Khati Group

A customary captains' meet is set to take place in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. The captains of all the eight participating teams need to be present at the event that is scheduled to take place on 17th or 18th of February. However, there is still no clarity whether India captain Rohit Sharma will be there at the event. Notably, the Indian cricket team has not travelled to Pakistan for over a decade now due to the political tensions between the two nations. Team India even opted not to travel to the country for the upcoming Champions Trophy, and as a result, the side has been scheduled to play all its matches in Dubai, despite Pakistan being the initial designated host. BCCI newly-elected secretary Devajit Saikia gave an update on Rohit's participation regarding the captains' meet. When asked about Rohit's chances of going to Pakistan for the event, Saikia said that the board hasn't received any such proposal. "We haven't got any such prop...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday restricted the entry and movement of the mainstream and digital media at its stadiums in Karachi and Lahore which are under construction ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. The PCB is in a scramble to complete the renovation work of the stadiums ahead of next month's Champions Trophy. The media will now only be allowed to visit stadiums on a fixed day during the week when they can tour the venue and make videos in the presence of PCB media representatives. "It has become irritating for us the way some people are constantly going to the stadiums without permission and filming or talking about minor issues of construction work and presenting their views on preparations for the mega event," an insider in the board said. He said the decision to restrict the entry and movement of media at the stadiums was taken because "these conflicting reports are being picked up by the international media" and giving an impression that...

Team India's struggles on the international circuit since the arrival of head coach Gautam Gambhir haven't gone down well with the board. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly keen to bring back the old rules over fitness tests that were applicable during Virat Kohli 's captaincy days. The board had done away with the mandatory yo-yo fitness Test considering the workload and frequency of travel for the players. But, a report has claimed that the rule could be brought back. According to the Times of India , the BCCI medical team has been asked to go back to fitness criteria for selection instead of just focusing on injury prevention because of the gruelling schedule. Yo-yo test mandate was removed by the previous management to reduce the number of injuries but a U-turn could be on the cards now. "The board had gone lenient on the players since they are mostly on the road. The focus had shifted to just injury prevention. This has been taken li...

Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran produced a masterclass in tackling spinners on a tough pitch as their fifties facilitated Karnataka's entry into the Vijay Hazare Trophy final with a six-wicket over Haryana here on Wednesday. Karnataka's chase of a manageable 238 began on a shaky note, losing skipper and top run-getter Mayank Agarwal in the first over itself, as pacer Anshul Kamboj 's low-slung delivery trapped him in front of the wicket. But Devdutt (86, 113b, 8x4, 1x6) and Smaran (76, 94b, 3x4, 3x6) milked 128 runs for the third wicket as Karnataka overhauled the target in 47.2 overs, making 238 for five. But a victory with nearly three overs to spare at times can offer the picture of a canter, but the four-time champions' march to the title clash with either Vidarbha or Maharastra was anything but that. After Agarwal's dismissal, KV Aneesh (22, 47b) took 14 balls to get off the mark and never really came to terms with the deck's slow nature and v...

South Africa pacer Anrich Nortje was on Wednesday ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to a back injury. Nortje, who has not played international cricket since the T20 World Cup final in June last year, was named in the Champions Trophy squad earlier this week but scans on Monday made it clear that he is not going to be fit in time for the ICC event beginning February 19 in Pakistan. "Pretoria Capitals fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the remainder of the Betway SA20 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to a back injury," said Cricket South Africa in a statement. "The 31-year-old, who was initially named in the Champions Trophy squad, underwent scans on Monday afternoon which revealed the extent of the injury. "He is not expected to recover in time for the 50-over tournament, where South Africa will begin their campaign on February 21 against Afghanistan in Karachi, Pakistan. His replacement will be announced in due course," the statement ad...

Delhi wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat has landed himself in hot water after skipping his side's preparation camp for the upcoming round of Ranji Trophy match to attend his Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans (GT)'s training camp in Surat. Rawat was bought by GT for Rs 30 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega auction last year, having been released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Rawat was mentioned among the players who had joined the nets session in GT's official statement.  "Gujarat Titans have commenced their preparations for the IPL 2025 with a training camp in Surat. Players like Anuj Rawat, Ishant Sharma , Jayant Yadav , Kumar Kushagra , Mahipal Lomror and Arshad Khan have joined the team in the camp along with the coaches and support staff," the franchise said in a statement. At a time when the BCCI brass is adamant that players should give precedence to red-ball cricket during the season, Rawat attending an IPL camp only a week before the com...

As the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary steps into the shoes vacated by Jay Shah, the hunt for Rohit Sharma 's long-term captaincy successor has begun. Rohit reportedly came close to hanging his boots in the Test format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia but was made to change his mind by some 'well-wishers'. Rohit even claimed in an interview during the Sydney Test that he has no retirement plans at present, but Saturday's BCCI meeting with chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir has painted a different picture. According to a report in Dainik Jagran, there isn't absolute agreement over Jasprit Bumrah 's name as India's next Test captain. When it comes to 5-match Test assignments, Bumrah's workload does become an issue and the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series is an example. Bumrah had to sit out half of the 5th Test in Sydney due to a back issue. If he gets India's full-time Test c...