Sports News: Top News: Jurel's Tribute, ICC T20 Team, Malik on Babar, SA Women's Team, Euro 2024 Drama

With stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is after the World Cup win in the Caribbean, fresh faces are the need of the hour as India embarks on a tour of Zimbabwe. Uncapped players Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, and Tushar Deshpande are all set to make their debuts with Shubman Gill leading the team. Injured Nitish Reddy is replaced by Shivam Dube. The other members of the team include Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan.

The Indian cricket team is currently stranded in Barbados due to the advisory-Yellow Alert issued for Hurricane Beryl, now a Category 4 storm. Because of this, there has been a delay in the otherwise planned return journey to India via New York and Dubai. With them are stuck the journalists who traveled to cover the T20 World Cup, how have, in fact, shared videos of the weather situation on social media. Veteran journalist Vimal Kumar seems to be reporting extremely slim chances of any departure with the dangerous conditions persisting. The Bridgetown airport is preparing to shut down. Hurricane warnings include the islands of Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Tobago.

This was followed by the induction of six Indian players into the ICC's Team of the Tournament on account of India's invincible victory at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma, who made history with his team by being the first player to win as both a player and captain, has emerged as the second-highest run scorer. Other names included Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh. While player-of-the-tournament Bumrah claimed 15, Arshdeep equaled the highest wickets taken in the tournament with 17. It was round performance from Pandya, and crucial contributions of Axar that were the keys for India.

Fresh from their T20 World Cup victory, the rejuvenated Indian cricket team is all set to clash for a 5-match T20I series in Zimbabwe. The new faces have been Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande bracketing the team along with Shubman Gill as skipper. Veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, among others, have been rested. Interim coach VVS Laxman will guide a team that also includes T20 World Cup reserves Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson. The series starts on 6 July and finishes on 14 July at Harare Sports Club.

The ex-Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik made a startling claim about Babar Azam; he said on live television that Babar would not fit into any major T20 teams in Australia, England, or India. So said Malik to Ten Sports; he has been scathing about Babar's captaincy of late, asking him to focus his energy instead on his batting. Malik did concede that Babar was a 'class batter', but feels Pakistan's performance would be improved without him as captain. Under the leadership of Babar, Pakistan failed to move beyond the group stage in T20 World Cup 2024.

Laura Wolvaardt will lead South Africa's 15-member women's contingent in the T20 International series against India, starting July 5 in Chennai. Chloe Tryon has made a comeback after recovering from her injury, while Delmi Tucker and Nondumiso Shangase make way after the ODIs and Test. Fresh from being at the receiving end against India, coach Dillon du Preez was optimistic about ironing out strategies ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. It's reaching out to strengthen team dynamics and further prepare for future challenges.

Its heroic act, with three penalty saves by Diogo Costa, saw them off to a 3-0 shootout win over Slovenia after a tight Euro 2024 round-of-16 game. Cristiano Ronaldo, devastated first after missing a penalty in extra time, then redeemed himself in the shootout along with Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva. Slovenia sealed Portugal's quarterfinal match against France through their misses, as Ronaldo, despite that emotional rollercoaster ride, remained without a goal in this tournament.

Randal Kolo Muani's deflected shot gave France a 1-0 victory over Belgium in the European Championship round of 16. It was scored in the 85th minute. Kylian Mbappé, playing in a protective mask, could Fashion only a few goal efforts, none on target. It was genuinely a match in which both the second- and third-ranked teams struggled to break through. France's next opponents in the quarterfinals will be either Portugal or Slovenia, as Mbapp seeks his first ever Euro quarterfinal win after a disappointing exit in 2021.