Author: Staff Reporter

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed Rishabh Pant to lead the Indian team if Shubman Gill misses the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati due to a neck issue. Ponting, who worked as a coach for Delhi Capitals when Pant was the franchise captain, said that India’s vice-captain has sufficient experience to lead the team. “It’s never easy to come in and fill the role of a stand-in captain, especially after a recent Test loss,” Ponting said during an episode of ICC Review. “Rishabh is now a reasonably experienced Test player, and being a wicketkeeper probably helps him…

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said he is not convinced by Washington Sundar’s promotion to No. 3 in the batting order in Test cricket. Sundar was tried at No. 3 by the Indian team management in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In a low-scoring affair, the left-handed batter scored 29 in the first innings, while he was the highest run-getter in the second innings, scoring 31. Ganguly praised Sundar but urged Gautam Gambhir to find a specialist batter for the number three position. “It’s been a tremendous time for Washington…

England head coach Brendon McCullum believes his team is fully prepared for one of the toughest challenges in cricket: facing Australia on their home turf, a task for which they have been preparing for years. The Ben Stokes-led England side is aiming to secure their first Ashes series win down under since 2010–11. Speaking to the BBC ahead of the series, McCullum said: “This team has been together for a good couple of years, and we have been building towards this moment.” This reflects his confidence in the group he began shaping in 2022. During the home series against India,…

England captain Ben Stokes says his team is fully focused on winning the Ashes in Australia for the first time since 2010-11. As the series begins in Perth on November 21, Stokes believes England has a real chance to change a long history in Australia. On the eve of the first Test, Stokes said, “Look, coming to Australia, playing against Australia, they’re a seriously good team and everyone, including myself, including the team, and all you guys know that the record of England over the history of Ashes series in Australia isn’t the best. But we’ve got an opportunity here…

India legend Sunil Gavaskar has once again highlighted the importance of playing domestic cricket. Writing in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar took a slight dig at the national selectors and advised them to prioritise players who perform consistently in domestic cricket. “The defeat to South Africa will hopefully open the eyes of those who matter to look at the heavy scorers in domestic cricket, who are used to playing on pitches where the ball spins and keeps low. The international players are so busy playing overseas that they do not have practice playing on domestic pitches, and so are found…

Former South African batter AB de Villiers has shared a strong opinion on India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir’s remarks about the Eden Gardens pitch after India’s defeat to South Africa in the first Test. De Villiers said that Gambhir defending the pitch might actually be a hidden criticism of India’s batting failure. His comment came after India failed to chase down 124 runs in Kolkata. Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said, “Before I could blink the Test match was over. Exactly the wicket India wanted, says India coach Gautam Gambhir. Very interesting comments there. Maybe he is having…

Former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting has predicted a 3-2 result in favour of Australia for the upcoming Ashes series, which is scheduled to start from November 21. Speaking on an episode of The ICC Review, Ponting also predicted that there will not be any drawn games if the weather stays good. “I don’t think there’ll be any draws, just the way that England play. If there’s reasonable weather through the Australian summer, we know that the biggest concern for the last 15 years has been Sydney with the amount of days we’ve lost there. Perth and Brisbane this time of…

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has praised the remarkable rise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying it has become one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world. During the SA20 India Day event, Smith highlighted the league’s massive influence and said, “I think a lot of people forget the early years of the IPL. There were many things that had to go well for the league to grow the way it did. The IPL is now one of the biggest leagues in the world across all sports. In our first three seasons, we have seen strong growth…

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the 16th edition of the U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will take place from 15 January to 6 February 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia. A total of 16 teams will take part in the tournament. These teams will be divided into four groups and will compete across 41 matches over 23 days. It is pertinent to note that India and Pakistan have been placed in different groups. ICC Chairman Jay Shah expressed his excitement for the upcoming tournament, saying: “The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup has long…

Daryl Mitchell has created history for New Zealand cricket by climbing to the No.1 position in the ICC ODI batting rankings. He pushed India’s former captain Rohit Sharma down to second place. This is a special milestone for Mitchell because it is only the second time someone from New Zealand has reached the top spot since Glenn Turner in 1979. Mitchell reached this position after his brilliant century against West Indies in the ongoing ODI series on Sunday. That knock was his seventh ODI hundred and helped him make a major jump in the rankings. Unfortunately, he got injured during…