Rajat Patidar and Yashasvi Jaiswal [Source: @imkevin149, @BCCI/x]
Indian players are set to travel to UAE for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy without their families. Star Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has joined the Mumbai squad ahead of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy semifinals, while Rajat Patidar pipped Virat Kohli to become the new captain of the RCB franchise.
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 Thursday, February 13.
Indian Players To Travel Without Families In Champions Trophy
The Indian cricket players will not be allowed to be accompanied by their families in the UAE during the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, according to reports. The development comes in the wake of BCCI’s strict imposition over Indian players, following their humiliating Test series defeats to New Zealand and Australia.
As reported by PTI, wives and girlfriends of Indian cricket players will not be travelling with the team, thus preventing the likes of Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh from accompanying Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma respectively.
Yashasvi Jaiswal Joins Mumbai For Ranji Trophy Semifinals
Yashasvi Jaiswal, India’s leading run-getter during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in Australia, has been added to Mumbai squad ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 Ranji Trophy semifinals. The dashing left-handed batter is also one of the non-travelling reserves for Team India in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Jaiswal recently turned up for Mumbai for an Elite Group A match against Jammu and Kashmir before joining the Indian team for an ODI against England. Mumbai’s semifinal of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season will be played against Vidarbha between February 17 and February 21 in Nagpur.
Rajat Patidar Becomes RCB Captain For IPL 2025
The RCB franchise appointed Rajat Patidar as their new captain for the upcoming IPL 2025 season. The 31-year-old pipped leading contender and senior man Virat Kohli, and replaced Faf du Plessis as skipper after the legendary South African cricketer was released by the franchise prior to the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Patidar made his IPL debut back in 2021 for the RCB franchise. To date, the cricketer has played 27 IPL matches to tally 799 runs at a prolific batting average of 34.73. Moreover, Patidar holds an astonishing batting strike rate of 158.84.
Najmul Hossain Shanto Makes Bold CT 2025 Prediction
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto fired out a stern warning to all competing teams ahead of the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. While speaking at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Shanto expressed his confidence over Bangladesh’s prospects for the eight-team event. The cricketer also said that he is expecting the senior all-rounders of his 15-player group to come out all-guns blazing in the absence of legendary Shakib Al Hasan.
Bangladesh is placed in Group A of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy alongside New Zealand, India and tournament co-hosts Pakistan.
Pietersen Accuses England Of ‘Dishonesty’ After 0-3 Loss To India
Former England captain and active commentator Kevin Pietersen has accused the current English team of being ‘dishonest’ with fans after losing their three-match ODI series against hosts India by a 0-3 margin. Pietersen lambasted England’s travelling players for skipping training sessions in favour of attending golf tournaments between games.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also slammed the English team for using injuries as an excuse of skipping practice sessions, and claimed that the players should have hit the nets to enhance the art of combating spinners on spin-friendly Indian surfaces.