“There’s so much T20 talent there and the next period will be important to get cricket into these guys and get them ready for the World Cup.
“Mitch [Santner] is a brilliant captain and leader – he has really come into his own with this team.
“It’s now their time to push the Black Caps forward in this format and I’ll be supporting from afar.”
The T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starts in February.
Williamson made his T20 debut for New Zealand in 2011 but had not featured since June 2024.
Regarded by many as the best batter in New Zealand history, he is their leading Test run-scorer of all time and fourth on the ODI list.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink said Williamson had earned the right to decide how he finished his ODI and Test careers.
“We’ve made it clear to Kane he has our full support as he reaches the back end of his illustrious career,” he said.
“We would, of course, love to see him play for as long as possible, but there’s no doubt whenever he does decide to finally call time, he will go down as a legend of New Zealand cricket.”
New Zealand completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the one-day series against England on Saturday, having lost a rain-affected T20 series 1-0 beforehand.
Most eyes are, understandably, on the Ashes rather than this series.
It should not be forgotten, however, that this was the first of only six T20s England have before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka begins in February.
While Bethell, who flickered in striking a fine straight six before falling to a top edge for 15, can press their case to play against Australia, Curran is one of those with the most to gain before the World Cup.
The 27-year-old was picked for the first time in any format under coach Brendon McCullum last month and offers a second seam-bowling option in the batting-heavy side Brook’s England favour.
Having seen Bethell, Buttler, who made 29, Jordan Cox and Tom Banton tamely chip catches into the air on a surface that nipped for the quick bowlers and held for the spinners, Curran was fortunate to be dropped on 14 by bowler Jacob Duffy and at deep extra cover by Tim Robinson when he had 26. Both were straightforward chances.
While at no point did Curran find his best batting rhythm, he remained calm to power the impressive left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for one six over long-off and flicked a full toss over square leg in a final over from which he took seamer Duffy for 19.
This match will not last long in the memory, but Curran at least took advantage of what limited opportunity he was given.
United Arab Emirates denied Japan and took the final place at next year’s men’s T20 World Cup with an eight-wicket victory in the qualifier in Oman.
Japan could have reached their first major tournament with a victory but UAE held them to 116-9 and then chased their target in 12.1 overs.
It means UAE join Oman and Nepal in progressing from the Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualifier to the World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka in February and March next year.
In addition to the two hosts getting automatic spots, England, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, United States and West Indies qualified courtesy of reaching the Super 8 stage of the 2024 edition held in the United States and West Indies.
Ireland, Pakistan and New Zealand qualified via the rankings while Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia and Zimbabwe came through their regional qualifying tournaments.
The tournament schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Japan beat Kuwait and Samoa earlier in their qualifying tournament which meant they would have progressed had they beaten UAE and overturned a net run-rate deficit.
They slumped to 58-8, however, with spinner Haider Ali taking 3-20, and only limped to their total thanks to 45 not out from Wataru Miyauchi.
Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem put on 70 for the first wicket of the chase and, despite the pair falling for 46 and 42 respectively, UAE, who played at the 2014 and 2022 T20 World Cups, eased to victory.
India given scare by Oman but winning run continues after 21-run victory at 2025 Asia Cup.
Published On 19 Sep 202519 Sep 2025
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World champions India overcame a gutsy Oman team to win the last group match of the Asia Cup by 21 runs and stay unbeaten in the T20 tournament.
India had already qualified for the Super Four stage and posted 188-8 after they elected to bat first at Abu Dhabi on Friday.
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Oman – ranked 20th in world T20 rankings – put up a spirited batting show and finished on 167-4 after top knocks from Aamir Kaleem, who made 64, and Hammad Mirza, who hit 51.
The left-right batting pair of Kaleem and Mirza put on 93 runs for the second wicket and attempted to pull off the chase with some late boundaries that gave India a scare.
Hardik Pandya broke the stand with a stunning outfield catch to dismiss Kaleem off Harshit Rana and then sent back Mirza with his pace bowling in the next over.
Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh snared the fourth wicket of the innings and his 100th in T20 internationals — the first Indian bowler to reach the century mark.
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson top-scored with 56, and his second-wicket partnership with explosive opener Abhishek Sharma, who made 38 off 14 balls, laid the platform for India’s total.
Oman struck regular blows in their first meeting with the reigning T20 World Cup winners.
Shah Faisal, fellow left-arm quick Jiten Ramanandi and left-arm spinner Kaleem took two wickets each.
India and Pakistan moved into the Super Four from Group A and face each other again on Sunday, a week after India’s players refused to shake hands with their neighbours after victory in a group match.
