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Guidelines to be established in 15 days following board’s apex council meeting on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2025The BCCI has appointed a committee to establish guidelines to prevent incidents like the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where 11 fans died during celebrations the day after Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden IPL title.The committee comprises three top BCCI officials – secretary Devajit Saikia, vice-president Rajiv Shukla and treasurer Prabhtej Singh Bhatia – and they will formulate the guidelines within 15 days.The BCCI had not yet made an official statement on the tragedy that occurred in Bengaluru on the afternoon of June 4, as a multitude of fans gathered to celebrate and catch a glimpse of the RCB team with the IPL trophy during a victory parade and inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Related

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• Chinnaswamy stampede: KSCA secretary, treasurer resign citing 'moral responsibility'

Following the stampede, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah instructed Bengaluru police to arrest officials of RCB and DNA Entertainment and ordered a probe into the events that caused the stampede. On June 6, police arrested Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s head of marketing and revenue, in Bengaluru along with two officials from DNA. They were all granted bail on June 13.Two senior officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam, had resigned from their positions citing “moral responsibility” for the stampede.

He joins the team as a replacement player for Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi

Danyal Rasool20-Aug-2025Mohammad Rizwan has agreed a deal to join St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League 2025 (CPL). ESPNcricinfo understands the signing will be officially confirmed by the league in the next 24 hours.The former Pakistan T20I captain has been signed as a replacement for fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is set to link up with Afghanistan ahead of the tri-series in the UAE involving Pakistan and the UAE.It is not yet clear whether Rizwan will be available for the Patriots’ match on Thursday against the Barbados Royals. But with Pakistan leaving him out of their T20 squad for that tri-series as well as the Asia Cup, the path to Rizwan’s involvement elsewhere has been fully cleared. It is understood an NOC (no objection certificate) from the PCB, which enables players to take part in overseas leagues, is a formality.Related

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• No Pakistan player gets category A contract due to poor performances

It is the first time the wicketkeeper-batter will play in the CPL, and adds to a growing Pakistani roster in the tournament. It was announced earlier on Thursday that legspinner Usama Mir had signed for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, while the Patriots already have two Pakistanis in their squad: fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi. Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad are also part of this year’s competition.The signing also means that Rizwan will use up his quota of two overseas T20 leagues the PCB has stipulated as the maximum number centrally contracted players can take part in over a 12-month period starting in July. Earlier this year, he was confirmed as a signing by Melbourne Renegades for the Big Bash League.The Patriots got off to a rocky start, following a win in their first match with three successive defeats, and sit second from bottom on the points table. They won the CPL in 2017 and 2021.

Markram hurt his right hamstring in the field against England and spent the rest of the match on the sidelines

Firdose Moonda04-Mar-2025George Linde, the left-arm spin bowling allrounder, will join the South African squad as a traveling reserve as cover for Aiden Markram at the Champions Trophy. Markram injured his right hamstring in the field against England and spent the rest of the match on the sidelines. He will undergo a fitness test at training on Tuesday evening to determine his availability for the semi-final against New Zealand.Markram is the latest in a massive list of injured players. Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams – all fast bowlers – were ruled out even before the tournament started.Linde will join the South African camp on Tuesday evening but will not officially replace Markram in the squad unless he is ruled out and the ICC’s event technical committee confirms the swap. It is likely that South Africa added him to the group in the event that they qualify for a Dubai final against India, where conditions are drier and they need an extra spinner. They currently have two specialist spinners in the squad: Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, but only Maharaj has played in Pakistan. India played four spinners in their most recent match against New Zealand in Dubai.Related

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In the 2025 SA20, Linde played a key role in MI Cape Town winning their maiden title. In 11 games, Linde scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 153.33 and picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 6.29. More recently, playing for Western Province in the One-Day Challenge Division One, he scored 106 runs and took four wickets in five games.Left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka is also with the squad as a traveling reserve. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi have recovered from illness and will train this evening.

Bhuvneshwar and Rinku, meanwhile, teamed up with Vipraj Nigam to help UP blaze past Andhra into the final eight

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2024Bengal are through to the quarter-finals of the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) after prevailing by three runs in a thriller against Chandigarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday afternoon.The hero was seamer Sayan Ghosh, who picked up 4 for 30 to remove the cream of Chandigarh’s batting in their pursuit of 157. The target was set up largely by Karan Lal, who top scored with 33, and Writtick Chatterjee, who made a 12-ball 28.The unlikely batting hero, though, was Mohammed Shami, who walloped an unbeaten 17-ball 32 from No. 10, his highest score in T20s, to give them momentum going into the break.Related

• Rohit Sharma says 'door very much open' for Mohammed Shami to join Test squad in Australia

