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Kane Williamson. (Photo Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper Tom Latham have made notable progress in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings after figuring in a match-winning 221-run partnership in the first ODI of their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against India in Auckland. Williamson has moved into the top 10 after his 98 not out while Latham has galloped 10 places to reach 18th position after smashing an unbeaten 145 off 104 deliveries, their unbroken fourth wicket stand helping overhaul a total of 306 with 2.5 overs to spare. Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have dropped behind Australia’s Steve Smith (at a career-best sixth place) and England’s Jonny Bairstow (seventh) as they are not part of the ODI squad in New Zealand, while Shreyas Iyer (up six places to 27th), Shubman Gill (up three places to 34th) and Sanju Samson (up 10 places to 82nd) have moved up the list. Afghanistan’s wi

Sanju Samson (Photo Source: Twitter) Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI ) as well as the selection committee for giving fewer chances to deserving candidates like Sanju Samson ahead of Rishabh Pant. At the same time, Kaneria also compared the ill-treatment meted out to Samson with veteran middle-order batter Ambati Rayudu. Rayudu was initially considered to be India’s number four batter for the 2019 World Cup in England & Wales. However, the MSK Prasad-led selection committee dropped him from the squad and instead preferred all-rounder Vijay Shankar. A gutted Rayudu then took a jibe at the cricket board and the selectors for selecting '3D' Shankar ahead of him before officially announcing his shocking retirement from international cricket. How much can a player tolerate?: Danish Kaneria “How much can a player tolerate? He already tolerates a lot and scores wherever he gets the opportunity. We might

Usman Qadir. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) The former champions Sydney Thunder have signed Pakistan leg-spinner Usman Qadir ahead of the 12th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).The 29-year-old has been primarily signed to provide cover for Tanveer Sangha, who’s currently out due to a stress factor. The leg-spinner has played 23 T20I matches so far for his nation and picked up 29 wickets at an economy rate of 8.13. The Lahore-born cricketer also has prior experience of playing in the BBL, courtesy of a gig with Perth Scorchers three years ago. With him being on board, the Sydney Thunder management has now completed the signing of four foreign players, which includes Usman along with England’s World Cup-winning opener Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw and Fazalhaq Farooqi.  “Usman joins us with plenty of experience, having represented Pakistan, and playing in T20 leagues around the world. Importantly, he has firsthand knowledge of Australian conditions, he played for Western Aus

Tim Southee New Zealand pace spearhead Tim Southee has hinted that he could consider the idea of stepping away from the central contract in the near future. The debate has garnered plenty of attention after Martin Guptill, who was kept on the sidelines for quite some time was ultimately released by the Black Caps on November 23. Not just Guptill, but Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme too were released from New Zealand's central contracts recently. It has opened doors for these players to seek opportunities to play in overseas domestic T20 leagues. Southee seems uncertain about his future as a cricketer and has not made it clear whether he wants to continue playing for New Zeland or draw the curtain on his international career. “I haven’t looked too far ahead, to be honest. There’s enough cricket to come in the coming months to worry about before having to look too far ahead, but it’s something all players are trying to stay with and think about in the moving landscape of th

Pat cummins and Justin Langer. (Photo Source: Twitter) Australian captain Pat Cummins addressed the recent interview from Justin Langer in a Backchat Podcast where the latter had claimed he was damaged by ‘cowards’ who leaked against him from the dressing room during his stint as head coach. Langer’s interview had emerged as a talking point ahead of Australia's home Tests against West Indies and Cummins had come out with a strong response to it during the chat with the reporters.   "There's no cowards in an Australian cricket team, not ever” Cummins was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo .   Cummins further noted that he would never reveal the dressing room conversations and stated his disappointment over the focus turning on it.   "I'd probably never disclose private conversations. I think it's disappointing sometimes the focus gets drawn to off-field issues but it hasn't really affected our team."   Langer later had clarified a bit statin

Arshdeep Singh. (Photo Source: Youtube/News24 Sports) The T20I and ODI series between New Zealand and India did not turn out to be as exciting as people expected it to be, thanks in major part to the weather. Of the five games played so far in the tour, three matches have been hampered by rain. The first T20I was abandoned and the third was washed out before the second ODI saw a similar result. As Team India is gearing up for the final game of their New Zealand tour, the rain threat continues to hover over their dream of leveling the ODI series. After winning the T20I series by 1-0, the Men in Blue shifted their focus to the ODI series. But the first two games have not gone in India’s favor as the second game at Hamilton was washed out after India lost the first game by seven wickets in Auckland. The third game is very crucial for India as they aim to return back with their heads high, but as per the weather forecast, rain is likely to play a role during the game at the Hagley O

