<p>The last week of August was a whirlwind in cricket, with BCCI ending ties with Dream11, Ashwin retiring from IPL, and Samson in red-hot form. Controversies, milestones, and Asia Cup prep made headlines, setting a dramatic stage for the tournament.</p><img><p>The final week of August saw major developments in the cricketing world, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) fallout with Dream11 following the Online Gaming ban, the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin from IPL, IPL 2008 slapgate footage resurfacing, and others. This <strong>week of cricket</strong> has been quite eventful and dramatic, with off-field controversies, player milestones, and preparation ahead of the Asia Cup 2025.</p><p>As the final week of August concludes, let’s take a look at the top highlights and key stories that dominated the headlines over the past week.</p><img><p>The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially parted ways with online gaming platform Dream11 as Team India’s title sponsor ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, confirmed by the board’s secretary Devajit Saikia. The decision came after the passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill by the Indian government, putting a blanket ban on online gaming platforms.</p><p>Dream11 stepped in as a replacement for Byju’s in 2023 and had signed a contract worth INR 358 crore with the BCCI over a period of three years, from 2023 to 2026, as Team India’s jersey sponsor. Which means the board has earned 119 crore annually from the deal until its termination. The BCCI will have to find a sponsor for Team India ahead of the Asia Cup, with the Men in Blue beginning their quest for title defence against the hosts UAE, on September 10.</p><img><p>Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament. The 38-year-old took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) and expressed his desire to explore opportunities in the overseas T20 leagues, while expressing gratitude to the BCCI and the IPL for ‘wonderful memories’. Ashwin’s last appearance in the league was this year, playing for Chennai Super Kings, and he picked 7 wickets in 9 matches.</p><p>Speaking on his YouTube show, ‘Kutti Stories’, Ashwin stated that three months of the IPL, including travel and matches, were too ‘draining’ for him and no longer had the energy to fully commit to the tournament, given his age. He retired as the fifth leading wicket-taker of the IPL, with 187 wickets, including a four-wicket haul, at an average of 30.22 and an economy rate of 7.20 in 221 matches.</p><img><p>Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, Sanju Samson has been in blistering form in the ongoing Kerala Cricket League (KCL) 2025, displaying his explosive batting while leaving no stone unturned to cement his place as an opener in India’s playing XI. In his last three matches for Kochi Blue Tigers, Samson registered a century and two fifties as an opener, and he is currently the leading run-scorer for the team with 285 runs at an average of 71.25 in four innings.</p><p>Samson was an opener for India in the last three T20I series against Bangladesh, South Africa, and England, and amassed 417 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 37.90 in 12 matches. The Kerala cricketer is in contention for an opener’s slot with Shubman Gill, who made his return to the T20I as a vice-captain after being away from the format for a year to focus on red-ball cricket.</p><img><p>17 years after the infamous IPL 2008 Slapgate saga, former league chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi released the footage of the incident, which was aired on Michael Clarke’s podcast ‘Beyond 23’. The footage shows that Harbhajan Singh, who was playing for the Mumbai Indians, gave a backhand slap to Kings XI Punjab pacer S Sreesanth during the post-match handshake, leaving the fast bowler in tears.</p><p>However, S Sreesanth’s wife Bhuvneshwari took to her Instagram story and expressed her outrage at Lalit Modi and Michael Clarke for releasing the footage of the slapgate on a public platform, calling their act ‘inhumane and heartless’. She highlighted how the former Indian pacer had to rebuild his entire life and dignity after the slapgate incident, only to reopen the painful memories for public attention, forcing both families to relive the trauma and incident that took place nearly two decades ago.</p><img><p>The BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla stepped in as its acting chief, as Roger Binny’s stint at the helm of the board came to an end before completing his three-year term after reaching the 70-year age cap, as per the Supreme Court-approved BCCI’s constitution. As Binny turned 70 in July this year, there was an uncertainty over his future at the BCCI, prompting Rajiv Shukla to assume charge as acting president.</p><p>Rajiv Shukla chaired the Apex Council meeting in Mumbai, assuming his role as interim BCCI chief. The main agenda of the meeting was to find a sponsor for Team India’s jersey ahead of the Asia Cup 2025. As the eight-team continental tournament is just 10 days away, the BCCI is currently in a fix to find a replacement for Dream11, which had to pull out as India’s jersey sponsor after the Online Gaming Ban.</p><img><p>Rahul Dravid stepped down from his role as head coach of the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026. Dravid joined the Rajasthan Royals as coach for IPL 2025, but the team endured a disappointing campaign, where they finished ninth on the points table with just four wins in 14 outings and accumulated just 8 points, failing to qualify for the playoffs.</p><p>Rahul Dravid’s resignation as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals was confirmed by the franchise, who took to their social media handles and praised the legendary batter’s contribution to the team and his leaving a mark on the squad. The Royals stated that Dravid was offered a ‘broader position’ at the franchise, but declined it, officially ending his association with the franchise, where he had spent three seasons as a player from 2011 to 2013.</p><img><p>West Delhi Lions’ captain Nitish Rana and South Delhi Superstarz’s spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi grabbed the spotlight when both had a verbal spat during the Delhi Premier League (DPL). The heated exchange between the two occurred when Nitish pulled off a notebook celebration after hitting a six off Digvesh’s delivery. This infuriated the spinner, who took offense at the notebook celebration, leading to a heated verbal exchange with Rana on the field.</p><p>The tensions between the two escalated, forcing the umpires and South Delhi Superstarz’s players to intervene and separate the two from making the situation worse. The DPL Committee fined Digvesh Rathi and Nitish Rana with a penalty of 80 percent and 50 percent of their match fees.</p><img><p>After three months of silence following the tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, killing 11 people and injuring over 50, during their IPL 2025 victory celebrations, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) broke their silence by announcing the ‘RCB Cares’ initiative. The initiative aims to honour the victims who passed away in the deadly stampede and create a platform for community-driven action. The franchise attributed its three-month silence to a period of grief and reflection.</p><p>Additionally, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, through their ‘RCB Care’ initiative, announced INR 25 lakh as financial aid to families of each victim who died in a tragic stampede that sparked outrage over crowd management and safety protocols at the stadium. Recently, Women’s World Cup fixtures at M Chinnaswamy Stadium were shifted to Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium after the KSCA failed to secure approvals from the police and authorities to host the matches of the marquee event.</p><img><p>Pakistan began its preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 with the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan and the UAE. The Men in Green, led by Salman Ali Agha, is one of the hot favourites to win the prestigious Asian title, alongside Team India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Pakistan had a brilliant start to their tri-series campaign with a 39-run victory over Afghanistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.</p><p>Salman Ali Agha-led side registered their second successive win of the tri-series, defeating the Asia Cup hosts, UAE, by 31 runs. With these back-to-back wins, Pakistan has emerged as a strong contender for the Asia Cup 2025, building momentum and confidence ahead of the continental tournament.</p>
