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CSK have looked out of their depth in IPL 2025 with key players out of form and no quality on the bench

Deivarayan Muthu23-May-20253:10

Which big player will CSK release after IPL 2025?

At around 8.45pm on April 11, there were unprecedented scenes at Chepauk.As MS Dhoni walked out to bat at No. 9, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) 72 for 7 in the 15th over against Kolkata Knight Riders, several fans began to leave the stadium. CSK’s devoted followers have sworn by their but those exiting had realised that even he couldn’t save this team this season. Having taken over the captaincy after five games in in IPL 2025, the magnitude of the miracle required was beyond his ageing capabilities.At around 10.30 pm, Fortress Chepauk crumbled. It was the first time CSK had lost three consecutive home games. They went on to lose their next two in Chennai as well, and for the first time, CSK will finish last in an IPL season.After finishing fifth last year, CSK have also failed to make the playoffs in two consecutive seasons for the first time – an indicator that their trusted methods, with which they have won five titles, may now be outdated in the IPL.Related

• Dhoni on his IPL future: I have four-five months to decide

• Dhoni takes blame for CSK's defeat

• 'Nothing for me to decide as of now' – Dhoni on IPL future

• CSK's transition 'will develop on its own' – Bangar

Their problems began with squad formation. Their bets on old CSK players – like Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra – didn’t come off. Their punts on buying players who had struggled for other franchises in recent seasons – Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar and Rahul Tripathi – fell flat too. There was no revival for them like Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube had enjoyed at CSK.They splurged INR 9.75 crore for 38-year old R Ashwin, who played for CSK last in 2015, at a time when other teams are barely picking players whose primary skill is offspin. That reunion hasn’t been productive either: seven wickets in nine matches with an economy rate of 9.12, his highest in an IPL season.Barely a month into the season, the first four players CSK had bought at the mega auction for a total of INR 23.4 crore last November – Conway, Tripathi, Ashwin and Rachin – were all on the bench.1:26

Bangar: If I was Dhoni I would say ‘enough’