Wasim Akram. (Photo Source: Instagram) Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram in his autobiography ‘Sultan: A Memoir’ has called out Saleem Malik and Ramiz Raja for two very different reasons. Akram revealed that Malik used to treat him like a slave. While talking about Ramiz, the 56-year-old pointed out the advantages he used to enjoy because of his father. The duo played a lot of cricket together and was also part of Pakistan’s success at the 1992 World Cup. From 1985-1997, Akram and Ramiz played in 188 international games and thus, have spent a lot of time together for Pakistan in the past. However, the legendary pacer in his autobiography made a huge revelation that Ramiz was always given a chance to field in the slip because his father was a police commissioner. The former Pakistan skipper also pointed out a Test match to mention that the current PCB chairman dropped more catches than he caught. “The first over the next day was delivered by Asif Faridi, a local quick; I was t

Legends League Cricket. (Photo Source: Twitter) New Delhi, November 28, 2022: After the success of 2 seasons, Legends League Cricket is back with next season from February 27, 2023 to March 8, 2023 which will be played in Qatar and Oman. It would be called LLC Masters and feature 3 teams as played in season 1 as India Maharajas, Asia Lions and World Giants. While the recently concluded season 2 of Legends League Cricket that had 4 Franchise owned teams with 85 legends and was played in India, the upcoming season is a repeat of the first season which had former cricketers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, among other cricket nations divided into 3 Teams representing India, Asia and Rest of the World. Cricket fans all across the world saw the Legends of Cricket sweat it out at their competitive best during both the seasons. Harbhajan Singh said “I loved to be in the Cricket field with Manipal Tigers playing LLC-2 and it would be great to go back into the field wi

Afghanistan Team (Photo Source: Twitter) Afghanistan has confirmed a place in the next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup among the countries which will qualify automatically after rain came down pouring in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International stadium. The visitors were all-out for 228 after opting to bat first with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 68 of 73 balls turning out to be the top score for the side.   Kasun Rajitha bowled a brilliant spell to end up with 3 for 31 in his nine overs while the spinners put a tight grip on the scoring rate. Sri Lanka played just 2.4 overs in the run-chase when the rain came down heavily and the game was eventually called-off due to the persistent rains. Afghanistan had already taken a 1-0 lead after winning the first ODI and cannot lose the series from here on.   The result proved to a blessing in disguise for the Afghan side as the five points from the rain-curtailed game has taken them to a total of 115 points at the sevent

Rehan Ahmed. (Photo Source: Twitter/@RehanAhmed__16) The English red-ball contingent have landed on Pakistan soil for their first bilateral Test series in 17 years against the Men in Green. The newly-crowned T20 World Cup champions will cross swords with Pakistan in the longest format of the sport in a three-match Test series commencing on December 1. One of the interesting inclusions for the series in the England squad was that of Rehan Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg-spinner. England coach Brendon McCullum opined that the young sensation exudes massive confidence and further stated that the series will be a ‘fabulous’ opportunity for Rehan. “What a fabulous kind of opportunity for someone like him. He seems really confident in himself. He’s 18 and on an England tour to Pakistan so there’s some real opportunities there and there’ll be some challenges along the way, but it’s our job to figure this out. We know that he’s not the finished product. He’s a long way away from that, but he

Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade. (Photo Source: Twitter) During the upcoming Test series against the West Indies, Australian cricketers will take a knee on their home soil for the first time ever, so as to showcase their stand against racism. The anti-racism symbolic gesture will be undertaken during both of the Test matches, the first one in Perth followed by the next in Adelaide. The West Indies tour of Australia consists of two Test matches. The first one is set to be played at the Perth Stadium starting November 30, followed by the second and final Test, a day-night game, which will be played from December 8 to December 12 at the Adelaide Oval. “As we’ve done in the West Indies and during the recent warm-up games we will support the West Indies team and take a knee alongside them,” a spokesperson of Cricket Australia was quoted as saying by The West Australian. “As a team, we'll continue to educate ourselves, provide support where possible, and create awareness for those w

