection panel has the opportunity for squad adjustments ahead of the final two matches of the series, in Trinidad on December 19 and 21.

	&nbsp;

	West Indies squad :

	Rovman Powell (capt), Shai Hope (vc), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder,Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.&nbsp;

Russell returns to WI T20I squad for England series

Alyssa Healy has been appointed Australia women&#39;s cricket team&#39;s full-time captain across all formats following legendary Meg Lanning&#39;s retirement and will begin her new role during Southern Stars&#39; tour of India starting later this month. Australia will play a one-off Test, three ODIs and as many T20Is starting December 21 in Mumbai. Healy had earlier led Australia since June in a series against England, Ireland and the West Indies.

	All-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who recently led Adelaide Strikers to back-to-back WBBL titles, has been named as Healy&#39;s deputy.

	The 33-year-old Healy, had been on expected lines, having earlier served as vice-captain of the national side under Lanning and has 14 years of international experience under her belt.

	Healy was honoured to don the new role and said she would do whatever it takes to keep Australia&#39;s flag flying.

	&quot;I am honoured to accept the role of captain and am grateful for the opportunity to lead our team. I&#39;ve really enjoyed the support of the players over the past few months and their encouragement to continue to be who I am and lead the group like I normally would from within,&quot; Healy was quoted as saying in cricket.com.au.

	&quot;My approach will remain consistent to what it has been previously, but I&#39;ll make my own mark on the role and be sure that I&#39;m doing the best I possibly can for this group to maintain the success that we&#39;ve had.&quot; Healy termed it a good time to lead the national team.

	&quot;It&#39;s an exciting time to be involved with this team, we&#39;re seeing the emergence of incredible young talent and are challenging ourselves to continually evolve as a group.&quot; Healy and McGrath&#39;s appointments were ratified at a Cricket Australia (CA) board meeting on Friday.

	Healy&#39;s first big assignment as Australia skipper will be next year&#39;s T20 World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh.

	McGrath said it was a privilege to be appointed as vice-captain and is looking forward towards working alongside Healy.

	&quot;Alyssa brings a wealth of experience to the role, and we have great confidence in her ability to successfully lead the Australian women&#39;s team in tandem with Tahlia as vice-captain.

	&quot;We are extremely fortunate to have a talented and experienced group of players who will provide great support to Alyssa and Tahlia as the team evolves and seeks to build on its outstanding performances.&quot; Australia squad for India tour: Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham (all formats).

	&nbsp;

Healy Officially Replaces Lanning As Australia Captain

Gautam Gambhir is one player who never shies away from taking a challenge. Be it during his playing days with the bat or defending his player as a coach, Gautam Gambhir is someone, who takes on any challenge or player head on. In the IPL, the most recent example of it came during the ugly spat with Virat Kohli, when he felt that his then team&#39;s (Lucknow Super Giants) player Naveen ul Haq was challenged wrongly. That image became quite viral.

	Now, Gautam Gambhir almost had another incident with his former teammate Sreesanth. During a Legends League Cricket eliminator Match, Gautam Gambhir went hammer and tongs against Gujarat Giants, while playing for India Capitals. Gautam Gambhir hit seven fours and one six on way to scoring 51 off 30 balls. His innings was crucial in India Capitals winning the match at Legends League Cricket, a T20 competition where former players feature.

	The match also saw an incident between Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth. After he hit Sreesanth for a six and a four, the fast bowler gave him a long stare. Gautam Gambhir was not amused.

	Following his return to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a mentor, the former India international Gautam Gambhir said the franchise is very close to his heart. Speaking to ANI, Gambhir hoped that he could deliver for the franchise in the upcoming season of the IPL. The 42-year-old said he wants to repay all the love he received from the people of Bengal during his earlier tenure with the two-time IPL champions.

	&quot;Going back to where there was a lot of emotions, sweat, hard work, all those memories coming back. It&#39;s a new start and hopefully, we can deliver. KKR is very close to my heart because of the amount of love we have got from the people of Bengal, it is time to repay it,&quot; Gambhir told ANI.

	Gambhir served as Lucknow Super Giants&#39; (LSG) mentor for two years during which the franchise finished third in both seasons.

	After making their place in the playoff, they got eliminated by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the 2022 and 2023 seasons respectively.

	Gambhir has now returned to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team that he guided to IPL glory in 2012.

	Earlier, Gambhir was associated with the Kolkata-based franchise from 2011 to 2017, which is considered the golden period of KKR.

	&nbsp;

Gautam Gambhir Unhappy As Sreesanth Gives Him Long Stare After Getting Hit For 6,4. Video Viral

Australia&#39;s World Cup-winning star Glenn Maxwell has declared he will entertain crowds in the IPL until he &quot;can&#39;t walk anymore&quot;.

	But the star allrounder is already focusing on adding a second T20 World Cup to Australia&#39;s collection during next year&#39;s tournament in the United States and the West Indies.

	After resting for a week since his return home from India, Maxwell will lead the Melbourne Stars in Thursday night&#39;s Big Bash League opener against Brisbane at the Gabba.

	The 35-year-old, who will again play for Royal Challengers Bangalore next year, hopes as many Australians as possible get IPL experience ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.

	&quot;The IPL will probably be the last tournament I ever play, as I will play the IPL until I can&#39;t walk anymore,&quot; Maxwell said at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday.

	&quot;I was talking about how good the IPL has been to me throughout my career; the people I&#39;ve met, the coaches I have played under, the international players that you get to rub shoulders with, how beneficial to my whole career that tournament has been.

	&quot;You&#39;re rubbing shoulders with AB [de Villiers] and Virat [Kohli] for two months, talking to them while watching other games. It&#39;s just the greatest learning experience that any player could ask for.

	&quot;Hopefully a lot of our Australian players can get over to the IPL and get to work in slightly similar conditions to the West Indies, where it is a little bit drier, it will spin.&quot;

	Australia&#39;s white-ball group remain on a high after last month&#39;s stunning ODI World Cup final victory over India. After winning their first T20 World Cup in 2021, Australia were unable to back it up at home when they hosted last year&#39;s edition.

	But the men&#39;s national side now have an opportunity to replicate England&#39;s achievement by holding the 20-over and 50-over crowns at the same time.

