In an emotional farewell, Usman Khawaja has announced his retirement from international cricket, with his final match set to be the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG. The trailblazer—Australia’s first Muslim Test player—used early slights as fuel to build one of the most resilient and principled careers in modern cricket.
Former India batter Robin Uthappa has fired a passionate defense of traditional Test match values, slamming the modern obsession with quick runs and calling for a return to the disciplined, patient approach of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has issued a passionate and urgent plea to cricket administrators: ‘Why can’t we?’ He argues that the current ODI scheduling is a massive, missed opportunity to leverage the star power of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in their final years, and he has a clear plan to fix it.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has issued a brutal verdict on Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s leadership, calling their Melbourne Test win pure ‘lottery.’ He insists their entire ‘Bazball’ project is on the line in the crucial Sydney Test, warning that anything less than a competitive performance will invite intense scrutiny.
In a bold and controversial move, Cricket Australia has named its squad for the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney—resting Pat Cummins to manage his workload ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Steve Smith returns as captain, and Usman Khawaja keeps his place despite inconsistent form. Is this the right call?
On New Year’s Day 2026, Virat Kohli shared a rare, heartfelt post with wife Anushka Sharma—but the real story lies in his stunning return to domestic cricket, where he smashed 131 and 77 in back-to-back innings after a 15-year absence.