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Two significant off-season signings have been confirmed which could add considerable strength to NSW

Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan04-Apr-2024Josh Philippe has moved from Western Australia to New South Wales in a bid to reignite his Sheffield Shield career while Nic Maddinson returns to the state where his career began in a pair of significant domestic signings.Philippe’s shift to NSW has long been on the cards having been courted as far back as 2019 following his successful BBL move to Sydney Sixers. But he had previously opted to stay in WA to play Shield and Marsh Cup cricket despite Josh Inglis being the No.1 keeper, with Inglis’ frequent absences due to international duty affording Phillipe plenty of opportunity to keep in both formats.Related

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• Under-19 World Cup trio Konstas, Hicks and Anderson earn NSW contracts

He has finally made the move east despite playing in two Shield titles and three Marsh Cups with WA in the last three seasons, as well as playing for Australia A in four-day cricket as a wicketkeeper, as his Shield career has stalled badly.Meanwhile, Maddinson returns to NSW from Victoria after a strong finish to the 2023-24 Shield season where he hit three centuries in consecutive games after returning from an ACL injury. His move has the potential to add significant strength to the NSW top order. His red-ball surge came after he was dropped by Melbourne Renegades during the BBL where he was captain. It’s understood he will also be moving to Sydney Thunder.Maddinson, 32, made his Sheffield Shield debut for the Blues in 2010 where he struck a century against South Australia. He went on to play three Tests and six T20Is before drifting down the pecking order of Australia’s batting prospects.”Nic and Josh bring experience and also a familiarity with our players, coaches and the NSW set up so their transition should be seamless,” NSW coach Greg Shipperd said. “Both Nic and Josh have played for their country, but we believe both have the ability to further develop their individual games and grow as cricketers and people. It’s going to be exciting to watch their journey.Nic Maddinson made his third hundred in three Shield matches•Getty Images

“Putting together a successful squad requires a balance between experienced and emerging talent and we believe we are developing that balance well.”Philippe was dropped from the WA side in the final Shield round before the BBL break in late November and replaced by a non-contracted wicketkeeper in Joel Curtis while Inglis was away with Australia’s T20I side. That axing was softened by an immediate call-up to Australia’s T20I side to play in the five-match series against India in India in early December.He was recalled for the first Shield round after the BBL and made an unbeaten half-century against NSW in Perth. But that was his only Shield half-century in his last 27 innings dating back to December 2021, having averaged 14.44 in that time. He was dropped again when Inglis returned from international duty in late February and did not play in the final two rounds of the season or the final.NSW will be hoping Philippe can return to his best at Shield level as he links up with his Sixers coach Shipperd and captain Moises Henriques. His recent record for WA is odd given he managed scores of 94, 69 and 105 in first-class matches for Australia A against Sri Lanka A and New Zealand A in the last two years.Despite his lean run in Shield cricket, Philippe will be a significant asset to NSW in the Marsh Cup where he has been one of the key contributors in WA’s hat-trick of titles. He was player of the tournament in the 2022-23 title and made a vital 42 against NSW in the low-scoring 2023-24 final at Cricket Central in Sydney in February.Baxter Holt has had limited opportunity at NSW•Getty Images

It’s understood that Philippe’s move to Sydney has paved the way for Baxter Holt to move west after his career had stalled at NSW. Holt had not played any format for the Blues since December 2022, falling down the NSW wicketkeeping pecking order behind Matthew Gilkes.WA flew the 24-year-old to Perth last week to visit the WACA and have a hit with WA batting coach Beau Casson and a catch with WA keeping coach Damon Rowan.Holt is unlikely to play much cricket for WA in the early part of the 2024-25 season given Inglis will be available for most of the Shield matches before the BBL, except for any fixtures that could fall in late September when Australia’s ODI side are in England or mid-November when Australia play Pakistan in three ODIs and T20Is at home.But he is likely to get an uninterrupted opportunity in February-March 2025 when Inglis is a good chance to tour with Australia’s Test side as a reserve-keeper/batter for the Sri Lanka Test tour and then the ODI Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Cameron Green, Ashton Agar and Nathan Ellis all included as Australia’s selectors wanted flexibility within the 15-member squad

Alex Malcolm01-May-202410:33

Is Fraser-McGurk a lock in for T20 World Cup? What are Smith’s chances?