	&quot;As soon as we won this World Cup, we all talked about the refocus towards the next one,&quot; Maxwell said. &quot;I&#39;m hoping it&#39;s going be a really exciting summer for the BBL, with what is just around the corner.

	&quot;Hopefully a little bit more importance on putting your name up in the headlines for the right reasons and trying to push for those spots.&quot;

Maxwell: 'Will play the IPL until I can't walk anymore'

The ECB has announced the launch of the Cricket Regulator, a new independent body responsible for monitoring compliance with the game&#39;s regulations and enforcing adherence to those regulations, as well as providing relevant information and education.

	The formation of the Cricket Regulator was a key recommendation from a damning report published by Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) in June, which detailed structural inequalities across race, gender and class in cricket in England and Wales.

	The 317-page document published, entitled &quot;Holding Up a Mirror to Cricket&quot;, was critical of the ECB&#39;s dual roles as promoter and regulator of the game, concluding potential conflicts of interest were &quot;irreconcilable&quot;. This, the report stated, was particularly evident in the handling of the racism crisis that dominated English cricket following Azeem Rafiq&#39;s revelations from his time at Yorkshire.

	The ICEC suggested a new body, not the ECB, &quot;should be responsible for investigating alleged regulatory breaches and for making decisions about whether to bring charges&quot;. In September, the ECB confirmed it would action this recommendation.

	Unveiled on Monday, the Cricket Regulator will be overseen by an independent Cricket Regulatory Board and, crucially, will be ring-fenced from the rest of the ECB. Areas previously under the governing body&#39;s remit, including safeguarding, integrity (anti-corruption, misconduct, anti-doping) and anti-discrimination will now be part of the Cricket Regulator&#39;s purview.

	Starting immediately, the Cricket Regulator will undertake investigations when a case is reported before deciding whether there is sufficient evidence to put the case to the Cricket Discipline Commission (which will be repurposed as the Cricket Discipline Panel in 2024). The independent Cricket Regulatory Board, which also begins work on Monday, will have budget authority for the Cricket Regulator and will be accountable for its activity and expenditure. The current ECB Regulatory Committee members have become the first Board members, with an open recruitment drive to fill the remaining seats.

	Dave Lewis, a former police chief, will act as interim director of the Cricket Regulator, tasked with setting up the body before a permanent successor is appointed in 2024. Lewis has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement, undertaking various roles, including the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council lead for ethics, and retired as deputy chief constable of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall in October 2020. He will report to Nick Coward, chair of the Cricket Regulatory Broad.

	&quot;The Cricket Regulator will cover a wide range of matters on which the game has set clear standards, including anti-discrimination,&quot; Lewis said in a statement. &quot;The team and I are clear about the importance of meeting high standards in ensuring people across the game know what is expected of them, and having the best procedures in place, to protect and promote the good of the game, and everyone involved.&quot;

	ECB chief executive Richard Gould welcomed the formation of the new body, and its independence: &quot;It is important that the game has the best processes in place in order to enforce regulations. The ICEC report recommended that we introduce further independence to the game&#39;s regulatory process and the Cricket Regulator overseen by an independent Cricket Regulatory Board will do that.

	&quot;The Cricket Regulator is ring-fenced from the ECB, and that separation will ensure that their work is distinct from our work as the game&#39;s promoter.&quot;

ECB announces formation of independent Cricket Regulator

&nbsp;Cricket South Africa has named the South African men&#39;s squads for the all-format series against India that commences December 10, 2023 and ends January 7, 2024. The two sides will play three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches.

	The uncapped trio of Mihlali Mpongwana, David Bedingham and Nandre Burger have earned their first ever national call-ups. Pacer Burger has been named in all three squads, while batter Bedingham has made it to the Test squad. All-rounder Mpongwana, who put up a terrific all-round show in the final of a Division 1 tournament in October, is part of the ODI squad.

	Tristan Stubbs, the prodigy who has been in the limelight for his IPL stints, has been included in South Africa&#39;s Test squad for the first time. The 23-year-old has already played ODI and T20I cricket for South Africa, scored a hundred for South Africa A against Sri Lanka earlier in the year and made a case for himself in red-ball cricket. In addition, wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne has been recalled to the ODI and Test squads, having last featured earlier this year in a Test against Australia.

	Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada are notable omissions from the white-ball series, as the pair aim to focus on the high-priority Test assignment against India which kicks off on December 26, in addition to recovering from the recently-concluded, strenuous World Cup campaign. Furthermore, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi will miss the 3rd T20I and ODI series and join Bavuma and Rabada in a round of first-class matches in preparation for the Test series. T20I captain Aiden Markram will captain the ODI side in Bavuma&#39;s absence.

	Fast bowler Lizaad Williams suffered a groin strain in a first-class match last weekend against Province. He will undergo further medical assessments to determine the extent of the injury. Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje (lower back stress fracture) and Wayne Parnell (left shoulder) were not considered for selection on account of rehabilitation for their injuries.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	T20I squad:</h3>

	Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee (1st and 2nd T20Is), Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen (1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi (1st and 2nd T20Is), Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs and Lizaad Williams.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	ODI squad:</h3>

	Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Mihlali Mpongwana, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne and Lizaad Williams.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Test squad:</h3>

	Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne

	&nbsp;

	&quot;After an excellent overall showing at the recently concluded ICC Men&#39;s Cricket World Cup, we want to capitalise on that momentum and continue building on our core group during this Freedom Series.&quot; said Rob Walter, South Africa&#39;s white-ball coach.

	&quot;We have a busy summer ahead starting with the T20Is and then ODIs against India and we have therefore taken the decision to omit several of our senior players. This decision was taken together with coach Shukri [Conrad], as we place emphasis on the red-ball leg of the tour meaning they will instead be preparing for the Test series by playing domestic cricket. In saying that, the move has presented opportunities for others that have been performing well on domestic level to be drafted in.

	&quot;We are looking forward to seeing what they can do, the likes of Nandre Burger, the leading wicket-taker in the One-Day Cup as well as Donovan Ferreira and Mihlali Mpongwana. We also have others back in the national fold such as Wiaan Mulder and Ottniel Baartman, so it is exciting to see how they will get on.

