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The Orange Cap table

Gujarat Titans’ (GT) B Sai Sudharsan remains at the top with 417 runs from eight games at an average of 52.12 and a strike rate of 152.18. But Virat Kohli has jumped to No. 2 after his second successive half-century, this time 70 off 42 balls. He is now on 392 runs from nine innings.Nicholas Pooran, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) No. 3, had started the IPL with a bang, and was the top run-getter from Game No. 7 to Game No. 39. But a dry patch has pushed him down to No. 3, with 377 runs from nine innings.Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Suryakumar Yadav, who has been super consistent in the IPL this season without really making an almighty splash, is fourth with 373 runs. He hasn’t had a single proper failure this season: 29, 48, 27*, 67, 28, 40, 26, 68* and 40*.Not far behind Suryakumar are Jos Buttler of GT and, after his 49 in 19 balls against RCB, Yashasvi Jaiswal, both on 356 runs, though Buttler has played one innings fewer than Jaiswal, who had a woeful start to the season but now has 75, 51, 74 and 49 in his last four innings.2:12

What makes Hazlewood a much-improved T20 bowler?

The Purple Cap table

Prasidh Krishna, the GT quick bowler, is still the Purple Cap holder with 16 wickets from eight games, but RCB’s Josh Hazlewood has tied with him in terms of wickets. On Thursday night, he picked up 4 for 33 to derail RR’s chase. He is second because of a slightly inferior economy rate than Prasidh.Below them is a pack of seven bowlers with 12 wickets each.RCB’s Krunal Pandya is the latest entrant in that with his 2 for 31 against RR. The other six are GT’s R Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj, Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Noor Ahmad, Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Kuldeep Yadav, MI’s Hardik Pandya and LSG’s Shardul Thakur. Of them, Kuldeep has the best economy rate (6.50), followed by Noor (7.66).The following are some of the other IPL 2025 tables that might interest you.

• Highest batting strike rates
• Best bowling economy rates
• Most sixes
• Best bowling figures in a match

Sri Lankan spin allrounder Kamindu Mendis has become the first man to switch his bowling arm during an over in the IPL. He did it in his debut game for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.Brought on for the 13th over of the innings, Mendis bowled three balls of left-arm spin and three of offspin. He landed each delivery on a good length or slightly fuller, giving the batters no room to work with. The fourth ball of the over brought him the wicket of the right-hand batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi for 50 off 32 courtesy an excellent catch from Harshal Patel, running in from deep third.Well before he got off a Bradmanesque start as a Test batter, Mendis was a curiosity for his ambidextrous bowling in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. At senior international level, he bowled with both arms in the same over against Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant in a T20I last year.Mendis’ left-arm spin is marginally better than his offspin, which might be the reason he bowled just one over against KKR, as Raghuvanshi’s dismissal brought together two left-hand batters in Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh.While it is legal to switch arms during an over, a fastidious umpire could make it a little difficult for the bowler by insisting they inform of the switch each time. Mendis didn’t seem like he had to inform the umpire every time on Thursday. A practical approach seemed to have been followed as he was always going to bowl left-arm to the right-hand batter and vice versa.Ironically, Mendis bowled with both hands against a side had consciously looked for ambidextrous bowlers in the past. KKR’s innovative coach John Buchanan picked two of them, a spinner and a quick bowler, among 45 probables 2009.Trust a Sri Lankan to cause havoc with logging the data in cricket. The previous man to bowl ambidextrously at international level was Hashan Tillakaratne, against Kenya at the 1996 World Cup. Before Tillakaratne, Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammad, a part-time offspinner, bowled left-arm spin when West Indies’ Gary Sobers scored his record 365th run – the highest score in a Test innings – in Jamaica.

