The International Masters League (IML) 2025 is set to bring an electrifying wave of nostalgia and excitement as it unveils the India Masters and Sri Lanka Masters squads, both of whom comprise cricketing greats who once dominated and decorated the international stage. With the tournament scheduled from February 22 to March 16, 2025, fans will witness the revival of cricket’s golden era. Indian cricket fans are in for a treat as Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar returns to lead the India Masters. The squad is a formidable mix of elegance, power, and match-winning prowess, featuring some of the most celebrated names of the 2000s and 2010s.

Batting brilliance returns with Yuvraj Singh, the hero of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and fifty-over World Cup in 2011, alongside Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu, who thrilled fans with their fearless stroke-play. The Pathan brothers, Irfan and Yusuf, will display their explosive all-round skills, while Naman Ojha will take charge behind the stumps, as per a press release from IML.

The bowling attack comprises seasoned match-winners, with Vinay Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni leading the pace attack. Players like Stuart Binny, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Sharma, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, and Abhimanyu Mithun make this a well-rounded squad, which is ready to reignite past rivalries and produce exhilarating cricket.

Speaking about playing in the inaugural edition of the International Masters League, Irfan Pathan said, “The International Masters League is a tournament that pays tribute to cricket’s golden age. I am thrilled to represent India Masters in Season 1 of the league, and play alongside Sachin Tendulkar, the maestro, and other colleagues, with whom I shared many happy and precious moments in the past. We are hosting the IML, but I can assure cricket fans that we will not be generous on the field. We will produce tough cricket and do our best to win the title.”

Yusuf Pathan added: “Irfan and I were members of the Indian team that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. Memories of that tournament will be rekindled in the days and weeks to follow, as we will take the field for India Masters in the inaugural season of the International Masters League. As had been the case in 2007, we will give it everything on the field and do whatever we can to win the tournament.”

The Sri Lanka Masters, led by Kumar Sangakkara, promise a masterclass in skill and experience. An ambassador of the game, Sangakkara was a two-time fifty-over World Cup finalist in 2007 and 2011 respectively, and a T20 World Cup winner in 2014. He will be joined by Romesh Kaluwitharana, the swashbuckling opener-keeper from Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning squad.

The batting line-up features Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, and Chinthaka Jayasinghe, known for their reliability under pressure. Ashan Priyanjan and Asela Gunaratne bring in stability, while the bowling attack is spearheaded by pacers Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, and Dhammika Prasad. All-round firepower comes from Seekkuge Prasanna, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Chaturanga de Silva, and Isuru Udana, making Sri Lanka a well-balanced force in IML 2025.

The IML is a celebration of cricket’s greatest icons, bringing Masters from India, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, West Indies, and South Africa back onto the field. The league is set to unveil the squads of the rest of the teams in the coming days.

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan dropped a cryptic post after India stalwart Virat Kohli was left bamboozled on Day 2 of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match against Railways. Once again, fans turned up in huge numbers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to watch the hometown hero, with hopes that he would dazzle on the crease. However, to the disappointment of all the fans, Kohli’s time on the crease lasted for just 15 deliveries. After seeing off a couple of deliveries, Kohli eventually found a hang of it.

He executed a perfect straight drive on the 14th delivery to find the boundary rope, sending the entire crowd into a frenzy. On the next ball, Himanshu Sangwan produced a perfect inswinger to beat Kohli’s blade, sending his off-stump cartwheeling in the air. Kohli had to return to the dugout with a mere score of six.

In the aftermath of Kohli’s dismissal, Irfan took to X and dropped a cryptic message, highlighting a modern-day cricketer’s job to play cricket year-round, not to train for 10 months and play for two.

“At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months,” Irfan wrote on X.

At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025

For the thousands of fans who had flocked to the stadium hoping for a Kohli masterclass, it was a moment of disappointment. The moment after Kohli’s dismissal, a huge section of the crowd started to walk out of the stadium.

After Kohli’s dismissal, captain Ayush Badoni took the burden of scoring runs on his shoulder and delivered a captain’s knock. Sumit Mathur joined Badoni at the crease to forge a 133-run partnership, handing Delhi a commanding position.

Badoni stood a run away from celebrating his fourth first-class hundred. But Karn Sharma, with all his experience, pegged Badoni away on 99. Mathur stayed unbeaten at the end of the day with a score of 78(189), lifting Delhi to 334/7 with a 93-run lead.

