Rohit Sharma's Lord's 138 has increased pressure on the chief selector whose tenure extension ends soon.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering changes to its selection committee following Rohit Sharma's century at Lord's. Ajit Agarkar's original term ended in June and the board granted him a three-month extension. Reports indicate the BCCI is now weighing options that include VVS Laxman for the top selection role.
Hindustan Times reported that Rohit Sharma's 138 against England has put the selectors under pressure. The century came after earlier low scores and has complicated any plan to ease him out of the ODI side before the 2027 World Cup. Agarkar lacks the authority to enforce succession planning against senior players.
NDTV Sports noted that speculation about Rohit has subsided for now after the performance. The board has not confirmed any immediate decision on the selection panel.
Himmat Singh's accidental direct hit forced a Super Over that Outer Delhi Warriors eventually won.
New Delhi Tigers captain Himmat Singh accidentally kicked the ball onto the stumps after misfielding, forcing a Super Over in a Delhi Premier League match against Outer Delhi Warriors at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Outer Delhi needed one run from the final delivery when Pratham Saluja squeezed the ball towards mid-on and set off for the winning single.
Himmat moved forward to collect the ball but failed to gather it cleanly. In frustration, he kicked the ball away, and it travelled directly towards the wicket, striking the stumps with Saluja still short of his crease. The dismissal forced the match into a Super Over, which Outer Delhi won after posting 20 for one.
Himmat had earlier scored 61 from 25 balls with four fours and five sixes to help New Delhi Tigers reach 156 for five in the rain-shortened 15-over contest.
Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara has said MS Dhoni never raised the 2011 World Cup final during their time together at Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni hit Kulasekara for the winning six in Mumbai to seal India's title. Kulasekara joined CSK immediately after the tournament and played alongside Dhoni for several seasons.
Kulasekara told Revsportz that Dhoni's silence on the subject reflected his focus on the present rather than past results. He also expressed regret at dropping Gautam Gambhir during the final, noting that the opener went on to score 97. Kulasekara said such moments are part of the game and pointed to Ben Stokes' experience in the 2016 T20 World Cup final before England's 2019 triumph.
Moeen Ali separately named former India pacer Ashish Nehra as the greatest cricket brain he has encountered, citing Nehra's work as Gujarat Titans head coach and earlier at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The BCCI thanked assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fielding coach T Dilip after their contracts with the Indian men's team ended. Ten Doeschate joined KKR as Head of Cricket Strategy while Dilip's second spell as fielding coach concluded after the T20I series against Zimbabwe. The board acknowledged both coaches' roles in recent team achievements including the 2025 Asia Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup titles.
India begin their Sri Lanka tour without Bumrah, with Nabi earning a first call-up and Ghosh taking over as fielding coach.
Shubman Gill and the Indian team landed in Colombo on Tuesday for the two-Test series that starts August 15 in Galle. Jasprit Bumrah stayed home after the Centre of Excellence wouldn't clear him, the knee he hurt against England last month still a problem. Auqib Nabi comes in for his first India call-up after 104 wickets across the last two Ranji seasons.
Sai Sudharsan won't play the warm-up that starts August 7 because of a toe niggle, though he's expected to be fit for the first Test. Subhadeep Ghosh takes over as fielding coach, replacing T Dilip after the T20Is against Zimbabwe.
Gill had already flagged the fitness worries before the squad left, and at least five players from the original group missed the final ODI against England. The BCCI is now reviewing how the selectors and the Centre of Excellence talk to each other about injuries.
PCB drops two departmental sides for failing to meet new domestic regulations introduced in June.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has cut Water and Power Development Authority and Sahir Associates from the 2026-27 domestic season. Both sides missed the new rules the board brought in during June, which require full-time coaching staff and minimum welfare standards. Neither submitted the paperwork on time.
WAPDA and Sahir Associates had played in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and other first-class events before this. The PCB hasn't said whether they can apply again. With them gone, the first-class competition drops to eight departmental teams, and the board will name replacements before September.
India's two-Test series in Sri Lanka will test whether their batting order can still negotiate spin with the authority that once defined their approach.
Shubman Gill-led India have arrived in Sri Lanka for a two-Test series beginning August 15 in Galle, marking their first Test tour of the island in over a decade. The team is without Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out due to incomplete recovery from a left knee injury sustained during the ODI series against England. Auqib Nabi has been named as his replacement after claiming 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
India's relationship with spin has changed significantly since their last tour in 2017 when they won all three Tests by large margins. The team has lost series at home to New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa in 2025, with Ajaz Patel and Simon Harmer exposing technical hesitations against spin that were once unthinkable. Prabath Jayasuriya's 41 wickets in 13 innings demonstrate Sri Lanka's ability to exploit this vulnerability on home pitches.
