On Thursday, Australia legend Adam Gilchrist said he wants the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allow the Indian cricketers to take part in T20 leagues outside the country. The BCCI, presently, does not allow Indian men players to participate in overseas T20 leagues like Australia's Big Bash League to maintain the exclusivity of IPL.

Also Read: KFC T20 Max: IPL Stars Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary set to play

"It will be wonderful (if the Indian players are allowed to play in overseas T20 leagues), I personally feel that it won't diminish the IPL, it will only grow them as a brand. If they (Indian players) can play in Australia or South Africa."

Adam Gilchrist told the reporters

"But the challenge is we are all playing our domestic seasons at the same time, so that is a hard thing, isn't it?" he added.

Gilchrist's suggestion came after a day he questioned the growing dominance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in world cricket. However, the three-time World Cup winner maintained he was not against the most world's most popular T20 league.

"I'm not criticizing the IPL, but why won't Indian players come and play in the Big Bash League? I've never had an open and honest answer: Why are some leagues accessing every player in the world? No Indian player plays in any other T20 league. I am not saying in a provocative sense but is that a fair question?" Gilchrist asked.

"I really want to highlight (that the) six seasons (I played in the IPL) I loved it. It was a great experience. It is the premier T20 competition in the world, but it is important to allow other boards and countries to prosper as well," he added.

"Need to be patient with Rishabh Pant": Adam Gilchrist

Read Also: Rishabh Pant: Highest Score by Visiting Wk batsman on England Soil

Gilchrist once again praised India's star wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and urged the Indian board to be patient with him when things go awry.

"He (Pant) is one of the most exciting cricketers to watch, I think he just lights up a stage and makes an electric atmosphere when he is playing, that is wonderful."

Gilchrist said

"The BCCI, the management, and the selectors will just need to be patient with him. A few innings if he doesn't score they shouldn't be too harsh on him, because you don't want to suppress the natural flair," he added.

After the Champions Trophy 2025, India's target in ODI cricket will be the ODI World Cup 2027. In such a situation, know what is Team India's ODI schedule till the World Cup 2027. The Men in Blue have to play a total of 9 series in the next ICC ODI tournament, which includes 27 matches.

Apart from this, some more ODI matches can be scheduled near the tournament. So, know what is the ODI schedule of Indian Cricket Team till 2027 and when India will face which team.

Also Read: The Kohli Effect: Will Indian fans lose interest in Test cricket after Virat Kohli's retirement?

The ODI World Cup2027 will be held around October to December. Before this, the Indian team is going to play a lot of matches. India have to play 3-match ODI series against 8 teams. They will play series twice against one country.

India will play New Zealand twice

India will play Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka once each in the upcoming ODI series, while it will play New Zealand twice. Out of the nine series, India will play six series at home, while the rest will be held outside the country.

It will start with the tour of Bangladesh in August, which will be played this year. In October-November 2025, India has to play a three-match ODI series on its tour of Australia. South Africa's team will tour India in November-December.

India will host Sri Lankan team in December 2026

In January 2026, the New Zealand team will play an ODI series in India. After this, India has to play a three-match series against Afghanistan in June. In July 2026, Team India will have to play the same number of ODI series on its tour of England.

The West Indies team is scheduled to tour India in September-October. There will be an ODI series against New Zealand at home in October-November. India will host the Sri Lankan team for an ODI series in December 2026.

Also Read: Fav four in Test cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith stats in Tests

India's ODI schedule till World Cup 2027

Due to the increasing conflict between India and Pakistan, BCCI has postponed the IPL 2025 for a week. BCCI gave this information on Friday. The board said that it has taken this decision keeping in mind the concerns of the players and the sentiments of the fans. The new schedule of IPL will be released depending on the situation.

At the same time, according to media reports, all foreign players have been asked to return to their country. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia and South Africa Cricket Board have expressed concern over their players. There are still 12 league matches and 4 playoff matches left in IPL 2025. The final of the tournament was to be held on 25 May.

Also Read: India-Pakistan War: How Indian athletes reacted to it

It is believed that India's tour of Bangladesh in August will be cancelled. The Asia Cup to be held in September will also be postponed. The remaining matches of IPL can be held in India in their place.

