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Fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has been ruled out of Zimbabwe’s upcoming T20I tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to a back injury. Left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri, yet to be capped in T20Is, has been named his replacement.There are no other changes to the squad that recently played Afghanistan at home, which Zimbabwe lost 0-3. Muzarabani, who had missed the last two T20Is of that series, picked up 2 for 41 in the first T20I.Nyamhuri, 19, has played four Tests and four ODIs, having made his international debut in December 2024. He was named in the T20I squad for the tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in July but did not feature in any of the games.Led by Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe will open their campaign against hosts Pakistan in Rawalpindi on November 17, before facing Sri Lanka at the same venue on November 19. Zimbabwe will then travel to Lahore, where they will meet Pakistan again on November 23 and Sri Lanka on November 25. The top two teams on the points table will contest the final on 29 November in Lahore.Zimbabwe squad for T20I tri-series: Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Wellington Masakadza, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Brendan Taylor

Big picture

The headline is that Afghanistan absolutely to win in order to make the Super Four, or else Bangladesh get in ahead of them. Sri Lanka merely have to avoid being handed an all-time thrashing.If Sri Lanka bat first and make 150, for example, Afghanistan would have to chase that target down in 11.4 overs in order to knock Sri Lanka out and have Bangladesh accompany them to the Super Four. If Afghanistan bat first and make 150, Sri Lanka would have to score 84 or fewer for Bangladesh to qualify.Essentially, Afghanistan need to win. Bangladesh would ideally like Sri Lanka to win. But if Sri Lanka lose, Bangladesh need them to lose by a gargantuan margin.Related

• Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of Asia Cup, Abdollah Ahmadzai named replacement

• Pathum Nissanka is raising his bar one notch at a time

This is what cricket is like midway through the third decade of the 21st century. India and Pakistan won’t shake hands after a match, but organisers insist on them playing each other at every major tournament nevertheless. This Asia Cup is structured to give them the best chance of having at least two meetings. Everyone else has little choice but to accept that competitive equilibrium must now be laid on the altar of capitalism.Sri Lanka, for the record, are very capable of collapsing. They almost lost against Hong Kong on Monday, their middle order entering a familiar nosedive following another Pathum Nissanka fifty. You only have to look back to about three weeks for an occasion in which they were all out in double figures – Zimbabwe rolling them for 80 in Harare. Afghanistan are also a team they have lost to three times in their eight T20I meetings.Both teams’ strengths over the last several years, however, have been their bowlers. Afghanistan have Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka Wanindu Hasaranga – both excellent legspinners who add plenty with the bat. Both teams also tend to rely on allrounders and have flexibility built into their T20 play. There is also fragility to both batting orders and suspicions over whether their lower middle orders are up to scratch against the best teams in the world.Rashid Khan has been one of Afghanistan’s biggest strengths•Asian Cricket Council

The pressure to win, though, is on Afghanistan. Sri Lanka will be fine just muddling through. If they get through to the Super Four, they will back themselves to regroup as they did in 2022, when they won this tournament. Afghanistan scrambled mighty tournament charges even more recently, though, when they got to the semi-finals of last year’s T20 World Cup.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWWLW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Afghanistan: LWLWW

In the spotlight

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has hit 248 runs at a strike rate of 172 against Sri Lanka in six T20I matches. These are outstanding numbers, but perhaps unsurprising ones when you consider that he has been a regular player in the Lanka Premier League, often playing in the more successful teams. He has played alongside the likes of Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Binura Fernando, so he has a better idea than most about the challenges Sri Lanka’s bowling unit will present. Given his stats against Sri Lanka, his team-mates will probably pay attention.Dushmantha Chameera has been Sri Lanka’s most dependable fast bowler•Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Dushmantha Chameera has, in his most recent run in international cricket, begun to carve out a niche as Sri Lanka’s most dependable fast bowler. He still pushes 145kph when in good rhythm, but importantly, he has learned to combine that pace with excellent control. The yorkers at the end of the innings are in especially good shape at the moment, and there are death overs when he bowls full and wide, almost exclusively, and has found success with that method. Sri Lanka’s strategy, generally, is to use him to take wickets with two overs in the powerplay, then have him shut out scoring options with two overs at the death.

Pitch and conditions

Abu Dhabi tends to be one of the higher-scoring venues in the UAE, although slower bowlers have still got purchase there in this tournament.

Team news

Although licking their wounds after the loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan may keep the same XI.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Saqidullah Ataq, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Rashid Khan (capt.), 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiSri Lanka will also likely ride with the same crew. Theekshana went wicketless against Hong Kong, but maintained a good economy rate. Matheesha Pathirana and Fernando may have to sit out.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt.), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Nuwan Thushara

Stats and trivia

• Gurbaz’s strike rate of 172.22 against Sri Lanka is his highest against any opposition.
• In 2025, Chameera has taken 11 wickets in five innings, and maintained an economy rate of 6.40, although he is frequently called upon to bowl in the powerplay and the death.
• Since 2020, these teams have played seven T20Is. Sri Lanka has won four of those matches, and Afghanistan three.

