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Renegades complete their aim of strengthen the top order while Adams links back up with coach Luke Williams

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2023The English influx to the WBBL continues with Tammy Beaumont signing with Melbourne Renegades while Adelaide Strikers have signed Southern Brave off-spinning allrounder Georgia Adams for the upcoming season despite her having not played international cricket.Beaumont’s signing is not a surprise after the England opener had opted out of the WBBL overseas draft and instead had committed to the tournament via a new direct signing rule. Overseas players were given the option of bypassing the draft and signing directly with a club, but could only do so at a restricted salary of AU$61,750, despite the platinum and gold picks in the draft earning AU$110,000 and AU$90,000 respectively.Beaumont joined England team-mates Amy Jones (Perth Scorchers) and Sophia Dunkley (Melbourne Stars), as well as South Africa pair Mignon du Preez (Brisbane Heat) and Lizelle Lee (Hobart Hurricanes), and New Zealander Suzie Bates in taking the direct nomination route. Bates is expected to return to Sydney Sixers but it has yet to be confirmed.Related

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Beaumont played for Renegades previously in 2019 before having three seasons with Sydney Thunder, including playing in their 2020 title success. She started her WBBL career at Strikers, playing three seasons there between 2016 and 2018.Beaumont joins West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur at Renegades coming off a season where she became the first player to score a century in the Women’s Hundred.Coach Simon Helmot told ESPNcricinfo at the overseas draft that Renegades needed to bolster their batting, hence they had recruited three top-order overseas players.”We have to improve our batting,” Helmot said. “We need runs, and that’s something that we missed last season, obviously with Harmanpreet not able to come and with Jess Duffin then not able to play either, we just didn’t recover from that. So batting depth is what we’re looking to develop.”Georgia Adams dented Superchargers with three wickets•ECB/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Strikers have made a bold move in recruiting Adams, who will also play for New South Wales this season, despite the fact she has not played international cricket. Strikers only took two players at the draft, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and emerging England allrounder Danielle Gibson. They did not retain title-winning West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin mainly due to salary cap constraints.Instead, they have opted to sign Adams post the draft which is allowed under WBBL rules after the 29-year-old had nominated but was not selected by any team. Adams reunites with Strikers coach Luke Williams after the pair worked together to help Southern Brave win the Women’s Hundred this year, with Williams working as an assistant coach under Charlotte Edwards.Adams was a key contributor for Brave in their title with both bat and ball. She was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps and an economy rate of just 6.83. She also made a match-winning 50 not out from 32 balls against Oval Invincibles late in the season and contributed a vital 27 in the low-scoring final.”Georgia is someone that consistently performs in domestic cricket in the UK and is able to perform in a number of different roles with bat, ball and in the field,” Williams said.”Her adaptability and ability to perform under pressure is something that stood out and fitted what we were looking for.”Georgia is a great team person who has some experience in leadership positions as well, so I have no doubt that Georgia will fit in fantastically with the Strikers group and I’m really looking forward to her contribution.”

Since they last won the title, Sydney Sixers have consistently reached the finals but stumbled short of the prize

Andrew McGlashan25-Jan-2025Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has called for the club to take a hard look at why they have stumbled in finals over recent seasons after falling to crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder in the Challenger on Friday, but he refused to blame the absence of key players on Australia Test duty.Sixers had given themselves a double chance of reaching Monday’s final by finishing second in the regular season but lost to Hobart Hurricanes in the Qualifier before coming up short against Thunder at the SCG.It meant that since winning the second of back-to-back titles in the 2020-21 season, they have won just two out of nine matches in finals series.Related

