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As expected, the group stage of this Asia Cup ends with a high-stakes clash in Group B, and a dead rubber in Group A. India and Oman contest this dead rubber, and their aims are wildly different.For India, this could be about getting some of their bowlers match time, and some of their middle- and lower-order batters crease time, ahead of the Super Four stage. Four members of their squad are yet to play a match, and three members of their top eight have played both their matches so far but are yet to face a ball.For Oman, this is their last match against a Full Member team before they host a tournament of serious consequence next month – the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier. They are one of nine teams taking part in that tournament, of whom three will make it to next year’s T20 World Cup. Oman will want to be one of those three teams, and learnings from this Asia Cup, and this final game against India, could well help them in that quest.Related

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Form guide

India WWWWL (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Oman LLLLL

In the spotlight

India have retained Sanju Samson as their wicketkeeper ahead of Jitesh Sharma, trusting him to play an unfamiliar role in the middle order. He has not had a chance to play that role yet in this tournament, though, with DNBs against both UAE and Pakistan. Will he get a chance to bat against Oman?He’s returned an economy rate of just 4.71 through this Asia Cup, and he’s been even more frugal in the powerplay, going at just 3.50 across four overs. Shakeel Ahmed has had an excellent tournament so far, but now he’s set to face a real pressure test: will Oman continue to use their left-arm spinner with the new ball, with the marauding, left-handed Abhishek Sharma waiting at the top of India’s line-up?

Team news

India have played just the one frontline fast bowler in their two matches so far, but the shift from Dubai to slightly less spin-friendly conditions in Abu Dhabi, and the context of this dead rubber, could cause them to change their strategy. In any case, Jasprit Bumrah could be rested, and either one or both of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana could get a look-in. With the middle-order batters not having got much of a chance in the middle so far, India might find it a little harder to give Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma a game.India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy2:27

Bangar: India unlikely to tinker with in-form top order

While India played the same XI in their first two games, Oman have used 14 players across theirs. Given how their tournament has panned out so far, with batting collapses against both Pakistan and UAE, it’s hard to predict who stays in and who goes out of their XI.Oman (probable): 1 Jatinder Singh (capt), 2 Aamir Kaleem, 3 Hammad Mirza, 4 Wasim Ali, 5 Aryan Bisht, 6 Vinayak Shukla (wk), 7 Jiten Ramamnandi, 8 Shah Faisal, 9 Shakeel Ahmed, 10 Hassnain Shah, 11 Samay Shrivastava

Pitch and conditions

Recent history suggests that the pitches in Abu Dhabi don’t have quite as much help for spin as those in Dubai do. Since the start of 2023, spinners have averaged below 20 in Dubai and gone at less than 6.5 per over in T20Is; they’ve averaged over 38 in Abu Dhabi and conceded more than 7.5 per over. The two teams’ selections could well reflect this.

Stats and trivia

• This is the first meeting between India and Oman in any format.
• Abhishek (195.40) currently has the best strike rate of any batter with at least 500 T20I runs.
• Arshdeep is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is. He currently has 99 in 63 matches. If he remains on the bench through this tournament, Hardik Pandya (95) and Jasprit Bumrah (92) have a chance of catching up with or going past him.

Quotes

“I feel these wickets are perfect for spinners. Because you get bounce and the zip. If you compare to the Champions Trophy, the wickets [then] were very slow and you had to put a lot of revs on the ball to get the extra bounce and the pace as well. Those tracks, it was difficult for a batter to score runs. For wristspinners, to get bounce and turn on those wickets was tough.”

In Sydney during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rishabh Pant shocked everyone on the final day when he walked out at the fall of India captain Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket in the second over of the day. Pant brought a sensational approach to saving the Test, scoring 73 in the first session. He was 97 off 117 when Nathan Lyon started the 80th over. Cheteshwar Pujara, Pant’s partner at the time, reminded him to just be watchful because the second new ball was going to be crucial.Pant went down the track first ball of the 80th over and was dismissed off a thick outside edge. He was devastated. It seemed as if a crane would be required to take him off the field. He was also angry at Pujara for casting a seed of doubt in his head, which he felt contributed to the miscue.Related