Suryakumar Yadav (Photo Source: Twitter) Former India middle-order batter and the incumbent India U19 head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has heaped praise on the current number one ranked T20I batter in the world Suryakumar Yadav saying that he deserves to be an inspiration for many batters across the globe. The 32-year-old Mumbai batter has been in splendid form for quite some time now. Suryakumar has been scoring runs consistently for India in the last few months and was batting on 34* off 25 balls in the second One Day International against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, November 27 before the game was called off due to rain. The Mumbai cricketer has also registered two overseas centuries to his name in the shortest format this year. While the first one was scored against England in July, the recent one came against the Kiwis in the second T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. Suryakumar Yadav is an exception: Hrishikesh Kanitkar “We would love to see ten

Martin Guptill. (Photo Source: Twitter) Veteran New Zealand batter Martin Guptill might have fallen out of favor from the national team, but he has not given up hopes yet and has vowed to make a strong comeback.  The explosive opener has been roped in by the Melbourne Renegades for the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) as an overseas replacement for England batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone. He took this decision after being released from his New Zealand central contract. It now remains to be seen whether Guptill will any longer be in the Kiwi national selectors' and the team management's favor especially with an eye on the next year's ODI World Cup in India.  It's all about playing as much cricket as I can: Martin Guptill "It's all about playing as much cricket as I can while I've got only got a few years left in the game," said Guptill as quoted by Zero Wicket. "I need to be playing as much cricket as possible and I guess being on the

Sanju Samson (Photo Source: Twitter) Sanju Samson was surprisingly dropped from India’s playing XI for the ongoing second One Day International against New Zealand at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. The fans were left annoyed with this and instantly slammed the team management on social media. Deepak Hooda has made way for him. Meanwhile, former India pacer Ashish Nehra has also expressed his disappointment as he openly questioned the management’s selection tactics. At the same time, the pundit urged the team management to show some stability going forward. However, Nehra did make it clear that had he been a selector, then he would have given first preference to Hooda over Samson since the former had played in the T20 World Cup. “I hope they haven't picked Deepak Hooda for his bowling. You have Washington Sundar, yes, he bowled well, picked up a few wickets in the T20Is. He's your sixth option, but not a great sixth option. Two changes India have made today, first thing, I

Umran Malik. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Shikhar Dhawan-led team India lost to hosts New Zealand in the first of three-match ODI series thanks to a massive century (145* runs) coming from Tom Latham. Despite the loss, debutant Umran Malik had a match to remember with the ball against the Kiwis. The pace spearhead, who is known to clock 150 kmph on a consistent basis, was included in the squad and made the cut in the playing XI. Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer deemed Umran to be a better fit in the 50-over format over the T20s following his sensational outing against the Black Caps. "As the game gets bigger, you got to have a lot more skills and that’s something they will learn. The One Day format suits Umran Malik more than T20s. We have seen in the IPL that he doesn’t have many variations compared to bowling in this format when he needs to hit the right line and lengths and use the short ball well,” said Jaffer on ESPNcricinfo. New Zealand registered a win in the 1st ODI The

Gautam Gambhir. (Photograph by Raj k Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Former opener Gautam Gambhir has said that everytime the Indian Premier League (IPL) need not be blamed when the national cricket team does not perform in big tournaments. At the same time, Gambhir also explained how the IPL has overall benefitted Indian cricket over the years. Gautam’s remarks came after a few critics had questioned the Indian players’ commitments towards the national team following their ouster from the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal with a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against England. They had hit out at the players saying that their dedication level is only high while playing in the IPL. Notably, India have not won an ICC tournament after the 2013 Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni . IPL is the best thing that has happen to Indian cricket: Gautam Gambhir "IPL is the best thing that has happen to Indian cricket. I can say this with all my senses. There has been lot of backlash rega

Prime Video. (Photo Source: Twitter/@PrimeVideo) The Delhi High Court on Friday, November 25 dismissed Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd's petition against an order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) regarding the alleged dilution of its exclusive media rights to broadcast the ongoing cricket series between hosts New Zealand and India. The multi-billion dollar company owns the right to broadcast the ongoing New Zealand versus India series in the Indian subcontinent and thus, accused TDSAT of allowing private cable operators and other Direct To Home (DTH) operators to broadcast the matches without buying the official rights. Amazon bought the rights from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) which allows them to broadcast all the home games of New Zealand until the 2025-26 season. All the matches during this time frame are going to be broadcast on their Over The Top (OTT) platform, Prime Video. However, India’s recent tour to New Zealand is also being broadca

