All posts by csb10.top

Bangladesh’s sports ministry said on Monday that Durbar Rajshahi owner Shafiqur Rahman has vowed to clear the team’s dues to players by February 10. Rahman had earlier said that the dues would be cleared by February 2.On Saturday, Asif Mahmud, the government advisor on matters of sports and youth affairs, said that he had spoken to Rahman, warning him of the consequences if the dues were not cleared. The Bangladesh government has also formed a fact-finding committee to look into the non-payment of players.The ministry issuing a press statement on a matter of the BPL – a tournament organised by the BCB – is unprecedented.Related

• Taskin, Tamim headline ESPNcricinfo's BPL 2024-25 team of the tournament

• Rajshahi's overseas players stuck in Dhaka hotel over BPL payment issues

• Bangladesh government forms a committee to look into player payment issue at BPL

“He [Rahman] accepted his fault and promised to clear all dues of the team in three instalments of 25 percent each on February 3, 7 and 10,” the release said. “He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”Even as the franchise continued to miss payment deadlines, the team’s overseas players were left stranded in the team hotel in Dhaka. Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Miguel Cummins (West Indies) were all waiting for some portion of their payments to come in. A couple of them had been paid 25%, while some haven’t been paid at all. To make things worse for the players, the Rajshahi team bus driver has allegedly said in interviews that he was holding cricketers’ kit bags as ransom as he too hadn’t been paid.Burl was the first to get an air ticket and he left early on Monday. According to a message from the Rajshahi franchise, Haris is scheduled to leave on Monday afternoon while the others have flights scheduled in the next two days.Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL season.Anamul Haque had first claimed that the local players hadn’t received any payments prior to the start of the tournament – they are usually played 25% before the tournament starts. They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month, while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish, but they fell short on net run-rate.

Completing a remarkable turnaround, India wrapped up a famous Test victory at Optus Stadium with a 295-run victory over Australia in a one-sided result set to cause aftershocks in the latest tussle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.The result was essentially a formality throughout the fourth day despite counterattacking knocks from Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. India’s deserved victory was official just after tea when Harshit Rana knocked over Alex Carey as they drew first blood in the five-match series.Related

• 'I honestly think we'll see Mitch Marsh bowl' – Lyon's Adelaide update

• On top down under: Siraj doesn't take baggage of home season to Australia

• Gambhir to miss tour game in Canberra for personal reasons

• 'Be nice, be disciplined, have no fear' – How Bumrah masterminded India's Perth rout

• Jaiswal raises a ceiling that was already sky high

It was a memorable performance from India, who drew on a heroic effort from stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah. He claimed eight wickets for the match, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli produced outstanding centuries in India’s second innings to decimate a flagging Australia.India had largely been written off after an unprecedented 3-0 home whitewash against New Zealand. They entered the series-opener without having played an official match on tour and were shorthanded without captain Rohit Sharma and injured batter Shubman Gill.Under intense pressure, coach Gautam Gambhir made the right moves and the brave selection calls, which included veteran spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being left out, were vindicated.Bumrah, particularly, deserves a lot of credit for galvanising a new-look team and he led from the front with a mesmerising spell late on day one to haul India back into the match after they had been bundled out for 150 having won the toss.Usman Khawaja fell to a miscued hook•Getty Images

There is set to be recriminations for Australia, who underwhelmed in their first Test since March’s New Zealand tour. There will be questions raised over the limited preparations of a number of players.Australia’s misfiring top-order will be particularly under the spotlight, especially No. 3 Marnus Labuschagne who scored 5 runs in the match to continue a lengthy form slump.Having started so well on the opening day, Australia’s bowling wilted in India’s second innings with captain Pat Cummins enduring a rare off match. Cummins had not played a red-ball match since March, preferring his series build-up through three 50-over games in the lead-up, and he finished with the modest match figures of 3 for 153 from 40.4 overs.Australia appeared flummoxed with the changing conditions of the pitch, which was spicy on day one before flattening out for most of day two and three. Cracks did widen as the match wore on and created up-and-down bounce to make batting difficult on the fourth day.Resuming at 12 for 3, after a disastrous start amid the shadows late on day three, Australia confronted an India attack eyeing to finish things off quickly.Australia’s hopes of chasing down a record 534 runs were forlorn but they aimed to at least muster some spirit which had seemingly been broken over the last couple of days.After a golden duck in the first innings, having returned to his favoured No. 4 position, Steven Smith fronted up to his nemesis Bumrah, who on the first ball of the day’s play had a loud lbw appeal turned down although in an anti-climax it was a no-ball.Travis Head edged behind for an excellent 89•Getty Images

