Pakistan captain Salman Agha critical of India’s behaviour during the Asia Cup

Danyal Rasool28-Sep-20253:23

‘Clueless batting from Pakistan’

Pakistan captain Salman Agha has criticised India for what he called their “disappointing” behaviour during the Asia Cup.”What India have done this tournament is very disappointing,” Agha said at the press conference after the final. “They’re not disrespecting us by not shaking hands, they’re disrespecting cricket. Good teams don’t do what they did today [refusing to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi]. We went to pose with the trophy on our own because we wanted to fulfil our obligations. We stood there and took our medals. I don’t want to use harsh words but they’ve been very disrespectful.”After Pakistan lost the Asia Cup final to India in the last over in Dubai on Sunday, there was more than a 90-minute delay before the presentation ceremony began, but India refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who is the ACC president and PCB chairman, and also the interior minister of Pakistan.Related

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India refuse to accept Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi

It was the culmination of a series of incidents where India have looked to limit any contact with Pakistan players or officials during the tournament.Agha said he did not have an issue with India captain Suryakumar Yadav. He claimed that if it had been up to Suryakumar, he would have shaken hands with Agha before the tosses at the three matches the teams have played against each other.”He shook hands with me in private at the start of the tournament,” Agha said. “Both at the pre-tournament press conference and when we met in the referee’s meeting. But when they’re out in the world in front of the cameras, they don’t shake our hands. I’m sure he’s following the instructions he’s been given, but if it was up to him, he’d shake hands with me.”Suryakumar Yadav pretends to carry the trophy he didn’t accept•AFP/Getty Images

Reiterating his position before the final, Agha said he did not believe there was a precedent in cricket for a team refusing handshakes, saying it was “detrimental” to the spirit of cricket. The manner in which the post-final presentation unfolded, with India holding up an imaginary trophy, was “a consequence of everything they had done before”.”This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen,” Agha said. “Whatever happened in this tournament was very bad, and I hope it stops at some stage because it’s bad for cricket. Everything that happened today was a consequence of all that happened [before]. Of course, the ACC president will give the trophy to the winners – if you won’t take the trophy from him, how will you get it?”As with the previous two India-Pakistan matches in this tournament, there were no handshakes at the toss at the final or following the game, and the teams stood apart in their huddles while waiting for the presentation ceremony to begin. Agha said all that had taken place had not set a good example to those following the game in either India or Pakistan, but placed the blame squarely on the opposition.”I’m not just a Pakistan captain, I’m a cricket fan,” Agha said. “If a kid is watching in India or Pakistan, we’re not sending them a good message. People think of us as role models, but if we’re behaving like this, we’re not inspiring them. What happened shouldn’t have happened, but you should ask the people [India] responsible for this rather than me.”

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Nadine de Klerk smashed an unbeaten 84 off 54 balls to hand India their first defeat in the World Cup