Indian Cricket team 1st ODI. (Photo Source: Hannah Peters/Getty Images) New Zealand produced a magnificent chase against India at the Eden Park in Auckland in the first ODI and have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. The likes of Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put up a huge partnership together and ensured that the hosts went over the line comfortably.   On the other hand, the Indian side did not have much answers to the assault from the New Zealand batting and they would be looking to come up with a better performance. The batting department looked solid with the top three getting runs while Washington Sundar’s final flourish helped in getting over the 300-run mark. With the series on the line, all eyes will be on the young Indian bowling group in the second ODI at the Seddon Park in Hamilton.   The first ODI did not have any rain interruption in Auckland and provided the fans with some spectacular entertainment. The pitch remained flat in Auckland and Seddon Par

Dinesh Lad. (Photo Source: Twitter) With almost a decade without an ICC trophy, there’s a sense of frustration in the air among Indian cricket fans. Even though the Indian Premier League is seen as one of the most premier tournaments in the country, a lot of experts in the recent past have criticised players for playing the tournament and missing games for the national team. Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad becomes the latest addition to the list as he heavily criticised players for prioritising IPL over the Indian team. While speaking about the issue, the veteran coach called out the players for missing international matches to manage their workload. He believes that it is the reason why there’s no stability in the set-up and also why the Men in Blue fail to win any major trophy. “I thought, maybe, in the last seven-eight months, we are not a stable team. If we are preparing for the World Cup, it should be an established team. In the last seven months, somebody is com

General Qamar Javed Bajwa with Pakistan team. (Photo Source: Twitter) Pakistan recently reached the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and were unfortunate to end up on the losing side against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Notably, the Babar Azam-led side did not have the best of starts to the tournament after losing to India and Zimbabwe in the Super 12 stage and the road looked quite tough for them to make it to the knockouts.   However, a spirited Pakistan side played out of its skin in the remaining fixtures and got to the final with some magnificent performances. Pakistan's outgoing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa lauded the players for their “fighting spirit” while meeting them at a reception hosted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.   President Dr. Arif Alvi who was also present at the meeting mentioned that Pakistan "lived up to its reputation as being unpredictable. They have made the country proud by beating the best tea

Rvai Ashwin (Photo Source: Twitter) Despite having a stellar season with the bat in IPL 2022, Sanju Samson was never handed a decent run in the Indian team as Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been preferred over him and eventually, the Kerala-born cricketer failed to make it to the squad for the T20 World Cup. His recent exclusion from the playing XI against New Zealand in the T20I series has made headlines again. Meanwhile, India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has said that he is also eager to watch Samson play all the matches as he is in tremendous form at the moment. “For his (Sanju Samson) talent, if he doesn't play, he will obviously get trended. I want Sanju Samson to get all the opportunities. In fact, I even said that I am looking forward to watching him play since he is in exceptional form at the moment and is playing superbly,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. Ashwin lauds Hardik Pandya for handling Sanju Samson case in 'Thala Dhoni' style The off-s

Rishabh Pant (Photo Source: Hannah Peters/Getty Images) Former India cricketer Reetinder Sodhi has said that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is becoming a liability in the T20Is and the national selectors as well as the team management must now give chances to deserving candidates like Sanju Samson who have been waiting patiently for a long time.   Even though Samson was included for the just-concluded T20Is in New Zealand, he was not selected for a single game and was made to warm the bench yet again. This did not go down well with the cricket fans as they vented out their anger at the team management on social media. When you give too many chances, problems arise: Reetinder Sodhi “He (Rishabh Pant) is becoming a liability for Team India. If it’s like this, then bring in Sanju Samson. End of the day, you got to take that chance because you cannot afford to lose and exit in World Cup or ICC tournaments. When you give too many chances, the problems arise. The time has come to p

Rohan Kunnummal (Photo source: Twitter) The India-A squad for the upcoming Bangladesh tour was announced and Kerala’s upcoming sensation Rohan Kunnummal found a place for the four-day games. The 24-year-old made his first-class debut just two years ago and he has made use of the few chances in a fantastic manner. The elegant right-hander is definitely a star in the making already and could be seen in the international arena soon.   Rohan Kunnummal did not have the best of starts to his first-class career scoring just eight runs in his maiden game against Rajasthan. However, he turned the table around with 769 runs in six first class games at a mind-boggling average of 96.12 and he scores the runs at a hefty strike rate of 83.86. With three half-centuries and four centuries in the nine innings, Kunnummal announced his arrival in first-class cricket with a bang.   Infact, in the 2022 Ranji Trophy season, Kunnummal scored three centuries in the three games for Kerala

