Marquez and AIFF part ways following defeat to Hong Kong India’s national football team have endured a tough year. They sacked former head coach Igor Stimac in June 2024, failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and their qualification for the Asian Cup 2027 is now hanging by a thread.  Following the departure of Stimac last year, the AIFF opted to appoint Manolo Marquez as head coach of the national team for the foreseeable future, owing in large part to his record with FC Goa, with the team ending the last two seasons in the top three of the Indian Super League.  However, the Spaniard struggled to make an impact as the Blue Tigers’ head coach, managing just a single win during his tenure, which came against the Maldives, who are ranked 164th in the world by FIFA, in a friendly match back in March.  India’s latest setback came last month when they suffered a painful last-minute defeat to Hong Kong in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, and that result proved to be the final straw for Marquez and the AIFF.  Prior to that defeat, the Blue Tigers had also lost to Afghanistan and drawn with Bangladesh, both teams that are ranked below them in the FIFA rankings. In addition, those losses saw India slip to 127th in the world rankings.  Marquez’s departure is yet another setback for Indian football and comes only a short while after former national team captain Bhaichung Bhutia lambasted AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey for bringing football in India to its knees.  Check out our football predictions AIFF clarifies Marquez’s departure was by mutual consent While there were several reports that suggested Marquez had been sacked from his role as India’s head coach, the AIFF took the time to clarify the situation, confirming that the Spaniard’s departure was by mutual consent. AIFF secretary M. Satyanarayanan said:  “He did not resign. After discussions, it was mutually agreed that the AIFF and Manolo Marquez cannot continue as India (men) coach. Accordingly, he was let go.” Following Marquez’s exit, the AIFF has now officially opened applications for the position of head coach of the Indian national team, and interested parties have been given until July 13 to submit their applications to the organisation.  It is understood that interested candidates are required to possess at least 10 years of coaching experience at senior or elite youth levels, and that preference will be given to individuals who have previous World Cup or continental championship qualifier experience.  More football news

Springboks carrying momentum after Barbarians bashing South Africa will begin their 2025 season with a tricky Test against Italy this weekend, though they are the clear favourites in the match according to the best rugby betting sites after smashing the Barbarians in Cape Town 54-7 last weekend. The Springboks will be looking to pick up from where they left off last year when they won their last four matches against teams from the Northern Hemisphere, beating Wales 45-12, England 29-20, Scotland 32-15 and Portugal 65-21.  So far, all indicators suggest that the world champions should be able to deal with whatever the experienced Gli Azzurri throws at them, given their performance against the Baa-Baas last week and their record against their upcoming opponents. You can also check out our South Africa vs Italy prediction for our expert insights. Rassie Erasmus’s side has won 15 of their 16 matches against Italy over the years! The only exception was a sole defeat back in 2016 while Allister Coetzee was still at the helm. The Boks have never lost to Italy on home soil, and their last three encounters ended in lopsided wins, with South Africa coming out on top 63-21 (2022), 46-3 (2019) and 35-6 (2017).  The hosts also enter this match as the number one-ranked team in the world with 92.78 rating points, but their 2.42-point advantage over New Zealand will not be enough to remain in pole position if they lose this match and the All Blacks beat France in Dunedin on Saturday morning.  View the latest rugby betting odds Italy hoping to maintain upward trajectory in 2025 Last year, we saw plenty of movement in the rugby world rankings. Indeed, over the last 12 months, Italy has slipped to 10th place in the standings, but most would likely agree that the work Gonzalo Quesada has put into this side has been extremely impressive. While Gli Azzurri finished fifth in the Six Nations, they produced a couple of incredible performances, including stunning France in Rome and pushing England to the wire at Twickenham, where they were denied what would have been a famous victory by just three points.  Quesada has clearly instilled a sense of belief in his group of players and has blended exciting youth with sturdy experience that many feel could give Italy their best chance of repeating that famous victory over the Boks in Florence in 2016.  In 2024, Gli Azzurri racked up three wins against tier-one nations – the joint-best tally in their history. They previously beat three tier-one nations in 1997, though two of those matches were against Ireland, while last year, they bested three separate sides.  This year, Italy has already notched up one victory over a tier one team in Wales, which ultimately condemned the Dragons to the Wooden Spoon at the Six Nations. They smashed Namibia 73-6 last weekend, which will also add to their confidence heading to Loftus.  Check out our rugby predictions South African captain Siya Kolisi ruled out for Italy ...