Virat Kohli became the latest high-profile batter to flop on his Ranji Trophy return. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, etc. couldn’t get their bats to do the talking in the previous round of matches while Kohli added just 6 runs to Delhi’s total against Railways in the first-innings outing on Friday. Seeing Kohli last just 15 balls against Railways, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan went on a rant on ‘domestic cricket’ again, highlighting how difficult it is even for international players to get going in the Ranji Trophy.

The Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi saw thousands of fans line up in queues to get a glimpse of Kohli but they were left stunned seeing the local boy falter yet again.

Irfan, in a couple of posts on X (formerly Twitter), explained that top-level cricketers are required to go through the grind and play for the entire year and not just train for 10 months to play for the rest two.

“Indian domestic cricket, especially with the red ball, presents unique challenges. These tend to come up during the winter months. The pitches have more in them, and bowlers you’ve never faced can really surprise you. In northern India, the black soil alters how the pitch behaves, while the same bowler in the west of India might test you in a whole new way. You can score runs or get out, but there’s much more to it than that. This is exactly why I’ve been advocating for current Indian players to spend as much time as they can playing domestic cricket,” Irfan said in the first post.

Indian domestic cricket, especially with the red ball, presents unique challenges. These tend to come up during the winter months. The pitches have more in them, and bowlers you’ve never faced can really surprise you. In northern India, the black soil alters how the pitch…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025

“At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months,” his second post read.

At the end of the day, a modern-day cricketer’s job is to play cricket year-round, managing niggles and injuries, not to train for 10 months just to play for 2 months.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 31, 2025

Kohli would have one more opportunity to put some runs under his belt when he will come out to play in the second innings against Railways.

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan sees the return of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to domestic cricket as a “fantastic” moment for Indian cricket. After failing to live up to the expectations in international colours, the top Indian stars returned to domestic format in a bid to find their lost form. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma were the prominent faces of the Indian team, who turned up to find the batting rhythm while sticking to the basic principle.

While Jaiswal, Gill and Rohit featured in the previous Ranji Trophy round, Kohli returned to the competition for the first time since 2012 on Thursday. He attracted thousands of fans while featuring for Delhi against Railways.

Fans filled up the empty seats in the Arun Jaitley Stadium to see the hometown hero take the field against Railways on the opening day. Virat kept the crowd engaged by asking the fans to cheer at their best.

Irfan expressed his delight about the young budding talents playing with and against the likes of Rohit and Virat. He wished that the trend of Indian regulars playing domestic cricket would continue in future.

“It’s great to see youngsters playing with or against players like Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma in domestic cricket. It wasn’t happening for many years, but it’s happening now. This is fantastic for Indian cricket. Hope the current Indian regulars make it a trend to play domestic cricket,” Irfan wrote on X.

It’s great to see youngsters playing with or against players like Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma in domestic cricket. It wasn’t happening for many years, but it’s happening now. This is fantastic for Indian cricket. Hope the current Indian regulars make it a trend to play domestic…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 30, 2025

Rohit’s bid to resurrect his form came with a bag of mixed results. While featuring for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir, the seasoned opener returned with scores of 3 and 28 in his first Ranji Trophy game since 2015.

Jaiswal, who had his moments in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, opened the innings with Rohit. The young southpaw’s unblemished track record in red-ball cricket was tainted with scores of four and 26 runs in both innings.

Gill fared well in his Ranji Trophy match, considering the performances of his compatriots. His team slipped to a massive defeat by an innings and 207 runs to Karnataka. But the flamboyant Indian opener dug deep and struck 102 from 171 balls, including 14 fours and three sixes to hold the second innings together with his individual brilliance.

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed India’s move to delay Mohammed Shami’s much-anticipated international return following a prolonged injury lay-off, saying the team think tank and the veteran pacer will make the “right call at the right time”. Shami, who has proved his fitness in practice sessions and domestic cricket for Bengal, was not included in India’s playing XI for the first T20I against England here on Wednesday. All eyes were on Shami’s return after a 14-month injury lay-off, but India opted for three spinners instead, a decision that paid off as they bowled out England for a meagre 132 before cruising to the target in 12.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Irfan said Shami is experienced enough to take an honest assessment of his body.

“When you’ve been such a seasoned campaigner and are among India’s top 10 bowlers, you understand your body’s limits well,” said Irfan at a promotional event here.

“Shami always provides honest feedback to the team management, and decisions are made through mutual communication. Recovery at the highest level takes time, especially after playing consistently. I believe he and the team management will make the right call at the right time.”

