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Jadeja for VHT, Deepti Sharma No. 1 and AUS Ashes squad – December 23 Cricket highlights

Soumyajit Dutta

Pat Cummins and Ravindra Jadeja [Source: @academy_dinda/X and AFP]Pat Cummins and Ravindra Jadeja [Source: @academy_dinda/X and AFP]

India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is set to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Saurashtra, Deepti Sharma has been crowned the No. 1 Women’s T20I bowler, and Australia have announced their squad for the 4th Ashes Test against England. In other news, Jemimah Rodrigues was officially named the captain of the Delhi Capitals Women for WPL 2026.

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 Tuesday, December 23.

Pat Cummins ruled out as Steve Smith leads Australia for 4th Ashes Test

Australia on Tuesday morning announced their squad for the fourth Test of the Ashes series against England. Significantly, Pat Cummins, who returned for the third Test after missing the opening two matches, has been ruled out for the remainder of the series due to ongoing back issues.

Adding to Cummins’ absence, Australia’s star spinner Nathan Lyon will also miss out because of a hamstring injury, with Jhye Richardson and Todd Murphy called up to the squad. Notably, Steve Smith will lead the side once again after guiding the team to victories in the first two Tests. Click to read the full squad of Australia for the Boxing Day Test.

Deepti Sharma tops T20I bowling charts in the latest ICC rankings

India women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma has been ranked the number one T20I bowler in the latest ICC Women’s Player Rankings after displacing Australia’s Annabel Sutherland with a one-point lead.

Deepti currently holds an ICC rating of 737, placing her just ahead of Sutherland, who has 736. This marks the first time in her career that Deepti Sharma has reached the top spot in the ICC T20I bowling rankings. She earned the number one ranking following her figures of 1/20 against Sri Lanka in Vizag.

Fans to be denied entry for Virat Kohli matches in VHT: Report

According to a recent report from ESPNCricinfo, Delhi’s opening Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Andhra will be played behind closed doors, with no entry permitted for spectators. Notably, the fixture will feature India star Virat Kohli, who is set to return to the prestigious domestic tournament after a long gap, with the match scheduled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

 The venue has remained under scrutiny following the tragic incident during RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations. The Karnataka government is unwilling to take any risks during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with fan security understood to be the primary reason behind the decision to conduct Kohli’s comeback match without crowds.

Ravindra Jadeja set to play VHT for Saurashtra

India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has confirmed that he will represent Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26. Notably, Jadeja is set to play two group-stage matches, scheduled for January 6 and January 8.

His participation comes ahead of the upcoming New Zealand ODI series. Jadeja’s decision follows similar moves by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have also shown their intent to feature in the domestic tournament before the international fixtures in January.

Jemimah Rodrigues named DC-W captain for WPL 2026

Jemimah Rodrigues has been officially named the captain of Delhi Capitals Women on the evening of Tuesday, December 23. After several rumours circulated around the development, Delhi Capitals’ official social media handles finally confirmed the news, with the 25-year-old replacing Meg Lanning.

Rodrigues will have her first stint as captain in the tournament on January 10, when the Capitals take on the Mumbai Indians Women in the third T20 clash of the league.