Page 4 - Cricket News

Arshdeep Singh working towards Test return, keeping selection hopes alive

India pacer Arshdeep Singh understands quite well that his relatively low count of first-class appearances may not be considered "ideal preparation" as he pursues his Test dreams but he insists that it is in no way a reflection of his readiness for the traditional format. One of India's premier bowlers in the limited-overs format, Arshdeep has only played 24 first-class matches since his debut in December 2019. The match Nos. 23 and 24 came in this season's Duleep Trophy. Before these games, Arshdeep had not played first-class cricket for nearly a year. He looked to make the most of the opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, where his team, North Zone, crashed out in the semifinal stage. "I do everything that is within my control to be ready for the (Test) call-up," Arshdeep, who joined his Sher-e-Punjab side Ludhiana Lions right after the Duleep Trophy, told PTI in an exclusive interaction. "The long gaps in First-Class games may not be ideal for preparation, but I can only focus on th

East Zone end 13-year drought, beat South Zone to win Duleep Trophy 2026

East Zone translated their complete dominance over the last 12 sessions into a Duleep Trophy victory after 13 years, overwhelming South Zone on the basis of a massive first innings lead on the fifth and final day of the final here on Thursday. East Zone sauntered to 388 for seven in their second innings, swelling the overall lead to 760 runs even as the match ended in a draw. Mohammad Kounian Quraishi joined the list of century-makers in this match with an unbeaten 116, his maiden three-figure mark in two-match-old first-class career. Quraishi, who added 150 runs with Anukul Roy (64) for the seventh wicket stand, reached the milestone in 179 balls with a brace off left-arm pacer CV Milind. But way before the teams shook hands at 2.10 pm signalling a draw, East had wrested the trophy after posting a mammoth 708 runs in their first innings, which helped them construct a 372-run lead. East's second innings was a mere continuation of their show of power in the match. Starting the day

Bumrah declared fit for Afghanistan T20Is; Yash Thakur replaces Harshit

Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have received fitness clearance, while a fresh injury has ruled Harshit Rana out of the Afghanistan series and Asian Games

Tilak Verma ready to change gears, targets series win against Afghanistan

The ongoing Duleep Trophy might not have panned out in his favour, but South Zone captain Tilak Varma has set a new goal for himself -- winning the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. East Zone has built an overall lead of 584 runs to all but clinch the domestic season opener here, but Tilak, India's T20I vice-captain, found some solace in an immediate chance to redeem himself. "Yeah, the (personal) form has been really good. But at the same point, it's a different format (against Afghanistan). So, I should change my gears again. I'm pretty confident about it," Tilak said after the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final. "My goal now is to win the Afghanistan series. So I'll be going with the same confidence and let's see how it goes," he added. India will start their campaign against Afghanistan with the first T20I at New Delhi on September 13. But how tough is it to shift to white ball format after playing the red-ball game for a little over a month? "I would n

Pakistan cricket's problems too deep for me to fix alone, says Wasim Akram

Pakistan's fast bowling great and former captain, Wasim Akram believes that the problems in the Pakistan Cricket eco system are so deep rooted that it is not possible even for him to resolve them single handedly. Wasim was Pakistan was struggling at the international level because of shortcomings across batting, bowling and fielding, as well as instability in the first-class domestic structure. He also blamed inconsistency in the cricket board's decision-making as a major reason for the current state of affairs. "I knew before the Test series started in England we would lose three nil because of the glaring problems in our batting and bowling," he told a sports website. He added that responsibility for Pakistan's struggles lies with multiple stakeholders rather than any one individual or group. "I get asked all the time, 'Can you do something to help Pakistan cricket?' But the issues are a lot deeper. These are the top players, there's nothing else there. The systems aren't there

Shafali backs India's middle order to deliver in Bangladesh semifinal

India opener Shafali Verma on Wednesday backed the team's middle-order to come good in the women's Asian Cup semifinal against Bangladesh, saying a few low-scoring games should not be a concern ahead of the crucial clash. India will take on Bangladesh in the semifinal on Thursday. India's middle order has struggled for runs in the last three matches, but Shafali insisted there was no reason to panic. "Well, I would say there is a bit of bad days. But they all are very good players. They all are very good batters. And just talking about Bharti (Fulmali) and Richa (Ghosh), they all are very good finishers and even doing the great thing in middle order as well. So, I am pretty sure they will do well for our team," she said. India have had four days to prepare for the semifinal, with Shafali saying the break helped the players recover and train well. "We had good preparation. We got four days of break and on those days we recovered well and we did practice as well. So, we all are read

Harshit Rana unlikely to be fit for India's T20I series against Afghanistan

India pacer Harshit Rana is unlikely to be fit in time for the three match series against Afghanistan beginning here on September 13. Rana, who last played for India on the England tour, was included in the India squad for the three games in Delhi subject to fitness. He was also named in the Asian Games squad. "He has not yet fully recovered from his hamstring injury. He will need more time," said a BCCI source. Rana was nursing a hamstring injury like Washington Sundar, who has been deemed fit for the Afghanistan series. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Nitish Reddy, nursing knee and quadriceps injury respectively, were also included in the India squad subject to fitness. Bumrah has been out of action since India's ODI tour to England in July with a left knee injury. "Both Bumrah and Reddy are on track for their comeback," the source added. After the Afghanistan series, India play a one-off game against Japan in Tokyo on September 22. They open their Asian Games o

Sri Lanka Cricket faces Rs 188 crore loss as ICC pulls women's event rights

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is facing an estimated revenue loss of USD 20 million (Rs 188 crore) after being stripped of the hosting rights for next year's inaugural ICC Women's Champions Trophy tournament. The tournament, originally slated to be hosted by Sri Lanka, has been relocated to India and will take place from February 14 to 28, 2027, with matches scheduled in Mumbai and Vadodara. "There will certainly be a hosting fee paid to us. I believe it is around 2 million dollars. At the same time, the SLC would have to incur expenditure sprucing up places and getting the facilities up to scratch," Prakash Schaffter, SLC's transformation committee secretary, told reporters. While withdrawing the event from Sri Lanka, the ICC cited ongoing government interference and the absence of an elected administration at SLC. Last week the ICC announced its decision to move the six-nation tournament to India as Sri Lanka's current governing body revamp operation was not in line with the world ...

