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Jitesh Sharma has been named captain of the India A squad for the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Rising Stars Asia Cup, earlier the Emerging Teams tournament, to be played in Doha from November 14 to 23. Naman Dhir has been appointed his deputyThe selectors have also included 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the squad, which explains his absence from the four-team Under-19 Challenger Trophy. Over the years, that tournament has been used as a key marker by the junior national selection panel to finalise their squad for next year’s Under-19 World Cup – for which Suryavanshi appears to be a certainty.The 15-member squad, picked by Ajit Agarkar and his senior men’s selection panel, comprises some stellar IPL performers, most notably Punjab Kings and Delhi Premier League (DPL) star Priyansh Arya.

ACC Rising Stars tournament schedule

Nov 14 – Oman vs Pak; Ind vs UAE
Nov 15 – Ban vs HK; Afg vs SL
Nov 16 – Oman vs UAE; Ind vs Pak
Nov 17 – HK vs SL; Afg vs Ban
Nov 18 – Pak vs UAE; Ind vs Oman
Nov 19 – Afg vs HK; Ban vs SL
Nov 21 – Semi-finals: A1 vs B2; B1 vs A2
Nov 23 – Final

In his maiden IPL campaign in 2025, Arya struck 475 runs at a strike rate of 179.24 – the third-best in terms of runs for the franchise behind Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh. Last week, Arya was handed a first-class debut by Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.The other key state and IPL performers include Abishek Porel, currently captaining Bengal in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s absence, and Harsh Dubey, who has been a regular feature across various India A squads over the past few months.The fast bowlers include Gurjapneet Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yudhvir Singh and Yash Thakur – all of whom are part of BCCI’s targeted pool of fast bowlers. Ramandeep Singh and Suryansh Shedge are the seam-bowling allrounders.Pakistan A and Oman will kick off the tournament, with the showpiece India A vs Pakistan A match slotted for November 16. The teams are divided into two groups: Group A has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, while Group B has India, Oman, Pakistan and UAE.This will be the first cricketing exchange between the men’s teams of India and Pakistan since the senior Asia Cup in September, though the senior women’s teams faced off at the ODI World Cup earlier this month.When the men played the Asia Cup, there were no handshakes or any other form of greetings between the players of the two countries, and it ended with India, the tournament champions, leaving Dubai without the trophy.It emerged that they had decided not to receive the trophy from the ACC chief, Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be PCB chairman and the country’s interior minister.

India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup T20 tournament

Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vice-capt), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (capt, wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh, Abishek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma

R Ashwin has listed a base price of USD 120,000, the highest for any player, at the inaugural ILT20 auction. The auction will be held in Dubai on October 1.Ashwin, who retired from international cricket as well as the IPL recently, is the only player in the ILT20 auction longlist with a base price in six figures. If he is picked, the ILT20 will be his first overseas T20 league.Ashwin, 39, is among the 24 Indians on the auction longlist, which has almost 800 players as of now. A final list will be prepared this week once the ILT20 receives the wishlist from each franchise.Related

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The fourth edition of ILT20, comprising six teams, will be played between December 2 and January 4. Ashwin has listed full availability for the tournament, after which he is likely to head to the BBL where four teams are understood to have expressed interest in hiring him for the latter half of the season.The ILT20 franchises had carried out their retentions and direct signings in July. Each team could spend up to USD 1.2 million on retentions and direct signings, with the balance amount to be added to the auction purse of USD 800,000. While a franchise can exhaust its entire USD 2 million purse, it will need to spend a minimum of USD 1.5 million. The ILT20 rules also permit franchises to spend an additional USD 250,000 to buy up to two wildcard players outside the auction.As per the squad composition rules, each franchise needs a minimum of 19 players and a maximum of 21, excluding the wildcards. There must be a minimum of 11 players from the Full Member countries, four from UAE, one from Kuwait, one from Saudi Arabia and two from other Associate countries.The franchises will also have one right-to-match (RTM) card but they can use it only to buy back a UAE player. That player must have been part of the franchise’s development squad or the 2025 squad.

Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor is set to return to international cricket after serving a three-and-a-half year ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code. Taylor, whose sanction ended on July 25, has been named in Zimbabwe’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand, which starts in Bulawayo on August 7.”I certainly did think it was all done, but here I am – and it’s an overwhelming feeling of gratitude,” Taylor said. “I have to pinch myself a little to realise that I’m actually here. I’ve been soaking it all up and embracing every moment. It’s just been a really nice integration.”The last year and a half has certainly been dedicated to my return. I’ve put in an immense amount of work – from fitness to the technical side to diet – and I’m feeling a lot leaner, fitter and mentally stronger. That’s only been possible through sobriety.”Related

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Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine also welcomed Taylor into the side. “I know how hard he’s worked in his individual capacity – especially over the last eight, ten [or] 12 months – in order for this to happen,” Ervine said ahead of the opening Test against New Zealand. “I’m very excited to have him come back into the space in the next few days, and looking forward to what he has to contribute towards the team and the group.”Taylor, now 39, has not played any representative cricket since retiring abruptly in September 2021, and the conditions of his ban meant he has not been able to train with any national or domestic squads. However, Taylor has used facilities at an elite independent school in Harare, and had told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year that he is fitter than ever before after undergoing rehabilitation for drug and alcohol abuse.His reintegration into the side began ahead of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand, where he was invited to train with the squad. Zimbabwe had already named a 16-member squad for the two Tests against New Zealand, which includes a relatively strong batting line-up, and a first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Tafadzwa Tsiga, who has started the first Test.Taylor spent most of his Test career at No. 4, and if he is reinstated in that position, it may simply push everyone from Sean Williams one down to lengthen the batting line-up. Zimbabwe will have to do some juggling to ensure they have enough bowling options.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in March, Taylor had said he did not expect to walk back into the XI, and wanted to play again as an act of service after feeling as though he had let Zimbabwe cricket down by his actions. He was sanctioned after failing to report an offer to fix, after an attempt was made by a fixer to expose Taylor’s use of cocaine. “I’ve been humbled properly,” Taylor said. “I look forward to really just adding value, which I probably didn’t do to the best of my ability when I was there before.”So far, Taylor has played 34 Tests for Zimbabwe between 2004 and 2021, and averages 36.25. He has scored six centuries, including a second-innings 105* in Zimbabwe’s comeback Test from a six-year self-imposed hiatus from the format, against Bangladesh in Harare in 2011.Taylor makes his return amid a busy period for Zimbabwe. They have played seven Tests this year – and won just one – and have four more scheduled: two each against New Zealand and Afghanistan, either side of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in September. Taylor is not expected to form part of Zimbabwe’s T20 plans yet but could come into contention in ODIs, with the 2027 World Cup in mind.

The Karnataka government has held Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) accountable for the stampede that occurred outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, resulting in 11 deaths and injuries to more than 50 people.The findings were outlined in the government’s status report, which was made public on Thursday, two days after the Karnataka High Court rejected the government’s request to keep it confidential and ordered its release.In the status report, a copy of which has been accessed by ESPNcricinfo, the government said: “The RCB Management, in association with its event management partner, DNA Networks Private Limited, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), unilaterally decided to hold the victory celebration without prior consultation with the police and without obtaining the necessary permissions or license for such celebration.”As per the report, KSCA CEO Subhendu Ghosh submitted an intimation on behalf of DNA Entertainment to the Cubbon Park police on June 3 around 6.30pm about RCB’s intention to organise a victory parade should they win the IPL final that was scheduled the same evening in Ahmedabad.Related

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• Karnataka High Court orders state government to disclose report

