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Pakistan players with deals in the BBL have been given approval to join the competition after concerns they would be caught up in the PCB’s refusal to issue No Objection Certificates for overseas tournaments.In late September, the PCB’s chief operating officer Sumair Ahmad Syed sent a notice informing players and agents of the board’s decision to stop players joining T20 leagues. However, on Saturday, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed the Pakistan players would arrive for the BBL as scheduled.”That came through last week,” Greenberg said. “So they’ll all be playing, they’ve all been cleared to play, which we’re really excited about because we’ve got some great Pakistan players in the BBL, so looking forward to seeing them here this summer.”Babar Azam (Sydney Sixers), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Brisbane Heat), Hasan Ali (Adelaide Strikers), Mohammad Rizwan (Melbourne Renegades), Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) and Shadab Khan (Sydney Thunder) are those with deals for the tournament that begins on December 14 and runs to January 25.An eagerly anticipated head-to-head are the contests between Babar and Shaheen which will take place on January 5 and 18. The Pakistan players will also come up against R Ashwin when they face Sydney Thunder, while he and Shadab will be in the same squad.Related

• R Ashwin to play entire season of BBL with Sydney Thunder

• PCB suspends player NOCs for overseas T20 leagues

Thunder’s signing of Ashwin was a significant moment for the BBL with the deal becoming season-long after he was not bought at the ILT20 auction. It has prompted talk of whether more Indian players later in their careers will follow Ashwin’s path of retiring to explore overseas opportunities, with Virat Kohli’s name naturally high on the list even though he has given few clues about his future.”Short, medium term I think it is realistic over time,” Greenberg said of whether more Indian players could join the league. “We’re going to keep the dialogue open. I think that Ravichandran Ashwin coming is a really important moment for the BBL and it will highlight the strength of bringing Indian players into the league. What that manifests over time I think is to be seen. Some of that will depend on whether we take private capital into the BBL which is an open conversation for us at the moment.Cricket Australia is currently exploring the potential of private investment in the BBL with Greenberg and chair Mike Baird hopeful of progress being made by the end of the year although there remains some uncertainty of the best path forward among some states.”We should have aspirations to make sure the very best players, both here in Australia and globally, can play in the BBL,” Greenberg said. “That costs money because players have leverage and opportunity to play all over the world. That’s one of the primary drivers [for] why we would consider bringing private capital into the BBL so that we can compete on the global stage. We’re a small domestic market here, but we’re competing globally and to do that we’ve got to be the best version of ourselves.”A critical extension of that is keeping hold of the best Australian players. A report in newspapers earlier this month said that Pat Cummins and Travis Head had turned down A$10 million offers to sign long-term deals with one of the IPL franchises which has teams around the world.Greenberg did not have significant concerns about the current group of senior Australia players walking away but said that it could develop into a major issue for the next generation.”I think it’s a realistic concern for everybody that players have leverage and choice to ply their trade all over the place,” he said. “But I’d say this, though, every player I talk to, priority A is to play for their country…so that’s a really important marker.”But, and there’s a big but here, the next generation is really what I’m focused on. It’s not this current crop that I’m as concerned about as the next generation of players. We’ve got to make sure we find ways for them to stay in Australian cricket, still generate central contracts, still want to play for their country in the same way generations have and this current generation does.”Greenberg was speaking as CA launched a new cricket format at community level for the summer, with the six-a-side Smash Series designed to be played within 60 minutes. The format is viewed as an introductory level to the sport, with six-a-side games, players batting in pairs and the use of different types of softer balls.

Australia’s top six for the first Ashes Test became no clearer after Tasmania duo Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster failed to stake compelling claims against South Australia.South Australia pacer Brendan Doggett, also in the 15-man Ashes squad for Perth, showcased why he is regarded as next cab off the rank for Australia with 5 for 66 in a superb exhibition of seam bowling on a green Bellerive Oval deck.Weatherald, hoping to make his Test debut as an opener, fell for 23 in Tasmania’s total of 209 after being sent in to bat.Allrounder Webster has been superb in his opening seven Tests for Australia but his desire to hang onto his No.6 position in Perth next week was not enhanced by his knock of 13. The 31-year-old missed a month of cricket at the start of the summer with a calf injury and made just 11 and six in his only other Shield appearance this season.His chances of featuring in the Australia side for the first Test in Perth could depend on whether selectors opt to bat Weatherald or Marnus Labuschagne as an opener. If it is the latter then Webster would stay at No.6 with fellow allrounder Cameron Green likely slotting in at No.3.Weatherald dispatched Liam Scott for back-to-back boundaries and was aiming for a third but chopped an attempted cut shot onto his stumps.Webster had just struck a fierce pull to the boundary before attempting to hook Henry Thornton. He only succeeded in getting a feather through to Alex Carey.Tasmania skipper Jordan Silk brought up his 6000th Shield run in his innings of 64. Silk was severe through the off side and brought up his 50 with a rollicking slap through point off Nathan McAndrew straight after he had caressed a cover drive to the boundary.Brendan Doggett took 5 for 66•Getty Images

