Mandhana takes over from Harmanpreet; Bond out at Phoenix; Rahul & Jaiswal in NZ A — cricket digest 07 Oct 2026

· Cricombo Editorial

Mandhana named India women’s all-format captain as Harmanpreet steps down; squads set for Zimbabwe series

Smriti Mandhana has been appointed India’s women’s captain across formats after Harmanpreet Kaur resigned from the role. Mandhana, who has previously led India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs, will begin her tenure with a home white-ball series against Zimbabwe: three T20Is in Raipur from October 16, followed by three ODIs in Vadodara through October 28.

India have also named squads for the series, with Niki Prasad and Jintimani Kalita the new faces in the T20I group and Nandani Sharma the new addition to the ODI side. Shafali Verma will be vice-captain for the T20Is, while Deepti Sharma takes the deputy role in the ODIs; among the changes, Jemimah Rodrigues misses out after a high-grade right hamstring tear.

Birmingham Phoenix remove Shane Bond after last-place Hundred finish

Birmingham Phoenix have removed Shane Bond as men’s head coach midway through a two-year deal that was due to run until the end of the 2027 season. The decision follows a bottom-of-the-table finish in the men’s Hundred, where Phoenix won their opener before sliding into a seven-match losing run.

Bond confirmed his departure and accepted results had not been good enough, with injuries to captain Jacob Bethell and Mustafizur Rahman cited as setbacks and several high-profile signings underperforming. An end-of-season review led by Warwickshire director of cricket James Thomas prompted the change, with Phoenix aiming to move quickly given the player retention window opens next Friday; Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell are among names mentioned as potential candidates.

Rahul and Jaiswal picked for India A’s New Zealand red-ball tour; Pant named subject to fitness

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal will play three red-ball matches for India A in New Zealand from October 26 as India build towards a two-Test series there later in the year. Dhruv Jurel will captain the touring party, which also includes Devdutt Padikkal and B Sai Sudharsan, while Rishabh Pant has been selected but his participation will depend on fitness.

Pant recently led Rest of India to an Irani Cup win but has since made himself unavailable for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy opener from October 11. The squad also features seamers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, plus Washington Sundar and Manav Suthar as the frontline spinners; the tour begins with a match in Lincoln before moving to Christchurch and then returning to Lincoln to finish on November 10.

In brief

  • On debut for Victoria, Harry Hoekstra made 45 from No. 9 and then removed Jake Weatherald for a duck as South Australia reached 4 for 1 in reply to Victoria’s 244.
  • India chose to bowl against West Indies in the first T20I in Lucknow, handing debuts to Naman Dhir and West Indies’ Kamil Pooran.
  • Naman Dhir’s offspin made an immediate impact in Lucknow, recovering after being hit for three sixes in his first T20I against West Indies.
  • Tanmay Baloda took 14 wickets in the match as India Under-19 beat Australia Under-19 by ten wickets inside three days in Ahmedabad.
  • Abhipray Biswas and Yashbardhan Chauhan hit fifties before Baloda’s four-for left Australia Under-19 86 for 4 on day two, trailing India Under-19 by 55.
  • Nathan McSweeney’s 123 set up Australia A’s 125-run win over India A in the first unofficial ODI, with Mahli Beardman taking four wickets and Rajat Patidar top-scoring in the chase with 53.
  • Suryakumar Yadav has been left out of Mumbai’s squad for the Ranji Trophy opener due to a lack of red-ball game time, with Siddhesh Lad replacing Shardul Thakur as captain and Ayush Mhatre named vice-captain.
  • Cameron Green has been ruled out of Australia’s first Test against South Africa in Durban with an abdominal strain and will not bowl even if he returns later in the series.
  • Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said a 12-team World Test Championship is nearing reality, while reiterating his view that Test cricket’s long-term future will involve fewer nations.
  • Paul Farbrace has left Sussex to become Lancashire’s director of cricket, despite having initially agreed to stay on at Hove part-time to help with the transition.
  • Khulna Division began their National Cricket League campaign with an innings win over Barishal Division, while Dhaka’s match ended in a draw after Taibur and Sumon helped them recover.
  • Pakistan’s latest selection reset has brought Hasan Nawaz back into focus ahead of their upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
  • A stats explainer looked at whether five individual hundreds in one ODI is a record and where Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball T20I hundred sits historically.
  • A retrospective revisited Australia’s final Test against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2018, played in the immediate aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal.
  • Matt Renshaw spoke about how a shift in perspective has helped him handle setbacks and embrace an unexpected three-format international comeback.
  • A feature reflected on Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy legacy for India, arguing the expectations she later faced were shaped by the standards she helped establish.

Sources: ESPNcricinfo