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“Unfortunately we’ve saved our worst two performances for the last two games of the year,” he said. “We do have to have a look at how we’ve performed in finals the last three years because I don’t think our record is great now. We gave ourselves two chances this year because of how well we played throughout the year. We had two chances last year as well and two chances the year before.”I am proud that we’ve got a group that consistently puts us in a position to win the tournament and gives us the very best opportunity at the end of the league games to go on and win but unfortunately this year we weren’t good enough.”Henriques said the debrief on the season would start straightaway. After the final there is a ten-day trade window where out-of-contract players from other clubs can be signed. Sixers head into that period with ten on their list – the maximum permitted – leaving Jackson Bird, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti and Kurtis Patterson as those who are free agents.”It’s the high pressure nature of sport that you can’t always perform when you want to,” Henriques said. “Why we’ve been not able to play our best in these games is something we’re going to have to have a look at and definitely discuss for a while after the game because we’re not rushing off to anywhere. There’s a lot to learn from the last couple of days.”Some of the best learnings are in these situations because a lot of that group is going to be around again next year and hopefully we can put ourselves in a position next year to challenge again.”Steven Smith was available for three matches this season where he made a spectacular 121 not out followed by 52 but, along with Todd Murphy and Sean Abbott, left after the regular season for Australia’s training camp in Dubai ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.When Sixers won the first of the back-to-back titles in the 2019-2020 season, they had Smith, Nathan Lyon (who is now with Melbourne Renegades) and Josh Hazlewood (currently recovering from injury) available for the finals along with their regular key names.”It’s a really tough one,” Henriques said when asked about the overlapping schedules. “I think the pinnacle of cricket is playing international sport for your country and we’re very proud of the three guys that get selected. That’s obviously not including Starcy and Josh Hazlewood.”That’s a feather in our cap as a squad that they want to play cricket for our team and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I still feel like we’ve got players that can win us the match when they go away.”I said before the last game to the group, even though we only had 12 players, somehow it was still a headache to try and pick 11 because of what I believe to be the quality of this group and the quality of players that we have.”In the 2020-21 final, James Vince produced the match-winning hand of 95 against Perth Scorchers and has remained a regular with the club but left early for the ILT20, as did West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. The other draft signing was young English legspinner Jafer Chohan who stood out when he came into the side, returning 2 for 28 and 2 for 22 the two finals, conceding just one boundary in each game.”He’s been really impressive,” Henriques said. “He sat patiently waiting for a game. I think through the four matches that he played, I couldn’t remember one bad ball, which, for a wristspinner, is just extraordinary. I think he’s got a big future ahead of him.”

Wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali replaces him in the squad

Mohammad Isam16-Mar-2024Bangladesh have dropped Litton Das for the third ODI against Sri Lanka. He has been released from the squad on advice from the team management to play in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.Bangladesh have replaced him with wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali, who scored an impressive 68 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. He has 84 List A appearances and has racked up 1918 runs at an average of 34.87.It is the first time that Litton has lost his place since 2021 when he was dropped for a T20I series against Pakistan.Litton was out without scoring in the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka, and also failed to impress in the T20I series against them, registering scores of 0, 36 and 7 in the three matches.From the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Litton has scored just 313 runs in 14 ODIs at an average of 24.07. He has crossed the 50-run mark just twice in that time.”With the series now hanging in the balance, we believe Jaker Ali’s addition will provide the team with more options and flexibility in the middle order,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chairman of the Bangladesh selection panel was quoted as saying in a BCB release. “Considering Litton’s recent performance in white-ball cricket, we opted for this change, mindful of the availability of two other capable openers within the squad.”Anamul Haque and Tanzid Hasan are the other two openers in the Bangladesh squad, and one of them will likely slot in alongside Soumya Sarkar, who impressed with a 66-ball 68 in the last match.Bangladesh squad for 3rd ODI: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaker Ali

He held the top position at PCB through one of the most chaotic and tumultuous periods in Pakistan’s cricketing history

