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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised the BCCI on rewarding players for their hardwork after the board announced the Annual Central Contracts on Wednesday. India captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli expectedly retained their place in the top bracket, with Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah also included in the Grade A+ category. However, the biggest takeaway from the new central contracts was the decision to axe the out-of-favour duo of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer . Both Kishan and Iyer didn't turn up for their respective state teams for Ranji Trophy games, despite clear directives from the board. Both the players are currently not part of the squad for the ongoing Test series against England. Taking to social media, Manjrekar praised the BCCI for rewarding players who have the hunger to represent India and are not afraid of facing the "acid test" at international level. "Well done to @BCCI for rewarding players who want to play the toug

Veteran India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha on Thursday said nothing can be done 'forcefully' if a cricketer does not want to play domestic cricket, while adding that it is the base and every player should value it enough to prosper. Saha's reaction came after Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were on Wednesday excluded from the annual player retainership list for the 2023-24 season, with the BCCI saying in a statement that the two cricketers 'were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations'. "That is BCCI's decision and personal decision of concerned players. Forcefully, you can't do anything," the stumper said about Kishan and Iyer's axe. These two players were part of the Indian side until very recently, having also featured in the 50-overs World Cup last year. While Kishan was last part of the Test squad during India's Tour of South Africa in December, Iyer played the first two Tests of the ongoing series again

Former England captain Alastair Cook criticised the batting of India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after the player failed to play a noticeable knock in the Ranchi Test. Jadeja, who batted at number 5 ahead of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in both innings against England, failed to help the team's cause by returning scores of run-a-ball 12 and 4 off 33. Cook opined that the India star finds it hard to maintain a balance between attack and defence whenever he bats at the number 5 spot. "Jadeja in particular showed probably why he should be batting a little bit lower." Cook told TNT Sports . "Yes he can score runs but the ability, under pressure, to find that balance between attack and defence under pressure - pressure does funny thing to you. "Jadeja is a world-class all-rounder, but batting at five there he struggled in terms of taking no risks because he didn't want to get out or trying to put a bit of pressure back on as a batter." On the other h

Amid the controversy surrounding the Decision Review System (DRS) in the ongoing Test series between India and England, former cricketer Michael Vaughan has come up with a "simple solution" to tackle the challenges of the technology. England, who won the opening game in Hyderabad, have expressed their disappointment regarding some of the decions that have gone against them, pertaining to DRS and the umpire's call. After being hammered by India in the third Test in Rajkot (434 runs), England captain Ben Stokes had urged the officials to get rid of the umpire's call. Stokes' comments came after opener Zak Crawley found himself on the wrong end of the umpire's call. The umpire had declared Crawley out, a decision that was upheld by the DRS. However, upon zooming the DRS footage, it was shown that the ball was missing the top of the leg stump, leaving Stokes and the visitors fuming. England found themselves in a similar situation in the fourth Test, this tim

NZ vs AUS, 1st Test Day 1 Live Updates : New Zealand will take on Australia in the first Test of a two-match series at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Australia have confirmed their playing XI for the series opener, while the hosts will make a late call on their final spot due to Devon Conway 's injury. Conway was ruled out of the series with Henry Nicholls replacing him in the squad. There has been rain in the lead up to the match, but clear and cool conditions in Wellington are expected. ( Live Scorecard ) source https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/new-zealand-vs-australia-live-score-updates-1st-test-day-1-5145004

India defeated England by five wickets in the fourth Test and gained an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Chasing 192 on Day 4, India lost five wickets with 120 runs on the board. However, Shubman Gill (52*) and Dhruv Jurel (39*) struck an important 84-run partnership and took the hosts across the line. The victory marked India's 17th consecutive Test series win at home while it was England's first series loss in the tenure of their head coach Brendon McCullum . After the win, a very heartfelt moment got captured as India head coach Rahul Dravid did not shy away from displaying his emotions and joyously celebrated the team's victory.  In a video shared by BCCI on X (formerly Twitter), Dravid was seen  jumping and sharing hugs with Jurel and Gill after the duo sealed the series for India.  No words just pure emotions ? A series win to remember #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/AtyB7tJq4c — BCCI (@BCCI) February 26, 2024 "I

