The brave displays of cricket's second-tier nations were the brightest feature of the Twenty20 World Cup, which got off to a rocky start and culminated in a predictable home win for white-ball behemoths India on Sunday.
India, bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the Twenty20 World Cup title, face an England side building momentum in their semifinal at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
'I wish and pray that for the next 5-6 years he will become a pillar of the Indian team both in T20s and also in ODIs.'
The South Africans had only recently wiped away their reputation of being chokers. Finn Allen got them to choke again.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka has apologised to his countrymen for their disappointing T20 World Cup campaign.
Sher Malla, a 23-year-old off-spinner, made a memorable T20 World Cup debut for Nepal by taking a wicket with his very first ball.
West Indies will look to maintain their winning form against a struggling Nepal side in their T20 World Cup Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium. West Indies have won both their matches so far, while Nepal are coming off a heavy defeat against Italy.
Nepal head coach Stuart Law expressed disappointment over the team's 10-wicket defeat to debutants Italy, saying players had "not shown commitment".
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Spin great Harbhajan Singh said the selectors were right in appointing Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain last year, stating that the youngster is ready for "big challenges".
Temba Bavuma, who led South Africa to their maiden ICC World Test Championship title and a historic 2-0 series sweep in India, also made the cut, while four Australian players were included.
Steve Smith returns to action in the Boxing Day Test against England as Australia opted to include four fast bowlers in their 12-man squad.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Opening batter Jake Weatherald and pace bowler Brendan Doggett will make their Test debuts for Australia in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth on Friday.
As we celebrate the 136th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru's birth, let's embark on a journey to places in India, and across the world, that had a connection with India's first prime minister.
The ICC said that 'clarity is awaited' on Reddy's participation in the World Cup after the freak accident in her follow-through.
Further talking on the recently concluded T20I series against the Mitchell Marsh-led side, Walter spoke about the Kiwis' performance in the two-match series that they played.
'In Shubman's leadership, there is either "Yes" or "No". There is no place for "May Be". As a leader and captain, you need to have that assertiveness about decisions you take, and he definitely has that.'
In the spin department, while seasoned campaigner Deepti Sharma is an automatic choice, it remains to be seen whether India go with both Radha Yadav and Sneh Rana or opt for either one of them.
Gill's highest score in the three Asia Cup matches has been an unbeaten 20 with the Test skipper failing to click in the games against Pakistan and Oman after a fruitful red-ball away series against England.
Keshav Maharaj took 4/22 as South Africa thrashed a woeful England side by seven wickets after dismissing the hosts for just 131 runs in the first One-Day International.
The 21-year-old, capped 41 times by Slovenia, is set to lead the attack alongside Cunha and Mbeumo as new manager Rben Amorim seeks to improve on United's 44 goals in 38 league games last season.
Shubman Gill was inspirational both as a batter and skipper, as he led from the front with four hundreds amassing 754 runs in the five-match Test series in England.
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India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah achieved a personal milestone during Day 4 of the fourth Test against England in Manchester on Saturday as he equalled Ishant Sharma's record of most wickets for India in Tests in England.
Mohammed Siraj has bowled an impressive 155-plus overs across nine England innings and not once did the thought of physical breakdown during a marathon series cross his mind.
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
'If I was the India chief selector, I would have convinced Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai Indians owner) and Bumrah that it was important for Bumrah to miss the IPL for the England series, or play a lesser number of matches in the IPL.' 'I'm sure that they would have agreed to do so.'
Karun Nair rued that he could not convert the starts he got in the recent Test series against England into big scores.
'The captain's an outstanding player. I think his technique is superb. His concentration and his temperament over this series has been brilliant.'
Vihaan Malhotra made a fluent hundred but India U-19 batters caved in against left-arm spinner Ralphie Albert as England gained upper hand after Day 3 of the second four-day Youth Test in Chelmsford on Tuesday.
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The BCCI has amended its playing conditions, introducing a provision for "serious injury replacements" in multi-day domestic tournaments for the upcoming season.
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
The underwhelming Test series against England might have been "frustrating" for Karun Nair at that time, but the India batter says it has also strengthened his resolve to "convert" the starts when the next opportunity comes his way.
Former wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel on Wednesday said India head coach Gautam Gambhir "had all the right of just losing it" following a fiery confrontation with Lee Fortis, Surrey's head of ground staff at The Oval.
The matter of Bumrah's availability for the series should have been a highly-guarded secret. That it was bandied about all through suggests the matter was deliberately placed in the public domain. This has become the basis of the hounding of Bumrah, by some former players and fans, asserts Rohit Mahajan.
On the field too, the depth and talent is unmatched. Mushtaq acknowledged the gulf between India and the Rest.
Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer and legendary West Indies captain Clive Lloyd were on Wednesday honoured by the Lancashire County Cricket Club with stands named after them at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, on the opening day of the fourth Test between India and England.
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