Danyal Rasool03-Aug-2023Former Pakistan wicketkeeper and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has died at the age of 85 in Lahore.In 2008, he was appointed chairman of the PCB by then-president Asif Ali Zardari. He held that position through one of the most chaotic and tumultuous periods in Pakistan’s cricketing history. Just five months into his tenure, there was a terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and match officials that claimed the lives of eight people and stopped international cricket in Pakistan for the best part of a decade. It was followed by angry accusations of lax security by ICC match referee Chris Broad which Butt dismissed as “lies”.The Pakistan captaincy changed hands several times during his tenure, with Shoaib Malik famously described as “aloof and a loner” in a report, days after he was sacked. After a disastrous tour of Australia, the PCB hit back with huge sanctions against its own players. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned “indefinitely” in 2010, Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans, while Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were put on six-month probations. Yousuf and Younis were back playing Test cricket a few months later.Butt would also have to content with the fallout from the spot-fixing scandal that saw three Pakistan players – captain Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – caught agreeing to bowl no-balls in a Test at Lord’s in exchange for money. The three players were banned, and relations between the PCB and England turned especially frosty, which Butt played a part in contributing to on at least one occasion.Butt was replaced by Zaka Ashraf, who is also the current PCB chairman, in 2011.He played eight Tests for Pakistan, making his debut in Karachi against West Indies in 1959 as a wicketkeeper-batter. His last match came at The Oval against England in 1962. He was the manager of the Pakistan team for a tour of Australia in 1982 and headed the selection committee a couple of times. He also served as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan – the precursor to the PCB – from 1984-88.PCB management committee chairperson Ashraf said: “On behalf of the PCB, I want to express my deepest condolences on the sad demise of Mr Ijaz Butt.”I had the privilege of knowing him personally and I have nothing but utmost respect for Mr Butt. I offer my deepest condolences to Ijaz Butt’s family and friends, and assure them that he will always be remembered for the contributions he made to Pakistan cricket.”

Trott praised the fitness of the team in the Chennai heat while Naveen-ul-Haq says he will remember the wins over England and Pakistan for the rest of his life

Deivarayan Muthu24-Oct-20236:01

Trott: ‘Winning inspires another generation’

Afghanistan’s victory over Pakistan in the World Cup game in Chennai is so monumental that it could inspire the next generation in the country to take up cricket, their head coach Jonathan Trott says.”I think it just shows the amount of talent in the side for the country again, as when we were fortunate enough to beat England,” Trott said at his post-match press conference. “It inspires another generation of players to pick up a cricket bat and a cricket ball, work on their fielding and their fitness. We see that the guys are very fit today and fielding for 50 overs and then Ibrahim [Zadran] batting for 35, close to 40 overs is a great, great credit to him.”Seamer Naveen-ul-Haq also toasted Afghanistan’s win – their first over Pakistan in eight attempts in ODI cricket – and hoped that it would bring joy and solace to their fans back home.Related

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“It does mean a lot to the people of our country back home,” Naveen said at the mixed-zone media interaction. “As you know, the situation back home…The earthquake also hit [in Herat] a few days ago. So, there’s not a lot of happiness in the country without cricket. So, at least we’ve given them some moments of happiness tonight.”Naveen also insisted that Afghanistan’s recent wins will not impact his decision to retire from ODI cricket after the ongoing World Cup. He continues to be a key player for Afghanistan – and various franchise teams – in T20 cricket.”No, no, no. Not at all. That’s my final decision I’ve made,” Naveen said. “Luckily, I will remember this World Cup for the rest of my life – beating Pakistan and beating England. I’m hoping for the best in the upcoming games.”Afghanistan registered their first ODI win against Pakistan in Chennai•ICC/Getty Images

Afghanistan had also taken down defending champions England earlier in the tournament, but Trott urged his team to be more consistent in all disciplines if they’re to chalk up more such wins in the future.”I think it’s just a message of consistency and not being scared to say, listen, we need to improve in these areas, let’s make sure we do this,” Trott said. “And I’m under no illusion that there are areas that need improving, like any side though. So, if we improve at those slowly, I think our all-round package improves and you’ll be able to handle the pressure like we’ve done tonight.”I’m looking forward. I’m already sort of thinking about plans for Sri Lanka.”But for me as a coach, it’s fantastic to be able to sit here. The players deserve a lot of the credit. It’s not what I’m feeding them. It’s what they’re feeding themselves in practice and the way that they think about the game and the professionalism that’s building. The one thing I would say … they’re very fit. They’re working incredibly hard at their fitness and then in the gym, they’re not doing beach weights, they’re doing proper fitness work and we saw that today with Rahmat [Shah] being able to field for 50 overs and then bat for the amount of time that he did in that heat, so it’s a real credit to the players.”