The timing presents a diagnostic challenge for India's batting order. Domestic pitches have evolved, white-ball cricket has altered technique, and preparation has increasingly focused on overseas fast bowling. The series will reveal whether India can still negotiate spin with the authority that once defined their approach, or whether the old guard against spin has eroded beyond quick repair.
via Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express
Sai Sudharsan remains in Bengaluru continuing rehabilitation while India awaits clearance for him to join the Sri Lanka Test squad.
India is monitoring Sai Sudharsan's recovery at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru while the rest of the squad has arrived in Colombo. Sudharsan has not travelled with the team and is expected to resume full-intensity batting later this week. The medical staff will assess whether he can join the squad in time for the three-day warm-up match beginning Friday.
The team management has prioritised full match readiness over an early arrival, given India's long-term plans for the left-hander in the Test side. Sudharsan will need to complete batting sessions without discomfort before being cleared to travel. The practice game would then serve as his final fitness test ahead of the two-Test series starting August 15.
The remainder of the squad reached Colombo on Tuesday. India are fifth in the World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 48.15 after four wins and four losses in nine matches.
Ireland host Afghanistan for a five-match ODI series at Bready, the first meeting between the sides since 2024.
Ireland and Afghanistan begin a five-match ODI series on Wednesday at Bready Cricket Club. The venue has hosted only one previous men's ODI. Both sides enter the series under new leadership, marking a fresh chapter for their respective programmes.
The series represents Afghanistan's first bilateral engagement since changes to their coaching and selection structure. Ireland meanwhile seeks to build on recent performances in the format. The two teams last met in ODIs during the 2024 T20 World Cup cycle.
Fixtures run through July 19, with the final match scheduled in Belfast. The winner gains early ranking points ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup qualification window.
Shashank Singh moves from Chhattisgarh to Puducherry after alleging lack of support and transparency from the state association during his injury recovery.
All-rounder Shashank Singh has left Chhattisgarh for Puducherry ahead of the 2026-27 season. He secured a No Objection Certificate from the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh after accusing the association of ignoring his injury rehab and dropping him from events without explanation.
Singh said he got no answers about his exclusion from the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League or the state conditioning camp. He pushed back against claims he chose IPL over domestic cricket, pointing to the Lala Amarnath Award he won for the best domestic white-ball all-rounder in 2023-24. Over seven years he scored 905 first-class runs at 29.19 and 927 List A runs at 40.30.
He'll join Puducherry as a guest player with Mumbai wicketkeeper Prasad Pawar. The move ends a long home-state tie and comes after several attempts to reach association officials once the IPL finished.
Matt Short's unbeaten 60 guided Welsh Fire to a six-wicket win over Southern Brave in Cardiff. The victory lifted Fire level with Trent Rockets at the top of the table.
Matt Short scored an unbeaten 60 from 41 balls as Welsh Fire chased down Southern Brave's 115 for eight with six wickets and five balls to spare in Cardiff. Sam Cook took three for 14 and Rachin Ravindra claimed two for 27 as Brave posted their lowest total in Hundred history.
Jofra Archer removed Phil Salt early in the chase but Short and Joe Root added 56 for the second wicket to steady Fire's reply. Root fell to Chris Jordan, but Short remained composed and found an unbroken stand with Tom Kohler-Cadmore to complete the win.
The victory was Welsh Fire's fourth in five matches and lifted them level with Trent Rockets on 16 points at the top of the table. Southern Brave suffered their first defeat of the campaign and must win their remaining two league games to stay in playoff contention.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes India's chances of reaching the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 final hang heavily on the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka. India will begin their Sri Lanka tour with the opening Test on August 15 and currently occupy fifth place in the standings with a points percentage of 48.15.
Chopra highlighted how significantly the standings could change depending on the outcome of the two-match series. He pointed out that a 2-0 defeat for India would dent their qualification hopes while boosting Sri Lanka's prospects. A clean sweep would improve India's position, although not dramatically, while a drawn series would do little for either side.
Chopra also underlined the difficulty of India's remaining WTC schedule. After the Sri Lanka series, India are set to travel to New Zealand for a two-Test series before hosting Australia in a five-Test contest early next year. He noted that India have not won a Test series in New Zealand since the 2008-09 tour.
Ben Stokes argues that cricket's relationship with alcohol extends beyond England and has not kept pace with the game's professional standards.
Ben Stokes pushed back on the idea that England cricket has a special drinking problem. Alcohol sits in the game at every level, he said on the For The Love of Cricket podcast, weeks after retiring from internationals. Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler joined him.
Stokes pointed to the split between cricket's push on nutrition and medical care and its unchanged habits around drink. The culture runs from club grounds to Test teams, and it hasn't moved with the rest of preparation. The comments came after he and Gus Atkinson were stood down for a Test over a curfew breach.
The ECB tightened its alcohol rules for England players after that. Stokes now plays only domestic and franchise cricket.