Black Caps opening batsman Devon Conway has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia with a thumb injury, New Zealand Cricket said Wednesday on the eve of the game. Conway will miss the match, starting in Wellington on Thursday, after hurting his thumb in a Twenty20 defeat to Australia last Friday in Auckland. New Zealand went on to lose the T20 series 3-0. He has been sidelined for the first Test after scans showed damage to his left thumb, New Zealand Cricket said. Experienced batsman Henry Nicholls has been called up as cover. "It's disappointing for Devon to be ruled out on the eve of an important match," said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead. "He's a class player batting at the top of the order for us and I know he was really looking forward to this series." But Stead welcomed the return of Nicholls, who was originally left out of the squad. "It's nice to have a player of Henry's calibre to call on," Stead said. &qu

Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar believes that Mumbai Indians will benefit from the change in captaincy and said that it will allow Rohit Sharma to play more freely in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Hardik Pandya completed a sensational trade from Gujarat Titans to MI ahead of the new season and he ended Rohit's ten-year tenure as skipper. There has been a lot of chatter around the decision but Gavaskar said that it has been a busy season for Rohit with the Cricket World Cup campaign and with Hardik looking after the captaincy, the star batter will be able concentrate on his own game. "To allow Rohit to play purely as a batter... it has been a busy season for him, first the World Cup, and now this series. This will give him the freedom to play without worrying about other players. My feeling is that it will work very well for Mumbai Indians. For Hardik to have someone like Rohit to turn to would be invaluable. Hardik will enjoy having Rohit as 

The Indian cricket team sealed a memorable series win against England with a five-wicket victory in Ranchi in the fourth Test. Despite top stars like Jasprit Bumrah missing from action, the young guns under Rohit Sharma galvanised into a pack of powerful performers. Though England looked in control in phases of the game, India were able wrest control with youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal , Sarfaraz Khan , Dhruv Jurel stepping up in the series. India's performance has put a question mark on England's Bazball strategy, as they have now lost the first series since the ultra-aggressive approach by coach Brendon McCullum .   Anil Kumble , JioCinema and Sports18 expert, opened up on whether Bazball did not serve England well: “The challenge when England came here was obvious. Bazball or whatever ball you want to call it, playing in India and beating India here was never going to be easy. India have never lost a series at home in the last decade. They (England) knew that they had

New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner on Tuesday called time on his illustrious 64-Test career for the Blackcaps, announcing his retirement from international cricket. The left-armer finishes his Test career fifth overall on the list of New Zealand Test wicket-takers. The 37-year-old pacer took the emotional choice after a difficult chat with coach Gary Stead last week when it was clear that he was not in New Zealand's top XI for the forthcoming series against Australia. The pacer was named to New Zealand's team to face Australia, but he was not picked for the first Test in Wellington and will be dropped from the squad for the second Test in Christchurch. Wagner admitted that the choice to retire was difficult, but it was evident that the time had come to move on. "It's been an emotional week. It's not easy to step away from something you've given so much to and got so much out of, but it's now time for others to step up and take this team forward. I've

Indian cricket team star pacer Mohammed Shami provided a huge update on Monday and disclosed that he has undergone an operation on his Achilles tendon. The right-arm pacer took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the news with his fans. "Just had a successful heel operation on my achilles tendon! Recovery is going to take some time, but looking forward to getting back on my feet. #AchillesRecovery #HeelSurgery #RoadToRecovery," Shami posted on X. Shami missed the home T20I series against Australia following the ICC event, and he was ruled out of the entire South Africa tour. He also missed the Afghanistan series and is not participating in the ongoing Test series against England. The 33-year-old, who is not playing in the current five-match Test series against England, last represented India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November. The senior pacer finished as the tournament's highest wicket-taker and dismissed 24 batters in only 7 matches. Just had a suc

With Virat Kohli skipping the ongoing Test series against England citing personal reasons, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Monday wondered if the star batter would play in the upcoming Indian Premier League. The IPL 24 will begin with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 22 at Chepauk. Initially named in the Indian Test squad, the RCB talisman pulled out before the opening game in Hyderabad. Earlier this month, the cricketer along with his wife Anushka Sharma announced the birth of their second child. " Kya woh khelenge... kuchh reason ke liye khel nahin rahe hain, shaayad ho sakta hai ke IPL ke liye bhi na khele (Will he play... He is not playing because of some reason, perhaps he may not play in IPL as well)," Gavaskar said rather cheekily when asked if Kohli would be hungry for runs in the IPL as he would be returning to action after a long break. Gavaskar was interacting with the students of Indian Institute of Manag

Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma schooled youngster Sarfaraz Khan for not wearing a helmet while fielding at silly point on Day 3 of the fourth Test match against England in Ranchi on Sunday. With Shoaib Bashir at the crease, Rohit wanted Sarfaraz to field at silly point to put pressure on the batter but the fielder took his position without a helmet. Rohit was quick to point out that he cannot field at such a dangerous position without a helmet as he said - " Aye bhai, hero nahi banne ka (hey brother, don't be a hero here)". The 12th man soon gave Sarfaraz a helmet as play resumed. Meanwhile,  Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets as India bowled England out for 145 on day three of the fourth Test on Sunday to set up a chase of 192 to clinch the series. India reached 40-0 at stumps, needing another 152 to win their third straight match and the five-Test series. Skipper Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 24, with Yashasvi Jaiswal on 16. Hear this! Rohit does n

Amid controversy over England batter Joe Root 's LBW dismissal in the second innings of the 4th Test, former Three Lions pacer Steven Finn praised India captain Rohit Sharma and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the taking crucial review. This comes after former England captain Michael Vaughan had taken a swipe at the Hawkeye technology over Root's dismissal. The incident happened on the 17th over when Ashwin's delivery hit Root on the pads. While the umpire shook his head, Ashwin convinced Rohit to go for DRS. The TV replay showed that the ball pitched on the leg-stump line and was going to hit the stumps. Vaughan vented his frustrations on social media over the dismissal. However, Finn, who played 36 Tests for England between 2010 and 2016, thought that the Hawkeye got the decision spot on, pointing out the "drift" on Ashwin's delivery. "An excellent review. From the naked eye, to me, it looked like it pitched outside leg stump, but clearly the dri

England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir became the second youngest bowler to grab a five-for in Tests for the Three Lions after a fantastic performance on the third day of the fourth Test against India at JSCA International Stadium Complex on Sunday. Aged just 20 years and 135 days, Bashir picked up five wickets in his spell, dismissing the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, apart from tail-ender Akash Deep. The youngster bowled a total of 44 overs in his spell, conceding 119 runs while sending down eight maiden overs. Earlier, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed recorded similar bowling heroics, taking his maiden five-for at the age of just 18 years and 128 days against Pakistan in the 2022 series at Karachi. The Pakistan-born spinner picked up his wickets at the expense of just 48 runs. Meanwhile, at Stumps on Day 3, India were sitting pretty at 40/0, chasing 152 runs more to win the five-match series. Skipper Rohit Sharma (24*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (16*) were u

A modern-day great, Ravichandran Ashwin scaled a new mountain on Friday as India took on England on Day 1 of the 4th Test in Ranchi. The veteran spinner bagged his 100th wicket against England in Tests as he dismissed Jonny Bairstow LBW in the morning session. Ashwin, in the process, became the first Indian to claim 100 scalps against England in the longest format of the game. Ashwin reached the milestone in his 23rd Test against the Englishmen. The overall list is led by the legendary Shane Warne , who bagged a whopping 195 wickets against England in 36 Tests. After Ashwin, the next Indian on the list of BS Chandrasekhar who took 95 wickets against England in 23 matches. Anil Kumble is the third on the list with 92 wickets in 19 matches.  Though categorised as a spinner, Ashwin has also done wonders with the bat at times. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer also became the first Asian bowler to claim 100 wickets against England while also scoring 1000 runs against them with the bat. A

New Zealand vs Australia 3rd T20I Live Updates: New Zealand will aim for a consolation win as they face Australia in the third and final T20I match of the series on Sunday. Australia won the first game by 6 wickets. They then sealed the series with a 72-run victory in the second match. Australia's bowlers sliced through some reckless New Zealand batting to bag the series in Auckland on Friday. ( Live Scorecard ) source https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/new-zealand-vs-australia-3rd-t20i-live-score-updates-nz-vs-aus-live-score-5121129

Experienced batter Joe Root became England's most successful batter after he became the first batter from his nation to go past the 19,000-run mark following his unbeaten ton against India on Day 1 of the fourth Test. Root tapped into his prime form to pull England back into the game after debutant pacer Akash Deep provided India with a dream start. Along with Ben Foakes, he stitched up a 114-run partnership and ensured that England went wicketless in the second session for the first time in the series. With an exquisite drive, he found the boundary line to raise his bat for his 31st Test ton. With his knock of 106*, Root has now amassed 19,014 runs and became the first England batter to do so. His closest competitor is former England skipper Alastair Cook who struck 15,737 runs during his decorated career. Root's knock was a perfect blend of patience and aggression as he picked his moments to find the boundary line which kept the scoreboard ticking. With his game-changing k

