Sports News: India’s New Era, ICC Review, Messi & Suarez Injured, Barcelona Eyes Olmo

A new innings for Indian cricket as the Men in Blue, under head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, leave for Sri Lanka for three T20Is and as many ODIs. The change in leadership has been a big talking point once the squad announcement came out on July 18. Chairman Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir sat down to discuss Suryakumar's appointment over Hardik Pandya because of fitness issues and disclosed Gautam Gambhir support staff. He also spoke about his relationship with Virat Kohli and the team's future plans with an action-packed calendar year ahead.

The ICC annual conference signed off with two big announcements—an independent review of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 delivery, led by directors Roger Twose, Lawson Naidoo, and Imran Khwaja, into budget overruns and the USA leg of the event; and, the USA Cricket and Cricket Chile have been put on notice for non-compliance of ICC criteria. USA Cricket to get Normalisation Committee; 12-month deadline to set governance issues in order. The administrative failures of the USA Cricket, coupled with a legacy of problems left behind by the previous leadership, have now forced the ICC's hand.

In the lead-up to India's tour of Sri Lanka, the new Head Coach of the national team, Gautam Gambhir, and Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar faced the media, largely explaining Jasprit Bumrah's omission from both ODI and T20I squads. Gautam Gambhir pointed to the workload management for Jasprit Bumrah; he has been continuously involved in cricketing commitments of late. The reason obviously lay in keeping the pace bowlers fresh for big games. This will include three T20Is in Palekelle and three ODIs in Colombo. It will be the first assignment as head coach for Gambhir.

England's all-time highest run scorer in international cricket, Joe Root, is turning out for the Paarl Royals in the third edition of SA20. This 33-year-old batter has scored 19,355 runs from 345 internationals. A fine campaigner, he had been a part of the 2016 T20 World Cup runners-up team and has 893 runs from 32 T20Is. It was an investment, an experience that Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara said he was looking forward to being replicated by Root in the coming season, having played in major T20 leagues like the IPL and Big Bash.

The move has come as a surprise, for Shubman Gill, who led India to a 4-1 win over Zimbabwe in his debut as a captain, has been named vice-captain for the tour to Sri Lanka. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar clarified that it was because of the leadership qualities and experience this youngster developed across formats that made him quite a strong candidate to learn from players like Rohit Sharma. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been left out from the ODI squad. "Surya, at this point in time, is only focused on T20Is," said Agarkar.

The ICC is monitoring the situation in Bangladesh, where unrest and violence have raised concerns ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup, scheduled from October 3-20. The championship will present 23 matches across Dhaka and Sylhet, featuring the participation of ten teams. Notwithstanding recent turmoil that has gripped it due to a Supreme Court ruling affecting job quotas, the ICC intends to press ahead with the event. The warm-up matches will commence on the 27th of September and finish on the 1st of October. The tournament is going to kick-start from 4th October. The semifinals are going to be held on 17 and 18, while the final is scheduled on 20 October.

Both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will miss Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game with respective injuries. Messi has a right ankle injury, while Suarez has knee discomfort. Notably, Messi won't make an appearance at his first All-Star game since joining Inter Miami. The availability of both players for Saturday's engagement against Puebla remains in limbo as their recovery processes dictate. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba of Inter Miami will play, while Cristian Arango of Real Salt Lake is out due to suspension.

The story goes exclusively that Barcelona has readied itself for a fight with Liverpool over Dani Olmo, who is set to be handed a six-year deal. There was some temporary basis for the extension made on Olmo's expiring release clause. Having missed Leny Yoro recently, they will be willing to pay €60 million for Olmo despite interest from Liverpool. He has been in the sights of Manchester City and Manchester United ever since he starred at Euro 2024, when he played to a great degree in Spain's triumph.