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Bangladesh’s captain Mushfiqur Rahim has insisted that his side will continue to play aggressive cricket in a bid to secure their first series win over Australia.”There is no way we will play safe cricket,” Mushfiqur said. “We always play to win against every side. We could have played for a draw against England, by using a flat surface, but we didn’t do it. We wanted to look for a result by using our strength. Safe cricket is not an option for us because you can’t win against a side like this (Australia) by doing so. We have to be more aggressive than them.”Mushfiqur said his team expects a backlash from Australia, who suffered their first defeat against Bangladesh in Mirpur, but backed his team to deliver at home.”Winning doesn’t mean we can’t improve or work on our game anymore,” he said. “This is a crucial match for us as we are 1-0 ahead. The Australians have played many matches under such pressure, so they know how to bounce back. But we are confident because we do well in home conditions.”Mushfiqur called for a collective performance from the team, instead of relying on one or two players. Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal did the heavy lifting in Mirpur, adding 155 runs for the fourth wicket after the hosts were reduced to 10 for 3 in four overs. That stand contributed 59% of Bangladesh’s first-innings total, and helped them earn a lead of 43 runs.Tamim followed his 71 in the first innings with 78 in the second and Mushfiqur made 41, but the rest of the batsmen struggled. Shakib claimed a match haul of 10 wickets in the first Test, and was supported by offspinner Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam, the left-arm spinner. Mehidy and Taijul picked up nine wickets between them in Mirpur, but Mushfiqur wanted a stronger performance from them.”Apart from Shakib and Tamim, the rest of the line-up couldn’t give even 90% input,” he said. “I think everyone has to contribute, even the bowlers. Miraz and Taijul are capable of bowling better. The message is clear that all of us need to perform, not just one or two. They are all fresh, ready to go.”Mushfiqur said his side was mentally stronger after wins over Sri Lanka and England in the past year. “Some become rapt in happiness but we have talked about this,” he said. “But we don’t get these chances every day. We are 1-0 ahead but Australia will respond strongly. We bounced back well in our last two series. It proves the progress in our mental capacity.”

The ECB has made members of England’s T20 World Cup squad unavailable for the IPL play-offs and will call them home ahead of a four-match T20I series against Pakistan which starts on May 22. As things stand, the decision is likely to affect Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), Phil Salt (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Moeen Ali (Chennai Super Kings).Rob Key, England men’s managing director, spoke to the players selected in their provisional World Cup squad on Monday to tell them that they had been picked, and told those involved in the IPL that they will not be available for the knockout stages. The play-offs run from May 21 until May 26, clashing directly with England’s Pakistan series.The other players who are involved in both England’s World Cup squad and the IPL are: Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone (all Punjab Kings), Will Jacks and Reece Topley (both Royal Challengers Bengaluru). Both franchises have struggled this season and may need to win all of their remaining group fixtures to qualify for the play-offs.ESPNcricinfo understands that players will be expected to return to the UK on the weekend of May 18-19, which could rule them out of their respective franchises’ final group-stage fixtures. The group stage runs until May 19 and England are keen for their World Cup squad to have a few days together before their first T20I since December.Phil Salt has been in formidable form for KKR but will miss their likely play-off matches•Associated Press

“You can’t just call people back for no reasons: there are protections,” Key said on Tuesday after announcing England’s provisional squad. “Without injury or England commitments, we couldn’t say to Phil Salt, for example, come back and have a rest for the next 15 days. But there is a window just before an England series when you can bring players back for England duty or injury.”Key revealed that Buttler, who has hit two centuries for table-topping Rajasthan Royals, had instigated the decision to come home before the end of the IPL. “I asked him very early on in the piece and said, ‘Look, as England captain, you’re obviously going to have this series against Pakistan. How do you see it?’ And straightaway, he said, ‘No, no, I want to come back and start getting ready for the World Cup in that series that’s just before it.’Buttler and his wife Louise are expecting their third child next month, so he may miss the start of the Pakistan series on paternity leave regardless. “When the due date is and when the baby comes is slightly fluid,” Key said. “But whatever happens, I think you put your family first and make sure you’re at the birth of your child. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”Key told players when they left for India: “Look, there is a good chance that you’ll be coming back [early],” he said. “There is a chance you could stay out there. We may feel that if you get through to an IPL final that, maybe, that’s the best thing to do. It might be that if there’s only one of you then you’d let you go on and do that… we have to keep it pretty fluid.”Related

