Cricket

Cricket Fraternity Extends Diwali Wishes, Emphasizing Light, Joy, and ProsperityAs the festival of Diwali illuminates homes and hearts across India and the world, the cricket fraternity has joined in the celebrations, extending heartfelt wishes for happiness, peace, and prosperity.Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant took to social media to express his joy, writing, "Wishing everyone a Diwali full of light, happiness, and joy. May this festival bring peace, prosperity, and happiness to you and your family."India pacer Mohammed Shami echoed Pant's sentiments, saying, "May the divine light of Diwali bring peace, prosperity, and happiness to your life. Shine on and have a joyous Diwali."KL Rahul, another prominent Indian batter, sent his fans a message of warmth and blessings, writing, "Wishing you warmth, light, and endless blessings. Happy Diwali."Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag expressed his hope for joy and happiness, saying, "Wish u a sparkling and a cracker of a Deepawali. May this Deepawali bring lots of joy and happiness in your life."Irfan Pathan, another former India cricketer, emphasized the triumph of light over darkness, writing, "Wishing everyone a Diwali filled with light, love, and endless blessings. May this festival of lights bring joy to your heart, peace to your home, and success to your path. Let's celebrate the triumph of light over darkness and spread happiness far and wide."The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also extended its greetings, writing, "Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali."Diwali, the Festival of Lights, holds immense significance in India and beyond. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. Celebrations typically include prayers to Goddess Lakshmi for prosperity, sharing sweets and snacks, exchanging gifts, and lighting fireworks.The cricket fraternity's Diwali wishes reflect the spirit of the festival, emphasizing the importance of light, joy, and prosperity. As the world celebrates Diwali, the cricketers' messages serve as a reminder of the values that unite us all.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to retain only two uncapped players, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. With the largest purse of over INR 100 crore and four right-to-match options, PBKS will enter the auction with significant financial flexibility.Despite their interest in retaining Arshdeep Singh, their second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024, PBKS has opted to release several high-profile players, including Harshal Patel, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone.The retention of Shashank and Prabhsimran, who were PBKS's top two scorers in IPL 2024, will cost the franchise INR 8 crore from their purse. Both batters played crucial roles in PBKS's record chase of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.PBKS has been struggling to qualify for the IPL playoffs since 2014 and has made significant changes to its coaching setup, appointing Ricky Ponting as head coach. The franchise hopes that these changes will improve their performance in 2025.The deadline for franchises to submit their lists of retained players is October 31. Teams can retain up to six players, with a maximum of five capped internationals and two uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each retained player, franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that uncapped seamer Harshit Rana will not participate in the upcoming third Test match against New Zealand in Mumbai. Despite reports suggesting Rana's inclusion in the squad, Gambhir clarified that the rumors are unfounded.Rana, who has been a part of India's white-ball teams since his impressive performance in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, has been brought to Mumbai to work with bowling coach Morne Morkel in preparation for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy."Harshit Rana is not part of the squad. He has just come here to prepare for the Australia tour," Gambhir stated at the pre-match press conference. "We have a Test match here, and we want to use this time to prepare Rana for the BGT."Gambhir emphasized that Rana's presence in Mumbai is solely for training purposes and has no bearing on the Test squad. The team management aims to utilize this opportunity to enhance Rana's skills ahead of the crucial series against Australia.The third Test between India and New Zealand will commence on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the same venue where New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel achieved the remarkable feat of claiming 10 wickets in an innings.

