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.

Jaipur, March 12: Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid will join the team’s preparatory camp in Jaipur on Wednesday, a week after suffering an injury on his left leg during a club match in Bengaluru. The IPL franchise shared a photo on social media on Wednesday, in which Dravid is seen wearing a cast on his left leg, and captioned the post, “Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who picked up an injury while playing Cricket in Bangalore, is recovering well and will join us today in Jaipur.”

The former Royals’ captain spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015. He began his coaching career with the Royals back in 2014 when he transitioned from serving as the captain to being the team’s mentor. Former India head coach Dravid made a surprise return to the cricket field by playing alongside his younger son Anvay in a KSCA Group I, Division III league match in the Nassur Memorial Shield on February 22.

Rahul Dravid and his son Anvay represented the Vijaya Cricket Club (Malur) in a 50-over match against the Young Lions Club at the SLS Kreedangana cricket ground in Bengaluru.

The Indian cricket legend came into bat at No. 6 and made an eight-ball 10 in the match before being dismissed by spinner AR Ullas as the father-son duo forged a brief 17-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Dravid played his second match of the tournament in the semifinal against the Jayanagar Cricketers. When the Vijaya Cricket Club were battling at 12/3 in the seventh over, Rahul joined his son Anvay at the crease. Two deliveries into his stay, the 52-year-old appeared in discomfort, his leg troubling him, but he continued to play and stitched a 66-ball 43-run partnership with Anvay for the fourth wicket.

The Indian legend battled injury and played until he had to be helped off the field. Still, his courage failed to lift the fortunes of the Vijaya Cricket Club, Malur, in the semifinal of the KSCA Group III league tournament.

Dravid, who was in Guwahati for the Rajasthan Royals’ recent pre-season camp before coming to Jaipur, will be seen in the dugout in the team’s IPL 2025 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on March 23.

The Rajasthan Royals won the title in the inaugural year in 2008 and reached the final again in 2022. The Sanju Samson-led franchise finished third in the league stage in 2024 and lost out to eventual runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.

Dubai, March 12: After the recently concluded ICC Men’s Champions Trophy-winning campaign, India skipper Rohit Sharma moved up to third place in the ODI batting rankings chart, led by fellow opener Shubman Gill.

India lifted their third Champions Trophy title with a thrilling four-wicket victory over New Zealand in Dubai, star performers from both teams have been rewarded in the rankings update released on Wednesday.

Rohit, who smashed a match-winning 76 off 83 balls in the final, jumped two places to third. For his impressive performance in the final, Rohit was awarded the Player of the Match trophy. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who amassed 218 runs in the tournament, remains in the top five (fifth place) following his haul of 218 runs in the tournament.

New Zealand’s batters also made notable progress. Daryl Mitchell moves up one place to sixth, while young sensation Rachin Ravindra climbs an impressive 14 spots to 14th. Glenn Phillips also makes a leap, advancing six places to 24th.

New Zealand’s skipper Mitchell Santner was one of the standout performers with the ball, taking nine wickets in the tournament, including two in the final. His efforts see him jump six places to No.2 in the ODI bowling rankings, just behind Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana.

Fellow Kiwi Michael Bracewell also made a significant gain, moving 10 places up to 18th.

India’s spin duo Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja saw their rankings improve after their key contributions in India’s unbeaten campaign. Kuldeep, who picked up seven wickets, climb to No.3, while Jadeja moved up to 10th after claiming five wickets.

Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai remained the top-ranked ODI all-rounder, but the Champions Trophy saw a major shake-up just below him. Mitchell Santner rose to fourth, while Michael Bracewell (up to 7th) and Rachin (up to 8th) make jumps after their all-round displays.