Sri Lanka clash with Bangladesh in the first match of the Super Four on Saturday after the two teams made the next stage from Group B.
Who: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka What: Asia Cup T20 Group B match Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE When: Saturday, September 13 at 6:30pm (14:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 3:30pm (11:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
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The first crunch game of the 2025 Asia Cup comes in Group B with six-time winners Sri Lanka taking on a Bangladesh side that will very much fancy their chances in a game that is likely to go a long way to deciding the fate of the tough group.
With Afghanistan already up and running in the four-team group with their win against Hong Kong, who Bangladesh also beat in their group opener, Sri Lanka will be feeling the pressure to get on the board in their first outing.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a battle between two sides hoping to lift the trophy following the September 28 final.
What is Bangladesh’s T20 form coming into the game?
A 33-ball half-century from captain Litton Das handed Bangladesh an opening win in the Asia Cup on Thursday.
Bangladesh cruised to 144-3 for a seven-wicket victory after Hong Kong, which lost to Afghanistan in its opening game, made 143-7 after being put in.
Litton made a watchful start after Parvez Hossain Emon (19) was deceived by Ayush Shukla’s slower ball and was caught at deep mid-wicket in the third over.
Hong Kong struck once more inside the powerplay when Nizakat Khan ran back from mid-off and held onto a catch over his shoulders to dismiss Tanzid Hasan, who struggled to score 14 off 18 balls with only one boundary.
But Litton and Towhid Hridoy (35 not out) ensured Hong Kong did not get a sniff to repeat its historic win against Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup in 2014.
“Very important to win the first game,” Litton said. “Last couple of series, we have played good cricket, but in the Asia Cup, a little bit of pressure comes automatically.”
Bangladesh had beaten both Pakistan and Sri Lanka 2-1 in their last two bilateral series.
Bangladesh’s Tanzid Hasan, right, and Bangladesh’s Litton Das run between the wickets to score during the Asia Cup Cricket match against Hong Kong [Fatima Shbair/AP]
What is Sri Lanka’s T20 form like?
An unbeaten 73 from Kamil Mishara led Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Harare last Sunday to seal a 2-1 win in their Twenty20 series to warm up for the Asia Cup.
Put in to bat after losing the toss, Zimbabwe made 191-8, but Sri Lanka cruised to the target with 14 balls to spare.
Mishara and Kusal Perera put on 117 runs in an unbeaten third-wicket stand as Sri Lanka completed a white-ball double, having won the preceding one-day international series against Zimbabwe 2-0.
Having scored just 35 runs in four previous T20I innings, 24-year-old Mishara made his mark with a match-winning knock, hitting three sixes and six fours from the 43 balls he faced.
“It is a privilege to win a game for my country, I just feel very good,” said Mishara.
“There was pressure, of course, but the coaching staff just told me to play my normal game. I just wanted to get into my rhythm and then played my normal game.”
On top of the 2-1 series defeat by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka lost their previous T20 series 2-1 to their hosts, New Zealand, in December and January.
Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis top-scored with 73 in his side’s win in the opening T20 of the recent bilateral series with Bangladesh [Eranga Jayawardena/AP]
What happened the last time Bangladesh played Sri Lanka?
Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets to seal their three-game T20 bilateral series earlier this year.
Having won the toss in Colombo, Sri Lanka were restricted to 132-7 with opener Pathum Nissanka top scoring with 46 off 39 balls for the hosts.
Only two other batters made it to 20, however, with Dasun Shanaka coming in at seven and hitting 35 off 25 to top up the modest total.
Shak Mahedi Hasan claimed 4-11 off his four overs for Bangladesh before Tanzid Hasan’s unbeaten 73 off 47 made short work of the chase.
Bangladesh’s team members pose for photographers with the winner’s trophy after the third Twenty20 cricket match against Sri Lanka in July [Eranga Jayawardena/AP]
What is Bangladesh’s Asia Cup record?
Bangladesh have yet to win the Asia Cup, but with each tournament that passes, the experience grows, and with it the expectation that they will soon hold aloft the trophy.
They have been runners-up on three occasions, the last being the 2018 final, when they were defeated by India by three wickets.
It was Bangladesh’s third appearance in four finals, with India also claiming victory in the 2016 final and Pakistan beating them in 2012.
What is Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup record?
Sri Lanka has claimed six Asia Cup titles already. The islanders last lifted the trophy in 2022, beating Pakistan on home soil by 23 runs in the final.
Their first victory came in the second edition, in 1986, when they also beat Pakistan.