Grant Bradburn has been reprimanded and handed a suspended £500 fine by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) after admitting to discriminatory conduct that had racist and sexist connotations during his time as head coach of Glamorgan.Bradburn, 58, was sacked by Glamorgan in December, having been referred to The Cricket Regulator – the body responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing adherence with the game’s regulations – for allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The county terminated Bradburn’s employment less than 12 months into a three-year deal following their own internal investigation. Richard Dawson was subsequently appointed as interim head coach in January.In a statement released on Thursday, The Regulator revealed their investigations – which included witness statements from several players and Bradburn’s own interview with The Regulator – had found evidence to uphold three specific allegations that comprised the charge.Related

• Glamorgan fire coach Grant Bradburn following misconduct charge

• Richard Dawson named interim head coach at Glamorgan

It was alleged that on a number of occasions, including in the changing room at Sophia Gardens during pre-season of 2024, Bradburn asked players of Asian background what their “real age” is, responding to their answer by saying “is that your Cricinfo age”, “Cricinfo” or similar. The suggestion was Asian players lie about their age.In a pre-season team meeting, Bradburn suggested selection decisions in Pakistan were made by picking their friends and cousins or names out of a hat. Bradburn had previously held a number of roles with Pakistan, including a six-month stint as head coach.Bradburn was also alleged to have used the phrase “this isn’t Western Storm” (the now defunct women’s domestic side based in the South West of England and Wales who were often based in Cardiff) or similar during fielding practice sessions, suggesting the male players were “throwing like girls” when he thought they were demonstrating a lack of intensity in drills.The Regulator also found the “Western Storm” comment started as a private joke with another coach and acknowledged it had been picked up and used by the players. In the context of the ECB’s objective to make cricket the most inclusive sport in the country, this was determined as an aggravating factor considering Bradburn’s influence on the team culture in his role as head coach. Such comments were not made when in the company of Western Storm players or coaches.Bradburn admitted the charge of bringing the game into disrepute – a breach of Regulation 3.3 of the Professional Conduct Regulations 2024 – with The Regulator accepting he did not intend to cause offence with his words.CDC adjudicator Tim O’Gorman issued Bradburn with a reprimand, a caution as to his future conduct, a requirement to attend an appropriate course on discrimination and EDI – with either the Professional Cricketers Association or the New Zealand Players Association – and a suspended fine of £500.The punishment handed down reflects the fact Bradburn never denied making the offending statements and co-operated fully with the investigation, and unreservedly apologised for any offence taken. The scale of the fine also reflects the fact Bradbun had already paid a significant price for his actions having lost his coaching role with Glamorgan.Director of The Cricket Regulator Chris Haward said: “There is no place for discrimination in cricket and normalisation of discriminatory language through this kind of conduct is unacceptable. Where such instances are identified they will be investigated and those responsible will be held to account.”The Regulator fully endorses the CDC’s observation that the culture in any organisation is heavily influenced by those who lead that organisation and so it is especially incumbent on all senior leaders to set the right tone. In this instance, Grant Bradburn failed to meet expectations.”The Regulator would like to thank Glamorgan for their assistance in this matter and praise the openness and courage of those who reported this misconduct.”Removing discrimination from the game is a priority for the Cricket Regulator. We recognise that it takes a lot of courage for those impacted to come forward. We are committed to investigating thoroughly and expeditiously when allegations are raised with us, whether current or in the past.”In a statement released by Glamorgan, chief executive officer Dan Cherry commented: “Glamorgan Cricket acknowledges and welcomes this decision by the Cricket Discipline Committee.”We have a zero-tolerance policy towards discriminatory behaviour so as soon as issues were pointed out to us we acted swiftly to protect those affected and show a strong line against poor behaviours that do not reflect the Club’s values.”We’re confident that the systems and processes we have in place to identify poor behaviour are working by virtue of the fact that those affected felt able to come forward on these points.”Bradburn had overseen Glamorgan’s success in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup during his sole season in charge. The county also finished sixth in both Division Two of the County Championship and the T20 Blast South Group.

