The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) clarified that wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow will join the squad only after the second Test against India and not after the first Test as was earlier stated by England batting coach Graham Thorpe. ....

The first group of tennis players arriving in Australia for the upcoming Australian Open was released from hotel quarantine, giving a fresh glimmer of hope for a smooth start to the tournament. While Australia has so far demonstrated success in managing the pandemic, a large number of players entering from Europe and North America which have had a higher incidence of Covid-19, came as a potential threat to the country's pandemic control, particularly with two confirmed cases at the event qualifiers in Doha. ....

India shuttler Kidambi Srikanth's World Tour Finals campaign came to a disappointing end after he lost all three matches in the tournament, the latest being against Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long here on Friday. ....

The Indian women's hockey team suffered a 0-2 defeat against Argentina in their latest encounter. This was India's second match against the world number two ranked side after matches with the Argentina junior women's and their 'B' teams in the ongoing tour. ....

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed the pair of Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma to stand alongside Nitin Menon in the first two Tests of the upcoming series between India and England, thus continuing the trend of home umpires officiating in Tests ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. ....

Opener Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen helped South Africa take a lead of 29 runs on the third day of their first Test against Pakistan. Spinner Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali, however, struck thrice at the end of the day to leave South Africa on 187/4 after Pakistan were all out for 378 earlier in the day. ....

England opener Rory Burns said he thinks Indian wickets will be good cricket wickets and won't turn from the start like it happened during the recent series in Sri Lanka where England still managed to win 2-0. ....

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach reiterated the IOC's commitment to delivering the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games this summer, adding that preparation work for Beijing 2022 is also progressing steadily. ....

Star Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu suffered contrasting defeats in their respective second group 'B' matches at the BWF World Tour Finals here on Thursday. ....

Umpire Bruce Oxenford has decided to retire from international cricket after officiating across all three formats of the game for over 15 years. ....

Indian cricket board president Sourav Ganguly was stable after he was rushed to Apollo Hospital here on Wednesday following uneasiness and chest pain the previous night. ....