Shubman Gill to be unveiled as new red-ball captain?  This month marked a turning point in Test cricket for India, as we saw two of the nation’s greatest players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, call time on their careers in the longest format of the game. Sharma’s departure has left the Indian selection committee with a massive task in selecting a skipper to take them through the next World Test Championship cycle. India missed out on the WTC final this year, with South Africa and Australia set to do battle between June 11 and 15 at Lord’s, which we will be covering in our upcoming cricket predictions.  As it stands, Shubman Gill is widely considered the frontrunner to be handed the role of Test captain for the foreseeable future, while Rishabh Pant is expected to serve as his deputy. The BCCI will confirm their decision during their squad announcement for the England tour on May 24. Speaking of selection, let’s explore who is likely to feature in England next month… With Sharma and Kohli now gone, the Indian top-order will need experience to handle English conditions, which will likely pave the way for KL Rahul to retain his spot in the opening partnership alongside promising youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal.  Sai Sudhasan is currently having an incredible IPL campaign and deserves a spot in the top half, while the middle order will likely feature Pant and stalwart Ravindra Jadeja, as well as Axar Patel, who is expected to be the team’s specialist spinner with Ravichandran Ashwin now retired.  Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling attack for the Men in Blue, but his recent injury issues and enforced workload management will necessitate the selectors bringing in cover, which could leave the door open for Prasidh Krishna, who currently holds the Purple Cap in the 2025 IPL.  Who could miss out on selection?  The big question for the upcoming Test series is if Mohammed Shami will be risked. The 34-year-old has played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this season, but has not played a Test match since the 2023 WTC final against Australia, and there are concerns over whether he will be able to see out five-day matches in a five-match series.  Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran were unused squad players at the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year, but neither has done much since then and may suffer the axe, potentially for Karun Nair and/or Rajat Patidar.  Another player on the fringes is Devdutt Padikkal, who is having an excellent season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but he is likely to be direct competition for Sudharsan, and it just feels unlikely that the latter will be omitted given his recent form.  Harshit Rana has been a regular feature in the red-ball format in recent times and will almost certainly make the cut again, which means that the likes of Washington Sundar and Shreyas Iyer could be the ones forced to make way.  More cricket news 

Gillespie and PCB financial dispute After mentoring the Pakistan national team following the departure of Gary Kirsten last year, Jason Gillespie was appointed as the head coach of the Shaheens on a two-year contract in April, which would have seen him oversee the team through the recently completed 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.  However, the former Australian fast bowler cut his tenure short in December, just eight months into the role, citing differences with the board. It is understood that the breakdown began after his coaching assistant and fellow Aussie, Tim Nielsen, was told that his contract would not be renewed.  The 50-year-old later claimed on a popular YouTube channel that the PCB still owed him wages from his time with the national team. He said:  « Look, without going into the details, I am obviously waiting for the remuneration for the work that has been done. Navigating through that in due course. Admittedly, that’s been a little bit disappointing, but look, hopefully that could get sorted sooner rather than later. We will have to wait and see and go through the process. We will see how it goes. » Further reports suggested that Gillespie had also said he was provided with written assurances from the PCB regarding outstanding remuneration, which had not materialised. He resigned from his head coach role the following day, going on record saying that PCB “completely and utterly blindsided me!” Gillespie had also spent time as the bowling coach of the IPL franchise PBKS, who are in action later today, and you can check out our Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals prediction right here on Sportytrader.  PCB push back against unpaid wage claims  In response to Gillespie’s legal claims, the Pakistan Cricket Board hit back swiftly, denying all allegations made by their former head coach in an official statement that read:  “The Pakistan Cricket Board refutes claims made by a former head coach on the non-payment of his dues. The PCB spokesman states that the former head coach abruptly left his position without giving a four-month notice period, which was a clear breach of the contractual terms. The coaching contract explicitly mentioned a notice period applicable to both parties, and the coach was fully aware of it.” At the time of writing, it is understood that the PCB is awaiting a response from Gillespie’s representatives. It is still unclear if the Board is seeking compensation from the former Baggy Green for vacating his role without serving the agreed notice period.  The Green shirts will be back in action on May 28 in the first of a three-match T20I series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore against Bangladesh. Check out our cricket predictions 

