Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know Cricket-Tension Lingers As India And Pakistan Skip Handshake In Women’s World Cup I ndia captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan coun- terpart Fatima Sana skipped the customary hand- shake before a women’s cricketWorld Cup match on Sunday amid ongoing tensions between the rivals that plagued the men’s Asia Cup last month. India-Pakistan relations have significantly deteriorated following military conflicts in May that nearly escalated into a full-fledged war between the nuclear-armed neigh- bors. India beat Pakistan three times in the men’s Asia Cup, including in the September 28 final in Dubai, but refused to shake hands with their counterparts before or after the matches. They also declined to receive the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who is Pakistan’s interior minister. The frosty relations were evident in Colombo too where Kaur and Sana did not shake hands at the toss, nearly ignoring each other’s presence. Sana won the toss and elected to field against India, who have never lost to Pakistan in a women’s one day international. “We’re going to bowl first, looks like there could be some moisture on the wicket,” Sana said. “On this wicket, anything under 250 would be a good total to defend and hopefully we can restrict them.” India won a tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving South Africa, in May and captain Kaur said that experience would stand them in good stead. “It was a good series for us,” Kaur said. “We played a lot of cricket here and, yeah, we have ex- perience. Now it’s only about staying positive and playing good cricket.” Bilateral cricket remains suspended between India and Pakistan, who play each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues. India are the hosts of the ongoing women’sWorld Cup but Pakistan will be playing all their matches in Colombo under an agreement approved by the International Cricket Council.. -Reuters Cricket-India Name Gill ODI Captain, Rohit, Kohli In Squad For Australia Tour Cricket-Test Opener Renshaw Bats Way Into Australia’s ODI Squad For Upcoming Home Series Against India S hubman Gill was named India’s 50-overs captain on Saturday in place of Rohit Sharma, who was named in the squad along with bat- ting stalwart Virat Kohli for three one-day internationals in Australia this month. Both Rohit and Kohli have quit test cricket and T20 Internationals and are only available for India only in the 50-over format. Gill took over as test captain after Rohit quit the long format in May, and he is vice captain of India’s T20 squad led by Suryakumar Yadav. Rohit and Kohli last played for India in the Champions Trophy final in March in which they beat New Zealand. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from a fractured foot and was ruled out of the ongoing test se- ries againstWest Indies, was not selected for the tour Down Under. India will play three ODIs in Australia followed by five T20 Internationals. India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (cap- tain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice captyain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wick- etkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal India’s T20 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar. -Reuters F ormer test opener Matt Renshaw is in the frame for a long-awaited one-day international debut after being named in Australia’s squad for this month’s home series against India. Renshaw played the last of his 14 tests against India in New Delhi nearly three years ago but has earned a surprise place in the Mitchell Marsh-captained squad released on Tuesday after piling on the runs for Australia ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in July. The 29-year-old lefthander was one of four additions to the 15-man squad, joining fast bowler Mitchell Starc and all-rounders Matt Short and Mitchell Owen. With Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis recently retiring from ODI cricket, Renshaw and power- hitter Owen could form part of a new-look Australian middle order in the lead-up to the 2027World Cup. Starc, meanwhile, returns to international action for the first time this summer after resting from the South Africa tour. Australia will play three ODIs against India starting October 19 in Perth, followed by a five-match T20 series. Skipper Mitchell Marsh will continue to lead the ODI side in Pat Cummins’s absence, with the fast bowler re- covering from a back injury ahead of the home Ashes. Selectors also named a 14-man squad for the first two T20s in Canberra (October 29) and Melbourne (October 31), with Josh Inglis to replace Alex Carey as wicketkeeper after recovering from a calf strain. Carey, who helped Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 in the recent T20 series at Mount Maunganui, was included in the ODI squad but will miss the series-opener to play red-ball cricket in the domestic Sheffield Shield. Australian ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa. Australian T20 squad (first two games): Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa. -Reuters PHOTOS:REUTERS/RaghedWaked/File Photo PHOTO:REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko Cricket - International Test Match Series - Fifth Test - India Practice Session - Kia Oval, London, Britain - July 30, 2025 India’s Shubman Gill during practice Cricket – South Africa v Australia – Fourth Test – Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa – April 2, 2018 Australia’s Matt Renshaw in action. Cricket - ICC T20 World Cup 2024 - Group A - India v Pakistan - Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, United States - June 9, 2024 India’s Rohit Sharma celebrates with Virat Kohli after hitting a six 27 SPORTS October 10, 2025