Guptill is leaving the sport as New Zealand’s top T20 run-scorer as he had scored 3,531 runs in 122 games. After Stephen Fleming and Ross Taylor, he is third on New Zealand’s all-time record as he has 7,346 runs in ODIs.

Guptill made a remarkable debut in 2009 when NZ defeated West Indies at Eden Park, and became the first player from NZ to hit a century in his maiden ODI. Later that same year, he also got selected for the ICC’s World ODI XI.

Guptill stated that playing for the Blackcaps was his childhood dream and that he felt very fortunate and happy that he got the chance to represent his country in 367 games. The 38-year-old even expressed gratitude to his coaches and teammates through the years.

“As a young kid it was always my dream to play for New Zealand and I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have played 367 games for my country. I will forever cherish the memories made wearing the silver fern alongside a great group of guys. I want to say a huge thanks to all my teammates and coaching staff over the years, in particular Mark O’Donnell, who has coached me since the Under 19 level and been a source of ongoing support and wisdom over my career,” said Guptill.

“A special thanks must also go to my manager Leanne McGoldrick – all of the work behind the scenes never went unnoticed and I’ll be forever appreciative of all your support. To my wife Laura and our beautiful children Harley and Teddy – thank-you. Thank you Laura for the sacrifices you have made for me and our family. You’ve been my biggest supporter, my rock and my counsel through all of the ups and downs that come with the game. I am eternally grateful. Finally I’d like to thank all the cricket fans, here in NZ and around the world for all their support throughout the years,” he added

The most memorable moment of Guptill’s career was when he made 237 not-out in 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup quarterfinal against West Indies in Wellington. His 189 not-out against England in 2013, along with 180 not-out against South Africa are some other

The post Few weeks before Champions Trophy, Legendary New Zealand batter announces retirement from International cricket appeared first on Cricket Country.

Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, as he picked up 32 wickets in the five Test matches. However, the pacer got injured during the Sydney Test, forcing him to leave the field. Some discomfort on his back prevented him from taking the field when Australia was chasing their target in the second innings.

Ex-BCCI S&C head Ramji Srinivasan urged the Indian selectors to not rush Bumrah for the Champions Trophy 2025.
“Bumrah is a treasure and he should be handled with care. A Champions Trophy is not the end of the world. If there is the slightest doubt, he shouldn’t be in the squad. Five back-to-back Test matches isn’t something he has ever played in his cricketing career,” Srinivasan said.

“I agree that if it is only spasms, he should be fit. In fact, he might be feeling alright even before he boarded the flight back home. But, I am not so sure about it. The injury is related to stress, which is a direct result of playing too much cricket. If it is anything between a Grade 1 to Grade 3 injury related to stress fracture, it can take up to one to six months of recovery,” he added.

Despite Bumrah’s dangerous bowling, Indian team failed to keep the BGT title, as they lost the series 3-1. The Indian team is currently preparing for the England ODI series, which is going to be the last assignment for the team before the Champions Trophy 2025. Bumrah will mot likely miss that series because of workload management.

The post ‘Take up to six months…’: Ex-BCCI S&C head makes MASSIVE remarks on Jasprit Bumrah’s injury ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 appeared first on Cricket Country.

The board stated that the reason for this change in venues was because of their confidence in the readiness of these upgraded venues, and shared a release in order to announce the updated venue for the tri-nation ODI series.

“Given the advanced stage of preparations at the Gaddafi Stadium and the National Bank Stadium, the PCB has decided to relocate the upcoming tri-nation ODI series to these two venues. The series, featuring New Zealand and South Africa alongside Pakistan, was originally scheduled to be held in Multan,” said PCB in release. 

Both the stadiums are currently under renovations for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. PCB will be the host of the marquee event, which is set to take pace with all the matches to be played in Pakistan, along with the exception of India’s matches, which will be held in Dubai.

The venues for the semi-final and final of the Champions Trophy will either be within Pakistan, or it will change to Dubai. If India qualifies for the semi-final and final, the matches will be held in Dubai, otherwise Lahore will host the clashes.

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Kohli is currently facing a lot of criticism from cricket experts and fans after he failed to perform in the five Test matches against Australia. He set off the series with an unbeaten century, but failed to keep that momentum. He ended the series with just 190 runs. Faf also spoke about Kohli’s retirement, stating that bidding farewell from the sport is a very personal choice.

“That is very, very personal. No one can speak to you about when that time is (up) as a player, you’ll know,” du Plessis told PTI on the sidelines of the SA20 Season 3’s Captain’s Day.

“I know someone like him is super super motivated, he’s gone through it all before, so he knows exactly what to do,” he added.

After he failed to perform well in the five-match Test series against Australia, the star batter will most likely appear for India in he upcoming three-match ODI series against England, set to begin February 6. This will be last ODI series for India before the 2025 edition of Champions Trophy.

The post ‘No one can speak…’: Virat Kohli’s Ex-IPL teammate passes Judgement on his retirement after flop show in Border-Gavaskar Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Ben Stokes now went to his social media and posted an image of himself sitting at the back of a car, with pillow and braced leg. The all-rounder believes he will return to action soon enough.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ben Stokes (@stokesy)

“Bionic Man for a while. Surgery done. In a bit….” Stokes captioned his Instagram post.

Stokes recovered to full fitness after a continuous recovery program, and he had played as an all-rounder in the series against New Zealand. However, he was not able to continue in the match as he came up with a problem mid-over due to high demand put on him.

The England team for Champions Trophy has already excluded Ben Stokes from their squad, but he has a chance to concentrate on rehabilitation and return to Tests since there are no matches scheduled for the country till May.