Mohammed Siraj's spell on the final morning at The Oval sealed India's six-run win and squared the 2025 series against England.
Mohammed Siraj's five-wicket haul on the final morning at The Oval sealed India's six-run victory and squared the 2025 Test series against England 2-2. England needed 35 runs with four wickets in hand when Siraj began his spell. Fifty-six minutes later, the off stump of Gus Atkinson lay uprooted and India had completed their narrowest Test win.
Siraj had woken that morning convinced he would change the game, setting a "believe" image as his phone wallpaper. He finished with figures that rank among the most decisive by an Indian fast bowler in England. The result capped a series in which India lost sessions, recovered from collapses and fought to a draw in Manchester before producing the decisive act at The Oval.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's second-innings hundred, Akash Deep's lower-order resistance and Prasidh Krishna's earlier breakthroughs all contributed to the outcome. The victory confirmed that India's new Test side could win from behind rather than relying on dominance.
Shashank Singh said he received no explanation from the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh after being dropped from the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League and the state probables camp following shoulder and finger injuries. He obtained an NOC and will represent Pondicherry from the 2026-27 domestic season.
The Punjab Kings all-rounder won the Lala Amarnath Award for best domestic white-ball all-rounder in 2023-24 after amassing 927 runs in List A cricket at an average of 40.30 across seven years with Chhattisgarh. He scored 653 runs in 42 T20 matches at a strike rate of 129.30 and took 18 wickets.
Shashank rejected claims that he prioritised the IPL over domestic cricket and said he was not seeking preferential treatment, only clarity on selection decisions after representing the state in 24 first-class and 31 List A matches.
Nabi's selection rewards recent domestic form while Shami's exclusion continues despite strong numbers across formats.
Auqib Nabi earned his maiden India call-up as replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah after taking 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy at an average of 12.56. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer also claimed 104 wickets across the last two domestic seasons and took six wickets during India A's recent first-class tour of Sri Lanka.
Mohammed Shami took 37 wickets in seven Ranji Trophy matches at 16.72, including three five-wicket hauls and career-best figures of 8 for 90. He added 16 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and 15 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, finishing with 69 wickets across 22 matches in the 2025-26 domestic season.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has previously stated that Shami's exclusion relates to his ability to withstand longer-format workloads rather than current form. The communication gap between the Centre of Excellence and selectors has also come under scrutiny after Bumrah was initially expected to be available for at least one Test.
Nabi becomes the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be selected in India's Test squad.
Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi earned his first India Test call-up after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the two-match series against Sri Lanka with a knee injury. The 29-year-old took 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season to help J&K win their maiden title. He also claimed six wickets in two matches for India A during their recent tour of Sri Lanka.
Former England captain Ben Stokes is in talks with multiple Big Bash League franchises and could become the competition's highest-paid overseas player. Reports from Code Sports indicate the Sydney Sixers lead the bidding ahead of the 2026-27 season. The proposed deal is valued at approximately AUD 600,000.
Stokes retired from international cricket in June 2026 after England's series against New Zealand. He has since returned to Durham in county cricket and expressed interest in continuing across franchise competitions. The Sixers' pursuit is strengthened by the appointment of former England white-ball coach Matthew Mott, who worked with Stokes during the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Stokes previously played in the BBL for Melbourne Renegades in 2014-15. Scheduling remains a factor, with the SA20 beginning in January potentially clashing with a proposed Christmas break in England. An IPL return remains blocked until 2028 under current BCCI rules.
Maharaj praised Ganguly's role in shaping team culture during the Capitals' first SA20 season.
Pretoria Capitals captain Keshav Maharaj pointed to Sourav Ganguly as the man who set the tone. Ganguly joined the franchise as head coach last year and built an environment that carried them to the SA20 final in their debut season. They fell short by six wickets against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
It was Ganguly's first coaching job. He'd been president of the Cricket Association of Bengal and the BCCI before that, then worked as an advisor and team director with Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
The next edition starts in January 2027 with the same final matchup. Maharaj said the priority is a strong opening and showing up ready against the champions.
Michael Smith will take charge as Pakistan's batting coach ahead of the England Test series.
Pakistan appointed South African first-class cricketer and coach Michael Smith as their new batting coach on a two-year contract ahead of the three-Test series against England starting August 19. Smith will work with both the red-ball and white-ball sides, filling a specialist role that has remained vacant in recent months.
Smith previously worked in the Pakistan Super League with Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, and served as batting coach with Australia's Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania. He also undertook consultancy roles with South Africa's KZN Inland and Eastern Province.
Pakistan are currently trailing 0-1 in their two-Test series against West Indies after suffering a 90-run defeat in the opening Test. The appointment comes after the team's batting repeatedly failed to deliver in pressure situations, contributing to 13 losses in their last 17 Tests.
