Author: WebDesk

In a significant trade, all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been acquired by the Mumbai Indians from the Lucknow Super Giants. The IPL media advisory confirmed the development on Thursday, November 13. The trade comes two days before the deadline for player releases (15 November, 5:00 p.m. IST), which could include some of the marquee names from last season. The Mumbai-based all-rounder joins the MI setup for ₹2 crore — the same sum at which he was picked up by the Lucknow Super Giants as an injury replacement for the 18th edition of the league, in which he featured in ten games.…

Steve Smith reckons that England have got their selection wrong with regard to their bowling attack, by picking their quickest bowlers over the nibbling seamers who have been successful down under over the past few summers. England have touched down in Australia with a bowling attack boasting bowlers capable of operating at high pace. This will be the first time since 2009 that England will play an Ashes series without James Anderson or Stuart Broad in their ranks. The legendary fast-bowling duo were renowned for moving the ball both ways. Of the current crop of pacers, only Mark Wood has…

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has directed its players to remain in Pakistan to complete the remainder of the three-match ODI series, which is scheduled to run until November 29. Several Sri Lanka players and members of the support staff requested to return home following Tuesday’s bomb attack in Islamabad, the city where they are currently staying. In response, SLC issued a media release warning that players of the men’s national team and members of the support staff would face “a formal review” if they chose to leave the ongoing white-ball tour of Pakistan due to security concerns. “In this context,…

Josh Hazlewood has been cleared to be available for the first Ashes Test after the veteran pacer suffered an injury scare during a Sheffield Shield game. Meanwhile, Sean Abbott has been ruled out of the series opener in Perth due to a hamstring injury. Playing for their domestic side, the New South Wales duo did not return to the field after lunch on day three of the Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), instead undergoing scans. “Josh Hazlewood will join the Australian squad as planned for the Perth Ashes Test,” a Cricket Australia media release…

England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick has backed Joe Root to use his current run of form to end his century drought during the upcoming Ashes series, which begins on November 21 in Perth. Currently ranked number one in the Test rankings, Root has 39 centuries to his name, but none of them have come Down Under. Much has already been said about Root’s failure to register a hundred against Australia on their home turf. Nobody has dominated Test cricket quite like Root since 2022. His numbers over the last two World Test Championship cycles are evidence of that. The in-form…

Hasan Nawaz has been dropped from Pakistan’s white-ball squads, which were announced on Sunday for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka and the T20I tri-nation series featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Although Pakistan won both the T20I and ODI series, Hasan became a casualty of his string of low scores despite being given a decent run in white-ball cricket by the selectors. Veteran batter Fakhar Zaman, who was named in the reserves for the South Africa T20Is, has been added to the T20I squad in Hasan’s place, while no replacement has been named for the ODI squad.…

Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson is pleased with the way Babar Azam has returned and performed since his comeback to the white-ball fold. Even though the former captain did not score big runs in the series, Hesson sees a silver lining. Babar endured a tough time in the ODI series against South Africa, scoring just 45 runs at a modest average of 15 and a strike rate of 78.94. In the T20I series prior to that, he also managed only one half-century in three games. The premier right-handed batter was unable to convert his starts into a substantial score.…

England fast bowler Mark Wood admitted that his side faces a formidable challenge in the upcoming five-match Ashes series against Australia, labelling the hosts as the “favourites”, though he remains confident that his team are capable of coming out on top. It has been a decade since England last won the Ashes, and 15 years since they last claimed the urn Down Under. They have endured three more one-sided tours since then. According to Wood, the series opener in Perth will set the tone for the rest of the series. “The Australian side are very hard to beat in their…

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood has downplayed concerns regarding the fitness and ageing of the fast-bowling group, insisting that their experience will be the decisive factor when the Ashes begin on November 21 in Perth. Ahead of the five-match series between Australia and England, much of the discussion has centred on Australia’s ageing bowling attack, with the youngest being the 32-year-old Pat Cummins, who has been ruled out of the Perth Test. “I feel in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time,” Hazlewood told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. “I think the experience, not just…

Matheesha Pathirana has been ruled out of the upcoming Tri-Series, which will also involve Pakistan and Zimbabwe, due to an upper respiratory tract infection. Asitha Fernando replaces Pathirana in the T20I squad. Bhanuka Rajapaksa returns to the T20I side, having last played at the start of this year. Along with Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka has been sidelined with a knee injury and was therefore not considered for selection in the ODI squad. Dunith Wellalage, who will lead Sri Lanka A in the Rising Stars T20 Asia Cup, will travel to Doha and will consequently miss both the ODI series and the…