Australia’s brightest young T20 batting talent Jake Fraser-McGurk and one of their finest three-format batters of the generation Steven Smith have both been left out of Australia’s provisional 15-member T20 World Cup squad with selectors opting to take a second specialist spinner in Ashton Agar and a spare allrounder in Cameron Green to give them more flexibility throughout the tournament.As expected, Mitchell Marsh will captain the side after Cricket Australia ratified his position as permanent T20 captain on Wednesday morning. Marsh had already led Australia in three T20I series as interim skipper over the past 12 months.Nathan Ellis has also been included as the fourth fast bowling option behind Australia’s big three Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, while Josh Inglis was also selected as the reserve wicketkeeper and utility batter behind first-choice keeper Matthew Wade.Related

• Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short set to be Australia's T20 World Cup travelling reserves

• McDonald confident Marsh will be fit to bowl for start of the World Cup

• 'Don't feel like I've earned that yet' – Fraser-McGurk fine with missing the T20 World Cup

• 'Where do you fit him in?' – Hazlewood says Fraser-McGurk's time will come

• Marsh's hamstring on track for T20 World Cup but admits he can't afford a setback

The omission of Fraser-McGurk is set to cause a stir in Australia after his stunning performances in the IPL where he has smashed three half-centuries in six innings at a ridiculous strike-rate of 233.33 despite the fact he has yet to play a T20I and has only made two ODI appearances.Smith’s omission is less of a shock despite being left out of a World Cup squad for the first time in a decade in any format. But Smith had long been on the outer in Australia’s first-choice T20I side having run the drinks through most of the 2022 World Cup. He was given a chance to open in two T20Is against India last November and two more against New Zealand in February but failed to make a case to displace Australia’s incumbent top three.The selectors opted to trust their experienced trio of Travis Head, David Warner and Marsh who were dominant at last year’s ODI World Cup. They also had long settled the middle order with Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David and Wade likely to be in the first-choice XI.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Green and Inglis were preferred to Fraser-McGurk and Smith in the final 15 because they can play multiple roles. Green provides cover for the injury-prone Marsh and Stoinis, while Inglis is the backup wicketkeeper but has batted in nearly every spot in the order with some success.Matthew Short was also unlucky to miss out after two outstanding BBL seasons and some excellent showings in his brief T20I appearances over the last 12 months.Chair of selectors George Bailey outlined the reasons why Agar and Green were chosen in the 15 ahead of the other candidates.”We believe Ashton can play a critical role in this tournament along with Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cam Green and Mitch Marsh in complementing our front-line attack options,” Bailey said.”The batting options available allow a tailored approach to each venue and opponent.””Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly,”Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover. We will continue monitoring several players who have missed out on this preliminary squad and note that if we wish to change this squad, we have the option to do so over the coming weeks in accordance with ICC regulations.”Ultimately the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign.”Marsh said he was thrilled to lead the side to a World Cup.”It’s been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup,” Marsh said.”I am extremely grateful to have such a good group of people in our players and staff. We have had some strong success in recent times and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament. We take a very experienced group to the West Indies, I very much look forward to the challenge and working alongside Andrew [McDonald], the coaches, players and staff.”

