Today's Cricket News Live Updates: Just One More Sleep Before India Take On New Zealand In Champions Trophy Final

Veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin, who retired midway through the Border Gavaskar Trophy series, has recently expressed his support over Mohammed Shami's comments on the ICC's saliva ban. While Ashwin said that the ICC claimed that saliva did not aid reverse swing, not putting saliva resulted in a huge impact on the play. He also urged the ICC to remove the ban if it does not pose an issue.

“ICC released some papers after research showed that saliva did not aid reverse swing much, not putting saliva on the ball has not made a huge difference. I do not know how they did the research, but saliva should be allowed again if it is not a problem. Otherwise, cricketers have to get on with it,” R Ashwin said in one of his videos on his YouTube channel.

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir applauds Ravindra Jadeja and praises his caliber as an all-around cricketer in the game. The India coach acknowledged the middle-order batter as the world's top all-rounders. Gambhir expressed that Jadeja is someone they haven't spoken highly about, and the coach gave the credit where it was due. The Indian coach added that the Indian dressing room understands the value of Jadeja.

"I've always felt that he's always gone under the radar. I think he's someone we don't speak highly about. See what he's done to Indian cricket, be it test format, be it a T20 format or in 50-over format. I think he's very important to Indian cricket in what he's done, not just with a bat or ball, in the field as well. He's, I think, one of the top all-rounders going around in world cricket. We in the dressing room know the value of Ravindra Jadeja. It's not what happens outside the dressing room," Gautam Gambhir said in a video while speaking to ICC.

Opener Will Young is not deterred by New Zealand's loss to India in the group stage and is intent on taking advantage of Rohit Sharma's team's shortcomings in Sunday's Champions Trophy final. 

"There is plenty we can take from that (group match defeat to India) in a scouting point of view, especially in my eyes as a batter, but I am sure the bowlers got a good look at their (India) batters as well and how they are likely to approach things," Young told ICC

Along with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, Young has helped the Black Caps get off to a strong start in the Champions Trophy, and he will be a vital batsman in the crucial final.

As per Cricket Pakistan, captain Mohammed Rizwan told players that the selectors and the coaches would lose their jobs when the team huddled after the loss to India. The same report claims that a Pakistan player, who was part of the side, has made this revelation. This revelation by Mohammed Rizwan did not sit well with the authorities. Despite all this talk and speculations, interim head coach Aaqib Javed has been retained for the series against New Zealand. However, Babar Azam , Shaheen Afridi and Rizwan were dropped for the T20I series.

While speaking in The ICC Review, former India head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri shared insights on the upcoming match of the Champions Trophy 2025 and predicted that Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson could play a crucial role in the showdown. He added that it would be a problem for India and the Kiwis if they start scoring runs for their respective sides.

Ravichandran Ashwin has now slammed the controversy that India has an unfair advantage going into the ICC Champions Trophy final due to all their matches being played in Dubai. Ashwin took the example of South Africa in 2009 as he quashed the questions against India's unfair advantage.

“I can only laugh at the questions directed at our captain, coaches in the press conference about 'home advantage'. In 2009 Champions Trophy, South Africa played all their matches at the same venue and they did not qualify for the final. It is not South Africa's fault that they did not qualify. Let's accept that India have played class cricket and have reached the final due to top performances,” said Ravichandran Ashwin.

Ahead of the much anticipated summit clash, a Pakistan journalist has accused Glenn Maxwell of deliberately throwing the match away. The former RCB batter announced his arrival at the crease with a massive six. But Axar Patel cleaned him up in the very next ball. Maxwell also dropped Virat Kohli on 51 and the former Indian skipper took the game away with a match-winning knock of 84. Naseem Rajput alleged that the player appeared to be playing for RCB.

It is believed that the same strip where India thrashed Pakistan in Dubai is the pitch that would host the Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand. It is the centre wicket and the ground staff have watered it well over the past few days. The Emirates Cricket Board has reportedly maintained its 'two week rest' policy for the pitches in Dubai.

According to reports, Jasprit Bumrah miss the first two weeks of the upcoming season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League. If the reports are true, it would be a massive setback for the Mumbai Indians side. 

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara weighed in on the controversy that due to the match being played in Dubai, India had an unfair advantage in the finals. 

"I don't think so. The schedule was out there before the Champions Trophy began, the reason for Indian team to not travel to Pakistan was the security. ICC and BCCI worked together to try and find a neutral venue. India have played against Pakistan at a neutral venue, and UAE is closer to Pakistan. I don't think it's an unfair advantage. If India had lost, no one would've said they played in Dubai, that's why they lost. I don't think it's a home ground for India. The advantage for India is the kind of talent they have, the number of all-rounders they have," said Pujara on the controversy. 

According to New Zealand head coach Gary Stead, spinner Varun Chakravarthy will be a key player for India in the finals. “He showed his skills against us last time and he is a big threat in the game. We will put our thinking caps on how to nullify that and still score runs against him,” said Gary Stead about Chakravarthy.