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But he said that England’s management decided the Pakistan series would help them to find clarity in the players’ roles ahead of their opening T20 World Cup fixture, against Scotland on June 4. “We’ve got to the point where actually, we think it’s more important that you come back and that group gets together: the likes of Phil Salt, opening the batting for England, getting that role going with Jos Buttler.”You just want them to get together and spend a bit of time and build up to it. So much of what our white-ball team has done has been turning up a couple of days before and, bang, we’re into a series, whereas I think that Pakistan series is going to be important for that, so they’ll all come back ready for that.”You want people to really start understanding what their roles are, what your best XI is going to be, and that’s what we want to make sure: when we hit Barbados, we know exactly what that is. Last time, for the [50-over] World Cup, Adil Rashid was injured in that series versus New Zealand and we probably didn’t take into account how much, when he came back, that altered the balance.”Other boards’ approach to clashes between T20I series and the IPL play-offs have varied. New Zealand fielded a second-string team in Pakistan earlier this month, while the BCB have pulled Mustafizur Rahman out of the IPL early for a series against Zimbabwe. CSA will allow their players to stay in India for the play-offs, despite a clash with a three-match series against West Indies.

Australia’s new T20I captain Mitchell Marsh has confirmed his recovery from a hamstring “is on track” despite initially taking longer than expected, although he admits he can’t afford a setback in the build-up in Australia’s first World Cup match against Oman on June 6 in Barbados.Marsh has not played since his last appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL on April 3 due to a right hamstring strain. He was flown home from the IPL to Perth on April 12 to do his initial recovery with Australia team physiotherapist Nick Jones, who is also based in Perth.Two weeks later, Capitals confirmed he would miss the remainder of the IPL after Marsh’s initial recovery from the injury had taken longer than anticipated.Related

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• Takeaways: Why Fraser-McGurk and Smith missed out on T20 World Cup selection

• Fraser-McGurk and Smith left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad

Speaking in Perth on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia’s captain for the World Cup, Marsh said he was still working back to full fitness but was confident he would be right for the World Cup.”The hammy is good, it’s coming along really well,” Marsh said. “It’s pretty much exactly where we want it to be. It’s one of those things. Just got to get it right over the next three weeks and get on the plane.”If we had to play tomorrow, I would be in a bit of trouble. Still a couple of weeks away, and the timing probably sits perfectly barring any setbacks.”Marsh’s hamstring concern is part of the reason why Cameron Green has been included in the 15-man squad ahead of the in-form Jake Fraser-McGurk. If Marsh needs to play as a batter only or needs to be managed early in the tournament and anything were to happen to the other injury-prone pace-bowling allrounder in Marcus Stoinis, Australia would not have had a pace-bowling option to bat in their top seven.”Anytime there’s a World Cup team picked, there’s only 15 and some guys have to miss out,” Marsh said. “But I think we’ve got a really great squad that we’ve picked, we’ve got a lot of versatility, a lot of experience. And that brings a lot of excitement.”Australia T20I captain Mitchell Marsh poses in their new jersey for the T20 World Cup•Cricket Australia

Australia are holding two separate training camps in Brisbane across each of the next two weeks for the players who aren’t playing in the IPL. Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis and Marsh will head there to get some nets and fitness preparation done before heading to the Caribbean. Marsh is a chance to be at both camps but would likely be on light duties for the first one. Others who missed out on the squad but could still be taken as a travelling reserve, including Xavier Bartlett, are also likely to be involved. Bartlett is set to head to England for the T20 Blast at the end of May.Australia’s other major fitness concern heading to the World Cup is David Warner, who is still recovering from some deep bone bruising in his finger after copping a blow on the hand while batting against Lucknow Super Giants on April 12. He missed a game and then returned to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad but was still experiencing soreness and hasn’t played since. It is understood he could return to batting later this week but Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey was unsure when he would be pain-free again.”It’s still causing him a fair bit of discomfort,” Bailey said on Wednesday. “So obviously we’ll monitor that. Hopefully, he can get back and play a couple more games in the IPL to finish off, but I think it’s just one of those ones, just some deep-seated bone bruising and is going to take a little bit of time.”But I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to give him a really definitive answer on how long that’ll be.”Marsh has backed Warner to be a vital cog in Australia’s campaign in what will be his swansong from international cricket after retiring from Test and ODI cricket earlier this year.”It’s been a long last hurrah, hasn’t it for Davey?” Marsh said. “We’re always really excited to have him in the team. Just the experience that he brings. I think if we look back at his career. There’s been so many big moments that you need your big experienced players to stand up and Davey has always been one of those. So we’re lucky to have him.”

