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Zaheer Khan is in talks with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a mentorship role, with the franchise keen on bringing in a top former India player well-versed with T20 cricket to have a strong presence within their coaching setup following the departure of Gautam Gambhir.Two other franchises are understood to have been keen on bringing on board Zaheer, who was until recently head of global development at Mumbai Indians (MI) – prior to that, he was director of cricket for the franchise from 2018-2022.LSG have been without a mentor since Gambhir’s departure late last year. Gambhir, who was part of the support group that helped Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in 2024, has since taken over as India head coach. Morne Morkel, the former South Africa pacer who was LSG’s bowling coach, has now joined Gambhir’s lineup in the India men’s team in the same role.Related

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Apart from the role of mentor, LSG are also keen on giving Zaheer a wider profile that will mean involvement with the scouting and player-development programmes during the off season.LSG’s backroom is currently led by Justin Langer, who replaced Andy Flower as head coach ahead of IPL 2024, with Lance Klusener and Adam Voges as his assistants. After securing playoff berths in their first two seasons, the KL Rahul-led side was pipped on net run-rate for a spot in the top four in 2024.Zaheer’s possible return to the IPL fold comes at a time when teams are preparing for a mega auction. The IPL is likely to announce the retention rules by early September.Zaheer was part of three franchises – MI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils – during his playing career. In all, he featured in 100 games for the three teams across ten seasons, picking up 102 wickets at an economy of 7.59. He last featured in the tournament in 2017, when he led Daredevils, before retiring from all forms of cricket.Elsewhere, Punjab Kings are also on the lookout for an Indian head coach to replace Trevor Bayliss. They had reportedly been keen on bringing in VVS Laxman, but that is off the table with Laxman extending his term as head of the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy. They currently have Sanjay Bangar on their roster as head of cricket development.

West Indies coach Andre Coley has called on his players to channel the resilience they showed in Australia earlier this year in their ongoing series against England, as they look to respond from an innings defeat in the first Test at Lord’s.At Adelaide Oval in January, West Indies were thrashed by 10 wickets by Australia in the first of two Tests before responding with a famous win at the Gabba, with Shamar Joseph taking seven second-innings wickets. Ahead of the second Test at Trent Bridge, which starts on Thursday, Coley implored his players to believe they can set up a decider at Edgbaston.”They would’ve taken a lot of positives from that,” Coley said on Monday, when asked about the Gabba Test. “In terms of how we were able to bounce back, the process that we went through to be able to do that I believe is a lot more powerful [than the result].”It reinforces the fact that in a series you could actually not start well but then compose yourself and come back in the series and be quite competitive, potentially set it up for a game-three decider. So there are real positives to be taken away, not only from the first Test here, but what we would’ve [faced in the] last six months.”West Indies Test coach Andre Coley at a training session•Getty Images

Coley suggested that his side have learned from the first Test, despite their heavy defeat. “Having been here now about two weeks, having a bit of time to acclimatise to conditions and actually getting time in the middle… yes, the result was not what we would’ve wanted and planned for, but I do believe that there’s a lot to be had in terms of learning and takeaways.”We admit that the side we have, it is young and emerging… but we are still very positive about how we are approaching the second Test. Everybody’s in good spirits. We’ve been catching up with the players one-on-one and this will really be the first time that we’ll be settled as a squad.”There’s been quite a bit of activity on and off the field leading up to the first Test and it’s been a lot, I can imagine, for some of our players to have been able to absorb. So it’s a massive learning for everyone, players and staff, and we are still very positive as we head to Nottingham.”Related

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Coley said there were positives to take from how his team fared with the ball in the first Test, having bowled England out for 371 in their only innings. But he called on his batters to try and put longer partnerships together, and also told them to raise their intensity in the field.”We know the conditions will be testing: that’s why it’s called a Test match,” he said. “We’re not playing at home. Our conditions are going to be slightly different, but we do have it within our ranks to be at our best and to compete with England.”There were periods in the game where [England] actually had to show really good application and grit… Jayden Seales, Jason Holder; you had Alzarri Joseph, his pace was back up; Gudakesh Motie played a fantastic role in terms of helping the captain, Kraigg [Brathwaite] to be able to control and [took the] key wicket of the captain [Ben] Stokes.”So yes, quite a few positives. I would love to see us with a lot more intensity that we’re known to show in the field. I thought in this Test match, we weren’t at our best in terms of imposing ourselves on the England batters. That is definitely something that we need to be better at for the next Test.”Shamar Joseph suffered stiffness in his left hamstring during the first Test, at one stage leaving the field mid-over. A CWI spokesperson said that no decision has been made on his availability for the second Test, with West Indies due to train at Trent Bridge on Tuesday morning.

Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for CPL 2024. Imran Tahir, who captained the team to their maiden title last season, has been retained.Gurbaz will return to the franchise, having been a part of them in 2022. He played six matches and scored 157 runs with two half-centuries.Among the other overseas players retained are Pakistan batters Saim Ayub and Azam Khan and South African allrounder Dwaine Pretorius. They have also retained a number of big West Indies names – Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul.Related

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In all, Amazon Warriors have signed 14 players so far, which means they will need to sign three more players at the draft in July to round out their squad.Amazon Warriors beat Trinbago Knight Riders in a low-scoring final last season to seal their maiden CPL win. The defending champions will open their campaign against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, the new franchise, on August 30 in North Sound.The 2024 edition of the CPL will take place from August 29 to October 6 with games taking place in Antigua for the first time in ten years. Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago are the other venues. The National Stadium in Providence, Guyana, will host the final.

Guyana Amazon Warriors squad list

Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Saim Ayub, Shai Hope, Romario Shepherd, Azam Khan, Gudakesh Motie, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kevin Sinclair, Dwaine Pretorius, Keemo Paul, Shamar Joseph, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair

Mohammad Naim was the only player to fetch more than BDT 1 crore (USD 88,000 approx) at the BPL auction on Sunday, when Chittagong Royals signed him up for the upcoming season. Naim, the highest run-scorer in the BPL last season (511 runs at a strike-rate of 143.94), was incidentally the first player who went up for sale in the auction.Towhid Hridoy (USD 73,600) and Litton Das (USD 56,000) also went for big money, both signed up by Rangpur Riders.There were, however, no initial bids for veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, who were both in category B. Later in the day, after a request from BCB director and Rangpur chief executive Ishtiaque Sadeque, the auctioneer put up both players for sale again.Eventually, Rangpur took in Mahmudullah, while Rajshahi Warriors signed Mushfiqur, for their base price of BDT 35 lakh (USD 28,000 approx).Dasun Shanaka was the most expensive signing among the overseas players, going to Dhaka Capitals for USD 55,000. Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella were sold at their category A base price of USD 35,000, to Chittagong Royals and Sylhet Titans, respectively.Among the uncapped players, Habibur Rahman Sohan, who recently did well for Bangladesh A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament, was taken by Noakhali Express for USD 40,000.This was the BPL’s first auction since the inaugural edition in 2012. The rest of the editions have been done through the drafting process.During the auction, there were also a few Bangladesh cricketers who sat in the bidding tables, including Nurul Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.The BPL will be contested by six teams – Dhaka Capitals, Rangpur Riders, Rajshahi Warriors, Noakhali Express, Sylhet Titans and Chittagong Royals – with the tournament likely to start on December 26.

Pakistan batter Sidra Amin has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC’s code of conduct during the match against India at the Women’s World Cup in Colombo on Sunday.A statement from the ICC said that Amin breached Article 2.2, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match.” It was her first offence in a 24-month period and she was given one demerit point for a Level 1 breach.The incident occurred when Amin forcefully hit her bat onto the pitch after being dismissed in the 40th over. She admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Shandre Fritz, so no formal hearing was needed.Related

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On-field umpires Lauren Agenbag and Nimali Perera, third umpire Kerrin Klaaste and fourth umpire Kim Cotton levelled the charge. Level 1 offences carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.Pakistan lost the match against India after they were bowled out for 159, chasing 248. Amin top-scored for Pakistan with 81 off 106 balls but it wasn’t enough. Pakistan have now lost their first two games at this World Cup and face Australia next, on Wednesday.