Increased fan violence threatens Nigerian football future The Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) have made giant strides forward to improve the quality of infrastructure, officiating, and the overall level of competition in recent years in an attempt to put Nigerian football on the continental and global maps.  The 2024-25 campaign was one of the most successful ever for Nigerian football, as the league produced a thrilling title race and saw Remo Stars claim their first-ever title, confirming our NPFL prediction for the season.  However, a concerning trend now threatens to negate all the progress made, and it does not stem from on-field issues, but rather in the stands, where a growing number of violent incidents among fans have cast a dark shadow over the future of football leagues in the country. This comes following a horrific incident earlier this month, when shortly after a match between Plateau United and Nasarawa United, Vincent Temitope sustained a blow to the back of his neck, which caused bleeding and required medical attention.  Nasarawa United denied that Temitope was stabbed by a knife or a dangerous weapon and suggested that eyewitnesses had seen him in a scuffle with a supporter, who scratched him with his fingernails. Still, this has warranted concern around player safety. A spokesperson for the NPFL said in a media interview after the incident:  « Desperation for victory, desperation for points, particularly for teams that want to finish amongst the top three, or teams that want to avoid a drop, is usually at the foundation of crowd violence. Fan violence at stadiums also festers because some clubs tacitly support the perpetrators.”  This is not the only incident that has warranted attention, though, as a week earlier, players of Ikorodu City had to be ushered from the ground by military services after holding their hosts, Shooting Stars, to a 1-1 draw in Ibadan.  Lower divisions plagued by disruptive crowds Similar incidents have also been reported in lower divisions, such as the Nigeria National League (NNL) and Nationwide League One (NLO), with several games being disrupted by crowd disturbance, pitch invasions and even attacks on match officials.  In a recent fixture between Godswill Akpabio FC and Rovers FC in Uyo, fans stormed the pitch and assaulted match officials, which led to the match being halted for 15 minutes to allow armed forces to clear the field and regain control of the situation. At the Danbatta Townsip Stadium, Barau FC supporters were caught hurling objects at the visiting team’s technical area, causing injuries to players and officials, which resulted in Barau FC being fined ₦2 million plus ₦150,000 in medical expenses, as well as the banning of home supporters for the foreseeable future.  A match between Green Beret FC and Standard FC descended into chaos earlier this season, with fans from both teams engaging in an all-out brawl, while Sky Limit FC were expelled from the 2025 NLO season after their players and officials chased a referee off the pitch.  Chairman of the FCT Football ...

Gambhir calls for complete stop to India-Pakistan matches April 22 marked the latest instalment in the ongoing feud between India and Pakistan, as an attack in Pahalagam, Kashmir, carried out by a terrorist group, The Resistance Front (TRF), resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mainly Indian tourists.  Two weeks later, India struck back with a military operation targeting nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, heightening the tensions to a boiling point between the two nations – one that forced the IPL and PSL to halt for over a week. However, both tournaments are back underway, and our cricket predictions will be available for the remainder of the competitions.  Despite both countries agreeing to a ceasefire and both T20 competitions resuming last weekend, the future of cricket between the nations is in serious doubt, and the Men in Blue’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is of the mind that India should sever all ties with the Green Shirts for future matches. Speaking to the media, Gambhir said:  “My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (terrorism) doesn’t stop, there should not be anything between India and Pakistan. Cricket matches, Bollywood movies, and artists are not more important than the people and jawans of the country.” India and Pakistan have not faced each other in a bilateral cricket series since as far back as January 2013, with their matches in recent times being limited only to global competitions, such as ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.  The most recent encounter between the rivals was marred by controversy at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year, where India refused to play their matches in the host nation, Pakistan, forcing the ICC to move their games to Dubai.  The ICC’s decision to allow the Men in Blue to play their Champions Trophy games at a neutral venue was not received well by the Pakistan Cricket Board, especially after the Shaheens toured India for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.  Gambhir went on to admit that his team would abide by whatever decision is taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the Indian government decide, saying, « Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicise it. » Asia Cup 2025 at risk of cancellation? India was given hosting rights for the upcoming Men’s Asia Cup in September this year, which will also feature Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Oman, while the Men in Blue are the defending champions.  Reports in recent weeks suggested that the BCCI had decided that India would neither host nor participate in the competition due to the escalating military and geopolitical tensions with Pakistan following the April 22 attacks.  However, the Board came forward on Monday to clarify the situation and reaffirm its commitment to the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) event, pouring cold water over growing anxiety among fans from all the nations involved in the competition. An official statement from the ...

