Tuesday saw the inclusion of experienced spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian squad for two Test matches to be held in Sri Lanka after his recovery from injury.
Tuesday saw the inclusion of experienced spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian squad for two Test matches to be held in Sri Lanka after his recovery from injury.
The 15-man group also includes fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, but he will need to pass a fitness assessment to be cleared to play. Similarly, batsman Sai Sudarshan must undergo a medical examination before taking the field.
The first Test match is scheduled in Galle from August 15 to 19, and the second will take place in Colombo from August 23 to 27.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja sustained an elbow injury during the Indian Premier League, causing him to miss India's recent victory in a friendly match against Afghanistan. All-rounder Sarash Jain has also been included for the first time, specializing in off-spin bowling.
Shubman Gill will lead India in the current World Test Championship (WTC) series following their 2-0 home defeat to South Africa in November. India currently ranks fifth in the WTC standings, while Australia leads, and Sri Lanka is in sixth place.
The Indian squad includes Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudarshan (subject to fitness assessment), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Sutara, Jasprit Bumrah (subject to fitness assessment), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutta Padikala, and Sarash Jain.
Roberto Mancini has been reappointed as the head coach of the Italian national team. This decision was announced by the President of the Italian Football Federation, Giovanni Malaguti, on Tuesday. The goal of the appointment is to revive the Azzurri team, which has not participated in the last three FIFA World Cups.
The technical director, Paolo Maldini, who reportedly threatened to resign if Mancini was appointed, has been replaced by Claudio Ranieri. Malaguti stated that the team now has a new coach and a new technical director, and a joint press conference with Mancini and Ranieri is scheduled for Wednesday.
Earlier, Gennaro Gattuso left his position as Italy's coach after a loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff final of the World Cup qualifiers in March. The sixty-year-old Mancini previously managed Italy from 2018 to 2023, leading the team to victory at Euro 2020. He was preferred over another former national team coach, Antonio Conte.
Paolo Maldini also allegedly announced his departure if Conte were chosen, presumably hoping that the Brazilian midfielder Thiago Motta would get the job. Andrea Pirlo, who was considered a candidate, announced on Monday that he no longer sought this position. Pirlo faced heavy criticism due to controversial ties with a Russian sports betting company and, according to critics, limited coaching experience.
Despite Mancini leading Italy to the Euro 2020 title and demonstrating a run of 37 matches without defeat, his appointment remains controversial. His sudden departure from the role of Italy's coach in the summer of 2023 to lead the Saudi Arabian team reportedly damaged his reputation among many high-ranking FIGC officials, especially against the backdrop of the Azzurri's problems in the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Mancini left his post in Saudi Arabia after only 14 months.
Before this, he worked at the Qatari club Al-Sadd, with whom he signed a two-year contract last November. Now he will focus on the task of bringing Italy back to the top of international football. The four-time world champions have not reached the World Cup since 2014 and have not played a single playoff match in the tournament since winning the 2006 final against France on penalties. The only success during this period was the European championship victory won six years ago in a penalty shootout against England. The defense of this title under Luciano Spalletti ended with elimination in the Round of 16 against Switzerland in 2024. Furthermore, Mancini won three consecutive Serie A titles as manager of Inter between 2005 and 2008, and later led Manchester City to its first English league title since 1968 thanks to a famous victory on the last day of the 2011/12 Premier League season over QPR.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus announced that almost the entire squad is healthy and ready for the upcoming match against Argentina. Only Ox Nche and Franco Mostert have been excluded from the trip to South America.
Speaking to reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Erasmus provided mostly positive information regarding the team's health following the first stage of the World Cup. He also discussed how key players returning to the squad will receive necessary preparation before the series of the greatest rivalry against the All Blacks.
Erasmus stated: 'Only Ox and Franco are unavailable for next week's game against Argentina. Besides them, everyone is ready.' The match in South America will serve as an important test for several veterans returning after a break, including captain Siya Kolisi, locks Eben Etzebeth and Ludo De Jager, and star winger Sasu Feinberg-Mongomasezul.
Essentially, Erasmus confirmed that barring complications this week, these players will participate in the game against Los Pumas to shake off any lack of fitness. Etzebeth, in particular, is likely to be pleased to take the field in green and gold, as he only played 40 minutes in the match against Wales since November.