New Zealand batter Lauren Down has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against Sri Lanka with a back injury. Uncapped Izzy Sharp has replaced her in the squad.Down sustained the injury on the morning of the first ODI in Napier and has not recovered in time to play a part in the rest of the series. Down herself was a replacement for Bella James, who was ruled out with a grade two quadricep strain on her right leg.Sharp was originally selected for only the T20I series, but she will now join the ODI squad in Nelson on Thursday. Emma Black will also join the squad on Saturday as cover for Hannah Rowe who will miss the final game of the series to be the maid of honour at the wedding of her Central Hinds team-mate Mikaela Greig.Related

• Bella James ruled out of Sri Lanka ODIs; Down named replacement

• NZ replace injured Hayley Jensen with Fran Jonas

• Penfold ruled out of Sri Lanka, Australia series

“We’re all really disappointed for Lauren to be ruled out of the series,” New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer said. “Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game and we wish her a speedy recovery. It does provide an exciting opportunity for Izzy to join the group in Nelson for these last two matches and we’re looking forward to welcoming her.”New Zealand are also without Sophie Devine (break), Molly Penfold (injured) and Hayley Jensen (injured) for this series.

New Zealand Women’s ODI squad

Suzie Bates (capt), Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Emma McLeod, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp, Emma Black (game 3 only)

Australia are hopeful Ellyse Perry will be fit to bat on day two of the women’s Ashes Test at the MCG after she suffered a corked hip while fielding on the opening day.Perry landed heavily on her left hip after diving to flick a ball back on the rope during the afternoon session. She left the field shortly after and did not return for the last two hours of England’s first innings.Australia batted for 22 overs under lights after bowling England out for 170 and lost debutant opener Georgia Voll but Perry did not walk out at No.3 despite being eligible to bat because her injury was external.Annabel Sutherland instead joined Phoebe Litchfield with the Australian team confirming that Perry would not bat on the first night and would instead be assessed ahead of day two with hopes she will be fine to bat when required.Meanwhile, Nat Sciver-Brunt said the mood was “positive” in the England camp after yet another capitulation with the bat. Sciver-Brunt played a lone hand, top-scoring with 51 as England were bowled out for 170 having been sent into bat. It could have been a lot worse had Australia not missed six chances in the field.Sciver-Brunt’s body language gave hints of exasperation, but she was measured with her words after Australia had cruised to 56 for 1 at stumps.”Positive,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Obviously, we would have liked a few more runs but I think with the ball, we did what we wanted to do. We didn’t go chasing anything. We had great energy throughout and tried to build consistent areas and let the ball and the wicket do the talking. So, yeah, I thought we did that. We did that really well.”Alana King however continues to torment England. Australia’s legspinner claimed 4 for 45 on the opening day, including Sciver-Brunt, although she could have had her twice and picked up at least two more as four chances went begging off King’s bowling alone.King now has 18 wickets for the entire multiformat series at 11.33, including Sciver-Brunt three times.Sciver-Brunt was the only England batter to pass 30•AFP/Getty Images

“She’s bowled pretty consistent areas, and obviously got quite a bit of turn actually throughout the series,” Sciver-Brunt said. “And I think the fact that when it does turn, it’s not always the same amount every time. Some might skid, some might turn and bounce. So yeah, that makes it quite tricky when the stumps are always kept in play.”Despite being bowled by King playing back to her for the second time in the series, Sciver-Brunt said England’s plans hadn’t changed too much throughout the series.”I think playing her off the back foot as much as possible, and just, I guess reacting to the ball,” Sciver-Brunt said. “She does toss the odd one up as well, so being confident to use our feet as well. But yeah, she bowled pretty well today.”King was thrilled to take four wickets after bowling 23 overs unchanged from the Shane Warne stand end at the MCG. She hoped her hero was watching from on high.”Bowling from the Shane Warne stand end is something that is the first time I’ve ever done playing, obviously, here since the stand has been named after him,” King said. “So pretty nostalgic. He’s obviously taking plenty of poles at the MCG for fun, so yeah, all I can say is hopefully he’s smiling down and having a couple of beers and enjoying a few ripping past the outside edge.”It’s pretty cool. Loved playing at the MCG. I’ve played a few games here. It’s home for me. Loved playing Test cricket here and to bowl a whole session was pretty cool. Can’t get much better than that.”

