Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that their team is just as good as the Indian World Twenty20 team.
'We came in very excited and there was a good feel around the group ... I thought everyone, from one to 11, stood up today.'
Having released 10 players ahead of the auction, the team management focussed on strengthening the batting and pace bowling units.
Australia Test skipper Michael Clarke's will captain the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash League for the next two seasons after not playing Twenty20 for three years.
An extensive experience of playing the Big Bash League in Australia contributed to Jos Buttler and Alex Hales' absolute dominance over India in the T20 World Cup semi-final, said head coach Rahul Dravid.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke said his body felt 15 years younger after a spell away from cricket as he prepared for a comeback at the Hong Kong T20 Blitz. Injury-plagued Clarke said nine months without cricket and its rigorous travel, as well as a revamped diet and training regime, had given him a new lease of life as he contemplates joining the lucrative Twenty20 bandwagon. The 35-year-old batsman played his last Twenty20 international in 2010 but he will test the waters for a stint in Australia's Big Bash League at the four-team Hong Kong event this weekend. Clarke, troubled by chronic back problems, retired after last year's Ashes series but less than a year later, he will make an experimental hit-out for Kowloon Cantons. "I'm going to play these couple of games and see how I go, see if I enjoy it and then assess after that," he said. "Right now it's about coming here and having some fun. If I enjoy it, I'll assess when I get home what my exact plan will be." He added: "My body's going really well. My body hasn't felt this good in 15 years. Let's hope I'm saying that on Sunday night after four games of cricket!"
Kapil Dev said ICC has a 'bigger responsibility' to manage the sport.
As the auction approaches, here are the 10 wicketkeeper-batters who are poised to attract significant attention making them among the most sought-after players for IPL 2025.
Former Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi has announced his decision to retire from Test cricket after the ongoing one-off match against Bangladesh.
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has suffered multiple cheekbone fractures after an on-field head clash during the Women's Big Bash League (BBL) match between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was banned on Tuesday for one year for a doping whereabouts rule violation.
Batting great Matthew Hayden is ready to help Australia solve their batting woes in the ongoing four-Test series if asked.
Cricket Australia gave the day-night match against Afghanistan the green light on Thursday when it announced its summer schedule headlined by a marquee series against India.
Steve O'Keefe's hopes of joining the Australian slow-bowling attack in the four-Test series in India from next month have been boosted after the left-arm spinner was withdrawn from the remainder of the Big Bash League to prepare for the tour.
Training sessions are the players' only break from the monotony of being holed up alone in their hotel rooms, so they have been taking to practice with gusto, said Carey.
Aaron Finch bows out as one of his country's greatest limited-overs players and as the captain who delivered Australia a first global T20 title in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.
West Indies are two-time World T20 champions but the flamboyant Chris Gayle feels "it will be difficult" for the Caribbean islands to regain their glory days in Test cricket in the near future. One of the most dashing batsmen of his time, Gayle has two triple hundreds in the longest format with 7214 runs in 103 games. His RCB jersey no, 333, is his highest Test score. West Indies have lost their last two Test series against India (at home) and Pakistan (away).
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting believes new recruit Alex Carey could win a lot of games for the IPL side in his new No 4 role and is also a good backup option to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Australian wicketkeeper Carey, who usually opens the innings in the Australian Big Bash T20 League, smashed a 24-ball 55 for the Adelaide Strikers at No 4, while Ponting looked on from the television commentary box on Monday night.
The second edition of the Women's Premier League, beginning in Bengaluru on Friday with a high-profile match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and runners-up Delhi Capitals, will be optimistic about meeting its existential purpose of giving a wider platform to promising home-grown talents.
David Warner has been ruled out of the remainder of the limited-overs series against India while Pat Cummins has been rested as part of his workload management.
Ahead of the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League, Jemimah Rodrigues opened up on how the WPL is helping the Indian players deal with the T20 World Cup semifinal loss.
McCullum, 37, played for the two-time IPL champions in two separate stints and also represented Trinbago Knight Riders, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise that is owned by the same parent company Red Chillies Entertainment.