Despite India's consecutive Test losses against New Zealand, visiting captain Tom Latham maintains that the Indian squad remains formidable without any significant weaknesses. New Zealand achieved a remarkable milestone by securing their first Test series victory in India, winning the opening match in Bengaluru by eight wickets and following it up with a decisive 113-run victory in Pune.While India faces comprehensive challenges across all departments in the current series, the New Zealand team, which has performed flawlessly throughout their tour, offered encouraging remarks about their opponents. "India are a quality side, things obviously haven't gone the way they wanted over the last couple of weeks but it doesn't make them a bad team overnight," Latham told reporters before New Zealand's training session at the Wankhede Stadium."They've got superstars from (Nos) 1 to 15 in their squad and we expect them to be in their best tomorrow and again a new challenge for both teams, a new surface." Latham added, "I'm sure a surface that they know well and a ground that they know well, so I certainly don't think they have any chinks - they're a quality team and it's going to be another great battle."With New Zealand leading 2-0, a clean sweep over India is possible, though Latham remained reserved about that prospect. "We've obviously done a lot of good stuff over the last couple of weeks but for us, every Test match you go (in with) the focus of trying to win key moments and not necessarily focusing on the result..." Obviously that's the byproduct of putting things together back-to-back, good sessions back-to-back so yeah, a different pitch, different conditions, it's obviously a lot hotter out there than what we've faced in the last couple of weeks," he said.Latham, who assumed New Zealand's captaincy before this tour, expressed satisfaction with his team's two wins, which have bolstered the inaugural World Test Champions' hopes of reaching another final. Prior to this tour, New Zealand's chances of a second WTC final appearance were slim, but they now need to secure victories in all four remaining Tests to stay in the race. Besides the upcoming third Test against India, New Zealand will face England in a three-Test home series.But once again, Latham opted to downplay the significance of their achievement and said, "The beauty of this team is we're a reasonably levelled team in terms of I guess when results don't go so well but also when you know results do go well." We try to keep things as level as we can and there's no bigger carrot in terms of what's coming up, if you know, if we are successful throughout this game." We always focus on the process around what that looks like from the start of the game and adapt throughout the game in terms of the game situation and what will be needed," he said.Latham stated that New Zealand's focus remains on the task ahead, rather than celebrating being the first Kiwi team in nearly 70 years to defeat India on their home soil. "The guys celebrated what was you know a fantastic last week and came here yesterday. We're a bit shocked by the heat, it was pretty hot out there, but yeah, again, another challenge and you know we'll certainly be looking forward to what's presented to us this week," he said.When asked whether overseas Test and series victories should hold more weight in the WTC points system, Latham expressed his contentment with the current setup. "I haven't necessarily thought about that as such. The introduction of the World Test Championship over the last five (to) six years has been fantastic and the context that it has put on Test cricket, rather than bilateral series, has been fantastic," he said."We've probably seen a few more results in terms of games that have been played certainly over the last period of time, so the context that's now given Test cricket is awesome." Being in the position with the first one (winning team) and being successful gives you a taste of what that success feels like and once you do it, you want to do it again," he added.

India's recent home Test losses have been attributed to the pressure of the World Test Championship (WTC) points system, according to head coach Gautam Gambhir. With the hosts trailing 0-2 in the three-match series against New Zealand, Gambhir emphasized the importance of every match in the WTC."For me, WTC points are very important. Every Test match is important. There are no dead rubbers anymore," Gambhir said at a pre-match press conference. "It has a lot to do with T20 cricket. Gone are the days of draws because the quality of batters and hitting has gone up. Matches will be more result-oriented now."The pressure of the WTC, combined with the influence of T20 cricket, has led to teams losing at home more frequently, according to Gambhir. "It is the combination of being pressure due to WTC points and T20I cricket," he explained.In the second Test, New Zealand's half-centuries from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra helped them reach 259, despite Washington Sundar's impressive spell of 7/59. India's first innings total of 156 was overshadowed by Mitchell Santner's 7/53, with Ravindra Jadeja top-scoring with 38.New Zealand's second innings saw Tom Latham score 86, while Washington and Jadeja picked up four and three wickets respectively. India's run chase of 359 ended in a 114-run defeat, despite Yashasvi Jaiswal's 77.With the series already lost, India will be aiming to avoid a whitewash in the third Test at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. The hosts will need to play out of their skins to salvage some pride and prevent New Zealand from completing a clean sweep.