Having undergone surgery and rehab following an ankle injury sustained during the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he finished as India’s top wicket-taker, Shami had made an impressive return in domestic cricket, representing Bengal across all three formats.

Shami has been chosen in India’s white-ball rubber squad against England consisting five T20Is and three ODIs which will act as a build up to the Champions Trophy next month, where the team’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s inclusion is subject to fitness.

Bumrah suffered a back niggle in the gruelling five-match Test series in Australia and could not bowl in the second innings of the fifth Test in Sydney, and in this context Shami’s availability for the Champions Trophy is crucial to India’s prospects.

Irfan also expressed concerns over the lack of a pace-bowling backup in the Champions Trophy-bound squad, suggesting that Mohammed Siraj could have been included given Bumrah’s uncertain fitness.

“You need a backup pacer. Siraj could have been a good option. In Dubai, playing four spinners isn’t viable. With Bumrah and Shami returning from injuries, it won’t be easy for them straight away,” he observed.

“A pacer like Siraj would have filled that gap. That said, we hope the selectors’ choices perform well, and we should back them,” he added.

Irfan also addressed the poor form of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during India’s 1-3 series defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy — India’s first series loss in a decade.

He advised fans not to conflate the celebrated duo’s Test struggles with their prospects in white-ball cricket.

“They’ll start scoring runs in white-ball cricket; there’s no doubt about that,” Irfan said.

“Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. Adjustments are needed, whether it’s Virat managing deliveries outside the off-stump or Rohit finding his rhythm. ODI is their favourite format, and they’ll bounce back strongly.”

Recalling India’s resilience during the 2003-04 Australia tour, Irfan further shared a motivational anecdote.

“Back then, Dean Jones visited our dressing room and mentioned how outsiders thought our team environment was broken. But we showed unity on the field and drew the series 1-1. Indian cricket is always above individual concerns,” he asserted.

Irfan also stressed the importance of domestic cricket, urging players to participate regularly.

“It’s about playing domestic cricket but do not play a couple of matches just for the sake of it and show that you’ve played.

“Playing regularly benefits both players and Indian cricket. For young players, competing against the likes of Kohli or Rohit at the domestic level can be a tremendous confidence boost as they would also raise their levels to bowl to them. Ultimately, Indian cricket gains from this,” he added.

As Indian cricket fans await the big ICC Champions Trophy announcement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former cricketers like Irfan Pathan and Sunil Gavaskar have shared their preferences. The BCCI selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, recently sought an extension from the ICC over the squad announcement due to the suspense over Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav‘s availability. While the official squad is expected to be announced on January 19, Gavaskar and Pathan made some glaring omissions as they revealed their choices.

India’s batting legend Sunil Gavaskar feels both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have to be picked for the Champions Trophy, forming the core of India’s middle-order while Sanju Samson can’t be overlooked either, especially in the wake of his exemplary performances in the shortest format. Rishabh Pant is also a certainty in Gavaskar’s roster.

“If I am sitting there I will say who has done really well in the recent past. KL Rahul had a fantastic 50-over World Cup. Shreyas Iyer – the kind of ODI World Cup he had, I think he needed some backing. In the last few months, he has not got that backing. I will definitely back these two guys to be there in the Champions Trophy,” he said on Star Sports.

“No. 4 for me will be Shreyas Iyer. No. 5 will be KL Rahul and No. 6 will be Rishabh Pant. Sanju Samson, with the hundreds he has scored, has to be in the squad because he has scored hundreds for India. How can you ignore somebody who is scoring hundreds for his country?” the former India captain asserted.

For Irfan, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav form the spin-bowling pair while Mohammed Siraj was third in the pecking order when it comes to the pace bowlers. Irfan wants Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami to be the first two pacers in the team.

“If you have this kind of balance, you will have Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8 and then obviously you have batting and bowling options. This is as good a batting lineup as you will see. Having a fast-bowling all-rounder as your backup is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is on a high also. Not easy to perform in Australia, he has done that,” the former India all-rounder said during the same discussion.

“Mohammed Siraj will be the third one, not in the playing XI if Bumrah and Shami are available but we have got to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. We hope that the injury is not that severe,” he observed.

Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan’s squad for Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj and Nitish Kumar Reddy

Notably, there was no place for Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal and a few other top players in the team.