India are not going to take a punt on Mohammed Shami unless they are “not 100%, but 200% sure” about his fitness to fly him to Australia, captain Rohit Sharma has said. Rohit has placed the onus of the decision entirely on the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, formerly known as the National Cricket Academy (NCA), for clarity on where Shami’s fitness stands.Shami has returned to domestic cricket since his ankle surgery kept him out of action for nearly a year and will next play the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal starting December 21.”About Shami, I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him, where he is rehabbing,” Rohit said at the press conference in Brisbane after the third Test ended in a draw. “Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update.Related

• Shami to be rested for Bengal's opening Vijay Hazare Trophy game

• Rohit on Brisbane effort: 'If your attitude is good, you can turn impossible into possible'

• India and Australia take a moment to recalibrate as Gabba stalemate leaves everything up for grabs

• Rain has final say as Australia, India draw at the Gabba

• Shami named in Bengal's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad

“I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, look, the last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens.”So, there is no way we want to take that chance unless we are like, not 100%, 200% sure, we’re not going to take any risk. But yeah, like I said in the last press conference, the door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we’ll be happy to have him.”Shami has been under the Centre of Excellence’s watch ever since he underwent surgery ankle surgery in London this February. He had been on track for a comeback during the home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand and had even bowling full tilt prior to the start of India’s domestic season in August but aggravated a knee problem while at rehab, which forced the BCCI to take a more cautious approach.Over the past month, Shami has elicited talks over his impending Test return at some stage of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after featuring in every single domestic game for his state side Bengal since he regained match fitness. This includes one Ranji Trophy game, where he picked up seven wickets, as well as nine T20 outings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).Since his return to the domestic fold, Shami had been under full-time monitoring by Nitin Patel, the Centre of Excellence’s head of sports science. This team, headed by Patel, has been travelling around the country to take stock of his progress and apprise the board and team management of his progress.As things stand, Shami is yet to fully receive the BCCI’s nod as he is believed to have complained of some swelling in his knees during the T20 competition, which Rohit touched upon following India’s loss in Adelaide.At the time, however, the Bengal team management is understood to have received no specific requests over Shami’s workload and he subsequently played, most recently the SMAT quarter-final last week where Bengal were knocked out by Baroda. Shami picked up nine wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 7.85, with a best of 3 for 21 against Hyderabad.Shami’s participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy could help ascertain his readiness possibly for the Champions Trophy with time running out for him to be available for the last two Australia Tests.

Rishabh Pant’s dismissal in India’s fourth-innings chase has emerged as a potentially match-turning moment in the Mumbai Test. He was given out caught bat-pad, with DRS overturning the on-field umpire’s decision, and India captain Rohit Sharma is not sure if that was the right call. Pant stood between New Zealand and a historic 3-0 series sweep with 64 off 57 balls, and before his dismissal India were 106 for 6, their target 41 runs away. New Zealand eventually won by 25 runs.”About that dismissal, I honestly, I don’t know,” Rohit said after the match. “If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire’s on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So I don’t know how that decision was overturned, since the umpire didn’t give him out.Related

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• New Zealand do the unthinkable and hand India their first 3-0 whitewash at home

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“The bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don’t know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind.”New Zealand had already missed a chance to review an lbw shout against Pant earlier in the day, when India were 59 for 5. Replays returned three reds on that incident. Then, in the 22nd over, Ajaz Patel twice went up in appeal against Pant. Once for a catch at slip. The on-field decision was not-out, and DRS upheld it.Two balls later, Ajaz spotted Pant charging out of his crease, pulled his length back, and forced the batter into a defensive prod. Pant had enjoyed a lot of success when he had come down the track in this innings, often hitting the ball straight and hard to the boundary. Here he had little choice but to try and adjust, and the ball lobbed off him, into the keeper’s gloves. Ajaz and the close-in fielders thought there had been an inside edge onto his front pad. Umpire Richard Illingworth didn’t. New Zealand captain Tom Latham sent it upstairs for a review.Rishabh Pant walks back, unhappy with the third umpire’s decision•AFP/Getty Images

