A total of 25 players were signed by all five teams during the WPL 2027 auction, with UPW buying the most players, i.e., eight, while GG bought the fewest, i.e., three

WPL 2027 squad list

Business Standard

The Men in Blue will look to extend their lead to 4-0 in Auckland to keep their chances of a clean sweep alive

New Zealand vs India 4th T20I playing 11

Molineux has previously featured in the WPL 2024 and 2025 seasons, playing 10 games for Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Australian all-rounder Sophie Molineux (centre)

New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson was on Thursday ruled out of last two T20 Internationals against India due to a calf injury that he sustained during the second game of the five-match series.
Matt Fisher has been named his replacement for the remainder of the series that India has already clinched by taking a 3-0 lead. The fourth match is scheduled to be held here on Friday.
"Ferguson experienced pain in his right-calf during the second T20 at Hagley Oval and subsequent scans confirmed a low-grade tear, and he is expected to require another week or so of recovery before returning to play," New Zealand Cricket (NZC) in a statement.
Pacer Matt Henry, who is also out of the T20 series, was also assessed following pain in his right quadricep during the second game.
"...scans have shown he's picked up a low-grade tear requiring one-to-two weeks recovery. Henry, who was set to return to the BLACKCAPS for the upcoming ODI series due to planned workload management, remains on track," said

New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson in action during ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 Group 1 match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, at Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney on Saturday.

Matt Fisher has been named his replacement for the remainder of the series that India has already clinched by taking a 3-0 lead

Press Trust of India

India vice-captain Tilak Varma says moving down from number three to five in the batting order has led to a slight change in his mindset and he now eyes boundaries from ball one instead of trying to settle in first.
Tilak has built a reputation of being a chase master over the last 12 months. Even in the second T20I against New Zealand, he pulled off a tense chase batting alongside Nitish Reddy. India have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
"I already had the power game; I have scored runs at number three as well. Now, batting at number five or six, I think about going for a boundary off the very first ball only if it's there to be hit," he said ahead of the fourth T20I here.
"Otherwise, I focus on taking the game deep. I take a bit more time. Initially, I focus on singles and doubles, finding gaps for fours or two runs," he added.
While pacing the run chase, Tilak says he likes to play with the psyche of the bowlers, who are under more pressure than batters.

Tilak Varma

Tilak has built a reputation of being a chase master over the last 12 months. Even in the second T20I against New Zealand, he pulled off a tense chase batting alongside Nitish Reddy

India's Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar clinched gold medals in men's singles SL3 and SL4 respectively in the badminton competition at the Asian Para Games here on Friday.
Nitesh produced a clinical performance to beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in a clash between two Paralympic gold medallists.
"Very happy to win the Asian Games gold medal. Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special, and I think it's one of the rarest of the rare things to see," said Nitesh, the Paris Paralympic gold medallist.
Naveen then showcased his prowess to beat Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-17 in 36 minutes to claim the top prize.
Bhagat, who had won gold in the 2018 and 2022 editions, had to settle for silver.
"It doesn't feel that good because I had won two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, and I was trying to win a third gold here. I had ...

India's Nitesh Kumar

Nitesh produced a clinical performance to beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in a clash between two Paralympic gold medallists

India's Sandeep and Haney won gold medals with world record performances in the men's 400m T64 and men's javelin throw F37/38 events respectively at the Asian Para Games here on Friday.
Sandeep clocked 52.28 seconds, a world record, to win the 400m T64 final at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. He finished 0.85 seconds ahead of Saudi Arabia's Nour Alsana (53.13, season's best). Indian compatriot Ajay Kumar took bronze in 53.61, a Games Record, while China's Huang Ruihua was fourth with a personal best of 54.39.
In the javelin throw F37/38 final at the same venue, Haney produced a world record throw of 60.49m for gold, scoring 1116 Raza points. Iran's Hormoz Seidikazpounji took silver with a personal best of 50.68m (1009 points), while China's Yu Chengjie claimed bronze with an Asian record 53.66m (943 points).
India have thus reached 100 medals in total in this edition of the sporting extravaganza.
In the javelin event, the F37 and F38 classes compete together and are .

Sandeep

Sandeep clocked 52.28 seconds, a world record, to win the 400m T64 final at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. He finished 0.85 seconds ahead of Saudi Arabia's Nour Alsana

The teenage Indian pair of Sheetal Devi and Payal Nag clinched a silver medal after losing the compound women's doubles final at the Asian Para Games here on Wednesday.
Sheetal, who was born without arms, and Payal, a quadruple amputee, went down 141-150 to the Chinese duo of Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing.
Payal and Sheetal, both 19,  were not really able to match their Chinese opponents, playing catch-up throughout the match.
Sheetal had won a silver medal in this event in the last edition of the Games as well, partnering Sarita Devi.

Sheetal Devi, Sheetal

Sheetal, who was born without arms, and Payal, a quadruple amputee, went down 141-150 to the Chinese duo of Xu Xueqing and Zhao Jing

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari won a gold with a Games record as Indians swept all three medals in the men's shot put F46 event at the Asian Para Games here on Wednesday.
Paris Paralympics silver winner Khilari defended the gold he had won in the previous Asian Para Games in China with his sixth and final throw of 15.87m, breaking the earlier Games record of 15.67m.
Mohd. Yasser took the silver with his third round throw of 15.06m while Parveen was third with 14.94m.
The F46 classification is for field athletes with a single above or below elbow amputation, or an equivalent upper-limb impairment. They compete in a standing position and generate throwing power using their hips and legs.

Sachin Sarjerao Khilari

Paris Paralympics silver winner Khilari defended the gold he had won in the previous Asian Para Games in China with his sixth and final throw of 15.87m, breaking the earlier Games record of 15.67m

Defending champion Sheetal Devi and Swati Chaudhary stormed into the finals of their respective events to assure India of two medals in para archery events of the Asian Para Games here on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old Sheetal, who equalled the world record and created a new Asian record in the qualification round, defeated Japan's Shinohara Aya 145-137 in the women's compound semifinal to set up a gold-medal clash with Singapore's Alim Nur Syahidah.
Swati, who is making her Games debut, also assured India of at least a silver medal after beating South Korea's Eunhee Lee 6-2 in the women's W1 semifinal. She will face China's Mengkan in the final.
W1 classification is for athletes with significant impairment in functional strength, range of motion, or limb loss across all four limbs.
India's recurve and compound mixed teams also advanced to the semifinals with victories over Thailand and Japan, respectively.
Paralympic gold-medallist Harvinder Singh and Bhawna defeated their Thai opponen

The 19-year-old Sheetal, who equalled the world record and created a new Asian record in the qualification round, defeated Japan's Shinohara Aya 145-137 in the women's compound semifinal

Ravi Baby Sahana and Prachi Pandey scripted history by becoming India's first para table tennis players to make the podium in the standing category at the Asian Para Games, as the country secured five bronze medals here on Tuesday.
Paralympics medallist Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel, Prachi and Sahana all went down to accomplished Paralympic medallists in their respective women's singles semifinals, while Jehan Madan bagged a bronze medal in the men's singles class 1 event by virtue of finishing fourth in a five-paddler field.
The haul also took India past its medal tally from the previous edition, where it had won two bronze medals in para table tennis.
Sahana and Prachi's bronze were particularly significant as they became the first Indians to win medals in the standing category at the Asian Para Games.
Tamil Nadu's Sahana went down 8-11, 2-11, 4-11 to five-time Paralympic gold medallist Mao Jingdian of China in the Class 9 semifinal.
Class 9 in para table tennis is a standing .

Table Tennis

The haul also took India past its medal tally from the previous edition, where it had won two bronze medals in para table tennis

Alexia Putellas became the second player to win three Women's Ballon d'Or awards, matching Spain teammate Aitana Bonmati after reclaiming the honour in 2026

Alexia Putellas

Spain star Alexia Putellas won her third women's Ballon d'Or after helping Barcelona secure multiple trophies last season, including the UEFA Women's Champions League

Ballon d'Or 2026 full list of winners

From difficult loan spells to Bayern Munich's attacking fulcrum, Kane's first Ballon d'Or crowns a career built against expectation and makes him England's first winner since Michael Owen

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane makes a speech after winning the men's Ballon d'Or award

The live streaming of the Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony will be available on the DAZN app and website in India

Ballon d'Or 2026 live streaming

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has been discharged from the hospital, his assistant Aaron Danks confirmed, five days after collapsing during a training session.
The 40-year-old Kompany was observing a practice session for the club's reserve team when the incident occurred last Friday.
Speaking after Bayern's 6-1 win over Magdeburg in the German Cup, Danks said there was "no timeline" on when Kompany might be back at work.
"It's obviously a really positive step in his road to recovery," Danks said of Kompany leaving the hospital. "He gets to settle back at home now, be closer to his family, be closer to his home comforts but it's still really important that he takes his rest and he recovers.
"So there's no timescale on it - nothing that I've been told. Our doctors will continue to work closely with Vince and at the right moment, he will be back with us once he is fit and healthy to do that. And we look forward to that day."
Danks said he hadn't spoken to Kompany for a couple o

Vincent Kompany

The 40-year-old Kompany was observing a practice session for the club's reserve team when the incident occurred last Friday

Riquelme Fillipi tallied his first Major League Soccer goal in the 90th minute to cap a late-game barrage of scores, and Lionel Messi and Inter Miami escaped with a 2-2 tie against FC Cincinnati.
Luis Suarez scored in the 61st minute to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead, and then the reigning MLS Cup champions needed some late-game heroics to salvage a point. They still fell to third in the Eastern Conference, after New England beat Red Bull New York 3-2 on Wednesday.
That gave New England 58 points, two ahead of Miami with two matches left - including one between those clubs in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
Evander had a brilliant chance to win it for Cincinnati with a shot from around the penalty spot on what became the last real chance of the match in stoppage time - but Inter Miami defender Ian Fray got his body in front of the ball to deflect it away.
Cincinnati's ensuing corner kick was harmless and time expired.
Kenji Mboma Dem scored in the 80th minute and Samuel Gidi go

Lionel Messi

Luis Suarez scored in the 61st minute to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead, and then the reigning MLS Cup champions needed some late-game heroics to salvage a point

A conventional Hyrox race consists of eight one-kilometre running segments, each followed by a workout station

Still from Hyrox event

The series was held alongside celebrations marking 100 years of unity through sport between India and New Zealand

Indian team after winning efootball series vs New Zealand

The Hong Kong Sixes, known for its fast-paced six-a-side format, provides a different commercial proposition from conventional international cricket tournaments

JSW Sports expands international operations

Sportico values IPL franchises at about $17 billion. How revenue sharing, media rights and limited ownership opportunities support team valuations.

Mumbai Indians Owners, Akash Ambani, Mukesh Ambani, Rohit Sharma

WPL 2027 auction: Check all five teams' purses, available slots, squad needs and potential targets as they look to fill 27 vacancies in Kochi today

WPL 2027 auction

Cricket Australia posts an A$81.8 million surplus after a loss in FY25, but expects losses over the next two financial years as its international touring schedule changes.

Australia national cricket team

BS provides the latest news and updates on sports events like football, cricket, FIFA 2019, hockey, badminton, lawn tennis, IPL and more related sports news. Catch sports breaking news at Business Standard.

Sports News

Asian Games

Football news

Other Sports News

Business of Sports