He and Graham Clark put on 181 together to break their own record for Durham’s highest T20 stand

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Jul-2025Durham secured a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast as a record-breaking partnership from centurion Alex Lees and Graham Clark led them to a resounding nine-wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.Steelbacks won the toss and batted first and David Willey (62) exploited a platform set by Matthew Breetzke (52) with some destructive hitting, but an excellent spell from Matthew Potts helped reel Northants in late on as they finished on 203 for 5.Lees and Clark made an excellent start to the Durham chase as they raced to 100 within eight overs and they continued the charge as they broke the record for Durham’s highest T20 partnership, previously held by the same pair against the same team.They made the chase look easy, hitting 12 sixes between them in a partnership worth 181, while Lees reached his maiden T20 century as he steered his side home with plenty of time to spare.Northants started well, but there was a big let-off for them early on as Will Rhodes dropped Breetzke on 10 when the South African opener mistimed a pull shot off Potts. He made Durham pay for that mishap as he heaved a Codi Yusuf ball over the legside boundary for six to continue his positive start.Breetzke continued his onslaught as he smashed three consecutive balls from Yusuf for six, but Durham struck through Callum Parkinson as Ricardo Vasconcelos tried to smash one down the ground but he could only find Potts at long-off.Breetzke continued his side’s charge and he passed fifty from 31 balls, his fourth in the competition, but he then fell for a swashbuckling 52, with Nathan Sowter picking up the wicket as the opener holed out to Rhodes on the boundary.Willey then made the most of some short-pitched bowling from Parkinson as he smashed back-to-back sixes down the ground.The Northants skipper then reached his fifty from 25 balls with a six off the bowling of Sowter to continue his team’s charge towards a massive total.Willey then continued his devastating display of hitting as he smashed a Raine ball over the long-on boundary for six.Potts removed Ravi Bopara for a tidy 33 to halt the Northants charge, with a jumping David Bedingham taking a nice catch, and Willey’s excellent knock ended as he feathered a Potts ball through to Ollie Robinson for 62.Potts struck for a third time in the final over to remove George Bartlett, but the Steelbacks finished on a total of 203 for 5.In pursuit of 204, Lees and Clark got off to a solid start, with the former clubbing a Ben Sanderson delivery down the ground for four.Lees then pulled off an inventive shot as he scooped a Willey ball for six and he backed that up with one that he whipped away for four.The Durham skipper sent George Scrimshaw’s first ball into the stands as he produced an excellent pull shot and he did the same thing with the following ball.Clark then pulled a Luke Procter ball for six as the hosts raced to 78 without loss in the powerplay, while Lees reached his half-century from 23 balls at the other end.Clark then heaved a Sanderson ball for six to reach his half-century from 26 balls as Durham continued their charge.Clark pummeled a Lloyd Pope delivery down the ground for six and Lees followed that up with two more blows over the long-on boundary.Lees then hit a beautiful cover drive off the bowling of Procter for four, but the partnership was finally broken by Procter as Clark went for 79 as he miscued a ramp shot and was caught behind.Lees then reached his century from 48 balls and guided his team home with 21 balls to spare.

She will evaluate her leadership skills and batting in the series against Pakistan and NZ before deciding if she wants the job full time

Firdose Moonda25-Aug-2023Laura Wolvaardt will use South Africa’s series against Pakistan and New Zealand to see if she is “able to handle” the pressures of captaincy alongside her batting in order to decide if she wants the job full time.Wolvaardt was named interim captain in place of Sune Luus, who stood down last week, and promised to be a “soft-spoken,” skipper who will “lead through my actions.” She will take charge of the team for 14 matches (six in Pakistan and eight at home against New Zealand), having done the job twice before, in ODIs against India in 2021.”It was important for the next two tours for it [captaincy] to be more of an interim position to see if it’s something I am able to handle and if I can still focus on my batting with the added responsibility,” Wolvaardt said, from England, where she was playing in the Hundred. “I had a conversation with the coach and the head selector… We mutually agreed on the two tours to see if it was something I would respond well to, batting wise and leadership wise as well.”Related

