![Shubman Gill and KL Rahul [Source: AP, @iplt20.com]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1753983699786_shubman_gill.jpg?type=mq)
Shubman Gill and KL Rahul [Source: AP, @iplt20.com]
Shubman Gill attained a significant batting record on an otherwise lackluster day for Team India on Day 1 of the fifth Test against England at The Oval. The KKR franchise is reportedly aiming to acquire charismatic Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul. In other news, West Indies Cricket has made four changes to its squad for the upcoming home T20I series against Pakistan.
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, July 31.
Shubman Gill Surpasses Gavaskar, Kohli For Big Record
Shubman Gill scored just 21 from 35 balls on Day 1 of The Oval Test to register a rare failure in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. Nonetheless, the cricketer soared past the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli for a rare Indian record, aggregating the highest number of runs for a captain in a single Test series.
With 743 runs from nine innings spanning five Tests against England, Shubman Gill leads Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 732 runs in the 1978-79 series against West Indies and Virat Kohli’s 655 runs against England at home back in 2016.
Hetmyer Out, Shamar In As WI Name T20I Squad For PAK Series
West Indies Cricket has named a 14-player West Indies squad for their upcoming three-match home T20I series against Pakistan. The West Indies selection committee made as many as four changes to the squad after their 0-5 drubbing at the hands of Australia at home. Shamar Joseph, Keacy Carty, Alick Athanaze and Johnson Charles have been drafted into the team as replacements for Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer respectively.
The three T20I matches between West Indies and the visiting Pakistan team will be played between August 1 and August 4 in Lauderhill.
McDermott, Iftikhar Replace Phillips, Hassan Khan In CPL 2025
Australian batter Ben McDermott and Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed are set to replace Glenn Phillips and Hassan Khan in the Guyana Amazon Warriors franchise for the CPL 2025 season. Hassan will be missing the first three matches of the tournament for Guyana, prompting the team management to rope in the Pakistani cricketer.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors franchise will go up against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in their opening match of the season on August 15 at the Warner Park in St Kitts.
KKR Looking To Acquire KL Rahul For IPL 2026 In Blockbuster Trade
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise is aiming to acquire Delhi Capitals batter and former LSG captain KL Rahul for next year’s IPL 2026 season, as reported by a Times of India reporter. Rahul recently played for the Delhi Capitals franchise in IPL 2025, composing 539 runs from 13 innings in the tournament at a prolific average of 53.90. The cricketer also listed a splendid century and three additional fifty-plus scores in the process.
ILT20 2026 Auction Gets A Date
The auction for the International League T20 (ILT20) 2026 season will be organized on September 30 in Dubai, i.e., shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 Asia Cup in the country. It will mark the first-ever player auction for an ILT20 season. All six franchises will get an opportunity to acquire 13 cricketers each at the bidding event. The franchises have already shaped their squads to some extent via pre-season signings or by player retention.
The ILT20 2026 season is scheduled to take place next year between January 10 and February 8.