Buttler, Jacks, Overton set to miss remainder of IPL The England cricket team is about to embark on a very busy summer schedule, which starts with a one-off Test against Zimbabwe on Thursday, before hosting the West Indies in a five-match ODI series and three T20Is between the end of this month and June 10.  With the Indian Premier League now set to run beyond the originally planned schedule, players from England, South Africa, Australia and the West Indies have been faced with a serious dilemma regarding whether to prioritise national commitments over the big-money IPL. South Africa are set to take on Australia in the World Test Championship final on June 11, while England’s upcoming series – all of which will be covered by our cricket predictions – is part of their preparation for India’s arrival next month and build-up to the Ashes later in the year.  This week, it was revealed that Jos Buttler will miss the remainder of the IPL for the Gujarat Titans to feature for England against the Windies, marking a significant blow for GT, who currently lead the league standings heading into the Playoffs. Will Jacks and Jamie Overton followed suit, opting out of the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings squads. MI are still in the running for a Playoff berth, while CSK are bottom of the log and out of contention to reach the knockout stages.  With the IPL relaxing their replacement rules owing to the league’s stoppage stemming from the tensions between India and Pakistan in recent weeks, Jonny Bairstow has been called up by Mumbai as an emergency replacement for Jacks for the rest of the competition.  Bairstow has not played for England in the last year and went unsold during the IPL mega auction last year. However, he does have 50 IPL appearances spanning five seasons, representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings under his belt.  SA-AUS players to rejoin IPL teams for Playoffs With South Africa and Australia’s blockbuster World Test Championship final clash set for June 11, there were several concerns that players from the Proteas and Baggy Greens may be forced to return to their homelands before the end of the IPL. However, it seems that those who make up teams that are headed for the Playoffs, such as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, are expected to remain in India until the end of the competition on June 3.  Among the South Africans who have rejoined their IPL franchises in recent days are Kagiso Rabada (GT) and Marco Jansen (PBKS), but the Mumbai Indians’ duo of Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch have stepped down and will be replaced by Richard Gleeson and Charith Asalanka, respectively.  As for the Aussies’ camp, Josh Hazlewood missed RCB’s last match due to a shoulder injury, but is expected to feature for the team in the Playoffs, while the trio of Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie will be available for Punjab during the knockout rounds.  Check out ...

Tait to oversee Tigers’ pace attack until 2027  Following the departure of Andre Adams, whose contract with Bangladesh came to an end by mutual agreement last month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board have now secured the services of former Australian speedster Shaun Tait as their new pace-bowling coach for the foreseeable future.  The 42-year-old put pen to paper on a contract that is believed to run until November 2027, a period during which he will be tasked with overseeing the team’s pace bowling unit through the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup, which we will be covering with our cricket predictions.  Tait is no stranger to Bangladeshi bowlers, having worked with the likes of Shoriful Islam and Khalid Ahmed while serving as the head coach of the Chittagong Kings, who finished as runners-up last season in the Bangladesh Premier League.  Additionally, the former Aussie paceman has also worked as a bowling coach with the Pakistan and Afghanistan national teams, the West Indian Test squad, and served stints in the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and English county cricket. Discussing his latest role, Tait said:  “It’s a good time to be involved with the Bangladesh cricket team right now, a bit of a new era if you like. It’s been spoken about many times recently—the young talent with the fast bowlers – which is great. This is international cricket, not a development team, and everyone expects the talent to bring results, which is very much my focus with the fast bowling group and most importantly, getting more wins for the team.” Tait will now join the Tigers’ backroom staff, which features the likes of former West Indian great Phil Simmons, as well as Andrew Puttick, Jason Douglas, Hamid Hassan and his former teammate Shane McDermott.  Tait’s record during his playing career During his playing days, Tait was known for his express pace and remains one of the fastest bowlers in history. His fastest delivery was clocked at a staggering 161.1 km/h (100.1 mph), which is the second fastest delivery on record behind Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 km/h ball against England.  The 42-year-old also holds the record for the fastest ball bowled in an Indian Premier League match, clocking a blistering 157.71 km/h (97.99 mph) while playing for the Rajasthan Royals against the Delhi Daredevils back in 2011. For Australia, the right-arm speedster played a total of 35 ODIs, six Test matches and 21 T20Is, picking up 62, 5 and 28 wickets, respectively, with best bowling figures of 4/39, which came in the 50-over format.  Tait’s first assignment for his new employers came on May 17 against the United Arab Emirates at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which served as preparation for the Tigers’ upcoming tour of Pakistan later this month.  Check out our IPL predictions

