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Mumbai Cricket Association Logo. PC: MCA In a landmark decision for Indian domestic cricket, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has officially approved its player contract system for the 2026-27 season and has established equal pay parity for both men and women. Under this initiative, players will receive annual contracts to provide robust financial security to domestic talents who do not hold central BCCI contracts. These contracts aim to protect players against seasonal income fluctuations and injury layoffs. This rollout extends contracts to 22 total players – comprising 14 men and 8 women, who are split equally across identical salary tiers. Under this pay equity model are Grade A players who have been retained for Rs.12 lakhs, Grade B players for Rs.8 lakhs and Grade C players for Rs. 6 lakhs – regardless of the gender. PC: MCA Notable names making this inaugural list are Siddhesh Lad and Shams Mulani in Grade A, alongside women’s senior standouts Humaira Ka...

Gurnoor is all set for Duleep Trophy 2026. (PC: X) North Zone have added Gurnoor Brar to their Duleep Trophy semi-final squad for their match against South Zone, beginning on Sunday at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. On Friday, Gurnoor reached Bengaluru from Colombo along with Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Sarfaraz Khan and Saransh Jain. He linked up with the North Zone squad after India’s Test series against Sri Lanka, which ended in a 1-0 series win on Thursday. The tall pacer did not play a single Test, as Prasidh was preferred over him by the think tank, but he is most likely to feature in the semi-final. Despite not having made his debut yet, Gurnoor remains firmly in the selectors’ plans, which is why he is all set to play in the Duleep Trophy. Saransh Jain, who made his debut in the second Test against Sri Lanka, will be available for selection for Central Zone in their game against East Zone, starting at the CoE on August 30. This aligns with the selector...

PC- X An interesting episode of Midwicket Stories, presented by Nishant Dayal and Jaya Prasad, brought together two legends of a generation that defined cricket in its own way — Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Vivian Richards. The two icons, representing India and the West Indies, shared a candid conversation filled with laughter, playful banter and memories from a time when they often found themselves on opposite sides of the field. One of the most fascinating stories came from Gavaskar, who recalled an incident while fielding at forward short leg in New Zealand. With the Indian captain, Bishan Singh Bedi, temporarily off the field, Gavaskar, then the vice-captain, had to take charge. “Bishan Singh Bedi was a captain who was off the field for some time,” he said. “I was the vice-captain. So I was leading the side and Prasanna was bowling. And I looked for somebody to come in, you know, stand at forward short leg. And everybody had their backs to me. Within a couple of deliveries, I was tak...

Sri Lanka-W vs UAE-W, Women’s Asia Cup 2026 (PC: Chamari Athapaththu, Esha Oza Insta) Defending champions Sri Lanka are set to take on the home side, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on August 29 in a Group B clash of the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams have enjoyed a good run of form in this format so far this year, with Sri Lanka winning 10 of their 14 games, while UAE have managed six wins from seven. However, the two teams have met only twice in WT20Is, with Sri Lanka emerging victorious on both occasions. At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka have played only one WT20I so far, which they lost against India during the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup. UAE, meanwhile, will look to make the most of their home conditions and stun the defending champions. There is an interesting similarity between the two teams: both have inspirational all-rounders leading from the front. For Sri Lanka, it is Chamari Athapaththu, while Esha ...

India Women (PC: BCCI Women) Women’s Asia Cup has always been a tournament where Team India have dominated. Out of the nine editions so far, the Women in Blue have won seven times, making them the most successful team, while finishing as runners-up on the other two occasions. Hence, once again, in Dubai, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will be expected to showcase their dominance and add another Asia Cup title to their trophy cabinet. Captain: Harmanpreet Kaur Head coach: Amol Muzumdar Squad Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), G Kamalini (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Pratika Rawal Key Players Smriti Mandhana, N Sree Charani, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma. Fixtures India vs Thailand — August 30, Dubai India vs Hong Kong, China — September 3, Dubai India vs Pakistan — September 5, Dubai Shafali Verma for India Women (P...

Captains’ meet ahead of Women’s Asia Cup 2026 (PC: RevSportz) India cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the team will assess the hot and humid conditions in Dubai before finalising its combination for the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. “We haven’t seen the field yet,” Harmanpreet said in a press conference ahead of the tournament. “The thing is two teams are playing before us. We will get to see a lot of things and then understand the conditions and how things are going to be. And then, accordingly, we will make the plan. So, I think we still have another two or three days where we can train and get used to this condition.” Harmanpreet also said India will not focus on one particular opponent during the tournament. “We are not putting any focus on one particular team, which is going to be tough for us. All the teams have been doing well and our focus is to play good cricket and not to take any team lightly,” she said. India will face Pakistan on September 5, but the ...