Kevin Pietersen eyes international return

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen is hopeful of representing his native South Africa even though he'll be turning 40 when he re-qualifies.

Pietersen, 37, hadn’t been selected for the national team after being sacked in the conclusion of the 2013-14 Ashes defeat in Australia.


The right-handed batsman will be eligible to play for the Proteas in 2019.

"You are talking about in two years' time. Would I? Who knows? We'll have to wait and see where I am," said Pietersen. "I'm going to be playing a lot of cricket in South Africa over the next two years, so we'll see.

"I love batting: I will bat for as long as I love the art of batting. I do at the moment, but I'm an old man now, I've just hurt my calf, I didn't field.

"Who knows where I'll be in two years' time? If I enjoy batting, we'll see where I get to. I'm in a very happy place."

Pietersen is set for his last summer of English county cricket and will be playing Twenty20s across the world over the next two years.

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Sri Lanka Test squad against India

Sri Lanka have announced their squad for the three test match series against India, which starts from July 26.

Kohli and Company will directly head for 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and one-off T20I series in Sri Lanka.


The three Test match series will start from July 26 till August 16, while the ODI series will be held between August 20 and September 3. The only T20I game will be played on September 6.


Sri Lanka 15-man squad for the test:

1.   Upul Tharanga (Batsman)
2.   Sadeera Samarawickrama(Batsman)
3.   Kusal Mendis (Batsman)
4.   Dinesh Chandimal (Batsman) (Captain)
5.   Angelo Mathews (Batsman)
6.   Asela Gunarathne (All-Rounder)(Right-arm Off Spin)
7.   Niroshan Dickwella (Batsman)(W)
8.   Dilruwan Perera (Off-Spinner)
9.   Nuwan Pradeep(Right-Arm Fast-Medium)
10. Rangana Herath (Slow left-arm orthodox)
11. Lahiru Kumara (Right-arm fast)
12. Lakshan Sandakan (Slow left-arm chinaman)
13. Vimukthi Perera (Left-arm Fast-medium)
14. Suranga Lakmal (Right-arm fast-medium)
15. Danushka Gunathilaka (All-Rounder)(Right-arm Off Spin)​
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Gayle In: West Indies one-off T20I squad against India

West Indies selectors have announced the one-off T20 international squad against India to be played at Sabina Park.

The explosive veteran batsman Chris Gayle, who hasn’t played international cricket since the World T20 final win against England in April 2016, has been named in the one-off T20 international against India on Sunday.


"I want to be the first man to play till 50," the 37-year-old said. "I'd love her to see me play cricket. I want her to just turn up in the stands and watch dad play a game of cricket, I'd love her to actually witness it one day. Age is something, it's a number. It's about the body, when you're young you can get away with a lot of things, you definitely do a lot more partying.


Gayle has made 295 T20s appearances and recently became the first batsman to surpass 10,000 runs in the Twenty20 format.

West Indies Squad: Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kesrick Williams
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Twitter reacts as Ravi Shastri applies for the post of Indian cricket team's chief coach

Former India Team Director Ravi Shastri has applied for the post of chief coach of the Indian cricket team.

Following Shastri’s interest for the post of India chief coach, many cricket fans has created quite a buzz and the Twitterati have given a strong reaction to the development.

Here are some of the best reactions:










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NZ Wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi announces retirement from international cricket

New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has announced his retirement from the international cricket at the age of 36.

Born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, Ronchi has played four Tests, 85 ODIs and 32 Twenty20 internationals for Black Caps.


The right-handed batsman, who represented Australia between 2008 and 2009, has averaged 23.67 in ODIs at a strike-rate of 114.50, and 18.89 in T20Is at a strike-rate of 141.33.

"It was a dream come true," the 36-year-old said. "I can't think of a better time to have been involved with New Zealand cricket.

"From the 2015 World Cup campaign through to the overseas tours of that time and some amazing games and series, it's been a genuine highlight for me.”

His knock of 16 against against Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy 2017 earlier this month on June 9 was his last for the New Zealand.
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Champions Trophy 2017 Preview: India Vs Bangladesh

Indian fans are already gearing up for the final encounter, but the team needs to focus on their next clash in the 2nd semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy against Bangladesh at Edgbaston on Thursday.

India, after an impressive performance against South Africa, would be hopeful to maintain the same intensity against the Bengal Tigers, who are undoubtedly the underdogs, they are opinionated and passionate about the win.




Having beaten New Zealand in their group stage, Bangladesh seems to be high on morale. As they prepare to take on the neighbour.

For Bangladesh fans, it is their first major tournament semi-final, while for India, it’s their fourth major in four years. Can Bangladesh make into their first ever major international trophy finals or will India live up to their goals as favourites? 

It will remain to see if India retain right-arm off break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin or bring Umesh Yadav back to the playing eleven as his pace scared the opponent batsmen during their 240-run thrashing in a warm-up match.

India’s performance so far has been stellar and quite aggressive, with thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan and the world No. 1  South Africa standing them top of group B.

The two-time world champions have a golden opportunity to win the ICC Champions Trophy this season for the second time in a row. However, to achieve that, they need to thrash their neighbours in the neutral ground.

Bangladesh are the least favourite to make it to the final. However, considering their recent performances in One-Day Internationals, we cannot tag them as the dark horse in the ongoing tournament.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami.


Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahaman, Mahmudullah Riyadh, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahaman, Taskin Ahmed, Mehedi Hossain Miraz, Mossadek Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Shafiul Islam.
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Twitter reacts: Pakistan trip up South Africa by 19 runs

Pakistan won the game in yet another rain-curtained encounter match when they met South Africa at Edgbaston.

Pakistan won by 19 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis Stern method. With this loss, the Proteas will have to win their last group game against India in order to progress to the next round.


Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter during the course of the game..































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West Indies ODI squad against England

The Left-handed batsman John Campbell has been called up to the West Indies ODI squad for next week’s first two matches against England. Car...