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Salman is nursing a left-hand injury. (PC: ICC) Mohammad Wasim Jr has been drafted into Pakistan’s squad as a replacement for Salman Mirza for the 2026 Asian Games. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed the development on Sunday, September 20. According to the PCB media release, Salman has been sidelined due to a fracture in his left thumb, which will keep him out of action until the first week of next month. “Fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jnr replaced Mohammad Salman Mirza in the squad after the latter was sidelined from the event due to a fracture in his left thumb,” said the PCB release. “Salman is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to regain complete fitness in the first week of October.” Wasim has played 34 T20Is and is one of the more seasoned players in the second-string squad, which will be led by Sahibzada Farhan. The squad was summoned to assemble at Karachi’s Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre on Sunday. Under head coach Mike Hesson, the team will...

Japan vs India (PC: Japan Cricket) From ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ to ‘cricket diplomacy’, there is a common factor – Nagoya. The Japanese city, which is currently hosting the Asian Games, played host to the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships. It was the height of the Cold War, with the United States and China in opposite camps. Richard Nixon’s America embraced capitalism and liberalism, while Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai’s ‘Red China’ was behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ and very much part of the Communist bloc. Japan Cricket and BCCI (PC: Japan Cricket) Against this backdrop, Glenn Cowan, a young US table tennis player, ‘transgressed’. By mistake, he boarded the Chinese national team bus. All hell could have broken loose, but legendary Chinese table tennis player Zhuang Zedong welcomed Cowan with a silk-woven portrait. The Chinese leadership then invited the US team to visit China. The United States responded by lifting its trade ban on China, and a year later, Nixon was there, initiating th...

India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in Asian Games 2026 (PC: BCCI Women, BCB, ACC) India and Sri Lanka have secured themselves a medal in the Women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games and will now face each other in the final, scheduled for September 22. Before that, Bangladesh and Pakistan will lock horns in Nisshin in the Bronze medal match. India vs Sri Lanka – Final Which colour of medal India or Sri Lanka eventually win will be decided at Korogi Sports Park. It is a repeat of the recent Women’s Asia Cup final and also the 2022 Asian Games Women’s cricket final. On both occasions, the Women in Blue registered convincing wins. So, once again, it will be a challenging test for Chamari Athapaththu and Co. Looking at their respective semi-final performances, India thrashed Bangladesh by 114 runs, with Shafali Verma making the headlines with a record-breaking century to become the first-ever women’s cricketer to score a hundred at the Asian Games. With the ball, India’s...

Richardson is eyeing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2026-27. (PC: Cricket Australia) Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson is plotting his comeback to the Test team by performing well in the two multi-day matches that will be played in Puducherry against India A. Richardson, who last played Test cricket for Australia in 2025, has been out of the scheme of things due to injury concerns. His prolonged history of injuries led to him losing his central contract. Currently fit, he is part of the Australia A squad for the two-match unofficial Test series, which begins later this month. Impressing in that series could earn Richardson a surprise recall for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025/26, which will be held in India. “That’s always the plan – to play Test cricket,” Richardson said on the sidelines of a BBL event in Chennai, as quoted by Cricinfo. “I’d love to play Test cricket. Again, I’ve played a few games now, had a taste of Test cricket, but with shoul...

  PC- X/ BCCI Anjana Sasi India stormed into the Asian Games women’s cricket final with a commanding 114-run victory over Bangladesh on Sunday, but the evening belonged to Shafali Verma, whose unbeaten 100 off 49 balls powered India to 195/4 before Nandini Sharma and the bowling attack dismantled the Bangladesh chase. Bangladesh were bowled out for 81 in 15.4 overs, sending India into another final against Sri Lanka, just as in the recent Asia Cup. For Shafali, it was more than just a big score. It was a first century in women’s cricket at the Asian Games and her first T20I century. More importantly, it marked another milestone in her journey since she was left out of India’s original squad for the 2025 ODI World Cup. A year ago, Shafali was not even supposed to be part of India’s World Cup campaign. Pratika Rawal’s injury changed that. Called up as a replacement, Shafali walked into a tournament from which she had initially been excluded and went on to play a decisive role i...

Cricket West Indies have announced their squads for the upcoming limited-overs tour of India, with Shai Hope set to captain both the ODI and T20I sides. The tour will comprise three ODIs and five T20Is, with the first ODI scheduled for September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram. The series will run until October 17, with matches being played across eight Indian cities. The ODI squad retains the core group that featured in West Indies’ recent home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. John Campbell returns after missing the final two ODIs against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury, while Jewel Andrew has been included after Ackeem Auguste was ruled out as he continues his rehabilitation following surgery. The T20I squad features several familiar names, including Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd. Hetmyer, who featured in the final two matches of the New Zealand series, will join the squad for the T20I le...