February 29 Morning Brief: Today's top news and headlines from the cricketing world

1. Explained: Why Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer were left out of BCCI central contract?

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan find themselves excluded from the BCCI's annual retainers due to their recent absence from national duties (READ MORE)

2. WPL 2024, Match 6 Review: Kiran Navgire outshines Mumbai's might at Chinnaswamy

UP Warriorz beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in match No. 6 of WPL 2024 (READ MORE)

3. Sri Lanka name Charith Asalanka as stand-in skipper for first two Bangladesh T20Is

Charith Asalanka has been named as Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain for the first two Bangladesh T20Is in the absence of their regular skipper Wanindu Hasaranga who is serving a two-game ban (READ MORE)

4. BCCI announce central contracts for 2023-24 season, Iyer-Kishan face the axe

A few days back, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah specifically mentioned that all players should give precedence to participating in domestic cricket when they are not representing the national team (READ MORE)

5. Hawk-Eye founder Paul Hawkins defends DRS decision for Joe Root's dismissal in Ranchi Test

In the recent India vs England Test match in Ranchi, a controversial LBW decision that dismissed Joe Root in England's second innings sparked a heated debate over the ball-tracking technology (Read More)

6. Reports: BCCI to release Rajat Patidar from India squad to play Ranji Trophy if KL Rahul gets fit

Rajat Patidar hasn't got his Test career off to a good start, scoring just 63 runs from six innings (READ MORE)

7. WPL 2024: Why is Nat Sciver-Brunt leading MI Women instead of Harmanpreet Kaur vs UP Warriorz?

Sciver-Brunt revealed that Harmanpreet got a niggle ahead of the game and the team management decided to rest her as they didn’t want to take any risk with her so early in the competition (READ MORE)

8. Afghanistan-Ireland Test shifts venue due to local school championship

The location for the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Ireland in the UAE was changed from a renowned international stadium to a local ground to accommodate a school competition (READ MORE)

9. India coach Amol Muzumdar aims to create a pool of 20–25 cricketers from WPL

Muzumdar mentioned that he is also keeping at the pacers to strengthen the bowling attack of the national team (READ MORE)

10. Legendary Australian umpiring pair Bruce Oxenford, Paul Wilson announce retirements from cricket

Two of Australia's most respected cricket umpires, Bruce Oxenford and Paul Wilson, have announced their retirement from Cricket Australia's elite umpiring panel (READ MORE)