Chandigarh’s hot-and-cold chase was fuelled by Raj Bawa’s 32. It came down to them needing 20 off the last two overs with three wickets in hand.Shami, who had picked up a wicket with his second delivery in his first spell that finished with figures of 3-0-13-1, conceded 12 in his final over upon his return at the death and the equation was brought down to eight off the last six.Ghosh then bowled two dots and picked up a wicket in the first five deliveries of the over to all but seal the game. With seven needed of one ball, Nishunk Birla hit a boundary and Bengal won by three runs.Shami has now featured in each of Bengal’s eight matches, and has bowled his full quota of overs in every game, while picking up nine wickets at an economy of 7.49. As of Monday, it’s understood Shami will remain with the Bengal squad for the remainder of their campaign.While in Bengaluru, Shami has been working with the National Cricket Academy staff as he continues on his road back to top-flight cricket. He’s yet to get the all-clear, however.On Sunday in Adelaide, India captain Rohit Sharma reiterated the need for caution over not rushing Shami back for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though “the door remains open”. His comments stem from Shami having developed some swelling in his knees while bowling during SMAT.The Bengal team management has expressed satisfaction at the way Shami has responded to his bowling workload and his intensity all tournament. Shami has opted to rest instead of train on match-eve, a decision which is believed to have been his own with a view to keep him going for the duration of the competition.Bengal next play Baroda in the round of eight on Wednesday.Rinku Singh and Vipraj Nigam can’t hold their happiness after taking UP over the line•PTI

Rinku, Bhuvneshwar and Nigam star as UP beat Andhra

Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 2 for 30, Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten 27 off 22 balls, and Vipraj Nigam (2 for 20 and 27* off eight) produced a stunning all-round show to help Uttar Pradesh qualify for the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy quarter-finals with a four-wicket win against Andhra.Andhra were stuck at 89 for 5 after 15 overs, and 113 for 6 after 16.2 but KV Sasikanth and SDNV Prasad breathed life into the innings with an unbeaten 43-run stand for the seventh wicket off 16 balls to take them to 156 for 6.In reply, UP were cruising with Karan Sharma and Aryan Juyal adding 70 runs in 49 balls. Then they lost four wickets in 24 balls for 18 runs. Two more fell in the 16th over with Rinku stranded at one end. But he found excellent support from Nigam, the duo adding 48 runs off 18 balls to take UP to a win with an over to spare.

Mohammed Siraj has lost his place to Arshdeep Singh in India’s 15-man squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-20256:08

Rohit: We have all bases covered in the spin attack

Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav have been named in India’s provisional 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19. The same squad will take on England in three ODIs in early February, with Harshit Rana coming into the set-up as back-up for Bumrah, who may not be ready for the first two matches of the bilateral series.There were injury concerns over both Bumrah and Kuldeep ahead of the selection on Saturday, with Kuldeep not having played any competitive cricket since his hernia surgery in November, while Bumrah had suffered a stress-related injury during the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kuldeep has been building up his bowling load at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and is understood to be bowling 10-12 overs at a go.The 15-man squad will be led by Rohit Sharma, with Shubman Gill as his vice-captain, and also includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was picked for the first time in ODIs. He is likely to be the reserve opener for the Champions Trophy.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Virat Kohli the No. 3, the middle order has the same look as the squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul retaining their spots, along with allrounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Apart from Rahul, Rishabh Pant is the other wicketkeeper in the 15, preferred ahead of Sanju Samson who did not take part in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy. Washington Sundar is the fourth allrounder in the squad, which includes only four specialist bowlers.Mohammed Shami, who was recently named in the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against England following a long injury layoff, was also named in the Champions Trophy squad. He last played international cricket at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets.Related

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Mohammed Siraj did not find a place in the 15, with the left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh earning a spot after finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and impressive performances in international cricket – he was the top wicket-taker in India’s ODI series in South Africa in 2023.The final squad for the Champions Trophy must be submitted to the ICC by February 11.India play three bilateral ODIs against England on February 6, 9 and 12 – their first 50-over games since the tour of Sri Lanka in August last year – before the Champions Trophy. India are in Group A in the Champions Trophy and begin their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, after which they play Pakistan on February 23, and New Zealand on March 2. India play all their matches in Dubai because their government refused to let the team travel to Pakistan.

India squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja

A win will take Afghanistan to the top of the Group B points table

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-20252:26

Abhinav Mukund impressed by Afghanistan’s on-field trial

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat against Afghanistan in their Asia Cup clash in Abu Dhabi.Bangladesh captain Litton Das said the pitch looked a bit on the slow side, despite the Abu Dhabi surface having been better for batting recently. Rashid Khan said Afghanistan would have liked to bat first as well.Bangladesh made four changes with Saif Hassan, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum Ahmed coming in. Mahedi Hasan, Pervez Hossain Emon, Shoriful Islam and Mahedi Hasan missed out. Afghanistan, meanwhile, named an unchanged XI.Related

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A win for Afghanistan On Tuesday will take them to the top of the Group B points table.Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan Tamim, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Nurul Hasan, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Nasum Ahmed, 9 Rishad Hossain, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin AhmedAfghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sediqullah Atal, 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

The six teams each in men’s and women’s categories are set to be decided based on the top-ranked team from each continent