Firdose Moonda09-Oct-2025

Nadine de Klerk’s whirlwind half-century blew India away•Getty Images

Nadine de Klerk’s career-best 84* trumped Richa Ghosh’s counterpunching 94 in the battle of No.8s as South Africa emerged victorious in the Women’s World Cup’s first thriller. South Africa completed the fifth-highest successful chase in World Cups and their eight highest in women’s ODIs in a match where the advantage changed sides several times and overflowed with tension.Put into bat, India started well when they scored 55 in the powerplay before South Africa stormed through the next 16 overs and reduced India to 102 for 6. Ghosh and Amanjot Kaur put on 51 for the seventh wicket before Ghosh and Sneh Rana, who produced a cameo of 33 from 24 balls took India to a competitive total. In their last 10 overs, India scored 98 runs which may have knocked the wind out of South Africa’s sails.It seemed that way as their reply started poorly. They were 81 for 5 in the 20th over and looked all but out of the game. Laura Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon put on 61 for the sixth wicket, Chloe and de Klerk shared a stand of 69 but when Tryon was dismissed, South Africa still needed 41 runs off 25 balls. De Klerk scored 39 runs off the next 15 balls she faced to take South Africa to victory with seven balls to spare. South Africa moved up to fourth on the points table, level with England and India but with a lower net run-rate.Having chased 275 against India at the 2022 World Cup, South Africa would have known what’s possible but they were off to the worst possible start. Tazmin Brits was dismissed for the first duck of her ODI career when Kranti Gaud pulled off a stunning return catch, reacting in a time of 0.5 seconds to grab the ball with her left hand. Sune Luus reviewed successfully when given out lbw to Amanjot but went fishing at a wide ball in the next over and nicked off. India thought they had Kapp six balls later but it bobbled out of Rawal’s hands at point.Kapp and Wolvaardt recovered decently with a 39-run third-wicket stand but were separated by a magic ball from Rana which held its line as Kapp played inside and was bowled. Anneke Bosch’s wretched run continued and she popped a return catch to Deepti to extend her run of scores under 20 to eight ODI innings. SInalo Jafta continued to look convincing at No.6 but was the first South African done in by left-arm spin. She was lbw to Shree Charani as she shuffled across and missed a flick.Through all that Wolvaardt was stoic and patient. She reached fifty off 81 balls, by which point Tyron was on five off 22. The pair worked well together, Tryon found some scoring rhythm and their partnership grew to 61 before Gaud was brought back for a second spell. Her fifth ball was full and straight and Wolvaardt could not keep it out as it smashed into middle stump.Richa Ghosh rescued India’s innings again•ICC/Getty ImagesTryon kept things going with de Klerk and South Africa entered the last 10 overs needing 81 runs. What they didn’t have was a player with Ghosh’s power. Tryon may be as close as it comes but she struggled with a calf niggle that was protected by a compression sock and then required heavy strapping. They needed 60 off the last six overs. Tryon tried to get Amanjot away but it was de Klerk who got a short, wide ball away for four and she found her touch at the right time.In the next over, she hit Rana for six and four before taking a single to put Tryon on strike. She came down the track and was hit on the pad and given lbw and a review could not save her. Then, it was all de Klerk. She took on Gaud and sent her over midwicket and down the ground for back-to-back sixes – the first got her to fifty – and then made room to carve her away for four. At that point, Ghosh went down needing treatment on her hamstring a la Rishabh Pant in the T20 World Cup final. Then, South Africa lost their heads. This time, de Klerk kept hers.She took a smart single to keep strike. 23 needed off 18. The game was all but done but de Klerk still needed to stay there. She hit two fours off Deepti, over square leg and covers and then South Africa needed 12 off 12. De Klerk finished it off with two sixes over deep midwicket and long-on as Wolvaardt fist-pumped and a small contingent of South African fans sang louder than the several thousand home crowd.Earlier, India started well as boundaries came easily in the opening exchanges with two off Kapp’s first over and five in the first five overs. Pratika Rawal hit all of them and survived an lbw shout off Kapp after the South African overstepped. Smriti Mandhana struggled for fluency but hit a glorious shot in anger when she advanced on Khaka and hit her back over her head for six. With that she become the batter with the most runs in ODIs in a calendar year, going past Belinda Clarke.After a solid powerplay, Mandhana became the first to fall when she went after Nonkululekho Mlaba’s second ball and toe-ended it to Luus at long-on. Mlaba and de Klerk dried up boundaries, with only one between overs 10 and 17 and then Mlaba struck again. She spun the ball past Harleen Deol’s outside edge, bowled her and waved goodbye for good measure.South Africa’s fourth seam option Tumi Sekhukhune was brought on in the 18th over and immediately found a good length. In her second over, she foxed Rawal with a slower ball. Rawal was too early on the stroke and got a leading edge that went up high enough for Brits to comfortably make her way from midwicket to take it.Wolvaardt departed after a valiant fifty•ICC/Getty ImagesThat brought Jemimah Rodrigues to join Harmnapreet Kaur. But they were only together for just an over. Rodrigues was dismissed for her second duck in three matches when she attempted a sweep against Tryon and missed. She was given out lbw and reviewed unsuccessfully, making it the third time in the tournament she has been dismissed by left-arm spin. Overall, India are the team that have been most susceptible, with 11 dismissals in the tournament to left-arm spin.Harmanpreet laboured her way to nine off 24 balls before she tried to force Tryon away on the off side but top-edged and Kapp took a low catch at backward point. With India 100 for 5 at the halfway mark, Wolvaardt went for the kill and brought back Kapp. Deepti followed her down leg and was caught behind but reviewed in vain. India were 102 for 6 but Amanjot and then some to come.After digging India out of a similar hole – 124 for 6 against Sri Lanka – Amajot recovered from the fever that kept her out of the Pakistan match and found herself needing to do it again. Ghosh almost deserted her when she nearly popped a return catch to Kapp but then hit Tryon over mid-on for four for the first boundary in 14.3 overs. A rare Luus misfield gave Ghosh a second four off Khaka and it was clear she would become the senior partner. She swept Tyron and Mlaba, hit Sekhukhune over long-on for six and contributed 36 runs in a stand of 51 with Amanjot. By the time Amanjot was ready to get going, Tryon was delivering her last ball and Amanjot mis-hit her over mid-off. Luus ran backwards to take her 56th international catch, equally Dane van Niekerk for the most outfield catches by a South African in ODIs.India lost Amanjot with the last 10 overs looming but Ghosh provided momentum. She picked up a de Klerk slower ball and hit it for six and got back-to-back boundaries off Mlaba and reached her seventh ODI fifty off 53 balls. Ghosh reverse swept Mlaba, hit Kapp over cover for four and then took on Khaka, taking 19 runs off seventh over. She entered the 90s when she hit de Klerk over her head for four and then moved to 94 with a slice past point. She hit the next ball to long-on but reviewed for a no-ball and ball tracking showed the ball would have passed her 4cm below her waistline. South Africa finished with two wickets in two balls which may have been crucial to their victory march.

Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s veteran wicketkeeper-batter, is back in their T20I squad, more than three years after he last played in the format. Taylor, who returned from a three-and-a-half-year ICC ban in August, was named in Zimbabwe’s 16-man squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The other notable inclusion in the squad was Sean Williams, who is back in the T20I fold after more than a year.Taylor had been banned from all cricket in January 2022, for failing to report an approach from alleged corruptors without delay. With the ban ending earlier this year, Taylor subsequently returned to the international fold in the Bulawayo Test against New Zealand, before playing the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month. Taylor’s last T20I, though, was in April 2021, against Pakistan in Harare.Williams, meanwhile, had previously played a T20I in May 2024, and he’s set for a comeback into the format ahead of the Africa regional qualifiers later this month for the T20 World Cup in 2026. Zimbabwe will be competing in the tournament alongside Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, with two World Cup spots on the line.Zimbabwe had missed out on qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2024 despite 20 teams participating in the tournament, as they couldn’t finish in the top two of the Africa Region Qualifier after suffering losses against Namibia and Uganda.Among other changes for the T20Is against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe left out Newman Nyamhuri, Wessly Madhevere, Vincent Masekesa and Tafadzwa Tsiga from the squad that played the tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in July. Apart from Taylor and Williams, those back in the squad were fast bowler Brad Evans and top-order batter Tadiwanashe Marumani.Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have so far faced each other in only six T20Is, the last of which was in January 2024. Sri Lanka had won the three-match series after Zimbabwe levelled it with victory in the second match.

Zimbabwe’s T20I squad vs Sri Lanka

Sikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sean Williams

During a rare batting practice session on Thursday night, Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium, bouncing it off the roof of the pavilion in right field and out of the park. On Friday night, Ohtani one-upped himself during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Brewers.

After impressively striking out the side, then hitting a leadoff homer in the bottom half of the first inning, Ohtani electrified the ballpark and left his teammates jaws on the floor when he turned on a 3-1 cutter from Milwaukee righthander Chad Patrick, sending the ball a whopping 469 feet up and out of Dodger Stadium.

It's hard to say which was better, Ohtani's mammoth blast or his teammates' reactions. All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman looked like he had seen a ghost.

Over in the Dodgers' bullpen, the reactions were priceless.

Ohtani simply defies words. In addition to his two home runs, he's pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts.

Thomas Tuchel is ready to pit childhood friends Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers against one another, with the battle on to become England’s playmaking No.10 at the 2026 World Cup. Phil Foden also forms part of that discussion, with the Three Lions’ German coach making it clear that he will not force all of the “best players” into his starting XI.