After realising that CSK things weren’t working for them this season, they did some un-CSK things. Like cycling through 22 players, the most they have used in an IPL season since 2010; promoting Ravindra Jadeja to No.4 though his struggles against spin is well known; pushing Shivam Dube down the order and exposing him to high pace when his strength is hitting spin; and handing the new ball to Jamie Overton, who is a middle-and-death overs specialist for England and various franchises around the world.The spate of defeats and the weakness of their bench forced CSK to blood young, inexperienced players, something they rarely do. Two of their mid-season replacements, Dewald Brevis and 17-year old Ayush Mhatre, their youngest player ever, have been successful and could be part of CSK’s plans for 2026.But with or without Brevis and Mhatre, the batting looks fragile and uncompetitive, lagging far behind in terms of explosiveness or inventiveness. Against RCB in Bengaluru, CSK needed 35 off 18 balls, but Jadeja and Dhoni were unable to finish a game they would have won more often than not a few years ago. Their inability to exploit scoring areas behind the wicket was amplified as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal shackled them with several full tosses.Which brings us to one of the biggest talking points of CSK’s season. Dhoni, who will turn 44 in July, is functioning at reduced capacity because of his knees. He can’t play long innings any more, and in this age of match-ups teams simply throw the ball to a spinner when he walks in. Rajasthan Royals even gave part-time offspinner Riyan Parag the 16th over because Dhoni was batting.Since IPL 2020, Dhoni has a strike rate of 95.88 against spin – the lowest among batters who have faced 250 balls of spin in this period. CSK’s other problem is that Jadeja is third on this list with a strike rate of 101.68 against spin, making it too simple for opponents to slow them down when these two are in the middle. Sometimes they don’t even look as if they are trying to attack spin.Jadeja has had problems with his left-arm spin too. He has trouble against left-handers and doesn’t usually bowl in the powerplay; these limitations have resulted in him completing his four-over quota only once in 13 matches. Jadeja has eight wickets with an economy of 8.81 and 280 runs at a strike rate of 137.25 this season.R Ashwin has not had a happy homecoming on the field this season•PTI Jadeja and Dhoni, retained for INR 18 crore and 4 crore respectively, don’t play any T20 cricket between IPL seasons. Dhoni’s future remains unclear but if he wants to play IPL 2026, can CSK afford to keep both of them?Yes, according to former SRH and PBKS coach Tom Moody who has vast experience in constructing and reconstructing T20 teams around the world, and especially if Dube rediscovers his explosive power and CSK bring in an overseas power-hitter.”Well, Dube has to fire and he, historically, has been a brilliant finisher for them,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “His form has been a concern, along with obviously the clock ticking on Dhoni’s career. It doesn’t get easier when you’re older. It gets harder and harder.”Jadeja has never ever been a strong finisher. He’s a very fine player, but do you see him as a player with 15 or 20 balls to go, as your impact player? Probably not. Therefore, you go back to the auction and look at ‘did we get it wrong’ or maybe we needed to get an overseas finisher to support what we already have.”While CSK’s head coach Stephen Fleming has kept emphasising the importance of experience, they may not have many options to pick from at the next mini-auction. And the really good players will be in high demand and go for hefty prices.”If you’re needing to release funds, the obvious one would be Ashwin because I think it was about 10 crore,” Moody said. “That’s a lot of money for someone that’s not guaranteed a place in the XI. So, that’s going to be a hard conversation that the management has to have with him.”I think they need more of a batting powerhouse at No.5 or 6. They’ve got enough allrounders in their set-up – Rachin, Sam Curran, Jadeja. To me, they need a specialist impact player that can take games away a bit like your Livingstone, Tim David and Hetmyer – these types of players they have to find and target. They may do that through trade. You never know someone like Ashwin might find himself traded.”The return of Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose IPL 2025 was cut short by injury, may remedy some top-order issues but the CSK management has been working behind the scenes on scouting and developing new talent. Other teams have already got tremendous value from less-known players – Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi to name just a few – plucked out of various T20 leagues around the country.The fact remains, though, that a long and successful era may have run its course, and that rebuilding a team in the second season after a mega-auction will pose challenges. Tough questions and decisions await CSK, and it could begin with Dhoni and his knees.

Jamie Vardy scored his first Serie A brace as Cremonese snapped Bologna's 12-game unbeaten run in a rain-soaked encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. The 38-year-old forward, who left Leicester City in the summer after more than a decade of folklore-defining moments, including a Premier League title win, stole the show and then joked that the UK weather is now following him to Italian shores.

• Vardy breaks Bologna’s resistance in a near-British downpour

  The rain fell heavily and the wind cut across the stadium in a way that would have felt familiar to Vardy from his Leicester days. After Martin Payero curled home a precise effort in the 31st minute, Vardy doubled the lead just four minutes later. Riccardo Orsolini temporarily revived Bologna with a composed penalty, but Vardy struck again only five minutes into the second half, burying a low shot across the goalkeeper to restore Cremonese’s two-goal cushion and secure the three points that ended a three-match losing streak. The brace takes him to four goals in nine league appearances for Cremonese, who inflicted Bologna's first defeat in any competition since September 25.

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  'Typical midweek in the UK!'

  "I think we were just missing a bit of rain – this is a typical midweek in the UK," Vardy said after the win.

  "The most important thing was getting the three points and keeping that progress going. It's another step in the right direction.

  "It's all about commitment and wanting what's best for the club. Everyone's on that same page and everyone's pushing forward to make sure that come the end of the season it will have been a successful year."

  Cremonese manager Davide Nicola, who has built his coaching career on uniting underdog squads, is impressed with his new talisman.

  "Great players are easy to handle as they know what they're supposed to do – and they know how to do it," he said. "That's how he is – he's comfortable with who he is, good humoured. He came here with the mentality of making himself available for the team."

• Who is Vardy's Serie A inspiration?