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At 24, Wolvaardt is young in age but rich in experience. She made her international debut seven years ago, but is already third on South Africa’s all-time highest run-getters’ ODI list and sixth on their T20I charts. Plus, she has already played in three T20I and two fifty-over World Cups. She also has experience in leagues around the world. She is also one of only two squad members – Luus being the other – who has played in Pakistan. Given the importance of the ODI matches, in particular, which are part of the qualification process for the next World Cup, South Africa will need Wolvaardt at her best and coach Hilton Moreeng believes they will get it.”She is a very disciplined cricketer. The way she goes about her game is evident to everyone in the team. I don’t think the responsibility will impact her performance,” Moreeng said. “She knows the importance of both roles she plays in the team. We don’t think it should be a challenge regarding her performances.”Wolvaardt herself is “excited,” by the opportunity and “looking forward to actually doing it,” despite indicating she was not ready to captain earlier in the year. That, she says, was a bluff out of respect for the incumbents. “It’s definitely always something that has been in the back of my mind. At the time, we had great leaders in Dane and Sune so I didn’t want to say anything that could impact that,” she said. “I was just biding my time and the opportunity has presented itself. I am very excited. I think it will test me as a cricketer and develop my game as well.”Asked how she will approach the task of leadership, Wolvaardt replied with the class of one of her cover drives. “I like to think of myself as quite calm and composed. I am hoping I am able to bring that on the field as well but we’ll see what happens in tight games,” she joked. “I am a little bit more soft-spoken than what other captains might be. I am just going to try and lead from my actions and lead from the front. Hopefully that’s alright.”Wolvaardt has not been part of the team’s pre-tour camp in South Africa because she has been playing in the women’s Hundred and will meet up with the squad in Pakistan. She does not see her absence from what Moreeng described as an intense discussion on the issues affecting the squad, including some players’ unhappiness with him continuing in the job, as an issue. “I’ve been in the side for seven or eight years. It’s not like I am coming into a side where I don’t know half of the people,” she said.She was also not in South Africa for the launch for the announcement of the professionalism of the top-tier of the women’s domestic game, which will see 66 players contracted across six teams. Having given up the opportunity to pursue a degree in medicine to build a career in cricket, Wolvaardt knows first-hand the sacrifices generations of female cricketers had to make to play the game and welcomed the development.”It’s incredible that girls have a bit more of a pathway to come through,” she said. “It’s always been a challenge for us to fill the gaps because there is not much support outside of the national team or there wasn’t. I’m really looking forward to the future. We will be able to keep a lot more young girls in cricket. They will actually see it as a viable career option. And it takes a little bit of pressure off the contracted players as well because you have that safety net to fall back on. Hopefully we are able to play with a bit more freedom knowing that we have that.”

“Hitting the ball felt completely fine,” Steven Smith says of the training sessions with a hard cricket ball in a baseball cage in New York

Andrew McGlashan30-Jun-2025Steven Smith got creative in his recovery from the finger injury that ruled him out of the first Test against West Indies, finding a baseball batting cage in New York where he was able to face throwdowns before rejoining the squad in Barbados.Smith suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger when he dropped Temba Bavuma at Lord’s during the World Test Championship final but, despite the gruesome nature of the injury which made Smith feel “sick” when he saw it with team-mates noting how he went pale, he avoided the need for surgery.Given he was limited in what he could do early in the recovery, and needed to be careful how much he sweated, he opted to travel the five hours to New York where he owns an apartment.Related

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Smith began facing tennis balls and soft cricket balls before moving to hard ones in his second session in the cage, sending the footage back to Barbados to the Australia medical staff, who were happy with his progress.”My mate actually told me about it, which was ideal because it was pretty warm there [in New York],” he said. “Underneath this bridge there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there, so it was good to be in the shade, it was pretty hot there.”After returning to the Caribbean, Smith had his stitches removed on Sunday and fitted with a thinner splint, which should make things easier when wearing batting gloves. He will have his first proper net against bowlers on Tuesday in Grenada, but was confident of being able to slot back into the side, which would mean Josh Inglis dropping out.”For me, it’ll just feel like training as normal, I think,” he said. “I don’t really feel any pain or anything. [It’s] just getting used to the splint on and the slight limited movement. It’s not too bad, I’ve got a lot of movement there now, so that feels good. Hitting the ball felt completely fine.”Fielding some balls in front of the wicket will probably be the strangest thing for me, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match. Fielding at either probably mid-on or mid-off or fine leg, is a bit different to standing at the second or first slip.”Smith watched the first Test closely and joked “there was probably a few occasions I was happy that I wasn’t out there,” given the amount the pitch was offering for the quick bowlers. He had sympathy with the challenges posed to the top order and, in a similar vein to coach Andrew McDonald, acknowledged it could take time for things to click for the likes of Sam Konstas, citing his own wait for a maiden Test century, which came in his 12th match and 23rd innings.”These guys are good players, there’s been a lot of talk around it but… we just need to give them an opportunity,” he said. “It doesn’t always come around straight away. We’ve just got to give them an opportunity and let them get used to playing in these conditions and in international cricket. These guys have some really good talent and I think they have bright futures.”The injury made Steven Smith feel “sick” when he saw it with team-mates noting how he went pale•Getty Images