Jamie Porter and Shane Snater blasted through a brittle Lancashire batting line-up to give Essex victory by an innings inside three days at Chelmsford. The Essex pace bowlers exploited a pitch playing low by taking three wickets apiece as Lancashire capitulated in just 41 overs for the second time in the match.Porter set the ball rolling with the first of nine Lancashire wickets to fall in the session to finish with 3 for 24 before Snater took his match figures to 7 for 59 with 3 for 17 in the second innings. Essex’s second win of the season, worth 22 points, took them further clear at the top of the Vitality County Championship with only three games played.”We have started the season fantastically well,” Essex captain Tom Westley said. “Even that last game against Kent we were a bit unlucky with the weather so potentially, it could have been three wins from three.”We’ve been successful for a while now as a club so every game is a big game and we look to win every single game. We’ve just played some fantastic cricket and I think this is one of our better, most complete performances.”I thought the bowlers bowled amazingly well and I think our challenge is to maintain this momentum and keep the standards as high as they currently are.”We know what a good side Lancashire are, they are always identified at the start of the year as contenders to win the division. So to control the game and win every session is a huge pat on the back for Essex.”Lancashire had started day three on 10 for 1 and requiring another 221 runs to make Essex bat again. They lost five wickets in the first hour and never recovered with the game wrapped up in extra time before the scheduled lunch interval.Essex were forced to field 19-year-old Ronnie McKenna as substitute behind the stumps when Michael Pepper pulled out with a finger injury suffered the night before. The Basildon-born 2nd XI wicketkeeper, the third to do the job for Essex in three Championship matches this season, had four leg byes sail past him down the leg side in the first over from Cook.However, 11 balls into his first-team appearance, he was celebrating a first significant contribution as nightwatcher Will Williams edged Porter into his gloves having hung around for 36 balls.That precipitated a catastrophic collapse with four wickets falling in 16 balls. Josh Bohannon lasted 25 balls before he walked across a delivery from Cook and was lbw, while Luke Wells was beaten all ends up by Snater to be bowled for a 54-ball 21. In the same Snater over George Balderson saw the umpire’s finger go up as he played down the wrong line before Tom Bruce had his off stump sent cartwheeling by Porter.There was a 10-over hiatus while Matty Hurst and George Bell put on 30 runs before the wicketkeeper scooped Snater into square leg’s hands.Offspinner Simon Harmer had not bowled much on this seamer’s paradise, but in his fourth over of the innings he had Tom Bailey walking down the wicket and patting the ball back for a simple caught and bowled. Next over Jack Blatherwick followed Bailey’s lead and gave Harmer more catching practice by chipping the ball back to the bowler.Bell had hung around for 40 balls and appeared to be heading for a third fifty in four innings at Chelmsford when he nicked Cook to Dean Elgar at first slip to wrap up the match.

Big picture: Australia look to improve overseas record, NZ eye rare victory

It’s little wonder anticipation is feverish for Australia’s Test return to New Zealand after eight years with matches in Wellington and Christchurch to be played in front of capacity crowds. Even though they are neighbours, sharing a long history on the field, the two sides don’t play against each other very often in Test cricket.And things aren’t changing any time soon with the next series after this set for 2026-27 in Australia, according to the FTP.Related

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It underscores the saturation of Tests being played between powerhouses Australia, England and India but, when they do belatedly meet, the Trans-Tasman rivalry has been decidedly one-sided.Continually overmatched, New Zealand have only beaten Australia once from 29 matches over the last three decades at Test level. But they will finally get a chance to break Australia’s stranglehold in the series-opener at the Basin Reserve starting on Thursday.There is much more than bragging rights on the line with New Zealand currently leading the World Test Championship, while defending champions Australia are in third position.In likely seam-friendly conditions on a green surface, New Zealand’s potent pace attack will be aiming to exploit an Australia batting order that struggled at times against the hostile quicks of West Indies and Pakistan on tough surfaces during the home summer.This two-match series marks the culmination of a hectic period of Test cricket for Australia, who by the end of it will have played 22 Tests in 15 months before a long break until next summer. It’s been a strong period for Australia across formats, cementing a legacy for their core group of stars, but overseas Test series victories have been rare.Since they crushed New Zealand 2-0 in early 2016, Australia’s sole success was a stirring triumph in Pakistan two years ago. They’ve otherwise lost five series and drawn four in that timeframe.Drawing the Ashes twice was somewhat impressive, and they did push India in 2017 and last year, but this ageing Australia team should feel extra motivated as they near the finishing line of a gruelling run.