	&quot;We are anticipating a very good series against a strong India team and cannot wait to get started in Durban on Sunday.&quot;

	Test head coach Conrad added: &quot;It is the start of a new ICC World Test Championship cycle and that itself is a huge incentive for everyone. The playing field is level and we want to try and ensure we make a strong start to this sequence here at home against one of the best teams in the world.

	&quot;We have a near full-strength squad to pick from and that in itself is a real boost for us. We have also added some new and exciting faces such as David Bedingham, Nandre Burger and Tristan Stubbs, who make the Test squad for the first time. There are others that are also back in the fold after going back to their unions and returning with impressive performances.

Bavuma, Rabada left out for white-ball leg of India series

England pacer Jofra Archer is set to miss the Indian Premier League 2024 as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) looks to manage his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup according to ESPNcricinfo. Archer has missed professional cricket for the majority of the year due to a reoccurring elbow injury and he made his last appearance in professional cricket in May 2023. He travelled as a reserve player with the England team but stayed for a week in India as continued to suffer from the pain.

	He was released by the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction. In IPL 2023, fans expected Archer to be at his very best and guide MI to their sixth trophy, but injuries interrupted his season and affected his performances.

	In his five matches, he could take only two wickets and proved much easier to hit by batters.

	Archer was also ruled out from the Ashes series due to his medical condition as the scans revealed a recurrence of a stress fracture to his right elbow which cut short his stint in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Mumbai Indians.

	According to ESPNcricinfo, &quot;Archer did not feature among the list of over 1000 names - including 34 England players - who have registered for the IPL auction that takes place in Dubai on December 19 as the ECB told Archer not to enter the auction.&quot;

	Coming to the rest of the England players - Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Mark Wood, Will Jacks and Reece Topley were retained by their IPL franchises ahead of the upcoming auction.

	On the other hand, all-rounder Ben Stokes and star batter Joe Root decided to opt out of the tournament.

	&nbsp;

Jofra Archer Set To Miss IPL 2024 As ECB Look To Manage His Workload

Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque, who impressed one and all during inaugural edition of the Women&rsquo;s Premier League (WPL), received her maiden call-up for India as she was named in the squad for the three-match T20I series against England starting December 6 in Mumbai.

	The T20I squad comprised mostly those who were part of the Asian Games gold-winning team in Hangzhou, which is a nice blend of seniors and juniors.

	At one end there are seasoned campaigners like skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Pooja Vastrakar, and on the other, the selectors have also included rookies like spinner Mannat Kashyap, batters Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, and talented pacer Titas Sadhu, to name a few.

	The Test team doesn&rsquo;t have too many surprises as Sadhu, an heir apparent to Jhulan Goswami, has been included along with Karnataka left-hander Shubha Satheesh, who was rewarded for her gritty batting in national one-dayers.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	INDIA SQUAD FOR TESTS vs ENGLAND &amp; Australia :</h3>

	Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar.

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	INDIA SQUAD FOR T20IS vs England :</h3>

	Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Pooja Vastrakar, Kanika Ahuja, Minnu Mani.

India Women’s squads for Tests, England T20Is announced

Dominica will not host any matches during the 2024 Men&#39;s T20 World Cup. The government of Dominica took the decision stating the country&#39;s inability to complete work on practice and match venues before the tournament commences.

	Dominica was one of seven countries in the Caribbean shortlisted to host the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 4 to 30 next year. This list was determined by the ICC in coordination with CWI based on the bids from local governments. It is understood that all major cricketing destinations across the West Indies submitted bids, barring three countries: Jamaica, Grenada and St Kitts &amp; Nevis.

	According to the Dominica government&#39;s statement, Windsor Park had been shortlisted to host one group match and two Super 8 games, subject to the venue meeting obligations set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

	&quot;Several tangible actions were taken both at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium and at the Benjamin&#39;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,&quot; the Dominica government&#39;s statement read.

	&quot;However, the implementation timelines submitted by the various contractors revealed that it would not be possible to complete these works within the stipulated timeframe before the commencement of the tournament. As a result, a decision was taken not to host any of the matches in the ICC Men&#39;s T20 World Cup 2024 as it would not be prudent for the Government of Dominica to commit to hosting these games.

	&quot;In light of Dominica&#39;s sterling reputation in hosting international cricket, this decision is considered to be in the best interest of all. The Government of Dominica thanks Cricket West Indies (CWI) for its partnership over the years and looks forward to continued collaboration in the future. The Government of Dominica extends best wishes to the organisers for a successful tournament in June 2024.&quot;

	Johnny Grave, CWI chief executive, said that the board understood Dominica&#39;s reasons for withdrawing from the process. In a press release, CWI added that it was working with the ICC to confirm the T20 World Cup schedule and that an announcement was &quot;expected imminently&quot;.

	&quot;We acknowledge the dedication of the Government of Dominica in preparing to host matches as a part of the ICC Men&#39;s T20 World Cup 2024,&quot; Grave said. While recognising their commitment, we note the reasons stated for the decision that has been made and understand the position. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of Dominica and the Dominica Cricket Association to host international matches in the future.&quot;

	Fawwaz Baksh, tournament director for the 2024 T20 World Cup added: &quot;When hosting tournaments of this scale, it is inevitable that circumstances will arise which will require the organisers to adapt and alter plans. This is something that happens in any event of this nature, and why we have contingency plans for all functional areas for the hosting of the ICC Men&#39;s T20 World Cup 2024.&quot;

Dominica pulls out of hosting T20 World Cup matches

Bangladesh Cricket Board on Thursday announced Najmul Hossain will lead the teams in both white-ball series during their upcoming New Zealand tour as they named two separate squads for one-day and T20I series.

	BCB kept their trust in Najmul for the away white-ball series despite the return of Litton Das in both series while all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz was named as deputy of Najmul in both formats.

	&quot;We are trying to have a new cross-format captain and that is the reason we have appointed Najmul to lead in both ODIs and T20s against New Zealand,&quot; BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Media on Thursday.

	&quot;He (Najmul) will get matured with passing days but we are impressed with the way he had led the side in the three ODIs and against New Zealand in the ongoing Test match,&quot; he said.

	11 members of the recently-concluded World Cup squad retained their place in the ODI squad that also saw the return of Afif Hossain and Soumya Sarkar in ODI fold while leg spinner Rishad Hossain and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan got maiden call in the 50-over format.

