New Delhi, March 14: Ahead of marking his return for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, young Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly said he realised why Mohammed Shami is a world-class pacer when he was dismissed by him in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai.

Connolly was slotted into the team as an opener in place of injured Matt Short, as he was worked over by Shami’s mastery and eventually nicked off him for a nine-ball duck. In the bowling innings, after dropping Rohit Sharma at backward point, Connolly redeemed himself when he trapped the Indian skipper lbw and got his maiden wicket in international cricket.

“As a kid, you always want to represent your country, and to walk out there in a semi-final was an unbelievable experience, and I’ll take a lot of learnings from it. Shami is a world class player for a reason. He’s played a lot of cricket.

“In the end, it was a great game of cricket and I think we took a lot of learnings as a group from that. It’s the game of cricket. You’re going to miss out, you’re going to drop a catch – you’ve got to get on with what’s in front of you.

“That (drop off Rohit) was completely out of my mind by the time I was bowling, I was just trying to compete as much as I could and hopefully get a breakthrough for the team,” Connolly was quoted as saying by ICC on Friday.

Before being called up for the Champions Trophy, Connolly also made his Test debut for Australia on the tour of Sri Lanka, a moment he said will be forever etched in his memory. “Getting my Baggy Green and then to play a game in the Champions Trophy, it was a dream come true … hopefully there’s plenty more to come. I felt like it wasn’t really a surprise. I felt like if I was going to play, I’d earned my opportunity.”

Connolly signed off by saying he wishes to play more games for Australia in international cricket. “I guess it’s just about concentrating on what’s in front of me at the moment, not looking too far ahead, and just trying to enjoy playing cricket and hopefully put some scores on the board. Hopefully work on my bowling a bit and get an opportunity again. Obviously getting a little taste of it makes you want it more.”

New Delhi, March 13: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Ishan Kishan has the biggest opportunity to revive his career in the upcoming IPL 2025 after being picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the mega auction.

Chopra expressed his surprise at how Kishan has completely disappeared from the national selectors’ radar, despite his proven ability with the bat.

“For whatever reason, he has completely disappeared from the radar. It seems like no one is talking about him or understanding his importance. He even played in the Ranji Trophy and scored runs there, he is doing everything, but no one is even talking about him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Kishan, who was released by Mumbai Indians (MI), was bought by SRH for Rs 11.25 crore in the IPL auction last November. However, SRH already has a strong opening combination in Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, who were among the most explosive openers last season. This means Kishan could be slotted into the No. 3 position, a role he has played occasionally but is not his natural position.

Despite scoring a record-breaking ODI double century (210 off 131 balls) against Bangladesh in December 2022, Kishan was dropped from the playing XI, with Shubman Gill preferred as the opener. Since then, he has struggled to find a place in the squad across all formats.

In the wicketkeeper-batter category, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Sanju Samson have been preferred over him in international cricket. Kishan also lost his BCCI central contract last year.

“You can come in reckoning once again. A keeper-batter who can open or bat in the top order, that is beautiful. Gautam (Gambhir) is anyway saying that they are all bogeys in a train; everyone has to go to the same destination, and it doesn’t make a difference whether a bogey is in front or at the back. That basically means batting order does not exist in Indian cricket anymore,” Chopra elaborated.

New Delhi, March 13: Australia’s T20I captain Mitchell Marsh has been cleared to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season for his new team, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), as a batter-only. Despite missing the Champions Trophy due to a back injury, he is set to travel early next week.

Marsh was ruled out of the ODI tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy on January 31 due to “lower back pain and dysfunction”, ending his domestic season. The issue, linked to a disc problem he had managed since Australia’s limited-overs tour of the UK in September 2024, saw him undergo rest and specialist treatment in early February.

Having returned to batting in recent weeks, Marsh has now been cleared for the IPL, where he is expected to be an impact player at the top of the order for LSG. He was signed for Rs 3.40 crore at IPL auction last November and will join the squad on March 18, reuniting with former Australia coach Justin Langer, who is in his second season as LSG’s head coach.

Marsh has not played since January 7, when he featured in a BBL match for the Perth Scorchers before sitting out the rest of the season. His last white-ball games came during Australia’s T20I and ODI tour of the UK in September.

Over the past three IPL seasons, he played for Delhi Capitals but struggled with injuries, including a hamstring issue last year that sidelined him after just four matches. He has previously represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants, Pune Warriors, and Deccan Chargers.

Meanwhile, Marsh’s Australia teammates Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood – who also missed the Champions Trophy due to injuries – are expected to be fit for the IPL.

Cummins, who experienced an ankle flare-up after the Border-Gavaskar series, is set to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad again. Starc, who suffered an ankle niggle during the Sri Lanka Test series, will join Delhi Capitals this season after being bought for Rs 11.75 crore at the auction. Hazlewood, who attracted the highest price of any Australian at Rs 13.50 crore, will play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru after missing last season due to side and calf injuries.

All of Australia’s other IPL-bound players have prioritised the tournament over the Sheffield Shield, despite five states still vying for a spot in the final. Unlike last year, when Matthew Wade chose to play for Tasmania in the Shield final and missed the start of Gujarat Titans’ IPL campaign, South Australian players Travis Head (Sunrisers), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Capitals), and Spencer Johnson (KKR) will head to India despite SA already qualifying for the Shield final, which begins on March 26.

Additionally, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie will join Punjab Kings under head coach Ricky Ponting, skipping the final Shield round and the potential final for their respective states.