Doggett dismissed Silk with a full delivery that moved off the seam and was brilliantly caught by a diving Carey. He then ripped through the lower order for his second five-wicket haul of the Shield season.South Australia were 88 for 3 at stumps. Australia No.5 batter Travis Head made just nine before falling to Webster. Carey had raced to an unbeaten 25 off just 20 balls and will resume on Tuesday alongside Henry Hunt.Australia chair of selectors George Bailey said there was “still some information to gather” from the fourth round of the Sheffield Shield before settling on the playing 11 against England.Bailey said Weatherald, who was aggressive in his knock on Monday, had the approach Australia’s brains trust admired.”There is a method [about his batting] that we like and that is complementary to the other players around him in the squad,” Bailey said.”We have been chatting a lot to Jake. He has been in quite a few [Australia] A teams and there has been a lot of communication with him throughout the summer. The feedback has always been to keep doing it his way.”That is what is attractive to us, that he scores at a nice rate and puts bad balls away. He is aggressive with his outlook without being over the top.”

After the climax of The Oval Test spilled over into the final day because of poor light and rain in what has been a thrilling five-Test series, it’s fair to wonder what the weather on the 25th and last day of the series will be like.There is rain around, but there’s no reason to believe there won’t be time to get a result.Both England and India currently have a clear shot at victory, which keeps the possibilities of 2-2 or 3-1 still open. While England are just 35 runs away from lifting the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India need another four wickets, including that of Chris Woakes, who is ready to bat one-handed if needed despite a suspected dislocated shoulder, which is in a sling.The weather forecast for Monday in London says it will mostly be cloudy and breezy with a couple of showers in the afternoon, expected around 2pm local time (6.30pm IST). If the first session is clear, with an 11am local time (3.30pm IST) start, the Test shouldn’t go into the afternoon. According to BBC Weather, there is some chance of rain even around 1pm local time, which, again, might not affect the outcome.The weather has been a feature of this Test – it has rained on three of the four days so far. In the dying moments of the final session of the fourth day, it was bad light that forced the players off the field at around 5.30pm local time, when at least half-an-hour’s play was still left, apart from the extended half-hour which allows action to go on till 6.30pm. It started to rain soon after the players went off and stumps were finally called at 6.01pm.

Big picture

So far in the Asia Cup, things have gone roughly as expected. India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have all registered comfortable victories, and Pakistan have also avoided an early banana peel. But Saturday brings up a more even clash. Over the last few years, T20 matches between these teams have sometimes been explosive, but although the heat of the rivalry has died down a little, it is also clear that these are well-matched teams in this format. Over the last 10 years, Sri Lanka have won eight of their 16 encounters, and Bangladesh eight.Related

• Asalanka: We are T20 Asia Cup defending champions

• Hasaranga fit for Sri Lanka's Asia Cup campaign

• Why are Sri Lanka and Bangladesh so poor at T20I batting?

• Hridoy hits back at critics as Bangladesh opt for safety over speed

More recently Bangladesh have had the better run, winning 2-1 in Sri Lanka in July, having also beaten Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup last year in Dallas. In those matches, Bangladesh’s bowlers tended to strike early, and find wickets regularly. Sri Lanka hope their batting order is in a better place now. But it was less than two weeks ago that they collapsed to 80 all out against Zimbabwe.Bangladesh also have the advantage of having played a match at this venue already. Their crushing of Hong Kong on Thursday was a largely complete performance, with the seamers getting wickets and the top order unfussily taking the team home in a modest chase. There were also wickets for legspinner Rishad Hossain, who was excellent against Sri Lanka in their most recent series, going at only 5.47 an over in his 12 overs across three matches.This being the group of death – Afghanistan are the other top-10 team vying for a Super Four spot – whichever team loses here will ride a treacherous road to qualification.Wanindu Hasaranga is set to return after missing the tour of Zimbabwe with a hamstring injury•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

Bangladesh: WWWLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WLWLL

In the spotlight: Litton Das and Pathum Nissanka

Bangladesh captain Litton Das needs 56 more runs to become Bangladesh’s most prolific T20I batter. He is clearly one of Bangladesh’s key T20I batters at the moment, having hit 476 runs this year at a strike rate of 137.17. He also top-scored for Bangladesh in that series in Sri Lanka. Given his experience, he is the Bangladesh batter that will worry Sri Lanka’s bowlers the most.Pathum Nissanka is having a fine T20I year himself, having made 230 runs at a strike rate of 147.43 in 2025. That Sri Lanka have been a significantly improved team in the powerplay is down partly to Nissanka’s improvements. He has opened up new parts of his game, and has become particularly severe on errors of length. In Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka lost the only match in which he didn’t get to 30.