The post England captain jokingly calls himself ‘Bionic Man’ after facing prolonged hamstring injury appeared first on Cricket Country.

Shami shared a video of him training in the nets, which shows visuals of him bowling with speed and precision. This video is clearly a strong statement to the national selectors before the announcement of India’s squad for Champions Trophy.

Precision, Pace, and Passion, All Set to Take on the World! 🌍💪 #Shami #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/gIEfJidChX

— 𝕸𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖎 (@MdShami11) January 7, 2025

Shami previously got ruled out of the selection for the Melbourne Test as he had swelling in his knee. However, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri lashed out at the Indian team management for not including the right-arm pace bowler for the BGT against Australia.

Speaking about the five-match test series, India got knocked out of the World Test Championship (WTC) Finals as Australia came with a six-wicket victory in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, reclaiming the title after 10 long years. Australia won the five-match series 3-1, and also qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.

The post WATCH: Mohammed Shami’s video suggests Clear vision to Indian selectors amid Exclusion from Border-Gavaskar Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

India’s performance in the red-ball cricket has attracted a lot of criticism in the recent times as they have faced back-to-back series defeats. Now, all the eyes will be on the ICC Champions Trophy, which is marking its return after eight long years.

The whole tournament was initially supposed to be held only in Pakistan, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send the Indian team to the neighbouring nation, which caused ICC to make arrangements for India’s matches to be held in Dubai. The Champions Trophy is going to take place from Frbuyary 19.

Rumours have been circulating for India’s squad for Champions Trophy, and now it has been reported that ICC has a deadline of January 12 for submission of provisional squads, with allowance to the teams to make changes until February 13.

“All teams need to submit their provisional squads by January 12 but (are) allowed to make changes till February 13,” said an ICC official.

The official also stated that it is their individual decision of the teams if they wish to announce their squad or not, as the ICC will eventually announce the squads on February 13.

“It is up to the teams whether they want to announce the squad or or not as the International Cricket Council (ICC) will release the submitted squads only on February 13,” the official added.

The team management is reported to consider Bumrah taking the vice-captaincy for the Champions Trophy, as he gave out impressive outcomes when captaining the Indian side in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

The post ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Selection Committee expected to announce the Indian squad soon? Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

This decision has been taken by BCCI considering the Champions Trophy 2025, that is going to begin February 19. However, there is still no solid confirmation on the depths of Bumrah’s injury and how badly will he be affected.

A source close to the development told that Bumrah will be getting treated under his personal doctor, who operated on him in New Zealand along with the BCCI medical team. The nature of the injury, along with the status of Bumrah will be revealed in a few days, and only the doctors will have the final call on Bumrah’s future.

“What he has to do and what suggestions he has to take this is all between BCCI doctors and his doctor who had operated on him in New Zealand,  you will know in some days the exact nature of the injury and status….everything depends on him personally… He is in touch with doctors and he will be assessed further to know the exact injury and level, if he requires rest, he will be given there is no doubt about it but before that, we need to know his exact injury then only doctors will decide the next step call will be taken accordingly, as of now We can only hope and wish that he recovers soon,” the source stated.

According to a few reports, it was clear that Bumrah will not play in the T20I bilateral series since this is not the World Cup year. However, as the Champions Trophy comes close, he would have played two or even three ODIs against England because of the 50-over format of the game.

The severity of his injury will now declare whether Bumrah will take part in England series at all or will he only participate in the last game on February 12 in Ahmedabad. Indian team is going to face England in three ODIs and five T20Is, beginning January 22.

The post Big Update: Jasprit Bumrah to consult personal doctor along with BCCI Medical Staff for back injury appeared first on Cricket Country.

All the matches of India are going to be held in Dubai, as it is decided as the neutral venue under the policy of hybrid model. Rohit Sharma will captain India in the Champions Trophy 2025. A few days after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma officially announced as the skipper for the ICC tournament.

Shubman Gill was expected to help Rohit Sharma in the Champions Trophy because he was the vice-captain. However, that is not going to occur. According to a report, the ODI leadership group for the upcoming tournament will likely change. India’s vice captain for the 2025 Champions Trophy is going to be Jasprit Bumrah.

Bumrah has been a member of the Test cricket leadership group since 2022, and made his debut as the captain in the one-off Test match against England. He has also captained in two Test matches of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now the BCCI is probably going to reveal the team for Champions Trophy and England series, where Bumrah looks like he will be missing majority of the England series.

The post Not Shubman Gill, BCCI likely set to label BGT hero as Team India’s vice-captain for Champions trophy 2025 appeared first on Cricket Country.

According to reports, Rohit Sharma is not going to be involved in the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, as vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will take the lead for the match. Jasprit Bumrah had previously captained Indian team in the series opener in Perth, where the team registered a 295-run victory.

Now, according to a report by India Today, Rohit might have played his last Test match in Melbourne, and might never play in the red-ball format again.
“The fourth Test in Melbourne may well have been Rohit’s last in Test cricket. Unless the BCCI intervenes and requests him to play one final time, the decision is unlikely to change,” a source told India Today.

Rohit Sharma has had a hard time batting. He was not present for the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, and then had demoted himself to the sixth spot in the batting order. However, this has not helped the skipper in any way whatsoever as his struggle with the bat has been clearly evident.

Rohit announced his retirement from white-ball format after India won the 2024 T20 World Cup earlier this year and ended their long trophy-drought. It now remains to be seen when will Rohit announce his time from the red-ball format, especially since he is likely to lead India in the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

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