The Pakistan Cricket Board is scrapping its A-D contract categories. From now on, players will be graded according to their standing in Tests, ODIs or T20Is. Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced the shift on Friday. The old structure made little room for specialists; the new one tries to fix that.

Nasser Hussain reckons India can use Shafali Verma's bowling as a safety valve in the Women's T20 World Cup. Speaking to the Times of India, the former England captain argued the move would help balance the side without sacrificing batting depth.

It's a selection problem India keeps bumping into: fit extra batters into the XI, lose bowling options. Verma already bowls in domestic cricket. If she's trusted to roll her arm over in international conditions, suddenly you've got your top order intact and a genuine middle-overs option when the primary bowlers need a breather.

Hussain's point lands ahead of India's campaign. The idea keeps the batting lineup strong while giving the side the flexibility it's often lacked.

Liam Livingstone's back in red-ball cricket. His first County Championship match for Lancashire since 2021 comes after an SOS call from the county, and he's bringing T20 sharpness back to the longer format.

The IPL bench time, rather than frustrating him, actually worked in his favour. Livingstone reckons the break gave him focus ahead of the red-ball return — and his T20 Blast form since then has backed that up.

Lancashire needed him for Championship cricket, and they knew where to find him. It's a practical solution for a county short on red-ball depth: call on an England all-rounder who's been keeping match-fit in franchise cricket, even if from the sidelines.

India have rested fast bowler Mohammed Siraj from the upcoming T20I tours to Ireland and England. Prasidh Krishna replaces him on BCCI advice — the move follows workload management guidance as India face a busy period with limited-overs fixtures before major events.

Siraj's been through multiple recent series, and the BCCI has decided recovery comes first. He'll return once rested and ready for further duties.

India's ODI team has lost a series and put captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir under immediate scrutiny. Both need to diagnose what's broken in team culture and execution before the next World Cup cycle truly begins.

Gill's still scoring — he hit his 11th Test century against Afghanistan — but those wins are masking something. The ODI results have exposed gaps that can't wait. The 2027 World Cup is closer than it feels. There's barely time to reset selection, fix match preparation, and bed in new patterns without stumbling into another major tournament unprepared.

The official line was performance. Suryakumar Yadav's removal from India's T20 captaincy and squad got framed as a results-driven decision, a direct response to how the team had played in the shortest format.

But the timing tells a different story. Suryakumar had been the face of India's T20 revolution—a batting influence who played the disruptive, boundary-conscious game the format demands. His captaincy appointment made sense on paper: a natural fit for the role. Yet the shift came fast, suggesting the BCCI was weighing something beyond the win-loss column.

India doesn't keep T20 captains long. Compare that to Test or ODI sides, where leadership stays stable across cycles, and a pattern emerges. Change happens quicker in the shortest format—even when the player in question remains a key performer in domestic and franchise cricket. It's a structural choice, not an accident.

Public discussion has linked Suryakumar Yadav's recent removal from India's T20I captaincy and squad directly to a dip in form. Reports note his continued strong showings in domestic T20 cricket.

Suryakumar scored runs and contributed to a six-wicket win for Triumph Knights in the T20 Mumbai League alongside Sylvester Dsouza. The domestic performances confirm he remains a high-impact batter in shorter formats at state level.

Selection decisions for the national side rest on criteria beyond recent domestic output alone. The T20 Mumbai League result adds one data point to an ongoing review process at the BCCI.

Thirty-three wickets tumbled in the first two days at Lord's — excessive seam movement and unpredictable bounce turned the pitch into a bowler's lottery, according to Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan. Both former captains called it substandard, not fit for Test cricket.

Rain washed out most of day three. Only 9.4 overs were possible before play stopped, leaving New Zealand at 55 for 5 — still 199 runs away from chasing down England's total. Ollie Robinson had already taken two wickets in that brief spell, adding to Gus Atkinson's two earlier in the match. England debutant Emilio Gay had scored a fifty in the first innings.

The high dismissal rate has forced questions about Lord's pitch preparation. There's also grumbling about the lunch call — taken during a sunny break in relentless rain — that may have cost England bowling time. England hold the advantage heading into day four, but the focus now is whether the MCC can fix what's clearly become a recurring problem at its flagship ground.

The noise around Suryakumar Yadav's omission has centered on the captaincy handover to Shreyas Iyer. It's easy to frame it that way — Suryakumar led India to the T20 World Cup title just months ago, so a leadership change looks like the headline story.

But selectors say it's simpler than that. Suryakumar's form dipped, and Ajit Agarkar didn't shy from calling it a tough call. The performance data pointed away from him, and long-term planning mattered more than the recent trophy. Shreyas Iyer's consistency across recent matches made the promotion straightforward.

The broader squad moves — Bumrah back for the 2026 Asian Games, rotations on the Ireland and England tours — suggest selectors are treating form as form, regardless of pedigree. Reputation doesn't buy you a spot when the numbers don't follow.

Shreyas Iyer's back. After 30 months on the sidelines, the 31-year-old has forced his way back into India's T20I setup on the back of strong domestic form and consistent IPL runs with Punjab Kings.

He's now in contention for the T20I captaincy, with an official announcement expected soon to replace Suryakumar Yadav. Iyer will lead the side in upcoming series against Ireland and England.

Young gun Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also getting a maiden call-up as selectors look ahead to future tournaments.

Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus has called on the ICC to provide more Test opportunities for emerging nations. Sporadic matches hinder team development, he said ahead of the one-off Test against India. The responsibility for a proper fixture list lies with the ICC according to the coach.

The match begins at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh's new stadium. India enter the game without rested Ravindra Jadeja and retired Ravichandran Ashwin as they test emerging options. Cricbuzz reported Pybus's comments on the need for consistent red-ball cricket.

Times of India noted that New Chandigarh hosts its maiden Test. ESPNcricinfo added that India are making adjustments for red-ball cricket after the IPL, with discussions around spinner selections including Harsh Dubey or Manav Suthar.