Pakistan captain Shan backs Babar to return stronger after drop
Babar Azam could benefit from a break after being dropped from the Pakistan test squad, red-ball captain Shan Masood said as he backed the batter to rediscover his best form.
Australia Sport News
Pakistan Test Skipper Shan Masood Praises Babar Azam, Calls Him "One Of The Best Batsmen In The World"
Pakistan Test skipper Shan Masood showered praise on Babar Azam and called him one of the best batsmen in the world. Babar is going through a lean patch in Tests. In his last nine Tests and 17 innings, he has scored just 352 innings at an average of 20.71, with his best score being 41. In 55 Tests, Babar has scored 3,997 runs at an average of 43,92, with nine centuries and 26 fifties and best score of 196. Pakistan announced 15-member squads for white-ball series tours to Australia and Zimbabwe starting from November 4 onwards, with star batter Babar Azam being rested from the Zimbabwe tour and set to play in Australia.
Ricky Ponting Namedrops Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer While Discussing Punjab Kings' Priority
Newly appointed Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting discussed the franchise's strategy for player retentions and outlined plans for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction set for later this year. Each franchise released its retention list on Thursday, 31 October. Ponting and Punjab chose to retain only two uncapped players, Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, entering the auction with substantial funds and a fresh approach to squad building.
"Easy Win For India A Missed": Fans React As BCCI Cancels Match vs India
The first Test match against Australia in Perth in the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy will mark the visitors' first match on the trip Down Under as their three-day intra-squad game against India A at the WACA stadium was scrapped by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). As per ESPNCricinfo, in their mission to secure a hat-trick of series wins in Australia, India was set to start the tour with a warm-up game against India A from November 15-17. But it is understood that there is a change of plans and instead the Indian hierarchy has opted for training for these three days, including net sessions and centre-wicket match simulation sessions in WACA.
Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden Pair Bows Out Of Paris Masters
Veteran Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden made a quarterfinal exit from the Paris Masters after suffering a hard-fought defeat in the men's doubles contest in Paris. The third seeded Indo-Australian duo toiled for one hour 46 minutes before going down 6-7, 5-7 to the Dutch-Croatian combo of Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic at the ATP 1000 event on Friday. There was little separating the two pairs with the first set going into tiebreaker. Bopanna and Ebden had a a few chances but Koolhof and Mektic saved set points to win the tiebreak and take a 1-0 lead.
"He's Not Hardik Pandya": Concern Expressed Over This Star's Selection For Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Former BCCI and Team India selector MSK Prasad has expressed concern regarding India's decision to select Nitish Kumar Reddy in the squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Reddy has played only 21 first-class matches to date, scoring at an average of only 21.45. However, after impressing in IPL 2024 and subsequently in India colours in T20Is, Reddy has been fast-tracked into the Test squad. Prasad has warned India that Reddy shouldn't be used or expected to perform like Hardik Pandya, and expressed concern over his lack of experience.
Oscar Piastri Takes Brazil Sprint Pole But Wary Of Team Orders For Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri grabbed pole position on Friday for the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix and said he will race to win but conceded that team-mate Lando Norris has a greater need of points. The McLaren duo, boosted by an updated rear wing, locked out the front row of the grid to raise the possibility that team orders to help Norris's title bid may come into use. Speaking after Friday's sprint qualifying session at Interlagos, the modest Australian driver said he wanted to win Saturday's race, adding that anything might happen.
Piastri on pole as McLaren lock out Sao Paulo sprint front row
SAO PAULO :McLaren locked out the front row for the Sao Paulo sprint on Friday with Oscar Piastri snatching pole position from team mate Lando Norris and Red Bull's Formula One leader Max Verstappen fourth fastest.