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Jul-2025The ICC is set to approve a continental qualification system to decide the six participating teams in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That means that Full Members such as Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka among others, could miss out on cricket’s much-anticipated return to the Olympics after over a century.ESPNcricinfo understands that the board discussed a proposal at the recent AGM which allows for one team from each continent. Though some details still need to be finalised, in essence, the majority approval for a regional qualification system is in place, with a minority of members expressing dissent.Six teams each in the men’s and women’s categories will contest for Olympic medals between July 14 and 29 in 2028 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed cricket to be added to the roster for the first time since the Paris 1900 Olympics. While the ICC’s initial thinking was that it would shortlist the top six-ranked teams at a pre-determined cut-off date, several Full Member countries believed such an approach wouldn’t allow for a wider representation of countries from across the globe.Related

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That has now changed to a one-country-per-continent qualification system, which is thought to be more in line with the Olympic participation ethos.Which countries are shortlisted will be based on the rankings on a set date. But if the ICC plan goes through, it could mean the Olympics may not have one of the most widely watched contests in global sport: India vs Pakistan. Based on the current ICC T20 rankings, in both men’s and women’s competitions, India will qualify from Asia, Australia from Oceania, England from Europe, with one between USA or one of the islands from the Caribbean from the Americas, while South Africa qualify from Africa. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ICC is still discussing the participation of USA, who potentially get direct entry as hosts.But questions remain around the make-up of the USA men’s team, the majority of whom are US residents but not naturalised US citizens. The ICC is also concerned that the USA women’s team are not in the top 20-ranked teams at the moment. A final decision is likely to be taken at the ICC’s next quarterly meeting in October.The ECB, along with Cricket Scotland and Cricket Ireland, have formed Great Britain Cricket as an entity, which will help facilitate players from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to represent Great Britain at the Games.An artist impression of Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park for Brisbane 2032 Olympics•Queensland Government

As for West Indies, CWI wrote to ICC in May, pitching two ideas that could allow one of the regional countries to represent the Caribbean in the Olympics. One suggestion was an internal qualifying tournament conducted among the Caribbean countries with the winner heading to the Olympics. The other involved conducting a global qualifying pathway that would pit countries in the five ICC development regions alongside regions in the West Indies.For the sixth team, the ICC is considering the option of a global qualifier, the structure for which is still being fine-tuned.Speaking on Thursday to BBC’s , ECB chairman Richard Thompson said that the IOC was keen on having a team from each continent which satisfies the Olympics charter. “The preference from the IOC is to work to the ‘five ring’ principle, which is teams from each of the continents represent their continent,” Thompson said.The ICC is also optimistic about increasing the number of participating teams in the next two Olympics – in 2032 in Brisbane and in 2036, the venue for which is yet to be finalised by IOC. Thompson said that with India expected to bid hard to host the 2036 Summer Games, cricket could receive a massive boost.”The hope is, when we get to Brisbane, we might be up to eight or ten teams, and in 2036, there’s a three-way shoot-out between Qatar, Saudi and India, and clearly the real hope is that India get in it 2036, in which case, cricket will be front and centre. Who knows? It could be ten or 12 teams by that stage.”At this stage, we are there by the invitation of the IOC and on that basis, you abide by their rules, and that is to play the geography of your game as opposed to necessarily the top six playing nations.”

Do Australia’s selectors stick to the tried-and-tested players or make some changes ahead of the three Tests in the Caribbean as the Ashes looms on the horizon?

Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-2025

Can Khawaja reach Sydney?

Going by Andrew McDonald’s comments after the World Test Championship final, Usman Khawaja has his ticket booked for the Ashes. Overall, his numbers from the last two years are very respectable at a time when opening the batting his tough: 1428 runs at 39.66. Among openers, only India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal made more in this WTC cycle.Related

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But dig a bit deeper and there is a concerning trend. After an outstanding 2023 Ashes where Khawaja’s average touched 50, there has been a decline. He averaged 22.00 against New Zealand last year and 20.44 against India. There is no shame to being troubled by Jasprit Bumrah – who isn’t? – but there is evidence to suggest it’s not just a Bumrah problem. His twin dismissals to Kagiso Rabada continued that trend, especially from around the wicket where, since the start of 2024, he averages 17.33 compared to 44.40 from over. In the last eight Tests in all conditions, he has averaged just 18.72 against pace bowling at a strike-rate of 45.83. The next worst Australian batter in that period (with a minimum of 12 innings) is Marnus Labuschagne with 22.90.There is, of course, an exception to this lean run – the double century in Sri Lanka where he dominated against spin. That brings us to another part of the debate. McDonald himself said that certain conditions don’t link directly to the Ashes and that may apply in the West Indies. If, and there remains uncertainty over this, the surfaces are slower and lower, perhaps offering some turn, and Khawaja makes runs, they will be important and worthy. But how relevant? On the flip side, if there’s some life for the quicks – in Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, West Indies have a good pace attack – and Khawaja struggles, where does that leave him?