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India rule white ball amid geopolitical issues | The Express Tribune
General view as India players celebrate with the trophy on the podium after winning the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy. Photo: REUTERS
NEW DELHI:
India owned white-ball cricket while South Africa shed their ‘bridesmaids’ tag but the spectre of geopolitics loomed large over the game in a tumultuous 2025.
The already-soured relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan reached a new low when the nuclear-armed neighbour engaged in a military conflict in May that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged war.
It disrupted the Indian Premier League and the bad blood was evident in the subsequent 20-overs Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates, where India refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s interior minister.
India beat Pakistan three times during the politically charged tournament and refused to shake hands with them either at the toss or after the match. Players from both sides made provocative gestures, which invited sanctions from the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).
Earlier in March, India lifted the Champions Trophy in a perfect culmination of their unbeaten run in the 50-overs tournament. It was the first ICC tournament held in Pakistan in nearly three decades but India played all their matches in Dubai, which many saw as an advantage for them.
Similarly, Pakistan played all their matches in Sri Lanka when India hosted the 50-overs Women’s World Cup.
Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates ended India’s agonising wait for a maiden Women’s World Cup title with Jemimah Rodrigues smashing a sensational hundred to upset defending champions Australia in the October 30 semi-final in Navi Mumbai.
South Africa also ended decades of hurt and won the World Test Championship (WTC) beating Australia in the final at Lord’s.
For a team often ridiculed for their tendency to bottle it during the knockout stages of ICC tournaments, Temba Bavuma and his men carried no past baggage. Opener Aiden Markram’s fourth-innings hundred secured their five-wicket victory, ending a long-standing jinx.
“We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters,” Bavuma said after claiming the WTC mace.
“We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took. This win squashes that. Here’s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.”
South Africa went on to register their first test series victory in India in 25 years with a 2-0 sweep, proving their WTC success was far from a fluke.
India could not replicate their white-ball success in test cricket and appear in the throes of a tricky transition after stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quit the format earlier this year.
In England’s case, the issue was not personnel but philosophy.
Their high-risk ‘Bazball’ approach, built around swashbuckling batting, failed to deliver in Perth and Brisbane, leaving their Ashes campaign in disarray.
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The Washington Commanders did not try to hide their game plan for Jaxson Dart — they wanted to “go out hitting.”
That’s what “Hard Knocks” cameras caught head coach Dan Quinn telling his team as they prepared to face the New York Giants and the rookie sensation, who has been checked for five concussions and diagnosed with one since the preseason began.
It is no secret that Dart uses his legs as a weapon, but the rookie has probably taken one too many hits. Quinn pointed out a New England Patriots linebacker’s crushing blow on Dart two weeks ago in Dart’s return from a concussion.
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The Washington Commanders defense tries to take down New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) in the second quarter, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
“When he’s out here, he is a running back first,” Quinn said. “This is a good hit by Christian Elliss on the sideline, all right? He is not looking to go down and get in the slide. We got to go out hitting, fellas.”
Dart scoffed at Quinn’s comments, much like he has to other concerns about the hits he has taken this season, stating their game plan is nothing he hasn’t seen before.
“I mean, [Georgia coach] Kirby Smart said the exact same thing every time he played against me, so did [former Alabama coach] Nick Saban, so did every coach that I played in college,’’ Dart, an Ole Miss alum, said Wednesday after practice, via SNY. “This is nothing new. This isn’t like a new thing that’s been brought up in my career.”
Washington Commanders defensive end Jacob Martin (55) tackles New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)
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Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. echoed Quinn’s sentiments.
“The quarterback is a very competitive dual-threat guy,’’ Whitt said in a meeting. “He will try to run the ball like a running back. He will try to run you over. He will try to stiff-arm. He doesn’t really run out of bounds. He doesn’t slide a whole bunch. We can get the ball off of him. The ball is life, it is air, and we need it.”
The Commanders went on the road to take down the Giants, 29-21, even with Marcus Mariota at the helm. Dart’s 55.6 completion percentage was his lowest mark of the season, but he did run nine times for 63 yards.
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Dart has garnered an even 400 yards on the ground on 80 carries, seven of which have resulted in touchdowns. He will surely look to add to those numbers against a stout Minnesota Vikings defense Sunday in New Jersey.
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Pakistan men’s cricket team is scheduled to visit West Indies for a two-match Test series in July and August of next year, confirmed Cricket West Indies (CWI) Vice President Azim Bassarath.
Bassarath, who also serves as Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) President, made the announcement during the body’s executive luncheon at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain on Wednesday.
He shared that the Green Shirts’ tour of the West Indies will run from July 15 to August 7, comprising two ICC World Test Championship (WTC) matches at Queen’s Park Oval and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), respectively, with the latter also set to host a four-day warm-up match.
“We will also host the Pakistan tour of the Caribbean from July 15-August 7, 2026, comprising the four-day warm-up match at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), the first Test match at the Queen’s Park Oval and the second Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy,” Bassarath said, during his speech at the function.
“I’m pleased to note that the BLCA will now be a fully accredited international venue capable of hosting matches in all formats,” he added.
Notably, the red-ball tour of the West Indies is in accordance with Pakistan’s Future Tour Programme (FTP), while the complete match schedule is yet to be finalised.
Earlier this year, Pakistan visited the West Indies for a three-match ODI and T20I series each, while the most recent Test series between the two played in January was drawn 1-1.
Meanwhile, Pakistan last toured the West Indies for a Test series in 2021, which also ended in a 1-1 draw.
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