Smith was relieved when he got off the mark on his fourth delivery with a trademark drive through the covers. But Australia’s woes reared in the next over after opener Usman Khawaja fell off the first short ball of the day’s play when he top-edged quick Mohammed Siraj and was caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant running back.Having had lbw issues recently, Smith made a technical adjustment and his trigger movement was not as pronounced as in the first innings when Bumrah pinned him in front of the stumps. Smith still faced a battle and copped a painful blow in the ribs from debutant quick Rana that left him on his back and in agony.He bravely continued batting and combined well with Head, who backed his aggressive instincts and counterattacked as they produced Australia’s first half-century partnership of the match.India dried up the scoring for Smith with Bumrah packing the legside with fielders as pressure built. Smith’s 60-ball resistance ended when he nicked off a superb back of a length delivery from a pumped-up Siraj that straightened off the seam and caught the edge.After a tough return to bowling, where his modestly-paced seamers were treated with disdain on day three by India’s batters, Marsh hoped to finish his home Test match strongly.He was all at sea before the lunch break and hit on the gloves several times but managed to hang in. Marsh and Head, who both entered the match with a limited build-up having been on paternity leave, made batting look relatively easy after the interval in a time of day that had been the best for batting through the match.Head motored towards a century and as per usual attacked any width and continually flayed through the offside, while Marsh struck several lusty aerial blows in a speedy half-century partnership.But Bumrah returned and he produced a superb back of a length delivery that caught Head’s edge on 89 and prompted impassioned celebrations from Kohli.Marsh also missed a milestone when on 47 he chopped on to allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who capped an impressive debut with his first Test wicket.Mitchell Starc was sharply held at short leg, giving Washington Sundar his first wicket of the match, and it wasn’t long before India claimed a victory they will savour for some time as the pressure starts to intensify on Australia.

Amelia Kerr has made an immediate impact at Sydney Sixers, combining with Ellyse Perry for the match-winning WBBL partnership against Melbourne Stars.The star New Zealand allrounder was player of the match in her Sixers debut on Friday at Junction Oval as they beat the home side by six runs under the DLS method.Related

• Perry continues fine form as Sixers edge out Hurricanes

• King, Ainsworth combine in Scorchers' thrilling win; Knight-Bates pair maintain Thunder's strong start

Sixers’ chase started badly, when Kim Garth’s first delivery had Sarah Bryce caught by Meg Lanning at first slip in the second over for 1.That brought Kerr to the crease in her first game since tearing her right quad in the October 24 one-dayer against India. Kerr made 46 not out from 41 balls, including five fours, and Perry’s unbeaten 48 from 44 deliveries featured six boundaries as they took the game away from Stars.She also took two wickets, including Stars top-scorer Annabel Sutherland.There were concerns that Kerr, the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup, might be sidelined for much of the WBBL. But she has recovered from her injury ahead of time. Kerr has signed with the Sixers for three seasons after five WBBL campaigns at the Brisbane Heat.Perry won the toss and Stars made a bright start, before she removed Ines McKeon in the fourth over. Stars stuttered from 32 for 1 to 50 for 3, before Sutherland gave some substance with her 42 from 36 balls, with two fours and two sixes.Kerr dismissed Sutherland in the final over and also claimed the wicket of Tess Flintoff two balls later to finish with 2 for 36 from four overs.English star Sophie Ecclestone was the pick of the Sixers attack, claiming 3 for 19 from four overs.The result means the two Melbourne teams both carry losses into their Saturday derby at Junction Oval, while Sydney improve to a 3-2 record.