Between 1997 and 2008, Sri Lanka won three out of four editions, and were the defeated finalists when Pakistan claimed the title in 2000.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka team news
After their opening win, Bangladesh look set to be unchanged for the crunch second match in the group.
Janith Liyanage, meantime, was a late addition to the Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup. The seam bowling all-rounder’s addition to the squad means the Sri Lankans have a 17-strong group for the tournament.
Sri Lanka chopped and changed their way through the bilateral series against Zimbabwe, with Nuwanidu Fernando replaced for the final match by Kusal Perera.
Kamil Mishara was not selected for the first match of the three-game series, with the former two both playing, but played both the second and third games of the series.
Maheesh Theekshana also dropped out of the side from the second match to be replaced by Matheesha Pathirana.
Nuwan Thushara, like Theekshana, played the first match of the series, only to be replaced by Binura Fernando for the final two games.
Predicted Bangladesh lineup
Litton Das (c & w), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed
England suffered a 14-run defeat by South Africa in a farcical rain-affected opening T20 at Cardiff.
A delayed start meant the match was reduced to nine overs per side, and the Proteas blitzed 97-5 in 7.5 overs before another rain disruption.
England’s target was revised to 69 in five overs and with little choice but to attack from the outset, they reached 43-5 needing 26 from five balls.
From there, the recalled Sam Curran whacked a six to offer the hosts a glimmer of hope, but the tourists eventually closed out a comfortable win as England finished on 54-5 with two wickets apiece for Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen.
Jos Buttler had kept England alive with 25 from 11, including three sixes, but they were left to rue top-order wickets as Phil Salt was caught at fine leg from the first ball of the chase, Jacob Bethell chipped to cover for seven and captain Harry Brook made a chaotic four-ball duck.
Earlier, Jofra Archer was replaced by Luke Wood in a late change, and the seamer removed Ryan Rickelton in the first over before captain Aiden Markram led the charge with 28 from 14 balls.
Dewald Brevis, who became the SA20’s most expensive player in Tuesday’s auction, made an entertaining 23 from 10 balls before he fell to the recalled Curran’s first ball while Donovan Ferreira finished unbeaten with 25 from 11.
The three-match series continues at Old Trafford on Friday, where rain is also forecast.
England captain Harry Brook described the rain-reduced T20 between England and South Africa in Cardiff as a “shambles of a night”.
A delayed start until 20:50 BST saw the match reduced to nine overs a side and the tourists reached 97-5 after 7.5 overs before another downpour, which gave England a revised target of 69 from five.
The hosts fell short on 54-5 to go 1-0 down in the three-match series, though Brook felt there was nothing to glean from the contest.
“They got nine overs, we got five overs. You can’t take much from it,” said Brook.
“It was a bit of a shambles. It was a long, long day but I don’t think we need to make any excuses up.
“We probably didn’t execute as well as we should have done with bat and ball but it’s hard when you only bat for five overs.”
The original playing conditions stated there would be a 2.4 over powerplay and that four bowlers could bowl a maximum of two overs each and one bowler could bowl one, which curiously did not change once England’s target was adjusted.
Earlier, England made a late change to their team to remove Jofra Archer from the XI considering the conditions, and he was replaced by Luke Wood who took 2-22.
“It would have been stupid to play him with the amount of cricket we’ve got coming up,” Brook added.
“If he’d have gone out and done what Adam Hose did in The Hundred and broken his leg or whatever, that would have been a shambles.”
Archer has been reintroduced to international cricket this summer with his first Test in four years and the hope that he will be fit for the winter’s Ashes in Australia.
Brook would not be drawn on whether the game should have gone ahead, adding that it was simply “up to the umpires”.
The series continues at Old Trafford on Friday, where there is also a mixed forecast.
England were flat in the first two ODIs – particularly the opening thrashing at Headingley, when they were bowled out for 131 – but responded with a record win in the third at Southampton.
Batters Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith have been rested for this series while a new-look side will be led by Bethell against Ireland at the end of the month, providing players such as Curran with another chance to impress McCullum.
“I sat down with him recently and asked him to bang down the door, to force his way into the top six and with his bowling ability,” McCullum told Sky Sports after the ODI series.
“He is a very attractive resource and it was just a matter of putting in performances to get himself back to where he needed to be.
“He was honest. He said he was determined to have a long international career and fair play to him, he has banged it down.”
Duckett and Smith were among those to play all five Tests against India before going straight to The Hundred and then the ODIs.
England have a white-ball series in New Zealand before the Ashes in November, and face another tight turnaround with the T20 World Cup taking place in India and Sri Lanka in February – although the schedule is yet to be released.
