Gibbs is Rohit’s former Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate, and has backed Cullinan’s comments saying that everything is clearly visible on TV and that he does not need to mention any names.

“I don’t need to mention any names. You can see everything on TV. Those guys that are unfit and carrying a little bit extra, I mean, the whole world is there to see. I think it’s up to the individual. I was only a batter. Rohit doesn’t bowl. It’s up to the individual for me with regards to how much they want to contribute, not only in their own specific skill. If you’re a bowler or a batter, your duty is still to be fit and to try and make a contribution in the field,” Gibbs told InsideSport.

Gibbs also said that the players carry a little bit extra and suggested that the mindset for some of the specific tournaments comes out with how much the players want to contribute to the team.

“Those guys that are unfit and carrying a little bit extra, I mean, the whole world is there to see. I don’t need to mention any names. The mindset should be, especially with a lot of T20 cricket and obviously with the Champions Trophy coming up, how much you want to contribute and make a difference for your team,” he added.

With the series currently levelled at 1-1, Indian team is preparing for the fourth Test against Australia, set to take place in Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26.

The post ‘Your duty is still to be…’: Indian skipper’s Ex-MI teammate backs ‘Overweight’ comment on Rohit Sharma appeared first on Cricket Country.

Anmolpreet’s century is the third-fastest century in List A cricket. The first spot is secured by Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk, who scored a century in 29 balls against Tasmania in 2023-24.

In the chase of 165, Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma fell early for a 7-ball 10. Prabhsimran Singh played the second interference to Anmolpreet as he scored 12 fours and 9 sixes. He reached his century in just 35 balls, becoming the fastest Indian batter to score a century in List A cricket.

Anmolpreet remained Unsold in IPL 2025 auction
Anmolpreet had made his IPL debut in 2021 for Mumbai Indians. He has played just three games in two seasons. For Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), he made his debut in 2023 and played 6 games and then got released before the mega auction.

He remained unsold in the IPL 2025 mega auction, however, there is still a chance of him getting a chance to play in IPL if any team reaches a condition of needing a replacement for an injured player.

The post Former Sunrisers Hyderabad batter breaks Yusuf Pathan’s record for Fastest Century in history of Vijay Hazare Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Going with a small purse of INR 45 crore, MI made specific strategy as they bought spinners and pacers.

The franchise had spent INR 75 crore from their total of INR 120 crore in just retaining the 5 key players.

At the time of the auction, the team took certain requirements in consideration, particularly containing their bowling department.

The franchise spent Rs. 75 crore in retaining players before the auction.
an amount of Rs. 44.80 crore was spent by the franchise on the auction.
The team has a purse left of Rs. 20 crore.
There are 23 players out of the 25 that is the maximum limit.
The squad contains 15 Indian players and 8 overseas players.

Players Bought by MI in IPL 2025 Auction:

The post Mumbai Indians IPL 2025 Auctions: Franchise assembles strong Indians, Complete list of players appeared first on Cricket Country.

In an interview, Lalit Modi revealed how KKR was not the first choice as an IPL team for Shah Rukh Khan, since he wanted to have a stake in Mumbai Indians. Before the IPL began in 2008, Shah Rukh Khan had bought KKR with his close friend Juhi Chawla for reportedly INR 570 crore.

When speaking to Raj Shamani on his podcast, Lalit Modi called Shah Rukh Khan to be the “pillar” of IPL, along with giving him the credit for making cricket accessible to women and children all over the world.

“Bollywood and cricket sell in this country. I have always been a part of the glamor. Shah Rukh Khan went to school with me; we are school friends. When I approached him for cricket, I didn’t know much about it myself, but I told him, ‘I just want you to be a part of it.’ He was the number one pillar for the IPL,” Lalit Modi said.

“Shah Rukh Khan bid for a team, even though he didn’t know anything about cricket,” he added

During the podcast, Lalit Modi also revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had his eyes set on Mumbai Indians, but since Mukesh Ambani already did the honours, the Bollywood actor went with KKR.

“His first choice was Mumbai, but Mukesh Ambani took that. Kolkata was his eventual pick. But Shah Rukh’s real contribution was in making cricket entertaining. He brought women and children into the stadiums, which was critical for IPL’s success. That’s why we had music, cheerleaders, and a festival-like atmosphere—he turned it into an event for everyone,” said Lalit Modi.

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It was initially speculated for former Australian batter Joe Burns to have started playing for Italy. However, it is not Joe, but 24-year-old Thomas Jack Draca who will make it to the list.

It has been confirmed in a report that Thomas wants to feature in IPL 2025. He is placed at the 325thposition in the list of auctions. Interestingly, he has connection with Mumbai Indians (MI).

Earlier this year, Thomas made his T20I debut against Luxembourg where he took 8 wickets in four games averaging at 8.50.

The post First Italian player to Register for Mega Auctions of the IPL 2025 appeared first on Cricket Country.

“Five fingers but one fist” is how Pandya described the five players who were kept by the franchise. The five players are Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Tilak Verma.

“5 people who we all have cherished a lot of good memories, together. We are as one. We are five fingers but one fist, that’s how I look at it. We are going to come all guns blazing, brotherhood, friendship and at the same point of time we are going to back each other no matter what happens,” Pandya said.

“It has been fantastic. I have been loved back. Everything what I have achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians. Every year is a special year and this is going to be an even more special one. We remember as a group in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. I think all of our fans know what happened in those years, and we are going to come back in 2025 even stronger than that,” he further added.

The post Hardik Pandya shares views on Mumbai Indians’ retentions before IPL 2025 mega auctions appeared first on Cricket Country.

“Since I have retired from the [T20] format, I think this is the perfect [retention] spot for me,” Sharma explained. “The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That’s what I believe in, and I am quite happy with it,” said Rohit Sharma in an interview with JioCinema.

The next season of IPL will be specially important for Rohit as this will be his single appearance in T20 cricket since the declaration from his retirement from international cricket.

Rohit shared his opinions on his long-standing closeness with Mumbai and highlighted the sentimental worth of the city.

“I have played so much cricket in Mumbai; this is where I started my cricket career. This city is very, very special. When you play for such a long time, you create so many memories with the team. We haven’t had the best of seasons in the last two or three years, but we are quite determined to change that,” he said.

The post Rohit Sharma makes Massive Remark as he is Fourth to be Retained by Mumbai Indians appeared first on Cricket Country.

Though the retentions have been announced, the decision for which of the player will captain the team for IPL 2025.

The governing body of the IPL set a minimum reduction from the purse for each of the retained player. The budget spread was 18 crore for the first player, 14 crore for the second, 11 crore for the third, 18 crore for the fourth, 14 crore for the fifth and 4 crore for an uncapped player.

October 31 was the deadline for each of the franchise to submit their retentions before the mega auctions. According to rules, each team could retain six players out of which a maximum of five players can be capped and two uncapped. This move can be made either through retention or through making use of the right-to-match (RTM) option.

The post MI’s official retention list: Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma go for Big Money appeared first on Cricket Country.

Speaking in an interview, Harbhajan showered praise on KKR and said that they had dominated the previous season. He also went on to name some players who should be retained for the upcoming T20 tournament.

“KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it’s a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain,” said Harbhajan.

“If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there, Rinku Singh will be there. I will definitely want to see Rinku Singh. He should be the 5th player to be retained. And if we talk about one more player, who is the last player to be retained? It could be Ramandeep Singh. He is an uncapped player. I think he should be retained. He played very well last year and I have seen his performance in domestic cricket this year as well. So I think this 6th player, Knight Rider, will be retained,” he added.

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