Form guide

Australia LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWLW

In the spotlight: Cameron Green and Daryl Mitchell

Cameron Green will be looking to consolidate the No.4 position•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Australia’s only change during their home Test summer was Cameron Green replacing retired David Warner to cause a reshuffle of the batting order. Shoehorning Green into No.4 illustrated the Australian hierarchy’s determination to get the young allrounder back into the line-up.Green started nervously against West Indies with a couple of low scores, but looked more assured with 42 in the second innings at the Gabba before Shamar Joseph went berserk. Green was not part of Australia’s T20I series against New Zealand as he prepared for the Tests by playing in the Sheffield Shield and justified that decision with a century for Western Australia against Tasmania. There will be pressure on Green to cement the No.4 role, but it’s his preferred position while his seam bowling should also prove invaluable on favourable surfaces in New Zealand.Daryl Mitchell looms as an x-factor for New Zealand having become a significant presence after entering international cricket at the age of 27. He spent some of his formative years living in Perth, which helped shape his aggressive style of play. Mitchell has made an impressive start to his Test career with an average of 53.46 from 21 Tests. He’s never played Tests against Australia and also has yet to taste victory against them after five fruitless white-ball games. Mitchell will return to No.5 having missed the last Test against South Africa in Hamilton and the T20I series against Australia due to a foot injury.

Team news: Australia unchanged, Conway ruled out

Will Young slots in at the top of the order for the injured Devon Conway•Getty Images

Even though they were shocked by the West Indies in their last Test, Australia will go in unchanged as they stick with their new batting order of Steven Smith at the top of the order and Green at No.4. Despite being tailor-made for the seaming conditions, fringe quicks Scott Boland and Michael Neser will miss out with frontliners Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to play their eighth straight Test together.Australia 1 Steven Smith, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodNew Zealand start a new era after the retirement of firebrand Neil Wagner, who won’t renew his hostile battle with Smith. They played four quicks in their last Test against South Africa, but left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner is likely to be recalled. Scott Kuggeleijn, who has played one Test, is the additional seamer if New Zealand again opt for an all-out pace attack. Opener Devon Conway was ruled out due to an injured thumb sustained during the T20I series against Australia with Will Young his likely replacement, while Henry Nicholls has been called into the squad. Mitchell and batter Rachin Ravindra have overcome injuries, while Kane Williamson also returns after missing the T20I series due to the birth of his third child.New Zealand (probable) 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner/Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southee (capt), 11 William O’Rourke

Pitch and conditions

There is set to be early movement on a grassy surface with plenty of pace and bounce before the pitch flattens out. There has been rain in the lead up to the match, but clear and cool conditions in Wellington are expected over the first four days. Showers are forecast on day five.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand’s only Test win over Australia since 1993 was a seven-run thriller in Hobart in December 2011.
• Mitchell Starc needs three wickets to overtake Dennis Lillee and move into fourth spot on Australia’s all-time list.
• New Zealand have won their last five Tests in Wellington, but haven’t beaten Australia there since 1990 having lost three times and drawn the other two matches.
• Tim Southee is ninth on the all-time Test list with 86 sixes. He needs 12 more to move into the top five.
  

  Quotes

  “I don’t think it’s as scary as perhaps what it looks. Seems like there’s been plenty of first inning scores that have been big.”
  “We’ll have one final look, obviously with the weather around, so one final decision on whether an extra seamer or a spinner will play.”

There was an unsavoury moment during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s innings against Lucknow Super Giants when an object was thrown from the stands, forcing the umpires to intervene.The incident took place in the 19th over of the innings, shortly after a decision by the third umpire to overturn a no-ball call – off the bowling of Avesh Khan – given by the on-field umpire for a full toss. Heinrich Klaasen and Abdul Samad were the batters at the crease and they both made their displeasure evident, Klaasen more than Samad.Klaasen hit the next ball for four, but after that there was a stoppage when the object was hurled at Super Giants batter Prerak Mankad, according to Jonty Rhodes.Related

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Rhodes, the Super Giants fielding coach, tweeted that the object hit Mankad on the head while he was fielding at long-on, close to the Super Giants dugout.Speaking to the broadcaster after the innings, Klaasen said that the episode broke the Sunrisers batters’ momentum, and added his criticism of the umpiring.”Disappointed with the crowd. That’s not what you want from a crowd. It broke a lot of momentum,” Klaasen said. “Hopefully the umpires stay consistent. Not great umpiring.”He was later fined 10% of his match fees for breaching the IPL code of conduct. The official IPL statement didn’t specify the reason for the penalty, only saying, “Klaasen admitted to the Level 1 Offence under Article 2.7 which states the use of public criticism/inappropriate comment in the IPL’s Code of Conduct.”Super Giants’ Amit Mishra was also found guilty of breaching the code of conduct, but he just faced a reprimand. “Mr Mishra admitted to level 1 offence under Article 2.2 of IPL’s Code of Conduct which states abuse of equipment during the match. Mr Mishra accepted the sanction,” the statement said.A similar incident had taken place very early in IPL 2023 when R Ashwin expressed his displeasure about the umpiring during a Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals game, and was fined 25% of his match fee.Klaasen scored 47 to help Sunrisers reach 182 after opting to bat. But a half-century from Mankad and explosive knocks from Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran helped Super Giants win the game in the last over.

