Nine days before IPL 2026 begins, cricket's biggest stories are coming thick and fast — captaincy changes, injury crises, a landmark ruling on one of the ODI series' most controversial moments, and a major England cricketer calling time on his international career.
Here is everything you need to know from March 19, 2026 — in one place.
๐งค Ishan Kishan Named SRH Captain — Cummins Ruled Out of IPL 2026 Opener
The biggest IPL 2026 news of the week has finally been confirmed officially. Ishan Kishan will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad when they face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28 — with regular captain Pat Cummins ruled out of the opening games due to a lumbar bone stress injury.
SRH announced the decision on their official X account: "Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain."
Cummins has not played competitive cricket since the third Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2025. He was subsequently ruled out of the remaining four Ashes matches and then missed the entire T20 World Cup 2026. He is expected to join SRH in Hyderabad on March 23 after receiving clearance to travel from Cricket Australia — but the franchise has confirmed he will not be ready for the March 28 opener.
The appointment of Kishan over more experienced options like Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen is a statement of intent from head coach Daniel Vettori and the SRH management. Kishan arrives at IPL 2026 in the form of his life — he was India's second-highest run-scorer at T20 WC 2026 with 317 runs in 9 innings, including three half-centuries. He captained Jharkhand to their first ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in December 2025. And his 45-ball century on debut for SRH against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 announced him as one of the most destructive openers in franchise cricket.
Abhishek Sharma — who scored 52 off just 21 balls in the T20 WC 2026 Final — will serve as vice-captain. The T20 WC 2026 hero is SRH's No.1 ranked T20I batter and forms a fearsome opening partnership with Travis Head. SRH open their campaign against RCB on March 28. If Cummins is not fit by then — and all current indications suggest he will not be — this will be the first IPL season in which all 10 teams start with Indian captains since 2019.
| SRH Leadership — IPL 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Captain (Cummins absent) | ⭐ Ishan Kishan |
| Vice-Captain | Abhishek Sharma |
| Regular Captain (injured) | Pat Cummins — back injury |
| Expected return | Later stages of IPL 2026 |
| SRH opener | March 28 vs RCB, Chinnaswamy |
⚖️ MCC Rules on Salman Agha Runout — "No Case to Be Made It Was Not Out"
The most talked-about moment of Pakistan's ODI series loss to Bangladesh was not a wicket or a boundary — it was the controversial runout of Salman Agha in the third and deciding match in Mirpur. Now, the Marylebone Cricket Club — cricket's laws-making body — has delivered its official ruling.
The incident occurred in the 38th over, with Pakistan on 231 for 3 — well-placed to post a competitive total. Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled a ball that came back to him, and as he collected it at the non-striker's end, Salman Agha was found outside his crease. Mehidy broke the stumps. The third umpire upheld the appeal. Agha was furious — gesturing towards the Bangladesh fielders as he walked off, and the moment threatened to overshadow what became a tight and thoroughly entertaining finish.
Pakistan formally lodged a complaint with the ICC, arguing that the dismissal was against the spirit of the game — and specifically invoking Law 41.16 of the MCC Laws, which deals with "unfair" methods of dismissal. On March 17, the MCC issued its clearest possible response: "There is no case to be made that this was not out."
MCC's Laws sub-committee chair Fraser Stewart confirmed that there is no provision in the Laws of Cricket that requires a fielder to warn a batter before running them out at the non-striker's end — or, in this case, at the bowler's end. "If the ball is in play, and the batter is out of their crease, they are liable to be dismissed," Stewart said in the MCC's statement. "There is nothing in the Laws that requires the fielder to do anything other than break the stumps while the ball is live." MCC also confirmed there is no provision for the third umpire to reverse such a decision based on "spirit of cricket" concerns.
Pakistan's complaint has been rejected. The runout stands. Bangladesh won the series 2-1.
๐ KKR Injury Update — 4 Star Players Joining Camp Today
There is some rare good news for Kolkata Knight Riders after weeks of injury misery. Despite losing Harshit Rana for the entire season and facing uncertainty over Matheesha Pathirana, KKR have confirmed that four key players will join the squad's training camp in Kolkata today — March 19.
The four players joining today are Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Moeen Ali and Andre Russell — wait, Russell is retired. The confirmed arrivals are Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Vaibhav Arora — all expected to be key members of Ajinkya Rahane's squad from day one. Head coach Chandrakant Pandit confirmed the arrivals at a press conference in Kolkata this morning.
KKR's bigger concern remains the overseas bowling attack. With Rana out for the season and Pathirana's availability uncertain, Blessing Muzarabani — the Zimbabwe pacer who was outstanding in the T20 World Cup group stage — becomes KKR's frontline overseas pace option. Former KKR coach Faf du Plessis and bowling advisor Lakshmipathy Balaji have recommended a "spin to win" approach for KKR this season — leaning heavily on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy while managing a thin pace attack carefully.
KKR begin their IPL 2026 campaign on March 29 against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium — one of the most anticipated opening-weekend fixtures.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Liam Livingstone Quits England — Fires at McCullum and Rob Key
In one of the most explosive exits from international cricket in recent memory, Liam Livingstone has announced his retirement from all England duty — and used his retirement statement to launch a fierce, unfiltered attack on England head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key.
Livingstone, 32, was one of England's most dynamic T20 players — a six-hitter of extraordinary power who smashed 89 off 34 balls against India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final. But under the McCullum-Brook regime that succeeded the Stokes-McCullum "Bazball" era in Test cricket, Livingstone found himself increasingly on the periphery — selected for T20 squads, then dropped; called up for white-ball series, then omitted.
In a statement posted on his social media accounts, Livingstone said he had been "treated with disrespect" by the ECB's leadership and claimed that McCullum had told him — face to face — that he was "part of England's T20 WC 2026 plans," only for him to be left out of the squad entirely two weeks later without any direct communication. "I heard I'd been dropped from a journalist," Livingstone wrote. "After 12 years of giving everything for England, I think I deserved better than that."
Rob Key has not publicly responded. McCullum — currently on commentary duty in Australia — told reporters he "wished Liam well" but declined to comment on the specifics of the statement.
Livingstone will continue playing franchise cricket — he is part of SRH's IPL 2026 squad. His retirement ends a colourful international career of 75 T20Is, 62 ODIs and 23 Tests, with a batting average that never truly reflected his talent in the white-ball formats. English cricket fans will remember him primarily for those extraordinary sixes — and for a career that promised more than it ultimately delivered at international level.
9 days to IPL 2026. The countdown is well and truly on. Which story today surprised you most? Drop it in the comments! ๐๐ฅ
Stay with The Yorker Crew for complete IPL 2026 coverage from March 28! Also check out our BAN vs PAK series report, full IPL 2026 schedule breakdown, and the complete Abrar Ahmed controversy analysis.
#IPL2026 #IshanKishan #SRH #PatCummins #KKR #LiamLivingstone #MCC #SalmanAgha #CricketNews #TheYorkerCrew
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