South African great Ab de Villiers hopes the BCCI will allow Indian players to take part in the SA20 in the near future as it will only raise the profile of the young franchise-based league. Dinesh Karthik is set to become the first Indian cricketer to compete in the SA20 but that was only made possible when he announced his international and domestic retirement last year. The BCCI doesn’t allow active players to take part in overseas leagues and as of now, the only way to play events outside India is by calling time on your career at home. Having said that, there is a growing trend of cricketers taking retirement in India to try their luck in the burgeoning overseas competitions.

“I would love to see more Indian players involved. We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year which is fantastic and it’s great for the tournament.

“And hopefully the BCCI will allow us to get more Indian players in the future to come and join the fun of the SA20,” said de Villiers in a select media interaction ahead of third edition of SA20 beginning on January 9.

Having said that, he is fully aware that the BCCI is not going to make active Indian players available for overseas leagues anytime soon but he would love to his the likes of Virat Kohli being part of SA20.

”It would be nice to see some Indian players, especially in the peak form of their careers, come over and play. If I had to pick, I’d choose all the current players: Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Virat, Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav.

“Imagine SKY playing here — that would be amazing! But if I think about past players, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, or maybe even Irfan Pathan come to mind. Some of these players already participate in Masters Leagues around the world. Who knows, maybe I’ll join them in the near future,” said de Villiers.

He also reckons that only way to keep a league ahead of its rivals is by attracting the best overseas talent like the IPL has done over the years.

“We (SA20) can just keep growing with regards to the overseas players. That’s a large part of the success of the IPL over the years and I’ve followed the IPL since 2008. It’s every year the overseas contingents seem to get stronger and stronger.

“You get the best players in the world and the best players in India and that combination makes for great cricket. So I think for Graeme Smith and his team moving forward it’s just to keep pushing hard, as hard as they can (to get the best overseas talent),” de Villiers said.

De Villiers not a fan of impact player rule

The contentious impact player rule in the IPL has been extended till 2027 but de Villiers is not a fan of the concept.

When asked if the rule should be introduced in SA20, he added:” “I’ve never been a big fan, to be honest, and I did speak about it at the IPL last season. I feel it’s a bit confusing, it also puts a bit of pressure on the all-rounders and their role in the teams.

“From the outside it looks exciting, but actually when the game takes place, I’ve never found it to be… a good thing to have in cricket. So, I mean, you can try it out. And the SA20, they’ve always been open to new ideas and new rules, which I find good,” he said.

Team India’s bitter defeat against Australia in the Sydney Test didn’t just see them lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also the glimmer of World Test Championship final qualification hope. As pundits Irfan Pathan and Sunil Gavaskar reflected on India’s mistakes in the series, Virat Kohli‘s below-par show with the bat stood among the top factors. Irfan didn’t mince words as he tore into Kohli, highlighting his disappointing numbers with the bat while questioning his place in the team. The former India all-rounder even suggested that a youngster can give as many runs as Virat to the team.

“In 2024, in the first innings, where the match is set, Virat Kohli only averages 15. Over the last 5 years, he doesn’t even average 30. Does the Indian team deserve this from a senior player? Instead of this, give a youngster consistent rope, even he can give an average of 25-30. It’s not about an individual, it’s about the team,” Irfan said during a chat on Star Sports.

Indian cricket has often been hurt by the ‘hero culture’ which sees under-fire superstars being protected despite repeated failures. However, Irfan wants the ‘team culture’ to prevail. He even asked why Kohli hasn’t played domestic cricket in a long time, whereas even an all-time great like Sachin Tendulkar did when he was out of form.

“We need to end superstar culture, we need team culture. You need to improve yourself and improve the Indian team. There were matches before this series, too, and they had an opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they didn’t. We need to change that culture,” a disappointed Irfan said on Live TV.

“When was the last time Virat Kohli played domestic cricket? It has been more than a decade. Even Sachin Tendulkar has played domestic cricket more recently, and he has retired,” he further said.

Irfan Pathan slammed kohli pic.twitter.com/83PnOuneF3

— Shubham (@Shubham_Msd7) January 5, 2025

“We are not degrading Virat Kohli. He has scored a lot of runs and played superbly for India, but you are repeating the same mistake again and again. Sunny sir (Sunil Gavaskar) has pointed it out, and he is here at the ground. How long does it take to come to Sunny sir and talk about that mistake? It takes hard work to rectify that mistake, and I didn’t see any of that,” the former India all-rounder further pointed out.

India’s stand-in captain for the match, Jasprit Bumrah, feels the experience youngsters gained in the series will help them take their game to the next level in the team’s forthcoming assignments.

“They’ve (youngsters) gained a lot of experience, they’ll go from strength to strength. We’ve shown that we have a lot of talent in our group.

