Babar Azam Uncertain, Starc Spell And Rishabh Pant Injury- August 23 Cricket Highlights

Babar Azam and Mitchell Starc [Source: AFP]

Babar Azam looks uncertain to play for Pakistan in the second Test against England. Mitchell Starc wrecked Bangladesh on Day 2 of their series-decider. In other news, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant suffered an injury on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.

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 Sunday, August 23. 

Babar Azam uncertain for second Test vs England

The availability of Pakistan captain Babar Azam for the upcoming second Test of the series against England at Lord’s is uncertain. As per a report, the legendary Pakistani batter has not participated in a training session for the past four days, and the swelling on his injured finger continues to persist.

Also Read- Bangladesh Break Into Top 6 In ICC Test Rankings For First Time, Pakistan Demoted

Babar also missed the first Test match between hosts England and the visiting Pakistan team last week at Leeds owing to his finger injury.

Mitchell Starc blows away Bangladesh as Australia levels series 1-1

Mitchell Starc wrecked Bangladesh for the second time in two days at Mackay, this time by picking up match-winning figures of 4-39 in the visitor’s second innings. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon also bagged three wickets each to bundle out Bangladesh for just 95 on Day 2.

Australia ended up securing a huge innings win by 51 runs to level the two-match home Test series by a 1-1 margin.

Devdutt Padikkal draws up second successive ton vs Sri Lanka

India’s experimental number three Devdutt Padikkal mounted 117 runs off 193 balls with 12 elegant boundaries against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of their series-deciding second Test match in Colombo. The innings marked Padikkal’s only second Test century, and also his second of the series to extend his series tally past the 300-run mark.

His innings, coupled with captain Shubman Gill’s fifty pushed Team India’s total to 300-5 in 85 overs by stumps on Day 1.

Karn Sharma announces retirement 

Indian leg-spinner Karn Sharma has announced his retirement from all forms of the game. Aged 38, the cricketer previously represented Team India in one Test, two ODIs and one T20I match in 2014 before falling out of national contention. 

Sharma has also played alongside the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during his 12-season IPL career between the years 2009 and 2025.

Kuldeep Yadav suffering from illness, Rishabh Pant retired hurt

Team India dropped ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI for the second Test of the series against Sri Lanka. As per the BCCI, the cricketer is suffering from illness and was replaced by debutant Saransh Jain in the playing XI.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant also suffered an injury on the opening day of the match, and was forced to ‘retire’ from the crease after reaching 3* off 15 balls.