Zimbabwe have named the uncapped duo – allrounder Tashinga Musekiwa and fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa – for the T20 World Cup regional qualifiers to be played in Kenya this month, to try and earn a spot for the main tournament in 2026. The selectors also recalled fast bowler Trevor Gwandu in the 15-man squad which sees 11 players from the series against India in July.Zimbabwe go into the six-team T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier B under new head coach Justin Sammons with a young squad with an average age of 26, a Zimbabwe Cricket release said. The team will be led by the experienced Sikandar Raza. The qualifier also includes Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and the Seychelles. The top two sides from these will progress to the regional final to be joined by Namibia and Uganda.Musekiwa, 24, has just 21 T20s to his name – apart from one first-class game and 29 one-dayers – for Mid West Rhinos. His T20 high score is an unbeaten 38 and his best figures are 3 for 24 out of his total wickets tally of 10. He most recently played for Zimbabwe Emerging against the South Africa Emerging side in two one-dayers, and scored an unbeaten 51 in the second.Maposa, 21, has featured in five first-class games for 14 wickets and is yet to play white-ball games in domestic cricket. His last series was the Logan Cup in which he played four red-ball games for Matabeleland Tuskers in January-February for 12 wickets with one five-for.”We have picked a young squad that is good enough to make us qualify and I am confident they will deliver in Kenya,” convener of selectors David Mutendera said in the release. “If you look at the direction we are taking, with the 2026 T20 World Cup and the future in mind, we have been blooding in youngsters who will definitely do the job like they did in winning single matches against Bangladesh and India in our last two series.”Raza is still there for now, but we had to start the process of building a younger team for the future.”Gwandu makes a return having last played for Zimbabwe in December 2023, against Ireland at home. After playing the domestic T20 competition for Southern Rocks in March this year, he too played for Zimbabwe Emerging, but in the African Games in Accra, Ghana, where Zimbabwe won the tournament.

Zimbabwe squad

Sikandar Raza (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava

Kent’s Division One status is dangling by a thread after a dismal second day against Hampshire in the Vitality County Championship at Canterbury.The hosts slumped to 64 for 5 for in reply to Hampshire’s first innings total of 403, with Kyle Abbott claiming 3 for 23.What had looked like an even contest at the end of day one tilted drastically in Hampshire’s favour during the morning session. Tom Prest hit a majestic 102, and Brad Wheal chipped in with his highest first-class score of 61 as Hampshire were finally dismissed for 403. Kent could be relegated this week if they lose and results elsewhere go against them. They still trail by 339 at stumps.The visitors began day two on 213 for 7 and looked comfortable for the first hour until Joey Evison came on from the Nackington Road End and removed Abbott for 26, victim of a brilliant slip catch by Jack Leaning.Prest, who only had 15 at the start of play, responded by dumping Matt Parkinson into the Old Dover Road hedges to bring up his fifty and he took 21 from the over.He then reached his 100 from exactly 100 balls by dropping to one knee and smearing Charlie Stobo for six over deep midwicket before he finally fell to the same bowler after a juggling catch from Jas Singh on the deep midwicket boundary.Even the last wicket pair put on 71. Wheal twisted the knife with an aggressive cameo that included a pulled six off Singh, and it was 377 for 9 when rain ushered in the lunch break.Wheal was stuck on 49 for 15 balls before he nudged Parkinson for a single and he then clubbed Stobo for a six over square leg to take Hampshire past 400 before he was bowled playing on to Stobo.Kent’s response was all too predictable. Mohammad Abbas strangled Tawanda Muyeye, who was perhaps unfortunate to be given caught behind for five at the start of Kent’s sixth over.Abbott then took three wickets in five balls. Daniel Bell-Drummond went first in the 11th over, caught for ten by Fletcha Middleton, a ball after he’d been dropped by Prest. Jack Leaning and Joe Denly then both went for second-ball ducks, the former caught by Albert, the latter lbw to a ball that hit him above the knee roll.Joey Evison made 21 before Wheal had him caught behind but the hosts were spared further punishment when play was suspended at 4.34pm due to a combination of bad light and increasingly heavy rain, which persuaded the umpires there was no realistic chance of resuming.

