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Abhishek Sharma Rise, Gardner To Lead GG And Coetzee Out – February 5 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Abhishek Sharma and Ashleigh Gardner [Source: @BCCI, @cricketcomau/x]Abhishek Sharma and Ashleigh Gardner [Source: @BCCI, @cricketcomau/x]

Indian batting star Abhishek Sharma made a huge leap on the latest ICC rankings. Gerald Coetzee has been ruled out of South Africa’s plans for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, In other news, Joe Root is set to return to England’s ODI set up after a gap of over a year.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Wednesday, February 5.

Abhishek Sharma Jumps To Number 2 On ICC T20I Rankings

Abhishek Sharma jumped 38 places to rise to number two on the latest ICC rankings for men’s T20I batters. The 24-year-old recently shattered numerous batting records through the course of his whirlwind 135 from just 54 balls against England at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Launching seven boundaries and 13 sixes in the process, the innings marked Abhishek’s second century in T20I cricket.

The youngster now finds himself just behind his IPL opening partner for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Australian batting juggernaut, Travis Head. At the expense of Abhishek Sharma’s meteoric rise, fellow Indian batting stars Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav both lost a rung each to slip to number three and number five respectively.

ICC Confirm Match Officials For Champions Trophy 2025

The International Cricket Council (ICC) listed out the entire list of match officials for the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and in the UAE. The apex body named 12 umpires, and three additional match referees to officiate in the high-profile eight-team tournament, set to be played between February 19 and March 9.

Seasoned umpires like Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough found themselves among the elite panel. Interestingly, no Indian official, including prominent match referee Javagal Srinath, was named in the officiating list by the ICC.

As it turned out, both Srinath as well as Indian umpire Nitin Menon reportedly opted themselves out of the tournament to avoid travelling to Pakistan amidst the ongoing geopolitical tensions shared between the two countries.

Ashleigh Gardner Replaces Mooney As Gujarat Giants Captain In WPL

Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has been appointed as the captain of the Gujarat Giants franchise for the upcoming WPL 2025 season. The 27-year-old replaced national teammate Beth Mooney, after the blistering wicketkeeper-batter led the franchise in the preceding two editions of the tournament.

Notably, Gardner is yet to miss a single game for the Giants, having turned up for the franchise in each of their 16 matches spanning two different editions of the tournament in the last two years. The cricketer hauled 324 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of nearly 130, all while harvesting 17 wickets through her off-breaks. Despite her best efforts, the Gujarat Giants franchise secured the unwanted wooden-spooner tag on both occasions.

Joe Root Returns As England Announce XI For 1st ODI Vs India

England’s seasoned campaigner Joe Root is set to make his return to ODI cricket through his team’s three-match series against India. The modern-day batting behemoth was included in England’s playing XI for the series-opening first ODI, set to be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on February 6. Root played the last of his 171 ODIs for England during their dismal 2023 World Cup campaign in India. The 34-year-old recently featured in several SA20 matches for the Paarl Royals franchise.

Jos Buttler is set to continue as England skipper, and he and Root will be accompanied by the likes of Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid among others in the playing XI.

Gerald Coetzee Officially Ruled Out Of CT 2025

South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee has been ruled out of his team’s 2025 ICC Champions Trophy squad. The news was confirmed by Cricket South Africa (CSA) mere hours after the speedster was included in South Africa’s squad for the tri-series in Pakistan. Coetzee has now been ruled out of both ODI competitions as he is yet to attain full recovery from the left hamstring strain he sustained during South Africa’s home series against Sri Lanka late last year.