It is difficult for BCCI to bring back foreign players

The biggest challenge for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in resuming the IPL in May is to bring back foreign players. As soon as the IPL was announced to be postponed for a week, most of the foreign players returned to their respective countries. The remaining players will leave India by Saturday.

It will be interesting to see how BCCI brings back the foreign players and restarts the tournament. Because without them, it will be difficult to organize matches.

Players will start playing for the country

If the IPL resumes at the end of May, most of the foreign players will be able to return. The teams believe so. If these matches are played after May 25, it will be difficult for the players to return. The biggest reason for this is that many players will be playing for their national team then.

The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) is also scheduled to be held between the Australia and the South Africa at Lord's from June 11.

Starting the tournament is not easy

BCCI has kept all three grounds ready. Despite this, officials believe that it will not be easy to restart this competition now. All the teams were informed about this on Friday without any formal announcement. People from many teams are saying that all the remaining matches can be held at the end of the year.

Punjab-Delhi match had to be canceled midway

On the night of 8 May at around 8.30 pm, Pakistan attacked the borders of Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan of India with missiles and drones. During this time, a match was being played between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. It had to be stopped midway.

Gujarat on top, 3 teams out of the playoffs race

By the time IPL 2025 was halted midway, 57 matches of the league stage had been completed. The 58th match was halted midway. After 57 matches, Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore had the highest points in the points table with 16-16 points.

GT remained on top due to better run rate. Punjab was third, Mumbai fourth and Delhi fifth. Whereas Chennai, Rajasthan and Hyderabad teams were out of the playoff race.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Is Rohit the greatest test opener since Virender Sehwag?

Gujarat-Bengaluru have 3-3 matches left

When the tournament was stopped, 4 teams had 2-2 matches left. Whereas 6 teams including Gujarat and Bangalore had not played 3-3 matches. A match was to be played between Lucknow and Bangalore in Lucknow on Friday, but the tournament was stopped before that.

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday. 38-year-old Rohit had already retired from T20I cricket. For now, he will continue to play for India in the ODI format and he is also the captain of Team India in this format. After this announcement by Rohit, his 11-year long Test cricket career also came to an end.

Rohit Sharma had a very good Test cricket career and he played for India in this format from number one to number six. However, he was very successful as an opener in Test cricket. 

Also Read: Rohit Sharma stats in tests

Let's take a look at Rohit Sharma stats in Tests as an opener.

Rohit scored most centuries as an opener

Rohit scored 4301 runs in 67 Test matches played in his career at an average of 40.57 with 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries, but he scored the most centuries as an opener.

Rohit was elevated to that role for the first time in October 2019, and since then, no other opener has scored as many tons. Overall, only four batters have scored more Test tons than Rohit in this period.

Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Most sixes for India

Rohit has hit a total of 88 sixes in his Test cricket career and is second on the list of batsmen who have hit the most sixes for India in the longer format of cricket. If he had hit 3 more sixes in the Test, he would have become the batsman who has hit the most sixes in Tests for India. The record for hitting the most sixes in Tests for India is held by Virender Sehwag who hit a total of 90 sixes.

Rohit Sharma stats in Tests: Most centuries for India in won Test matches

Rohit Sharma is at number 5 in the list of batsmen who have scored the most centuries in Test matches won by India. He has scored a total of 12 centuries in Test matches won by India. Sachin Tendulkar is at the top of this list with 20 centuries.

• 20 - Sachin Tendulkar 
• 15 - Rahul Dravid 
• 14 - Virat Kohli
• 13 - Cheteshwar Pujara 
• 12 - Rohit Sharma

Also Read: Rohit Sharma in ICC tournaments for India

Rohit Sharma stats in Tests as an opener

As an opener in Test cricket, Rohit scored a total of 2697 runs in 66 innings for India. During this period, his average was 42.81 while in these 66 innings, he also scored 9 centuries and 8 half-centuries. His best score as an opener in Tests was 212 runs.

After a promising start, Lucknow Super Giants' 2025 IPL campaign started to sink, leaving slim chances for playoff qualification.

Find out what went wrong and everyone's answer to the ultimate question: Can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?

LSG in IPL 2025 so far

LSG won 5 matches out of 11 played so far, with a poor net run rate of -0.469 and 10 points. They had a decent start to the tournament with players like Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi stepping out for the team. 

They struggled to build momentum later on in the tournament, which led them to just 1 victory in their last 5 matches.