	&quot;We have picked Soumya as he got the experience of playing New Zealand and that is the same for Afif as well while we picked Rishad and Rakibul as they were under our radar for long time,&quot; said the chief selector.

	Regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan will miss the tour due to his national election engagement while Mahmudullah and Taskin Ahmed due to their respective injuries.

	Minhajul added that Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed, who were part of Bangladesh squad for the just concluded ODI World Cup, were not picked due to their performance in the showpiece event.

	Meanwhile, Soumya also made a return to the T20I fold after the last year&#39;s T20 WC in Australia while Tanvir Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib were also picked for the shortest format.

	Nasum, who played both T20Is against Afghanistan in Sylhet in July, was surprisingly dropped from the 15-member T20I side as well.

	The ODIs are scheduled on December 17, 20 and 23 respectively while the T20Is will be held on December 27, 29 and 31 respectively.

	&nbsp;

	Bangladesh squad (ODI Series):

	Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vice-capt), Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Rishad Hossain and Rakibul Hasan.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Bangladesh squad (T20I Series):

	Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Liton Das, Rony Talukdar, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vice-capt), Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Najmul Hossain to lead Bangladesh in white-ball games against NZ

Shreyas Iyer has made a return to the Indian Test side as the senior selection committee picked a strong team for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. From the team that featured in two Tests against West Indies in July, the only major name missing out is Ajinkya Rahane, who has been dropped from the side that will be led by Rohit Sharma.

	Post the limited-overs leg, which includes three T20Is and as many ODIs, India and South Africa are set to play two Tests at Centurion and Johannesburg on December 26 and January 3. And even though the selectors have made changes to the make-up of the limited-overs team, they have gone in with the experienced men for the Tests as India aim to win their maiden Test series win in the Rainbow Nation.

	And for the first time since the 2010 Test series, India will be without Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane in the XI with the middle-order likely to be rejigged. With opener Yashasvi Jaiswal impressing in the two outings in the Caribbean, India are unlikely to bench him and instead he is likely to pair with Rohit at the top with Shubman Gill expected to bat at No 3. With Virat Kohli slotted for No 4, the No 5 will be occupied by Shreyas Iyer, followed by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.

	There are no surprise inclusions or omissions in the Test squad, although Kuldeep Yadav has once again been overlooked. With R Ashwin and Jadeja in the mix and the conditions suited for the seamers, the selectors have picked the squad accordingly. The pace unit will see the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj come together for the first time since the one-off Test against England in 2022.

	&nbsp;

	India&#39;s Test squad for South Africa :

	Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Prasidh Krishna.

	&nbsp;

Cheteshwar Pujara Shreyas Iyer back in Test squad, no place for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have taken a break from the white-ball tour of South Africa next month, which has resulted in the continuation of the T20I captaincy for Suryakumar Yadav, and KL Rahul taking over the ODI captaincy for another series.

	Suryakumar gets the opportunity to lead again after the ongoing T20I series against Australia because Hardik Pandya, who had been leading in the format after the T20 World Cup last year, is still out with an ankle injury he picked up during the World Cup.

	Both Kohli and Rohit have not played any T20Is since the T20 World Cup last year when they lost to England in the semi-finals in Adelaide.

	After taking a break from the current T20I series against Australia that started just four days after the World Cup final against the same opponents, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj return to the T20I squad for South Africa. The players who make way for them are Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan. Axar and Avesh are, however, part of the ODI squad, and Prasidh in the Test line-up.

	The ODI squad sees a lot more changes with only Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Kuldeep retained from the World Cup squad. Rinku Singh and Sai Sudharsan earned their maiden ODI call-ups whereas Rajat Patidar was recalled after he was also part of the ODI squad earlier this year against New Zealand as a replacement for Iyer, but didn&#39;t get a game then.

	Rahul was the India vice-captain during the World Cup after Pandya&#39;s injury and has led the ODI side in nine games overall, the first of which was in South Africa in early 2022, when India were whitewashed 3-0. Rahul soon led India again, for a 3-0 series win in Zimbabwe later that year. He has also captained India in the absence of Rohit in three other ODIs all of which they won - one in Bangladesh in December last year and twice against Australia in the home ODIs before the recent World Cup.

	Since his return to the ODI side for the Asia Cup in September after a long injury layoff, Rahul has been a crucial middle-order batter for India mostly at No. 5. He has averaged 75.70 and struck at 92.54 in 16 innings since his return, with two centuries and four half-centuries.

	Unlike for the Test and T20I squads, the BCCI release did not name a vice-captain for the ODIs.

	India&#39;s squads for the T20I, ODI and Test tour of South Africa were announced on Thursday evening, a day after the BCCI extended Rahul Dravid&#39;s tenure as head coach after his initial two-year contract had come to an end following the defeat to Australia in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

	After the ongoing five-T20I series against Australia ends on December 3, India have only six more T20Is scheduled as of now before next year&#39;s T20 World Cup, apart from IPL 2024. They play three matches in South Africa on December 10, 12 and 14, and then host Afghanistan for three matches in January next year.

	&nbsp;

	India&#39;s T20I squad for South Africa:

	Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-capt), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	India&#39;s ODI squad for South Africa:

	Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (capt &amp; wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.

Suryakumar to lead in T20Is, Rahul in ODIs against SA; Kohli and Rohit rested

As the Indian cricket team enters a new phase after the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup 2023, a young brigade, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is leading the unit against Australia in a 5-match T20I series. But, with the all-format tour of South Africa not far away, there isn&#39;t any official confirmation on the availability of seniors like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It has now been learned that Kohli has decided to give the white-ball assignment against the Proteas a miss. He will only join the team for the Test series.

	According to our sources, Kohli has opted out of the T20I and ODI series against South Africa, beginning December 10. Kohli&#39;s future, especially in the shortest format, has been under discussion since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2022. The veteran batter continues to stay away from T20 internationals. But, his absence from the ODI assignment did come as a surprise.

	It has also been learned that skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to confirm what he intends to be a part of the ODI assignment against South Africa. He is expected to give the T20I series in the Rainbow Nation a miss.

	The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee headed by former India allrounder Ajit Agarkar will select the Indian team for all three formats in the coming days. 
	The two senior batters are likely to line up with the Indian team for the Test assignment which begins on Boxing Day at Centurion.