• England rules: Tuchel prepared to make tough decisions

  Tuchel has stated on a regular basis across recent international camps that he is prepared to favour collective ambition over individual ability. If that means leaving a few superstar performers on the bench, then those are big decisions that the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich boss is prepared to take.

  Those at his disposal are now fully aware of the rules, with Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham returning to the England fold having missed out on selection in October during his ongoing recovery from summer shoulder surgery. Others have staked their claims to starting berths during the enforced absence of rivals once considered to be guaranteed selections.

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• Getty
  

  England's No.10: Bellingham & Rogers go head-to-head

  The expectation is that Bellingham will remain a go-to option for the Three Lions when another bid for global glory is opened, but Aston Villa star Rogers – who once lined up alongside Bellingham at U15 level and has started England’s last two games – is still very much in the mix.

  Tuchel has said of not changing his system to fit everybody in: “Rather than finding a position for the best players to just have them on the field, it is better to have them in their best position and have a competition. At the moment the competition is between the two of them [Bellingham and Rogers].

  “They are friends, it can also be a friendly competition – they don’t have to be enemies, they don’t have to hate each other. They are respectful, they are friends and can fight for the position. Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure. At the moment it is not time to change our structure.”

• Friendly competition: Every shirt is up for grabs

  Tuchel added on welcoming Bellingham and Foden back into his plans, with the pair having joined training on Wednesday after being granted extra recovery time on the back of their respective outings for Real Madrid and Manchester City on Sunday: “Why should it be awkward for them?

  “We were driving the levels and driving the thing without them. Now they are back and it is their responsibility to contribute to all this. This is what they are doing. The standards are clear.”

  He went on to say of ensuring that rivalry inside his squad remains friendly, with everyone aware of what an honour it is to represent their country: “What we are trying is to build a strong bond, an energy, a group to build a brotherhood that everyone wants to join.

  “We want to create a competition where if I pull out of a 50/50 situation, the door will be closed as someone else will take the shirt. Not as a threat, but that everyone is keen to come, loves to perform for the country as it is an honour and the last step of elite football – to represent England in a World Cup. It is the pinnacle. This is how it should feel .

  “We are absolutely on the way, everyone wants to be part of the camps and nobody has given signals that it is time to rest – and we also wouldn’t accept it. So it is an energy that feeds itself. That is the key – everyone loves to be in camp and enjoys it.”

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  England fixtures: Next up with World Cup qualification secured

  England will be back in action on Thursday when facing Serbia at Wembley Stadium. Tuchel’s side have already booked their place at next summer’s World Cup, meaning that he is in a position to rotate and experiment.

  Having made faultless progress through qualification – with six victories and as many clean sheets being picked up so far – the Three Lions will complete their schedule for 2025 when travelling to Albania on Sunday.

Former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales has claimed his sexual assault conviction for kissing Jenni Hermoso was the result of a political witch hunt, insisting the incident was “blown out of proportion.” The ex-RFEF chief broke his silence in a TV interview, defending his actions during Spain’s 2023 Women’s World Cup celebrations and alleging political motives behind his downfall.

Rubiales defends appeal and insists conviction was unfair

Rubiales has broken his long silence since being found guilty of sexual assault for kissing Spain international Hermoso after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final against England, describing the scandal as “distorted” and “politically driven.” Rubiales, who was forced to resign as RFEF president in September 2023, appeared on to promote his new book Killing Rubiales and discuss his appeal against the €10,800 fine and one-year restraining order issued by Spain’s High Court.

The former official was convicted in February 2025 of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso without consent during the medal ceremony in Sydney. He was acquitted of coercion, which related to claims that he pressured the player to publicly back his version of events.

Rubiales has consistently denied wrongdoing and confirmed he has lodged an appeal. “Yes, I have appealed the sentence. When there is a sentence, we all have an obligation to abide by it,” he said. “We believe this is not sexual assault, and we have the right to appeal. There was a tremendous, disproportionate modification. It was dubbed ‘non-consensual kissing.’ It has to reach the Supreme Court. There has to be sexual intent in the kiss. We have our arguments to say that there was a wrongful act, but not a crime.”

AdvertisementAFP‘It was a mistake, but blown out of proportion’ – Rubiales

Rubiales admitted the kiss was inappropriate but argued that the backlash and conviction were the result of exaggeration and “interests” beyond football.

