Sports News: James Anderson's Record, BCCI Sri Lanka Tour, Shreyas Iyer's Training: Cricket Updates

England fast bowler James Anderson is playing his final Test against West Indies at Lord's, thereby bringing down the curtain on a sterling career which yielded 990 wickets. England was targeting a big win after bundling the West Indies out for 121, thereby gaining a 250-run lead. Anderson also became the first pacer to bowl over 40,000 deliveries in Test cricket and fourth overall. He also stands fourth in the list of most deliveries across formats with 49,883 balls to his credit. Anderson missed out on 1,000 international wickets, having taken 987 as of now.

BCCI announced the itinerary for India's tour of Sri Lanka, which will be Gautam Gambhir's first series as head coach. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli, all of whom announced their retirements from international cricket, Gambhir maintained that his priorities would be in the nurturing of new talent. It will begin with three T20Is at Pallekele, starting July 26, followed by as many ODIs in Colombo on August 1, 4 and 7. Indian squad and captain - for that matter - is yet to be confirmed.

Shreyas Iyer sweats it out in Mumbai, eyes comeback to international cricket. Unfazed by the bad weather, the IPL-winning captain was seen practicing on a race track. The batter worked on improving his batting after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title and has since been overlooked for a central contract following a poor Test series against England; he was axed from the T20 World Cup 2024 squad with his omission attributed to miscommunication. He may get another chance on the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka with Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach.

Legendary pacer Wasim Akram is optimistic about India's presence in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan. In an exclusive interview over the weekend to IANS, what Akram stressed was that all teams will be welcomed by Pakistan with open arms, civil facilities being excellent, and new stadiums in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. Political tensions, however, have binned India's travel plan to Pakistan. There appeared a sign of denial from the Indian government recently. Akram feels Champions Trophy is important for taking cricket in Pakistan forward and wants to delink the game from politics. The PCB could look at a hybrid model, if India doesn't agree to participate.

Emotions ran high at the World Championship of Legends tournament as the Pathan brothers clashed after a mix-up resulted in run-out of Irfan Pathan against South Africa Champions at Northampton. Having needed 78 runs in the final two overs, the shot Irfan played off Dale Steyn led to confusion with Yusuf, thereby causing the run-out. The brothers were seen hollering at each other but later reconciled with a hug and a kiss. Though Yusuf played valiantly to score 54 runs in reply, India lost the game by 54 runs but went into the semi-finals against Australia Champions on July 12.

Soon after the victory of India in T20 WC 2024, Indian team physio - Kamlesh Jain termed praise for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for the role of not only being inclusive leaders but also the way they helped the team environment. The former said that as a team they believe in continuous improvement and respecting everyone's views due to which India has been consistent. With Rohit's retirement from T20Is and Dravid's tenure coming to an end, Gautam Gambhir is going to take over as the head coach from the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, bringing in speculations about who is going to be the next captain of the team.

James Anderson starred in his final Test as England tightened the screws on the West Indies to dismiss them for 79-6 in the second innings, still 171 runs behind. With 701 Test wickets in his career, Anderson led from the front with the ball, ably supported by Ben Stokes, who starred with both bat and ball. Jamie Smith's aggressive 70 beefed up England's innings, with debutant Gus Atkinson beaming with the ball and taking vital wickets. As this first Test of the series reaches a thrilling climax here at Lord's, England again seems just on track.

Nikolaos Karelis joins Mumbai City FC for the upcoming season of the Indian Super League, his first stint in India. At 29 years, the Greek striker brings huge experience from his nine-plus-year-long career that has seen him play for Russian, Belgian, English, and Dutch clubs. He scored 103 goals from 361 games. His most successful seasons have come while playing for Panathinaikos when he netted 19 times during the 2014-15 season. Other major successes that he has achieved are while playing for PAOK, with whom he claimed several titles. He wants to contribute to the success of Mumbai City FC, for which head coach Petr Kratky recognizes his talent and versatility in attacking roles.