Pakistan stars set to light up CPL 2025 The 2025 Caribbean Premier League is scheduled to get underway next month, and the six participating teams are hard at work with final preparations before the tournament opener on August 14. We will be covering the tournament in our cricket predictions, so be sure to check them out. The highly anticipated CPL Draft was held last month, and a total of 12 South Asian players were selected, including five from Pakistan, six from Afghanistan, as well as one Bangladeshi, in the form of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was snapped up by the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.  From the Shaheens, fast bowler Mohammad Amir was the headline pick for the Trinbago Knight Riders. The veteran paceman is no stranger to the competition either, having played in four previous seasons, notching up 51 wickets in 39 games at an average of 18.09.  Amir is joined in the Knight Riders camp by compatriot Usman Tariq, who will be making his first appearance in the CPL after being thrust into the spotlight owing to his impressive performances in the Pakistan Super League over the last two years.  The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots handed Mohammad Nawaz a maiden call-up to the CPL this season, while Imad Wasim will return to the Caribbean for an eighth season, joining up with the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.  The final Pakistani set to grace the tournament this year is Hasan Khan. The spin all-rounder is rumoured to be working on a move to the US in the not-too-distant future and will get his first taste of CPL action in 2025 with the Guyana Amazon Warriors.  View the latest CPL odds Blue Tigers hoping to roar at CPL 2025 Aside from South Africa, which has nine players heading to the Caribbean for the CPL 2025, the next highest-represented nation at the competition is Afghanistan, with six Blue Tigers set to make the trip to the Southern Hemisphere next month.  Joining the Barbados Royals this season is 25-year-old Azmatullah Omarzai, who will add to the team’s already explosive batting lineup, while his compatriot Mujeeb Ur Rahman will bolster the Royals’ bowling unit with his right-arm off-breaks. The Antigua and Barbuda Falcons also have a pair of Blue Tigers in their setup, with Naveen Ul Haq and Allah Ghazanfar both drafted in as bowlers to assist the likes of Obed McCoy, Jayden Seales, Shamar Springer and Karima Gore.  The final two Afghans hoping to make an impact at CPL 2025 are Fazalhaq Farooqi and Waqar Salakheil, who were snapped up by the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots as bowling reinforcements alongside Ashmead Nedd, Jeremiah Loui and Dominic Drakes.  More cricket news 

No Bumrah? No problem! Siraj and Deep shine on Day 3 India took another massive step toward levelling their five-match series against England on Friday afternoon, when their pacemen, Mohammad Siraj and Akash Deep, produced a monumental effort to bowl out the Three Lions for 407 with 13 overs still to play on Day 3.  Given the absence of the world’s top fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who sat out this match due to workload management, most cricket predictions suggested that India would struggle against England’s ‘Bazball’ approach, but the Men in Blue’s opening pair with the new ball proved doubters wrong.  Deep was brought into the team to replace Bumrah for this Test, and he made early inroads for his side, knocking over Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in consecutive deliveries before Siraj claimed the scalp of Zak Crawley before stumps on Day 2.  On Friday morning, Siraj proved to be the difference maker early on, picking up the prized wicket of Joe Root for just 22 runs before sending English skipper Ben Stokes back to the pavilion for a golden duck with his very next ball.  Harry Brook and Jamie Smith mounted a comeback for the home side, with both players surpassing the 150-run mark, but once Brook departed at 387/6, the Three Lions’ tail-end crumbled, adding just 20 runs before the final four wickets tumbled.  Siraj and Deep were responsible for taking all 10 English wickets, with the former ending with stunning figures of 6/70 in 19.3 overs at an economy rate of just 3.59, while Deep finished with 4/88 in 20 overs at 4.40.  Notably, India’s pacemen dismissed six English batsmen for a duck in the first innings of the second Test, and in doing so, India became the first team ever to dismiss half a dozen Three Lions batters for nought in one innings of a Test match.  Check out our sports predictions Jamie Smith stars for England in first innings England found themselves in major trouble on the morning of Day 3 at Edgbaston following the dismissals of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in consecutive deliveries, which left the team at 84/5 and staring at the possibility of a follow-on.  However, Jamie Smith, along with Harry Brook, combined to pull the team to a respectable total of 407. Brook played a calm and calculated innings to finish on 158 off 234 balls, while Smith smashed his way to 184 off 207 deliveries and remained not out at the end of the innings.  Smith’s knock of 184* off 207 balls now stands as the highest individual score by an English Test wicketkeeper, surpassing the 173 amassed by former Three Lions gloveman Alec Stewart against New Zealand back in 1997.  Additionally, the 24-year-old’s century, which he brought up in just 80 deliveries, is the third-fastest ever by an English keeper, just four balls short of the legendary Gilbert Joseph’s 76-ball ton against Australia at The Oval in 1902, and three off Jonny Bairstow’s knock in 2022.  More cricket ...