	Virat is said to be on a holiday in London at present. Rohit too is reportedly in the United Kingdom, spending time away from the game after India&#39;s heartbreaking defeat to Australa in the World Cup final.

	Both Kohli and Rohit were in sublime form in the ODI World Cup, with the former ending the tournament as the top run-getter. When and under what capacity do the duo aim to return to the white-ball team, isn&#39;t yet clear.

Virat Kohli To Skip T20Is, ODIs vs South Africa, Rohit Sharma Yet To Confirm Availability: Sources

The BCCI is considering extending Rahul Dravid&#39;s coaching tenure with another two-year contract, news agency PTI reported on late Tuesday. Presently, the cricketing body is keen on having Dravid lead the Indian team during the upcoming South Africa tour, with discussions underway to finalize the details. Having steered the Indian team to runner-up positions in both the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup this year, Dravid has garnered a commendable coaching record, even if an ICC trophy remains elusive. Several voices within the BCCI advocate for maintaining Dravid as the head coach to ensure continuity for the senior team.

	India are scheduled to embark on a tour of South Africa from December 10, 2023, to January 7, 2024, featuring three T20Is, ODIs, and two Test matches. Following the Indian Premier League season next year, India are also scheduled to take part in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States.

	&ldquo;The BCCI secretary Jay Shah has had discussions with Dravid during last week. Obviously, the fine prints of the new contract are yet to be worked out,&quot; a senior BCCI office-bearer told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

	&ldquo;But BCCI wants Dravid to go to South Africa with the Test team.&quot;

	In case of VVS Laxman, he might coach the team during the first phase of the series, also allowing him to have a first-hand measure of the &lsquo;A&rsquo; team. Laxman is currently with the Indian senior team in the ongoing T20I series against Australia as well.

	&ldquo;Laxman&#39;s hands are full with the NCA work plus there&#39;s another U19 World Cup coming up. There&#39;s A team tour to South Africa.

	&ldquo;He is also involved in cricketing matters with regards to construction of a new NCA facility which is at full swing,&rdquo; the source added.

	Dravid, however, hasn&#39;t yet intimated his decision as he also has multiple offers to become Team Director/Team Mentor from IPL franchises which is hefty money with much lesser involvement, the reporter further stated. However, he may also weigh in on the good work produced by his team which also involves batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip.

Rahul Dravid to extend stay with Team India? BCCI set to offer new contract but India legend stays non-committal: Report

Shubman Gill has been appointed captain of Gujarat Titans a day after the franchise traded Hardik Pandya to Mumbai Indians. Hardik had led the Titans in 2022 and 2023, and the 2024 season will be Gill&#39;s first leadership assignment in the IPL.

	&quot;I am delighted and proud to assume the captaincy of Gujarat Titans and thank the franchise for their trust in me to lead such a fine team,&quot; Gill said in a statement. &quot;We have had two exceptional seasons and I keenly look forward to leading the team with our exciting brand of cricket.&quot;

	Gill, 24, had started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 and was released ahead of the auction in 2022. As a new franchise in the IPL, the Titans were allowed to sign up to three players ahead of the 2022 auction and they brought Gill on board for INR 7 crore, along with Hardik and Rashid Khan for INR 15 crore each.

	Gill scored 483 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2022, top-scoring with an unbeaten 45 in the final against Rajasthan Royals as Titans won the title in their inaugural season. He was their highest run-getter in IPL 2023 with 890 runs in 17 innings, which included three centuries, in a campaign where Titans finished runners-up to Chennai Super Kings in the final.

	Gill is currently fifth on the list of top run-scorers in the IPL in the last six years behind KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. He will lead a strong Titans line-up which includes several experienced players like Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, David Miller, Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha. He also has some captaincy experience, having previously led Indian domestic sides in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy.

	Vikram Solanki, the Titans director of cricket, said: &quot;Shubman Gill has shown growth in stature and standing over the last two years at the highest level of the game. We&#39;ve seen him mature not only as a batter but also as a leader in cricket. His contribution on the field has helped Gujarat Titans emerge as a formidable force, guiding the team through a successful campaign in 2022 and a strong run in 2023.

	&quot;His maturity and skill is evident in his on-field performance and we are extremely excited to embark on a new journey with a young leader like Shubman at the helm.&quot;

	&nbsp;

Shubman Gill appointed captain of Gujarat Titans

Mumbai Indians have completed the trade for Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans on Sunday, and also traded their allrounder Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore in order to increase their purse for the IPL player auction on December 19.

	&quot;As the first captain of Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya has helped the franchise deliver two fantastic seasons that resulted in winning one IPL championship and one appearance in the final,&quot; Titans director of cricket Vikram Solanki said in a statement. &quot;He has now expressed a desire to return to his original team Mumbai Indians. We respect his decision and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.&quot;

	The trades were confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by a BCCI official and confirmed by the IPL on Monday.

	&quot;We are thrilled to welcome Hardik back home! It&#39;s a heartwarming reunion with our Mumbai Indians family,&quot; Nita M Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians, said. &quot;From being a young scouted talent of Mumbai Indians to now being a team India star, Hardik has come a long way and we&#39;re excited for what the future holds for him and Mumbai Indians!&quot;

	Akash Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians, said: &quot;Seeing Hardik back at Mumbai Indians makes me very happy. It is a happy homecoming. He provides great balance to any team he plays. Hardik&#39;s first stint with the MI family was hugely successful, and we hope he achieves even more success in his second stint.&quot;

	While Titans&#39; purse will increase by INR 15 crore, which was Hardik&#39;s salary, they will also receive from Mumbai an additional transfer fee which they will need to disclose to IPL. Hardik stands to earn up to 50% of that transfer fee from Titans based on the mutual agreement.

	The developments occurred after Sunday&#39;s 5pm IST deadline for franchises to announce lists of players released and retained ahead of the auction. At the time of the deadline, Hardik was still part of the Titans and Green was included in Mumbai&#39;s list of retained players.

	According to the IPL rules, the player trading window starts a month after a season ends, stays open up to a week before the auction date, and then continues up until a month before the start of the next season. So the current trading window is open until December 12, with the auction scheduled for December 19, and it will open again on December 20 up to a month before the 2024 season begins.