Australia T20 World Cup 2024 squad

Mitchell Marsh (capt), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa

Imran Tahir, who captained the team to their maiden title last season, has been retained

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2024Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for CPL 2024. Imran Tahir, who captained the team to their maiden title last season, has been retained.Gurbaz will return to the franchise, having been a part of them in 2022. He played six matches and scored 157 runs with two half-centuries.Among the other overseas players retained are Pakistan batters Saim Ayub and Azam Khan and South African allrounder Dwaine Pretorius. They have also retained a number of big West Indies names – Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul.Related

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• Royals bring back Theekshana, Patriots sign Hasaranga and Stubbs

• Trinbago Knight Riders sign Tim David and Jason Roy for CPL 2024

• Amir, Fakhar, Imad signed up by new CPL franchise Antigua & Barbuda Falcons

In all, Amazon Warriors have signed 14 players so far, which means they will need to sign three more players at the draft in July to round out their squad.Amazon Warriors beat Trinbago Knight Riders in a low-scoring final last season to seal their maiden CPL win. The defending champions will open their campaign against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, the new franchise, on August 30 in North Sound.The 2024 edition of the CPL will take place from August 29 to October 6 with games taking place in Antigua for the first time in ten years. Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago are the other venues. The National Stadium in Providence, Guyana, will host the final.

Guyana Amazon Warriors squad list

Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Saim Ayub, Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd, Azam Khan, Gudakesh Motie, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kevin Sinclair, Dwaine Pretorius, Keemo Paul, Shamar Joseph, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair

Fast bowler admits he suffered doubts after loss to Australia, but bounced back against Oman

Andrew Miller14-Jun-20241:22

Wood: ‘Happy with how I’ve bowled apart from one stinking over’

Mark Wood admitted England had been aware of “a few negatives flying around” in the lead-up to their crucial victory over Oman on Thursday, but said he had harnessed the “nervous energy” to help deliver a statement performance that has got the team’s T20 World Cup back on track.With nothing less than victory required, Wood proved too hot to handle in his fierce three-over burst against Oman. He struck twice in his opening powerplay over, including a return catch first-ball, and finished with 3 for 12 as Oman were rolled aside for 47 in 13.2 overs.England’s fate is still not entirely in their own hands despite rushing to their target in just 19 balls, to revive their flagging net run rate. Assuming they overcome Namibia on Saturday, in what will be the first T20I between the two teams, they will still require Australia to beat Scotland 24 hours later to confirm their place in the Super Eight.But, after a washout in their own match against Scotland, followed by a 36-run loss to Australia in Barbados last week that had left them needing such favours, Wood was delighted with the focussed display that England produced to see off Oman, given the doubts that had been swirling externally about the team’s readiness to defend the title that they won two years ago.”It feels great,” Wood said. “We had to put a stamp on the game … the table didn’t look great obviously before, but it looks a lot better now. There’s still work to do, but I’m feeling a lot better about things after this game.”Wood himself had come in for particular criticism during the Barbados leg of the campaign, not least in the Australia defeat where – on a surface that was not suited to raw pace – he was taken apart by David Warner in the powerplay, conceding three sixes and a four in a 22-run opening over.Mark Wood bowled with pace to claim three wickets against Oman•ICC via Getty Images

He came back well from that indignity, conceding just ten runs in his next two overs by resorting to a diet of cutters, but it was not sufficient to rescue England’s position in the contest.”I’ve been pretty happy with how it’s gone apart from that one really stinking over,” Wood said, having previously been England’s most economical option in the two overs he was able to bowl before the Scotland match was abandoned. “I know I’ve come in for a lot of flak and a lot of stick in the last few days, but I was determined to put on another performance.”I was probably more pleased with the fact that I came back [against Australia], showed some resilience and actually bought some cutters which isn’t natural to me. Normally I’m just trying to bowl quick so to use some guile and some skill, I was pleased. There were obviously doubts about me keeping my spot, but I’ve been quietly trying to keep my focus to perform for the team.”Part of that focus, Wood said, had come from working with David Young, the team psychologist who aided England’s 2019 World Cup campaign and who has been brought back to the squad on a consultancy basis from his current role with Manchester City.”Self-doubt is common for players,” he said. “I was speaking to Youngy about more of the things that I focus on, rather than outcome all the time.”Of course, you have doubts every game you play for England,” he added. “I don’t think there’s a cricketer who doesn’t have a little bit of self-doubt, but the nerves before the game, that’s what helps people bowl fast as well, because you have that nervous energy, that excitement.Related