Pitch and conditions

The Abu Dhabi pitch tends to be batting-friendly, though occasionally it will have something for the slower bowlers as well. Rain is not forecast on Saturday.2:05

Jaffer: Hasaranga’s return big boost for SL

Team news: Hasaranga set to return

Bangladesh will likely keep the same XI that beat Hong Kong. That means they will likely play three frontline seamers.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Pervez Hossain Emon, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Jaker Ali, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said Wanindu Hasaranga should be available to play on Saturday, after Hasaranga had missed the Zimbabwe series with a hamstring injury. He also suggested Sri Lanka could go in with three frontline seam options. If fit, Dushmantha Chameers seems a certainty, with Asalanka stating that Nuwan Thushara would also play. Binura Fernando may just have the edge over Matheesha Pathirana for the last spot.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Binura Fernando, 11 Nuwan Thushara.

Stats and trivia

• Pathum Nissanka needs 50 more runs to complete a tally of 2000 in T20Is. He has played only 67 innings, which means he has eight innings in which to get those 50 runs and become the fastest Sri Lanka men’s batter to the milestone. Kusal Perera got there in his 76th innings.
• Litton Das has not been dismissed for less than 50 in his last four T20I innings, making 54*, 18*, 73, and 59, against Netherlands and Hong Kong.
• Even just in Asia Cups, these teams’ record is pretty even. Bangladesh won the first T20I Asia Cup match between them, in Mirpur in 2016. Sri Lanka won the next one, in Dubai in 2022.

Quotes

“It’s more of a rivalry for the fans. For us as players it’s just good challenging competition.”
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka on the rivalry between these teams

Bowlers, faster ones and spinners alike, held sway right through the second four-day match between Australia Under-19s and India Under-19s in Mackay, which ended inside two days with the visiting side running out convincing victors.The Australian batting unit didn’t give a particularly strong account of its abilities in familiar conditions in Brisbane in the first game, scoring 243 and 127 to go down by an innings and 58 runs, but there were pockets of resistance. In Mackay, that was never really in evidence. It was only Alex Lee Young, the wicketkeeper, who showed his batting chops, but there was little to nothing around him.He scored the only half-century of the match, 66 in the first innings where Australia put up 135, while the second dig was even more abject, Australia folding for 116. That left India, who had taken a 36-run first-innings lead – handy in a low-scoring contest – with just 81 to knock off, which they did for the loss of three wickets.The second – and as it turned out, last – day began with India at 144 for 7 in their first innings after having bowled Australia out in 43.3 overs. Henil Patel and Deepesh Devendran, the overnight batters, were separated quickly in the morning when Henil fell, becoming Kasey Barton’s fourth wicket of the innings. But Devendran added 22 to his overnight 6 to take India to 171. For Australia, Charles Lachmund, Will Byrom and Julian Osbourne picked up two wickets apiece to go with Barton’s four.Alex Lee Young was the best batter across the two teams•Getty Images

Australia batted again, and were 9 for 3 inside seven overs, Henil picking up two of the wickets to fall and Udhav Mohan one. It never really got better for Australia, the 32-run stand for the sixth wicket between Jayden Draper (15) and Young (again the top-scorer with 38) their best as they lasted just 40.1 overs. Henil and Naman Pushpak picked up three wickets each, while Mohan got two as only four Australians got into double-digits.The chase to the finish wasn’t a big one, but with conditions giving the bowlers confidence, there was still a job to do. Vaibhav Suryavanshi couldn’t, falling for a first-ball duck to Lachmund in the first over. Ayush Mhatre, the captain, also didn’t last long, bowled by Barton for 13 off just six balls, including three boundaries. But Vihaan Malhotra and Vedant Trivedi, who have both had such a good series across formats on the tour, stitched together a 39-run stand in just over six overs, scoring quickly and not allowing the bowlers to get any kind of grip on the game.Malhotra fell to Barton with India still 29 away from victory, having scored a-run-a-ball 21 with five fours, but Trivedi (33 not out in 35 balls) and Rahul Kumar (13 not out in 14) took India home in just 12.2 overs, and to a 2-0 series sweep after India had swept the preceding one-day series 3-0 too.While Barton was the most impressive of the Australian bowlers, picking up six wickets with his right-arm medium, for India, quick bowlers Henil (six wickets) and Mohan (four) were on target, as were spinners Khilan Patel, the left-arm orthodox, and Pushpak, the legspinner, who picked up seven wickets between them and had a three-for apiece.

