Cricket Blog | IPL 2024 | T20 World Cup

West indies have announced their T20 squad explosive batsman Chris Gayle has been rested for the two Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe. Right-handed batsman Darren Sammy will lead a T20 squad that will be played on March 2 and 3 in Antigua. West Indies squad : Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Christopher Barnwell, Tino Best, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Johnson Charles, Shannon Gabriel, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons.

New Zealand have announced their squad for the first Test against England on March 6. Uncapped Hamish Rutherford and Tom Latham has been added to the squad. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said, " We picked Peter to tour South Africa and he would have played there if he hadn't been injured. " New Zealand Squad : Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Peter Fulton, Tom Latham, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Bruce Martin, Hamish Rutherford, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has been fined $250 for throwing his bat while playing a domestic match for Tasmania against Western Australia in Perth. Ponting threw his bat after he was run out for 95 on the way back to the pavilion.

Pakistan's Aggressive batsman Shahid Afridi has finally made a comeback to ODI squad for the series against South Africa that begins on March 10. Batsman Asad Shafiq and spinner Abdur Rehman were added to the ODI squad for the five-match series. Wahab Riaz replacing Sohail Tanvir in Twenty20 squad. Pakistan ODI squad : Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Abdur Rehman. Pakistan Twenty20 squad: Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Ahmed Shehzad, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Asad Ali, Junaid Khan.

South Africa Right-handed batsman Faf du Plessis has been retained as a captain of T20 squad series against Pakistan starting from March 1. Coach Gary Kirsten said, " Handing Faf the T20 captaincy is an exciting option for us to explore our leadership resources. He showed a lot of potential during the series against New Zealand in both the T20 and ODI formats, and this will be another great opportunity for him to work on his role as a leader. " Morne Morkel has been recovered from his hamstring injury and ready to play in the ODI series against Pakistan. Jacques Kallis have been given rest from both ODI and T20 squads. South Africa ODI squad : AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. South Africa T20 squad : Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, F

New Zealand batsman, Lou Vincent has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday evening via Twitter. Vincent, 34, played 102 ODIs and 23 Tests for New Zealand. In his ODIs career, Vincent scored 2413 runs at an average of 27.11

West Indies captain Darren Sammy and explosive batsman Chris Gayle have been rested for the first two ODIs against Zimbabwe, scheduled as February 22 and 24 in St George's. The good news is allrounder Dwayne Bravo will lead the ODI team. West Indies also host Zimbabwe in two Twenty20s and two Tests as well. West Indies squad : Dwayne Bravo (capt), Tino Best, Narsingh Deonarine, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Veerasammy Permaul, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan

Former England allrounder Jeremy Snape has been named as a performance coach for Delhi Daredevils in the upcoming season of IPL. " We are happy to welcome Jeremy as Performance Coach, " GMR Sports' Head (Cricket) TA Sekar said. " We believe he has the right credentials to help the Delhi Daredevils achieve its goals. We are sure he will bring in fresh ideas and help the coaching staff bring the best out of the players in a high performance environment. " Snape, 39, said: " We are sure that Snape will enable the players be on the edge of their comfort zones as they deliver high performance through the coming season. "

Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera has signed Worcestershire for the 2013 English county season. Since 2001, he has played 81 Tests for Sri Lanka with an average of 48.76 " Playing county cricket has been one of my long term career ambitions, " Samaraweera said in a release issued by the county. " I am extremely grateful to Steve Rhodes and Worcestershire CCC for giving me the opportunity to fulfill this ambition and I look forward to repaying this faith by making significant contributions on the field this season. I can't wait to arrive in April and get started with the boys and pull on the Worcestershire shirt for the first time. "

The former Pakistan legspinner, Mushtaq Ahmed is ready to join Delhi Daredevils for the 2013 IPL season, as a spin-bowling consultant. Recently Mushtaq has signed the year-long contract with the Delhi Daredevils and is now waiting for the final paperwork. " I have been offered a one-year deal, " Mushtaq said "I have accepted it but the deal is yet to be finalised and is in process as written documentation is currently being exchanged. "

The leading batsman in the Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir has been excluded for the first two Tests against Australia, starting February 22 in Chennai. Shikhar Dhawan from delhi has replaced Gambhir in the test squad, whereas Harbhajan Singh replaced Piyush Chawla. India squad : MS Dhoni (capt.), Virender Sehwag, M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda

Australia opener Shane Watson was wondered to score a century in Canberra. Watson's scored 122 to a series victory against West Indies. Watson said after the game, " I was starting to worry a little bit that I might not have enough form going into the Indian series. But it's nice to be able to spend some time in the middle today and bat for a longer period of time to feel like I'm back again a bit. It's nice to be able to feel like you've got it still. "

Here is the List of IPL players to which team, or for how much? IPL 6 - Player Auction 2013 Player Name Country IPL Team Cost (USD) Abhishek Nayar India Pune Warriors 675000 Ajantha Mendis Sri Lanka Pune Warriors 725000 Akila Dananjaya Sri Lanka Chennai Super Kings 20000 Ben Laughlin Australia Chennai Super Kings 20000 Chris Morris South Africa Chennai Super Kings 625000 Christopher Barnwell West Indies Royal Challengers Bangalore 50000 Clint McKay Australia Sunrisers Hyderabad 100000 Dan Christian Australia Royal Challengers Bangalore 100000 Darren Sammy West Indies Sunrisers Hyderabad 425000 Dirk Nannes Australia Chennai Super Kings 600000 Fidel Edwards West Indies Rajasthan Royals 210000 Glenn Maxwell Australia Mumbai Indians 1000000 Jacob Oram New Zealand Mumbai Indians 50000 James Faulkner Australia Rajasthan Royals 400000 Jason Holder West Indies Chennai Super Kings 20000 Jaydev Unadkat India Royal Challengers Bangalore 525000 Jeevan Mendis Sri Lanka Delhi

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has been returned to the one-day and Twenty20 squads against England side in this month. New Zealand will start the series with three T20s and three ODIs against England, starting from February 9. A squad for the three-Test series against England will be announced separately. ODI squad : Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson. Twenty20 squad : Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Roneel Hira, Mitchell McClenaghan, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Martin Guptill, Nathan McCullum, Ross Taylor

Former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann has been appointed the new coach of Kings XI Punjab . Previously, Lehmann had coached the Deccan Chargers . The 42-year-old Lehmann said, " I'm geared up for the challenges it brings and will always encourage our team to be an entertaining and aggressive brand that people love to watch and associate with, I'm also looking forward to working with Adam Gilchrist again and help all the players grow on and off the field. " Lehmann also coaches in the Big Bash League side Queensland and the Brisbane Heat .