The squad will travel to Grenada on Monday, where none of the current team has played before. The last time Australia were on the island was for a pair of ODIs in 2008. Due to the short turnaround between Tests, the incumbent fast bowlers are not expected to train much in the lead-up. Given his lack of batting in the last couple of weeks, Smith said he would likely have two sessions.The previous Test at the National Stadium was in 2022 when England toured. It was a low-scoring affair dominated by the pace bowlers. The visitors were bundled for 120 in their second innings as West Indies clinched the series 1-0 with the medium pace of Kyle Mayers claiming 5 for 18. Anything similar will leave left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann on the sidelines again. With Josh Hazlewood taking five wickets in Barbados, it would be a very tough call for the selectors should they opt to leave out a quick at any point in the series.West Indies’ former captain Kraigg Brathwaite will be playing his 100th Test, while Mitchell Starc will notch up No. 99 and could join the century club in Jamaica. Starc also needs nine more wickets to reach 400.

“When you have a mega auction you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible,” Sanjiv Goenka says

Sreshth Shah28-Aug-2024Sanjiv Goenka, the Lucknow Super Giants owner, did not give much away about his team’s retention plans and captain KL Rahul’s future with the franchise, but admitted that the upcoming mega auction will mean the team “resets” in some aspects ahead of IPL 2025.Speaking to the media in Kolkata alongside newly unveiled mentor Zaheer Khan, Goenka said LSG’s retention decisions will not be made with a short-term view.”All decisions are medium-term and need to be thought of carefully,” he said. “When you have a mega auction you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible. The coach Justin Langer continues, [support staff] Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes will also be there. So it is a question of improving and going further from where you are now.”Rahul, the LSG captain since the team’s first IPL in 2022, was in Kolkata this week and met Goenka. Goenka did not get into the details of their conversation, but called Rahul “family”.”I have been meeting KL on and off regularly over the last three years,” Goenka said. “Frankly I am surprised this meeting is getting a lot of attention [in the media]. He is integral [to LSG]. He has been here since the inception. For me personally and for [my son] Shashwat [Goenka, who is also involved in running LSG], he is like family.”After two playoff appearances in IPL 2022 and 2023, LSG missed the playoffs for the first time in the 2024 season, finishing seventh on the table because of a poor net run rate. It was the first time the franchise did not have the services of mentor Gautam Gambhir, who had moved to Kolkata Knight Riders. In the coming season, Goenka believes Zaheer’s presence “will do wonders” for the team.”Beginning of a new relationship. Zaheer has impressed me as a player, coach and strategist,” Goenka said. “His hunger for success is something that attracted me to bring him into the LSG franchise.Zaheer Khan was formally named Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor on Wednesday•Sreshth Shah/ESPNcricinfo