	Mumbai had released 11 players by the retention deadline, freeing up INR 15.25 crore in their auction purse. While that amount was just about enough to pay for the Hardik trade (INR 15 crore), it would have left Mumbai with very little to spend at the auction. By trading Green to RCB in an all-cash deal, however, Mumbai added another INR 17.50 crore to their purse.

	ESPNcricinfo learned Mumbai had approached at least two franchises to do a player swap before the retention deadline but the deals fell through.

	When the Titans franchise, owned by global fund manager CVC Capital Partners, came into existence in 2021, they were allowed to pick three players from the pool released by other franchises before the 2022 mega auction. Titans signed Hardik and Afghanistan allrounder Rashid Khan for INR 15 crore each, with Shubman Gill their third pick at INR 7 crore.

	Hardik led Titans to the title in 2022, their debut season in the IPL, and was the Player of the Match in the final against Rajasthan Royals. In 2023, the Titans made the IPL final for the second time in two seasons, where they came runners up to Chennai Super Kings. In both seasons, under Hardik&#39;s leadership, Titans had finished top of the points table in the league stage.

	In his two-season stint at Titans, Hardik scored 833 runs in 30 innings, with an average of 41.65 and strike rate of 133.49. He took 11 wickets for them at an economy of 8.1.

	It was at Mumbai, however, that Hardik began his IPL career and developed into one of the best allrounders in the game. Bought for INR 10 lakhs as an uncapped player in 2015, Hardik was a part of Mumbai&#39;s title-winning seasons in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Having been retained by them ahead of every auction until 2021, Hardik was finally released ahead of the 2022 mega auction, a decision that came as a surprise. Mumbai were allowed to retain only four players that year and they chose to keep Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard, paving the way for Titans to sign Hardik as their captain.

Mumbai Indians trade Hardik from Titans and trade Cameron Green to RCB

England batter Joe Root, who had made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals earlier this year, has opted out of IPL 2024 just a day before the retention deadline. Royals said in a statement on their website that they &quot;respect&quot; Root&#39;s decision.

	&quot;During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024,&quot; Kumar Sangakkara, Royals&#39; director of cricket, said. &quot;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 success in everything he does.&quot;

	Rob Key, England&#39;s managing director of men&#39;s cricket, had said after announcing the squad for the Caribbean tour that Root &quot;needs a break&quot; at the end of the World Cup.

	&quot;He&#39;s not stopped since probably New Zealand or what he did in Pakistan, the ILT20, New Zealand, the Hundred, Ashes and so on,&quot; Key had said.

	In the IPL 2023 auction, Root was snapped up by Royals for his base price of INR 1 crore ($US 121,000 approx. at the time). He played three games for them but batted in just one, scoring 10 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur. Though opportunities were limited, Root tried to be a &quot;sponge&quot; in India to &quot;soak up a lot of different information&quot; and adapt to the T20 format.

	He also enjoyed the company of youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, the breakout batter of IPL 2023, and Riyan Parag.

	&quot;The 32-year-old&#39;s addition to the Royals squad brought in plenty of depth and experience, which served as a learning experience for a lot of youngsters in the side like Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team,&quot; the franchise said in the statement. &quot;His camaraderie with his England teammate Jos Buttler and his bonding with Yuzvendra Chahal was also one of the memorable highlights of the former England Test skipper&#39;s stint with the Royals.&quot;

	Root becomes the second England player after his Test captain Ben Stokes to pull out of the next season of the IPL. November 26 is the deadline for franchises to announce their releases and retentions ahead of auction on December 19.

	Royals have already been active in the trade window, bringing in India fast bowler Avesh Khan from Lucknow Super Giants, while letting go of Devdutt Padikkal to Super Giants.

	&nbsp;

Joe Root opts out of IPL 2024 a day before retention deadline

&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Gujarat Titans: Hardik retained for now</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Alzarri Joseph, Odean Smith, Dasun Shanaka, Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Royal Challengers Bangalore: Hazlewood, Hasaranga, Harshal out</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Players traded out:

	Shahbaz Ahmed

	&nbsp;

	Players traded in:

	Mayank Dagar

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Vyshak Vijaykumar.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Mumbai Indians: Archer headlines 11 player exodus</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier

	&nbsp;

	Players traded in:

	Romario Shepherd

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Cameron Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Chennai Super Kings: Stokes released</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorious, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Akash Singh, Kyle Jamieson, Sisanda Magala.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Chowdhary, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw stays</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Rilee Rossouw, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, , Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Rajasthan Royals: Holder, Root released</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Joe Root, Abdul Basith, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, M Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif

	&nbsp;

	Players traded out :

	Devdutt Padikkal

	&nbsp;

	Players traded in :

	Avesh Khan

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Prasidh Krishna.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Punjab Kings: Shahrukh, a surprise release</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Baltej Dhanda, Mohit Rathee, Bhanuka Rajapaksa.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Kolkata Knight Riders: Several quicks among 12 players let go</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, N Jagadeesan, David Wiese, Aarya Desai, Litton Das, Johnson Charles, Shakib Al Hasan.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, , Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russel, Venkatesh Iyer, Suyash Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Sunrisers Hyderabad: Brook cut loose</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein, Karthik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	Players traded out:

	Mayank Dagar

	&nbsp;

	Players traded in:

	Shahbaz Ahmed

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande.&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;

	&nbsp;
<h3 style="color:blue;">
	Lucknow Super Giants: Unadkat, Sams let go</h3>

	&nbsp;

	Players released:

	Daniel Sams, Karun Nair, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Swapnil Singh, Arpit Guleria

	&nbsp;

	Players traded out :

	Romario Shepherd, Avesh Khan

	&nbsp;

	Players traded in :

	Devdutt Padikkal

	&nbsp;

	Players retained:

	KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq.&nbsp;

	 
	&nbsp;

Full list of retained, released players; Hardik Pandya remains at Gujarat; RCB releases Hasaranga, Harshal

India all rounder Hardik Pandya has been retained for another eiditon of Indian Premier League (IPL) by Gujarat Titans ahead of the auctions in December. The development comes amid rumours of Pandya switching franchises and returning to Mumbai Indians in 2024 edition of the mega cricket event.

	As per reports, the Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper was set to return to the team (Mumbai Indians) that gave him his first break in the competition back in 2015. MI were set to pay Rs 15 crore in addition to an undisclosed transfer fee to secure his services, as per a report by ESPN Cricinfo. However, GT has now officially retained Pandya in a surprise move.

