T20 World Cup | ICC announces match officials for Australia-New Zealand final

Joe Root have ‘all options on the table’ as Stokes, Broad look ‘promising’ for first Ashes Test

England skipper Joe Root has said that one of the most discussed names in the squad for the upcoming Ashes series, Ben Stokes would be fit for the first Test of the series starting December 08 at Gabba in Brisbane. Root said Stokes has looked “promising” and he should be fit and raring to go for the first Test that will set the tone for a highly-anticipated Ashes series. "I really hope so," Root responded to the question on Stokes’ availability for the first Test. "It's been remarkable to see how far he's come. It looks very promising. He's been brilliant. We've seen him at training, having him back amongst things is always great, so it's really nice to have him back involved." Notably, Stokes was not part of the initial squad for the series and he was added into it after he declared his readiness to come back from an “indefinite break” from the game due to a complicated finger injury and mental health issues. Joe Root also addressed the concerns over Stuart Broad’s fitness. Who missed the last three Tests of the series against India and would have missed the final one as well had Covid-19 not disrupted the series. He said that Broad is bowling in the nets and is slowly getting on to the path of return towards full fitness. He ruled that bowlers are pulling up nicely and all should be ready for the first Test to give him “all options on the table”. "He bowled today in the nets again, very light workloads at the minute, but it's good to see him back in and around things, and being able to get into it," Root said. "It's about getting those workloads back up again, with all the bowlers really, making sure that they are absolutely ready to go for that first Test match. We've got all options on the table." It will be Joe Root’s second chance at winning the Ashes series in Australia as the captain of the England side. He had also led the side in the 2017-18 series but Australia were too strong for them and they ended up losing the series 3-1.

T20 World Cup | David Warner faces criticism for not showing ‘spirit of the game’ against Pakistan

Australia opener David Warner has faced some criticism after he hit a six against Mohammad Hafeez in the 8th over. Hafeez lost his control of the ball and it bounced near his foot first and then took another bounce before Warner smacked it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir criticised Warner for the stroke as he took to Twitter and questioned the spirit of the game by the batter. “What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! #Shameful What say Ashwin?” Gambhir wrote on Twitter. Warner eventually scored 49 off 30 which included three maximums and as many fours during the course. Chasing 177 in 20 overs, Australia were in a spot of bother after being reduced to 96/5 before Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade joined hands and provided the much-needed resistance. The two batsmen put on an unbeaten stand of 81 runs for the sixth wicket with Stoinis scoring 40* off 31 and Wade chipping in with a brisk 17-ball 41*. Wade struck three sixes on the trot in the penultimate over of the innings to see his side home. Australia will now play the final against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

After exclusion from Test squad, Hanuma Vihari finds place in India A squad for South Africa tour

Just hours after his omission from India’s Test squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand raised many eyebrows, Hanuma Vihari has been added into India A squad for the tour of South Africa. Vihari could not feature in the squad and there were a lot of questions over how is being treated by the team management. He last played in Test cricket in the famous Sydney Test against Australia where he and Ravichandran Ashwin batted with full of courage and determination to save India the game. He was batting while being injured and did not play any Test after that game as India preferred to go in with only five specialist batsmen and Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper-batsman in England. India A tour of South Africa is scheduled to start on November 23 while India Senior’s tour of the country is set to commence a month later and hence Vihari’s exclusion from the New Zealand series where he could not have found a place in a full-strength India side, could be seen as a potential move by the management to allow him to prepare for the conditions in South Africa.

Ravi Shastri rates Virat Kohli in highest league among Indian captains of the past

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, whose tenure ended with the conclusion of the T20 World Cup has lavished praise on Virat Kohli and the contributions that he has made. “No Indian cricketer has had the kind of success he has had in Test cricket. I don't think even on the world stage, he will be right up there with the great captains of all time when it comes to the success rate of a team,” Shastri said while talking to Republic. “So why are we even talking about it? You know unless he doesn't want unless he feels that he needs to share the burden and focus on his batting and concentrate on his batting- only he will know,” he further said. India bowed out of the T20 World Cup after losing three out of the five matches in the group stage. The defeats came against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. Former India captain Rahul Dravid has now been handed over the coach’s baton and he will begin his duties with the New Zealand series at home slated to begin on November 17.