“It was a mistake, I wasn’t right. From there to everything that’s been blown out of proportion, distorted, taken to the extreme… with certain interests. It’s more than I deserved,” he said. “I stand by it. I apologise, I apologise again. As president, I should have been more composed, more professional.

“I’m not apologising to Jenni Hermoso because I asked her and she said: ‘Okay’. Jenni and I know that what the ruling says isn’t true. It was a kiss of emotion, with no sexual connotation whatsoever. Jenni was a good friend, she missed a penalty… she helped us a lot in rebuilding the team. Jenni was my friend.”

Addressing claims of pressure on Hermoso to downplay the incident, Rubiales said: “I spoke to her on the plane. I told her that we should both come forward and say what we’ve said. She refused. It was said that there was pressure, and we requested the video to show that there was no such pressure, but the judge did not deem it appropriate to show the video.”

Rubiales blames politics and media for his downfall

The former Spanish football chief alleged that the controversy was fuelled by political motives, claiming he became a target of Spain’s left-wing government and media.

“I saw an immediate move by the far left in this country, with an immediate change of script,” he said. “Pedro Sanchez needed the support of the separatists to be sworn in [as prime minister], and he had to grant them amnesty. It suited him well to talk about something else. It was a smokescreen.

“Media outlets that receive significant funding from the league attacked me. I saw that the far left, with their hypocrisy of blowing a minor issue out of proportion… they were clearly after me.”

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Getty Images‘I did it for my team’ – Rubiales on resignation

Rubiales also claims that he was pressured to resign or risk the entire federation staff being dismissed.

“An intermediary from the Secretary of State for Sport told me that if I didn’t resign, my entire team would be fired," he added. "That they would talk to FIFA and get involved at the civil level and do whatever it took to go after me and my whole team. I did it for the group of people who supported me. That’s why I resigned.”

With his appeal now before the Spanish Supreme Court, Rubiales insists he will continue to fight to clear his name. The scandal remains one of the most damaging episodes in the history of Spanish football, overshadowing Spain’s first-ever Women’s World Cup triumph and reshaping the country’s sporting and political landscape.

He will work in cricket as an independent contractor going forward

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2025Former New Zealand Women head coach Bob Carter will be stepping away from his role as the high-performance coach, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced on Friday. That will bring down curtains on a 21-year career in which he oversaw progress of New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams.”I feel like I’ve lived the dream,” Carter said in an NZC release. “I’ve very much enjoyed offering support and contributing and, if that’s helped players or teams go on and achieve success, then that’s terrific – I’m delighted.”But I think what’s worked best at NZC has been the combinations, the teamwork, and the cooperation.”Born in Norfolk in east England, Carter played 60 first-class and 55 List-A matches for Northamptonshire and Canterbury before getting into coaching. He joined New Zealand men’s set-up in 2004 as an assistant coach to John Bracewell. After a five-year tenure, he was again appointed assistant coach to Mike Hesson from 2012 to 2014 before taking over from Haidee Tiffen as New Zealand Women’s head coach in 2019. He coached them in the 2020 T20 World Cup and the 2022 ODI World Cup that New Zealand hosted, before stepping down.”We’ve been able to create sides that have been greater than their sum of parts, and that’s a key ingredient in team sport,” Carter, who will work in cricket as an independent contractor, said. “Sure, the individual performance is important, but it’s the collective that has the greater potential. That’s where the magic is.”Bob Carter: ‘The reason the Black Caps have continued to produce great batters and bowlers is because we have a strong, underlying domestic system’•Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