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Two days before the third Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Lord’s, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak spoke about this side of Pant while talking about how much of a thinker of batting he is. Kotak was asked how important it was for batting partners to not talk to Pant. “Rishabh actually talks a lot about what he does, when he does [it], why he does [it],” Kotak said. “To me, he’s spoken, but he’s someone who doesn’t like talking too much during his innings because he feels that that changes his mindset, and he takes the wrong decision. That’s only when he’s batting.”Apart from that, he talks about other batters also, about himself also, and he does [properly plan] what he wants to do because it’s not so easy to score Test hundreds or not so easy to be successful at this level without having any planning.”No advice might be the best advice if you’re batting with Rishabh Pant•Getty Images

The moves Pant makes might look random, but Kotak suggested there is thought and planning behind each of them. Kotak was happy to have a maverick such as Pant in the line-up but generally insisted on the batters not being too eager to score runs, which might have become a habit after playing – as India have done – on extremely bowling-friendly pitches in the last few years.”If a batter thinks there is a lot of movement in the pitch, and if there is [half] an opportunity I have to score boundaries because there is a good ball coming [anyway], that is a bad mindset for red-ball cricket,” Kotak said. “Anyway, they possess so much skill because of white-ball cricket that they can convert anything in the slot into fours and sixes. They don’t have to really think that I want to hit a boundary.”Kotak insisted that this was not an instruction imparted after the first-Test defeat at Headingley but his general philosophy before the start of the series. “We have batted well in both the matches,” Kotak said. “I feel we have such skilful batters [who] can score at four an over without going searching for runs. What else is aggressive batting? We are scoring 360 in 90 overs. But our mindset now is to not go looking for boundaries.”That is not necessarily good news for England because they relied on getting batters caught on the boundary to make their way back into the match during both of India’s innings at Headingley. In the second Test at Edgbaston, captain Shubman Gill led by example and refused to be content with a big score and play a casual shot. He aggregated 430 runs in the match to bat England out of the game.

Bess Heath demonstrated maturity aplenty to carry Durham to a four-wicket victory over Somerset in the Vitality Blast women’s competition at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.Chasing 139 to win, the visitors were indebted to the 23-year-old middle order batter, who scored 38 not out from 25 balls under pressure to help the visitors reach their target with 11 deliveries to spare. Suzie Bates top-scored with 49, while Somerset seamer Mollie Robbins returned figures of 3 for 22 in a losing cause.Put into bat, Somerset were in good shape at 75 for 2, thanks to knocks of 36 and 31 from Bex Odgers and Niamh Holland respectively. But Sophia Turner and Mady Villiers claimed two wickets apiece as Somerset lost their way during the middle overs, and it required a breezy 31 from Amanda-Jade Wellington to haul the cider county to a modest 138 for 7.Durham have now won two of their six games in the short format, but Somerset remain without a victory and continue to prop up the table.Eager to make amends with the bat following a series of modest scores, Somerset made a disappointing start, Amelie Munday chasing a wide delivery from Grace Thompson and finding backward point in the opening over. Doing her best to redress the balance, Odgers pulled Lauren Filer for six, while Holland twice drove Thompson to the boundary as the powerplay gathered momentum.Katie Levick’s legspin proved expensive as Durham struggled to stem the flow of runs in the face of aggressive batting from Somerset’s second-wicket pair, Holland ramping Filer for another six as the partnership realised 50. The stand was worth 58 when Holland, having contributed a progressive 31 from 20 balls, attempted to drive Villiers over the top and found long-on with the score 63 for 2 in the eighth.Odgers advanced her score to 36 from 33 balls and had a half-century in her sights, only to then dance down the pitch to Sophia Turner and be comprehensively stumped by Mia Rogers as Somerset slipped to 75 for 3 at the halfway stage.Sensing an opportunity to apply pressure, the experienced Bates and Levick successfully restricted the scoring and Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson, tied down and unable to find the boundary, both succumbed to frustration as the home side slipped to 91 for 5. Charlie Dean came and went quickly, removed by Levick, as Durham continued to turn the screw and Somerset were 102 for 6 when Wellington joined Alex Griffiths in the middle.Again cast in the role of saviours, the seventh-wicket pair dug their team out of a hole, adding 36 from 22 balls to disrupt the opposition bowlers and carry Somerset to their highest short-format total of the season so far. Adept at working the field, Australia international Wellington scored 31 off 17 balls and accrued five fours, while Griffiths finished unbeaten on 11.Somerset needed early wickets and Robbins removed Leah Dobson for 11 in the fifth, but the indefatigable Bates proved an altogether different proposition. The New Zealand international dominated the reply, contributing four boundaries in a powerplay that yielded 49 and staging an opening stand of 38 with Dobson to afford the chase solid foundations.Villiers took on Wellington’s legspin, harvesting a brace of fours before falling to the Australian with the score 49 for 2, but Hollie Armitage proved obdurate in contributing 14 at a run a ball in an alliance of 38 for the third wicket with Bates. Griffiths bowled Armitage to give the home side renewed hope and, when Robbins had Bates caught at mid-on in the 13th, Durham were 87 for 4, needing a further 52 at 6.5 an over with two new batters at the crease.Robbins was enjoying herself and she induced Rogers to hole out to Griffiths in the deep to further reduce the visitors to 93 for 5, at which point the contest was back in the balance. Katherine Fraser was run out by Griffiths for 10 to set-up a potentially interesting finish, but Heath demonstrated sound temperament in an unbroken stand of 20 with Thompson to settle the outcome.