  Vardy was also linked to Wrexham in the summer, but the striker chose to settle for a fresh opportunity in Italy. Some critics questioned whether Serie A would suit him at this stage of his career. But with goals, graft, and an instant connection with supporters, he has already embedded himself into the club’s fabric. 

  Vardy is also learning Italian and told when asked how he is coping on a linguistic level: "I only know the basics, good morning, thank you, numbers, but I’ll be taking lessons as of next week, so hopefully that will start the bringing on the language a bit more. I have to learn, as my kids are learning, and I can’t have them learning it before me, otherwise they’ll be taking the mickey out of me!"

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  What comes next?

  With Cremonese now sitting 11th on 17 points after 13 games, the mood around the club is one of cautious optimism. Avoiding relegation would trigger a one-year contract extension to the summer of 2027 for Vardy, something that suddenly looks plausible. They sit seven points clear of the relegation zone, a comfortable position for a newly-promoted side. Cremonese return to the Stadio Giovanni Zini on December 7 to face Lecce.

UAE are well-placed to join them in next year’s world tournament in India and Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2025Nepal and Oman have confirmed their places in the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka even before their Super Six meeting in Al Amerat in the Asia-EAP Qualifier. One more team from the tournament will join them in next year’s T20 World Cup.Nepal and Oman were assured of their T20 World Cup spots after UAE thumped Samoa by 77 runs earlier in the day. UAE are currently third on the Super Six points table, with four points. Both Oman and Nepal are on top, with only net run rate separating the two teams.UAE will next face Japan in a crucial fixture on October 16.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Wristspinner Sandeep Lamichhane has been central to Nepal’s progress to the T20 World Cup, taking ten wickets in four innings at an outstanding average of 9.40 and an economy rate of under six. His 5 for 18 helped Nepal dismiss Qatar for 142 in their chase of 148.Oman’s Jiten Ramanandi is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with seven strikes in four innings at an economy rate of 5.90. Before the Asia-EAP Qualifier, the left-arm seamer had also impressed against India in the Asia Cup, where he took the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma.

Manchester United are battling Chelsea over the signing of RB Leipzig’s highly-rated young midfielder Assan Ouedraogo, as Ruben Amorim eyes up new additions.

The Red Devils fell to a woeful 1-0 defeat at home to Everton on Monday evening, failing to beat a Blues side who played most of the game with ten men.

It was a big setback for Amorim, with United now going three Premier League matches without a win, and the manager bemoaned the performance of his players at Old Trafford.

It was further proof that United need to look at midfield additions, whether that be in the January or summer transfer window, and an exciting update has now dropped in that respect.

Man Utd have upper hand on Chelsea in Assan Ouedraogo race

According to Sky Germany [via Sport Witness], Manchester United are pushing ahead in their efforts to sign Ouedraogo from Leipzig in 2026. The Red Devils’ interest in the 19-year-old is “becoming more concrete” all the time, with Premier League rivals Chelsea also pushing for a deal.

United have an upper hand in that they have already had contacts with the player’s camp, pursuing him before he left Schalke in June 2024, but a “top offer” will be needed to pry him away from Leipzig given he has no release clause.

Ouedraogo is a huge young talent with so much potential, so United should be looking at him as a fantastic option to add to their midfield in the coming months.

Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are both in their 30s now, and struggled together against Everton, but the Leipzig star would be a long-term signing who would add much-needed fresh legs in the middle of the park.

Amorim and Wilcox agree on blockbuster Man Utd move for "elite" £80m star

The Red Devils could now make a notable signing that would be represent a statement at Old Trafford.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 24, 2025

Ouedraogo recently scored on his debut for Germany, and he will be pushing to be one of the standout youngsters at 2026 World Cup, with scout Antonio Mango desribing him as a “midfield sensation” earlier this month.

While the German teenager is at his happiest in a central midfield role, he can also shine in a more attacking central berth, as well as on the left wing, and United beating Chelsea and others to his signature would feel like a major statement of intent.