Lancashire have “formally expressed” their disappointment to the ECB over Liam Livingstone’s dismissal on Blast Finals Day at the weekend.Livingstone was given out lbw in Lancashire’s run chase during the first semi-final, against Somerset. He immediately reviewed, seemingly convinced of an inside edge; but the third umpire umpire, Sue Redfern, decided on the evidence of UltraEdge that there was no bat involved before the ball hit the back leg.Lancashire were 102 for 3 at the time, needing another 81 from 49 balls, but saw their challenge evaporate after Livingstone’s departure as the last seven wickets went down for 57 runs.Related

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In a statement posted on X, Lancashire said: “Following on from Finals Day, @lancscricket has formally expressed its disappointment to the ECB regarding the decision that led to the dismissal of Liam Livingstone. The Lancashire allrounder was given out lbw for 29, following a review by the TV umpire.”While the club remains deeply frustrated and disappointed with the decision, @lancscricket is equally clear that it does not condone the misogynistic comments that have appeared across social media in response. Such behaviour is unacceptable, does not reflect the values of our club or the wider Red Rose family, and has no place in the game.”Lancashire had already expressed their frustrations ahead of Finals Day, as they were forced to contest the semi-final without the services of six first-choice players. Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood were all unavailable while on England duty, while Chris Green had departed for the CPL and Ashton Turner was recalled by Western Australia.Keaton Jennings called the scheduling “ludicrous”, with Lancashire giving a T20 debut to spinner Arav Shetty against Somerset, while allrounder George Balderson was also playing his first game of the season.

The Zimbabwe bowlers put in a more disciplined performance on the second day of the first Test in Bulawayo, but Daryl Mitchell’s gritty 80 ensured New Zealand kept their advantage intact.New Zealand started the day on 92 for no loss and marched to 158 for 1 before losing five wickets for 42 runs. But Mitchell, with the help of the lower order, steered them to 307, ensuring a lead of 158. New Zealand then removed the Zimbabwe openers before stumps, still 127 ahead.In the morning, Blessing Muzarabani gave Zimbabwe a dream start, removing Will Young with the first ball of the day. It was a short delivery and Young fended it towards Nick Welch, who was slightly deeper than usual at short leg and completed the catch with a dive. Welch was not sure if he had taken it cleanly, but the TV umpire found no issues with it.Devon Conway was fluent at the other end. With Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga operating from around the wicket, he used the cover drive to good effect and picked up three boundaries with it in three successive overs. Muzarabani switched to over the wicket to deny Conway but by then he was into the last over of his spell.Henry Nicholls, playing his first Test since December 2023, came in at No. 3 and looked a little uncertain. The Zimbabwe seamers found his outside edge a couple of times but they did not carry to the slip cordon. Nicholls grew in confidence as he spent time in the middle. When Newman Nyamhuri missed his line or length, he pounced on it, taking 22 runs off just 24 balls from the left-arm seamer. During this, he also completed 3000 Test runs.Blessing Muzarabani celebrates Michael Bracewell’s dismissal•Zimbabwe Cricket

Conway and Nicholls took New Zealand into the lead before Muzarabani returned to end the 66-run stand for the second wicket. Seeing Nicholls back away, Muzarabani followed him. Two balls earlier, Nicholls had hit a boundary using the same ploy. But this time, he was cramped and ended up hitting the ball straight to Brian Bennett at gully.That triggered a collapse in which New Zealand lost five wickets for 42 runs.Rachin Ravindra was the next to fall, edging Sikandar Raza to slip, where Craig Ervine completed an otherwise regulation catch on the second attempt.After lunch, Chivanga got the reward for his hard work. His extra bounce had Conway, on 88, miscuing an uppercut to Bennett, who took his second catch at gully. In his next over, Chivanga used the short ball to get rid of Tom Blundell, who pulled one into the lap of deep square leg.Muzarabani, too, used the short ball to have Michael Bracewell top-edging a pull. For a moment, it looked like wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga had misjudged it but he put in a full-stretch dive in the end to complete the catch near fine leg. That left New Zealand at 200 for 6.Mitchell and Mitchell Santner added 33 for the seventh wicket to lend the innings some stability before Santner chipped one back to legspinner Vincent Masekesa. After that, Mitchell took the lead. In the company of Nathan Smith, he brought up his fifty and added 61 for the eighth wicket. Smith played his part by scoring 22 and resisting for 79 balls, of which he took two on the body. He had to eventually retire hurt.With Matt Henry falling soon after and Smith not coming back, Mitchell was forced to take risks. He moved across his stumps to scoop Nyamhuri but missed and lost his middle stump. By then, though, New Zealand had regained their advantage. They extended it when Henry had Ben Curran hooking one to fine leg and Will O’Rourke had Bennett edging one to the wicketkeeper before stumps.