Read Also: IPL Facts: Lowest Total Defended in IPL

Performance breakdown:

• Position: 7th position in points table
• Matches played: 11 matches 
• Wins: 5 matches
• Losses: 6 matches
• Points: 10 points
• Net Run Rate (NRR): -0.469, which is the worst among the top seven teams

What exactly went wrong?

The following factors significantly disrupted LSG's gameplay, which resulted in their miserable position for the playoffs:

• Rishabh Pant's poor form: Captain Rishabh Pant is having a disappointing season with the bat, which has practically crushed the team's backbone. He managed to score only 128 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate below 100.
• Inconsistent top-order: The opening pair, despite having good individual performances, haven't consistently fired together.
• Middle-order Reliance: Players like Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad have shown brilliance in some matches, but they weren't enough to carry the team forward after their regular collapse of top order.
• Bowling Inconsistencies: LSG's bowling attack has failed with their execution in matches, and was seen struggling to contain the batters in the death overs.
• Poor Fielding: They dropped catches at crucial times in the game, which cost them heavily. Additionally, the players could have saved more runs with more on-field efforts.

Read Also: Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 so far

Playoff scenario and hopes for a miraculous comeback 

LSG currently has a huge burden of net run rate, which can have a damaging impact even if they win their 3 remaining matches in IPL 2025. They can reach a maximum of 16 points to end the group stage.

In IPL, ending with 16 points would promise a place in the top 4, but the scenario for LSG is different this year. Additionally, they will also need other factors to be in their favour.

Factors and mathematical possibilities

The chances are slim, but here's what they need to consider for qualification:

1. Last 3 hurdles: They have 3 remaining matches to play with RCB (9th May), GT (14th May), and SRH (18th May).
2. Wins required: LSG must win all three matches with huge margins to make their NRR better.
3. Reliance on other teams: They will need to depend on other teams to lose which will be beneficial for them in case of tie-breakers of same points. The team having a better NRR will eventually qualify.
4. Elimination Scenario: LSG will be eliminated from IPL 2025 playoff contention if they lose a single match. They will also lose their chances of being in the top-4 if rain washes away any of their matches.

Fans had high expectations from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain and the most expensive player of this season, Rishabh Pant, in the IPL 2025. Pant, who was bought for Rs 27 crore, was expected to tear apart the opposition bowlers with his aggressive batting, but his performance so far has been extremely disappointing.

Let's take a look at the performance of Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 so far.

Also Read: Expensive flops? Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer's IPL 2025 disappointments

Worst strike rate by anyone

More than half of the season has passed in IPL 2025 and Rishabh Pant's bat has remained completely silent. He has scored only 128 runs in 10 innings of 11 matches played so far, out of which 63 runs have come in a single innings. His batting average is only 12.80 and strike rate is also limited to 99.22. Which is the worst among players who played at least 10 innings.

Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 (Previous 10 Innings)

• vs PBKS: 18 runs (17 balls)
• vs MI: 4 runs (2 balls)
• vs DC: 0 runs (2 balls)
• vs RR: 3 runs (9 balls)
• vs CSK: 63 runs (49 balls)
• vs GT: 21 runs (18 balls)
• vs KKR: 0 runs (0 balls)
• vs MI: 2 runs (6 balls)
• vs PBKS: 2 runs (5 balls)
• vs SRH: 15 runs (15 balls)

LSG under Rishabh Pant's captaincy

The performance of Rishabh Pant in IPL 2025 as captain has also not been up to expectations. Lucknow Super Giants have won only 5 out of 11 matches, and their net run rate is -0.469. The team is at the seventh position in the IPL 2025 points table with 10 points. The hopes of playoffs seem almost over.

LSG have lost 4 of their last 5 matches, and the one match they won was also by just 2 runs against Rajasthan Royals. In such a situation, the team's confidence seems to be continuously declining. A minimum of 16 points will be required to make it to the playoffs in IPL 2025. However, looking at the current situation, it seems that even 16 points will not be enough for the fourth position, and the net run rate (NRR) can play a decisive role.

Also Read: IPL Table toppers: IPL Playoffs teams from 2008 to 2024

If LSG wants to stay in the playoff race, they will have to win all three of their remaining matches, that too by a big margin, so that their net run rate can improve. Lucknow will play its last three matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 9, Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 14 and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 18.