Days after Major League Cricket’s (MLC) landmark player draft, a sanctioning dispute between USA Cricket and league organisers threatens to disrupt the start of the tournament this July. The dispute has reached the ICC, who has told its members to not issue NOCs to their players until the issue is resolved.In this latest manifestation of the age-old tradition of administrative strife on US soil, it has emerged that USA Cricket has not yet sanctioned either the MLC or Minor League Cricket (MiLC), the tournaments that are seen as the next big step in the evolution of the game in the country. That did not prevent the MLC from announcing a host of big-name foreign signings – including Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis and Quinton de Kock – in a draft in Houston on Sunday. But concerns are growing, especially as the ICC is currently classifying the events as “disapproved”.USA Cricket has previously given sanction to MiLC, for both 2021 and 2022, but in a communication recently sent out by the ICC’s operations department to Members, officials have flagged the issue for overseas players wishing to play in both competitions.”Members may be aware of the following two events that are proposed to be played in the USA,” the ICC said of the events, both administered by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the parent company which signed a 50-year commercial rights agreement with USA Cricket in 2019.Related

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“Applications for sanction have been submitted to USA Cricket, but these events have not yet been sanctioned by USA Cricket. Consequently, without a sanction from the host member, both events are currently deemed to be Disapproved Cricket and as such, Members should not issue NOCs to their players to participate in either event.”On March 1, in a statement from USA Cricket, the interim board chairman Atul Rai said that the board of directors were “concerned about the plight of the players and the owners” of MiLC, though what exactly those concerns are has not been specified.”However, they are equally concerned about the operations of Minor League by ACE without any accountability and its failure to follow the USA Cricket guidelines, not to mention the lack of communication,” the statement continued. “USA Cricket has sent a letter to ACE that includes several questions on Minor League operations by ACE that we hope to get a quick response timely to allow for sanctioning of the event.”Rai was on the board in 2019 and voted in favour of signing the commercial partnership with ACE at the time. Then board chairman Paraag Marathe was the main driver of the deal and rubber-stamped the tournament going ahead in 2021 and 2022. Rai left the board in February 2020, but won an election to return in September 2022 and immediately replaced Marathe as chairman. Rai’s stance toward ACE and MLC seems to have changed in his second term.Observers see this dispute as a negotiating ploy by USA Cricket to revise terms of the original short-form agreement signed with ACE in 2019. In that agreement, ACE keeps 95% of all gross revenues generated by MLC while USA Cricket receives the remaining 5%.Organisers say, however, that the tournament is on course to begin its inaugural season on July 13, as is MiLC for a third season from June 10.”We are aware of the recent letter that the ICC sent to its membership regarding the status of MiLC and MLC,” MLC tournament director Justin Geale told ESPNcricinfo. “We don’t believe the letter was a warning at all, inasmuch as it was merely factual informational that the events are not yet sanctioned as the member boards need that confirmation in order to issue NOCs to the players.”We have been in regular communication with all concerned parties regarding the ICC sanctioning of these events for the past several weeks. These events already have the necessary sanctioning from USA Cricket under our agreement with them, and the completed ICC sanctioning applications for MiLC and MLC are presently with USA Cricket.”We have been assured that they will be processed in a speedy manner once received by the ICC. We believe that the recent staffing changes at USA Cricket may have contributed to any delays. However, we fully expect the events to receive complete sanctioning in the coming days, as all parties agree that MiLC and MLC are very important to the growth and development of cricket in the US.”Geale’s reference to staffing changes alludes to the resignation of USA Cricket’s interim CEO Vinay Bhimjiani over the weekend, after five months in the role.Rai told ESPNcricinfo that there were other outstanding issues that had prevented them from moving forward on the sanctioning. This includes USA Cricket’s desire for more favourable revisions from the short-form agreement, before signing a finalised long-form agreement between the two parties.”The board appointed a five-member working group to negotiate the terms of the Long-form agreement and they have started the conversation as I understand,” Rai told ESPNcricinfo. “I am not part of that committee and since the CEO resigned, he is no longer involved in the negotiations. Therefore, any sanctioning or approval will have to come as a recommendation from the committee to the board.”As for the 50-year commercial partnership agreement, the working group had sent a letter to ACE outlining the areas of problems in the contract as well as the failures. While there was a response from ACE, I believe that there is much to be discussed before any final agreement can be reached.”