“A lot of the youngsters are keen, they’re disappointed that we haven’t won but they’ll take learnings from this experience. It was a great series, congratulations to Australia, they fought really well,” he said. 

First day of the ongoing fifth Test between India and Australia grabbed a lot of limelight due to multiple reasons. The day with Rohit Sharma missing the match and giving the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah. As everyone was coping with Rohit’s absence, another row escalated after star batter Virat Kohli got embroiled into a controversial call with the third umpire. The incident took place in the 7.5 over of India’s first session when Virat Kohli walked in as he replaced Yashasvi Jaiswal on the crease.

Kohli faced Australia pacer Scott Boland for his first ball. The Aussie pacer delivered a length ball which took an edge from Kohli’s bat and went to Smith in the slips. He scooped it up but the ball just touched the turf before it was taken by Marnus Labuschagne at gully.

The on-field umpire immediately went upstairs, to the third umpire, Joel Wilson who had a good look from all the camera angles and gave his decision in favour of India.

This decision fetched mixed reviews from many former cricketers. Former Test umpire Simon Taufel said that the ICC protocol on fair catches says that if the third umpire sees the fingers underneath the ball, that’s good to maintain a fair catch.

Speaking to Channel 7’s coverage of the Sydney Test, Simon Taufel explained why the review was hard to judge.

“Depending upon which side of the fence you sit on you could probably build a case for either decision to be given. Listening to Joel Wilson’s language there (making the decision), where he said the fingers were underneath the ball and then he’s seen it roll on to the ground, by his own language he is telling us that he believes he’s seeing that ball on the ground,” Taufel was quoted by ICC as saying.

“So, there are two things that the TV umpire here is looking for. One is fingers underneath the ball. He was satisfied there. But then he believes through those pictures that he’s clearly seen the ball on the ground. I can certainly understand what the third umpire’s done there. He believes he’s seen the ball on the ground and called it way he’s seen it. Normally the ICC protocol on fair catches is if you see the fingers underneath the ball, that’s good to maintain a fair catch,” he added.

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting completely disagreed with the third umpire’s decision. 

“As far as I was concerned, if (the ball) had’ve come out of (Smith’s) hand, he wouldn’t have been able to scoop it up. That’s what I’m saying, I think his fingers are clearly underneath the ball … look where his pointer figure is there, it’s still underneath the ball,” Ponting said on-air during the commentary with 7Cricket.

However, former India all-rounder backed Kohli and stated that the umpire’s decision was absolutely right. 

“Virat Kohli was not out which was rightly called NOT OUT. will explain during the break,” Pathan wrote on X.

(With ANI Inputs)

Ahead of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 at the Sydney Cricket Ground between Australia and India, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared his thoughts on skipper Rohit Sharma’s retirement after the completion of the ongoing series. “In my personal opinion, Rohit Sharma should fight out this phase. I don’t want him to walk out of this. He has done enough for Indian cricket, and I am sure he has the ability to turn this around. This is the last and crucial test match of the series, and experience should come in handy. Whatever decisions required to be made should come out after the series,” Irfan Pathan wrote in a post on X.

In my personal opinion, Rohit sharma should fight out this phase. I don’t want him to walk out of this. He has done enough for Indian cricket, and i am sure he has the ability to turn this around.This is the last and a crucial test match of the series, and expirence should come…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 2, 2025

Earlier in the day, the sources said that Rohit Sharma is expected to be rested for the fifth Test match against Australia in Sydney, with Jasprit Bumrah set to lead in the last match of the BGT series.

In the morning, head coach Gautam Gambhir mentioned that the playing eleven would be announced before the game, after assessing the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“Every individual knows which areas they need to work on. When you play for your country, you want to give your best. I think the discussions between a player and a coach should remain private and restricted to the dressing room,” Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference.

Asked whether Rohit will be part of the playing eleven for the Sydney Test, given that the 37-year-old didn’t attend the press conference, Gambhir reassured that everything is fine with the captain.

“Everything is fine with Rohit and we will announce the playing XI tomorrow after evaluating the pitch. We have had one main conversation in our dressing room – how we will win the next test, as it is crucial for us,” Gambhir noted.

The fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Test begins on Friday, with Australia holding a 2-1 lead.

India must win the Sydney Test match to keep their slim World Test Championship Final hopes alive, and would also need Australia to not win either of their two Test matches in Sri Lanka to lock in their spot for Lord’s in June.