A spike appeared on UltraEdge when the ball seemed to pass the bat. But the bat and pad were also in close proximity at the same time, which meant the spike could have come from the bat brushing the pad.When the replays came up on the big screen, New Zealand began celebrating. Pant looked completely unflustered until this point – he’d performed a double glove-touch with his batting partner Washington Sundar as soon as New Zealand went up to review; it was their last remaining review. Now he walked over to the on-field officials with his hand extended.Third umpire Paul Reiffel, in making his judgment, noted that the spike could have been from bat hitting pad. But then, after further replays and rocking-and-rolling of the moment where bat, pad and ball were close together, he changed his mind based on what he thought was a deflection at the moment the ball passed the bat.Latham explained New Zealand’s thinking about the dismissal at the post-match press conference. “A few of us heard two noises, and I guess when you review in that situation you leave it up to the umpire’s hands,” he said. “We can’t necessarily see the footage that the third umpire gets so that’s certainly out of our control in terms of what that may look like. We obviously heard a couple of noises and decided to take the review and obviously it fell on the right side for us so that’s obviously up to the umpires. It’s out of our control.”New Zealand had reduced India to 29 for 5 on a rank turner and looked heavy favourites to win. But Pant managed to turn the tide for a while and Rohit felt his wicket had a huge impact on the game. “That dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point. And it felt like he will take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal. Got out and then we were bowled out right after that.”

A blistering Lizelle Lee backed up a record century with another ton, becoming the first player to score hundreds in consecutive WBBL matches.The Hobart Hurricanes opener cracked 103 off 59 deliveries as her side beat a struggling Adelaide Strikers outfit by 28 runs. Lee’s knock, which featured 13 fours and four sixes, came after she notched the highest-ever WBBL score of 150 not out against Perth Scorchers on Sunday.Hurricanes posted 191 for 2 and restricted the last-placed Strikers to 163 for 3 to jump to the top of the ladder with three matches in hand before finals.South Africa’s Lee, who retired from international cricket in 2022, had to change bats after hitting a six in the second over. She was dropped twice in the 20s off the spin of Anesu Mushangwe in the fourth over and made Strikers pay dearly. She brought up her half century off just 35 balls with a six before reaching triple figures in the 14th over with a boundary.Lee was run out in the next over at the non-striker’s end after a ball touched bowler Jemma Barsby’s hand and ricocheted into the stumps. Across the past two matches, Lee has hit 253 off 134 balls with 25 fours and 16 sixes. She also equaled Alyssa Healy with the most WBBL centuries.Lee was supported well by Nicola Carey, who made an unbeaten 64 off 46 balls, and skipper Elyse Villani’s 23 not out from 14 at the death.Smriti Mandhana got Strikers’ chase off to a flying start, but when the India international fell to Lauren Smith in the eighth over her side’s chances dipped.Young legspinner Amy Smith put the breaks on Strikers in the middle overs and finished with an impressive 1 for 16 from four overs. South African import Laura Wolvaardt was unbeaten with 63 off 40 but it wasn’t enough.

There is some uncertainty around the conditions that the second Test between India and Bangladesh will be played in with representatives from both teams admitting that they didn’t know which pitch will be used.”To be honest, I don’t know which surface we are going to play on yet,” India batting coach Abhishek Nayar said on Thursday afternoon, which followed similar thoughts expressed by Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe on Wednesday.”Yes I had a look at [the pitch],” Hathurusinghe had said, “But the groundsman has prepared two pitches. We don’t know on which we will play on. Tomorrow we will find out.”During Wednesday’s training session, India captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir had a look at the two pitches that have been prepared for this Test match. They seemed to spend a little more time looking at the drier of the two black-soil surfaces.Related

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• Pant re-enters Test batting rankings at No. 6 after Chennai century