Worse than Bruno Fernandes vs Everton: Amorim must bin Man Utd's 3/10 flop

It has been a series of ups and downs for Jaiswal, but with the bat, he managed to end on a high

Sidharth Monga02-Aug-20253:22

Bangar: ‘Jaiswal’s Sehwag-esque impact makes it easier for batters to follow’

A five-Test tour can feel like a lifetime within a life. It can be a selfish existence, even for those working on it on the outside, but more so for cricketers. There is no other responsibility or commitment other than to look after every aspect of your game. Everything else is taken care of for you, which is a privilege, but it takes a huge emotional toll to deal with this constant examination of your game, the variety of conditions and situations, and the vagaries of sport.For Yashasvi Jaiswal more than others, this tour of England has been a lifetime of ups and downs. He started with a dominating century at Headingley, but dropped catches and saw them play a huge role in losing the unloseable Test, was taken out of the cordon, has had the odd spray from the captain for not being on the field, and has also seen the team’s fortunes go up and down.Jaiswal might have got starts but a second big score eluded him till the end. He has tried to do all the right things, he has tried to keep his emotions on an even keel, but he is also an intense person, whose reaction to anything is to go into the nets and face more balls. He does that any break he gets: before the start of play, lunch, tea, between innings or whenever anyone is available to throw balls at him. It must have taken some effort to keep him away from training two days before this match. Or perhaps his family’s presence in London might have helped.Related

• England made to toil amid mishaps of their own making

• Jaiswal hundred, Siraj's late strike make India favourites

• Akash Deep joins nightwatch lore with Oval knock to remember

• Butter-fingered England spill six chances

What must have really freed up Jaiswal’s mind, though, was the nature of the pitch. This was not the kind of pitch where you can battle it out and hope for things to get easier. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley enjoyed success by being attacking. When Jaiswal walked out for his final innings of the series, India were trailing by 23 – only 23, thanks to a big effort from just the three fast bowlers – and needed a big third innings to give themselves hopes of levelling the series in the tour finale.There was an hour and 40 minutes on the second day to go to stumps, so it wasn’t as if India needed to bat time. Jaiswal came out and cut the first ball hard. The sound echoed in the stadium although Duckett denied him any runs. This much was clear, though: Jaiswal was going to look to score off anything remotely loose. He was not going to let the three standing England bowlers settle into any rhythm.Opening in Test cricket is a lot about taking care of many things that can go wrong, and it isn’t always possible to cover them all. Here, Jaiswal was focussing more on what can go right. It was as though he told himself he had done what he could in preparation, and now just needed to trust the universe.Throughout the whole innings, Jaiswal showed an exaggerated return to what has worked for him in the past: both in attitude and with his rituals. His walks to square leg between balls became longer, sometimes ending up in hand-shaking distance of the square-leg umpire. Even at the non-striker’s end, he would walk almost to midwicket between balls, switching off into a world of his own. It was as though his emotions were bubbling up and he wanted to keep them in check. So was his attacking intent, but that he didn’t want to check.Yashasvi Jaiswal brought out his own version of Bazball•Getty ImagesJaiswal’s first six scoring shots were boundaries, the last of those hit so hard that the worst possible result would be a half chance, which burst through the hands of Harry Brook at second slip. The universe was now beginning to look after him. A hook shot later in the evening didn’t stick in Liam Dawson’s hands. If a series is a life, it was coming a full circle. He dropped four at Headingley, and was now the beneficiary of two in a crucial period before stumps on the second day.This innings was not about head position or stance or guard or being in control. This innings was more about trusting his game built on painstaking hard work, about trusting everything will fall in place if he let instinct take over. This was more about his emotions.This innings was also about squaring certain things off, about the circle of life, about collecting receipts. Like Faizal Khan in , Jaiswal was now saying he will avenge dropped catches, low-control innings, and even time-wasting, which he did almost comically by cramping up at the non-striker’s end in what proved to be the last over before lunch. Although it wasn’t necessarily gamesmanship; he has tended to struggle with cramps in a few of his long innings.Jaiswal’s emotions were on an all-time high when he was in his 90s, going off at non-striker Karun Nair for not alerting him to a change in the field and then not running a third that could have got him his hundred. The release of emotion upon reaching the hundred said a lot.Jaiswal has ended his series as he began: a belligerent century to end up with a tally of 411 and an average of 41.10. Top-six batters overall have averaged 48.77 in the series so far; Jaiswal is used to being head and shoulders above his peers in his young career so far. That is probably why he was edgy.A century in challenging conditions should be succour if Jaiswal had been hurting. It is said you don’t become a great cricketer without having at least one bad tour of England. Jaiswal, who clearly aims to end up as a great, hasn’t had a bad tour by any measure, but has had all the extremes in one tour. A whole lifetime’s worth of ups and downs.

