Today's Cricket News Live Updates: The Road To The ICC Champions Trophy Final As IND and NZ Gear Up For Massive Clash

Rajeev Shukla, BCCI vice-president and Congress Rajya Sabha MP, will represent India on the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Board of Directors, while former treasurer and BJP heavyweight Ashish Shelar will serve on the continental body's Executive Board, secretary Devajit Saikia announced on Friday. 

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, took over as Chair of the International Cricket Council, leaving his position on the ACC Board vacant. He served as President of the ACC until recently.

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has slammed the "terrible rules" that favour batters, resulting in the "death" of the 50-over format as an increasing number of players opt to freelance in T20 leagues.

Moeen has played 138 ODIs for England, scoring 2,355 runs and taking 111 wickets. He has also played 68 Tests, scoring over 3000 runs and taking 200+ wickets. He retired from international cricket in September last year and will play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming IPL.

The Gujarat Giants won the toss and chose to bowl against the Delhi Capitals in a Women's Premier League match here on Friday. 

Gujarat Giants' playing XI remained unchanged from their previous match, while DC made one change, bringing in Titas Sadhu in place of N Charani.

Sameer Rizvi, a young IPL star, will lead the U-23 Rest of India against Col CK Nayudu (U-23), champions Punjab, in a first-of-its-kind youth 'Irani Cup' in Mohali from March 9 to 12. 

The Irani Cup is an annual one-off match between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India squad, which includes the top performers from the first-class season across all teams.

"Rachin is one of those batsmen who seems to be able to score at a run a ball without particularly trying hard. And his ability to bowl some left-arm spin. We are very lucky to have him. He is a really important player for our team," Rachin Ravindra said.

"Decision around that it is out of our hands. We will not worry about that too much. India have got to play all their games here in Dubai, but as you said, we have had a game here, and we will learn very quickly from that experience. When you come to this stage of the tournament, it is always exciting to be in this situation. If we are good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I am sure we will be very happy.

"I think there is no doubt that coming here or playing Lahore and we had a full day of travel yesterday, then it just takes it out of you a little bit, but we have got a couple of days now of a little bit of recovery and a little bit of planning and training towards the game, but I guess we are deep into the tournament now and sometimes it is not always a lot of training that you need. It is just getting your body and your mind right to compete in the final and that will be our key focus over the next two days," the New Zealand coach said while speaking to the reporters.
 

est cricket great Cheteshwar Pujara is eager to make a comeback amid the Men in Blue's lean phase in the longest format of the game.

"I'm playing domestic cricket. If given a chance, I'm ready to grab it with both hands. The hunger is even more. When you are older, you need to work even harder. We have the bowling. We need to put runs on the board. And we have the players to do that. We have to respect the bowling and the conditions. I won't say that we don't have a chance,” Cheteshwar Pujara said while speaking to RevSportz.

The group stage match between India and Pakistan Champions Trophy became the 2nd most watched cricket match in TV history, Star Sports claimed.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead expressed that the Blackcaps would face a tremendous challenge while facing mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who has been supremely effective in the ICC Champions Trophy so far. The Kiwi coach explained the team would need to put on their thinking caps to tackle the Indian wrist spinner and score runs against the Rohit Sharma -led Team India in the Champions Trophy summit clash in the UAE.

Ahead of India vs New Zealand summit clash, the Blackcaps have suffered a major roadblock as pacer Matt Henry's availability for the summit clash has become doubtful. The in-form Kiwi pacer, who emerged as a major problem for the Rohit Shrama-led Team India in their previous encounter, has suffered a niggle on his shoulder. The 33-year-old landed shoulder first when he was in action against South Africa in the semifinal. However, NZ coach Gary Stead believes Henry will recover in time for the clash on Sunday.

Tim Southee and Vernon Philander have backed Mohammed Shami's appeal to ICC on lifting saliva ban. Shami stated that with Saliva, reverse swing can be brought back into the game.

Shreyas Iyer showcased stunning performances in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025, scoring 195 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 79.92. His performances have helped Team India a lot of times when they were building or chasing during an innings. Following his display in the ongoing ICC event, the 30-year-old is likely to get his Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contract back, according to a reports from Indian media.

As India and New Zealand gear up to play the Champions Trophy final, New Zealand will be looking to use their learnings from last weeks defeat to try and defeat India in Dubai.

IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad have replaced injured player Brydon Carse before the start of the IPL 2025. He has been replaced by Wiaan Mulder.

After David Miller revealed that he will be supporting New Zealand in the finals, fans took to social media to brutally troll the South African batter.

South African batter David Miller has revealed that he will be supporting New Zealand in the finals. 

According to Rob Key, star England all-rounder Ben Stokes is in contention to become the captain of the white ball team of England following Jos Buttler's decision to step down.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill ahead of the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand. He stated that the Indian opening duo have not been performing as per expectations and to their full potential. 

“They haven't (played to their maximum potential) because when you look at the openers, they haven't really given the Indian team the kind of start that they had hoped for. That has not happened. So, clearly, I think there's a shortcoming over there,” said Gavaskar to a media outlet ahead of the summit clash. 

According to a report, there are claims that Rohit Sharma's future in ODIs would be discussed once the final between India and New Zealand is over. It is understood that the outcome of the summit clash may determine his future. This is also the reason why the Indian board has held back the fresh central contracts of cricketers. 

India and New Zealand have faced off against one another four times in the knockout stages of an ICC tournament. The Black Caps have defeated India thrice in these four matches that the two countries have played.

Today Cricket Match News: Here's a look at India's Champions Trophy 2025 squad

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy

Live Cricket Update Today: Here's a look at New Zealand's Champions Trophy squad

Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy.

India's batting icon Virat Kohli has bounced back into form and how. After a century against Pakistan and an 84 against Australia, he will have a key role in the finals against New Zealand.

India have a chance to win back to back ICC trophies as they won the ICC T20 World Cup and with a win in the finals against New Zealand it will be consecutive ICC trophies.

The stage is all set for the clash in Dubai as India and New Zealand are busy preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy final which will take place on Sunday, 9th March 2025.