Rohit Sharma takes over Virat Kohli as India announce squad for New Zealand T20I series

Virat Kohli to rest for the first New Zealand Test, Rohit to lead in T20Is: Reports

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli will be taking a rest in the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand starting November 17 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. He would also not be part of the Kanpur Test which would be played in Green Park from November 25 and would only join the side in the second Test scheduled to start from December 3 in Wankhede. Meanwhile reports also suggest that Rohit Sharma, the current Indian vice-captain for white-ball cricket, will lead the T20I team in the three-match series with most of the players, who were part of the T20 World Cup squad. But certain inclusions and exclusions to counter the bio-bubble fatigue are likely to be made. While KL Rahul is likely to get the vice-captaincy in the shortest format, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in the first Test. The two Tests are part of the World Test Championship and mark the beginning of New Zealand’s title defence. Varun Chakravarthy is likely to get an axe while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami might be rested for the T20Is to remain fresh for the Test series. Thus Harshal Patel and Kartik Tyagi along with Arshdeep Singh might come into the reckoning. The decision on Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the 50-over format will not be taken now as ODI has no relevance as of now and it will be confirmed after the announcement of India’s squad to South Africa, a series scheduled in December.

Mohammad Hafeez opts out of Bangladesh T20Is, Iftikhar Ahmed named as replacement

The veteran Pakistan all-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez has pulled out of the Bangladesh tour where Pakistan were scheduled to play three T20Is in Dhaka starting November 19. He was replaced by the in-form Iftikhar Ahmed, another ageing all-rounder who missed out on the 18-men T20 World Cup squad. Hafeez is the only one from the World Cup squad who is not in the squad announced for the Bangladesh series. The rest of the 14 members remain on the squad along with three reserves in Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dahani and Sohaib Maqsood. The Pakistan cricket team will be flying out straight to Bangladesh after their T20 World Cup assignment and will not be taking any sort of break before heading into the series. Post the T20 series, there will be Tests played between the teams as part of the World Test Championship. The squad for it will be named later on. As far as the coaches and support staff are concerned. Pakistan has kept Saqlain Mushtaq as the team’s interim coach while bowling consultant Vernon Philander would remain with the side till the first match as well. Pakistan squad Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir

WBBL 2021 | Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma fail as Thunder record sixth loss in nine games

Sydney Thunder Women’s marquee overseas players, the Indian duo of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma failed big time as the defending champions recorded their sixth loss in nine games in the Women’s Big bash League 2021, making their chances of defending their title slimmer by the day. Playing against Adelaide Strikers Women in an away game, the Thunder Women could only get up to 158-6 in their 20 overs chasing a total of 177. Smriti failed to get into the double figures and was removed for seven runs by Jemma Barsby. Phoebe Litchfield and Isabelle Wong tried their best to rescue the sinking ship with their quickfire 40 (28) and 43 (17) respectively, but it wasn’t enough. Deepti Sharma remained unbeaten on 17 off 14 balls. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss Strikers Women chose to bat first and rode on brilliant counter-attacking innings of 54 off just 32 balls from South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt. A patient innings from her compatriot Dane van Niekerk of 58 off 46 balls helped Adelaide’s cause to post a daunting total of 176 in their 20 overs. India’s Deepti Sharma was the most expensive bowler as she conceded 35 runs in only her two overs. In another match, veteran Grace Harris was once again at the top of her game as she scored a measured 54 off 39 balls to carry the Brisbane Heat Women over the Sydney Sixers Women. She was well supported by the other three batters and especially Georgia Voll, who remained unbeaten on 48 off 41 balls to chase down the target of 160 with eight wickets and nine balls remaining. Earlier in the afternoon at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide, Sixers Women won the toss and decided to bat first. With the help of Ashleigh Gardner’s unbeaten 88 off 52 balls, the women in pink managed to reach 159-2 in their 20 overs.

T20 World Cup | Gary Stead wary of England challenge; hopes to put up good fight in semi-finals

Speaking ahead of their much-awaited semi-final clash in the T20 World Cup, Gary Stead has said that New Zealand are very much looking forward to the England challenge once again in an ICC tournament. “We're looking forward to playing England again and being I guess a one-off game, where anything can happen," ESPNcricinfo quoted Stead speaking ahead of the game. New Zealand were on the wrong side of a heartbreaking game in the 2019 ODI World Cup final where they lost an exceptional match. “I think the guys are looking forward to the prospect of facing England again. As I said, they're a quality side and yes, we just look forward to the challenge of playing the best side as well. So, I'm not sure there will be anything from the 2019 game that will come into it...maybe a Super Over it might,” joked Stead. New Zealand have won 4 out of their 5 matches going into the semi final clash and have beaten heavyweights like India in convincing fashion. However, many have doubts on the quality the Kiwis possess as a T20I side and have shared their reservations for the same. Gary Stead, on the other hand, is confident of the group that the Blackcaps have at their disposal and stated that they are going to give it a good - a key feature of their game. “It's a pretty experienced group of guys now who know each other's games very, very well and know the skills of each other. As a collective group, we do fight and fight hard. That's all I keep asking for. The results, at the end of the day, will look after themselves if we do those little things well.” New Zealand face England in the first of the two semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on 10 November, Wednesday.