Eng vs Pak, T20Is - Jason Roy set to miss out for Pakistan T20I tour, T20 World Cup

Jason Roy is expected to be the high-profile omission from England's T20I squad for next month's tour of Pakistan, and thereafter the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, after failing to emerge from a season-long form slump.

Roy, 32, was an integral influence within the white-ball dressing-room under Eoin Morgan's leadership, and a mainstay of the side from the moment of his debut in the wake of the 2015 World Cup. His uncompromising aggression at the top of the order has yielded nearly 5,500 white-ball runs in 171 appearances, including 1,522 at 24.15 and a strike rate of 137.61 in T20Is, and has been crucial in dictating the team's proactive approach - one that ultimately delivered glory at the 2019 50-over World Cup.

However, Roy has struggled for form this summer, with just 78 runs at 12.66 in six T20Is, and at a subdued strike rate of 77.55. A century in the third ODI against Netherlands in Amstelveen in June boosted his ODI numbers, but he failed to reach fifty in five further appearances against India and South Africa.

England's T20I squads are due to be announced on Friday. Jos Buttler - Morgan's successor - is still recuperating from the calf injury he sustained during Manchester Originals' Hundred captain, and will only come into contention for the second half of the tour, with Moeen Ali likely to deputise at the start of the series. Roy, however, is understood to have informed his Oval Invincibles team-mates that he has missed out on selection.

Given the huge regard with which Roy is held in England's white-ball set-up, he could have rescued his place in the team with a strong showing for Invincibles in this year's Hundred. However, he began his campaign disastrously with three ducks in four innings, while his haul of 51 runs at 8.50 culminated in a tortuous 21 from 19 balls against Birmingham Phoenix.

He missed Invincibles' last two matches of the competition after suffering stiffness in his lower back, including Wednesday night's decisive loss to Originals at Old Trafford, and finds his place in the England squad for the Pakistan tour taken by his domestic opening partner, Will Jacks, whose impressive run of form included a century against Southern Brave. Another of Roy's Invincibles team-mates, Jordan Cox - a star of Kent's T20 Blast victory last summer - is also understood to be under consideration as a potential bolter for that trip.

Will Smeed, who scored the Hundred's first century - also against Brave - is another name in the frame but it is Phil Salt who seems most likely to get first crack at replacing him, initially in Pakistan and then in Australia.

Among the current incumbents, Dawid Malan's stellar returns at the top of the order for Trent Rockets - a tournament-high 358 runs at 59.66 and a strike-rate of 172.11 - are likely to earn him a promotion to open at some stage of the Pakistan tour after his prolonged run at No. 3 in England's T20I side.

Alex Hales, Malan's opening partner at Rockets, and a player who has been blackballed by England ever since he failed two recreational drugs tests on the eve of the 2019 World Cup, has also been mentioned for a recall. After several years of impressive displays on the global T20 circuit, Hales this summer became the first English player to pass 10,000 runs in the format.

However, even with Morgan - his most ardent critic - now retired, a rapprochement under the new regime of Buttler and Matthew Mott seems an outside bet. It is understood no discussions have taken place between Hales and the England set-up, and there is little appetite for Hales to be recalled among senior players in the group.

Another likely absentee from the Pakistan squad will be England's Test captain, Ben Stokes, who retired from ODI cricket this summer in a bid to focus on the other two international formats. His immediate priority, however, is the forthcoming Test series decider against South Africa at the Kia Oval next week, which concludes just days before the team is due to depart for their seven-match tour of Pakistan.

On the bowling front, the uncapped left-arm quick Luke Wood is likely to make his England debut in Pakistan, having been an unused squad member in the Netherlands earlier this year. He has bowled with pace and penetration throughout Rockets' run to the Hundred final, with nine wickets at 24.33, and is likely to be among an abundance of seam options in an enlarged, 19-man squad.