England have announced their home fixtures for next season, with the men’s and women’s teams taking on India during concurrent series in the middle of summer. The ECB has also confirmed that Lord’s will host its first women’s Test when India return for a one-off game in 2026.The 2025 season will see a joint visit by West Indies men’s and women’s teams, while England Men will face Zimbabwe in a one-off Test before finishing the summer by hosting South Africa for ODI and T20I series.The international season commences at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury on May 21, with England Women playing West Indies in the first of three T20Is, to be followed by three ODIs.The men will begin with a four-day Test against Zimbabwe – their first international meeting since the 2007 World T20 – to be staged at Trent Bridge from May 22-25, before the white-ball teams play three ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England Men’s five-Test series against India will kick off at Headingley on June 20, before back-to-back games at Edgbaston and Lord’s, followed by Old Trafford and The Oval.At the same time, England Women will take on India in five T20Is, the first of which will be at Trent Bridge on June 28, followed by a three-match ODI series that will also see the teams play at Lord’s.With the Hundred likely to take up much of August, England Men’s international programme will conclude with six white-ball games against South Africa before travelling to Ireland for a three-match ODI series.”Staging England Men’s and England Women’s series alongside each other has been popular with fans and supported the continued growth of the women’s game, with both the Ashes last year and the Pakistan series earlier this year proving successful,” Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive officer, said.”I’m excited we’ll be doing the same again for the West Indies and India series next year. Cricket fans are in for a real treat, and I hope they’ll be out in force to support both men’s and women’s sides.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“India touring is always a big draw and a highlight of any cricket summer. The last men’s Test series here was a nailbiter and I’m sure next year’s clash will be just as exciting, while our women’s series are always fiercely competitive. I’m delighted we’ll also be welcoming both West Indies teams back again for white-ball series, following this year’s men’s Test series.”To be welcoming Zimbabwe back for a men’s Test Match will be a historic moment, more than 20 years since their last visit. Test cricket is so beloved in this country, and we know that we have an important role to play in supporting developing Test-cricketing nations so that this format of the game thrives long into the future.”I’m also delighted we can confirm that India Women will return in 2026 to take on England Women in the first-ever women’s Test match at Lord’s. It will be a truly special occasion, and one of real significance.”

England home international fixtures 2025

England Women vs West Indies Women
1st Vitality T20I – May 21, Canterbury
2nd Vitality T20I – May 23, Hove
3rd Vitality T20I – May 26, Chelmsford1st Metro Bank ODI – May 30, Derby
2nd Metro Bank ODI – June 4, Leicester
3rd Metro Bank ODI – June 7, TauntonEngland Men vs Zimbabwe Men
Only Rothesay Men’s Test – May 22-25, Trent BridgeEngland Men vs West Indies Men
1st Metro Bank ODI – May 29, Edgbaston
2nd Metro Bank ODI – June 1, Cardiff
3rd Metro Bank ODI – June 3, The Kia Oval1st Vitality T20I – June 6, Chester-le-Street
2nd Vitality T20I – June 8, Bristol
3rd Vitality T20I – June 10, SouthamptonEngland Men vs India Men
1st Rothesay Test – June 20-24, Headingley
2nd Rothesay Test – July 1-6, Edgbaston
3rd Rothesay Test – July 10-14, Lord’s
4th Rothesay Test – July 23-27, Emirates Old Trafford
5th Rothesay Test – July 31- August 4, The Kia OvalEngland Women vs India Women
1st Vitality T20I – June 28, Trent Bridge
2nd Vitality T20I – July 1, Bristol
3rd Vitality T20I – July 4, The Kia Oval
4th Vitality T20I – July 9, Emirates Old Trafford
5th Vitality T20I – July 12, Edgbaston1st Metro Bank ODI – July 16, Southampton
2nd Metro Bank ODI – July 19, Lord’s
3rd Metro Bank ODI – July 22, Chester-le-StreetEngland Men vs South Africa Men
1st Metro Bank ODI – September 2, Headingley
2nd Metro Bank ODI – September 4, Lord’s
3rd Metro Bank ODI – September 7, Utilita Bowl1st Vitality T20I – September 10, Cardiff
2nd Vitality T20I – September 12, Emirates Old Trafford
3rd Vitality T20I – September 14, Trent Bridge