ENG vs PAK 3rd Test: Where to watch live streaming of today's Test match?

SonyLIV, through its app and website, will live stream the England vs Pakistan 3rd Test in India for free

England vs Pakistan 3rd Test: Playing 11, live toss time, streaming details

England will be looking to secure a 3-0 clean sweep against a depleted Pakistani side at Edgbaston

What challenges await India's Test side in New Zealand? Santner explains

Mitchell Santner calls Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ODI masters ahead of India's New Zealand tour, discusses the Test challenge and explains the two-Test format.

Sony Sports to live telecast Afghanistan vs India T20I series in India

Afghanistan will host India in the three-match T20I series starting September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi

Melbourne Renegades up for sale as CA opens BBL to private investors

The Renegades sale follows months of discussion within Australian cricket over whether private investment could provide a stronger financial and commercial foundation for the BBL and WBBL

Kadowaki named captain as Japan announces 15-member squad for India T20I

The match, to be played under the Suzuki Cup banner, will be Japan's first meeting with India in men's international cricket

Ishan Kishan reflects on captaincy journey, says it has helped him grow

Ishan Kishan on Monday said taking up Jharkhand's captaincy role in 2024 helped him grow as a person, as a cricketer and as a leader of men, keeping him away from his wild child days. After losing the BCCI central contract in late 2023, Kishan returned to his state side, and accepted the leadership role, which he gladly continues to do whenever available. After a tumultuous phase, Kishan has now returned to the India fold albeit in the white ball formats. "You have to take responsibility. If you don't take it now, when will you? It's not like I am a 22-year-old and have just broken into the team. When we were very young, we used to rely on our senior players to score runs and thought we would just support them," Kishan said during the post-day press conference. "But now, being an established part of the squad, I feel it is crucial that I take up the primary role of scoring runs and making sure the team's total climbs because of me," he said. Leading East Zone, Kishan made a brilli

Gill will only get better from here, remains a work in progress: Nehra

India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is still a "work in progress" as a leader and will get better with experience, his Gujarat Titans team head coach Ashish Nehra said on Monday. Nehra and Hardik Pandya forged a highly successful captain-coach partnership after joining forces when Gujarat Titans entered the IPL in 2022. They guided the franchise to the title in its debut season and took it to the final again in 2023. Pandya's departure paved the way for Gill to take over as GT captain, and the youngster led the side to a runners-up finish in the last IPL season. "They are very, very different. You are talking about north pole and south pole. Both of them were like me, not somebody who has done much coaching," Nehra said, comparing Pandya and Gill. "Both of them were not somebody who has done much captaincy, but you learn on your way forward, and suddenly somebody is pretty much doing captaincy for India in two formats. He is only going to get better." The former India pacer wa

Bavuma to lead South Africa in Australia ODIs; de Kock and Coetzee included

Captain Temba Bavuma was named in South Africa's one-day international cricket squad on Monday for a three-game series at home against Australia this month. Bavuma will lead the Proteas after being rested for an ODI series away against Namibia starting on Wednesday. South Africa plays Australia in 50-over games on Sept. 24, 27 and 30, before a three-test series between them next month. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee was also recalled after last playing an ODI at the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India. Batsmen Quinton de Kock and David Miller were included in the 16-man squad, while Aiden Markram will be available for the second and third ODIs, Cricket South Africa said in a statement. Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was out of the series with injury. ___ South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Rya

Women's Asia Cup 2026 semis: Teams qualified, schedule, live streaming

India and Sri Lanka will be the only two undefeated teams heading into the semifinal stage of the Women's Asia Cup 2026

Kevin Pietersen appointed specialist mentor of England white-ball teams

Former captain Kevin Pietersen was on Monday appointed as a specialist mentor of England's white-ball teams in the build-up to next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in Africa. Pietersen will join head coach Brendon McCullum's white-ball set up for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka later this month, joining a coaching team which will also include Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor. He will also be involved in this winter's white-ball tours of Australia and South Africa, before joining up again for the home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer, as well as the World Cup. "I am immensely proud to have been asked to help this team on their journey to win a World Cup in South Africa. Putting on the England uniform again for the first time since 2014 is a profound honour and a deeply special moment," Pietersen said in a England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement. "We have an incredibly talented white-ball squad, and I am excited to get

India vs Japan match key step in cricket's global push: BCCI's Saikia

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia on Monday said the historic one-off T20 International between India and Japan this month will be a significant moment in cricket's journey to become a global sport by connecting to a new audience. India and Japan are set to lock horns for the first time in a historic T20I in Japan on September 22, ahead of the men's cricket competition at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. The Games will start on September 19. The match will be played at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture. Played under the banner of the Suzuki Cup, it will commemorate the 75th anniversary of IndiaJapan diplomatic relations. Saikia said the match is an effort of ICC chairman Jay Shah to take cricket to newer territories. "Cricket's global journey is being shaped by moments that take the game beyond its traditional boundaries. The IndiaJapan T20I match on 22nd September,'26 is one such moment taking international cricket to Japan, connecting with a new audience and