Marnus Labuschagne says he would have no issue opening for Australia in the Ashes, confident he is now much clearer in his own game than in recent summers.Labuschagne was denied another chance to bat in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield match with New South Wales on Friday, with the match ending in an early draw.Related

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• Smith proud of Labuschagne's 'pretty big statement'

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After rain washed out the opening day, Jack Clayton’s 113 ensured Queensland would not have to follow on.Sam Konstas was then more patient with the bat, before attacking later in the innings and being caught charging Sam Skelly on 41, before a draw was called soon after.Konstas won’t be there come the first Test in Perth next month, with the 20-year-old almost certain to be given time in the Sheffield Shield to find his game.Labuschagne is favourite to take Konstas’s spot at the top, in a move that would allow allrounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster to both stay in the team.Labuschagne has said throughout this summer his preferred position is No.3, while insisting he would be willing to open to get back into the team. He has done so just twice at Test level, out for 17 and 22 in this year’s World Test Championship final against South Africa before being dropped from the side.But on Friday he declared he would more than welcome the challenge to open in Perth in three weeks’ time.”I’d say ‘great’,” Labuschagne responded when quizzed on what he would say if asked to open. “It honestly doesn’t concern me, I just want to be playing cricket at my best.Sam Konstas whips through the on side•Getty Images

“This year I’ve been in in the first few overs a few times. You’re used to it batting No. 3, and I’ve batted there probably 95 per cent of my career in both formats.”So I’m very used to being in early. If I have to open, great. If I bat three, great. Wherever there’s a spot for me I’ll take it and we’ll go from there.”Forced to watch on from the sidelines in the Caribbean last winter, Labuschagne has since adopted a less-is-more approach to his batting. The renowned cricket nuffie no longer bats in the nets on match days, admitting he was getting in his own head and thinking too much about his technique.Small changes have been made to his grip and stance, while he has also put pressure back on the bowlers in his four centuries for Queensland to start the summer.”Mentally I’m a lot clearer on my game and not getting too much deep thought into certain dismissals or methods,” Labuschagne said. “It’s not the actual training in the nets, I absolutely love that, I can do that all day.”But at times I feel like my technique gets in a space where I go home and I’m like ‘maybe I want to do this or maybe I want to go and try that’. Now I’m trying to stay out of my own way really and go out there and trust my skills when I get to the middle.”

IPL mini auctions have had record paydays for overseas players in the past, and Cameron Green could take that trend forward come December 16.Green has been tipped to become the most expensive buy at the upcoming IPL auction because both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who have the highest purses (INR 64.3 crore and INR 43.4 crore respectively), are expected to put in strong bids for the allrounder.In 2023, Mitchell Starc was bought by KKR for INR 24.75 crore, minutes after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) acquired Pat Cummins for 20.5 crore, making him the first player to breach the INR 20-crore mark at an IPL auction. Those overshadowed the INR 18.5 crore Punjab Kings (PBKS) had bid for Sam Curran in the previous mini auction in 2023.Related

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At the 2023 auction, Green became the second-most expensive buy when Mumbai Indians (MI) had bought him at INR 17.5 crore. MI went on to trade Green to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) a year later for the same price. In his two IPL seasons so far, in 2023 and 2024, Green has played 29 matches, scoring 707 runs at a strike rate of 153.70.He has listed himself at the maximum base price of INR 2 crore for the latest auction.While he could become a millionaire again, it won’t cross INR 20 crore, since the maximum fee cannot exceed INR 18 crore. This will apply even if the bid is higher than that number.That is because of the new “maximum fee” rule that the IPL brought in last year to address the collective concern of franchises that some overseas players were registering exclusively at mini auctions to exploit the supply-demand imbalance. Consequently, the IPL put in the maximum-fee rule where the overseas player cannot be paid more than INR 18 crore, which was the highest slab for franchises retaining players ahead of the 2025 mega auction.Cameron Green winds up for a big hit•BCCI

If the bid exceeded the INR 18-crore mark, the additional money, the IPL said, would be utilised by the BCCI for player welfare. In a note to franchises last year, the IPL said: “Any overseas player’s auction fee at small auction will be lower than the highest retention price [of INR 18 crore] and the highest auction price at the big auction. In case the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 20 crore, then INR 18 crore will be the cap. If the highest auction price at big auction is INR 16 crore, then the cap will be INR 16 crore.”The rule in place going forward is that the auction for the player will continue as normal till the player is sold, and the final auction amount will be charged to the auction purse. “The incremental amount over INR 16 or 18 crore, as the case may be, will be deposited with BCCI. The incremental amount deposited with BCCI will be utilised towards players’ welfare.”The maximum-fee rule, though, will not be applicable to Indian players, who will get the actual bid money, which will be deducted from franchise purse.A total of 77 slots are available to be filled at the auction including 31 for overseas players. There are 16 capped Indian players in the longlist, which will be pruned once franchises submit their final wishlist to the IPL by December 5.