Host Pakistan have announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday, with pace all-rounder Fatima Sana, who led Pakistan at last year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup , continuing to lead the team in the 50-over event

Hosting the six-team tournament between April 9-19 at the Gaddafi Stadium and LCCA ground in Lahore, Pakistan, are among the six nations vying for the remaining two spots at the 13th edition of the 50-over World Cup later this year in India.

Shawaal Zulfiqar makes a comeback to the national side after suffering from a shoulder injury during the tour of New Zealand in December 2023. Bowling all-rounder Nida Dar is a major name missing in the squad, having been among the 19 players who were called to the training camp ahead of the qualifier tournament.

Indian men’s hockey team stalwart Amit Rohidas has shared his reaction after being honoured with the Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2024 at the recently held Hockey India 7th Annual Awards and expressed his surprise and gratitude, reflecting on the hard work and teamwork that contributed to this achievement.

Sharing his thoughts when nominated, Rohidas said, “Apart from me, there were three more nominations - Sanjay, Harmanpreet Singh, and Udita, and all of them are top players. I couldn’t predict who would win because everyone has been playing well and contributing to their team. I was just happy to be nominated. When I actually won, I was surprised and overjoyed. It was an incredible feeling.”

Rohidas, who is considered as one of the world's best first-rushers, explained that he hadn’t discussed his nomination with his teammates but acknowledged the excitement and support he received from friends and well-wishers.

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic jas entered the quarterfinals of the ATP Miami Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win against 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday (IST).

The 37-year-old, who is now three victories from his 100th tour-level title, will next gace American Sebastian Korda.

This is Djokovic’s first appearance in Miami since 2019. He had not advanced to the quarter-finals since winning the title at Crandon Park in 2016, according to ATP.

Djokovic fell behind an early break, and was given a time violation warning. That moment proved pivotal, as the 40-time Masters 1000 winner snapped into gear from there. The fourth seed won nine consecutive games to turn a deficit into a landslide, ultimately sealing his place in the last eight after one hour and 23 minutes.

Reigning Champions Champions Argentina have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 without kicking a ball after Bolivia's goalless draw at home to Uruguay in the qualifiers.

Argentina became the sixth nation to enter the field following the three co-hosts, Canada, Mexico and USA, as well as Iran, Japan and New Zealand.

Bolivia, the only team outside the automatic places who could have caught Argentina in the South American preliminaries, drew 0-0 against Uruguay on to leave themselves an insurmountable gap in the South American qualifiers.

The 2026 edition will be Argentina’s 19th World Cup. Only Germany and Brazil, who were at their 20th and 22nd respectively in Qatar, have participated in more.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer wreaked havoc on the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers as his unbeaten knock of 97, coupled with cameos by Priyansh Arya and Shashank Singh, helped the Punjab Kings post a mammoth 243/5 in 20 overs in Match 5 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday.

For the Titans, Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps to his name.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bowling coach Bharat Arun has thrown his weight behind Andre Russell, backing the star all-rounder to bounce back in their crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. After an underwhelming performance in their season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Russell is keen to make a statement in their second match in Guwahati.

KKR endured a tough start to their campaign, losing to RCB by seven wickets. While Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Sunil Narine contributed with the bat, their middle order failed to fire. Russell managed just four runs, while Venkatesh Iyer also fell cheaply, exposing a weak link that cost them the match. However, Arun believes Russell’s failure was just a minor blip.

“Sport is about failing. You fail more often than you succeed. Champions like Russell, I think, must be weighing on his mind that he failed the last game, and he is out to prove himself every single game. We are also hoping he will come good in tomorrow's game,” Arun said in the pre-match press conference.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Punjab Kings in Match 5 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday. The game marks the beginning of a new era for the Punjab Kings with skipper Shreyas Iyer at the helm for the first time for his new franchise after leading Kolkata to victory in the 2024 season, and under the tenure of newly appointed head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I would have loved to bowl. I am always someone who loves a chase. Take the challenge. There are so many familiar faces around. There is Ricky (Ponting). You need unity and synergy in the team. We have got a lot of all-rounders in the team. We are spoilt for choices. Since we will be batting first, we have only one spinner and three seamers,” said Iyer at the toss.

While Punjab triggered a major overhaul bringing in established match winners and a few familiar faces, having entered the mega auction with the highest purse of any team, the Gujarat Titans have retained their core players, with a few major and all eyes will be on the side to see how the 2023 winners fare in the new season after having finished in eighth position in 2024.

“It is a good cricketing wicket. There is some dew here. Just keep it in mind. Dew is a big factor here. Big targets can be chased down. Preparation has been amazing. We have our bases covered. The bowling attack is good. Very fortunate to play at the biggest stage of the world,” said Gujarat captain Shubman Gill at the toss.

Sanjay Bangar, the former India player and batting coach, said for him, the most heartening aspect of Ashutosh Sharma’s whirlwind 31-ball 66 not out, that gave Delhi Capitals (DC) an improbable one-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), was his solid stroke-play against spin.

With DC slumping to 65/5 in the seventh over, Ashutosh walked in and was on 20 off 20 balls before switching gears to smash an astonishing 46 runs off his next 11 balls to lead his team to an epic win with only three balls to spare at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

As pointed out by Bangar, who saw Ashutosh closely while being in the Punjab Kings set-up in IPL 2024, the all-rounder was solid in his shots against spinners, like carting leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for two fours and as many sixes, as well as taking a boundary each off Digvesh Singh Rathi and Shahbaz Ahmed. “In the Punjab Kings set-up, he was extremely impressive because if you look at the way Punjab Kings' season went last year, it was basically down to those two individuals, Ashutosh and Shashank (Singh), who were getting the team close and winning matches through some extraordinary skills.”

Real Madrid are working to close Trent Alexander-Arnold's pre-contract agreement as quickly as possible. The English wingback has been on Los Blancos' radar for two years and talks are undergoing between both parties in hopes of striking a deal before the end of the season.

If an agreement is signed, then Real will be legally obligated to tell Liverpool of the deal which has not happened as of yet, as reported by The Athletic.

Madrid had identified Trent as their top priority transfer target for next season as per reports in October. Los Blancos are aiming to bring in defensive reinforcements at the end of the ongoing season and are admirers of Trent, who will be out of contract in June.

In a boost for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), pacer Avesh Khan has been cleared by the BCCI to participate in IPL 2025.

Avesh, who had been nursing a right knee issue, received medical clearance from the BCCI’s medical team this week and will soon join the LSG squad,

Avesh has been out of action since late January, with his last India appearance dating back to a T20I in South Africa last November. He also missed Madhya Pradesh’s final league game in the Ranji Trophy due to discomfort in his right knee, which was linked to his domestic workload.