Now, the burly left-handed West Indian announced the arrival of his new-born daughter on his Instagram page, and matter-of-factly stated that he has named her 'Blush'.
Players depending on external stimulation will struggle in front of empty stadium, says experienced mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton
Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann will have heart surgery on Saturday after suffering a health scare on his 50th birthday on Wednesday. The former Test batsman suffered chest pains while on the Gold Coast to watch his son Jake Lehmann captain the Cricket Australia XI against the touring England Lions.
Ash Barty ended Australia's 44-year wait for a home winner at the Australian Open when the world number one staved off a fightback from American Danielle Collins to complete a 6-3, 7-6(2) win.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been dropped from Australia's squad for the one-day international series in New Zealand next month, while in-form batsman Usman Khawaja has also been overlooked for the three-match series.
Australia off-spinner Nathan Hauritz announced his retirement from competitive cricket on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on a 15-year career during which he represented the national side in all three formats. Hauritz, one of the many spinners Australia turned to after the retirement of bowling great Shane Warne, did not have a state contract for the last two seasons and was used by his Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades for one match this season. The 34-year-old failed to take a wicket in that clash, against Perth Scorchers, and conceded 29 runs in his two overs. "I was just so shattered after the game," he told reporters. "I realised I hadn't come down here to be that disappointed about a game of cricket anymore. I thought 'I don't need that anymore'. I just want to get away.
The Indian cricket team would get into the groove for the short limited-overs series against Australia with a couple of warm-up games against a Western Australia XI at the WACA ground on Friday and Saturday. While the first match tomorrow is slated to be a T20 affair, the second match scheduled the day after will be a 50-over warm-up game against the same opposition. It will certainly not be the first team of Western Australia which is better known as Perth Scorchers, which will be playing in the warm-up games. It will be a second string squad that will take on the Indians.
Star batter Jemimah Rodrigues was on Thursday dropped from the 15-member Indian women's squad for the ICC ODI World Cup to be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar dismissed talk of the cash-rich Indian Premier League being the reason behind Champions League T20 being scrapped, saying "there's no connection" between the two events.
After launching their campaign on a winning note, IPL finalists Kings XI Punjab will look to dish out another dominating performance when they face the formidable Barbados Tridents in a Group B match of the Oppo Champions League twenty20 in Mohali on Saturday.
Australian captain Aaron Finch is confident Glenn Maxwell's ODI absence won't last long.
The IPL, all of a sudden, may have some catching up to do with the Big Bash.
Steven Smith admitted that Usman Khawaja has the right to feel aggrieved after the Australia captain confirmed the in-form batsman had been overlooked for Wednesday's opening one-dayer against New Zealand.
Conceding that the T20 call up against India came as a 'pleasant surprise', Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on Monday said his familiarity with Indian cricket through IPL helped him in reviving his faltering international career. After being dropped from the ODI side post last year's series against England, Watson had nearly given up hope on his international career, concentrating more on domestic T20 cricket like the Big Bash League. The 34-year-old batting all-rounder believes his performance for Sydney Thunder turned the tide in his favour. "Yes, it came as a pleasant surprise to me. In the end it just came down to doing well for Sydney Thunder in BBL and whatever happened from there from the Aussie side of things, because after being dropped from the One-day side I knew my international days are nearly over, so nice to get that surprise and get the call from Rod Marsh on Sunday," he added.
Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey warned teams against underestimating India after their 0-2 loss in the Tests series.
'Honestly, I don't want to be a testing sort of a cricketer for any new format. I don't want to be someone who's going to be part of that World XI who comes and launches the 100-ball format'
World number one Ash Barty became the first Australian woman to win the Wimbledon singles title for 41 years on Saturday when she defeated Czech Karolina Pliskova in the final.
Spin legend Shane Warne has retired from the Big Bash Twenty20 League, citing business, family and commentary commitments across two continents, thereby bringing an end to his competitive cricket career.
