IPL 2027 mini-auction moves back to India; Impact Player rule decision postponed.
The IPL Governing Council decided that the 2027 mini-auction will be held in India, ending a run of overseas venues that began after Kochi hosted the event in 2023. Dubai, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi staged the last three auctions.
Franchises raised concerns over the logistics and cost of sending delegations abroad for a smaller auction. The BCCI requires more than 100 hotel rooms for two nights, a requirement made harder by India's wedding season from October to December.
The Governing Council deferred a decision on the Impact Player rule to a meeting within a month. Most franchises oppose continuing the rule but want any change delayed until after the 2028 mega-auction when squads can be rebuilt from scratch.
BCCI secretary says board suggested alternative before India declined trophy from Naqvi.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the board had proposed an alternative arrangement before India's women's team declined to accept the Asia Cup trophy from ACC president Mohsin Naqvi. The team refused to appear on stage after beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Sunday's final.
Saikia confirmed the decision followed prior discussions with ACC officials. The players did not return to the field for the presentation, though BCCI officials presented an in-house best fielder award before leaving the dais.
The incident mirrors the men's team's refusal at the previous Asia Cup final. The trophy remains with the ACC office, and India stayed unbeaten throughout the tournament.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian women's cricket team's decision not to accept the Women's Asia Cup 2026 trophy from ACC president Mohsin Naqvi is a matter for the BCCI. The team declined to appear on stage during the post-match presentation after beating Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a press briefing that the issue falls within the board's jurisdiction. India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and won the final by 72 runs after posting 183 for 5.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajiv Shukla congratulated the players before the presentation ceremony. The women's team's action mirrors the men's side decision after the previous Asia Cup final.
BCCI sets WPL 2027 auction date and confirms January-February playing window.
The BCCI confirmed that the Women's Premier League 2027 player auction will take place on October 28 at the Grand Hyatt in Kochi. Franchises must submit their retention and release lists by September 28 ahead of the mini-auction.
The fifth edition of the tournament is scheduled from January 14 to February 7, 2027. Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium and Vadodara's Kotambi Stadium are the frontrunners to host matches, while the new Varanasi stadium remains under consideration pending inspection.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter the season as defending champions after beating Delhi Capitals in the 2026 final. The WPL will conclude a week before India hosts the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy from February 14 to 28.
Ajit Agarkar will likely end his tenure as chief selector after the West Indies series with no contract extension confirmed.
Ajit Agarkar's contract as chairman of selectors expires on October 4 and he is expected to step down after picking the squads for the West Indies T20I and ODI series. Agarkar had sought an extension until after the 2027 ODI World Cup but received no indication of renewal from BCCI officials. VVS Laxman is among the names mentioned as a possible successor.
Yuvraj Singh warns against last-minute changes ahead of 2027 ODI World Cup, citing past failures and need for consistent game time.
Yuvraj Singh wants the selectors to leave the squad alone for the next 13 months. The former all-rounder told Cricinfo that India should pick the same players who will walk out for the 2027 ODI World Cup instead of tinkering close to the event. Last-minute reshuffles have hurt the side before, he said.
With so many T20 fixtures and fewer 50-over games, Yuvraj argued every player needs regular cricket to stay sharp. That means keeping faith in the squad through dips in form, not dropping players the moment results turn. India open their 2026-27 home season with three ODIs against West Indies on 27 September.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli sit at the heart of the current white-ball setup, and Yuvraj sees the four straight final appearances since 2023 as proof that sticking to a plan has worked.
Nic Maddinson and Lachlan Shaw have been appointed captains of New South Wales across formats for 2026-27.
Nic Maddinson will captain New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield and Lachlan Shaw will lead the one-day side in 2026-27. The appointments follow Jack Edwards stepping back from captaincy duties to manage his workload. New head coach Brad Haddin announced the changes after taking over from Greg Shipperd.
Maddinson returns to the captaincy after missing the entire 2025-26 Shield season while recovering from testicular cancer. The 34-year-old previously led the Blues in six first-class matches in 2015-16 and has captained Melbourne Renegades in the BBL. Shaw, 23, takes on the one-day role after 14 List A matches.
