India paused its domestic cricket league due to rising safety concerns linked to tensions with Pakistan. As a result, many foreign players, including stars like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, left the country. The league resumes on May 17, but this overlaps with other commitments for Australian players.

Australian players now face a tough choice: return to India for league play or represent their country in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against South Africa. Cricket Australia (CA) has expressed support for whatever decision players make, leaving the choice up to each individual. 

Aussie cricketers confirmed returning to India

Pat Cummins and Travis Head chose to play Hyderabad’s remaining matches in India. Since their team is already out of the playoff race, these will be their only games before returning to join Australia’s WTC squad. 

On the other hand, Josh Hazlewood also confirmed that he will return to play for his team in India. He had been sidelined with an injury, and many expected him to skip the league and focus on the WTC instead. However, he chose to return and play for Bengaluru, but with intentions to also commit to the Australian WTC squad. 

Aussie players who are uncertain to return to India

Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie are likely to be available, but haven’t confirmed their plans. Since neither was selected for the WTC squad, they are more likely to return to India. Cricket Australia continues to support players�choices, giving them the option to return home due to safety concerns.

Aussie players who won’t be in India to finish the league

Jake Fraser-McGurk will not return to the remaining matches of the 2025 Indian cricket league. Mustafizur Rahman, the left-arm fast-bowler from Bangladesh, will fill in for the Australian player’s absence. Unlike the other players, he cited ‘personal reasonsâ€?for deciding to skip the rescheduled league and has decided to keep it private. 

Mitchell Starc has also declared skipping the rest of India’s cricket league. Reasons he cited include his commitment to the WTC and concerns about his safety in the country. He will be dedicating his following day's training to Team Australia moving forward. 

Cricket Australia supports players�individual decisions

CA went through different stances. Originally, they wanted Australian players to prioritise the WTC, given that the Indian league group stage is ending just 8 days before their match with South Africa. This changed to giving individual players freedom to choose concerning playersâ€?commitment and their partnership with India. 

Aussie cricketer dilemma: WTC, India, and safety

The Indian domestic T20 league, the international WTC final, or personal safety? That’s the question running through many Australian playersâ€?minds. Players like Cummins, Starc, Head, and Hazlewood have all three to juggle, while others only have to fear for their safety. Eventually, they made their decision, and CA decided to respect it. 

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Indian cricket is always a big contender for any cricket format, but their Test form has been shaky as of late. Captain Rohit Sharma is often the player discussed in the results as he is the leader who the team will look for.

Rohit’s leadership has come under fire due to the team’s struggles. Of course, he is still a successful captain for the club and country, headlined by the most recent win in the Champions Trophy. Get to know why he deserves to remain as captain and the potential success he can give to the team. 

Sharma is the inclusive captain they need

As one of the most respected players in India’s cricket system, Sharma has a big place as a leader. Thankfully, he has done well to incorporate players into the system since some have not received valid chances to stand out as part of the team. 

Rohit is smart since he knows that India is always producing talented cricketers. With that pipeline, a captain like Sharma does not want to waste any time, so he looks at these young players and gives them the chance to display their talent. That is huge for Indian cricket as it opens the door for some players to improve and motivates them to become the best version of themselves. 

Punjab star player Shashank Singh has talked about what he sees in Sharma that makes him a good leader to follow.

He said, ‘Everyone says that he backs his players to the hilt; gives them plenty of chances. He is a very smart captain. His one-liners on the field are also quite funny. If you ask me one captain I would want to play under, it will be Rohit Sharma�

Sharma is already experienced as a leader

India has high standards for a captain. Since he is still active as a player, Sharma deserves to be seen as the leader who can propel them to success. He has already done so multiple times, and Sharma is a natural captain that everyone respects.

Though there have been some setbacks amidst his triumphs, the ceiling is always limitless with Rohit as the captain. There are more ways to improve the team than replacing the captain, especially in the Test format. It would be good to have Sharma as the captain as he is always open to suggestions and will work on the mistakes they have made.

Expectations are high, but Sharma consistently rises to meet them. Indian cricket has a high standard, so playing at a high level under a good captain should be a priority.

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Indian cricket star and legend Padmakar Shivalkar died at the age of 84 on Monday, March 3, 2025. He is known for his exploits in the Ranji Trophy as Bombay’s star player and as India’s finest left-arm spinner the country has produced. 

In his professional career, he bagged a total of 589 wickets in 124 first-class matches, of which 361 of those were settled in the Ranji Trophy competitions. He had an average of 19.69 wickets when he was still active. 

Sunil Gavaskar, a former teammate, expressed his grief at the loss of a friend.

‘This is very sad news indeed. Within a short time, Mumbai cricket has lost two of its stalwarts, Milind and now Padmakar, who were the architects of many a victory,â€?he stated in an interview. 

‘One of my regrets as India captain is not being able to convince the national selectors to include ‘Paddyâ€?in the Test team. He deserved the India cap far more than some others who got it. That’s fate,â€?he also added. 

The Mumbai Cricket Association has also expressed their thoughts in an X (formerly Twitter) post on their official profile, sending condolences to the star’s family that was left behind. 

Shivalkar’s career: From start to finish

Ever since he was a young kid, Padmakar has shown a love for the sport and has participated in a lot of local cricket circuits in Mumbai. He was spotted and honed by Vinoo Mankad and trained at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana. His first debut as a professional cricket player was back in April 1962 when he was picked in the Cricket Club of India President's XI which would compete against an International XI that was on a world tour.

In that game, he competed against players such as Bob Simpson, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, Everton Weekes, Richie Benaud, and Sonny Ramadhin. Shivalkar took a 5 for 129 and a 2 for 44 in a game that ended in a draw. This debut game proved that Shivalkar is on a worldwide level of skill. He then became a member of the Bombay cricket team. 

In his professional cricket career, Shivalkar was featured in 10 Bombay victories in the Ranji Trophy. They took the campaigns from seasons 1965-66 to 1976-77. Eventually, they lost the streak, but once the team got back on its feet and reclaimed the title in 1980-81, he was part of the winning team. 

For his final game, he made a comeback in the 1987â€?8 Ranji Trophy season. Being in his late 40s, he still made significant plays. His age then caught up to him, and he then retired from playing professionally. 

After retiring, Shivalkar lived peacefully with his wife and two kids. 

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