Manchester United have been told that they could sign a long-term target for a much smaller fee than has been mooted ahead of the January transfer window. The Red Devils were able to sign coveted players such as Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko this summer but their hunt for a central midfielder goes on. Now, one agent has claimed that a certain target could be available for no more than €40 million (£35m/$46m).

• Man Utd eye midfield maestro

  In 2025, United have been linked with Atalanta midfielder Ederson as they try and solve their problems in the centre of the park. The 26-year-old, who can play in defensive midfield, in the centre, and further forward, has been watched by a number of top teams, including Liverpool, but for now, he remains with the Serie A side. In the past, reports have suggested he could cost up to €80m (£70m), but that is said to have put off potential suitors. Now, however, Brazilian agent Andre Cury thinks he could be available for less than half of that.

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  'A spectacular player'

  Agent Cury, who represents Ederson and also Chelsea's Estevao, has suggested that the ex-Cruzeiro man will be available in 2026 for a cut-price fee as his contract expires the following year. He also said the Brazilian is a "spectacular" player.

  He told Cadena SER: "Atalanta were asking for a lot of money, between €60m and €75m. He’s close to the end of his contract, they could even lower his price by half, to between €30m and €40m, but he’s a spectacular player with some of the best stats in Europe for his position."

• Agent talks up Barcelona move

  Ederson's representative appears to be drumming up interest for his player as he believes the midfielder would fit in nicely at Barcelona, a team the former Corinthians player has also been linked with.

  Cury added: "A player I think could adapt very well to Barça’s system, contributing a lot of physicality and stamina, is Ederson, who plays for Atalanta. It’s an opportunity because his contract is expiring. Atalanta hasn’t wanted to sell him despite receiving very high offers. I think they’ll complete the transfer in this winter or summer window."

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  What comes next for Ederson?

  Going by his agent's comments, it seems that Ederson, who has played 151 times for the Italian top-flight team and scored 14 goals, could be on the move in 2026. But whether United, Liverpool, Barcelona, or anyone else signs him, remains to be seen. The player himself will have an eye on making Brazil's World Cup squad so his future may only be settled after that tournament finishes next summer.

Ashes hopeful Marcus Harris was run out for 61 as Victoria reached 167 for 3 following South Australia’s 350 for 9 declared

AAP05-Oct-2025Marcus Harris looked set for a statement pre-Ashes innings before a sharp piece of fielding left the Victoria No.3 kicking himself at a missed opportunity on day two of the Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia at Adelaide Oval.The match was evenly poised when bad light stopped play late on Sunday afternoon, with Victoria 167 for 3 after SA declared at 350 for 9.Harris had been patient, compiling 61 from 149 balls and hitting three fours as he tries to force his way back into the Australian Test team for the Ashes. Peter Handscomb then called for a quick single after pushing into the covers.Daniel Drew pounced and his excellent direct hit caught Harris centimeters short of his ground at the striker’s end after Harris slightly veered his run and failed to stretch or dive with both options likely to have saved him.Handscomb was looking set at stumps on 38 and Oliver Peake finished unbeaten on 11.SA made the perfect start with the ball when Wes Agar had promising opener Campbell Kellaway caught at first slip for a second-ball duck.But Harris and Blake Macdonald then settled in for a 93-run stand. Macdonald was dismissed when looking set, caught behind for 45 when he chased a wide Lloyd Pope delivery.Earlier, the home side resumed on Sunday morning at 270 for 3 and Test quick Scott Boland eventually broke up the partnership between Henry Hunt and Jake Lehmann that had dominated the opening day.They added another six runs for a stand of 218 before Boland had Hunt caught behind for 126 from 307 balls.Boland also claimed Lehmann as the sixth wicket for 113 off 188 deliveries with Handscomb taking a sharp chance at second slip.Mitchell Perry took another wicket on Sunday to finish with 4 for 75, while Boland and Doug Warren snared two wickets apiece.South Australia No.8 Hanno Jacobs scored 41 from 52 balls on his Shield debut for South Australia, which included two fours and a six.