The man Jake Weatherald hopes to partner at the top of the Australian order did him a big favour on day one of the opening Sheffield Shield clash between Queensland and Tasmania.Test and Queensland opener Usman Khawaja dropped Weatherald at first slip off the bowling of Jack Wildermuth when he had made just four on Saturday at Allan Border Field.Weatherald took full advantage of his life, hitting two boundaries in the same over. The in-form Tasmania opener went on to make 67 from 99 balls to continue his relentless runscoring over the past 12 months.Related

• Webster misses Sheffield Shield opener with ankle injury

He partnered with captain Jordan Silk to rescue the visitors’ innings after Silk’s decision to bat first looked to be backfiring horribly.Reeling at 33 for 3, Tasmania steadied and were 299 for 6 at stumps. Silk led the way with 104, his 13 first-class century, and Bradley Hope made 76.Weatherald is coming into Ashes selection calculations thanks to his run of form. He was Shield’s leading runscorer season and made 183 in July for Australia A against Sri Lanka. But he said after Saturday’s play that he had heard “nothing” from national selectors.”It was a good – a bit of luck. You need that when you’re opening,” Weatherald said of his early life. “I was happy with how I moved after that – it was a rough little start.”You probably get a little bit of that, ‘I get an opportunity to kick on now, have that bad shot, that rash shot, out of the kitchen’. Sometimes you just miss it or snick it straight to slips and you get out, so it was good I kicked on from there. I felt really good.”He hit eight boundaries and had a crucial 80-run stand for the fourth wicket with his captain before Michael Neser took a sharp reflex return catch with one hand.Weatherald said he and Silk tried to put the pressure back on the Queensland attack in their stand.Silk went on to make his 104 from 170 balls and was filthy with himself when he was also out caught and bowled to Mitch Swepson. The spinner’s catch was much more straightforward thanks to a leading edge.Wildermuth was eventually rewarded when he trapped Hope lbw, ending his 171-ball knock.Jake Doran and Nikhil Chaudhary were the not out batters, while Neser (2-53 from 18 overs) was the only multiple wicket-taker.Tasmania suffered a blow when Australian all-rounder Beau Webster was ruled out of the game because of an minor ankle injury.

Mumbai Indians allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana and Gujarat Giants allrounder Ashleigh Gardner have been retained for the maximum price of INR 3.5 crore ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.The WPL officially released the list of players retained by the franchises on Thursday and Sciver-Brunt – not the captain Harmanpreet Kaur – was MI’s first retention. RCB wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was retained for INR 2.75 crore, the second-highest bracket, while Harmanpreet and Giants opener Beth Mooney were retained for INR 2.5 crore each. There were a few notable surprises in the retention list. UP Warriorz chose not to retain Deepti Sharma, the recent ODI World Cup’s Player of the Tournament, holding on to only one player in Shweta Sehrawat. Among other major releases were Amelia Kerr, Alyssa Healy, and Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning.As per WPL retention rules, franchises can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and at most two uncapped Indian players. If a franchise wanted to retain five players, at least one of them should be an uncapped Indian player. The WPL has for the first time given teams right-to-match (RTM) options at the auction to buy back a player who was part of their 2025 squad.Each franchise has been allotted INR 15 crore to build their squad for WPL 2026. It is understood that the mega player auction will take place in Delhi on November 27.Here’s the full list of players retained by all five franchises:

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: Nat Sciver-Brunt – INR 3.5 crore, Harmanpreet Kaur – INR 2.5 crore, Hayley Matthews – INR 1.75 crore, Amanjot Kaur – INR 1 crore, G Kamalini – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.25 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.75 crore; No RTM option available
Notable players released: Amelia Kerr, Nadine de Klerk, Yastika Bhatia, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Players retained: Smriti Mandhana – INR 3.5 crore, Richa Ghosh – INR 2.75 crore, Ellyse Perry – INR 2 crore, Shreyanka Patil – INR 60 lakh
Money spent: INR 8.85 crore; Purse remaining: INR 6.15 crore; One RTM option available
Notable players released: Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Danni Wyatt-HodgeWhat they said: “Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order,” new head coach Malolan Rangarajan said of retaining Ghosh. “And somebody we view with leadership potential as well.”

Delhi Capitals

Players retained: Jemimah Rodrigues – INR 2.2 crore, Shafali Verma – INR 2.2 crore. Annabel Sutherland – INR 2.2 crore, Marizanne Kapp – INR 2.2 crore, Niki Prasad – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.3 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.7 crore; No RTM available
Notable players released: Meg Lanning, N Shree Charani, Radha Yadav, Arundhati ReddyWhat they said: “It’s been really tough,” DC head coach Jonathan Batty told JioStar about not retaining Lanning. About who could now lead DC in WPL 2026, he said: “Jemimah’s got a great captaincy record [in domestic cricket]. Obviously, Annabel Sutherland captains in WBBL as well. So there’s lots of candidates out there. We also got the mega auction to come, so there’s some candidates out there as well. So we’re leaving our options open.”

Gujarat Giants

Players retained: Ash Gardner – INR 3.5 crore, Beth Mooney – INR 2.5 crore
Money spent: INR 6 crore; Purse remaining: INR 9 crore available; Three RTM options available
Notable players released: Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield

UP Warriorz

Player retained: Shweta Sehrawat – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 50 lakh; Purse remaining: INR 14.50 crore; Four RTM options available
Notable players released: Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kranti Gaud, Chinelle HenryWhat they said: “I feel the thought process from the think tank, from the support group, was more so to go in with a clean slate, try and have as much money in the purse, to make sure we can not only get the team that we feel we need to win that championship, but also get a lot of these players back in the auction, given the opportunity,” Abhishek Nayar, newly appointed head coach, said. “But the thought process also behind having someone like a Shweta Sehrawat in the ranks and retaining her, was the faith this franchise has put into as a youngster playing three years, being someone who’s played almost every game for us and being able to perform, and now going up the ranks in domestic cricket. We just felt we would love to have someone like that back in our set-up.”