Mark Wood, who has missed the whole English summer through injury, is also in line for his comeback and will train with the Test squad at the Kia Oval this week as part of his preparation. A 19-man squad to tour Pakistan will be named on Friday morning, along with a 15-man squad (plus three reserves) for the T20 World Cup and the three Australia T20Is which precede it. Among those reserves will be Tymal Mills, who featured in the last T20 World Cup in the UAE but has been out of action since undergoing toe surgery earlier this month.

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Bangladesh appoint S Sriram T20 consultant for Asia Cup, T20 World Cup

"We are not a strong side when it comes to T20 matches, and to do something about that, we have decided to bring drastic changes in our thought process and mentality," Hassan said. "'We want to start anew from the Asia Cup, and if we don't do it now, we will face even worse results in the World Cup. We have done appallingly in the last T20 World Cup. We don't know if we can get out of the circle of substandard results in T20 games. Since the Asia Cup is the biggest stage after the World Cup, we will try to change our way of playing and bring results."

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Bangladesh Premier League - In the clutter of T20 leagues, BPL has fallen behind in race to sign big names

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is lagging behind in the race to sign overseas T20 stars for the January-February window. The BPL has a window from January 6 to February 15, the dates clashing with the UAE's ILT20, South Africa's yet-to-be-named T20 league and the Australian BBL. The BBL's draft for overseas players is scheduled for August 28. The UAE and South Africa leagues have been in the news practically every day, for the big-ticket players the franchises are signing on. There has been no buzz around the BPL.

The BCB has set August 31 as the deadline for potential franchise owners' "expression of Interest" (EOI). Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB chief executive, had earlier said that the board was hoping most of the previous franchise owners would return, with the BPL providing three-year contracts for them. Earlier, the franchise contracts were for just a year.

"We will try to finalise everything soon, so that the owners can start their preparation," Chowdhury had said. "They will be in a better position since it is for three years. Franchise owners usually want everything to be organised, so this time it will be quite good since we are giving the teams a longer period."

The BCB is also hoping that the BPL will not be without its share of overseas names, while all Bangladeshi cricketers would be expected to participate.

"We have to keep in mind that the member countries are looking for a window to hold domestic T20 leagues. There's going to be conflict (in scheduling) if other members' windows fall at the same time. Everyone is going to suffer, not just us," Chowdhury said. "Two or three of our most important players will be playing in our domestic league. I don't want to mention any names but those who usually play overseas will be missed in those leagues. But we are expecting foreign players to play in our league.

"There's the matter of the NOC [no-objection certificate]. There is also an understanding among member countries. Everyone abides by this rule. I don't personally think anyone will play anything other than their own competition."

There is bound to be a demand for established stars, but the franchise owners, whoever they are, will be in a race against time.

Among the ILT20's signings are Dwayne Bravo and Andre Fletcher, respectively the second-highest wicket-taker and the second-highest run-getter in the last edition of the BPL. Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Sunil Narine, who formed the core of the Comilla Victorians side that won the title the last time, are all unavailable. Du Plessis will play for the CSK-owned franchise in South Africa, while the ILT20 has announced the names of Moeen and Narine. Andre Russell, who played for Minister Group Dhaka, is also on the ILT20's list of signings, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who represented Fortune Barishal, will be playing in South Africa.

The top local players will, in all likelihood, play the BPL, but will there be enough overseas stars?•AFP/Getty Images

For the BPL, if the EOI list is revealed on August 31, and roughly another month is required to get through the official procedures for the franchises to sign up, the players' draft or auction can't be held till October. With several T20 leagues running at the same time, and player demand being at an unprecedented high, the BPL would have benefitted from having a more settled appearance about it.

Historically, the BPL franchises have been known to pay well, but there is another niggle. As several player agents told us, because of the laws of the land in Bangladesh, the players end up paying higher taxes than they do elsewhere. It might sound like a trifle, but the lack of nightlife options in most cities in Bangladesh is something that has bothered overseas players in the past.

So what does the BPL do? If the big stars don't come, the tournament will lose its sheen. The ILT20 and the South African leagues have appeared as gamechangers, and with the windows almost set in stone for the next few years, the BPL will have to up its game, somehow, to remain relevant.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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Bangladesh cricket - Shakib Al Hasan named Bangladesh captain for Asia Cup and T20 World Cup

Shakib Al Hasan is back in charge for Bangladesh in T20Is, being named captain for the upcoming Asia Cup, New Zealand tri-series and the T20 World Cup.