Debutant fast bowler Akash Deep got off to a flying start in the Indian Test team, scalping three wickets to help Rohit Sharma's men reduce England to 112 for 5 at lunch on the opening day of the fourth Test on Friday. Akash seemed to have gotten his first wicket in the form of Zak Crawley when he sent the England opener's stumps cartwheeling but the delivery turned out to be a no-ball. Unperturbed by the incident, Akash then re-focused himself and bagged three wickets to mark a memorable debut in the whites for the Indian team. Making his Test debut in place of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested, the 27-year-old Akash Deep (3/24) recovered from a no-ball setback to dismiss Ben Duckett (11), Ollie Pope (0) and Zak Crawley (42) and leave England reeling at 57 for 3. WWW Akash Deep! Follow the match https://t.co/FUbQ3Mhpq9 #TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/YANSwuNsG0 — BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2024 Crawley was lucky to not head to

Legendary Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan met the squads of Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the opening clash between both sides of the Women's Premier League (WPL) season two on Friday. The 'King of Bollywood' is set to perform at the star-studded opening ceremony of WPL season two on Friday, which will also witness other Bollywood stars namely Shahid Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff. In a video posted by WPL's official Twitter handle, Shah Rukh was seen meeting various MI and DC stars, including MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur , DC vice-captain Jemimah Rodrigues and DC skipper, Australian legend Meg Lanning . "" King Queen #YehHaiNayiDilli #TATAWPL #ShahrukhKhan #MegLanning |... pic.twitter.com/iynVjwH1jg — Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 22, 2024 One of the key highlights of this meeting was the 'King of Bollywood' sharing a moment with 'Queen of Cricket' Lanning and doing his trademark

Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said on Thursday that the defending champions have been trying to keep their own expectation level to a minimum and focus on the WPL opener against Delhi Capitals. Mumbai will face-off with Delhi in Bengaluru on Friday in a repeat of the last year's final, which was held in Mumbai. "We just kept our preparations very simple. We are trying not to expect too much from ourselves and doing too many things. That was our approach last year too and we want to continue that. We are feeling very confident going into this match and tournament," said Harmanpreet in her pre-match press meet. One reason for that, Harmanpreet felt, was the Mumbai Indians' extensive pre-tournament camp held in their home turf. "We used the facilities in Mumbai ahead of the WPL. We played a few practice games as well, so that we could try some new combinations and the players too get a chance to work upon their game. "We feel that we are ready for

Former Pakistan cricket director Muhammad Hafeez has claimed that ex-captain, Babar Azam and foreign coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn had given team fitness lowest priority in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup in India. Pakistan, under then-skipper Babar, had failed to make it to the semifinal knockout round, losing five of the nine league games and finishing fifth. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently did not renew Hafeez's contract following disastrous tours of Australia and New Zealand. Hafeez was made team director in late 2023 after Pakistan's abysmal show in the World Cup. Soon after he took charge, Pakistan were whitewashed in the three-Test series down under, while they lost the five-match T20I series against the Kiwis 4-1. "When I took over as director (in 2023) and we reached Australia, I told the team trainer to give me a report on the players' fitness standards and prepare a new fitness regimen," said Hafeez. "He told me that the for

Shubman Gill had twin challenges to tame when he entered the Test series against England -- a barren run that gripped him for nine innings, which was made grimmer when he dropped down to bat at a rather new No. 3 slot at this level. Three Tests into the ongoing five-match rubber, Gill has managed to find some answers scoring 252 runs at 42 with a match-winning 104 at Visakhapatnam and a classy 91 at Rajkot. For Gill, it was all about coping with the expectations he had placed on himself, rather than making any sweeping technical changes to his batting. "It is a bit tough (living up to his own expectations). When people from outside talk about all those things, it did not make much difference to me. But the expectations that I kept on myself made me a bit disappointed," Gill said in a press conference here on Wednesday. However, Gill said he has still placed the same level of expectations on him but has learned to adjust to them. "You will definitely have some expect

Rohit Sharma has played a key factor in India's steady performance in the last couple of years. Under his captaincy, the Indian cricket team entered the final of the World Test Championship and also the ODI Cricket World Cup. However, in recent times, Rohit Sharma lost his IPL captaincy as Mumbai Indians opted for Hardik Pandya . Praising Rohit Sharma's 'selfless' captaincy an instagram handle on Wednesday published a video praising Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the third India vs England Test.  The caption to the video read: "Is selfless captain ko yaad rakhoge na (You will remember this selfless captain right)?"  Rohit Sharma's wife Ritika Sajdeh reacted to  the video with a smiley. Her reaction was shared a lot on social media.  Recently, after Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher explained the logic behind this change in the leadership structure in a podcast, Rohit's wife Ritika took to social media to post a comment that triggered a fresh s