Three players who came into Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) squad as injury replacements during IPL 2025 were part of their XI in their 12th match of the season, and two of the three made decisive contributions to all but end Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) playoffs hopes.Making his IPL debut, Urvil Patel got off the mark with a six, flicked effortlessly off Vaibhav Arora, and hit three more over the course of an 11-ball 31 that gave CSK vital early momentum in a chase of 180.That momentum didn’t seem to count for much, though, as CSK lost five wickets inside the powerplay. Then, after they had recovered somewhat, to 93 for 5 after ten overs, Dewald Brevis transformed the contest in the space of six balls, hitting Arora for 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4 in a 30-run 11th over to rush to his maiden IPL half-century off just 22 balls.Before that over, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster had pegged KKR as 78.02% favourites. After that over, CSK were 78.05% favourites.The contest was in the balance once again when Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Brevis at the start of the 13th over, leaving CSK six down, but the situation – another 53 runs needed off 47 balls – was just right for the pair that now came together. It allowed MS Dhoni to take his time, and Shivam Dube to wait for his moments to show off his six-hitting range.Dube fell in the penultimate over, but not before he had brought CSK close enough for Dhoni to win it in almost-but-not-quite-vintage style: he hit the first ball of the last over for six, but left the winning hit to No. 10 Anshul Kamboj. But the win was set up by Noor Ahmad’s four-wicket burst after the powerplay. He got Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi within the space of three balls in the eighth over, before dismissing a dangerous-looking Andre Russell and Rinku Singh in the death overs.2:56

Have KKR missed a trick by not bowling Russell enough?

Before this game, CSK had gone on a run of 12 successive defeats in chases of 180-plus targets. They had now finally ended a streak that stretched back to 2020.That one Arora over to Brevis overturned what had till then been the perfect game for KKR on one of the most spin-friendly pitches of IPL 2025. KKR had batted first, maximised the powerplay, and found just enough muscle at the finish to make up for the slowdown against spin that the conditions almost mandated. Having set CSK a challenging target, they had taken out half their side in the powerplay. They had done almost everything they had needed to do.KKR are still not out of contention for the playoffs, with a fourth-place finish still mathematically possible if they can get to 15 points. That will require winning their last two matches, however, and a combination of other finishes going their way.

Brevis vs Arora

The 11th over of CSK’s innings wasn’t the best Arora has bowled. He tried to attack Brevis’ blockhole, but kept missing, serving up either half volleys or full tosses. It takes a special talent to put every error away, and Brevis is certainly a special talent, particularly gifted at hitting down the ground. The most remarkable of his shots came off a knuckleball full toss that he met well in front of his body, with his bottom hand off the handle, sending it flying 89m over long-on.All the carnage may not have happened at all had Raghuvanshi timed his jump a little better at long-off off the first ball of the over; Brevis hit it flat in his direction, and the overhead chance slipped between his hands and over the boundary.Dewald Brevis hit a one-handed six off Vaibhav Arora over long-on•BCCI

Rahane and Narine maximise the powerplay

Choosing to bat first, KKR probably knew they had to make the most of the powerplay, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz set the tone before becoming the first batter dismissed for 11 off nine balls. He hit a four and a six, swung hard and missed on numerous occasions, and then chipped one straight to midwicket.Narine and Ajinkya Rahane continued in that spirit, and took KKR to 67 for 1 at the six-over mark, hitting eight fours and two sixes between them during the powerplay. Neither looked in full control – Rahane survived a chance when a diving Matheesha Pathirana put him down at long leg – but both went hard at the bowling in this period. Narine, coming into this game having scored 118 off 48 balls against R Ashwin while only being dismissed once, took 14 runs off the offspinner in the fifth over.

Urvil lights up CSK’s eventful start

Ayush Mhatre, the other injury replacement in CSK’s line-up, fell for a duck off the second ball of the chase. That brought Urvil to the crease, and immediate life to CSK’s innings.Urvil had already hit one six when KKR gave Moeen the ball for the second over, presumably with the offspinner’s match-up against the left-handed Devon Conway in mind. But Moeen had to bowl to Urvil first, and that contest brought two leg-side sixes in three balls before Urvil took a single. Moeen bowled Conway immediately with a non-turning offbreak that slid between bat and pad.Urvil hit one more six, a flat-bat monster over wide long-on, before Harshit Rana dismissed him, getting him to edge another attempted big hit to short third. That pattern of CSK’s powerplay continued. Ashwin, promoted to No. 4, and Ravindra Jadeja, hit early boundaries too, but fell off their seventh and tenth balls, respectively. At the six-over mark, CSK were 62 for 5.Urvil Patel struck four sixes on his IPL debut•Getty Images

Brevis and Dube had steered them to the ten-over mark without further damage, but they had taken 34 balls to add 33 runs by that point, having exclusively faced Narine and Varun. Who knew what would come next?

Dube and Dhoni put CSK on their way

When Brevis fell in the 13th over, mis-hitting Varun to long-on, the match was far from over. Varun had five balls left to bowl, Narine had six, and Dhoni, before this game, had scored 60 off 111 balls, with six dismissals, of the two mystery spinners in T20s.But he could afford to take his time, and Dube could ration his risk-taking. He hit just three sixes, but all three were clinical: two straight hits off slower balls from Rana that landed in the slot, and a massive strike over the on side when Arora, having bowled a near-wide and a wide while attempting wide yorkers, straightened his line a touch too far in the 19th over.That brought the equation down to 10 off nine balls, and CSK were favourites, but Dube fell next ball, miscuing another big hit. When Noor holed out off the last ball of the 19th, CSK were left needing eight runs off the last over.With Dhoni on strike, though, Russell missed his length, sending down a full toss that disappeared over the midwicket boundary. Russell found the blockhole off the next two balls, and Dhoni, hitting both along the ground towards long-off, refused one single before taking the other to level the scores with three balls left.Kamboj only needed one ball, chipping over mid-on to put a wildly seesawing game to rest.

Kusal Perera thumped 61 off 35, Mohammad Naeem struck 50 off 25, and despite having qualified fourth into the playoffs, Lahore Qalandars leapt into the final, with their second big win in as many nights.With Abdullah Shafique, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Asif Ali also making strong contributions, Qalandars amassed 202 for 8. On a Gaddafi track that was decent for batting, but had a little zip in it for the quicks, this was way too much for Islamabad United, who nosedived to 107 all out, without ever looking like they could threaten the target.Opening bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman Mirza – both left-armers – wrecked United’s innings, reducing them to 33 for 4 by the end of the powerplay.United had come second in the league, but have crashed their way through the playoffs. Qalandars will go into the final against table-toppers Quetta Gladiators. But having now won their last three matches, Qalandars also have some serious form heading into the title match.

Perera and Rajapaksa motor through the middle

There was never really a slow portion of Qalandars’ innings – their boundary hitting found plentiful expression in every phase. But where often the late middle overs can be a canvas for consolidating, two left-handed Sri Lankan batters plundered 48 runs off the 28 balls they faced together.Despite being bottom-hand dominant batters, both Kusal and Rajapaksa prospered on the off side, United’s bowlers tempting them to drag balls wide of off to the leg side, only for these batters to nail their off-side boundary options. The extra cover region got a particular peppering, but the point and long-off boundaries were popular with this pair too. Rajapaksa made 22 off 13, before being bowled by Salman Irshad in the 17th over.Kusal Perera hit two sixes•PCB

Kusal continued batting until the 20th, hitting two successive sixes off Naseem Shah – the first over fine leg, the second carved over deep third – the second of those taking him past fifty.

Naeem sets Qalandars up

Naeem’s might have been the most impressive of Qalandars’ innings, however. Although he’d faced only one ball by the time Fakhar Zaman top-edged one to the keeper at the end of the second over, Naeem reveled in the limelight when he got it, reeling off three outstanding drives between mid-off and cover to get his innings moving, before hitting three fours and a six off Naseem in the fifth over.Although one of Naeem’s sixes was a pull shot over square leg off Naseem, his favoured areas were down the ground and through cover, United’s seamers going too full too often, perhaps looking for swing. By the end of the powerplay, he had 34 off 14 balls. He didn’t really stop attacking when the field went back – he was stumped trying to launch Imad Wasim into the stratosphere at the end of the ninth over.

United fail to get off the ground

In a high-pressure match, a target of 203 always seemed imposing. But before they had struck a boundary, United had lost two wickets. Afridi sent Muhammad Shahzad’s middle stump on a jaunt with a vicious inswinger to end the first over, before Mirza had Sahibzada Farhan chopping one back on to his stumps two balls later.Rishad Hossain bagged 3 for 34•PCB

The boundaries never really got going. The wickets kept falling, though. Mirza had Rassie van der Dussen caught by a diving Kusal in the fourth over, before Wasim holed out off the last ball of the powerplay. When the field went back, United needed 12.14 an over, with six wickets in hand.

Salman’s mini-charge is halted

The only United batter to get any sort of batting fluency was Salman who hit 33 off 26 balls, often hitting through the off side as well. But Bangladesh legspinner Rishad Hossain had him caught at long-on in the 10th over, and if United’s chances were not dead already, this was the wicket that felt like the final, decisive swing.In the end, Qalandars’ quicks went through the formalities of blasting out the United lower order. Afridi returned with spectacular figures of 3 for 3 off 3.1 overs, as United were bowled out in the 16th over.

Gerald Coetzee could be a doubt for the second Test against Sri Lanka after picking up a groin niggle during the first Test in Durban, which South Africa won by 233 runs on Saturday.Coetzee bowled in the morning session, beginning proceedings with Kagiso Rabada, but stopped after a three-over spell. His second spell of the morning was off just two overs, as Dhananjaya de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal staged a spirited fightback for Sri Lanka after they had started the day five down and looking at a bigger defeat than they eventually suffered. Coetzee didn’t bowl again after that in the session, but did bowl three overs after lunch, sending back Chandimal caught and bowled.Shukri Conrad, the South Africa coach, said after the day’s play that Coetzee had spoken to him at lunch and told him he “felt a groin niggle”, and went back after the break “strapped up”. Coetzee, who picked up four wickets in Durban, will undergo scans tomorrow.That will be something fro South Africa to worry about ahead of the second Test, since Wiaan Mulder, the fast-bowling allrounder, is also injured – fractured right middle finger – and has already been ruled out of the second Test, to be played from December 5 in Gqeberha.”Not a big break between,” captain Temba Bavuma said in the presentation ceremony. “Wiaan is out of the series, we have to find a replacement. Gerald Coetzee, the medical team will have do to their best.”Two of South Africa’s three quicks that played the Durban Test – Rabada and Player-of-the-Match Marco Jansen – are fit for the second Test, and Dane Paterson is the other quick in the squad. South Africa might struggle to find another fast bowler to fit into the squad, though, with Nandre Burger out for the summer with a lower back stress fracture, and Lungi Ngidi out till January.Matthew Breetzke, the top-order batter, was named Mulder’s replacement earlier. “We will more than likely add another player to our group,” Conrad said.

Jos Buttler’s return as England white-ball captain has been delayed by at least three more matches, after he was ruled out of next week’s ODI leg of their tour of the Caribbean due to his long-standing calf injury.Buttler, 34, has been plagued by the injury for four months, and has not played a competitive match since England’s elimination from the T20 World Cup, with their semi-final defeat to India in Guyana in June.He missed the entirety of Manchester Originals’ Hundred campaign, and then withdrew from the T20I and ODI series against Australia in September as well. According to the ECB, he has now suffered a “slight setback” in his rehabilitation, and will consequently fly direct to Barbados ahead of the five-match T20I series, which begins on November 9.Related

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In Buttler’s absence, Liam Livingstone has been named as England’s ODI captain. It will be his first opportunity in the role, with Harry Brook – Buttler’s stand-in in the ODIs against Australia – currently in Rawalpindi preparing for the third Test against Pakistan.Michael Pepper, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, has been added to the squad as cover, although the selectors had always intended to add two extra players to the tour, depending on the team selection for the third Test in Rawalpindi. Jordan Cox, England’s spare Test batter who made his white-ball debut against Australia, is one likely inclusion, while Olly Stone – back with the squad after his honeymoon but omitted from the match – could also feature.Pepper has only played seven List A games but was third third-highest run-scorer in 2024 Vitality Blast and finished the season with Essex in good form, scoring his maiden first-class hundreds.Buttler’s continued absence will raise speculation around his international future, despite the assurances from Brendon McCullum, England’s incoming white-ball coach, that he would remain front and centre of his plans, with McCullum pointedly saying that “he’s been a little bit miserable at times.””He’s an incredibly gifted player,” McCullum added at his unveiling. “He’s a fine leader. My job is to get the best out of him so that all those that sit in the dressing-room feel like they can be ten-feet tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play, and they know that the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and and enjoy the ride with them.”Buttler was a non-playing presence during the Australia series, with Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim white-ball coach who will be leading the Caribbean tour, insisting: “There’s no reason why Jos won’t fit back into that mould, score millions of runs, captain well and fit back into the team perfectly.””Let’s make it clear,” Trescothick said. “He will come straight back in. At what position, I don’t know. We’ll look at that for the Caribbean.”

Rain and the state of the outfield at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground rendered the third day of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand a non-starter. Play was abandoned as early as 9.15 am.With no play possible on either of the first two days, and the toss yet to happen, the chances of a result in the first ever Test between these sides are slim.There was a downpour last evening for about two to three hours and another one from around 7am on Wednesday morning, which was enough for the umpires Sharfuddoula and Kumar Dharmasena call off the day before the scheduled start at 9.30 am.The word from the broadcasters was that “the outlook is quite grim for not just today, but potentially all five days of the Test match”.There has been scrutiny over the choice of venue and its capacity to recover from bad weather, but the Afghanistan Cricket Board cricket manager Menhajuddin Raz sent out a message on the third morning that “there is no blame game at all from anyone, it’s just extremely bad luck.”The previous time the first three days of a Test were abandoned was in 2008, when Bangladesh hosted New Zealand in Mirpur, and the last time three or more days were abandoned in a Test was in 2016, when New Zealand played South Africa in Durban. This Greater Noida Test could join seven others that were abandoned without a ball being bowled – the last of which was in 1998.This is only Afghanistan’s tenth match since they were given Test status in 2017. For New Zealand, the one-off Test marks the start of their subcontinent expedition which includes two Tests in Sri Lanka followed by three in India. Unlike those five fixtures, this one is not part of the World Test Championship.

David Warner, James Neesham, Asif Ali and Carlos Brathwaite are among the direct signings for the second season of the six-team Zim Afro T10 league.The franchises picked their icon and global superstars as direct signings ahead of the draft, which is set to take place on September 8. The 15-member squad will have an additional 16th player as their global icon. The squad will feature as many as six local Zimbabwe players; the icon and global star can also be from Zimbabwe. The tournament will run from September 21 to 29 in Harare.Warner and Brathwaite were picked by Bulawayo Braves Jaguars while Cape Town Samp Army signed up David Willey, Dawid Malan, Gulbadin Naib and Qais Ahmed. Colin Munro and Mark Chapman were also among the direct signings along with Yasir Shah, who all went to Durban Wolves. Zimbabwe’s beanpole fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani was signed by New York Strikers Lagos while Bangladesh legspinner Rishad Hossain will team up with the likes of Neesham and Dasun Shanaka at Harare Bolts.Rishad, 22, earned a deal with Hobart Hurricanes, who have Ricky Ponting as part of their strategy team, at the BBL draft earlier this week. Rishad had emerged as Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker at this year’s T20 World Cup, with 14 strikes in seven matches at an economy rate of 7.76.

Vaas, Moin, Owais Shah among the coaches

The franchises also announced their head coaches on Saturday and the roster includes Moin Khan, Chaminda Vaas, Owais Shah, among others.Moin, who has coached the Pakistan national team and Quetta Gladiators in the PSL, was roped in by Durban Wolves. NYS Lagos brought in Vaas, who has also had coaching experience at the international level, with New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland.Bulawayo Braves Jaguars appointed Shah, who has coached the UAE national team and Dambulla Viiking in the Lanka Premier League. Cape Town Samp Army will get the services of James Foster, who has worked in the IPL, the T20 Blast in England and the Bangladesh Premier League, whereas Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers brought in Julian Wood, who has worked with some of the big hitters in the game. Harare Bolts handed over the coaching responsibilities to Sri Lankan Pubudu Dassanayake, who has worked with USA, Canada and Nepal as their head coach.The Zim Afro T10 will be followed by the second season of the US Masters League, Abu Dhabi T10 and the inaugural Lanka T10 will conclude the season in December.

Direct signings in Zim Afro T10

Harare Bolts: Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka: Global Superstar), James Neesham (New Zealand: Icon), George Munsey (Scotland), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh), Shehan Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Kennar Lewis (West Indies)Bulawayo Braves Jaguars: David Warner (Australia: Icon), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Nick Hobson (Australia), Kobe Herft (Australia)Durban Wolves: Colin Munro (New Zealand: Global Superstar), Mark Chapman (New Zealand: Icon), Will Smeed (England), Sharjeel Khan (Pakistan), Muhammad Irfan (Pakistan), Yasir Shah (Pakistan)Cape Town Samp Army: Haider Ali (Pakistan: Global Superstar), David Willey (England: Icon), Dawid Malan (England), Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan), Qais Ahmed (Afghanistan), Adam Rossington (England), Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan)NYS Lagos: Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe: Global Superstar), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka), Akhilesh Bogudum (USA), Oshane Thomas (West Indies)Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers: Chris Lynn (Australia: Global Superstar), Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka: Icon), Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka), Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan), Adam Milne (New Zealand), Luke Wood (England), Karim Janat (Afghanistan)

Suryakumar Yadav is set to be appointed India’s new T20I captain ahead of Hardik Pandya, the incumbent vice-captain of the side, for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.Suryakumar will take over from Rohit Sharma, who retired from T20Is, along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, after leading India to T20 World Cup glory in the Caribbean last month.Though Hardik was Rohit’s deputy at the T20 World Cup and is a more experienced captain – he has led India in three ODIs and 16 T20Is, apart from leading Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the IPL – it is understood fitness concerns and workload management may have tipped the scales against him.Hardik had suffered an ankle injury during the 50-over World Cup at home last October-November and was out of action until the start of IPL 2024, when he returned to lead Mumbai. Hardik has featured in just 46 of the 79 T20Is India have played since the start of 2022.Suryakumar, meanwhile, has previously captained Mumbai in the domestic circuit. More recently, he led India to a 4-1 series win over Australia in the T20I series last November, followed by a 1-1 series scoreline in South Africa. Suryakumar is also among the first names in a first-choice India XI in the format.Related

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The T20Is in Sri Lanka will be India’s first assignment under new coach Gautam Gambhir, who takes over from Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup. It’s also seen as the first step towards building for the next T20 World Cup which India is set to co-host in 2026.A young Indian squad, led by Shubman Gill, just returned from Zimbabwe earlier in the week after completing a 4-1 T20I series win. The squad included just three players from the side that won the World Cup.It is understood that the selectors will meet on Wednesday to finalise the touring party. Along with three T20Is, the tour will feature three ODIs.