Phillies fans weren't having it after watching their team get dominated by the Dodgers for two games of the National League Division Series.

On Monday night, Philadelphia fell to Los Angeles 4-3 after losing Game 1 by a score of 5-3 on Saturday. Things got so bad for the Philly faithful that they actually booed their own closer.

The Phillies trailed the Dodgers 4-1 entering the top of the ninth inning, and Jhoan Duran came out to his closer entrance, which features the stadium lights going off, flames, etc. It’s an entrance that exudes confidence and a sense of inevitability when Duran is entering a game with the lead and looking to close out a win. When his job is “keep the deficit to three runs,” the pyro is far less endearing.

The team's fans were not impressed or enthused, and booed as he entered the game.

Video is below.

That's rough.

Duran did his job. He allowed a double and a walk, but got out of the frame without allowing a run.

Philadelphia mounted a ninth-inning comeback, as Alec Bohm singled to lead off the inning, then J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos followed with doubles to cut L.A.'s lead to 4-3.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson then called for Bryson Stott to bunt Castellanos over, but the veteran outfielder was thrown out going to third. Harrison Bader followed with a single, but Max Kepler and Trea Turner authored back-to-back groundouts to end the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base.

One of MLB's best home-field advantages has now been squandered. The Phillies were 55-26 at home this season, and they lost the first two NLDS games in their own park. Now they'll have to win each of the next three games to advance. That's a tall order when facing the defending World Series champs.

Three squad members released for day-night match in Canberra, but first XI head direct to Brisbane

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Nov-20252:13

Stokes defends attacking approach after batting collapse

Just three of England’s men’s Ashes squad will join the Lions to play in the Prime Minster’s XI fixture in Canberra, with only Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue dropping in for the two-day match which begins on Saturday.The trio were unused for the first Test in Perth, with Bethell and Potts playing for the Lions against a Cricket Australia XI, which ran parallel to the Ashes opener. Both matches started on Friday, but the match at Lilac Hill ended up running twice as long. However, it concluded on Monday with an identical result; a dominant eight-wicket win by the home team, led by a glitzy century from Josh Inglis, opening the batting in the Travis Head role.That England are not sending their ‘starters’ to Canberra will draw scorn, with many pundits already critical of their anticipated absence even before Monday’s confirmation.Related

• Wood: England 'hit hard' but still have four games to 'throw some back'

• Switch Hit: Travball 1-0 Bazball

• Michael Vaughan: 'Amateurish' if England don't play PM's XI fixture

• Stats – Perth serves up a short and spicy Test

• England need to shut out the noise and look in the mirror

As well as offering them more cricket after the opening Test lasted just two days, the day-night fixture would have given them invaluable experience ahead of the the pink-ball Test match at the Gabba, which begins on December 4. England do not have a great day-night record, losing five out of seven, including two on the previous Ashes tour. Australia, meanwhile, have won 13 out of 14 under lights.”It’s amateurish if they don’t go and play now,” Michael Vaughan, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain, said. “What harm is playing two days of cricket with a pink ball under lights?”It’s not being old-school to suggest that a pink ball is different to a red ball. Playing under the lights is different. Australia have won pretty much every pink-ball game in Australia: they’ve lost once. I’m not too old-school to suggest that they should play in that game… I’d like to know why they wouldn’t.”Both Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum espoused the value of keeping the squad together after Saturday’s chastening conclusion to the first Test, both to isolate them from the outside noise and maintain spirits. That they are sticking to their guns is no surprise.The main squad will travel from Perth to Brisbane on Wednesday, and will begin training at the Gabba this weekend. The Lions, along with Bethell, Potts and Tongue, head to Canberra on Tuesday.