India have left Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli out of their T20I squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand. KL Rahul is also not in the squad, and while the BCCI put his absence – and that of Axar Patel, from both the ODI and T20I legs of the series – down to family commitments, it gave no specific reason for Rohit, India’s regular all-format captain, and Kohli missing the series.As a result, India’s first-choice top three from their last two T20 World Cups are now missing successive T20I series.This may not yet have a major bearing on India’s long-term future in the format, however. Ahead of the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rohit said the selectors and team management had made it clear to a number of senior players that they would not be able to play all three formats over the next few months for workload-management reasons, with India building up towards the 50-overs World Cup later this year.Related

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Hardik Pandya, who captained India in the three T20Is against Sri Lanka earlier this month, will continue to lead the side in the T20I series, which will be played in Ranchi, Lucknow and Ahmedabad from January 27 to February 1, with Suryakumar Yadav as his deputy.Rohit and Kohli are part of the squad for the ODI series that will take place before the T20Is, from January 18 to 24 in Hyderabad, Raipur and Indore.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Prithvi Shaw in, Harshal Patel out

The T20I squad is also notable for the return of opener Prithvi Shaw, who last played for India in July 2021, and whose absence from subsequent squads – particularly in the T20 format – has been a constant source of debate, given his rare ability to provide rapid starts in the powerplay. Shaw forced himself into the reckoning earlier this week by scoring 379 off 383 balls – the second-highest first-class score by an Indian batter – for Mumbai against Assam in the Ranji Trophy.Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took a Player-of-the-Match-winning 3 for 51 in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Thursday, is also back in the T20I squad, having last featured for India in that format in August 2022. He is one of two wristspinners in the squad along with Yuzvendra Chahal.Sanju Samson, who was ruled out midway through the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a knee injury, remains out of the squad – the BCCI release did not provide an update on his fitness. Jitesh Sharma, who replaced him, remains in the squad as one of two wicketkeeping options alongside Ishan Kishan.Fast bowler Harshal Patel, who played only the first T20I against Sri Lanka, has been left out of the squad.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

KS Bharat called up to ODI squad

With Rahul sitting out the ODIs, India have called up the uncapped KS Bharat as a second wicketkeeper alongside Kishan. Bharat is also part of India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia in February – he is expected to contest the lead wicketkeeper role with Kishan in the absence of regular keeper Rishabh Pant, who has undergone knee ligament surgery after suffering a serious car crash in late December.In Axar’s absence, meanwhile, the selectors have called on a like-for-like replacement in Shahbaz Ahmed – both are allrounders who bat left-handed and bowl left-arm spin. Shahbaz has been part of the white-ball mix in recent months, and has played three ODIs, most recently in December on the tour of Bangladesh.Also back in the squad is fast-bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur, who was left out of the series against Sri Lanka. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who was part of the ODI squad against Sri Lanka but didn’t get a chance in the starting XI, misses out – he remains part of the T20I squad, however.Jasprit Bumrah, who was initially named in the ODI squad against Sri Lanka before pulling out before the start of the series – he is on the road to recovery from a long-term back injury – is not part of either white-ball squad or the squad for the first two Tests against Australia.

Big picture

Bazball vs spin. It promises to be the story of these five Tests, and it might be a story of parallel plots. There is, of course, Bazball vs India’s spinners. But perhaps even more relevant to England’s chances is the question of Bazball vs England’s spinners.What? Hang in there. All will be explained.England’s spinners conceded roughly 18 runs more per wicket than India’s did during the 2016-17 tour, and 12 runs more per wicket – on far spicier pitches – in 2020-21. Even if Bazball manages to inflate the averages of India’s spinners on this tour, it’s hard to see it translate into results if England’s spinners can’t bridge the gap in the other direction.Related

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Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen batted magnificently in 2012-13, but England won that series primarily because Monty Panesar, Graeme Swann and James Anderson outbowled a transitional India attack. Since then, Australia have been the only team to come close to even drawing a Test series in India; they came as close as they did in 2016-17 and 2022-23 because their bowlers came close to matching the skill and discipline of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.Can England find a way to do this? They’ve named their XI for the first Test in Hyderabad, which begins on Thursday on a pitch that looks dry and selectively watered, and that XI includes three frontline spinners. Those spinners have played played 36 Tests between them, of which Jack Leach accounts for 35.Hardly Swann and Panesar, then.It’s a selection that reflects a broader reality – spin occupies a narrow and an ever-shrinking space in 21st century County cricket – and England can only choose from what they have. It means that the odds are stacked against them at the start of another India tour, but do not bet against Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes finding a way to make things interesting.