Harbhajan Singh (src: Twitter) Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh felt that the men in blue need to change their approach in the T20 format and highlighted the importance of strike rate. Despite starting the recent ICC T20 World Cup 2022 as one of the favourites, India crashed out in the semi-finals against England and since then, there has been a lot of pondering about the team's approach in T20 format.   Especially, with the top three batters KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli playing in a similar manner , it hasn’t helped the side while posting totals in big games. England who won the T20 World Cup 2022 recently, have been quite successful after changing their approach in the limited-overs format and Harbhajan explained the impact of the slow starts from the Indian top-order. Players can't be changed overnight, the approach has to change: Harbhajan Singh   Harbhajan noted how Hardik and Suryakumar Yadav have been put under pressure due to the po

International League T20. (Photo Source: ILT20) UAE's six-team International League T20 is all set to kickstart in January 2023. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, Sharjah Warriors, Desert Vipers will be the participating teams and with 34 matches overall in place, the format of the tournament will allow each franchise to play against each other twice alongside four playoffs.   The franchises in the UAE league are owned by IPL team owners of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. Further, the owners of Manchester United FC, Lancer Capital also own a franchise. The IPL owners have also invested in some of the franchises, and the fact that each playing XI can consist of a maximum of nine overseas players makes it quite interesting. Despite the packed schedule around the world in terms of franchise cricket, several big names have signed up for the league and it remains to be seen if the other leagues tend to get a major hit.

Yuvraj Singh. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images for Laureus) Veteran India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has been served a legal notice by the Goa Tourism Department for allegedly owning an unregistered property in the state. As per reports, Yuvraj owns a villa named ‘Casa Singh’ which is situated in Varchawada at Morjim, North Goa. The tourism department had reportedly issued a notice to the two-time World Cup winner last Friday i.e. on November 18 for his failure to get the villa registered before putting it up for homestay online. Meanwhile, the state tourism department has also shared Yuvraj Singh’s tweet as a solid evidence. In September this year, the southpaw took to social media and talked about hosting an exclusive stay at his Goa residence. I’ll be hosting an exclusive stay at my Goa home for a group of 6, only on @Airbnb . This is where I spend time with my loved ones & the home is filled with memories from my years on the pitch. Bookings open Sep 28, 1pm IST at

Arshdeep Singh. (Photo Source: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images) The series-deciding third T20I between New Zealand and India was tied after the play was forced to be abandoned due to rain at the McLean Park in Napier on Tuesday, November 22. Thus, the Indian team continued their unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series to end it on a winning note. As per the DLS, India needed the same score (75) runs at the end of nine overs which they had already made and it meant the contest was good enough to be declared a tie. Some sloppy fielding in the middle also cost the Kiwis despite them having gained the upper hand earlier. After winning the toss, stand-in captain Tim Southee decided to bat first. However, the hosts were reduced to 44/2 inside the Powerplay but half-centuries from opener Devon Conway and middle-order sensation Glenn Phillips took them to 160. India in reply, looked to be staring down the barrel after being reduced to 21/3 in the third over before in-form Suryakuma

IPL auction. (Photo Source: Twitter) All 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) teams are preparing for the mini-auction after fixing the list of their team's retained and released players. But the majority of franchises are facing a little trouble before taking part in the event on December 23 in Kochi as a majority of the foreign support staff members of the franchises will be unavailable owing to Christmas. The teams are reportedly considering asking the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reschedule the mini-auction so that they could have the majority of their staff present at the event. As of now, the board has not issued any official statements on the subject, and it is unclear whether BCCI will agree to change the date of IPL auction. Some of the players who might present themselves for the auction for IPL 2023 are Sam Curran, Kane Williamson, Alex Hales, and Ben Stokes, among many other big names. Adil Rashid, England's leg-spinner who made a strong impressi

New Zealand. (Photo Source: Twitter) New Zealand is set to host India for a three-match ODI series starting from 25 th of November and will go on until 30 th of November. Both teams are coming off painful defeats in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 although their overall campaign was quite good considering the Super-12 stages.   The series will feature a lot of youngsters from the Indian side trying to seal a spot in the playing XI and the selectors have opted for pace in the bowling department. Veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan is set to lead India in the 50-over format after impressing with his captaincy in the Zimbabwe tour as well as in the home series against South Africa.   With the big names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul being rested, the likes of Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson will get a few more opportunities to keep continuing their good form. Head coach Rahul Dravid is rested for the series and this will be an important preparation