Guptill retires from international cricket

India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar will attend the press conference to announce the 15-man provisional squad for the Champions Trophy. Teams can make changes to their squads until February 13.

They will then take questions from the media, which might include touching upon the recent spell of poor form which has seen India lose back-to-back Test series, against New Zealand at home and Australia away.

SQUAD FOR ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja

International games

• WEST INDIES TOUR OF PAKISTAN(1st Test)

WI-137

PAK 230 & 109/3 (31)

From Pretorius to Maphaka: Young Guns Lighting Up the SA20

The SA20 league is buzzing with fresh talent, and young players like Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Kwena Maphaka are making headlines with their standout performances.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius: A Rising Star

At just 18, Lhuan-dre Pretorius has been turning heads with his all-round skills. In a recent match, he showcased his game awareness, setting up the Paarl Royals' six-wicket victory over MI Cape Town at Boland Park. He is currently the top run scorer of the tournament thus far. He hits a ball cleanly.

Kwena Maphaka: Fast-Bowling Sensation

Fellow St Stithians alumnus and teammate, Kwena Maphaka, also 18, has emerged as a formidable fast bowler. Maphaka's impressive performances in the SA20 have not only bolstered the Paarl Royals' bowling attack but have also earned him a call-up to all formats of the South African team. He is quick.

Impact on South African Cricket

These young talents are not just making a splash in the SA20; they're also signaling a bright future for South African cricket. Watch out for them in the future.

Domestic cricket + T20 leagues

 SA20, 2025

MI Cape Town vs Joburg Super Kings

JSK-172/5 (20overs)

MICT - 73/1(7.4overs) Ongoing

• VIJAY HAZARE TROPHY 2024-25

Karnataka vs Vidarbha

Karnataka - 348/6 (50overs)

Vidarbha - 312/10 (48.2overa)

Karnataka wins by 36 runs

• INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE T20, 2025

Gulf Giants vs Dubai Capitals

   DCP 165/7 (20)

  GG 168/4 (18.1)

Gulf Giants won by 6 wkts

           Desert Vipers vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

 DV 193/5 (20)

  ADKR 140 (17.4)

 Desert Vipers won by 53 runs

Double Whammy For Karun Nair: After Champions Trophy Snub, Star Fails In Vijay Hazare Final

Hours after his omission from Team India's squad for the Champions Trophy, Vidarbha captain Karun Nair dream run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy came to an end with a 27-run knock in the final against Karnataka. Nair, who had scored 752 runs in seven games in the lead up to the final, was undone by an excellent delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna. 

Nair was beaten all ends up as the ball kept low and nipped back in sharply to rattle the stumps.Nair's dismissal saw Vidarbha reduced to 88/2 while chasing 349 against Karnataka in the final.Earlier, 

Ravichandran Smaran smashed a century to power Karnataka to 348/6 in 50 overs.Krishnan Shrijith and Abhinav Manohar also scored half-centuries to propel Karnataka to a big total.Meanwhile,

 Nair's omission from the Champions Trophy squad will raise questions about the relevance for scoring heavily in domestic cricket.Head of BCCI's selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, admitted that it was indeed tough to include Karun in a squad of 15 in the current situation.

On This Day

Interesting fact/OTD/Fan post

2015

AB goes ape

Just a year after New Zealand's Corey Anderson broke the record for the fastest ODI hundred - getting one off 36 balls - South Africa's AB de Villiers bettered it by five balls, against West Indies in Johannesburg. He also broke the record for the fastest fifty, reaching his in 16 balls, one fewer than Sanath Jayasuriya took in 1996, and equalled the one for most sixes in an innings - 16. Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw also made hundreds in the game, the first time three triple-figure scores were made in an ODI innings, and South Africa scored 439. In reply, West Indies managed 291 for 7.

Coming tomorrow

• SA20, 2025

  • Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Durban Super Giants

•  BIG BASH LEAGUE 2024-25

  • Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes

• BANGLADESH PREMIER LEAGUE, 2024-25

                Fortune Barishal vs Chittagong Kings

What else is happening

• IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant set to be named Lucknow Super Giants captain: Rishabh Pant is set to be named captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from the 2025 IPL season. Pant became the most expensive player in the IPL at the November 2024 mega auction after being bought by LSG for INR 27 crore (US$ 3.21 million approx.) after he opted to go into the auction.

• Women's U-19 T20 World Cup: Australia begin with huge win against Scotland:Australia opened their Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup with a dominating nine-wicket win over Scotland in the Group D game in Bangi, Malaysia.

• Connolly, Beardman keep Scorchers' finals hope alive:The finals hopes of both teams were remarkably revived after Melbourne Renegades' improbable victory earlier over Brisbane Heat. Scorchers needed to chase 162 in 18 overs to leapfrog Renegades and they did it relatively easy at the end with Connolly slamming consecutive sixes to finish the job in the 17th over.