Ashwin supports Bumrah and Jadeja for the position of Test captain in India

R Ashwin believes that other seasoned candidates like Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are still valid choices for the position. Even though Shubman Gill is the clear favorite to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s next Test captain.

The lineup for India’s Five-Test series against England. Which begins on June 20, may be chosen in the last week of May. The selection process is dominated by discussions over a potential new captain.

“First of all, Gill is regarded as the captain by everyone. They’re all heading that way. But why do we overlook Ravindra Jadeja? Jasprit Bumrah is a noisy alternative,” Ashwin stated in a YouTube video interview with former Tamil Nadu opener Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan. I would suggest that if you are open to hiring a new captain. Why not assign Gill as an experienced man’s understudy for two years before giving him a full-time position?

With 3370 runs and 323 wickets from 80 Test matches, Jadeja is the most seasoned player in the Indian squad following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit from the game. However, Bumrah has only captained India in three Test matches, most recently in the opening and final Tests of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has no prior experience as a Test cricket captain.

R. Ashwin

“Why don’t we gather all three or four candidates, have them give a presentation, and ask them to explain the team’s vision?” Ashwin said. “It takes place in nations like Australia. Why don’t we take that route?

Following the third BGT Test late last year, Ashwin announced his retirement from all cricket-related activities. He stated that Bumrah should also be given serious consideration and that his recent back issue shouldn’t be a barrier.

“Look at Pat Cummins, who is currently captaining Australia in Tests and ODIs after having a back stress fracture as well,” Ashwin said. In that sense, Bumrah is a national treasure and need to be discussed.

He needs to be questioned about his ability to play five Test matches. Can you serve as captain full-time? Although he had a stress fracture, I’m sure he’ll give it some thought. The cap bearing his name ought to be at the top of that ring, in my opinion.

For personal reasons, Kagiso Rabada returns home after the 2025 IPL.

Kagiso Rabada, a fast bowler, quit the Gujarat Titans team to spend the upcoming season in South Africa.

Rabada participated in GT’s first two IPL 2025 games, taking 1 for 42 in the win over the Mumbai Indians and 1 for 41 in the loss against Punjab Kings.

He was mentioned as having personal reasons for missing GT’s third game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wednesday at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Jos Buttler, Rashid Khan, and Sherfane Rutherford. Who entered as the Impact Player for the chase were the only foreign players GT fielded against RCB. Kagiso Rabada was replaced by all-rounder Arshad Khan. Who ultimately dismissed Virat Kohli. With eight wickets and thirteen balls remaining, GT prevailed in the match.

South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, who hasn’t played yet and might not be totally fit, and New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips. Who hasn’t played a game yet, are GT’s other overseas alternatives.

GT had two victories and one loss in their first three games, placing them fourth in the standings. They will play Sunrisers Hyderabad on the road on March 6 before hosting the Rajasthan Royals on March 9.

Jacob Bethell may have “generational talent,” says R. Ashwin.

Jacob Bethell has received respect from Ravi Ashwin. Who described him as a possible “generational talent” and implied that, given the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) need for left-handed batsman. He may fit right in with the team’s lineup. RCB’s acquisition of Bethell, an explosive England batsman, for INR 2.6 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction demonstrated the team’s strategic emphasis on increasing their batting depth.

Ashwin’s support of Bethell highlights the young player’s extraordinary potential. As he has already established himself in T20 cricket with an average of 57.66 in seven games. He is a great asset to RCB because of his ability to hit the ball cleanly and play gracefully over extra cover, especially considering their current batting dynamics.

The head coach of RCB, Andy Flower, was equally enthusiastic about Bethell’s potential and thought that his performance would be entertaining to the crowd. Jacob Bethell is anticipated to have a big influence in the upcoming season thanks to his strong skill set and encouraging statistics. He could end up being a mainstay of RCB’s batting order as they pursue IPL glory. The franchise has a bright future because to RCB’s smart purchases and Ashwin’s ideas.

Dates of ILT20 2025 clash with BBL, SA20, and BPL confirmed

A number of well-known athletes, including Chris Jordan, Shai Hope, and Ferguson, will collide with the BBL on the same calendar. Early in the following year, the SA20, the Big Bash League (BBL), the Super Smash (New Zealand), and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) would all face off against the third edition of the ILT20. Similar to the SA20, the UAE’s six-team franchise-based competition will take place between January 11 and February 9 of 2025.

