SPORTS

Defending champions and Olympic bronze medallist India suffered a stunning 3-5 defeat against Japan in the second semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament here on Tuesday.

India were the overwhelming favourites before the start of the match after having thrashed the same opponents 6-0 in their last round-robin match and also on head-to-head record, but the Japanese had other plans.

The Japanese looked a completely different side on Tuesday as they toyed with the defence of the Manpreet Singh-led side from the beginning.

BCCI on Sunday has announced the squad for India U-19 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in the West Indies from January 14 to February. Delhi batter Yash Dhull will lead the 17-member Indian squad in the upcoming U-19 World Cup, BCCI announced.

Four-time winners India are clubbed with South Africa, Ireland, and Uganda in Group B.Dhull's appointment was on expected lines as he was also named captain for the upcoming Asia Cup, to be held in the UAE from December 23. SK Rasheed will co-captain the team alongside Dhull in the tournament.

"The All-India Junior Selection Committee has picked India's squad for the upcoming ICC Under 19 Men's Cricket World Cup to be played in the West Indies from 14th January to 5th February 2022 across four host countries," the BCCI said in a press release.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has finally replied to Virat Kohli's highly notorious press conference, in which the Delhi-born spoke about his dismissal as ODI skipper and refuted Ganguly's remarks around the whole issue.

Kohli was fired as ODI captain earlier this month, and Ganguly said the next day that the BCCI had requested and made a “personal request” to Kohli about not resigning as T20I captain back in September and that the selectors were forced to remove him from the 50-overs position because they wanted a single captain for all white-ball forms. 

However, while answering the questions of the media members during the virtual conference on Wednesday, Kohli went completely against what Ganguly had told the media members just a few hours before hopping on a plane and flying off to South Africa for a Test and ODI series. 

There was very little talk about India's tour of South Africa as Virat Kohli sat down to take questions in the customary pre-departure press conference ahead of the much-anticipated tour. The Test captain did not hold back as he quashed rumours, addressed many much-talk-about issues, but his explosive comments also gave rise to a lot of new questions that remain unanswered.

One of the most powerful personalities in Indian cricket, Virat Kohli was dominating headlines over the last few days as rumours of rift between him and limited-overs captain Rohit Sharma were doing rounds. The timing of his decision to quit T20I captaincy and the way he was removed as ODI captain gave rise to plenty of speculation and rumour that he will not play the ODI series in South Africa created a stir with the likes of Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur and former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin chipping in with their take on the speculation.

Pakistan are known to produce some of the best fast bowlers in the game. From Wasim Akram to Waqar Younis, from Imran to Shoaib Akhtar, all have dominated some of the finest batters of their time. Right-arm pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr is the latest addition to this list. Having impressed the selectors with his performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), as well as the country's domestic circuit, Wasim was named in Pakistan's squad for the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies.

In the first T20I on Monday, Wasim took four for 40 as Pakistan comprehensively beat the visitors to win the first game in Karachi.

While he was a touch expensive in the match, his ability to nail a "perfect yorker" is a testament of his talent.