Bangladesh recently beat Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, but they still have plenty of work to do with their batting

Mohammad Isam01-Oct-2025

Bangladesh under new leadership

Jaker Ali will captain Bangladesh in the absence of Litton Das, who has been ruled out of the series with a side strain. Jaker had also led Bangladesh in two matches in the Asia Cup, when Litton wasn’t fit, with Bangladesh losing both games. Before leading Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, Jaker had not captained at any level – domestic or Under-19. In those two matches in the Asia Cup, against India and Pakistan, Jaker managed scores of only 4 and 5, respectively.Related

• Soumya Sarkar returns for T20I series against Afghanistan

• Farooqi, Naib, Janat left out of for Bangladesh series

• Bangladesh finally see the power of hitting sixes

There seems to be dearth of leadership options in Bangladesh’s T20I side, especially after the BCB discontinued with Mahedi Hasan as vice-captain after the UAE series in May.Senior fast bowler Taskin Ahmed might have been a leadership option, but he probably missed out because of workload management. There will be scrutiny on how Jaker juggles captaincy, wicketkeeping and batting against Afghanistan. Bangladesh have the option of reducing his load by handing the wicketkeeping duties to Nurul Hasan.Jaker Ali has had to juggle captaincy, wicketkeeping and batting•ICC via Getty Images

Bangladesh need to find the balance

Bangladesh have finally understood the value of sixes in T20 cricket, but are they going too hard? They need to blend their six-hitting with strike rotation to make their batting work in the format. Against Pakistan, with a spot in the Asia Cup final at stake, they kept going for sixes and kept finding the boundary riders on the Dubai pitch that perhaps wasn’t conducive to that style of play.Bangladesh, though, had found the balance against Sri Lanka, when they chased 169, with Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy scoring half-centuries. Bangladesh also tend to fare better in bilateral series, and recently, they also beat Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.

Afghanistan’s big selection calls

After failing to qualify for the Super Fours in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan have rung in the changes, leaving out Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat and Fazalhaq Farooqi for both the T20Is and ODIs against Bangladesh in the UAE.Janat has managed only 68 runs in eight T20I innings this year, and hasn’t done much with the ball either. Naib, too, has slipped down the pecking order. Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar is also not part of the main squad, but has been named as a reserve. Ghazanfar, however, has made the ODI squad.Rashid Khan will be leading Afghanistan’s spin attack against Bangladesh•Asian Cricket CouncilBut watch out for the uncapped pair of Wafiullah Tarakhil and Bashir Ahmad. Bashir is a tall left-arm seamer, who could be a like-for-like replacement for Farooqi, while Tarakhil has been rewarded for his strong domestic form. In the 2025 Shpageeza Cricket League, Tarakhil emerged as the third-highest scorer, with 298 runs in nine innings at an average of 37.25 and a strike rate of 155.20.

Spin is king

Despite the changes, Afghanistan have immense spin-bowling depth in their T20I side, with Rashid Khan the leader of the attack, of course. Legspinner Rishad Hossain’s emergence has given Bangladesh’s attack a potent point of difference, but Afghanistan’s spinners have a better strike rate, economy rate and average than Bangladesh’s in T20Is since 2020. The battle between the two spin attacks could be a mouth-watering one.

Afghanistan’s home venue

Afghanistan have won 20 of the 30 T20Is they have played in Sharjah. They have won 14 out of 18 games batting first there, including the last six outings when they batted first. On the other hand, Bangladesh have won only one out of six T20Is in Sharjah. The severe heat in Sharjah will test the fitness of the players.