The BCB made the announcement this afternoon, bringing to an end the uncertainty of the past couple of weeks, when Shakib was told by the board to choose between playing for Bangladesh or keeping his endorsement with a "betting company". Shakib had duly ended his deal with Betwinner News. It is understood that he is likely to be asked to stay on as a long-term captain in the format. He was appointed Test captain in June after Mominul Haque stepped down.

The BCB also announced a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from August 27. Middle-order batter Sabbir Rahman, who last played a T20I in 2019, returns to the squad, while Mushfiqur Rahim, who was rested for the T20I series against Zimbabwe, is also back. While Litton Das misses out due to his hamstring injury, there was no place for Shoriful Islam, Munim Shahriar and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin returns though his recurring back problem remains a concern, while fast bowler Ebadot Hossain also earns a place. Nurul Hasan has been named in the squad despite a finger injury, but BCB said they are expecting an update on him on August 21.

While Sabbir did not have a great BPL season - where he made 109 runs in six matches - he scored 515 runs at 39.61 average in the Dhaka Premier League one-day tournament. He also caught the eye during the Bangladesh Tigers programme, where a number of fringe players are trained. Sabbir has been sent to the Caribbean to play one-day matches For Bangladesh A against West Indies A. He has played 44 T20Is so far, for 946 runs at an average of 24.89.

"We have seen him [Sabbir] in the domestic T20 side," selector Minhajul Abedin said. "We think he has the experience. We have sent him to play in the one-day series against West Indies A, to give him some game time."

Bangladesh had missed the initial deadline for naming the Asia Cup squad, while the board sorted out the Shakib sponsorship issue. Bangladesh will be one of six teams contesting the main round of the Asia Cup, along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a qualifier. The identity of the qualifier will be known via a qualifying tournament that starts on August 20.

Yunus: 'We have asked Shakib to not commit such a mistake again'
Shakib was "misguided" into the deal with Betwinner and vowed not to repeat the "mistake", according to BCB's cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus. Shakib had met with the BCB high-ups, including board president Nazmul Hassan, in Dhaka earlier in the day.

"Shakib admitted his mistake (regarding Betwinner controversy), but he is important for us," Yunus said. "He is still our best player. We had already decided on Shakib being the captain earlier, so we are sticking to it. He thought it was an online news website. He felt he was misguided. He has said he has terminated the (Betwinner) contract. We are hopeful he will not repeat it again. We have asked him not to commit such a mistake again. We have ended the whole thing."

Nurul had taken over in T20Is from long-time white-ball captain Mahmudullah for Bangladesh's previous assignment, in Zimbabwe, before being sidelined by a fractured finger. Mosaddek Hossain then captained the team in the last of three T20Is in Zimbabwe, as Bangladesh went down 2-1.

The T20I tri-series in New Zealand, which also involves the hosts and Pakistan, starts on October 7 and will be Bangladesh's last chance to fine-tune for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in Australia in October-November.

Bangladesh's Asia Cup squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed

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Pakistan cricket - PCB launches women's Under-19 T20 tournament

The PCB is set to launch an Under-19 women's T20 tournament, which will be contested by six regional associations starting on August 13. Lahore Country Club, Muridke, will be the venue for the 10-day round-robin tournament, which offers a platform to 84 players in all, with 15 reserve players on standby.

The PCB hopes to use the tournament to "create a strong talent pool" in the country, with one eye on the inaugural U-19 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa next year.

Only players born on or after September 1, 2003, are eligible for the tournament. ESPNcricinfo understands that the top performers will be bumped up into the senior sides of the national T20 and one-day domestic tournaments.

The pathway to Pakistan's senior women's team had till now been vague, with no lines going down to the grassroots level, meaning a pool of only 30-35 competitive cricketers at the senior level. Women cricketers in the country had, till now, two tournaments: three teams each playing the National T20 and ODI Challenge Cups.

