Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott believes that more than Rohit Sharma’s retirement, Virat Kohli’s absence is a devastating blow to India ahead of the starting five-match Test series in Leeds, saying that the right-handed batter was their key player.

Both Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from Test cricket in May, leaving India with a big void to fill in the longer format at opening and number four positions respectively. Kohli, 36, scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests and was at fourth place in India's all-time list of run-scorers in the longer format.

“The retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hurts the chances of India beating England. Kohli is the biggest loss as he has been their best batsman and talisman in all three formats. With so much international cricket played by India, and so little rest, it takes its toll and the mind becomes fatigued.

England skipper and all-rounder Ben Stokes heaped praises on talismanic batter Virat Kohli, saying India will miss his "fighting spirit" when the two teams face-off in a five-match Test series, starting from June 20, adding that he will feel weird not seeing a number 18 jersey on the field.

Team India is taking up the big challenge of a five-Test tour without players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both of whom have announced their retirement from Test cricket just before the tour. The Indian team will be led by a new face, Shubman Gill, after the India stalwarts announced their retirement from Test cricket last month.

In a video released by England Cricket on their Instagram, Stokes said, "I think what India will miss will be his fighting spirit out in the game, his competitiveness, desire to win. He has made number 18 his, hasn’t he? It’ll be a bit weird not seeing number 18 on the back of anyone… of any Indian shirt, but he has been class for them for a long period of time."

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur believes that the touring Indian squad has the potential to win the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting in Leeds from Friday.

Shardul was part of India's squad that toured England last time in 2021-22. India were 2-1 up in the five-Test series before the final Test of the series was rescheduled to next year due to Covid-19. India lost the final Test - in the absence of the regular captain Rohit Sharma - as England levelled the series 2-2.

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is currently in London, for right-side sports hernia treatment and is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks, says a report.

While the Indian Test team, led by Shubman Gill, is gearing up for the five-match series against England, the 34-year-old white-ball maestro is utilising the current break in India’s limited-overs schedule to focus on his recovery and long-term fitness.

According to News24, Suryakumar's treatment will start next week and is expected to return to cricketing field by August.

After wrapping up the work on "Sardar Ji 3", Diljit Dosanjh has now joined the cast of "Border 2" for their third schedule of the film in Pune’s National Defence Academy.

Giving a fun sneak peek into the shoot diaries, the Punjabi singer and actor dropped a BTS video from the set on his official IG. The highlight of the post was Diljit's quirky English commentary.

The video opened with Diljit getting into the car and heading toward the set of the sequel. However, it was raining heavily on the way. Reacting to this, Diljit was heard saying, "It is very witty weather, it is drizzling."

Finally, as he reached the set, he said, "Sandese ate hain aur sandese jate ahain aur hum bhi aa gaye hain set pe."

Chilling on the set, Diljit was heard saying, "Because of witty weather shooting is delayed. Me enjoying the weather."

Former Indian players Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa are all set to feature in the Super60 USA Legends Tournament, scheduled to take place from August 5 to 16.

Harbhajan and Raina, who had been a part of India’s ODI World Cup-winning team in 2011, Uthappa who featured in the Indian side that lifted the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and Dhawan, who played a massive role for Men in Blue’s Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, expressed delight on being part of this competition.

Talking about his participation and the format, the legendary off-spinner said, “I'm thrilled to be part of the Super60 USA Legends Tournament. It’s a unique and distinguished format that promises to bring a fresh perspective to the game. With the involvement of international legends, this tournament is a big step toward popularising cricket in this part of the world.”

Chelsea star Pedro Neto reflected on his goalscoring display in 2-0 FIFA Club World Cup win over Los Angeles FC and credited Nicolas Jackson’s pass for the opening goal.

Jackson playing a perfectly weighted ball into Neto, who cut to his left and finished with aplomb past Hugo Lloris for the opener. The goal set Chelsea on their way to a 2-0 victory in their tournament opener against LAFC in Atlanta.

“I feel very good. I have had some adaptations in the team. I’ve played in a lot of positions. It’s my first year with the club, so there is a lot of adaptation there as well. I’m really happy with the way I’m performing at the moment. I hope to continue in this way," Neto, who has completed his move to Chelsea from Wolves last year, told FIFA.

The Indian men's hockey team suffered another heartbreak as they slumped to defeat despite taking a 2-0 lead as the Kookaburras bounced back to prevail 3-2 in the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 here in Antwerp on Saturday.

Following four successive narrow losses in the European leg, the Indian team, sans their captain Harmanpreet Singh, had a dream start against Australia until they floundered in the final quarter, allowing their opponents to come back. It was goals by Nathan Ephraums (42'), Joel Rintala (56'), and Tom Craig (60') that put Australia ahead, while Abhishek (8', 35') scored a double for India.

It was an entertaining opening quarter with India taking the lead as early as the eighth minute of the game. The initial few minutes saw both teams trade chances in the circles until a perfect pass from the midfield by Manpreet Singh, who is on 399 international caps, to Abhishek positioned at the top of the circle fetched India a crucial 1-0 lead.

Siddhesh Lad-led Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals lifted the T20 Mumbai League 2025 trophy after beating Shreyas Iyer-led SoBo Mumbai Falcons by five wickets in the grand final at the iconic Wankhede Stadium here.

Playing in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium that included members of India’s first World Cup winning side Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, and 2024 T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma, SoBo Mumbai Falcons overcame early setbacks to post a competitive 157/4, thanks to a composed half-century from Mayuresh Tandel (50 not out), and a powerful unbeaten 45 from Harsh Aghav.

In response, Chinmay Sutar (53) anchored the MSC Maratha Royals’ chase with a fluent half-century, supported by valuable contributions from Sahil Jadhav (22), Sachin Yadav (19), and the explosive Awais Khan (38).

Skipper Pat Cummins picked a sensational six-for as Australia bowled out South Africa for just 138 in 57.1 overs and took a 74-run lead on Day Two of the 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s here on Thursday.

After a promising first session, where 78 runs came despite the loss of skipper Temba Bavuma, it looked like South Africa could narrow the deficit more in the post-lunch session. But Cummins asked tough questions, to which the Proteas had no answers, as he picked 6-28 in his 18.1 overs and also completed 300 scalps in his Test career.

Cummins also became the first fast-bowling captain since 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's, where his name will be put on the honours board. He also found good support from his fellow pacers Mitchell Starc (2-41) and Josh Hazlewood (1-27).