England have announced a 15-member squad for their South Africa Test tour, with Joe Root as captain. Liam Patterson-White earns his maiden call-up after an impressive County Championship season, while Jacob Bethell returns from injury. Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Pope miss out, while Dan Lawrence returns. The three-Test series begins in Johannesburg on December 17.

Smriti Mandhana will captain India across all three formats on their December tour of South Africa, featuring one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. Deepti Sharma will be vice-captain in Tests and ODIs, while Shafali Verma will deputise in T20Is. Vaishnavi Sharma replaces Sneh Rana in the ODI squad, while three young players feature in T20Is.

KL Rahul’s batting position sparked debate after India’s second ODI against New Zealand, as Krishnamachari Srikkanth criticised sending Axar Patel ahead of him. Axar managed just seven runs, while Rahul looked comfortable. Srikkanth called it unfair to Rahul, but Sunil Gavaskar defended the move, explaining that promoting a left-hander can disrupt bowlers’ rhythm.