Why Marquez is considering stepping down as India’s head coach Manolo Marquez is believed to be considering stepping down as the head coach of the India national football team, less than a year into his tenure, having been handed the post in July 2024, while also serving as the head coach for FC Goa. The report dropped just a few days after Marquez led the Gaurs to victory in the Kalinga Super Cup, beating Jamshedpur FC and confirming our football prediction, to become only the second club to win the competition twice.  The 56-year-old has endured a tough start to life as the Blue Tigers’ boss since his appointment, with reports suggesting that he has expressed dissatisfaction with the international team, especially the lack of continuity in the squad.  Another reason cited for Marquez’s possible consideration to step down is that he is understood to be unsatisfied with the “state of affairs” at the All India Football Federation, albeit that the AIFF have denied any knowledge of his dissatisfaction.  Following India’s disappointing goalless draw against Bangladesh in their Asian Cup qualifying third-round match on March 25, Marquez was left evidently frustrated and made his thoughts known in his post-match press conference, saying:  « We need to improve a lot because I felt that the team was going forward in every FIFA window except the last. It’s true that for the game against Bangladesh, we lost very important starting players. But it’s not an excuse for our poor performance in that game.” With that result, the Blue Tigers’ head coach has now won only one of his first six matches at the helm, which was a 3-0 victory over the Maldives in March, while the remaining four games ended in three draws (Mauritius, Vietnam and Malaysia) and a loss (Syria).  As it stands, Marquez is expected to remain with the team for their upcoming friendly against Thailand on June 4 before their AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on June 10, and you can stay up to date with every minute of those matches using our football livescore tool.  Who could replace Marquez as India’s head coach? As mentioned, the AIFF has denied being made aware of Marquez’s dissatisfaction or plans to step down from his current role with the national team, as confirmed by their secretary general, M Satyanarayan, following the completion of the Super Cup.  Nevertheless, the federation will still need to find a suitable replacement if the 53-year-old tactician does indeed quit his role, and there is an understanding that Jamshedpur FC’s Khalid Jamil could be the manager handed the reins.  Jamil has been in the conversation to take charge of the India U-23 squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, following an excellent season with the Men of Steel, in which he led them back to the ISL Playoffs and the final of the Super Cup.  The 48-year-old was recently announced as the AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season at the ...

Maxwell ruled out for remainder of IPL  Having not reached the IPL Playoffs since 2014, Punjab Kings’ fans have a reason to cheer again this year, with their team guaranteed to be a part of the knockouts this season following a 10-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, a result that also confirmed our IPL predictions for the match.  PBKS have been very impressive this year, notching up 17 points from 12 games, with a record of eight wins, three losses and one no-result, while maintaining a decent net run rate of +0.389, which places them third in the standings.  Among the Kings’ stats leaders this season are Prabhsimaran Singh, who is the team’s top scorer with 458 runs in 12 matches, which sees him sitting eighth in the Orange Cap standings, while Arshdeep Singh has been the chief contributor with the ball, claiming 16 scalps with a best of 3/16.  However, Punjab were dealt a fairly significant blow just before the league was halted a little over a week ago, with Glenn Maxwell sustaining a fractured finger, which has forced him to miss the remainder of the competition.  The Aussie all-rounder has had a season to forget, though, scoring a mere 48 runs in seven matches with a highest score of 30, while producing a strike rate of 97.96 – well below his 155.15 all-time IPL strike rate.  Maxwell, along with a few other foreign players in the competition, such as Liam Livingstone, has come under major scrutiny this season, with several former IPL greats, including Virender Sehwag, questioning their level of commitment to the tournament due to their poor performances.  Owen aiming to bounce back from IPL debut disappointment Mitchell Owen stepped out at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium against the Royals in his IPL debut on Sunday, May 18, but his special day ended in disappointment, having been dismissed for a two-ball duck by left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka.  However, the 23-year-old batsman will be backed to make up for it in the latter stages of the competition, given his incredible rise over the last few years, especially his performances for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. He etched his name in BBL history in the most recent edition by posting the fastest century in the history of the tournament, doing so in just 39 balls and going on to finish on 108 off 42 deliveries in the final against the Sydney Thunder.  Owen ended the BBL as the leading scorer, and his stunning knock led the Thunder to the title, while he has also turned out for the Paarl Royals in the SA20 2025 and represented Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.   Check out our cricket predictions