The BBL will start on December 15 and go through January 27, 2025. While the third edition of the SA20 will take place from January 9 to February 8. In 2025, the BPL is scheduled to start on December 30 and end on February 7. In New Zealand, the Super Smash tournament will take place between December 26 and February 2.

A few foreign players were able to play the majority of the regular season before departing for the United Arab Emirates. But the BBL had experienced a big departure of overseas players for the finals previous season. When the ILT20 began on January 19.

This time, other participants will also encounter a clash dilemma. David Warner will not be available for the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 until January 17 or for an additional 10 days. If the Thunder advance to the finals since he has chosen to play the entire season with the Sydney Thunder in the BBL as captain.

ILT20

Lockie Ferguson, a fast bowler from New Zealand, has made the opposite decision. He will begin playing for Warner’s Thunder in the BBL before departing for the ILT20 to make himself available to the Desert Vipers, who had signed him. Chris Jordan (Hurricanes/Gulf Giants), Matthew Wade (Hobart Hurricanes/Sharjah Warriorz), Shai Hope (Hurricanes/Dubai Capitals), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Melbourne Renegades/Dubai Capitals), and others will face off in a similar matchup.

Several additional players, including Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates), Warner (Dubai Capitals), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), Andre Russell (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), and Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), have been kept in the ILT20. Wade, Fakhar Zaman (Desert Vipers), and Jason Roy (Sharjah Warriorz) will also be making their tournament debuts the following year.

The tournament will feature 34 matches in total, with the Dubai International Stadium hosting the final. The Dubai International Stadium will host fifteen games, the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host eleven, and Sharjah will host eight. On weekdays, the evening games will start at 6.30 p.m., and on weekends, at 6 p.m. The afternoon games on doubleheader weekends will start at 2:00 p.m.

ILT20 CEO David White acknowledged that the “added complications” of the Champions Trophy made January–February 2025 a busy time. He had stated that the ILT20 will consider every possibility, including rescheduling the window for October or November. But in the end, the ILT20, which was granted List A status by the ICC. Before the 2024 season, made the decision to continue holding the tournament during the same timeframe as the previous two years.

In an attempt to avoid an increasingly congested December-February window. The PCB had earlier this year announced a move to transfer the PSL to an April-May window. Which would conflict with the IPL.

England star to make test debut against New Zealand after being sold to RCB in IPL auction

England announced their lineup for the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday, and Jacob Bethell will bat at number three in his Test debut.

In his Test debut, Jacob Bethell will bat at number three. England announced their lineup for the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch on Tuesday. During a net practice, wicketkeeper Jordan Cox broke his right thumb, forcing the 21-year-old into the starting lineup for the game starting Thursday. With captain Ben Stokes at number seven in the batting order, regular number three Ollie Pope takes Cox’s place in the gloves and bats down at number six.

Only two months ago, Bethell made his debut for his country in white ball matches against Australia and the West Indies. He has never batted higher than number four in first-class cricket, where he averages 25.44.

Despite scoring 262 when batting third in the first Test in Pakistan last month, Joe Root remains at number four.

On a Hagley Oval field that typically gives a greenish wicket favoring the seamers, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and all-rounder Stokes make up the pace attack. The only spinner is Shoaib Bashir.

Kane Williamson, the top batsman, has returned after missing the recent 3-0 Test series victory in India due to injury, but New Zealand has not yet announced their starting lineup.

England’s players include Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (capt.), Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, and Zak Crawley.

New Zealand: Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (captain), and Tom Blundell.

Tilak Varma sets a new record with his third successive T20 hundred.

In T20 cricket, Indian batsman Tilak Varma became the first player, male or female, to reach hundreds in three consecutive innings. He accomplished the milestone in Hyderabad’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 opening match against Meghalaya at Rajkot, scoring 151 off 67 balls.

Following back-to-back hundreds in South Africa 107 not out in Centurion and an undefeated 120 in Johannesburg Tilak, 22, entered the domestic T20 tournament. He became the first male cricketer from India to hit 150 or more runs in Twenty20 cricket with his knock for Hyderabad. In 2022, Kiran Navgire, who currently plays for Maharashtra, scored an undefeated 162 while representing Nagaland in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh.