• Warner on Wood and Archer: 'Just have to use their pace'

• Reinvigorated England seek confirmation that their campaign is back on track

• Cummins: Australia would never have manipulated England's exit

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• England rip through outclassed Oman to win in 99 balls

“You want to perform, you’re out there in front of cameras, the millions of people watching, the media, opposition … it’s all judgment, so you’ve got to just remember your focus and what you’re trying to do. In Twenty20 it’s a bit different, isn’t it? You can bowl really well and get whacked, or you can bowl rubbish and get two or three wickets. So, it’s the realisation that you’re doing the right things in your own mind.”Above all else, Wood was pleased with the ruthlessness of England’s victory over Oman, first with the ball and in the field, and then with the bat during their rapid run-chase. However, the team are still reliant on another display of ruthlessness from Australia against Scotland, if their mini-revival is to count for anything in the qualification stakes.All the talk in the build-up to the Oman match had centred around Josh Hazlewood’s suggestion that Australia might go easy on Scotland to help knock England out early. Far from being fired up by the notion, however, Wood said the team had taken that suggestion as a compliment, adding that they had no doubts that Australia would be gunning for victory, as ever, on Sunday.”I think that’s part of being England and Australia, isn’t it?” he said. “I think actually I saw it more as a respect thing, if I’m honest, that he was saying that England have done well against Australia in the recent past and thinks we’re a big threat and a big team, so I have no problem with it.”He did, however, admit it would be slightly strange to be cheering on Australia in the final group game.”I know I’m close to the Scottish border [coming from Durham] and Australia and Scotland are England’s rivals… but we’ll obviously be supporting Australia because we’re trying to get through,” he said.”We have got to show a little bit more and then fingers crossed for Australia. Then when you are through to that next stage every team can go on from there. I’m absolutely confident they’ll play the game their hardest, that’s the Australian way. They’ll play hard and fair and try to get the win.”

India’s chief selector said the move will also help them manage Hardik Pandya’s workload better

S Sudarshanan22-Jul-20241:26

Agarkar: Fitness the reason for choosing Suryakumar over Hardik as T20I captain

The decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain and hand the white-ball vice-captaincy to Shubman Gill was because “the captain should be on the park”, chief selector Ajit Agarkar has explained. In other words, Hardik Pandya’s struggles with his fitness had worked against him.”Why Surya was made the captain, because he is one of the deserving candidates,” Agarkar said at a press conference on Monday in Mumbai. “He’s been around the group over the last year, we get feedback from the dressing room a lot. [He has a] good cricket brain, and [is] one of the best T20 batters in the world.”One of the main issues [discussed] was that you want a captain who’s likely to play all the games. We think he is a deserving candidate and hopefully we’ll see over time how he develops into the role.”Related

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• 'Trust, freedom, success' – Gambhir lays out his coaching philosophy

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Hardik was India’s vice-captain in the shorter formats till the T20 World Cup 2024, stepping up to lead the team whenever Rohit Sharma was unavailable rested or not available. However, since the start of 2022, Hardik has featured in only 46 of the 79 T20Is India played. He suffered an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup in India last year, and was out of action till the start of IPL 2024. The value of a fully fit Hardik was seen at India’s T20 World Cup win, where he scored 144 runs at a strike rate of 151.57 and returned 11 wickets at an average of 17.36.Agarkar said the move to not give him additional leadership responsibility will allow the team management to manage his workload better. “We want him to be the player he can be, because those sorts of skillsets are difficult to find. Fitness has been a challenge for him over the last few years. Then it [appointing Hardik captain and losing him to injury] becomes a bit difficult for the coach as well as the selectors. We have now got a bit more time till the next T20 World Cup where we can look at a few things. He’s an important player and his performances are more important for us.”His fitness is a challenge and we wanted someone who is available more often than not. Surya has the qualities you need to succeed as a captain. Two years is a bit more time to try and look at some things a bit differently. In this way we can manage Hardik better.””Every time you play, your place is on the line. These conversations don’t happen overnight. We’ve discussed them over the last few months, leading up to the World Cup as well. You get feedback from the dressing room as well, and the biggest thing is that the captain should be on the park. It’s a prerequisite really. Hopefully Surya does it and so far, there hasn’t been a concern over his T20 batting anyway.”