	The all rounder captained the Titans to victory in their first season in 2022 and a year later, led them to the finals where they lost to Chennai Super Kings in a last-ball thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Before joining the Titans, Pandya played seven seasons for Mumbai Indians and won four titles in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

	When the Titans franchise came into existence in 2021, their owners-CVC Capital Partners-were permitted to choose three players of their choice and went for Pandya (Rs 15 crore), Rashid Khan (Rs 15 crore) and Shubman Gill (Rs 7 crore).

	Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane were traded to the Delhi Capitals in 2020, after leading the Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises respectively in the IPL.

	&nbsp;

Hardik Pandya retained by Gujarat Titans amid reports of trade to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024 auction

Chennai Super Kings have released Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. The retention list contained all the major names and it also confirmed that captain MS Dhoni will be leading the side once again in the upcoming season. Among the released players, Kyle Jamieson, Sisanda Magala and Dwaine Pretorius were the major foreign players. Among the Indian players who were not part of the retention list, Akash Singh was a big exception after playing quite a few matches last season. Bhagath Varma and Subhranshu Senapati were also released by the franchise.

	The IPL auction will take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on December 19.

	Following the retentions, CSK will have a purse of INR 32.2 crore in the auction.

	Ben Stokes will miss the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to workload management, his franchise Chennai Super Kings announced.

	Stokes had joined CSK ahead of IPL 2023 but played in only two matches as he was managing a troublesome knee injury throughout the course of the two-month long tournament.

	&quot;England Test captain, all-rounder Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness,&quot; CSK said in a statement on their website on Thursday.

	&quot;The Chennai Super Kings management is supportive of Ben in his decision to manage his workload with England playing a 5-Test series in India before the IPL and then the T20 World Cup in June 2024,&quot; the statement added.

	&nbsp;

	Complete Squad:

	MS Dhoni (captain &amp; wicket-keeper), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway (wk), Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana.

	&nbsp;

	Complete List of Released Players:

	Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Dwaine Pretorius, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, Sisanda Magala, Kyle Jamieson, Akash Singh.

	&nbsp;

	Purse Remaining for IPL 2024 Auction : INR 32.2 Crore 
	&nbsp;

Chennai Super Kings Squad: List Of Players Retained, Released And Traded Ahead Of IPL 2024 Auction

Rajasthan Royals have released Joe Root and Jason Holder ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction. Along with Jason Holder, West Indies all-rounder Obed McCoy also did not find any place in the retention list while a number of Indian players - Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Murugan Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif and Abdul Basith were also released. Earlier, India fast bowler Avesh Khan was traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR) from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who has acquired the services of top-order left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal in a direct swap.

	Avesh, who is part of the India squad for the T20I series against Australia beginning in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, has 55 wickets from 47 IPL matches so far. Avesh was purchased by LSG 2022 mega auction for Rs 10 crore.

	The right-arm pacer, who represented LSG in 22 matches and picked up 26 wickets, was traded to RR for his existing fee.

	Padikkal, on the other hand, was bought by RR for Rs 7.75 crore. Both the players were retained by the respective franchises this year.

	Padikkal too head to LSG from RR for his existing fee.

	&nbsp;

	Complete Squad:

	Sanju Samson (C), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa.

	&nbsp;

	Traded: Avesh Khan.

	&nbsp;

	Complete List of Released Players:

	Joe Root, Jason Holder, Akash Vashisht, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, Murugan Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Abdul Basith.

	Remaining Purse for IPL 2024 Auction : INR 14.5 Crore.

	&nbsp;

Rajasthan Royals Squad: List Of Players Retained, Released And Traded Ahead Of IPL 2024 Auction

Delhi Capitals released 10 players including Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell and Sararaz Khan ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. Rille Roussow, Phil Salt and Mustafizur Rahman were the other major foreign players who did not find a place in the DC retention list. Rishabh Pant was retained by Delhi Capitals and a lot will depend on his form when he finally returns from injury. Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel and Priyam Garg were also released. Indian star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be back in action from the next IPL season, Delhi Capitals director of cricket Sourav Ganguly has said.

	Pant, the Delhi Capitals skipper, had a close shave after his car hit a divider and caught fire in a terrifying accident in December last year.

	Having suffered multiple injuries, Pant was back on his feet after 40 days and on Thursday, he joined his teammates during Delhi Capitals&#39; training session at the Jadavpur University Salt Lake Campus ground.

	&quot;He&#39;s (Pant) good now. He will play in the IPL next season,&quot; Ganguly told reporters giving an update on Pant.

	&nbsp;

	Complete Squad:

	Rishabh Pant, Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Lungi Ngidi, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marshm, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar.

	&nbsp;

	Complete List of Released Players:

	Rille Roussow, Chetan Sakariya, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Phil Salt, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Priyam Garg.

	Remaining Purse For IPL 2024 Auction: INR 28.95 Crore.

	 
	&nbsp;

Delhi Capitals Squad: List Of Players Retained, Released And Traded Ahead Of IPL 2024 Auction

Barring any last-minute changes, Hardik Pandya is set to leave Gujarat Titans and return to Mumbai Indians, where he started his IPL career in 2015.

	ESPNcricinfo has learned the trade is an all-cash deal comprising Mumbai paying INR 15 crore ($1.8 million approx.) as Hardik&#39;s salary and an undisclosed transfer fee to Titans. Hardik stands to earn upto 50% of the transfer fee.

	In case the trade goes through, it will possibly be the biggest player trade in IPL history. Neither franchise has yet made any public comment on the trade though. The biggest challenge for Mumbai is to have an adequate purse for the trade. After the last auction, Mumbai had just INR 0.05 crore ($6000 approx.) left. Franchises will get an additional INR 5 crore ($600,000 approx.) in their purse for the forthcoming auction. This only means Mumbai need to release player(s) to finish the Hardik trade. The retention deadline expires on November 26 at 4pm IST.

	Hardik led Titans to the title in 2022, their debut season in the IPL, and was the Player of the Match in the final against Rajasthan Royals. In 2023, the Titans made the IPL final for the second time in two seasons, where they came runners up to Chennai Super Kings. In both seasons, under Hardik&#39;s leadership, Titans had finished top of the points table in the league stage.