Sean Abbott will serve as vice-captain across formats. Kurtis Patterson, who stood in during the second half of last season, will focus on his batting.
Valuation model shows Yusuf Pathan's 2009 season returned nearly nine times his Rs 1.9 crore fee.
Rajasthan Royals paid approximately Rs 1.9 crore for Yusuf Pathan at the inaugural IPL auction in 2009. A valuation model estimates his season produced close to Rs 17 crore in cricketing value. The all-rounder finished with 243 runs and seven wickets as Rajasthan failed to defend their title.
Two individual performances exceeded the entire acquisition cost. Pathan scored 42 from 21 balls plus 18 from four deliveries in a Super Over against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 23, valued at roughly Rs 5.24 crore. Five days later he made an unbeaten 62 from 30 balls in a chase against Delhi Daredevils, estimated at Rs 5.07 crore.
The model shows Pathan's value concentrated in sudden match-defining interventions rather than consistent output across 13 appearances. Those two matches alone generated an estimated Rs 10.31 crore for a player whose full-season fee was Rs 1.9 crore.
Iyer's comments suggest India may experiment with their opening combination in the final match.
India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team may give opportunities to players who have not featured in the first two matches of the T20I series against Afghanistan. India have already secured the series 2-0 and will play the final match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday. Iyer said it is important for the bench players to get used to the conditions.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has not played since Sanju Samson returned to the side. The 15-year-old made his debut during India's tour of Zimbabwe and was named player of the series there. Samson responded to a poor first outing with 57 off 22 balls in the second match.
Iyer also reflected on his early results as T20I captain. India lost series to Ireland and England before winning against Afghanistan. He said maintaining balance and enjoying the moment are key to handling the fluctuations of captaincy.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to India's ODI squad for the West Indies series; Rishabh Pant left out.
India named their squads for the upcoming home series against the West Indies, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli included in the ODI group. Shubman Gill captains the 15-member ODI squad with KL Rahul as vice-captain.
Ravindra Jadeja returns to the ODI fold after being left out earlier this year. Auqib Nabi and Naman Dhir receive maiden call-ups, while Dhruv Jurel is preferred over Rishabh Pant as the second wicketkeeper. Nitish Kumar Reddy was withdrawn from the Asian Games squad to focus on the ODIs.
Shreyas Iyer leads the T20I side, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. Rishabh Pant will captain the Rest of India team in the Irani Cup against Jammu and Kashmir.
Sanju Samson completed 1,000 runs in T20Is as an opener during his 57 off 22 balls against Afghanistan on Tuesday. He became only the fifth Indian to reach the milestone, joining Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Abhishek Sharma.
Samson scored his runs at a strike rate of 181.59, the highest among the five openers on the list. Rohit Sharma leads the list with 3,750 runs in 125 matches as an opener.
Samson reached his fourth T20I fifty of 2026 in just 20 balls during the innings that helped India chase down 160 with seven wickets in hand.
Rishabh Pant may also get another opportunity with Ishan Kishan at the Asian Games.
India's selectors are expected to spend considerable time on Wednesday discussing whether to bring back Ravindra Jadeja for the three-match ODI series against West Indies starting 27 September. Axar Patel will be on Asian Games duty, leaving a gap in the spin-bowling all-rounder slot.
The team management and selectors want to move on from Jadeja, but with Axar's unavailability and Harsh Dubey injured, the selectors may consider Jadeja for ODIs. Jadeja's bowling in white-ball cricket has not been up to the mark for a while, according to a BCCI source.
The selectors are also expected to decide on the second wicketkeeper, with KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya's availability also a factor. Rishabh Pant may get another opportunity in ODIs since Ishan Kishan will be at the Asian Games.
Nitish Kumar Reddy said he always wanted to become the greatest all-rounder after claiming 3 for 24 in India's seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the second T20I on Tuesday. The 23-year-old was named Player of the Match for his bowling effort that helped restrict Afghanistan to 159 for 8.
