Source - Leonard Floyd expected to join Falcons after 49ers exit - ESPN

Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur shared a banter ahead of the IPL 2025 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday. Both MI and LSG have lost two out of three games so far in the tournament, and sit 6th and 7th, respectively. Ahead of the match, Rohit reunited with his India and Mumbai teammate Shardul, who went unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction before being signed by LSG as an injury replacement for Mohsin Khan. Rohit and Shardul share a great bond, having played plenty of cricket together.

Bought for a whopping price of INR 23.75 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Venkatesh Iyer has admitted that there is pressure to live up to the expectations. After multiple failures with the bat, the batter showed a glimpse of what he can do, scoring 60 runs off just 29 balls to help KKR put a 200-run total on the board against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). When asked about the top price tag and the expectations that come with it, Venkatesh gave a smashing reply in the press conference on Thursday.

Australia and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) Travis Head has a lot of respect for India, as a cricketing nation, and its fans. Despite admitting that he gets a lot of stick for doing well against India more often than not, Head suggested he has a special "love-hate" relationship with the fans in India. Head is currently playing for SRH in the Indian Premier League (IPL), his second straight season with the franchise after enjoying a breakout season last year where he score 567 in 15 matches as SRH reached the final.

Former India batter Mohammed Kaif has raised concerns over captain Pat Cummins' leadership, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) slump in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Kaif questioned Cummins for not utilising spinners Zeeshan Ansari and Kamindu Mendis after their loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). For the unversed, Ansari and Mendis bagged a wicket each, bowling three and one overs, respectively. Kaif also feared that SRH might not be able recover after suffering three defeats on the trot.

Mumbai India's topsy-turvy start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign could be blamed on multiple factors. Rohit Sharma's failure to give the team a solid start at the top is unarguably among the biggest factors on the list. As the wait for Rohit to get his bat to do the talking increases, several fans and former cricketers have raised questions. Mumbai Indians' batting coach, Kieron Pollard, speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, passionately jumped to the Hitman's defence.

Not many cricketers in the world have the knack of identifying talents and nurturing them like MS Dhoni does. The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all played under Dhoni's leadership, but their journey to the pinnacle of cricket, by their own admission, might not have been possible without Dhoni. He backed Kohli after his initial struggles and also suggested Rohit to open the innings in order to utilise his abilities to the fullest. However, Kohli and Rohit aren't the only ones reaping rewards of Dhoni's cricketing accumen.

BARCELONA: Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD) on Thursday upheld an appeal filed by Barcelona players Dani Olmo and Pau Victor which will allow them to play for the club until the end of the season. LaLiga had lowered Barcelona’s wage cap on Wednesday after it said the club’s recently revised accounts do not match the end-of-year figures from its previous auditor. The previous accounts included proceeds from the sale of VIP seats in the renovated Camp Nou which allowed Barca to comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play rules and extend the registration of Olmo and Victor. LaLiga said Barca did not have the capacity to register the two players based on their accounts, but the CSD annulled the agreement between the Spanish top flight and the country’s football federation (RFEF). The CSD said the two players’ registrations remain valid as the RFEF acknowledged that “there is no federation resolution that agreed to the cancelation of the licenses” and their decision not to grant a license is “null and void.” “In any case, the professional careers of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor have been protected since January 8 by the urgent precautionary measure granted by the CSD, with the sole aim of avoiding irreparable harm until this procedure is resolved,” it said. “In short, for reasons of incompetence, for not having followed the appropriate procedures established in the regulations, and for not being the body authorized to make decisions, the agreement of the Monitoring Committee of the RFEF-LaLiga Coordination Agreement must be considered null and void, and all effects derived from it invalidated.” In January, the CSD had allowed Barcelona to provisionally register the pair, four days after Spanish football authorities rejected

MELBOURNE :Australia flyhalf Noah Lolesio is leaving the ACT Brumbies at the end of the season to take up a club contract overseas in 2026, the Super Rugby Pacific team said on Friday.