Shubman Gill being groomed to be India captain

0:56

Agarkar: ‘Gill shows a lot of qualities that we hear from the dressing room’

Gill got his first taste of top-flight captaincy at IPL 2024 with Gujarat Titans, and then led India on the tour of Zimbabwe earlier this month, where they won the T20I series 4-1. His place in the ODI and Test teams is certain, and, with Rohit’s T20I retirement, he seems to be the preferred opener in the format alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.”Shubman is the guy, we feel. He’s a three-format player, seems to show a lot more qualities over the last year or so that we hear from the dressing room. That’s why we want to have somebody who can learn from the senior guys – Surya in this instance and Rohit, who is still around.”KL [Rahul] hasn’t been part of T20Is now for a little while. You look at some of the feedback that you get, we’ve got a chance to hit the reset button a little bit, we have got a bit more time to plan. When Hardik did get injured, [captaincy] was a challenge at the point when Rohit wasn’t playing. While Rohit was still around, [it] made our life easier – that he could come and lead. We don’t want that situation going forward. We don’t want to face the same challenges where suddenly we have to look around for a captain in case there are injuries or loss of form somewhere.”[Shubman] has shown some decent leadership qualities, and we want to try him to get experiences. There are no guarantees but at this point, that’s the thought.Rishabh Pant made his return to international cricket in the T20 World Cup 2024•Associated Press

Why Pant over Samson for the SL series?

Despite scoring a century in his last ODI – against South Africa – Sanju Samson did not find a spot in the squad for the Sri Lanka tour. Rahul retained his spot as first-choice wicketkeeper after a successful World Cup last year, Rishabh Pant came in as the back-up gloveman, leaving no room for Samson.”Before his unfortunate [car] accident, [Rishabh] has been a key player for us,” Agarkar explained. “KL has been terrific in one-day cricket and had a great World Cup. Unfortunately, someone had to miss out, and in this instance, it was Sanju. These guys will have to keep getting runs and performing otherwise you know there is a quality player waiting. With a big Test season coming up, we feel these two will have a huge role to play. To get Rishabh playing 50 overs will be a step forward, hopefully he’ll build on what he’s done so far.”With Pant only now making his way back in the longer formats, India did not want to burden him with the responsibility of being the vice-captain.”Rishabh’s been out for a long time, we need to get him back playing,” Agarkar said. “He is a key player, hasn’t had a lot of cricket. We’ve seen what he can do in international cricket, he’s won Test series almost off his own bat. We want him back playing, that’s the first thing. We don’t want to burden somebody again who’s coming back after over a year.”0:38

Gambhir: ‘Our responsibility to have Bumrah fresh for important games’

Jadeja has not been dropped

Agarkar also said that Ravindra Jadeja “was not dropped” from the ODI set-up, but was left out to give opportunities to Axar Patel.”It would have been really pointless to take both him and Axar for this short series. We know what Jaddu has done. He’s had a terrific World Cup. All options are open. But there was [a chance that only] one of them would have played all three games if we had taken both. There’s a big Test season coming up where he’s likely to feature in a lot of the Tests. I don’t think three games would have mattered. So, no, [he is] not at all dropped.”Agarkar also made it clear that with Shreyas Iyer, Rahul and Pant back in ODIs, Suryakumar is being looked at as a T20I player for India.