Erasmus explained: 'We always knew we would play this game, but it turned out to be a great opportunity to give a chance to some returning players.' He added that Siya could have returned a week earlier, but the team wanted to ensure his full readiness, as hamstring injuries are a complex issue. Similarly, this applies to Eben's concussion, Ludo's injury, and Sasu's return, who did well in his first training session with the team.
Erasmus mentioned that to manage the load ahead of the major four-match series against the All Blacks, he will likely rest players who played extensively in the three World Cup matches. Forwards who accumulated a large number of minutes in the United Rugby Championship and the first three matches against England, Scotland, and Wales, such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, will stay home to prepare for the first match at Ellis Park.
The coach noted: 'There are players we will leave at home. We just want to see how this week goes.' He specified that 26 people are going on the trip, but the final squad will be announced after assessing the week's progress. 'Players who played a lot, and players who are not yet fit, will not go to Argentina. Those who need game time will go to Argentina.'
Despite public attention inevitably shifting to the upcoming clash with the All Blacks, Erasmus warned not to overlook Los Pumas. He insisted: 'Our first priority is to beat Argentina. Everyone is asking about the All Blacks, but we must beat Argentina next week. Let's overcome this hurdle.'
Erasmus emphasized that the team has goals in the match against Argentina. 'Obviously, we want to win every match we play, and we will select the team to try and beat Argentina. We have learned lessons. When you slow down against Argentina, they can punish you.'
Given the tight international schedule, Erasmus reiterated that physical conditioning and squad rotation will be crucial for reaching peak form at the right time. He expressed confidence: 'We feel comfortable that players will reach peak form in the four-match series against New Zealand.' He concluded that peak form cannot be reached in the first match since many games are ahead, and believes that teams do not expect to win by a landslide 4-0, as that would be much harder.
According to Chess.com, the USA defeated Uzbekistan with a score of 5:3 after the completion of the first day of the Rapid & Blitz format chess tournament taking place in Miami.
Levon Aronian was the top player for the USA team, scoring 2.5 points out of three games. From Uzbekistan's side, Nodirbek Abdusattorov earned three points out of four, but this was not enough to level the match score.
The tournament is organized by FIDE presidential candidate Vadim Rosenthalstein and uses the Scheveningen system. Within the competition, five leading players from the USA compete against five players from Uzbekistan over two days. The first day was dedicated to rapid chess with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move, while the second day was entirely devoted to blitz with a time control of three minutes plus two seconds per move. The blitz stage is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, at 13:00 Eastern Time (USA).
The USA team includes Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, and Leiner Dominguez. Uzbekistan is represented by Javohir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboyev, Shamsiddin Vohidov, and Mukhdin Madaminov. In each round, four games are played on four boards, with one player from each team resting on rotation. A team victory in a round earns it two points, regardless of whether it is achieved with a 4-0 or 2.5-1.5 result.
The first round ended with a USA victory of 2.5-1.5. Wesley So secured the only win, defeating Mukhdin Madaminov after employing an innovative pawn sacrifice in the Berlin Defense; the other three games ended in a draw.
The second round was particularly significant, as Uzbekistan needed only one draw to win the round. Hikaru Nakamura unexpectedly lost to Javohir Sindarov in just 22 moves. The Uzbek grandmaster demonstrated play with 99.7% accuracy, aided by his opening preparation. Subsequently, Wesley So helped the USA team by defeating Shamsiddin Vohidov, leading to a round result of 2-2.
The USA won the third round with a score of 2.5-1.5. Nakamura outperformed Vohidov in the endgame with queen and bishop, and Aronian defeated Sindarov using the unconventional move 13...Nxh5. Abdusattorov recorded Uzbekistan's only win in this round, converting an advantage in exchanges into an endgame victory.
The fourth round was split between the teams: Aronian defeated Nodirbek Yakubboyev, and Sindarov defeated Dominguez. The decisive game was between So and Abdusattorov, where castling from opposite sides was used. The Uzbek grandmaster won by utilizing the rook against two minor pieces, while the queens remained on the board.
After the conclusion of the first day, Abdusattorov noted that his team played very well and maintains good chances for overall victory. He added that Americans were considered favorites in blitz, but stated that Uzbekistan could have equal chances with confident play.