Carter, 65, said he was pleased to leave the role in Lincoln at a time New Zealand are doing well in international cricket. The women’s team won the T20 World Cup for the first time last year while the men whitewashed India in India in a Test series; no team had defeated India at home in a Test series since 2012, let alone returning a clean sweep.”It’s true that the game has evolved a great deal over the past twenty years,” he said. “But the flipside is that the basics and fundamentals of batting and bowling have never really changed.”Sure, the batters are playing shots we wouldn’t have dreamed of in the nineties, and the bowlers are producing options and change-ups with an incredible degree of difficulty. But within all that, the framework that allows the players to execute so successfully, is still the same as it was 50 years ago.”Our domestic cricket is very strong. I’m not sure that’s widely recognised. The reason the Black Caps have continued to produce great batters and bowlers is because we have a strong, underlying domestic system. The White Ferns have been in transition over the past couple of years, but the domestic competitions have brought new players through and invigorated the established ones.”The World Cup win last year was a great example of what that team is capable of.”Playing tribute to Carter, NZC chief high performance officer Daryl Gibson said, “Bob has been the voice of experience at Lincoln and has been involved in much of the success we’ve seen in the men’s and women’s games over the past decade or more. He’s part of a wider high-performance team that underpinned and supported one of New Zealand cricket’s golden periods – the legacy he leaves in terms of his contribution to NZC is enormous.”

Stats highlights from DC’s first win against CSK at Chepauk since 2010

Sampath Bandarupalli05-Apr-20252:46

Jaffer: ‘If top order doesn’t fire, CSK shut shop early’

2010 – Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk for the first time since their six-wicket win in 2010. The Delhi franchise won the first two matches against CSK at this venue in 2008 and 2010 but had lost seven in a row before Saturday.The seven-match winning streak for CSK against this opponent in Chennai is the joint-second-longest for any team against an opponent at a particular venue in the IPL. CSK’s eight-match winning streak against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk is the longest, which also came to a halt earlier this season.10 – CSK have failed to chase a target of 180-plus in their last ten attempts, dating back to 2020. Three teams have had a longer streak of failing to chase 180-plus targets in the IPL – 15 by Punjab Kings (2015 to 2021), 12 by RCB (2019 to 2023) and 11 by Sunrisers Hyderabad (2020 to 2023).Related

Rayudu: 'CSK will come back strong once they get their combination and personnel right'

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Worried Fleming says CSK are still 'grappling' to find their best line-up

Jaffer: CSK look 'rattled', their batters are not even 'trying'

KL Rahul shines as DC outclass CSK in Chennai

25 – The run margin of CSK’s defeat on Saturday. Only four teams have suffered a heavier loss despite losing only five or fewer wickets in 20 overs while chasing a target of 200 or less in the IPL.2018 – Previous instance of CSK chasing down a target of 180 or more runs in the IPL – against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Pune, where they hunted down 180 with eight wickets in hand. CSK had a win-loss record of 9-9 while chasing 180-plus targets until that point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd9.2 – Overs batted by Vijay Shankar and MS Dhoni during their sixth-wicket stand. It is the second-longest unbeaten partnership to end up on the losing side in an IPL chase, behind the 9.4 overs of partnership by Kedar Jadhav and Saurabh Tiwary in 2015. The duo added 91 runs for Delhi Daredevils’ fifth wicket against SRH but fell seven runs short of the 164-run chase.84* – The 84-run unbroken stand between Vijay and Dhoni is the highest for CSK in the IPL for the sixth wicket or lower.120.74 – Strike rate of the CSK’s top three batters in 180-plus chases since 2020. It is by far the lowest among all ten teams, with the next worst being 139.09 by SRH. CSK’s top order averages 17.86 in the 180-plus chases since 2020, also the lowest.20.23 – Percentage of Dhoni’s runs in CSK’s wins since the start of IPL 2023. In this period, Dhoni has batted 13 times in the wins and scored 69 runs at an average of 13.80, but in defeats, he has 272 runs in 14 innings, at an average of 90.66.

All you need to know about the SA20 2025-26 auction

Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2025The SA20 is avoiding the word mega (because that belongs to the IPL) but the auction of season four is big. Very big.Almost two-thirds of the player pool is up for grabs, with 84 of the 114 player spots across the six franchises available. The teams were permitted no more than six retentions or pre-signed players and were also allowed to sign a wildcard player, who falls outside the R41 million (approx USD 2.31 million) salary cap.There is no rookie draft in place anymore to prevent a high turnover of young players and instead, franchises must sign a minimum of two under-23 players in their final squads.Related

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Squad composition is unchanged from the previous three seasons, with 19 players per squad and a maximum of seven overseas players. Here’s the lowdown before the first gavel hits.Who has what going in?
Pretoria Capitals, who will be under a new coach in Sourav Ganguly for season four, have the biggest purse of R32.5 million (approx USD 1.85 million) and most number of spots to fill – 16. They are also the only franchise with two Right to Match (RTM) cards available to them. Similar to the IPL, the RTM can be used to buy back a player who was part of a franchise in the previous season by matching the winning bid. All three of Pretoria’s current players – Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford and wildcard Andre Russell – are overseas players so they only have four international spots left.Durban’s Super Giants have R29.5 million (approx USD 1.68 million) and 15 spots available with one RTM card. They also have four overseas places available after pre-signing Sunil Narine and Jos Buttler and retaining Noor Ahmed. Heinrich Klaasen is their wildcard.Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings both have R21.5 million (approx USD1.2 million) and 14 player spots available, four for overseas players, with one RTM card each. Paarl Royals have R14.5 million (approx USD826,000) and 13 spots, including five overseas while MI Cape Town have R11.5 million (US$650,000) and only 12 places to fill but four for overseas players. Neither Paarl nor MICT have an RTM card. What do the base prices look like?
The base prices range from R200,000 (approx USD11,400) to R1.5 million (approx USD85,500), which is what some of the high-profile international names such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mustafizur Rahman, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Maheesha Theeksana and Johnson Charles have set for themselves. A further 32 players including James Anderson, Shakib Al Hasan, Reece Topley, Craig Overton, Logan van Beek, Corey Anderson and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have set their base prices at R1 million (approx USD57,000).In-form Matthew Breetzke is among players expected to attract big bids•AFP/Getty ImagesMost of the 549 players on the auction list have opted for the lowest base price but South Africa’s premier bowlers have rated themselves slightly higher with a host of them opting for base prices of R500,000 (approx USD 28,500). Among them are a resurgent Lungi Ngidi, who has maintained fitness across formats, teenage left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, Gerald Coetzee, who only played one match for JSK last year as he battled with injury, Anrich Nortje, who has not played any cricket since the IPL, Lizaad Williams, who has recovered from knee surgery and was awarded a national contract in this cycle, left-armer Nandre Burger and allrounder Wiaan Mulder.Leading spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, and veteran Imran Tahir have also opted for a R500,000 base price alongside experienced batters Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. Dewald Brevis, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year across formats, is also at R500,000.Will someone cross the R10 million mark?
Unless you’re South African this number may not mean anything but it’s considered the high-water mark for this auction after Tristan Stubbs was picked up for R9.2 (approx USD 525,180) million in the first auction in 2023. Should a player command a R10 million price tag, that would be worth more than half a million US dollars, (around USD 570,000) which, for anyone, is a tidy payday.Some of the favourites to attract that kind of money include South Africa’s T20I captain and two-time title-winning SA20 captain Markram (but he has only scored 20 or more twice in his last ten T20I innings), Maharaj and in-form batters Matthew Breetzke and Brevis.Are there any overseas names to look out for?
The absence of England’s Test players, who will be involved in the Ashes, is the biggest talking point of this season after Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were two of the major catches in the previous edition but there is still a strong contingent at the auction. Headlined by Anderson, who had three matches in the Hundred this summer, there are 96 English names on the auction list. Contrastingly, there are only two Australians – D’Arcy Short and Peter Hatzoglou.James Anderson will have a base price of R1 million at the auction•Getty ImagesWest Indies have 28 players in the auction list, Sri Lanka 24 and Afghanistan, who have historically had a strong contingent of players in the SA20, have 19, followed by Bangladesh with 15 and New Zealand with six. Of the other Full Members there are five Zimbabweans – Brian Bennett, who was schooled in the Eastern Cape, Ryan Burl, Richard Ngarava, Sean Williams and Brad Evans – and five Irish players have thrown their names into the hat.Notably, there are no Pakistan players in the auction list. While the SA20 has always said it remains open to players from across the cricketing world, all six franchises are owned by IPL team owners.From Associate nations, 16 players from the USA, eight Netherlands players including former South African international Roelof van der Merwe, six Scottish players, four Namibians including captain Gerhard Erasmus, four from the UAE, and one Nepal player Dipendra Singh Airee are in the list. When and where is the auction?
The auction will take place on Tuesday, September 9 from 2pm South African time (5.30pm IST) and will be held in Johannesburg.