This Under-19 tournament looks to offer a more concrete pathway to senior cricket, with squads having been selected after country-wide open trials, followed by practice games among the selected players across the PCB-run women's regional academies.

This is not the first time, though, that the PCB is organising junior cricket for women. Between 2004 and 2008, the PCB conducted an annual U-17 tournament. That was replaced by an U-19 tournament between 2009 and 2013. All women's tournaments at the youth level were disbanded in 2013, though, due to a policy shift.

The participating squads are:

Central Punjab U-19: Shawal Zulfiqar (capt), Areesha Noor, Eyman Fatima, Farah Imran, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haleema Dua, Jaweria Ali, Komal Khan, Laiba Nasir, Noor Fatima, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Warda Yousaf and Zamina Tahir Chugtai

Balochistan U-19: Humaira Ghulam Hussain (capt), Alisha Aslam, Aman Fatima, Amina Javed, Azra Habibullah, Dura-E-Nayab, Fakhra Abdullah, Fiza Noor, Kalsoom Kakar, Madhur Moolani, Misha Kareem, Ruqia Nazar, Shakira Ahmed and Shamim Amirullah

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19: Zaibunisa Niaz (capt), Aleesha Khan, Aliza Khan, Bakhtawar Arifullah, Gule Nayab, Hansa Zair Gul, Humaira Husain, Jalwa Anwar, Javeria Qamar, Mahnoor Aftab, Malaika Afridi, Sumbal Liaquat, Tayyaba Imdad and Tehzeeb Shah

Northern U-19: Maham Anees (capt), Fatima Sardar, Hadia Mushtaq, Kainat Riasat, Laiba Mubashar, Maheen Irfan, Malaika Noor, Mariyam Shehzadi, Muskan Abid, Noor Fatima, Rida Ashfaq, Sarah Jan Peter, Syeda Hania Zehra and Tahira Malik

Sindh U-19: Aroob Shah (capt), Abeera Kaleem, Aliza Sabir, Anosha Nasir, Dina Razvi, Eman Adeel, Farhia Fahim, Haniah Ahmer, Kainat Eman Shah, Khizra Rani, Sara Fatima, Taskeen Fatima, Tooba Khan and Wasfa Hussain

Southern Punjab U-19: Aqsa Hafeez (capt), Anam Bibi, Aqsa Yousaf, Eman Fatima, Javeria Asharaf, Javeria Siddique, Laila Manzoor, Muqadas Bukhari, Rimsha Shehzadi, Sahar Fatima, Sana Khan, Sania Mazhar, Shameer Rajpoot and Uzma Iqbal

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Indian fast bowlers Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary signed up by KFC T20 Max clubs in Queensland

Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary will headline the overseas presence at the KFC T20 Max series in Queensland next month. They will also train at Cricket Australia's National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and be involved in Queensland Bulls' pre-season preparations, as part of the old exchange programme with the Chennai-based MRF Pace Foundation, which had been paused because of Covid-19.

Sakariya, 24, made a name for himself during IPL 2021, playing for Rajasthan Royals, and has turned out in an ODI and two T20Is so far while also playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022, while Choudhary was impressive in his debut IPL season, this year, for Chennai Super Kings, picking up 16 wickets in 13 games. The two will be joined by three Papua New Guinea internationals: Norman Vanua, Chad Soper and Charles Amini.

Sakariya will play for Sunshine Coast, while Wynnum-Manly will have the services of Choudhary. Sandgate-Redcliffe have all the three PNG players - regulars with their national side, which finished third at the recent World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe - in their ranks. Vanua and Soper are medium pacers, while Amini is a legspinning allrounder.

There will also be a strong list of current or recent BBL players, some of them internationals, in the mix too: Jordan Silk, Beau Webster, Cameron Boyce, Ben Cutting, Liam Guthrie, Nick Larkin, Clint Hinchliffe, Josh Lalor, Nick Hobson, Jake Lehmann, Arjun Nair, Chris Sabburg, Nick Bertus, Ryan Gibson, Spencer Johnson and Nathan McSweeney.