Ben Slater took full advantage of Guildford’s short square boundaries to hit nine sixes and 12 fours in a brilliant List A best 164 off 119 balls as Notts Outlaws overpowered Surrey by 107 runs.And Rob Lord, a 23-year-old seamer making only his second senior appearance, was Notts’ star with the ball in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 2,000 at Woodbridge Road, impressing hugely with 5 for 45 as Surrey were bowled out for 271 in reply.The Outlaws’ third win in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup’s Group B boosts their hopes of reaching the 50-over competition’s later stages, while for Surrey it was sadly a fifth defeat in five matches.Only Dom Sibley, following up his 149 against Warwickshire two days’ previously with 72 off 81 balls, threatened with the bat for Surrey as Lord spearheaded an excellent Notts’ performance in the field.Tailender Conor McKerr did have some late fun with three sixes and eight fours in a violent 36-ball 71 – the fast bowler’s highest score in any senior cricket – but by then it was just damage limitation for Surrey.Opener Slater was joined by Jack Haynes, who struck two sixes and nine fours in a fluent 85-ball 86, in a superb partnership of 187 in 28 overs that is a List A second wicket record for Notts against Surrey. Both Slater and Haynes batted beautifully, with Notts’ eventual total also a record for List A games between these two counties.Haynes, like Slater, will certainly always remember the day with affection as he came into the game with four ducks from his previous four innings in the competition. Yet if Haynes was anxious about extending such a remarkable and unwanted run of noughts he did not show it after Freddie McCann had hit five fours in a bright 28 before mis-hitting Ryan Patel’s medium pace to mid off in the seventh over.Slater’s first six was pulled off McKerr, taking him to 22 and signalling more positive intent after a comparatively cautious start, but it was only once he had reached his eighth List A hundred – and seen Haynes cloth one to mid on the ball after thumping McKerr for a massive six – that the left-hander went into overdrive.An over from legspinner Cameron Steel cost 27 runs as Slater pulled and swept him for three sixes, adding two fours and a single for good measure, and time and again Slater flicked or bludgeoned the ball high over the legside ropes until, in the 46th over, he drove James Taylor straight to Ben Foakes at extra cover.By then the Notts total was 345, Haseeb Hameed and Lyndon James had both gone cheaply attempting to hit out, but Matthew Montgomery had also played a lovely cameo of 38 in 21 balls before lofting McKerr to long-off.Tom Moores, with a jaunty unbeaten 24, ensured that Notts reached the sort of challenging total that Slater’s heroics deserved, and Surrey’s response only really looked up to that challenge when Sibley and Patel were adding 66 in 11 overs for the first wicket and when Ben Geddes also played well for a 32-ball 34 at No. 3.Patel pulled and drove sixes in his 35, before hitting James to deep midwicket, and Geddes helped Sibley take Surrey on to 115 for 1 until a quite brilliant catch by keeper Moores proved to be a key moment in the game.Geddes flashed hard at Lord and the thick edge seemed to be flying away to the boundary, only for Moores to fling himself high to his right to clutch the ball in one glove.Rory Burns was then leg-before for a duck to slow left-armer Liam Patterson-White, another Notts bowler to impress even though Sibley did pull a rare short one from him over mid-wicket for one of his three sixes.Surrey’s slide continued when Foakes (10) chipped Lord to cover, off a leading edge, and Steel (7) nicked the bustling Lord through to Moores.Sibley’s departure, in the 31st over, left Surrey in an almost hopeless position – the opener held by bowler Lord when he skied an attempted pull – and, to his great joy, Lord’s fifth wicket arrived two overs later when Josh Blake (10) hooked straight to long leg.After that, McKerr enjoyed himself as the dominant partner in a 71-run stand for the eighth wicket with Nathan Barnwell (17), but after he perished to a catch at long on the end came quickly. Both James and Luke Fletcher finished with two wickets.

