Scotland have been forced into making a last-minute change to their 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup squad following the injury to legspinner Abtaha Maqsood. This comes just a day before their opening game of the tournament against Ireland at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Maqsood picked up her injury in the Scots’ last warm-up before the showpiece tournament against Pakistan on Tuesday. The 27-year-old will be a huge miss for her side due to her pedigree in the shortest format of the game. As things stand, she is her nation’s highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket, having taken 73 scalps from 78 matches at an economy rate of just 5.63.

Scotland have called up 29-year-old Hannah Rainey as an injury replacement. The right-arm seam bowler last represented her nation in November 2025 and has recently been applying her traits with Yorkshire in the Tier 1 system of English domestic cricket. She recently played two T20 Blast games for the White Roses, taking two wickets against Durham. 

Rainey has 41 T20I caps under her belt, taking 25 wickets along the way at an economy of 5.39.

“The whole playing squad and coaching staff are absolutely gutted for Abtaha. She’s such an important member of our squad and will be a great loss to us both on and off the pitch during this tournament. We wish her all the very best in her recovery and hope to see her back on the field soon. Hannah now comes into the squad, and we are delighted to welcome her into the group. She obviously has plenty of experience, and this is a great opportunity for her as we head into an exciting few weeks,” Scotland head coach Craig Wallace said via ESPNcricinfo. 

Despite missing Maqsood for the rest of the tournament, Scotland do have other quality bowlers in their ranks who can flourish in the spinner’s absence. These include star all-rounder Kathryn Bryce, Katherine Fraser and Priyanaz Chatterji, to name a few. 

India’s opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill has been one of the biggest strengths of the team in ODI cricket over the last few years. The duo has consistently provided solid starts at the top, helping India dominate opposition bowling attacks across conditions. 

While Rohit has taken the aggressive route and put pressure on bowlers from the outset, Gill has played the perfect supporting role. The youngster has anchored innings when required and has chipped in with consistent scores, making the partnership one of the most successful in world cricket.

Former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra recently praised the pair and called them the best opening combination in ODI cricket at present. Highlighting their impressive numbers, Chopra pointed out that the Indian duo has a better average than several legendary opening pairs.

“Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s opening partnership, it is right now the greatest pair in ODI cricket. We are talking about more than 2,000 runs. I am looking at the average. Theirs is 63.8, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy had an average of 58.4, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes had an average of 52.6, and Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar had an average of 49.3,” the former India opener on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’.

Chopra further highlighted the consistency shown by the pair and the number of big partnerships they have stitched together for India.

“They have scored 2,360 runs, and have 14 fifty-plus stands and seven century partnerships. So, this is the modern-day best opening combination in terms of the average. That actually is a good story,” he added.

The former opener also spoke about Rohit Sharma’s remarkable achievements and the milestones that are within his reach. Chopra noted that the Indian captain continues to add to his already impressive legacy in international cricket.

“Rohit Sharma is only six runs away from becoming the first Indian opener to score 16,000 international runs. That is some legacy. He is only one century away from moving clear of Sachin Tendulkar for the second place on the all-time list of international hundreds as an opener. Rohit Sharma is at that stage of his career where he will keep creating or breaking records,” he concluded.

The highly successful opening pair of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma is likely to reunite during India’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting on June 13. 

Outcast England opener Zak Crawley has decided to take a break from First-Class cricket and has been rested for the two upcoming County Championship games for Kent. This comes after the right-handed batter was dropped for the Test side ahead of the series against New Zealand, with Emilio Gay taking his place and scoring a brilliant half-century on his international debut.

This comes after reports from ESPNcricinfo stating that the 28-year-old is on the verge of being announced as Sunrisers Leeds‘ (formerly Northern Superchargers) captain ahead of The Hundred 2026. Crawley was signed by the new franchise for GBP 180,000 in the inaugural player auction after a stellar campaign last time around, where he scored 280 runs at a strike-rate of 160 for the Northern Superchargers. 

On their website, Kent revealed that the decision to rest Crawley was taken in consultation with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), as the batter remains centrally contracted to his national team. The top-order batter will instead shift his focus towards T20 cricket, with the English summer comprising two separate tournaments in the Blast and The Hundred. 

“After discussions between Zak Crawley, the player group, coaching staff and the ECB, Crawley will be rested for the next two County Championship fixtures. This period will allow him to recharge so he can fully commit and give his all for the remainder of the season, with his immediate focus shifting to T20 cricket through to the end of the Vitality Blast,” Kent Cricket said on their website. 

There has been a growing sentiment in the media that, with his Test cricket looking all but over, Crawley will quit red-ball cricket entirely and apply his talent in limited-overs cricket instead. The former opener has played franchise cricket in the past, having featured in the Big Bash League for the Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes, and turning out for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20. 

It is worth mentioning that Crawley has also experienced captaining a side, having led England’s ODI side against Ireland in 2023.