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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have appointed former Indian All-rounder S Sriram as their assistant bowling coach in anticipation of the 2025 Indian Premier League. At CSK, Sriram becomes part of a coaching staff that includes bowling consultant Eric Simons, batting coach Mike Hussey, and head coach Stephen Fleming. Sriram provides a plethora of coaching knowledge from a variety of coaching levels. He essentially takes Dwayne Bravo's place at CSK, since the former joined the reigning champion Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor. In order to concentrate on his job with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he gave up his position as Australia's assistant coach in 2016 and departed it in 2022. Prior to the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, Sriram was also named Bangladesh's T20 consultant in August 2022. He returned to Bangladesh, this time as a technical consultant, prior to the ODI World Cup, and joined the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in September 2023 as assistant coach for the 2024 Indian Premier League. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Gopal, and Noor Ahmad are the front-line spinners in CSK's IPL 2025 lineup, while Deepak Hooda and Rachin Ravindra are all-around spin bowlers. Last year, CSK finished fifth with seven wins and as many losses in the 14 group games, missing out on playoff qualification. Despite being tied with fourth-place RCB on 14 points, CSK just missed qualifying for the final four due to their lower net run rate. The IPL 2025 season starts on March 22, with the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) playing RCB in Kolkata. The next evening, CSK plays their opening match at home against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

As IPL 2025 is ready to resume on May 17, the majority of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) international players will likely land in Bengaluru between Wednesday evening and early Thursday. At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, KKR will play Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an important game as the season begins. Following the IPL's one-week suspension on May 9 due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, and team coach Dwayne Bravo, who are part of KKR's West Indian contingent, have been in Dubai since departing India. After a ceasefire was declared on May 10, the IPL might potentially return, and clubs started calling up their foreign players. While South Africa's Anrich Nortje will join the team in Bengaluru from the Maldives, KKR's wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is currently in Kabul, will travel to Dubai to join the West Indian team. Fast bowler Spencer Johnson and all-rounder Moeen Ali are currently in Australia and the UK, respectively, and while there is no word on when they will be available again, there are signs that they will. The return of Quinton de Kock has not yet been confirmed. On Wednesday, KKR's Indian players and support staff are expected to begin arriving in Bengaluru in groups. With 5 wins and one loss from 12 games, KKR is now ranked sixth in the standings. On May 25, KKR will play their final league match in Delhi against Sunrisers Hyderabad following their match against RCB. To have a chance of making the playoffs, they must win both games to get 15 points. On Monday, the IPL announced the updated schedule for the remaining games of the season, which now includes 13 league games in addition to the four playoff games. The locations for the playoffs have not yet been revealed, but the remaining league games will take place in Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The following are the playoff dates: May 29 for Qualifier 1, May 30 for Eliminator 2, June 1 for F

Sanju Samson joined the Rajasthan Royals (RR) team on Monday after suffering finger surgery last month. Samson was receiving treatment at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and it was doubtful if he would immediately take wickets. Keeping Dhruv Jurel in case Samson isn't fit could be a possibility. In the fifth Twenty20 International against England in February, Jurel had also maintained wicket in place of Samson after the latter was struck on the finger by a delivery from Jofra Archer while batting. Riyan Parag will start for RR after fully recovering from a shoulder injury. In the second stage of the Ranji Trophy, the batting all-rounder made his comeback after recovering from the injury that prevented him from playing in the Twenty20 Internationals against South Africa and England. Against Saurashtra, he bowled 26 overs and struck a half-century in the opening innings. RR will play back-to-back home games against the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Guwahati on March 26 and 30, following their inaugural match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on March 23.

Fast bowler Ben Sears, who signed with Yorkshire for the 2025 campaign, will get there in time for the team's second County Championship match of the year at Headingley against Worcestershire. When Sears, 27, took five wickets at Christchurch in 2024 against Australia, including four for ninety in the second innings, he demonstrated his raw pace for New Zealand. This was his lone Test match yet. Previously, in 2021, he made his T20I debut against Bangladesh. The club has also drawn comparisons with his countryman and former Yorkshire foreign star Lockie Ferguson. He will be joined at Headingley by fellow New Zealand fast Will O'Rourke, who has signed for the T20 Blast. "I can't wait to get over to Headingley and start playing with the guys," commented Sears. "I hope I can add to the fantastic signings that have already been made. In any season, it's critical to establish the mood early. There are several important games in that first block, and I'll be prepared to start the team as strongly as possible. "Ben is a true talent who can get some extra bounce when he bowls," stated head coach Anthony McGrath. I'm eager to get him over and begin working with him because he'll be a real handful during the early part of the year when pitches can be slower or greener." Cricket General Manager Gavin Hamilton also said: "The club's ability to draw in such gifted bowlers as Ben is evidence of Yorkshire's appeal on a global scale. Ben is a talented player who will add something extra to the team that will be vital this season. We are overjoyed that he has committed, and we can't wait to have him visit Headingley in April.