Three coaches will make their debut for their respective new clubs as the Premier League returns to action in what promises to be another fascinating weekend. ....

A superb bowling performance by debutant Harshal Patel (2/25), followed by fantastic fifties by KL Rahul (65 off 49) and Rohit Sharma (55 off 36) guided India to a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second T20I at the JSCA International Stadium, here on Friday, giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in three-match series. ....

Former Australia captain Kim Hughes has slammed Cricket Australia (CA) for making wicketkeeper-batter Tim Paine the Test skipper despite knowing about the off-field investigation he was in. He also felt that it was staggering that CA appointed Paine as captain in 2018 despite knowing about the texting saga. ....

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers on Friday announced his retirement from all formats of cricket. After his international retirement in 2018, de Villiers had continued to play in franchise cricket, notably for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). ....

With barely three weeks for the Ashes series to start, Tim Paine relinquished Australia's Test captaincy in a bombshell announcement on Friday, which has shaken the Australian cricket establishment to the core. ....

Xavi Hernandez's debut as FC Barcelona coach in their city derby at home to Espanyol is, without doubt, the focal point in the 14th round of matches as La Liga returns to action after the international break. Though millions of Barca fans all over the world will be anxiously waiting for the result of the Barca match, there are other key games to be played this weekend. ....

Young cricketers from the country, who want to make it to the Indian national team, will have to go through the grinds of domestic cricket and prove their mettle there, rather than looking for 'short-cuts', BCCI sources said. ....

After four years of hiatus, one of the most prolific spinners in India, Ravichandran Ashwin made an impressive comeback to T20 cricket by taking two wickets for just 14 runs against Afghanistan. His 3 for 20 runs against Namibia showed that the Indian selectors had taken the wrong decision not to include him in the shorter format of the game. ....

The decks have been cleared for the full capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Boxing Day for the third Test between Australia and England after the Victorian government lifted all Covid-19 restrictions. Victoria government lifted all the restrictions on the crowd attending sports events, as the state has reached its vaccination target. ....

Outstanding knocks from Rohit Sharma (48), Suryakumar Yadav (62) and a timely boundary by Rishabh Pant (17*) helped India register a five-wicket win over New Zealand in a thrilling T20 encounter, taking 1-0 lead in the three-match series at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Wednesday. ....

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday decided to constitute a three-member committee to look into Table Tennis player Manika Batra's allegation of a match-fixing attempt by national coach Soumyadeep Roy. ....