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Captains in the Indian Premier League will not be banned for over-rate offences and instead will be docked demerit points. The call was taken at the captains' meeting in Mumbai on Thursday. The move comes after Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant, captaining Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals respectively, were handed a one match ban for the team's third over-rate offence in the 2024 edition.
Shardul Thakur is set to join Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of their opening match of IPL 2025 against Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam on Monday. According to a report, Shardul will join LSG as an injury replacement for pacer Mohsin Khan. Shardul, who went unsold during the IPL 2025 mega auction, has been training with LSG ahead of the IPL. Shardul was released by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last year ahead of the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
With less than two days left for the start of IPL 2025, experts have made their predictions, as far as the playoffs race is concerned. Former cricketer likes of Virender Sehwag, Michael Vaughan, Adam Gilchrist, among others revealed their top 4 for the upcoming season, while speaking to Cricbuzz. However, not a single former cricketer, barring former India all-rounder Rohan Gavaskar, picked Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to finish in the top four this season. Former India batter Sehwag, apart from RCB, also predicted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to finish outside the four playoff places.
Lucknow Super Giants, the team that made its Indian Premier League debut in 2022, has had a good performance so far. The side began its journey with a playoff finish and replicated the performance the very next year. The 2024 season, however, saw LSG finish at the 7th spot. The side released its captain KL Rahul and went on to pay a whopping sum of Rs 27 crore at IPL 2025 auction to acquire Rishabh Pant. The southpaw was later named captain ahead of the upcoming season.
Former India left-handed batter Suresh Raina believes Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant should bat at number four as it would allow him to have a crack at finishing the innings in IPL 2025 season. Pant, the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter, did not play for India in the ODIs against England and in the victorious Champions Trophy campaign, as KL Rahul was the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter. Moreover, with Sanju Samson making centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa in T20Is, it means that Pant has gone a bit down in the pecking order in the shortest format as well. In IPL 2025, as Lucknow Super Giants skipper, Pant will need a terrific season with the bat to be back in the India T20I set-up.
India have been in incredible form in T20I cricket over the past year. Not only did they win the T20 World Cup 2024 unbeaten, but a new-look side have carried on the form and won T20I series against Sri Lanka and South Africa away and swept aside England at home. A major part of this successful India side has been Sanju Samson, who has opened the batting for India and even struck three centuries along the way. However, former India cricketer and reputed commentator Aakash Chopra has backed another player to displace him come the T20 World Cup 2026.
Despite India's Champions Trophy 2025 title win, legendary former India captain Sourav Ganguly has voiced a big concern with the team. Ganguly stated that India still have a few flaws in Test cricket, particularly when it comes to batting, saying that players like Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant need to step up and make big scores in red ball cricket. He emphasized the need for the rising crop of Indian Test stars to contribute more with the bat away from home. Ganguly also stated that he does not see Virat Kohli failing in all five Tests against England.
Nicholas Pooran has showered support to new Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant adding that the franchise has a balanced squad to lift the title in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, commencing on March 22. Pant was named LSG captain in January after being acquired by the Lucknow-based franchise for a record-setting Rs 27 crore in last year's auction in Jeddah. "We have a good chance, we've a really balanced team (with) experienced and youth (players). We're looking forward to leading with the experienced players," Pooran told IANS. The West Indian wicketkeeper-batter was among the five players to be retained by the franchise for IPL 2025.