“I can only speak for myself but I obviously don’t play Test cricket so I can just focus on the white-ball side of things, I can go to New Zealand and then have a rest so I’m fresh for that World Cup,” spinner Rashid told BBC Sport about the packed schedule.
“It’s probably going to be a bit of a challenge for the guys [playing all formats] but that’s the schedule.
“Everyone will be up for it, no huffing and puffing or no complaining because we all know that’s part and parcel of cricket. We’ll all be raring to go mentally and physically.”
The first T20 starts at 18:30 BST on Wednesday, with the second match at Old Trafford on Friday and the finale at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
The ban by India’s government of online betting games has ended the national cricket team’s sponsorship by Dream11.
Published On 2 Sep 20252 Sep 2025
India are looking for a new lead sponsor to replace Indian fantasy sports platform Dream11 after the government banned real-money online gaming last month, leaving the world’s richest cricket board scrambling to secure new revenue.
Dream11, which had signed a three-year contract worth about 3.6 billion rupees ($44m) running through 2026, can no longer sponsor the national team after the central government banned real-money online games as well as their promotion, including fantasy sports.
India’s upper house of parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 last month.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which commands some of the world’s most lucrative broadcast deals thanks to cricket’s popularity and India’s vast population, set a September 16 deadline for new bid submissions.
The auction is unlikely to remain unsold for long, but with the Asia Cup starting on September 9, India may take the field without a front-of-shirt sponsor in the opening week, which includes the marquee match against rivals Pakistan on September 14.
The Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the board is seeking 35 million rupees ($397.6k) per match for bilaterals, and 15 million ($170.4k) per match for India’s fixtures in International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council tournaments in a three-year sponsorship cycle.
Over an estimated 140 games in the 2025-28 cycle, the BCCI expects to generate about 4.52 billion rupees ($51.3m), about 940 million ($10.7m) more than under Dream11’s deal, which was 3.58 billion ($40.7m) for the period July 2023 to March 2026 – an uplift of more than 20 percent.
The Australian bowling superstar made the shock announcement ahead of the upcoming Ashes series and T20 World Cup.
Published On 2 Sep 20252 Sep 2025
Australia’s white-ball pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has retired from Twenty20 internationals to focus on extending his career in test and one-day cricket.
The 35-year-old left-armer retires with 79 wickets from 65 T20Is, second on the all-time list for Australia, behind spinner Adam Zampa.
“Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority,” he said in a Cricket Australia statement on Tuesday.
“I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 World Cup, not just because we won but the incredible group and the fun along the way.
“Looking ahead to an away Indian test tour, the Ashes and an ODI World Cup in 2027, I feel this is my best way forward to remain fresh, fit and at my best for those campaigns.
“It also gives the bowling group time to prepare for the T20 World Cup in the matches leading into that tournament.”
Starc was not included in Australia’s T20I squad, released on Tuesday, for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Chair of national selectors George Bailey and Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg paid tribute to Starc.
“Mitch should be incredibly proud of his T20 career for Australia,” said Bailey.
“He was an integral member of the 2021 World Cup-winning side and, as across all his cricket, had a great skill for blowing games open with his wicket-taking ability.
“We will acknowledge and celebrate his T20 career at the right time, but pleasingly, he remains focused on continuing to play test and ODI cricket for a long as possible.”
Greenberg praised Starc for making “significant sacrifices” to play for his country.
“To allow the next crop of fast bowlers a clear path to the T20 World Cup early next year is another example of putting team first,” he said.
Starc will turn his attention to the upcoming Ashes test series against England, beginning on November 21 in Brisbane, Australia [File: Jason McCawley/Cricket Australia via Getty Images]
Test skipper Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah made the cut with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer the biggest omissions from the 15-man squad.
Defending champions India have named top order batter Shubman Gill and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in their Twenty20 squad for next month’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and middle order batter Shreyas Iyer, however, did not make Tuesday’s cut for the 15-member squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav.
Gill, India’s Test captain, has not played a T20 International since July last year when he was Suryakumar’s deputy on a tour of Sri Lanka.
“That’s where we started a new cycle,” said Suryakumar, who took over the T20 captaincy from Rohit Sharma after India won the 20-overs World Cup title last year.
“After that, he got busy with all the Test series, and he didn’t get an opportunity to play T20s because he was busy playing Test cricket and Champions Trophy,” Suryakumar told reporters.
“So he’s there in the squad, and we’re happy to have him.”
India also included Bumrah, whose recent workload has been a major concern for the team think tank, which played him in three of the five Tests in England in June and July.
