Ranchi, Nov 29: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said it will be exciting to be part of a different kind of energy on the field when India stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are present for the ODI series opener, to be held at the JSCA International Stadium on Sunday.

With Rohit and Kohli back in action after playing in the ODI series against Australia in October, the chatter has been huge over whether the veteran duo can sustain their form and fitness to feature in the 50-over World Cup two years from now.

For now, everyone’s focus will be on how the duo fare against the Bavuma-led Proteas in Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam. “I think it’s exciting, right? It’s exciting for the locals, having the two living legends come back and play on Indian soil for a while.”

“So it’s exciting for us to be a part of a different type of energy when those two big guys are around. So it’s something that we’ll be looking forward to,” said Bavuma in a video posted by Star Sports on their Instagram account on Saturday.

Asked about the plans South Africa will have for getting the better of the veteran batting duo, Bavuma said, “I think like any other players, we will do our preparation around them, come up with whatever tactics that we come up with. But we know that the energy is going to be a little bit different, but it’s an exciting one.”

“From a captaincy point of view, I don’t think much really changes for my side. I think you obviously want to lead with the bat, and then you want to lead the guys out there tactically on the field. So, nothing really, I don’t think much really changes,” he added.

Mumbai, Nov 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday named India’s squad for the upcoming ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup to take place in Dubai from December 12.

India, who are placed in Group A along with Pakistan and two other teams that will join them through qualifiers, will be led by Ayush Mhatre in the continental tournament. Group B includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Qualifier 2.

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who recently displayed his hitting prowess in the Asia Cup Rising Stars, will continue to spearhead the top-order batting for India. Vihaan Malhotra has been named India’s vice-captain in the tournament.

India have put together an exciting squad showcasing some of the brightest young talents poised to shine on the international stage. The team is further strengthened by four standby players; Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, B.K. Kishore, and Aditya Rawat, who add depth and reliable backup support.

India enter the tournament as eight-time champions, the most titles by any country in the competition. India missed out on the title last year after losing to current holders Bangladesh in the final.

The eight-team tournament will begin on December 12, with India taking on Qualifier 1 at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. On the same day, Pakistan will take on Qualifier 3 at The Seven Stadium.

India will next take on Pakistan on December 14 before taking on Qualifier 3 on December 16. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals, which will be held on December 19.

The final of the tournament will be played on December 21.

India U19 squad for Asia Cup: Ayush Mhatre (C), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh (subject to fitness clearance), Udhav Mohan, Aaron George.

Standby players: Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, B.K. Kishore, Aditya Rawat.

New Delhi, Nov 27: Navi Mumbai and Vadodara are the venues for the 2026 Women’s Premier League, to be held from January 9 to February 5. The tournament will open at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, while the final is scheduled to be held at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.

The announcement was made by WPL Committee Chairman Jayesh George before the competition’s first-ever mega auction began in New Delhi on Thursday. IANS understands that the WPL Committee had a meeting at the auction venue around noon to finalise the dates and venues, with the full schedule expected to come out soon.

As per the dates announced by George, the fourth WPL final will be held two days before the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup begins in India and Sri Lanka. IANS understands that the rationale behind keeping the second half of WPL 2026 in Vadodara is also due to the Kotambi stadium being set to host the men’s ODI series opener between India and New Zealand on January 11.

Vadodara was one of the four hosts for WPL in 2025 and now sees getting the entire second half as well as the knockout stages, including the all-important title clash. The tournament will also mark the return of women’s cricket in the WPL for the first time after India won the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup on November 2.

For now, the focus of all five teams – two-time champions Mumbai Indians, 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru, three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants – will be to make a trophy-winning squad for the 2026 season.

At the mega auction, India’s ODI World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur is present at the MI table, alongside Jhulan Goswami, new coach Lisa Keightley, and team owners. DC have a star-studded line-up in head coach Jonathan Batty and director of cricket Sourav Ganguly.

New UPW head coach Abhishek Nayar and mentor Lisa Sthalekar are present, while Pravin Tambe and Michael Klinger are representing GG and RCB has newly appointed assistant coach Anya Shrubsole on the table alongside head coach Malolan Rangarajan.