Form guide

India WLDWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
England WDWLLShubman Gill averaged 19.83 the last time England toured India•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Shubman Gill finds himself at an interesting juncture in his Test career, seeking to establish himself in a new role at No. 3 while still finding his feet in the format. There’s no doubting his talent, and his average of 30.58 after 20 Tests is partly down to the bowler-friendly pitches he has usually had to play on, but he’ll feel under some pressure as Virat Kohli, who has opted out due to personal reasons, might return after the second Test. Gill endured a torrid series the last time England toured India, averaging 19.83 and falling five times in seven innings to fast bowlers. He’ll want to show an improved defence against conventional and reverse swing this time, and ensure he’s around for the notionally bigger challenge of scoring runs against spin.Talk of spin has dominated the lead-up to this match, but England will not be unaware that Umesh Yadav, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel shared 18 wickets in the last Test played in Hyderabad. That may have been more than five years ago, and an entirely different surface may have been prepared for this game, but if there’s bounce on offer – as there was in 2018 – then Mark Wood could find a way to make it his ally.

Team news

After keeping wicket for the first time in his Test career on the recent tour of South Africa, KL Rahul will return to being a specialist batter, though he will remain in the middle order. KS Bharat, who kept in all four Tests of India’s last home series, seems likely to return to the XI ahead of the uncapped Dhruv Jurel, though Rohit Sharma didn’t give a definitive answer to this question in his pre-match press conference. Axar Patel’s batting and encouraging recent form with the ball is likely to earn him selection as third spinner ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. With Kohli out, India are spared the headache of leaving out one of Rahul, Gill and Shreyas Iyer.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 KS Bharat (wk), 8 Axar Patel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajBen Foakes will keep wicket for England in Hyderabad•Getty Images

England have made a similar decision to India in handing the big gloves to their best pure keeper in Ben Foakes, and letting Jonny Bairstow focus on his batting.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Rehan Ahmed, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Tom Hartley, 11 Jack Leach

Pitch and conditions

With the World Test Championship points structure putting extra pressure on teams to win games, teams around the world have taken to preparing bowler-friendly pitches. This, in India, has meant tracks that turn from day one, and Hyderabad is unlikely to buck this trend, with the pitch sporting distinctly dry-looking strips at either end on a spinner’s good length.The weather is expected to be clear and pleasant, with daytime temperatures in the high 20s (Celsius).R Ashwin (490) and Ravindra Jadeja (275) begin the series with an eye on Test wicket milestones•PTI

Stats and trivia

• Ashwin (490) and Jadeja (275) begin the series with an eye on Test wicket milestones.
• Joe Root (2526) is only ten runs away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-getter in Tests between England and India. Root already has the most centuries (nine) in these contests, and averages 63.15.
• Leach will look to build on a solid first tour of India in 2020-21, during which he took 18 wickets in four Tests at 28.72. He will be pleased that India are without Rishabh Pant, who hit him for 88 runs in just 59 balls during that series, while only being dismissed once.
• India are going into a Test match without either Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane in their XI for the first time since November 2011.

Quotes

“By no means whatever record we have in the past decade or so gives us the guarantee that we are going to come out here on top as well, and win the series. We still have to play our best cricket – good cricket that we know that we play in these conditions… The last team to beat us here in our conditions was England. I wouldn’t say we are not beatable. Definitely we are. We want to think that if we don’t step up or if you don’t show up, well, we are going to find ourselves in trouble.”
“I don’t necessarily think it’s bold or brave, it’s just me and Baz looking at the wicket and picking the XI that we think will give us the best chance. That’s the XI we’ve gone with. It’s very exciting for Tom Hartley to make his Test debut. Looking forward to seeing him out there, and captaining him. He’s been very impressive in the buildup in Abu Dhabi. It’s a team based around what we think will give us the best chance of winning this game.”

