After playing a pivotal role in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy triumph with his all-round skills, Axar Patel is now likely to be appointed as the new Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The all-rounder had stepped in to be DC’s captain in IPL 2024 when his predecessor Rishabh Pant was not allowed to play in a crucial game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) due to an over-rate offence.

“Yes, Axar Patel is likely to be named as Delhi Capitals skipper for IPL 2025. The franchise had asked for KL Rahul to be the team's captain, but he very much wishes to contribute for the side as a player in the upcoming tournament,” sources told on Tuesday.

Axar has been with DC since 2019, and was retained for a whopping Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. In his IPL career of 150 games, Axar has scored 1653 runs at a strike rate of 130.88 while picking 123 wickets with his left-arm spin bowling at an economy rate of 7.28.

Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand for the first time on home soil in the upcoming five-game T20I series against Pakistan, starting at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on March 16.

Bracewell was a star performer in their runner-up finish at the recent ICC Champions Trophy and is one of seven players from the squad set to join the T20 camp in Christchurch on Friday.

The 34-year-old all-rounder, who has racked up 66 international appearances since debuting for the country in all three formats in 2022, captained the white-ball tour of Pakistan in April last year and said he relished the challenge of leading the side.

“It’s a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country,” he said in a release. “I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we’ve got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice.

Bruno Guimaraes scored the only goal as Newcastle United recorded an important win at West Ham United, boosting their UEFA Champions League qualifying hopes.

The Magpies' skipper slid in to turn home a Harvey Barnes cross shortly after the hour mark at the London Stadium as Eddie Howe's side set themselves up for Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Liverpool in the best possible way.

Guimaraes latched onto Harvey Barnes’ 63rd-minute cross to volley past Alphonse Areola, who produced a magnificent save to thwart a spectacular Max Kilman own-goal moments earlier.

Eddie Howe’s side were comfortably in control thereafter, as they secured only a second win in five Premier League matches.

Dubai’s scorching heat and spin-friendly surface will play a crucial role as India and New Zealand lock horns in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

With temperatures expected to hover around 32°C, captains will have a tough call to make at the toss, as teams have preferred chasing under the afternoon sun. However, with minimal dew at the venue so far, batting first might not be a disadvantage if the team can put a competitive total on the board.

With India stationed in Dubai for their 2025 Champions Trophy games, it has meant that former cricketer Lalchand Rajput, who’s based currently in Dubai as UAE head coach, has got the chance to attend the side’s practice sessions, as well as meet with most members, including Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma.

Rajput has known Rohit for a long time – he was the Indian team manager when India won the inaugural 2007 Men’s T20 World Cup. Though Rohit hasn’t got a fifty or hundred yet, unlike his top-order colleagues Kohli and top-ranked ODI batter Shubman Gill, Rajput is confident that Rohit could get the three-figure mark in the title clash against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

“If you look at it, it is good to see that most of the batters have got into form. Everybody was talking about Virat, and he got 100. He almost missed 100 in the last game as well, in the semi-final. Gill has got a hundred.”

The ICC Champions Trophy final will be played between India and New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The Rohit Sharma-led undefeated side will be eyeing their third title, while New Zealand will look to add their second Champions Trophy title after winning the tournament in 2000.

India have come out as a dominant side in the eight-team spectacle as they are cruising on a winning momentum with four straight wins including a four-wicket triumph over Australia in the semifinal.

The Men in Blue topped Group A with wins over Bangladesh, arch-rivals Pakistan, and New Zealand, while the Black Caps secured wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh before losing their final group tie against India. New Zealand outclassed South Africa by 50 runs in the semifinal to set up a title match against India.

India opener Shubman Gill is gearing up to make the most of the opportunity as he is set to play his second ICC tournament final on Sunday when Rohit Sharma-led side will take on New Zealand in the Champions Trophy summit clash.

In the ICC 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad, Gill failed to score big and fell cheaply on four runs in a match which India lost by six wickets to miss out on a third tournament title.

However, Gill has moved on from the heartbreak and is more mature now. Ranked No.1 in ODI batter rankings, the vice-captain is mentally ready to handle pressure better and spend more time at the crease.

Ahead of the Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand, former India head coach Ravi Shastri issued a word of caution for the Rohit Sharma-led side which is chasing their third title in the tournament.

Despite India having an unbeaten record in the four matches so far including a group stage win against New Zealand, Shastri feels Blackcaps is the only team that can beat them.

The veteran player is not wrong in his assessment as New Zealand prevailed over India in the ICC knockouts in the past, having won three out of four games played between them over the years.

“If there's one team that can beat India, it's New Zealand. So India start as favourites but only just,” Shastri said in The ICC Review.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated that he will assess players like Jack Grealish based solely on their performances on the pitch, rather than their off-field activities.

This comes after images surfaced on social media showing Grealish at a social club with friends, along with reports from Mail Online of him on a night out in Newcastle on the same evening.

Both outings reportedly took place last Sunday, a day after City's FA Cup fifth-round victory over Plymouth, in which Grealish played the full 90 minutes. According to Mail Online, the England international spent time chatting with locals, posing for photos, and even covering the cost of drinks at the North East social club.

The unbeaten India will take on resilient New Zealand in the summit clash of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday. The eight-team extravaganza will get its new winner after a long wait of almost eight years.

Coincidently, India lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and missed out on their second consecutive title. Meanwhile, it will be India's third successive trip to the ICC Champions Trophy final, making them the first team to do so.

India and New Zealand were placed in the same group and their previous encounter was a 44-run win for the former to stay on top of Group A with three straight wins. India went on to beat the ODI World Champions Australia in the semi-final by four wickets to advance to the title encounter.

On the other hand, New Zealand started their campaign with a win against defending champions and host Pakistan in Karachi, followed by a win and a loss against Bangladesh and India respectively. In the semifinal, Blackcaps defeated South Africa by 50 runs to set up a tournament pinnacle against India.