Reddy said the work put in during his rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence had left him feeling confident about his fitness. He added that the additional pace he has developed is part of a larger ambition to establish himself as a complete all-rounder.
His performance came after Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out of the remainder of the series with a side strain. Reddy responded by making a decisive impact in the middle overs, where his three breakthroughs helped prevent Afghanistan from converting a steady start into a bigger total.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar says the IPL auction creates unnecessary mental stress and should be removed.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar wants the BCCI to scrap the IPL auction. The 36-year-old still remembers the nerves that hit him before every bidding round, even after he'd played for India for years.
He was leading Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when RCB paid Rs 10.75 crore for him in the 2025 mega auction. Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants had been in the mix too, so the final price caught him off guard.
Since joining RCB ahead of the 2025 season, Kumar has picked up 45 wickets in 30 matches across two title-winning campaigns. The franchise's low-pressure setup helped him settle fast.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar said the IPL auction creates unnecessary mental strain on players and that he would remove the system if given the option.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was 36 when he said it plainly: the IPL auction needs to go. The nerves hit him even back in 2014, when he was already playing for India. The uncertainty sits in your head, he said, and the bat suffers.
RCB paid 10.75 crore for him in 2025. The franchise's support staff helped him settle, and their relaxed approach has shown in his recent form.
Warwickshire boosted their title challenge with an eight-wicket win over Essex in two days.
Warwickshire secured an eight-wicket win over Essex in two days to boost their County Championship title challenge. Sam Hain's unbeaten 88 helped the Bears to a first-innings lead of 57 before Manav Suthar took five for 75 as Essex were bowled out for 189 in their second innings. Zen Malik's 51 and Hain's unbeaten 22 took Warwickshire to their target of 133 for the loss of two wickets.
Carse's four wickets helped Durham seal promotion on the final day against Middlesex.
Durham clinched promotion to Division One of the County Championship with a 93-run victory over Middlesex at Chester-le-Street. Brydon Carse took four wickets and Callum Parkinson claimed four for 45 to bowl Middlesex out.
Harry Duke scored an unbeaten century in Middlesex's second innings but could not prevent defeat. Durham needed eight wickets on the final morning and took them inside 50 overs.
The result returns Durham to the top flight next season after relegation in 2025.
Brook and Buttler powered England to their second-highest T20I total at the venue before Sri Lanka collapsed in reply.
Harry Brook scored an unbeaten 114 off 49 balls as England defeated Sri Lanka by 119 runs in the first T20I at Southampton on Tuesday. Jos Buttler made 80 off 44 balls in a second-wicket stand of 128 from 60 deliveries that took England to 254 for 4.
Brook reached his hundred from 42 balls, his second T20I century. Sonny Baker took 3 for 12 on his white-ball debut, while Adil Rashid claimed 1 for 31. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 135 in 19 overs.
The match was England's first since Kevin Pietersen joined the white-ball coaching staff as a special mentor. The second T20I is in Cardiff on Thursday.
Samson and Abhishek Sharma's powerplay assault set up a comfortable chase after Reddy's three wickets restricted Afghanistan.
India defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Chasing 160, they reached 163 for 3 in 14.5 overs.
Sanju Samson scored 57 off 22 balls and Abhishek Sharma made 39 off 19 as the openers added 88 inside the powerplay. Ishan Kishan remained unbeaten on 38 off 23. Rashid Khan took 3 for 36 for Afghanistan.
Nitish Kumar Reddy claimed 3 for 24 and Arshdeep Singh took 2 for 35 as Afghanistan posted 159 for 8. Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 37.
Unadkat's 4 for 36 kept Sussex on top after Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 115.
Jaydev Unadkat took four wickets as Sussex reduced Nottinghamshire to 115 all out on the first day of their County Championship match at Hove. Unadkat finished with 4 for 36 from ten overs.
Nottinghamshire's innings collapsed after a battling ninth-wicket stand threatened to extend their total. Sussex reached stumps on 30 without loss, leading by 47 runs.
Unadkat reached 500 first-class wickets during the innings.
