RP Singh pushed for Bhuvneshwar Kumar's recall while Agarkar was chairman. He got blocked. Agarkar leaves, Ojha takes interim charge and the same name walks straight into the T20I squad.

Steve Smith's neck injury could end up saving Marnus Labuschagne's Test spot. What a strange position for Australia to be in! George Bailey admits Marnus has a "block at the moment around the 30s". In fact, he's scored between 30 and 49 in six of his last nine innings. Green and Inglis are fit and pushing for places, but if Smith misses the Cape Town decider, Labuschagne could survive another selection call.

The take on Rohit Sharma was "Mota hai, training nahi karta hai." Soham Desai, who ran India's S&C program, says that take misses a 2017 hip injury after the Champions Trophy final loss to Pakistan, followed by hamstring and hip flexor surgeries. He says Rohit needs two strength sessions a week or he's "a ticking bomb." Not optional, not new. Seven to eight years of non-negotiable training just to keep playing. That's what the "mota" jokes missed.

"Do not chase anything, just be you." Morne Morkel's message to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has conceded 49 and 50 in his first two games back after nearly four years out of India's T20I side. Bhuvneshwar took 17 wickets in IPL 2025 and 28 in 2026 as RCB won back-to-back titles. That form earned the recall. Two expensive spells don't erase it. Morkel wants him to relax and trust his bowling. But another expensive spell could test how patient India are willing to be.

Devdutt Padikkal walked back for 199, given caught behind off a ball he visibly disagreed with. 199 off 248 balls. 24 fours, 3 sixes. One run short of a double century. In the same match, his Karnataka teammate KL Rahul scored 0 and 4. Same team. Same pitch. 199 and four runs.

Shadab Khan thought he was out. Haris Rauf wasn't having it and demanded a review. The decision was overturned, and Pakistan escaped from 154/9 to put on an unbeaten 89-run stand for the last wicket, breaking a West Indies record that had stood since 1975. Everyone's talking about Rauf waving his bat at Will Jacks. But his biggest contribution came before all that drama. Imagine Pakistan losing their last wicket because Shadab didn't bother reviewing. Rauf deserves serious credit for that call.

"Any time you lose, you obviously haven't been good enough to win." Brendon McCullum knows England have wasted two golden opportunities. Sri Lanka were chasing 429 in Rawalpindi. Then Pakistan were 154/9 in Lahore, only for Shadab Khan to smash an unbeaten 113 from No. 8. England lost both matches! Only four players from that England XI have World Cup experience. The World Cup is only a year away and England are still struggling to finish off matches they've almost won.

Seven Pakistan players are stuck waiting for PCB clearance to play in the Nepal Premier League, despite having no international duty clashes. According to Cricinfo, even NOCs already issued to Sahibzada Farhan and Hasan Ali have been put on hold. What's the point of promising players more freedom to play overseas leagues if the PCB keeps blocking their opportunities?

Labuschagne bowled 12 balls of Warne impressions, got nicked off three times, then needed 20 minutes of consolation from Steve Smith and Andrew McDonald. Meanwhile, Green and Renshaw looked sharp against the new ball at No. 3. Australia haven't officially dropped Labuschagne yet, but when your rivals are auditioning and you're being consoled, the writing is on the wall.

19 off 28 at one point. Then Shadab Khan decided the ninth-wicket fall in the 34th over meant nothing. He added 89 with Haris Rauf for the last wicket, the highest ever in a successful ODI chase, and finished unbeaten on 113 off 96. Umpires had even started shaking hands on a leg-before shout before UltraEdge found the inside edge. Pakistan were already done in everyone's head except Shadab's.

An MI source says, "we have given no instructions" on Pollard playing SA20. A day after he's named head coach, he pulls out of Joburg Super Kings, a CSK franchise in the exact league where MI Cape Town also competes. Three weeks earlier, MI skipped bidding for him at the auction and bought Hetmyer instead, saying they "could not have waited" on Pollard. No instructions needed. The conflict of interest handled itself.

Cameron Green is back for the decider, but even he doesn't want to bat at No. 3! He called facing this bowling attack higher up the order "incredibly difficult" and believes he's "well suited at four and five." Australia's middle order is already settled, so Green could end up at No. 3 again. Imagine asking a batter to solve your top-order problems when he's openly telling you he prefers batting somewhere else.

Steve Smith is 100% fit, according to Alex Carey. Good news for Australia, but his bat needs to start delivering too. His last four scores: 25, 27, 28 and 3. Just 83 runs. Australia were then bundled out for 99 in Gqeberha. With Cape Town next, Australia desperately need their senior batters to step up. Smith has to lead from the front.

Four years out of the Indian side, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's comeback has been rough. 0/49 and 1/50 in his first two games, both from four overs. Tim Southee still backs him: "I think he'll bounce back... he'll have an impact at some stage in the series." He also says white-ball pitches barely swing anymore, so Bhuvneshwar needs another plan when the ball isn't moving. With Bumrah missing, India can't afford another expensive spell.

Shaheen Afridi has beaten Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar to 150 ODI wickets! Shaheen needed just 80 matches, while both legends took 91. He reached the milestone by dismissing Tom Banton, who had four straight 50-plus scores. Only Saqlain Mushtaq (78 matches) got there faster for Pakistan. Waqar and Shoaib fans might not enjoy this comparison, but Shaheen has the numbers on his side.

37 years old and Harmanpreet Kaur is still going strong! Her eighth ODI hundred takes her past Mithali Raj's seven. Only Smriti Mandhana (14) has more ODI centuries for India. She's also the fourth-oldest woman to score an ODI hundred. At an age when retirement talks usually begin, Harmanpreet is busy adding more records to her name.

“I'm going to retire” is the rumour Rohit Sharma has finally addressed, making it clear that an ODI farewell isn't on his mind yet. A century at Lord's, followed by scores of 101 and 92 against West Indies. His bat is doing plenty of talking. With the 2027 World Cup approaching, Rohit has every reason to keep going. If he continues scoring like this, there’s no reason to push him towards retirement.

Pakistan is set to host the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup, but India’s matches could be shifted to the UAE. The PCB wants knockouts without India to be played in Pakistan, with Lahore hosting the final only if India don't qualify. Imagine hosting a World Cup and having to wait for India's results to know whether you'll even host the final. The tournament is still two years away and the venue confusion has already begun.