• Domestic grind prepares Akash well for the deep end

• Weather and pitch in focus as India, Bangladesh ponder three spinners

Indications are it might start as a good batting surface before taking slow and low turn from the third day onwards. But the weather in the week of the Test match might complicate matters. It’s overcast and there are thunder storms expected on the first three days of the game, which may slow down the natural wear and tear that helps subcontinental pitches become spin-friendly. There was some rain after India’s training session ended on Thursday as well and the groundstaff were quick to get the square covered.India, as a result, are waiting until the morning of the Test to finalise their XI, specifically whether they need an extra spinner instead of the extra seamer they used on Chennai’s red-soil surface.”Both the pitches look pretty good,” Nayar said. “Kanpur is always known to have good pitches. I am not sure about the bounce yet. I think, with the conditions and the forecast, it is going to be interesting as to how when we turn up to go in the morning, the conditions are. I think a lot will depend on that because as you know in Test wicket, conditions can be a huge factor in how the pitch plays. So it is too early for us to judge and decide or have any sort of thought process on the pitch or the conditions. But we are hoping we come in tomorrow to a sunny day and not an overcast Kanpur.”India lead the series 1-0 and if they go in with a spinner over a seamer, their choice will be between local boy Kuldeep Yadav, who had an outstanding series against England at the start of the year, and Axar Patel, whose ability to relentlessly attack the stumps can come in quite handy if there is low bounce. Axar joined R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the last Test that India played in Kanpur, against New Zealand in 2021, which went into the fifth day with the visitors holding onto their last wicket and drawing the game.

Sherfane Rutherford’s unavailability has added to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots’ troubles in CPL 2024. Midway through their last home game of the season against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, a CPL release stated that Rutherford had withdrawn from the rest of the tournament for personal reasons.A replacement for Rutherford will be announced in due course.Rutherford, 26, had played just four games for Patriots this season, scoring 35 runs at a strike rate of 194.44. In Rutherford’s absence, Patriots had Dominic Drakes, who is predominantly a bowling allrounder, batting at No.7 against Falcons on Sunday. They are currently rooted to the bottom of the CPL 2024 points table with a solitary win in six matches.Related

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• Patriots bring in Hasaranga and Clarkson as reinforcements

• Amazon Warriors sign Moeen Ali as Saim Ayub's replacement

Though Sri Lanka wristspinner Wanindu Hasaranga bagged four wickets for Patriots, they failed to defend 153 on a tacky surface on Sunday. Since winning CPL 2021 at home, Patriots have lost 11 completed games on the bounce at Basseterre.”I must say thanks, but we disappointed them [the St Kitts and Nevis crowd],” Patriots’ captain Andre Fletcher said after the game. “It’s hard and I would like to apologise as the leader as well, saying sorry for not giving them a win on home soil. But all is not lost, we still have four more games left. We still have to go out there play the cricket and play hard and we will try to win the next four.”Patriots allrounder Kyle Mayers is also an injury doubt after he left the field following a two-over spell with the ball, with the broadcasters suggesting that he had sustained a hamstring injury. South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw, however, returned to action for Patriots after having recovered from a calf injury.Prior to the start of the season, Patriots had lost Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza to injury and were depleted by the unavailability of Hasaranga and Tabraiz Shamsi at different points. Tristan Stubbs, meanwhile, has returned to South Africa for national duties.Fakhar Zaman’s absence is a significant blow for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons•CPL T20/Getty Images

Fakhar returns home for Champions Cup

Pakistan and Falcons opener Fakhar Zaman has left the CPL to participate in the Champions One-day Cup, Pakistan’s newer version of the domestic 50-over competition, which will run from September 12 to 29, clashing with the CPL. Fakhar is due to arrive in Pakistan on September 10 and will turn out for Wolves, who will be led by Mohammad Rizwan.Fakhar is currently Falcons’ highest run-getter this CPL with 159 runs in five innings at an average of 31.80 and strike rate of 133.61. Fakhar’s Falcons team-mates Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir, though, have made themselves unavailable for the Champions Cup and will instead continue to play in the CPL. Guyana Amazon Warriors’ wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan will also stay at the CPL.In Fakhar’s absence, Brandon King made his debut for Falcons and slotted in at the top after having recovered from the side injury he sustained during the 2024 T20 World Cup at home in June. King marked his return with 29 off 16 balls, which set up Falcons’ successful chase of 154.