Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India's upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand after scans revealed a fresh injury to his right shin. The all-rounder has been advised two weeks of complete rest and will also miss the India A one-day series against Australia A starting October 6.

Pandya has not played competitive cricket since the final week of IPL 2026. He reported shooting pain around his knee during fielding drills before the Afghanistan T20 series and had taken a short break, but the discomfort returned just as he was preparing to receive fitness clearance.

BCCI medical panel head Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala will assess Pandya on his return from Japan before deciding on rehabilitation. With the New Zealand series now out of reach, Pandya's next possible return window is the Zimbabwe ODIs if he recovers, or the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy says the team needs to beat India if it hopes to win a major ICC event. The three-match ODI series starts on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram. West Indies haven't won a bilateral ODI series in India for 24 years. Sammy called the tour a chance to test where the side stands ahead of ODI World Cup qualifiers in February. He pointed to Shai Hope, Amir Jangoo and Sherfane Rutherford stepping up with the bat, while Alzarri Joseph has found form again. The side has climbed the ranking points table but fell six points short of automatic qualification.

Minnu Mani remained not out on 88 as India A chased down 363 to beat Australia A by four wickets in the third one-day match in Mohali on Friday. Nikki Prasad made 76 in the 364-run total that India A reached in 48.2 overs. Charli Knott had earlier scored 109 for Australia A in a total of 362 for nine.

Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England's third ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday after suffering a hamstring injury at Headingley. Surrey batter Dan Lawrence has been called into the squad as cover. Lawrence scored his sixth County Championship hundred of the season on Thursday before being withdrawn from Surrey's match against Somerset.

England lost the second ODI by 16 runs after Sri Lanka defended 322. Captain Kusal Mendis scored 121 and Dunith Wellalage took 3 for 49. Buttler made 69 off 49 balls despite the injury before England finished at 305 for nine.

Lawrence will train with England at The Oval on Saturday morning. The decider starts at 10:30am UK time and the winner will take the series 2-1.

The Supreme Court has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India and all state cricket associations why they should not be governed by the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the observation while hearing applications filed by cricket bodies.

The bench also asked advocates for the BCCI and state associations to take instructions on why the terms and conditions of service of their office bearers should not be governed by the 2025 Act. The apex court has been dealing with a plea concerning the BCCI since 2014.

The top court had earlier constituted a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to suggest reform measures, including framing of a constitution for the BCCI.

Seven India players retired without formal farewell matches, according to ABP Live. VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni left international cricket without a send-off. Dhoni announced his retirement via Instagram on August 15, 2020, after the 2019 World Cup semi-final. Laxman retired in 2012 before a New Zealand series. Harbhajan ended his career after an ODI against the UAE in 2016. Zaheer played his last match against New Zealand in 2014. Pathan signed off with a Player of the Match performance against Sri Lanka in 2012. Dhawan played his final ODI against Bangladesh in 2022. Yuvraj's last ODI came against the West Indies in 2017.

India's fast bowlers have recorded an average of 32.1 and an economy of 7.9 in overs 35-50 since the ICC introduced a single-ball rule on July 2 2025. The figures mark a reversal from their pre-rule averages of 23.5 and 6.9 in the same phase. Data from 15 ODIs show India's seamers have taken 27 wickets without establishing a settled attack.

The ICC change limits teams to one ball after the 34th over to encourage reverse swing. While pacers from the other top-10 ODI sides improved their economy from 7.5 to 7.2 in the phase, India's group has declined. Nine seamers have been used, with Prasidh Krishna leading the wicket tally at eight but conceding 8.78 runs per over.

India face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series beginning on 27 September. The tour forms part of their preparation for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy said the upcoming three-match ODI series against India offers his team a chance to end a 24-year wait for a bilateral series victory in India. The series begins in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Sammy said beating India at home would provide a benchmark for West Indies' progress ahead of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.

Sammy said winning a major ICC event requires beating India and the series gives his players an opportunity to measure themselves in the 50-over format. West Indies missed automatic qualification for the 2027 tournament and will need to navigate the qualifiers in February. The coach noted that multiple players have scored ODI hundreds alongside Shai Hope.

Sammy also highlighted the emergence of wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes, who took eight wickets in his first five ODIs. Alzarri Joseph returns after helping Antigua win the CPL title.

India fast bowler Prasidh Krishna said he must return to cricket at a level ten times higher than before his injury. Speaking to JioStar, Krishna described the rehabilitation process as gruelling and emphasised the importance of family, friends and support staff in maintaining mental resilience during recovery.

Krishna is preparing for India's three-match ODI series against West Indies that begins on 27 September in Thiruvananthapuram. He noted that the powerplay phase in ODIs remains the most challenging segment for fast bowlers and that conditions in New Zealand will test skill, endurance and the ability to maintain rhythm over long spells.

The 27-year-old has already experienced five-Test series in Australia and England and said those tours helped him understand how to stay in rhythm across 25 days of continuous cricket. He added that India are building towards the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2027 with the right mindset and fitness levels.

India A beat Australia A by 162 runs in the first unofficial Test at the Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Ground. Kumar Kushagra scored 113 and was named Player of the Match, while Shams Mulani took seven wickets across both innings. The visitors were bowled out for 200 while chasing 363 on the fourth day.

India A posted 334 in the first innings after Kushagra and Tanush Kotian rescued them from 97 for five. Mulani then took four wickets as Australia A collapsed to 171, giving the hosts a 163-run lead. Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal each scored fifties across the two innings.

Tushar Deshpande and Mulani finished the job on the final day as Australia A added only 145 runs after resuming at 55 for two. The win gives India A a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

India will begin their ODI World Cup preparations with a three-match series against the West Indies starting Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram. The second and third ODIs will be played in Guwahati on September 30 and New Chandigarh on October 3. Five T20Is follow from October 6 to 17 in Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Shubman Gill will captain the ODI side while Shreyas Iyer leads the T20I team. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the ODI squad after missing the Asian Games. India have made changes to their first-choice squad due to player unavailability for the white-ball series.

Morne Morkel said the series is a foundation to build on for next year’s World Cup. He stressed workload management for bowlers and the need to give Nitish Kumar Reddy consistent opportunities to develop as an all-rounder.