Shakib Al Hasan, the veteran all-rounder, is likely to miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, according to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Faruque Ahmed. Shakib's absence stems from his decision to opt out of the series, coupled with an emotional toll following his inability to play his farewell Test in Dhaka against South Africa.Since the second Test in India, Shakib has been on a month-long hiatus from cricket. He is expected to participate in the Abu Dhabi T10 League for the Bangla Tigers to gain match practice before the Caribbean tour.After the Afghanistan ODIs, Bangladesh will embark on a tour of the West Indies for two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is. Shakib, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, will be available for the ODIs in the Caribbean and the subsequent Champions Trophy in February 2025."After Shakib couldn't come to play his (farewell) Test, he wasn't doing much practice," Faruque explained at a press conference. "I think he needs some time to regroup. We haven't taken a final decision but he looks unlikely to play the next series (against Afghanistan). He is likely to miss the series. He could be playing a T10 tournament soon. I feel he can still play for Bangladesh in the 50-over format. There are three ODIs against West Indies before the Champions Trophy."However, Faruque indicated that the board would consider Shakib for the remaining ODIs this season if the selectors deem his training and franchise tournament participation sufficient preparation. "Shakib has played for 17 years and he is part of the generation that plays a lot of franchise cricket. They know the drill. They play, sleep maybe a few hours and turn up for training. So he is geared for such situations.""It is the definitely the best possible thing to train with the team but we will consider him if the selection committee thinks that he can still deliver by training or playing tournaments abroad."The national selectors have yet to announce the Bangladesh squad for the ODIs against Afghanistan starting November 6. Meanwhile, Faruque stated that the decision for Shakib to skip the Dhaka Test last week originated from the government, with the BCB not involved in the decision-making process.

South Africa's T20I squad for the upcoming series against India has been announced, with the return of Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee after a conditioning break. The pair have been working on shoulder and hip niggles, respectively, and will be eager to make an impact in the upcoming matches.Lungi Ngidi, who is currently part of the Test squad in Bangladesh, will also have an extended period of time off to work on his conditioning. He is not part of the T20I squad for the India series, while Kagiso Rabada has been rested with the Tests in mind.Despite the absence of Ngidi and Rabada, South Africa still have several big names in the squad. Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, and Keshav Maharaj, who were not part of South Africa's white-ball squads in the UAE, have all been included.The squad will be captained by regular leader Aiden Markram and with Reeza Hendricks and Ryan Rickelton at the top of the order. There are two new caps, allrounders Mihlali Mpongwana and Andile Simelane, who were the joint second-leading wicket-takers in the recently completed T20 Challenge.Donovan Ferreira, who was the third-highest run-scorer in the T20 Challenge, and Patrick Kruger have also been included. Notably, there is no room for Tabraiz Shamsi after he opted out of a national contract last month.Their seam-bowling contingent will be bolstered with the addition of Lutho Sipamla for the third and fourth matches on the Highveld. Sipamla last played for South Africa in 2022 in a Test match and has not played white-ball international since 2021, but his career-best 4 for 12 at the Wanderers in the T20 Challenge final forced him into the squad.South Africa will be hoping to put in a strong performance against India, who are one of the top-ranked T20I teams in the world. The series will be a good test for the Proteas as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

Australia A's opening batting woes continued on the first day of their four-day match against India A in Mackay, with Sam Konstas, Cameron Bancroft, and Marcus Harris all failing to make a significant impact. Konstas and Bancroft were dismissed for ducks, while Harris reached 14 before being caught behind.Nathan McSweeney, batting at No. 4, provided some stability with a solid 29 off 110 balls, further fueling speculation that he could be the solution to Australia's top-order problems.India A, after being inserted by McSweeney, were bowled out for 107, thanks to a career-best 6 for 15 from South Australia quick Brendan Doggett. Doggett, who was only in the side as a second reserve, troubled the batters with his full length and accuracy.India A captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was brilliantly caught down the leg side first ball by Josh Philippe, while Jordan Buckingham removed Abhimanyu Easwaran with a lovely delivery. Sai Sudharsan made a promising start before edging behind against Doggett, who then went on to dismiss Ishan Kishan, Devdutt Padikkal, Manav Suthar, and Prasidh Krishna.Navdeep Saini (23) managed to lift the total into three figures, but India A were ultimately bowled out for a below-par score.Australia A will resume their innings on day two, trailing by eight runs. The match is being played as a warm-up for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between Australia and India.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has expressed optimism that India will participate in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year, emphasizing the positive vibes from the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Akram believes that India's presence would be a significant boost for cricket and Pakistan.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed hosting all of India's matches in Lahore, which is close to the Indian border, to facilitate logistics and security. The PCB has also pledged to provide 17,000 visas to Indian fans.Akram highlighted the importance of people-to-people contact in the current era of social media negativity. He believes that India's participation would foster goodwill and promote cricket.India has not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008, and the UAE is considered a potential alternative venue if any part of the Champions Trophy is moved out. However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has stated that the tournament will not proceed without India's involvement.The Champions Trophy will feature eight teams, including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa. The tournament will be played in a group stage format followed by semi-finals and a final.