With just a week to go until the start of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, it sets up a tight race for the premier position for batters in 50-over cricket during the eight-team tournament.
The spotlight is on mystery spinners like Varun Chakravarthy and Usman Tariq, who could exploit the Premadasa Stadium's testing pitch during the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Babar Azam now leads the Indian captain by eight points
Former Pakistan cricket director Muhammad Hafeez has claimed that ex-captain, Babar Azam and foreign coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn had given team fitness lowest priority in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup in India.
Captain Babar Azam was delighted after hitting an unbeaten century as Pakistan notched up back-to-back wins over New Zealand with a 38-run victory over the tourists in the second Twenty20 International in Lahore on Saturday.
New Zealand, who abandoned their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns, are looking to end a run of four straight test defeats with Southee as the new captain following the six-year tenure of Kane Williamson.
England and Pakistan lock horns in a crucial T20 World Cup Super Eights clash in Pallekele, as Brook's side eye momentum while Pakistan seek comeback.
Mohammed Yousuf, offered support to struggling batter Babar Azam amid a challenging Test series against Australia.
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin hailed New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell as a "brainy cricketer" who is capable of making the best out of his limits as a player and someone who can give a franchise 400-500 runs batting at number three or four during a tournament.
A burgeoning third wicket stand between Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique had kept Pakistan in the contest and the duo continued to frustrate Australia when play resumed.
Virat Kohli surpassed the great Ricky Ponting for most runs by a No 3 batter in ODIs.
New Zealand aims to solidify their Group D lead with a victory against the United Arab Emirates in their T20 World Cup match, following a win against Afghanistan. The Kiwis will look for strong performances from Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra, while the UAE seeks to gain experience against a top team.
'We have to show consistency and move forward with the current combination.'
'In a World Cup, if you are not good even in one department, you lose. We started well while bowling, but we couldn't take wickets.'
Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign ended in disappointment despite a win against Sri Lanka, with captain Salman Agha citing batting failures and dew as contributing factors. Sahibzada Farhan's century was not enough to secure a semifinal spot as New Zealand qualified on net run rate.
Former batter Basit Ali has expressed grave concerns over the deteriorating state of Pakistan cricket.
From the Southern Stars, Healy was deservingly chosen for her dominant show against all types of bowling in the recent series against New Zealand.
It was the highest run chase in men's T20 cricket without losing a wicket.
Faheem Ashraf saved Pakistan the blushes, smashing a blistering 29 from 11 balls, as they registered a tense three-wicket victory against the Netherlands in the opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan's Babar Azam does not think the burden of captaincy has affected his batting at the World Cup and is not losing sleep over whether he will keep the job after the showpiece event.
Babar Azam's mother was on a ventilator when the Pakistan skipper went about leading his team to a thumping victory over arch-rivals India in their T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Sunday.
Pakistan needed 178 runs to win the second Test and sweep the series
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf has defended his decision to remove Babar Azam as captain following the team's disappointing ODI World Cup campaign in India.
Morne Morkel resigns as Pakistan's bowling coach
Babar Azam is the number one ranked T20I batsman while Virat Kohli is at the top spot in ODI rankings.
Babar Azam's decision to step down from Pakistan captaincy has evoked a mixed reaction from his teammates.
Former Pakistan players tore into captain Babar Azam and other players for their poor performance in World Cup 2023.
The Pakistani skipper was asked whether there was any message given by the prime minister ahead of their Super 12 game against India.
Babar Azam and five other players will prolong their stay in the United States
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has started working on an alternate plan as serious doubts have arisen over Afghanistan's participation in an upcoming T20 Tri-Series amid military conflict between the two countries.
With stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan sidelined, it will be a test of character for the Salman Agha-led Pakistan side.
In an explosive press conference on Sunday, a woman accused Pakistan skipper Babar Azam of 'physical abuse' for nearly 10 years.
The central contracts stand-off between Pakistan Cricket Board and top national players ended on Wednesday.
At stumps, Pakistan's score read 145/3 with Fawad and Babar unbeaten on 42 and 77 runs respectively. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj picked two, Anrich Nortje took one while Kagiso Rabada went wicketless.
Earlier, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had made an appeal to his fans in Pakistan to come forward and help India in tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
India captain Rohit Sharma has climbed to second place in the ICC men's ODI batting rankings, closing in on top-ranked Shubman Gill.
Babar has taken just 76 innings to score 13 tons while Amla, who until now was the fastest, had scored his 13th ODI hundred in 83 innings. Kohli had taken 86 innings to score 13 ODI hundreds.
Young India opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy continued to occupy the top spots among batters and bowlers in the latest ICC Men's T20 Players' Rankings issued on Wednesday.
Afridi said Rohit instils a sense of self-belief in his team with his aggressive style of play.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