Tilak Varma walked out in the first over, hammered 10 sixes and 14 fours before falling on the final ball of the innings. He batted at No. 3 against Meghalaya and finished with a strike rate of 225.37. He hit 50 runs off 18 balls with six fours and three sixes against medium pacer Dippu Sangma, whom he was harsh on. With just 48 balls, he scored 122 for the second wicket, which served as the foundation for Hyderabad’s highest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy score of 248 for 4. In addition, it is the fifth-highest total in the competition’s history.

Tilak, who has played for the Mumbai Indians for the last three seasons, was one of five players the team kept before the IPL 2025 auction.

For 150, Australia quickly bundles out India. IND vs AUS 1st Test

IND vs AUS : On the opening day of the series opener in Perth, Australia’s fast bowlers kept up their twisted tactics, removing India for just 150 in the 50th over of the innings. Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins both claimed two wickets in the post-lunch session to end India’s batting efforts, while Josh Hazlewood added the wickets of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana to the two he had already taken in the morning phase.

Dhruv Jurel drove steadily on both the front and rear foot as India got the practice off to a strong start. But Marsh pulled him forward with a length ball that initially slipped off the outside edge and went to Marnus Labuschagne. Marsh subsequently claimed his second wicket of the session when Washington Sundar was undone by an additional amount of bounce, similar to that of Virat Kohli.

Day 1 in Perth was turning out to be one-way traffic, but Rishabh Pant resisted. During the morning session, Hazlewood’s excess bounce absorbed Kohli, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal were forced to nick away from the body. The third umpire ruled down a solid-looking KL Rahul for a caught-behind appeal towards the conclusion of the session. Rahul had performed well to play within the line of seaming deliveries. The replays indicated a spike in the snicko, but it occurred on a frame. Where the ball had barely passed the bat and his bat had struck his pad. So he left furious and shook his head.

IND vs AUS 1st Test

Pant, as usual, threw caution to the wind when he charged down on Cummins and got a strong outside edge that soared over the third man fence’s slip cordon. Even though it took him seven deliveries to score his first run, 21-year-old debutant Nitish Reddy was strong to begin. He looked confident against Lyon, playing a wristy drive through cover for his opening four, and he rode the bounce nicely against the quicks. Then he charged the spinner to pick the space between mid-off and cover. Nitish even gained access to open spaces on the field against Lyon by using the reverse sweep option.

The first part of the session was spent enjoying the rub of the green by Pant and Nitish. Pant ran backwards from mid-on and tried to collect a cross-batted hoick off Mitchell Starc. But Cummins was unable to hold onto it. In the meantime, Nitish managed to avoid Australia’s hesitancy over the review of a caught behind call. According to replays, the ball left Nitish’s gloves and went to Alex Carey.

But Cummins eventually made a breakthrough. After becoming accustomed to the Australian captain’s round-the-wicket approach, Pant even struck him for a standard flipped six over backward square leg, which caused him to topple over. At second slip, Cummins shifted to over the stumps and created an outside edge that went to Steve Smith. Harshit Rana got Hazelwood’s third wicket after McSweeney and Labuschagne’s outstanding work in the cordon. McSweeney dove and parried the ball in Labuschagne’s direction as it went low to his left at Gully. India was then eight down as Labuschagne seized it with one hand.

Nitish started to take more chances in pursuit of fast runs with Bumrah at his side. He hit Cummins for a six with an amazing upper cut. Bumrah himself pulled over the keeper’s head to score a six off Hazlewood. However, Hazlewood also managed to get him to edge one behind the stumps. To end the Indian innings, Cummins removed Nitish after he reached the 40s.

In summary:

India defeated Australia by 150 runs (Nitish Reddy 41, Rishabh Pant 38; Josh Hazlewood 4-29, Mitchell Marsh 2-12, Mitchell Marsh 2-14, Pat Cummins 2-67).

Ricky Ponting compares the rivalry for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to the Ashes.

Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has likened the Australia-India rivalry to the Ashes ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25.

Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting compared the Australia-India rivalry to the Ashes, saying that these matches are among the most anticipated in international cricket ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. Optus Stadium in Perth will host the first Test of the much awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on November 22. Throughout the series, the former Australian captain has pushed both teams to play with a spirit of fair competition. Ponting stated that he expects the matches to be played on the edge of his seat due to the intensity and banter that would be expected throughout the series.

In addition to the history of the Ashes between Australia and England. Australia and India have a long-standing relationship that is not far behind. I believe that we all anticipate these kinds of conflicts. In a recent ICC Review episode, Ponting stated, “As a former player and broadcaster, I want to watch these two teams go out there and play hard and fairly and then see who is left standing at the end of the next five games.”

Ricky Ponting

“I’m not sure if the word “spice” is appropriate, but I anticipate that two of the world’s top teams will play the game practically on the edge, if you will, with neither team wanting to give the other an inch. The World Cup-winning skipper stated, “I don’t want to lose a single match during those entire five Test matches, nor do I want to give the opposition an inch.”

Ponting additionally highlighted the rivalry’s importance. “That’s what makes these fierce rivalry in international sports so wonderful. The 49-year-old went on to say, “Australia-India in a Test match is now as big a rivalry as there is in world sport, not just cricket.”

On November 22, the series will kick off in Perth. From December 6–10, a day-night Test will take place in Adelaide. The Gabba in Brisbane will host the third Test from December 14–18. From December 26 to 30, the Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the customary Boxing Day Test. The fifth and final Test match of the series will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3–7.

Squads for the first Test (Perth):

India:

Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, and Washington Sundar.

Australia:

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Starc.

Lungi Ngidi will not be returning home tests this summer.

On Thursday, South Africa’s chances of making it to the WTC final ended. When Lungi Ngidi was ruled out for the four home Test matches this summer due to a groin injury. In January, Ngidi was expected to resume his duties, according to a statement.

A rubber match against Pakistan will start in Centurion on December 26. After the series against Sri Lanka begins at Kingsmead on November 27. South Africa will guarantee their place in the Lord’s final in June of the following year if they win all of those games.

In that cause, Lungi Ngidi would have played a significant role. In his ten away Test matches, he has taken 16 wickets at 37.37, showing some success. However, in South Africa, where he has taken 39 wickets at 17.30 in nine games, he is a formidable force.

The South Africans are lost two strong pace threats with Nandre Burger out due to a spinal issue. The rested Kagiso Rabada is not playing in the current T20I series against India, while Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen have returned after conditioning vacations. In Wednesday’s third Twenty20 International in Centurion, Lutho Sipamla made his first appearance for his country in over three years.

Temba Bavuma, who missed the Test series in Bangladesh last month due to an elbow injury, will undergo a fitness test on Monday to determine his chances of participating in the opening Test match against Sri Lanka, according to the statement.

Russell is out due to an injury, while Alzarri Joseph returns from suspension.

Shamar Springer will take Andre Russell’s position in the T20I series against England. Since he will miss the rest of it because of a sprained left ankle. Alzarri Joseph will rejoin the team after serving a suspension, taking Shamar Joseph’s place.

Alzarri was suspended for two games after he stormed off the field in protest of skipper Shai Hope’s field placements during the third ODI against England, leaving the West Indies with just ten players on the field for a period. Later on, he apologized in public and made amends with Hope.

West Indies now has a must-win situation for the final three Twenty20 Internationals. After England won the first two in Barbados. St Lucia, which will also host the final two matches on November 16 and 17, will host the third Twenty20 International on November 14.

Alzarri Joseph comes in place of Shamar Joseph.

Experienced all-rounder Andre Russell has been ruled out of the series as it travels to Saint Lucia because of a sprained left ankle he suffered during Saturday’s first Twenty20 International at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. All-rounder Shamar Springer, who just played in two Twenty20 International matches against Sri Lanka, will take his place.

However, an ankle injury has ruled Andre Russell out of the series. Causing a major blow to the hosts ahead of the crucial third game in St Lucia. A left ankle strain has kept Russell out of the last three games, according to a press statement from Cricket West Indies.

West Indies T20I squad:

Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer, Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, and Shamar Powell.

West Indies vs England T20Is: Remaining matches schedule

3rd T20 International: 14 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia

4th T20 International: 16 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia

5th T20 International: 17 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia