Cricket

"Ready for big challenges": Harbhajan backs Gill as ODI captain

Skipper Shubman, who lost his first ODI series as a captain to Australia away from home, is gearing up for his first ODI series at home, against New Zealand, starting from January 11 onwards. While the well-fought 2-2 draw against England in the UK and his 754 runs with four centuries stay the crowning jewel of his brief stint as Test captain, he is yet to make an impact both as a batter and a leader in ODIs. Also in the T20Is, he failed to live upto the expectations after returning as a vice-captain starting from the Asia Cup, scoring just 291 runs in the last 15 innings without a fifty since his comeback.

2026-01-05T18:11:09.600009+00:00 IST

Suryavanshi blasts 68 off 24 as India U19 seal series

India U19 skipper Vaibhav Suryavanshi produced a breathtaking knock of 68 off just 24 balls to help his side chase down a revised target of 174 in 23.3 overs, winning the second match by eight wickets via the DLS method in Benoni on Monday, with 21 balls to spare.

2026-01-05T17:21:57.493358+00:00 IST

Taibu hails U19 World Cup as "trampoline to professional cricket

Taibu is the ambassador for the upcoming ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, starting from January 15 onwards to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia. He was involved in two editions of the tournament, in 2000 and 2002. He was the player of the tournament in the latter edition. Across both tournaments, he scored 374 runs in 15 matches and innings at an average of 34.00, with three fifties. In the 2002 edition, he made 250 runs across eight innings with two fifties and a best score of 65*.

2026-01-05T17:21:34.123741+00:00 IST

WPL: Lanning aims to "put her own spin" while leading UP Warriorz

Lanning, a multi-time World Cup-winning icon for Australia, both as a batter and a leader, was unveiled as the franchise's captain on Sunday. Ahead of the tournament, the captain-coach duo of Lanning and Abhishek Nayar held a media interaction in Navi Mumbai on Monday.

2026-01-05T17:06:20.251534+00:00 IST

ISPL Season 3 to feature top 5 bowlers ready to turn up the heat

The third season of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), India's pioneering tennis-ball T10 cricket tournament, is scheduled to be held at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat from January 9 to February 6.

2026-01-05T16:55:14.221765+00:00 IST

I'm surprised...it just shows the depth of Indian cricket:Ponting

"I mean one, I'm surprised, but two, it just shows the depth of Indian cricket," Ponting added.

2026-01-05T16:36:25.101155+00:00 IST

India's three WC-winning skippers honoured at 'United by Triumph'

The event was organised to honour the efforts of the men's T20 World Cup-winning 2024 team led by Rohit Sharma, which beat South Africa by seven runs at Barbados last year on the back of a fine pace choke by India in death overs and a fine half-century by Virat Kohli (76), the ICC Women's World Cup winning team, which beat South Africa by 52 runs courtesy all-round shows by Shafali Verma (87 and two wickets) and Deepti Sharma (58 and 5/39) at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium and the blind women's team which won the inaugural Women's T20 World Cup for the Blind by beating Nepal by seven wickets in Sri Lanka last year, chasing down an easy total of 115 runs.

2026-01-05T15:54:17.886991+00:00 IST

T20 WC Trophy makes special appearance at ILT20 final I

With anticipation building ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, the prestigious trophy made a special appearance at the International League T20 (ILT20) final between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium

2026-01-05T14:59:05.488482+00:00 IST

"Don't think of....": Ponting's advice to out-of-form Suryakumar

Suryakumar, once ruling the T20 cricket with his 360-degree hitting and relentless consistency, experienced a sharp dip in form last year, and the batter looked a shell of his usual dominant self last year. In 2025, while Surya did not lack as a leader, he scored just 218 runs in 19 innings at an average of 13.62, with a modest strike rate of 123.16.

2026-01-05T14:45:33.484397+00:00 IST

"Job is to score runs, not survive": Root backs Smith

Jamie's Ashes continued to get worse for him as he not only fell four runs short of what could have been his second fifty of the series, but also got out in a manner described by a commentator as "brainless", once again throwing his wicket away after a fine start. Jamie backed away to smash a shoulder-high short ball over offside, but managed to find Scott Boland at deep cover, giving his wicket to part-timer pacer Marnus Labuschagne for a 76-ball 46, which could have been something bigger, with the batter battling a lean patch.

2026-01-05T13:45:49.821777+00:00 IST

UP welcome captain Meg Lanning with heartwarming surprise

UP Warriorz marked the announcement of Meg Lanning as franchise captain with a special celebration hosted by Capri Sports, as groups of young fans and cricketers under 12 came together to surprise the newly appointed leader.

2026-01-05T13:40:34.064850+00:00 IST

Head becomes 1st batter to cross the 500-run mark in Ashes

Playing his fifth Test in the ongoing Ashes series, Travis Head has become the first batter to rack up 500 in an Ashes series with a strike rate of more than 75.

2026-01-05T13:38:39.394220+00:00 IST

UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar ahead of WPL 2026

UP Warriorz head coach Abhishek Nayar is optimistic about the team's chances in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2026. He believes the team is strong, with a balanced squad, but emphasised that true strength comes from playing together on the ground.

2026-01-05T13:22:31.456692+00:00 IST

"We’ll see how things unfold in time": Joe Root

"Who knows? We'll see. I'd love to (play until then), but we'll see how things unfold in time," he said at the post-day press conference.

2026-01-05T13:15:09.576115+00:00 IST

Shreyas named Mumbai captain for rest of VHT league stage games

Mumbai, part of the Group C, will play Himachal Pradesh on January 6, followed by their final league stage game against Punjab on January 8. Both matches are taking place in Jaipur. Mumbai is second-placed in their group, tied with Punjab with 16 points. Both sides have won four and lost one match.

2026-01-05T13:04:36.548896+00:00 IST

"He can get under your skin": Michael Neser

He later explained Labuschagne's competitive nature, saying, "It's just the fact that he's such a strong competitor that he can get under your skin. It's just Marnus for you."

2026-01-05T12:04:43.420505+00:00 IST

Root focuses on creating "positives" ahead of next Aussie tour

After smashing his first Test century in Australia during the second pink-ball Test match at Brisbane, Root's willow weaved its magic once again as he struck a brilliant 160, his first century with the red ball in Australia to put his team at the top at the end of second day, with two Aussie wickets lost and the hosts yet to wipe out a 218-run deficit.

2026-01-05T11:51:47.714077+00:00 IST

Faf speaks on his possibility to finish with Kings franchise

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis recalled his journey with the Super Kings franchise, from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to now with Joburg Super Kings (JSK) in SA20.

2026-01-05T11:47:21.601238+00:00 IST

Varun Aaron ahead of U-19 World Cup 2026

The prestigious event is scheduled to take place in Namibia and Zimbabwe from January 15 to February 6, 2026. Led by Ayush Mhatre, the five-time champions India have been placed in Group B alongside New Zealand, USA and Bangladesh.

2026-01-05T11:38:05.795377+00:00 IST

Shubman Gill practices ahead of Goa clash

India's ODI-Test skipper Shubman Gill practices ahead of Punjab's Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) fixture against Goa at the KL Saini Stadium on Tuesday.

2026-01-05T10:05:10.354565+00:00 IST

Capitals to square off against Eastern Cape at Centurion

The Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will resume their intense rivalry when these two formidable sides meet in the ongoing SA20 at Centurion on Monday.

2026-01-05T08:44:30.942220+00:00 IST