Former greats question Bumrah’s exclusion from Indian squad After scoring five centuries but still suffering a mind-boggling defeat at Headingley last week, India is on course to challenge to level the five-match series in Edgbaston this weekend, following a captain’s knock from Shubman Gill and an impressive series debut from Akash Deep.  However, despite the Men in Blue posting a first innings target of 587 and knocking over three English batters before stumps on Day 2, there are still lingering doubts over the team’s decision to allow Jasprit Bumrah to sit out this crucial match. Bumrah sustained an injury to his back during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the start of the year and was forced to miss India’s Champions Trophy triumph as well as the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians due to undergoing rehabilitation.  The world’s top-ranked fast bowler mentioned before this series that he is aiming to play three of the five Tests, but given there was a week-long gap between the first and second match, some former players have expressed shock at his omission, while others have lambasted the Indian selectors, such as Ravi Shastri, who said:  “This is a very important match, and they’ve had a week off. I’m a little surprised Bumrah is not playing this game. It should be taken out of the player’s hands. You’ve lost three against New Zealand, three against Australia, and the first Test here. You want to get back to winning ways. You have the best fast bowler in the world and you make him sit out after seven days of rest—it’s something very hard to believe.” However, it was not just former India players who weighed in on the 31-year-old’s exclusion, with England great Stuart Broad echoing similar sentiments during an interview with Sky Sports after the opening day of the second Test. He said:  « A week is a very good time off for a fast bowler. (Bumrah’s omission) does surprise me and what also surprised me was him saying before the series he will only play three of the five Tests. You keep those cards close to your chest and play each week as it comes.” However, despite these questions, India’s selectors, which include head coach Gautam Gambhir, have pointed to the fact that they have enough reinforcements to ensure sufficient coverage in Bumrah’s absence, while also suggesting that they are saving him for the Lord’s Test next week.  View the latest cricket odds  Akash Deep steps up in Bumrah’s absence  If India goes on to lose the Edgbaston Test, the criticism around Bumrah’s absence will certainly turn up a notch, but for now, it seems that the team may be able to sidestep those arguments, thanks to the impressive series debut of Akash Deep.  Deep was brought into the squad to replace Bumrah for the second Test and looked as though he was going to endure a tough match after going for 12 runs in his first over. However, the pacer bounced back in his ...

India continues to grapple with doping offenders The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have reported that India recorded the highest number of doping cases across the globe for 2023. In sports terms, doping refers to athletes making use of banned performance-enhancing drugs to gain an unfair advantage.  According to the report, of the 5,606 testing samples collected by WADA, a total of 213 positive cases (also known as Adverse Analytical  Findings or AAF) for doping were identified, marking the highest percentage among nations that had more than 1,000 tests conducted for the year.  The breakdown included 211 positive cases from tests of urine and two from blood tests. The total number of positive results equates to 3.8%, a notable increase from 2022, when the rate of AAF across the nation stood at 3.2%.  It is worth noting that the 2023 cycle included the highest number of samples ever collected by WADA, surpassing the 3,865 tests completed in 2022 and 1794 a year earlier, which illustrates the organisation’s ramp-up in efforts to eradicate doping from professional sports.  The biggest cause for concern for the Indian sports ministry is that the issue is clearly getting worse, as India was third on the list of doping violators in 2019, and that was largely dominated by athletes in weightlifting and bodybuilding, who were accountable for one in three offences.  When an Anti-Doping Rule Violation is issued by WADA, the athlete in question can be hit with anything from a reprimand to complete ineligibility to participate in the sporting discipline, depending on the severity of their violation.  Check out our sports predictions Indian sports ministry cracks whip on doping violators Given the number of doping issues faced by the Indian Sports Ministry, a decision was made to bring in WADA to adjudicate on such matters from an independent perspective in 2022, though the rising volume of positive cases has now forced the ministry to consider further actions. As a result, reports now suggest that the ministry, with the guidance of WADA, is moving forward with a bill that could see athletes caught for doping fined up to ₹10 lakh and even face time in jail, potentially for up to four years. A ministry official went on record, saying:  “The bill is ready and will be brought back to the Parliament after a restructuring. Objections raised by Wada have been addressed and required changes made. If these were not incorporated, Wada could have suspended Nada due to govt interference.” Among the nations tested in 2023, China produced incredible results, with just 0.2% of their athletes pulled up for doping from a total of 28,197 tests. Germany, France and Russia had more than 10,000 tests conducted and were all below a 1.0% AAF rate.  More sports news