Dynamic opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was the most glaring omission from the India squad for the Asia Cup [Paul Childs/Action Images via Reuters]
No room for Jaiswal
With three opening options in Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, India could not accommodate Jaiswal.
“With regard to Yashasvi, it’s just unfortunate again,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said.
“There’s Abhishek Sharma – what he’s done over the last year or so, plus he can bowl a little bit. He gives us that option if required.
“One of these guys was going to miss out, Yashasvi just has to wait for his chance.”
Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeepers in the side, which also includes left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India begin their Group A campaign against hosts United Arab Emirates in Dubai before meeting archrivals Pakistan at the same venue four days later.
Tri-series between UAE, Pakistan and Afghanistan hastily penned as warm-up for Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
The United Arab Emirates will host a Twenty20 tri-series including Afghanistan and Pakistan later this month, as part of the teams’ buildup for next year’s T20 World Cup.
Sharjah will host all seven games of the tri-series, starting August 29. Teams play against each other twice before the top two qualify for the final.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have already secured direct qualification for the T20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. UAE could also qualify, but it has to play ICC’s Asia-East Asia and Pacific qualifiers in Oman in October.
Afghanistan, which finished seventh in the last T20 World Cup, hasn’t played a T20 since a bilateral series against Zimbabwe late last year. Pakistan is currently playing a T20 series against the West Indies in the United States.
The tri-series will be followed by the Asia Cup, also scheduled to be held in the UAE, from September 9, when Afghanistan takes on Hong Kong in the opening game.
LA 2028 organisers have slated matches at the Olympic cricket tournament to start at 09:00 in the morning to cater for lucrative television audiences in India.
One of the major factors behind cricket’s return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus is the desire of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to tap into a lucrative South Asian media rights and sponsorship market.
The six-team T20 tournament, featuring both men’s and women’s teams, will begin on Wednesday, 12 July – two days before the opening ceremony – with all matches staged at a venue which will be constructed at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.
There will be two games played daily at Pomona – located 30 miles from the athletes’ village in Los Angeles – starting at 09:00 and 18:30 Pacific Daylight Time.
Those matches will be shown at 21:30 and 07:00 India Standard Time (17:00 and 02:30 British Summer Time).
The evening fixtures at the ground in Pomona will be played under floodlights.
Kit McConnell, who oversaw cricket’s return to the Games after a 128-year hiatus as the IOC’s sports director, told BBC Sport organisers considered “core cricket markets in the subcontinent” when planning the tournament.
“The vision the International Cricket Council (ICC) has outlined for us is aimed at providing the best players and the best teams on the Olympic stage,” McConnell said.
“There’s three years to go but now we’re very excited about where cricket is, what it will bring to the Games and equally what the Olympics can offer to cricket and its global expansion as well.”
Discussions surrounding England’s inability to play spin are beginning to sound like a broken record.
Without a doubt, however, it is their most pressing concern.
In 2022, England averaged 42.3 against spin in T20s, losing 25 wickets.
The following year, they lost 46 wickets at an average of 18, and so far in 2025 they have lost 41 at 19.9.
Their gameplan against slow bowling seems muddled, torn between attack and defence with batters regularly trapped on the crease or caught from attempted aggression.
And while the approaching World Cup is in the longer format of the game, England’s opponents will have their bowling strategies in place already, such is the predictability of their weakness.
Edwards has also accepted England’s huge need for improvement in the field, where they have been poor against India, with regular misfields and four dropped catches in the last five overs alone in the third encounter at The Oval.
“It’s a mindset thing under pressure, but it’s an area we work really, really hard on,” said Edwards.
“We are not going to hide away from that.”
India’s fielding improvement, meanwhile, has been astronomical. They have charged in from the boundary to stop twos, regularly hauled the ball in from the ropes after covering masses of ground, and completed some staggering catches.
At Edgbaston, this was epitomised by Em Arlott and Sophie Ecclestone backing out of catches on the boundary, letting the ball bounce in front of them and saving the runs instead.
Radha Yadav, meanwhile, sprinted and dived full-stretch to dismiss Amy Jones in spectacular fashion even when the game was pretty much in England’s hands.
Edwards and many players have cited India’s huge improvement, largely a result of the Women’s Premier League, which has been in existence for three years, and they regularly play in front of packed crowds where every game matters.
But The Hundred is not too dissimilar for England, and they cannot use the excuse of not being under pressure enough when, for example, this does not seem to be an issue for Australia in international cricket. They are relentless, whoever they play, and India are following a similar trajectory.
This scrutiny will not go away for England until they have a trophy or an Ashes series in the bag.
And on that basis, yes – they will be judged come next July.