	In his two-season stint at Titans, Hardik scored 833 runs in 30 innings, with an average of 41.65 and strike rate of 133.49. He took 11 wickets for them with an economy of 8.1. Hardik is currently injured, having suffered an ankle injury during India&#39;s ODI World Cup campaign.

	If the trade happens, Hardik will become the third captain to be traded after R Ashwin moved from Punjab Kings to Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals traded Ajinkya Rahane also to Capitals, in 2020.

	When the Titans franchise, owned by global fund manager CVC Capital Partners, came into existence in 2021, they were allowed to pick three players from the pool released by other franchises before the mega auction. Titans signed Hardik and Afghanistan allrounder Rashid Khan for INR 15 crore each, with Shubman Gill their third pick at INR 7 crore.

	It was at Mumbai, where Hardik began his IPL career and developed into one of the best allrounders in the game. Bought for INR 10 lakhs as an uncapped player in 2015, Hardik was a part of Mumbai&#39;s title-winning seasons in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

	Having been retained by Mumbai ahead of every auction until 2021, Hardik was finally released ahead of the 2022 mega auction, a decision that came as a surprise. Mumbai were allowed to retain only four players that year and they chose to keep Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard, paving the way for Titans to sign Hardik as their captain.

Hardik Pandya set to move back to Mumbai Indians in all-cash trade

Pakistan allrounder Imad Wasim has retired from international cricket, effective immediately. Imad, who announced his retirement on social media, played 55 ODIs and 66 T20Is for Pakistan as a left-arm spinner and a lower-order batter. He last represented Pakistan in 2022.

	&quot;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,&quot; Imad wrote on X. &quot;I would like to thank the PCB for all their support over the years - it has truly been an honour to represent Pakistan.

	&quot;Each of my 121 appearances across the ODI and T20I formats was a dream come true. It&#39;s an exciting time for Pakistan cricket going forwards with new coaches and leadership incoming. I wish all involved every success and I look forward to watching the team excel.

	&quot;Thank you to the Pakistan fans for always supporting me with such passion. A final thank you to my family and friends who have been so important in helping me achieve at the highest level. I now look forward to focussing on the next stage of my playing career away from the international stage.&quot;

Imad Wasim retires from international cricket

Gautam Gambhir, who was captain when Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL in 2012 and 2014, has linked up with the franchise as the team&#39;s mentor, starting with the upcoming season in 2024 with no fixed period decided on yet.

	&quot;I am not an emotional person and not many things move me. But this is different,&quot; Gambhir said in a statement. &quot;This is back to where it all started. Today, there is a lump in my throat and fire in my heart as I think about slipping into that purple and gold jersey once again.&quot;

	Gambhir, a T20 (2007) and ODI (2011) World Cup champion, joined Knight Riders in 2011 and was with the team till 2017. During the period, Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs five times (including the two years they won the tournament) and also reached the final of the now-defunct Champions League T20 in 2014.

	&quot;Gautam has always been part of the family and this is our captain coming back home in a different avatar as a &#39;Mentor&#39;,&quot; team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan noted. &quot;He was sorely missed and now we all look forward to Chandu [Chandrakant Pandit] Sir and Gautam in instilling the never-say-die spirit and of sportsmanship they stand for, in creating magic with Team KKR.&quot;

	The Knight Riders support staff is led by head coach Chandrakant Pandit, with Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), James Foster (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and Ryan ten Doeschate (fielding coach) in the line-up.

	Knight Riders, one of the few teams to have been a part of every edition of the IPL since its inception in 2008, reached the IPL final, where they lost to Chennai Super Kings, in 2021, but have since finished seventh in both 2022 and 2023.

	In recent years, apart from being a member of parliament and a TV cricket pundit, Gambhir was a part of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. He joined Lucknow Super Giants, one of two new teams in the 2022 season of the IPL, and was subsequently elevated to the role of &quot;global mentor&quot;, which made him a part of Durban&#39;s Super Giants in the SA20 league in South Africa as well.

	&nbsp;

Gambhir returns to Kolkata Knight Riders as team mentor

Former West Indies batter Marlon Samuels has been banned from all cricket for six years by the ICC after he was found guilty of corrupt behaviour during the Abu Dhabi T10 in 2019, where he was part of the Karnataka Tuskers but did not play.

	An independent tribunal found Samuels guilty on four counts, including accepting favours that brought himself and the game into disrepute and concealing information from the investigating authorities. He had been punished for a similar offence 15 years ago.

	&quot;Samuels played international cricket for close to two decades, during which he participated in numerous anti-corruption sessions and knew exactly what his obligations were under the Anti-Corruption Codes,&quot; Alex Marshall, the head of ICC&#39;s HR and Integrity Unit, said. &quot;Though he is retired now, Mr Samuels was a participant when the offences were committed. The ban of six years will act as a strong deterrent to any participant who intends to break the rules.&quot;

	The Abu Dhabi T10 is an Emirates Cricket Board run tournament as such it is their anti-corruption code that is in operation. By their rules, the ICC conducts all investigations into breaches made and they found Samuels had made four of them.

	&nbsp;
<ul>
	<li>
		Article 2.4.2 (by a majority decision) - Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official, the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that was made or given in circumstances that could bring the Participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute.</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;
<ul>
	<li>
		Article 2.4.3 (unanimous decision)- Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official receipt of hospitality with a value of US $750 or more.</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;
<ul>
	<li>
		Article 2.4.6 (unanimous decision) - Failing to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official&#39;s investigation.</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;
<ul>
	<li>
		Article 2.4.7 (unanimous decision) - Obstructing or delaying the Designated Anti-Corruption Official&#39;s investigation by concealing information that may have been relevant to the investigation.</li>
</ul>

	&nbsp;

	Samuels&#39; ban takes effect from November 11, 2023. He was initially charged by the ICC in September 2021 before he was found guilty of the offences in August this year.

	Samuels, who top-scored for West Indies in the final of both the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup, last played international cricket in 2018 and announced his retirement in November 2020 with over 11,000 international runs across formats. He was no stranger to controversy during his career, the lowest point of which was his two-year ban after being found guilty, in May 2008, of &quot;receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute&quot;.

	&nbsp;

Babar Azam back as Pakistan's white-ball captain

Published - 31-MAR-2024 8:19 IST | Updated - 31-MAR-2024 8:19 IST

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