Some Test players likely to play Duleep Trophy

Agarkar said that some of India’s Test players are likely to play the first Duleep Trophy game this season. The Duleep Trophy this season will be held between September 5 and 22 in Anantpur. India are expected to start their home season with a Test series against Bangladesh in mid-September.”We haven’t discussed with Gautam yet – it’s not always easy – but there will certainly be enough players out of that squad that are likely to play the first [Duleep Trophy] game at least,” Agarkar said. “That’s the only game they can really play. We’ll sit down and discuss which guys really need to play. It’s nice for the competition if all your top players come and play. It is not easy with such a packed and long season, tough for the players if they have a week off somewhere to make them play. There will be some in the squad who will play.”Agarkar said that the goal for Mohammed Shami is to get fit in time for India’s home Tests. The fast bowler has not played any cricket since November 2023 and had to undergo ankle surgery later on. He has just started bowling again at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. “There are so many Tests coming up. In India, you don’t play three seamers in the XI but going forward we’ll need some depth and have conversations around it.”

Leicestershire also grateful for Ajinkya Rahane century as visitors secure fighting draw

ECB Reporters Network01-Sep-2024Leicestershire’s overseas stars laid the platform for their side to salvage a draw against Glamorgan, Australia’s Peter Handscomb finishing the day unbeaten on 139 to steer his side to safety.It was his last act of the English season before heading back to Australia on Monday, though the draw does little to help the mathematical chances of promotion for Leicestershire, 22 points behind second placed Middlesex.India batter Ajinkya Rahane had also scored a century as part of the visitors’ rearguard efforts, while Liam Trevaskis formed a solid partnership with Handscomb to see the game out, Leicestershire reaching 369 for 6, a lead of 70 runs in their second innings when bad light cut proceedings short.Glamorgan were given flickering hope from an unlikely source, the part-time offspin of Kiran Carlson bringing two wickets, including that of Rahane. Dan Douthwaite was the only other wicket-taker on a day of toil as the hybrid pitch in Cardiff refused to deteriorate.Leicestershire’s hopes of survival depended strongly on their international pair of Rahane and Handscomb and they did not disappoint in the morning session. Rahane moved smoothly on to three figures before he fell to Carlson, getting an edge to a wide ball which was not quite short enough to cut, caught behind by Chris Cooke for 102.That was shortly before lunch and just after the break it was Carlson who made the breakthrough again, a bit more lift outside off stump causing Rehan Ahmed to steer the ball to Mason Crane in a deep gully position.Louis Kimber kept Glamorgan interested with a jittery start, providing a caught-and-bowled chance for legspinner Crane who dropped his fourth catch of the innings, this time from a difficult one-handed attempt to his right.Kimber left one ball from Timm van der Gugten which went just over the top of middle stump, then edged and was given out caught behind by Cooke, though it was adjudged not to have quite carried after both umpires consulted.Douthwaite’s mixed bag brought the breakthrough via two half-volleys, the first of which was crashed for four by Kimber but the second was smashed in the air to Carlson at extra cover who took the smart catch. Meanwhile, Handscomb carried on smoothly, passing three figures and calmly accumulating – carrying his side’s hopes on his shoulders.Glamorgan had long periods of bowling spin, possibly because of poor light, and also resorted to some creative tactics such as eight catchers in front of the bat, four on each side of the wicket in an arrowhead formation.With Trevaskis forming a solid partnership with Handscomb, the drama dried up before bad light brought an end to proceedings.