Central Sparks 123 for 7 (E Jones 43, Corteen-Coleman 3-14) beat South East Stars 122 for 8 (Dunkley 58, Arlott 4-21) by three wicketsEmily Arlott took a hat-trick and then hit the winning runs as the Central Sparks beat the South East Stars by three wickets in a Charlotte Edwards Cup thriller at Canterbury.Arlott took four for 21 and Katie George two for 31 as the Stars were limited to 122 for eight, Sophia Dunkley, the top scorer with 58 from 49 balls.16-year-old spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman then took three for 14 for the Stars, but Sparks skipper Eve Jones looked to have taken the game away from the Stars with a crucial stand of 59 with Courtney Webb.Two late wickets from Ryana MacDonald-Gay left the Sparks needing eight from the last over, but Arlott hit Tash Farrant’s first two balls for fours to seal the win with four balls to spare, the Sparks finishing on 123 for seven.It was a poignant occasion for a crowd of 1,277, with six Kent-raised players representing the Stars in their final scheduled appearance at the Spitfire Ground.The hosts chose to bat but struggled to score early on and collapsed late in the innings when five wickets fell for four runs in the space of nine balls.Bryony Smith was run out for seven, when Katie George deflected a violent drive from Sophia Dunkley on to the stumps at the non-strikers end.Paige Scholfield had made a run-a-ball 27 when she tried to pull Charis Pavely and was brilliantly caught by a forward diving George at deep-midwicket.Dunkley, who might have been run out for four, played the anchor role, pulling Arlott through cow corner to reach her 50 and bring up the Stars 100 in the 16th over.It was 107 for two at the end of the 17th, but Arlott’s treble dashed any hopes of a surge in the death overs. Dunkley was caught at mid-off by Courtney Webb, Tash Farrant snared by Jones at mid-on and she completed the hat-trick when she bowled Ryana McDonald-Gay.George then twisted the knife with two wickets in as many balls, bowling Phoebe Franklin for 12 and then bowling Chloe Hill for a golden duck.Arlott claimed her fourth wicket when she had Alexa Stonehouse caught for three by Davina Perrin off the final ball of the innings.The target looked low, but 16-year-old Corteen-Coleman, playing at the ground next door to the hospital she was born in, removed both openers in the third over, bowling Perrin for one and Abigail Baker middle stump for 12 four balls later.Farrant removed Abbey Freeborn for three, caught by Corteen-Coleman and George was stumped by Chloe Hill off Kalea Moore for six, when she mistakenly thought the keeper hadn’t gathered the ball and charged down the wicket.At 41 for four the Stars were well in the game, but Jones was dropped on 17 and with the run rate never rising above eight she and Webb were able to play cautiously.Corteen-Coleman revived the Stars when she bowled Webb for 31 and although her final delivery, to Jones was dropped by Stonehouse, the batter went at the start of the 19th, caught by Scholfield off MacDonald-Gay for 43. When MacDonald-Gay then bowled Pavely for a duck the Sparks were left needing eight off the final over, but Arlott drove Farrant’s first ball for four and then brilliantly scooped the second over Hill’s head to clinch the victory and finish on 19 not out.

Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre will be leading India Under-19 at the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai from December 12. The BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the tournament, with the side also including aggressive opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Vihaan Malhotra will be Mhatre’s deputy at the competition.Mhatre, meanwhile, hasn’t been in good form recently. He had impressed for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025, where he was called up to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad, with 240 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of nearly 189. But since then, he has been inconsistent with his returns.Mhatre got just 27 runs in four one-day matches on the England tour, but hit back to be the top-scorer with 340 runs in the two Youth Tests. In Australia, after that, he got just ten runs in three one-day games and 38 runs in the Youth Tests against Australia Under-19. In four first-class matches during India’s domestic season, which included a game for India A against South Africa A, Mhatre managed only 156 runs at an average of 26. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy fixture that followed, he scored 18 against Railways, though he did record an unbeaten 53-ball 110 against Vidarbha on Friday, leading Mumbai to a seven-wicket win.At the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup, which will be played in the one-day format, India are in Group A with Pakistanand two qualifying teams while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and another qualifier are in Group B. India open their campaign December 12 against one of the two qualifiers.

India squad for Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup

Ayush Mhatre (capt), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra (vice-capt), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh*, Udhav Mohan, Aaron George*Subject to fitness clearanceStandby players: Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, B.K. Kishore, Aditya Rawat

Ravindra Jadeja is set to play for Saurashtra in the second round of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy starting October 25.Jadeja’s inclusion will strengthen their attack against Madhya Pradesh at home in Rajkot, on the same pitch where spinners took for 31 of the 35 wickets to fall in last week’s fixture between Saurashtra and Karnataka.Jadeja, the top-ranked Test allrounder, is currently on a break, having most recently played in the two home Tests against West Indies earlier this month. He scored his sixth Test hundred – an unbeaten 104 – in the first Test in Ahmedabad and took eight wickets in the series as India won 2-0.He wasn’t selected in India’s ODI squad that is currently in Australia, which Jadeja said was “not a surprise” after the team management spoke to him about their decision.”It is a good thing that they communicated the reason behind my omission,” Jadeja had said during the Delhi Test against West Indies. “I am happy about that. But whenever I get a chance next, I will try and do what I have done all these years.”If I get a chance in the World Cup and there are many ODIs before and if I do well there, it will be a good thing for Indian cricket. Winning a World Cup is everyone’s dream. We narrowly missed out last time, so next time we will try and make up for it.”When he plays against Madhya Pradesh, Jadeja will reunite with his Saurashtra spin twin Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. Dharmendrasinh picked up a match haul of 10 for 203 as Saurashtra earned points for taking the first-innings lead against Karnataka.Jadeja had most recently featured for Saurashtra in the previous Ranji season. He took 12 wickets in two matches – both all against Delhi – including a best of 7 for 38.