Big picture – Teams look to capitalise on momentum

While this World Cup has only belatedly started offering up some nail-biters, it’s been rather more generous in terms of unexpected results. As a result, despite the sides currently occupying the top-four spots in the points table being the likeliest to make it through to the knockouts, there’s a cluster of teams just below them ready to capitalise on any potential slip-ups.For Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, three wins from their final four games in the league stage will leave them on ten points, which would give them a genuine shot at a semi-final berth. But of those four games, Afghanistan will face Australia and South Africa, while Sri Lanka still have to take on India and New Zealand.This is what makes Monday’s game in Pune all the more spicy; a win for either side leaves a margin for error in at least one of those “tougher” games, lose and those fledgling semi-final hopes become considerably dimmer.Related

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Both sides also come into this fixture with some form. Well, as much form as sides that have lost three of their five games can be in.While defeats to India and New Zealand might have been accounted for, an opening loss to Bangladesh hurt Afghanistan. But historic wins against England and Pakistan have rejuvenated Afghanistan’s campaign.As for Sri Lanka, three defeats on the bounce to South Africa, Pakistan and Australia had seemingly left their tournament hopes in tatters, but back-to-back wins over Netherlands and, more impressively, England has injected new vigour into a unit that was badly in need of a jolt.There won’t be many secrets between these two sides, with them having squared off in six ODIs over the past year. Sri Lanka have won four of them, though the last – an Asia Cup thriller in September – is one that would have left a sour taste in Afghanistan’s mouths and will serve as added motivation if needed.

Form guide

Afghanistan WLWLL
Sri Lanka WWLLL

In the spotlight – Rashid Khan and Pathum Nissanka

It’s no secret that Rashid Khan‘s effectiveness in ODIs has not quite been at the same level as that in T20Is. So far, across five games, he’s picked up six wickets, not exactly stats to set the world alight, but then again, this has been predominantly a batters’ tournament so far.However his record against Sri Lanka provides more cause for optimism. His 11 wickets across six innings at an average of 18.54 is only bettered by his record against Zimbabwe and Ireland among Full-Member nations; in those six innings, he’s gone wicketless just once. Sri Lanka also have a soft underbelly, one that Afghanistan exploited once already in the warm-ups, and Rashid will be key to testing that brittle middle and lower order once more.Will Rashid Khan make an impact against Sri Lanka?•ICC/Getty Images

Masking those middle-order jitters for Sri Lanka has been a rather more consistent top order, with Pathum Nissanka emerging as an unlikely leader. Indeed, if there was an award for most improved cricketer in the Sri Lankan ranks, you wouldn’t have to look much beyond Nissanka.Having debuted as a Test grafter in 2021, he was fast-tracked into the white-ball setup during a period when SLC was in the midst of a youth-driven overhaul and were taking a more long-term approach to squad building. This meant the selectors stuck with him through his lean start to ODIs – he scored 86 runs across his first nine innings – but he has paid that faith back in spades. It was at the end of that barren run that he was promoted to regular opener, and his 36 innings since have brought 13 fifties and three centuries. His average in ODIs now stands at 39.97, and in this World Cup he’s kicked that up a notch, racking up four consecutive fifties at 60.75. More importantly, he has begun to show signs of developing a more aggressive approach – his strike rate in the tournament is 91.35, up from 83.64 prior to the start.

Team news

Afghanistan have had a six-day break since their last game and are well rested. Fazalhaq Farooqi is likely to come back in for Noor Ahmad.Afghanistan (possible): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiSri Lanka were dealt yet another injury blow, after Player of the Match against England, Lahiru Kumara, was ruled out of the tournament with a thigh injury. He has been replaced in the squad by Dushmantha Chameera, himself returning from injury, and it is likely he will come straight into the side. Kusal Perera’s form meanwhile has been a concern of late, and there have been murmurs of Dimuth Karunaratne replacing him at the top of the order.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Perera/Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt, wk) 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Angelo Mathews 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Kasun Rajitha, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Dilshan Madushanka1:46

Bond: Hopefully this win kickstarts Sri Lanka’s campaign

Pitch and conditions

The Pune surface in recent times has shown a propensity for high scores, but there’s also been some assistance for the spinners – something both sides could benefit from. That said, dew might come into play in the evening, so the toss will prove crucial as usual.

Stats and trivia

• Nissanka’s 296 runs is the most by a Sri Lanka batter against Afghanistan. It is also the most he’s scored against a single nation.
• Hashmatullah Shahidi is 57 runs away from reaching 2000 ODI runs
• Sadeera Samarawickrama is 90 short of 1000 ODI runs

Quotes

“I think this break is good for us because we had back-to-back games before that and when you play too many games in short time, so the players get like tired. So that was good – after a good win when you are having rest and think about other games also that give you time and also give rest for the bodies and I can say that was good for us.”