“A couple of weeks ago, I realised he wasn’t with any cricket franchise. I called him up. We spoke. He agreed. And he’s here. It’s as short and as quick as it gets. We are very excited to have him on board.”Zaheer, who had been associated with Mumbai Indians from 2018 to 2022 as director of cricket and head of global development, said he will serve in a similar role at LSG. He said he was particularly impressed with the “building blocks” put together by a “young franchise in only three years”, and felt that he shared the owners’ vision.”Yes it happened exactly in the same words how Mr Goenka explained. We got on a call and realised we have a similar stance on many topics about cricket,” Zaheer said. “We discussed the direction, the culture, the brand the team wants to play. The building blocks are already in place. It’s a relatively young franchise but it doesn’t seem like that. Reaching playoffs in this fiercely competitive league isn’t easy and [seeing their progress] gives me confidence.””It is a team game, so I will be serving the team in every capacity possible, and yes, it includes bowling. If I am there in the set-up, does the team need another bowling coach?” he said with a smile. “When you see LSG, their journey is only three years but they are as comparable to the teams who have played the IPL for 17-18 years. The building blocks are in place and we need to take them forward. Decision-making will be something we’ll work on, since it is something that can differentiate teams.”As it stands, LSG’s roster includes Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Naveen-ul-Haq and Devdutt Padikkal, among others. The teams are expected to know the IPL’s retention rules in early September, after which they will decide on whom to retain, possibly with a late-November deadline, before the mega auction leading into IPL 2025.

A potentially spicy final week of this exciting tour is now upon us

Sidharth Monga13-Dec-20250:57

Chopra: No cricketing reason to promote Axar to No.3

Big picture – India under rare pressure

South Africa’s win over India in New Chandigarh was pretty significant. It was only the third match India have lost out of 17 this year. It was the first time they won the toss and still lost since January. They went the whole last year with a single defeat after winning the toss.While it might be prudent to ignore the meltdown the country went into at just the third loss in a year in a fickle format, India will need to address issues. Was the reason behind promoting a spin disruptor, Axar Patel, against high pace a good one? What does Suryakumar Yadav need to do to get some runs? How do they get Marco Jansen out of their hair?From stunning India in the Tests to taking the ODI series to a decider to putting the hosts under pressure in T20Is, South Africa are having an unbelievable tour of India. They are yet to get the better of Varun Chakravarthy, but to score 0 for 45 off Jasprit Bumrah is half the battle.A potentially spicy final week of this exciting tour is now upon us.

Form guide

India LWWWL
South Africa WLLLW2:29

Ryan ten Doeschate has faith that Gill, Suryakumar ‘will come good’

In the spotlight – Donovan Ferreira and Jasprit Bumrah

Before New Chandigarh, Bumrah had never been hit for four sixes in a single T20I innings. A lot of it was down to Donovan Ferreira, who scored 17 off 6 off Bumrah, the best strike-rate for a batter against Bumrah in a T20I where they went at each other for six balls or more. He took Bumrah for two sixes, the joint-highest any batter has done in a single T20I. In the final equation, it was this assault that made it a bridge too far for India. There will likely be a repeat of this contest since Bumrah is a death bowler and Ferreira a lower-middle-order batter. Who will come out on top this time?Related

• Classy de Kock shows shades of old at just the right time

• Suryakumar's lack of runs a worry in lead-up to T20 World Cup

• Baartman makes his case to move ahead in SA's bowling queue

Team news – Changes only if conditions ask for them

India might have lost comprehensively but their combination was hardly at fault. Don’t expect much to change unless they want more batting depth or extra spin options.India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt.), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.South Africa might bring back Anrich Nortje for Lutho Sipamla; the spinner slot might be a toss-up between Keshav Maharaj and George Linde, who have both played a match each.South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram (capt.), 3 Tristan Stubbs/ Reeza Hendricks, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 George Linde/ Keshav Maharaj, 9 Lungi Ngidi/ Corbin Borsch, 10 Ottneil Baartman, 11 Anrich Nortje/ Lutho Sipamla

Pitch and conditions – All about the chase

Dharamsala is a tough venue to defend totals. Of the five T20Is with results that were played at night, four have been won by the chasing side. The cold temperatures – single digits possibly – could bring in assistance for fast bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• Varun Chakravarthy is one wicket short of 50 in T20Is. Among players from ICC Full Member teams, only Kuldeep Yadav, Rashid Khan, Ajantha Mendis and Imran Tahir have 50 or more wickets at a better average than Varun’s 15.38.
• At 76 wickets, Lungi Ngidi is one behind Kagiso Rabada and 13 behind South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is: Tabraiz Shamsi.

Quotes

“On a night when he’s off you got to take what you can get because I don’t know when you can get it again. He’s a world-class performer and I’m sure he’ll be back to his best again tomorrow night or maybe later in the series.”