Picture Credit: X

Picture Credit: X

After a convincing tour of South Africa, the Men in Blue will take on the Afghanistan side in a three-match T20I series, starting January 11. Ahead of this series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad for the series on Sunday evening. One notable feature was the return of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who will play their first game in the shortest format after India's early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup. On the other hand, the Australia Women levelled the three-match T20I series 1-1 after a six-wicket win in the second T20I against India.

Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Sunday, January 7, but before that, let's check the matches scheduled for the day.

Today’s match preview:

BBL 2023-24: Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers

The 30th match of the BBL 2023-24 is scheduled to take place between Sydney Thunder and the Perth Scorchers at the Sydney Showground Stadium in Sydney on Monday, January 8 at 01:45 p.m. IST. While both teams are coming after a loss in their respective games in the BBL 2023-24, the Aaron Hardie-led Perth Scorchers are comfortably sitting at the third place of the points table with four wins from six games, whereas the Chris Green's Thunder are reeling in the bottom half of the table at seventh place with a solitary win so far in the tournament. 

Also Read:

Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe 2nd ODI

Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are scheduled to square off against each other on Monday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the second of the three-match ODI series. The match between Kusal Mendis' Sri Lanka and Craig Ervine-led Zimbabwe is schedul ed to take place at 02:30 p.m. IST. The series currently stands 0-0 after the first ODI was called off due to persistent rain in Colombo. 

Major cricket events that happened on January 7

BBL 2023-24: Brisbane heat claim their sixth consecutive win; become first team to qualify for playoffs

Colin Munro-led Brisbane defeated Nathan Ellis' Hobart Hurricanes in the 29th match of the BBL 2023-24 by one run through DLS method, registering their sixth straight win in the tournament. The Hobart Hurricanes invited the Heat to put the score first on the board, with the latter adding 132/7 in their stipulated 20 overs. While the Hurricanes looked comfortable chasing the total, but rain interrupted the game, further reducing the target and eventually falling short by a run. Moreover, with this win, the Heat became the first team to qualify for the playoffs.  

Australia Women beat India Women by six wickets; level series 1-1

The Alyssa Healy-led Australia Women registered a convincing win in the second T20I at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, 7th January to level the series and take it into the decider. The Women in Blue could only post 130/8 in their 20 overs after being invited to bat first. However, Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 34 and Phoebe Litchfield's quickfire 12-ball 18 runs unbeaten knock comfortably helped the visitors to chase the total in just 19 overs. 

Also WATCH: Australian female sporting stars send best wishes to Ellyse Perry ahead of her 300th game 

BCCI announces India squad for T20I series against Afghanistan 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel that comprised of SS Das and Salil Ankola picked India’s 15-man squad for the forthcoming series. The Indian men’s cricket team is set to lock horns with Afghanistan for a three-match T20I series starting from January 11, Thursday to January 17, Wednesday. 

R Ashwin hits back at Michael Vaughan’s "underachieving" remarks on Team India

R Ashwin has now hit back at the former England cricketer Michael Vaughan for calling India as an “underachieving” team after their loss in the first Test against SA. “Yes, we haven’t won ICC trophies for years. We call ourselves the powerhouses of the game. But the Test team has been one of the best travelling teams in the vicinity,” Ashwin said.

Kieron Pollard shares cryptic IG story; triggers Mumbai Indians fans

Mumbai Indians batting coach, Kieron Pollard after being named in England's coaching team, has been in news after the 36-year-old shared a cryptic post on Instagram. The Trinidadian cricketer took to Instagram to share quote by Anonymous, speaking of "loyalty". While fans were left quizzed if this was in connection to Rohit Sharma's captaincy removal, or something new buzzing.   

Rohit Sharma will be the captain for 2024 T20 World Cup: Aakash Chopra

Former India cricketer, Aakash Chopra feels that Rohit Sharma will play and continue to lead the side in the T20 World Cup. He further added that India will field an identical team to that of 2022. “I feel Rohit Sharma will be doing T20I captaincy and will also be the captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Ambati Rayudu to play for MI Emirates in ILT20 2024

Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu will represent the Mumbai Indians-affiliate MI Emirates in the International League T20. The Hyderabad native took to X (formerly Twitter) to share this development.  Ambati Rayudu posted that he will join the Mumbai Indians franchise in the ILT20. He also spoke about relinquishing his political commitments to participate in the tournament. 

PCB to punish Abrar Ahmed for ignoring medical instructions: Reports

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are reportedly contemplating about punishing the spinner Abrar Ahmed for ignoring instructions from their medical panel in rehabilitating from a suspected nerve-related problem. The PCB medical panel, after consulting Pakistan team doctor, physio, and trainer, had submitted the report to the board chairman about the carelessness from Abrar Ahmed during his rehabilitation process.

David Warner reveals retirement plans; to take up coaching 

The Australian opener David Warner retired from Test cricket after a victorious farewell game at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) against Pakistan in the past week. In his parting chat with Fox Cricket, the 37-year-old talked about his plans after Test retirement, expressing his ambition to potentially coach in the sport in the near future.

AB de Villiers raises concerns on future of Tests and ODIs

AB de Villiers has questioned the impact of T20 cricket on the future of Test cricket while reacting to Proteas squad against New Zealand which didn't include any senior players citing the SA20. Reacting to these changes, AB de Villiers, on his YouTube channel, expressed that the T20s are putting pressure on the longer formats of the game.