A four-match Twenty20 series against India comes at an opportune time for South Africa’s cricketers as it provides an additional stage to highlight their skills before the Indian Premier League auction later this month, said captain Aiden Markram.

As many as 13 Bangladeshi cricketers have been registered to participate in the upcoming Indiab Premier League auction, which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24-25.

Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi has labelled the Hundred competition a "big fat Ponzi scheme", accusing English cricket chiefs of unrealistic financial projections.

The announcement was made some two months after Ponting and Delhi Capitals parted ways, ending his seven-year stint at the franchise.

Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid has been appointed Rajasthan Royals' head coach on a multi-year contract ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the IPL franchise said on Friday.

The 31-year-old played every IPL match, took 18 wickets and guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final, leaving the fast bowler feeling extremely assured with how his short-form game is placed.  

Starc's stunning return to form in the IPL burnishes his record in big matches and comes days before the T20 World Cup starts in the United States and the Caribbean.

"My mom is watching from home," said Afghanistan's Gurbaz, who left the tournament midway through to be with his ailing mother back home and returned for the play-offs.

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc returned figures of 2-14 to help Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets to clinch their third IPL title in the Sunday final.

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs on Friday to set up an IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders, as spinner Shahbaz Ahmed starred with three wickets.

Kohli, 35, has led the Twenty20 tournament's batting charts with 741 runs, including a century and five fifties, but failed to inspire his team to the finish in a roller-coaster season.

"I've seen a lot of reports about it,” Ponting told the ICC. “Normally these things pop up on social media before you even know about them, but there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it," said Ponting.

Bengaluru and Kohli extend their wait for a first IPL title. Rajasthan will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last play-off on Friday to decide Kokata Knight Riders' opponent in the final on May 26.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz left his hospitalised mother's bedside in Afghanistan to play a pivotal role in propelling Kolkata Knight Riders into the final on his first IPL appearance this season.

Two-time champions Kolkata bowled out Hyderabad for 159 as Starc returned figures of 3-34 in the first play-off -- qualifier 1 -- at the world's biggest cricket stadium.

The two highest-priced players in the IPL -- Australia teammates Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc -- will go head-to-head Tuesday for a place in the final as the cash-rich Twenty20 league enters the playoffs.

Fraser-McGurk smashed 330 runs in nine appearances for the Delhi Capitals, sparking a media campaign to have him included in the squad for next month's showpiece in the United States and Caribbean.

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Cummins cost $2.5 million at auction, a record which stood briefly until Kolkata Knight Riders then paid $2.98 million for fast bowler Starc.

"As you can see jersey still fits so if they need an extra man, I can be the impact player. It is good to see the fans. RCB forever, I will forever be an RCB fan," Gayle, the RCB Hall of Fame, said in a video posted by RCB on X.

When Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman took part in his first T20 World Cup, he was still in his first year in international cricket. He came into the 2016 T20 World as a prodigious talent, having already bamboozled some of the biggest stars in world cricket.