India

2:47 AM GMT Fielding at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium can be tricky in the evening because of the floodlights, which are lower than at most other grounds. In the IPL, this venue, home of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has seen a catch conversion rate of only 70%. India’s fielders also found it difficult in the T20I

The Vidarbha players pose with the trophy © PTI Into its 86th year, the biggest first-class competition in the world – the Ranji Trophy – gets bigger with a 38th team, Chandigarh, added to the roster for the 2019-20 season. Like every year, it gives around 800 hopefuls a platform to establish themselves. Players aside,

8:17 AM GMT “Ball dekho, maaro.” (See ball, hit ball) Speaking to Chahal TV for the BCCI website, this was how KL Rahul summed up his approach and mindset after getting to a start in India’s pursuit of 208 against West Indies in the T20I series opener in Hyderabad. In stark contrast to his captain

6:09 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Virat Kohli smashed his highest ever T20I score, making 94* off 50 balls as India chased a massive target of 208 against West Indies in the first T20I in Hyderabad. Kohli’s innings was played in two parts, both sharply contrasting with each other. Off the first 25 balls he faced,

3:48 PM GMT Even as he waits for the Supreme Court to consider rolling back certain reforms, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has cautioned that without experienced people at the helm, even the richest and most powerful cricket board could fall swiftly. Ganguly said “continuity” was “a very important” yardstick in running a sport and so

1:44 PM GMT The BCCI will have to wait for the New Year to see if the Supreme Court will approve the amendments to the board’s constitution which would roll back some of the key reforms recommended by the RM Lodha Committee. On Wednesday, the court “tentatively” listed January 14 as the next date of

11:10 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The limited-overs series between India and West Indies, which begin from Friday with a T20I, will have front-foot no-balls exclusively monitored by the third umpires. Announcing the development on Thursday, the ICC said that the on-field umpires would be responsible for all other decisions “in the usual way” while the

8:00 AM GMT Big picture You look at the ICC T20I rankings and wonder, how the mighty have fallen. The reigning champions of T20Is enter the three-match series ranked tenth. But as it often is after the Caribbean Premier League, rankings mean very little because the team composition is so different from the one only

7:43 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Robin Morris, the former Mumbai first-class cricketer, has been arrested along with four others in Mumbai over an alleged kidnapping, the Indian Express reported. The case revolves around an unsuccessful attempt by Morris to obtain a loan, as per the newspaper’s report. The Express quoted a police officer from the

11:25 AM GMT Just a day after Karnataka State Cricket Association president Roger Binny said his administration was striving to keep cricket “clean”, a senior official of the state’s managing committee has been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into corruption in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL). Sudhindra Shinde, a former Karnataka player, was

7:27 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Follow all the news updates in the lead-up to the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy here December 3 Suryakumar Yadav is the new Mumbai captain Mumbai, Ranji Trophy champions on 41 occasions, will begin the 2019-20 season with a new captain. The Mumbai Cricket Association announced in-form top-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav as

4:37 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Priyam Garg will look to join a select list of India Under-19 World Cup-winning captains consisting of Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw when he leads the team at the 2020 edition in South Africa in January-February. Uttar Pradesh’s wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel has been named his deputy.

© BCCI Just over a month after being elected BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly had plenty to sort through at his new administration’s first annual general meeting (AGM), in Mumbai on Sunday. His team had to look at variety of issues dating back to 2016, when the previous AGM was held. After the meeting, Ganguly spoke

12:02 PM GMT Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai To avoid being held in contempt of court, the BCCI has decided to wait for the Supreme Court of India’s approval before carrying out sweeping changes to its constitution, which would result in significantly rolling back the Lodha Committee’s reforms. The court is likely to hear the matter

7:39 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Virat Kohli‘s India have blown away oppositions at home – just ask South Africa and Bangladesh who were at the receiving end recently. And armed with an incredible bowling attack, they’ve also established their dominance overseas, including winning a historic Test series in Australia in January earlier this year. So,

