Sports News: India's Sri Lanka Tour Squad, Women's Asia Cup Dilemma, and More: Top Sports Highlights

Squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka will be announced by India, as the new head coach Gautam Gambhir met the BCCI selection committee on Tuesday. Gambhir will start his inaugural assignment, including a three-match T20I series starting July 27, which will be followed by a three-match ODI series. Apparently, the debate is around who will be the next T20 captain among Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Rohit Sharma might get into the ODI series as well, though he is currently on leave, while Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah could carry on with their break. The squad might also be boosted by the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Rohit Sharma will apparently cut short his vacation and turn up for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka next month. He will apparently write to the BCCI regarding his availability before the selection meeting. The new head coach Gautam Gambhir wants Rohit to feature in the ODI series along with Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Though Kohli and Bumrah are unlikely to make it to the series, Rohit may return. While Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul could be there in the final team, Hardik Pandya has been ruled out due to personal reasons.

The Nepal team did well in the 2024 T20 World Cup, pushing top teams like South Africa and Bangladesh, though falling a little short of making it into the Super 8s. Their head coach, Monty Desai, considered by many as one of the finest brains the game has ever seen, has attributed their poor performance to a lack of experience in key moments and not having star spinner Sandeep Lamichhane in their lineup. However, Desai was buoyed by their preparation and competitiveness. He said they need more professional grounds and infrastructure in Nepal to help them go forward. The promising future of Nepal in the cricketing world is very vivid as they are showing relentless potential on the global stage.

Ticketholders for day one of the second Test between England and West Indies will be party to a little bit of history when Trent Cricket Stadium officially renames the Pavilion End in honor of Stuart Broad. The most successful international bowler that Nottinghamshire has ever produced, Broad will be joined for the naming by his father, Chris Broad. A plaque will be unveiled at the 'Stuart Broad End' to commemorate his outstanding career with Notts and England in which he played 167 Tests, captured 604 wickets and took 20 five-wicket hauls. Broad retired in July 2023.

The Women's Asia Cup, starting in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, is the last dress rehearsal for India to pinpoint their strategies ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this October. Defending champions India finally need to sort out once and for all the number three batting position dilemma between Jemimah Rodrigues and Dayalan Hemalatha. Former India skipper Anjum Chopra had stated that Jemimah, who had batted very well at number three in the past, really needs to come back to her favorite spot. Anjum also said that for higher scores, which are necessary for success in the T20 format, the team needs to use top batters like Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah at the beginning of the innings.

West Indies will field an unchanged eleven for their second Test against England at Trent Bridge despite a heavy defeat in the first game. Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said that improvement with the bat was necessary after disappointing scores in both innings of the first Test. Shamar Joseph briefly remained a doubtful starter because of a hamstring strain but he will be fine to play. Brathwaite said he was confident in his team's abilities to make a comeback into the game. He added that on a pitch that looked pretty good for batting, the need to convert those starts into big innings only increases.

Real Madrid really wants to bring in Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has entered the final year of his contract and would be willing to make a move. Following up with no contract extension offer from Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold is now on the radar after his underpinning role for Jurgen Klopp by winning numerous titles that included the Champions League and the Premier League. Now, a future at Anfield hangs in the balance as he ponders a change of career following Klopp's exit, with Real Madrid pursuing his signature.

Veer Chotrani and Anjali Semwal head the list as top seeds in the Bombay Gymkhana 47th Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament commencing on July 20. Rahul Baitha is the men's second seed, while Mahesh Mangaonkar and Om Semwal share the third and fourth seeds. In the women's section, Sunita Patel is the second seed, and Aradhya Porwal and Rani Gupta share the third-fourth seeds. Siddhant Rewari heads the boys' and Reiva Nimbalkar the girls' under-19 categories respectively.