In a note on its website, Queensland Cricket said, "Due to the popularity of the concept and a surge in the number of players expressing interest, Queensland Cricket today updated the competition rules to allow each Premier club to sign an additional interstate or international recruit, moving from three players per club to four.

"Several regionally based players have already brokered arrangements with teams, while contracted Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat players will be available for selection as part of their pre-season preparations."

The tournament will be played over three weeks, from August 18 to September 4, at the club grounds as well as at the refurbished Allan Border Field, under lights.

Exchanges between the MRF Pace Foundation, founded in 1987, and Australia began in 1992, when the academy opened its doors to players from beyond India's shores.

Among the first to come and train under Dennis Lillee, then the director at MRF, was Glenn McGrath, who later took up the directorship once Lillee retired after a 25-year stint in 2012. Fast bowlers from many other countries, including Mohammad Asif (Pakistan), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), and premier quicks from Australia like Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, have all trained at the academy over the years. Similarly, young Indian quicks have been given the opportunity to spend time in Brisbane as part of the programme. The last of these, in 2019, were Prasidh Krishna, who has since played ten ODIs for India, and Mukhtar Hussain, the 23-year-old right-arm quick from Assam.

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India need Virat Kohli’s experience at T20 World Cup, hopefully he will regain his form: Ajit Agarkar

Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has backed Virat Kohli to be part of India's T20 World Cup squad, saying talks about his future in the shortest format of the game are 'premature'. Agarkar said India will need Kohli's experience on a big stage like the World Cup in Australia and that he hopes the former captain returns to form before India board the flight to Australia.

Virat Kohli has been rested for the 3-match ODI series and the subsequent 5-match T20I series in the West Indies in July-August after he had an underwhelming white-ball series and Test in England. Kohli was expected to get going after he was rested for the home series against South Africa following IPL 2022. However, Kohli scored only 31 runs across 2 innings in the Birmingham Test and 45 runs across 4 white-ball matches vs England.

Even as questions are being asked of frequent rest periods for Virat Kohli, the former skipper opted out of the T20I series after the big guns, including him and Rohit Sharma, were rested for the ongoing ODI series.

Virat Kohli has played only 4 matches in T20I cricket in 2022 as the pressure is mounting on him with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda making strong claims with T20I hundreds in the ongoing year.

"He is getting starts. At the moment, he is finding new ways to get out. He knows how to score runs. At the moment, he is going through a lean patch which is the fact of life for every great player. Hopefully, for India’s sake, he gets back to form soon as there is a 50-over World Cup next year," Ajit Agarkar told FanCode during the 1st ODI against the West Indies.

"He has got a bit of time till that World Cup. But you don’t want a great player like Virat Kohli to be out of form for long. Even in England, he got a couple of starts but I don’t think he has looked at his best. That’s why everyone is a little bit worried. Sometimes, great players find a way after they get starts but at the moment, he is not.

"I am sure there’s a little bit of worry. There’s a lot of talk about ‘Virat Kohli ko replace karle’, I think it’s not fair," Agarkar added.

YOU NEED TOP PLAYERS AT WORLD CUPS

Furthermore, Agarkar said it's unfair to question Virat Kohli just because young players are performing well while stressing that India will need the big-match player Down Under.

"No doubt that, that’s why I am saying it’s premature (Talks about replacing Virat Kohli). He is not getting runs, a few other players are performing, but come the World Cup in Australia, if India are 2 down, you want Virat Kohli in form, but you want a Virat Kohli batting there. Because he knows how to bat under pressure in the big stages," he added.

"We have got some excellent young players who are doing well but that doesn’t mean you have to suddenly start questioning Virat Kohli. In World Cups, you need top players, you need experience. Hopefully, before that, he will get some runs. Once the confidence is there, he will find the Australian conditions the best to bat," Agarkar said.

Notably, Virat Kohli is likely to return to the T20I squad for the Asia Cup, which will get underway in the final week of August in the UAE.

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