Mohsin Naqvi said that all teams including India will participate in the event and does not see them “cancel or postpone” their trip

PTI and ESPNcricinfo07-Oct-2024Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi is confident that the Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in Pakistan and all teams, including India, will participate in the tournament.The Champions Trophy is scheduled to start on February 19, with the final set for March 9, and Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi earmarked as the venues. India haven’t sent their team to Pakistan since July 2008 due to political tensions between the two countries.However, Naqvi is confident India will make it to Pakistan next year and that the preparations are on schedule. He further stated that the stadiums would “definitely” be in a much better shape to host the ICC tournament.”The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” he said in Lahore. “The stadiums will also be ready to host the matches on schedule and any remaining work would be completed after the tournament. In a way, you can say that we are going to have a brand new stadium.”Related

• Akram urges India to travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025

• PCB proposes February 19 start for Champions Trophy 2025

• Champions Trophy 2025: PCB draft schedule has all India games in Lahore

• Babar Azam resigns from Pakistan white-ball captaincy

Naqvi was asked whether he would meet S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of India, who will be visiting Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) conclave on October 15-16, but he played it down. “He is coming but I don’t think the details of his meetings have been set.” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla had recently said that the final call about India visiting Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be taken by the Indian government.He was also asked about Babar Azam’s resignation from white-ball captaincy and his replacement to which the PCB chief said that he had told the selection committee to take their time and make a long-term decision. “I have told them to take a decision after careful consideration because the captain’s position is important.”Naqvi also said he had inquired from the selection committee – including the captain and head coach of the teams – whether it was the right time to introduce some fresh blood in the national sides. “They said they are okay with the current set-up of players so I told them ‘fine, it is your call’.”

On Pant not keeping wickets after picking up an injury, Rohit said, “It’s just to be a little careful about where he is at and what he is to us”

Ashish Pant20-Oct-20241:59

Rohit: ‘We need to be extra careful with someone like Pant’

Rohit Sharma said India wanted to be “extra careful” when it came to Rishabh Pant’s knees – on which he has had major surgeries after a life-threatening car accident – and that was the reason for keeping him off the field after he picked up a knock on his right knee during New Zealand’s first innings.”He’s had a massive operation on his leg, so we all know what he went through,” Rohit said after India went down by eight wickets to New Zealand in Bengaluru on Sunday. “It’s just to be a little careful about where he is at and what he is to us. Even when he was batting, he was not comfortably running. He was trying to only put the ball in the stands.”Pant hurt the knee on the second day of the Test when he was attempting to stump Devon Conway in the 37th over of the New Zealand innings. He failed to collect the ball, which hit him. Pant winced in pain and went off the field straightaway. Dhruv Jurel took the gloves from Pant and kept for the rest of the first innings and the 27.4 overs of New Zealand’s second innings.Related

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• Rohit praises Sarfaraz and Pant for showing maturity

• Rachin Ravindra headlines NZ's first Test win in India since 1988

• Eccentric, electric, entertaining – the Sarfaraz & Pant show

On the fourth day, Pant came out to bat in India’s second innings and scored 99 off 105 balls batting for more than three hours, though he was at times struggling to run.It’s only been six months since Pant’s comeback after being away from competitive cricket for close to a year-and-a-half following the car crash in December 2022. He made a return to competitive cricket in IPL 2024, and then to international cricket at the T20 World Cup. The two-Test series against Bangladesh late last month was his first in the format in close to two years.”He’s had a lot of minor surgeries [and] one big surgery on his knee and he went through a lot of trauma, to be honest, in the last one-and-a-half years,” Rohit said. “So it’s just about being extra careful, not [just] careful with him.”When you’re keeping, you have to bend every ball with your knee going down and the wicket being what it was, we thought it is the right thing to do for him to stay inside and then get 100% ready for the next one.”While batting, though, Pant was his usual self, smashing nine fours and five sixes, one of which went 107 metres long and out of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.”No one knows what goes in his mind, to be honest,” Rohit said with a smile. “He decides what he wants to do. I don’t think there’s anything that you need to speak to him [about]. We spoke to him about ‘please understand the situation’ and stuff like that, but that’s Rishabh – he wants to play in a certain way and then, as a captain, as a coach, we want to back that because like he has produced results for us having that mindset. So let him go and play freely.”