Babar Azam Captaincy, Jasprit Bumrah Returns And Ireland Squad- July 28 Cricket Highlights

Babar Azam and Jasprit Bumrah [Source: AP, x]

Babar Azam reportedly wants Pakistan’s all-format captaincy after being re-appointed as Test skipper before the Test series in the West Indies and England. Jasprit Bumrah makes his return to the Indian Test squad for the series in Sri Lanka. In other news, Cricket Ireland has unveiled a strong squad for the ODI series against Afghanistan.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Tuesday, July 28. 

Paul Stirling returns, Ireland name squad for Afghanistan ODIs

Cricket Ireland has announced a 15-player Ireland squad for the first three ODIs of the five-match home series against Afghanistan. Legendary top-order batter Paul Stirling will be making his return to the national side for the first time since the conclusion of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year. 

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Stirling will lead the Ireland team, and he will be accompanied by his deputy Lorcan Tucker and star performers like Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, among others. 

Babar Azam sets condition for all-format captaincy

Babar Azam was recently re-appointed as Pakistan’s Test captain at an expense of struggling skipper Shan Masood. It now appears that the legendary batter reportedly wanted Pakistan’s all-format captaincy. 

As per a report, the cricketer only accepted Test captaincy if he would also be considered for Pakistan’s ODI and T20I captaincy by the PCB. A source close to the selectors stated that Babar will only be considered if his team performs well in West Indies and England.

Bumrah, Jadeja return in India squad for Sri Lanka tour

The BCCI has unveiled a strong Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test tour of Sri Lanka. Legendary fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be making their returns to the national Test side after missing the one-off home Test against Afghanistan.

Shubman Gill will continue to lead the team, with KL Rahul serving as his deputy. The team also features Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav among others.

Ryan ten Doeschate steps down as India’s assistant coach

Former Netherlands cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate has stepped down as India’s assistant coach. The cricketer-turned-coach had already informed the BCCI of his decision earlier this month during India’s white-ball series in England. 

Doeschate will reportedly be re-joining the KKR franchise as a member of its coaching staff ahead of the IPL 2027 season next year.

Litton Das likely to become Bangladesh’s ODI captain

Litton Das is being considered to become the new ODI captain of the Bangladesh cricket team. Currently leading the T20I side, the blistering wicketkeeper-batter will likely replace all-rounder star Mehidy Hasan Miraz to become Bangladesh captain in road towards the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next year in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

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