5:11 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff There is “absolute clarity” between MS Dhoni and the BCCI regarding his future according to the board president Sourav Ganguly. India’s premier wicketkeeper batsman has been on sabbatical ever since the end of the World Cup and although the general public can only speculate about what is going to happen,

11:43 AM GMT Abhimanyu Mithun is having a domestic season to remember. First, he picked a birthday hat-trick and a maiden five-wicket haul during Karnataka’s win over Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final last month. On Friday, he not only picked another hat-trick but became perhaps the only bowler to pick five wickets

6:45 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Umesh Yadav says he knew he would get another shot at the highest level if he kept himself fit and trained hard when he was picked only occasionally across formats over the last two years. As such, Yadav appears to be out of the race in the white-ball formats for

10:22 AM GMT Rahul Dravid believes IPL franchises are “missing a trick” with regard to their support staff appointments by not involving more Indian coaches. Dravid felt Indian coaches were as good as any in the world, and even if not appointed at the top of the tree, they would add value as assistant coaches

2:59 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff MS Dhoni has added to the speculation around his future with an intriguing comment on Wednesday. At an event in Mumbai, Dhoni was asked by a reporter about everyone speaking about his future plans barring himself. Dhoni’s response was brief: “January tak mat poocho (don’t ask until January).” Dhoni did

7:40 AM GMT Shashank Kishore A week after being left out of India’s T20I squad without playing a game against Bangladesh, Sanju Samson has been called in again as an injury replacement for regular opener Shikhar Dhawan for the three T20Is against West Indies starting on December 6. Dhawan injured his left leg, which the

4:28 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff MSK Prasad, in all likelihood India’s outgoing chief selector, has hinted that “constitutional changes” within the board might have diminished the travelling selector’s role in a few contentious selection calls in overseas Tests. Prasad was specifically asked if he was involved in the dropping of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara

1:34 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff IPL 2020 is starting to look pretty important for Indian cricket with the head coach Ravi Shastri saying it could help finalise the squad for the T20 World Cup later that year – and whether MS Dhoni would be part of it. Speculation around Dhoni’s future has been endless ever

11:23 AM GMT Perhaps the most impressive aspect of how India’s pacers dominated their home season in resounding wins over South Africa and Bangladesh was that it was done without Jasprit Bumrah, India’s highest ranked Test bowler and arguably most potent weapon. The trio of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have already stacked

6:43 PM GMT Hemant Brar KL Rahul‘s blazing half-century against Punjab gave Karnataka their third win in as many matches in the Super League of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20. Prithvi Shaw played a similar knock for Mumbai as they defeated Jharkhand in the other Group B game. Meanwhile, in Group A, Haryana beat Delhi

11:46 AM GMT Virat Kohli has urged India to replicate the Test-match stadium experiences for spectators in other countries, saying “small things” like play areas for children could help keep the audience engaged throughout the day. India’s Indore and Kolkata Tests against Bangladesh were both played in front of strong crowds, but as things stand,

7:13 PM GMT Saurabh Somani Close Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo Baroda and Karnataka surged to the top of the Super League groups A and B, winning their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on Friday. While Baroda held off Delhi by a solitary run, Karnataka beat Jharkhand by 13 runs in a

© AFP India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, has suggested that Test cricket is alive and that the ongoing day-night match against Bangladesh will put the longest format in good stead. Eden Gardens is purportedly sold out till the fourth day, and although the game looks unlikely to stretch that long, the more than 40,000-strong attendance

7:31 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff The Indian selection committee has decided to release Rishabh Pant from the Test squad in order to allow him to get some game-time ahead of India’s limited overs series against West Indies next month. Pant will link up with the Delhi squad that is currently playing in the Super League

4:06 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Ambati Rayudu has opted out of representing Hyderabad in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Rayudu had come out of retirement only in August, a few months after he had ‘retired from all formats’ following his non-selection in India’s squad at the 2019 World Cup. According to an interview with Telangana