As Star India batter Virat Kohli announced that he and his actress wife Anushka Sharma were blessed with a baby boy on February 15, fake social media accounts of their newborn son Akaay started to surface on social media. The moment Virat and Anushka announced that they had named their son Akaay, fans on social media booked all accounts on Instagram and other social media platforms with the combination of 'Akaay Kohli'. In fact, a few Instagram some even started to post stories on behalf of Akaay. Akaay ne insta id b bana li Kafi advance baccha h pic.twitter.com/z6JILh43YJ — Pinkmann (@kohlixpinkman) February 20, 2024 Insta is on with Akaay pic.twitter.com/ezAW2Qhddl — SwatKat (@swatic12) February 20, 2024 When akaay want to create his insta I'd...... I don't know how many time he suffers the situation that username is already exists #ViratKohli   #akaaykohli pic.twitter.com/ICDL0R5xys — Sneha goyal (@sneha_goyal2004) February 20, 2024 Kohli and Anushka

England's Bazball was given a reality check by the Indian team as Ben Stokes & Co. suffered a 434-run defeat at the hands of Rohit Sharma 's side in the 3rd Test of the 5-match series. Despite going 1-2 down in the series, some England players including the veteran James Anderson and opening batter Ben Duckett have been making bold statements that haven't gone down well with some of the legends of the game. Former England captain Michael Vaughan , one of those displeased by the touring team's performance and comments, launched a scathing attack, calling some of the comments 'disrespectful'. In his column for The Telegraph , Vaughan called out Anderson and Duckett for their bizarre statements, especially the latter for suggesting that England should get credit for Yashasvi Jaiswal 's attacking batting. "Listen to them, and you would think nothing is ever wrong. Jimmy Anderson said they would chase 600 in Vizag. Ben Duckett said "the more th

Mumbai will be without their star batters Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube during their Ranji Trophy quarter-final clash against Baroda, according to ESPNcricinfo. According to ESPNcricinfo, Iyer has been ruled out of the quarterfinal clash which will be held on February 23 due to back spasms. While Dube has been ruled out of the game due to a side strain. Iyer featured in one round of the Ranji Trophy this year to gear up for India's five-match Test series against England as he was a part of the squad for the first two games. He was sidelined from the next three games after he registered scores of 27, 29, 35 and 13 in the first two Tests in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. Notably, it was a back injury that ruled out Iyer of the entire IPL 2023. He made his return in the Asia Cup and went on to amass 530 runs in last year's World Cup, averaging 66.25 with a strike rate of 113.24. His stunning display included two centuries and three half-centuries. He returned to India's red bal

Among the many performances that led to India's win over England in Rajkot, star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal 's was truly special. The left-handed opener became the first Indian to score two double-hundreds against England in Tests during the fourth day of the third Test match in Rajkot on Sunday. Jaiswal's first double ton against England came in the second Test match in Visakhapatnam, where he scored 209 runs in India's first innings. The 22-year-old's second double hundred came in Rajkot when he played an unbeaten 214-run knock in the third Test match of the five-game series. Jaiswal also smashed the most sixes in a Test series for India and became the first-ever player to hit 20 sixes in a Test series worldwide with 22 overhead boundaries against England in the ongoing series. However, after Jaiswal had scored a ton, England star Ben Duckett made a strange comment. "When you see players from the opposition playing like that, it almost feels like we should ta

Yashasvi Jaiswal hit an unbeaten double century to help India to its biggest-ever win on Sunday, crushing England by 434 runs in the third Test to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The match in Rajkot also saw India becoming the first-ever team in the 'Bazball era' to declare their innings against England. The Bazball era is referred to as the time that started after Brendon McCullum took over as England's Test team coach in May 2022. Talking about the game, India were solid at the score of 430 for 4 with a lead of 556 runs when captain Rohit Sharma decided to declare the innings and ask England to bat. The a team has declared against England in the Stokes-McCullum era. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/XMgmnBh07S — Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) February 18, 2024 Chasing 557 for victory, England's batting fell like a pack of cards with the loss of eight wickets in the final session to be dismissed for 122 on day four in Rajkot. Ravindra Jadeja got Mark Wood out