• Tribunal observes RCB 'created nuisance' without prior permission

• BCCI forms committee to prevent incidents like Bengaluru stampede

However, the police denied the request due to “insufficient information regarding the expected gathering size, arrangements made as well as the proposal being made on very short notice.”The report, which largely details the sequence of events right from when the request was first made, further underlines how RCB went ahead and posted an invitation on their social media channels at 7.01am on June 4, announcing a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to the Chinnaswamy Stadium.The report further said that the posts on RCB’ s official social media handles, including one that had Virat Kohli announcing plans to celebrate with the fans in Bengaluru, garnered immense engagement online.While citing Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Processions (Bangalore City) Order, 2009, to underscore RCB’s procedural violations for crowd gathering, the report stated, “It is pertinent to note that a mere intimation was given by the organisers.”There was no requisition for permissions in the prescribed format, nor was any necessary information provided to the concerned departments to anticipate the gathering and make adequate preparation.”Meanwhile, lawyers arguing for the government, challenged the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that revoked the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar and four others, who were held responsible for the stampede and subsequently dismissed by chief minister Siddharamaiah. They argued that the tribunal had overstepped its jurisdiction.The government contended that managing such a large crowd at just 12 hours’ notice was an impossible task and questioned the officer’s [Vikash & team] handling of the situation. “What was the officer doing? Did he take any action? Instead of issuing prohibitory orders under the Police Act, they proceeded with arrangements for the celebration,” the government stated.RCB continues to await the report of the CID investigation that is in its final stages. Members of RCB’s top brass as well as those from DNA have all submitted their testimonies over the past month. A set date for the judgment is yet to be made public.

A day after a virtual ICC board meeting concluded without finalising the venue for the Champions Trophy in 2025, a final decision remains elusive. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was in Dubai today, and while he took in Pakistan’s Under-19 victory over India, there was greater intrigue over whether the PCB, the BCCI and the ICC have been able to come to an arrangement over next year’s tournament.As he did in the early hours of Thursday morning, Naqvi did not categorically rule out a hybrid model for the hosting of the tournament, something he has done in the past. “We will do whatever’s best for cricket,” he told reporters in Dubai. “If we adopt any other formula [except hosting the tournament in Pakistan], it will be done on the basis of equality. The most important thing for Pakistan is its respect; everything else is secondary.”Once more, Naqvi repeated what he stated multiple times at the Gaddafi Stadium earlier in the week. “A one-sided arrangement is no longer acceptable. It cannot be the case that we continue to go to India, but they do not visit Pakistan. Whatever happens must be on the basis of equality.”Related

• PCB open to hybrid model Champions Trophy, but wants same for events in India

• Decision on Champions Trophy venue expected over the weekend

• Final call on CT25: Fresh venue one of three options, as ICC Board meets on Friday

• Champions Trophy: PCB promises to do 'what's best for Pakistan cricket'

What form such an arrangement might look like, remains uncertain. Sources told ESPNcricinfo Pakistan are looking for an equitable solution across a three-year period where any arrangement made for the Champions Trophy is replicated for tournaments held in IndiaNaqvi’s repeated comments around “equality” have raised speculation that the PCB will seek to earn some concessions should they acquiesce to a hybrid model in any form. That could entail an agreement to have India play their matches outside Pakistan, but a decision that any future tournaments India hosts will offer provisions for Pakistan to play their matches outside India. There is also the possibility of some financial recompense for the PCB in addition to such an arrangement, though Naqvi did say earlier this week that decisions would not be based on money.ESPNcricinfo understands a decision should be reached in the next couple of days, though Naqvi’s comments suggest there remain significant loose ends to be tied up. In all likelihood, any proposal will have to be run past the governments of both India and Pakistan before it is presented to the ICC for approval; India was refused permission to travel to Pakistan by the Indian government and the PCB has said repeatedly, as a result, that any action they take will have to be approved by their government.”We need to settle this once and for all,” Naqvi said. “And whatever happens must see everyone treated equally. Any agreement will not be just for the Champions Trophy, but for the long term.”The tournament is due to begin in less than 90 days, on February 19. Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi are the venues scheduled to host the games, though if a hybrid option is chosen, that will involve another venue outside Pakistan. The UAE, where Naqvi met ECB officials earlier today, is the frontrunner in such a scenario.

Pakistan have made big changes to the squad for the second and third Tests against England. In addition to Babar Azam – whose omission ESPNcricinfo reported on Sunday – Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are also out. A PCB statement said it had “taken into account the current form and fitness of key players” before leaving out the three players for the remaining two Tests.The decision to leave out arguably Pakistan’s three highest-profile players is little short of stunning. Pakistan’s chastening innings defeat after the first Test – following which captain Shan Masood criticised the bowling performance – was expected to result in several changes, though Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie called for continuity and asked players to be backed. However, the newly formed selection committee, announced on Friday, has gone the other way.