Another day, another Champions Trophy 2025 update. We might have a new date for the ICC meeting on the scheduling of the 8-team tournament, but it isn’t confirmed yet. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) is underway, and top stars like Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya are failing. Prithvi Shaw, who seems to be always in the news, recorded a duck while his Mumbai teammate Shardul Thakur got a 4-fer. MS Dhoni wasn’t happy with Yash Dayal after he posted a video on his Instagram account, and the biggest news of them all, Virat Kohli might be injured before the India vs Australia 2nd Test.
Virat Kohli injured?
Will Virat Kohli miss the India vs Australia 2nd Test? The star batter had his right knee bandaged during practice at the Adelaide Oval. Kohli looked in a jolly mood and toiled hard in the nets. But it’s definitely not a non-issue; had everything been okay, he wouldn’t have his knee strapped. The question is, how serious is it, and was it the reason why he skipped the warmup match against the Prime Minister’s XI?
Jay Shah to hold ICC meeting on December 5
100 days before an ICC event starts, the deadline for it has to be announced. Yet despite being only 78 days away from the Champions Trophy 2025, the schedule isn’t out. The ICC meetings regarding the schedule have been previously delayed, and the last one ended in just 15 days. As of now, no new date is here, but it seems the next one will take place on December 5 when Jay Shah introduces himself as the new ICC Chairman to the other boards.
Washington Sundar ‘confirmed’ for Pink Ball Test
Washington Sundar will be once again preferred over Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja by the Indian management. It’s 90% confirmed that he’ll feature in the Pink Ball Test at the Adelaide Oval. This doesn’t come as a shock. When he was picked over the two veterans in Perth and did moderately well, it was expected that he would continue. The question now is, will either Jadeja or Ashwin get a chance in the last three Tests?
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Ruturaj Gaikwad, new CSK wicketkeeper?
Ruturaj Gaikwad is doing side quests. His main mission is to score runs and lead Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but apart from completing these duties, he’s decided to wicketkeep as well. Great batter, who leads the side and stays behind the stumps. This sounds familiar. One might say he’s trying to replicate what MS Dhoni does at CSK, and you never know, he might be thinking it himself: Why depend on others when I can do it?
Prithvi Shaw & Sanju Samson’s SMAT troubles
Two of the most talented openers, Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson, struggled in SMAT. Facing Services, Prithvi failed to open his account once again. In five matches, the Mumbai batter has scored 96 runs, which include two ducks. Samson, who started with a 75-run knock, has scored 61 runs in 4 matches since. Meanwhile, Hardik and Krunal Pandya also got out on ducks, falling to Shreyas Gopal, who took a hat-trick.
Yash Dayal mocked by MS Dhoni fans
Yash Dayal was mocked and trolled by fans online. The left-arm shared the clip of him getting MS Dhoni out in the IPL 2024 in a match that his team, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, won. Just the mere fact of posting the video angered Dhoni’s fans who came after the pacer. Some went as far as saying that Thala gave Dayal a career and will be remembered for just dismissing Dhoni.