Broad out for rest of series, Shardul to miss Lord’s Test
Already bereft of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, England faced another blow when they lost Stuart Broad for the rest of the series. Broad slipped during warm-up sessions ahead of the Lord’s Test.
An MRI scan later revealed a tear in his right calf. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) called Saqib Mahmood as replacement for Broad. England are not sure of James Anderson’s availability either.
Likewise, India will be without Shardul Thakur, who is set to miss the second Test match owing to a hamstring injury. Thakur picked up four wickets in the first Test match, and his absence has posed a selection conundrum for Team India.
Pakistan named 19-member squad for West Indies Test
Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah returned as Pakistan announced a 19-member squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies. Abbas earned a comeback on the back of a terrific season with Hampshire.
Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz failed to make a cut. Captain Babar Azam clarified that both men were released to join their families home before returning for the ODI series against Afghanistan, in Sri Lanka.
Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica will host the first Test, from 12 August.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Zahid Mahmood Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Sajid Khan, Abid Ali, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Yasir Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk)
England, India docked two points each
England and India have been fined 40 percent of their match fees and two points each for slow over rate in the opening Test of the five-match series, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The penalty was imposed by the match referee Chris Broad.
Virat Kohli and Joe Root accepted the offence, and thus no formal hearing was required. As per Article 16.11.2, a point is deducted for each over short.
The first Test ended in a draw. India needed 157 to win with nine wickets in hand, but rain washed out all of Day 5. During the game, Root scored his first home century since 2019.
Shakib returns to No. 1 ICC T20I all-rounders rankings
Shakib Al Hasan has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC T20I ranking for all-rounders, released on 11 August. Shakib has had a terrific outing with both bat and ball in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia.
Bangladesh won the series 4-1, and Shakib was adjudged as Player of the Match. Australia's Mitchell Marsh also had a great campaign. Marsh topped the runs chart and climbed four spots to reach 21st in the batters rankings.
Mustafizur Rahman, too, reached 10th place in the bowlers rankings. He is the only bowler from his country in the top 10.