With their respective leaders switching camps and squads undergoing major overhauls, both Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, under new captains, will be eager to make a strong start to their IPL campaign when they face off in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
Debutants Afghanistan will aim to continue their impressive rise in white-ball cricket, while South Africa will once again attempt to shed the 'chokers' tag when the two sides kick-off their Champions Trophy campaign in Karachi on Friday.
With 288 runs at a strike rate of 225, Nicholas Pooran is the top run-getter in IPL 2025, while Mohammed Siraj has been brilliant in Powerplay overs with 10 wickets in five games.
South Africa picked an experienced 15-man squad for next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan with 10 players having competed at the last World Cup in India in late 2023.
Markram's good form augurs well for the Proteas
Opener Aiden Markram led the way with a career-best 152 as South Africa had the better of the opening day of the fourth Test against a much-changed Australia, reaching the close on 313 for six on Friday.
Ahead of IPL 2023, former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad named South African all-rounder Aiden Markram as their new skipper.
For the world, it is another victory of a cricket team, but for all those Black South Africans, who suffered during apartheid, it come as a sweet redemption.
Young Delhi Capitals opener Abishek Porel is focused on helping his side win its maiden Indian Premier League trophy this year, while also aspiring to represent India in the future.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
There will be plenty of scrutiny of the Newlands pitch with the match completed in 642 balls, the shortest ever test in which there has been a winner, beating Australia's 656-ball victory over South Africa in 1932.
New Zealand and South Africa, both laden with world-class talent but often falling short in ICC tournaments, will face off in a tightly contested Champions Trophy semifinal.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes South Africa has a slight edge over New Zealand in their Champions Trophy semifinal clash.
South Africa have picked the uncapped duo of batter Ryan Rickelton and seamer Ottniel Baartman in their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
Heinrich Klaasen will captain South Africa in three Twenty20 matches against Pakistan next week.
At his former franchise Delhi Capitals, the captaincy became a point of contention, leading Pant to opt out of DC's retention plans after unsuccessful negotiations.
Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant was all praise for his team after in the 12-run victory over Mumbai Indians, saying his players held their nerve well in the Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Friday.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match between South Africa and India, in Perth, on Sunday.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
Australia will be aiming to become the first-ever side to defend their ICC WTC mace as they take on Proteas in the 'Ultimate Test' from June 11 onwards at Lord's.
The 'Hydera-boggie' band features Kane Williamson, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips and Abdul Samad.
Arshdeep is happy that he could account for all three in-form batters of LSG in Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran inside the Powerplay.
A look at the best catches of the match.
Australia's batting maestro Steve Smith provided an update on the injury he sustained on his finger during their World Test Championship final defeat against South Africa at Lord's.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Markram said it was a hard pill for them to swallow.
Want to see aggressive start from SRH: Captain Pat Cummins
''South Africa have got some world class batters and obviously they've got some unbelievable bowlers there as well so it's going to be a good challenge and obviously it's a one-off Test match.'
Sunrisers had won the title in the inaugural season in 2023 by defeating Pretoria Capitals. They had beaten Durban SuperGiants in the 2024 edition of SA20.
The Sunrisers' core remains strong, with stars like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and Nitish Kumar Reddy forming a solid batting backbone.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya achieved some remarkable individual feats on Friday although his team suffered a heartbreaking loss against Lucknow Super Giants in an away match in Lucknow.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out who could be the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2025 before the final.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant remains optimistic about his team's chances of making the IPL playoffs despite a 37-run defeat to Punjab Kings.
South Africa built a 239-run lead over the West Indies after the second day of the second Test on Friday to take the upper hand.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram didn't turn away from lavishing praise on India's Sanju Samson for his sheer class on display during the opening T20I in Durban.
Fifties from Heinrich Klassen, Abhishek Sharma, and Travis Head tore the Mumbai Indians bowling attack apart as SunRisers Hyderabad registered the highest score in IPL history.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2025 after Game 29.
Bavuma has replaced Dean Elgar as skipper in the longest format, though the latter remains part of a much-changed squad.
After the end of the Indian Premier League 2024 match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday, the Hyderabad-based franchise players praised MS Dhoni and said that everyone is a fan of him.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances