New Delhi, Oct 27: India’s ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has been admitted to a Sydney hospital after suffering a left rib cage injury in Saturday’s match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Sources aware of the development have told media that Iyer, who has been in ICU after being taken quickly to the hospital on Saturday by the BCCI medical team, is expected to be further assessed by specialists on Monday, who would promptly decide on his path to recovery.

It is also understood that Iyer’s major vitals like blood pressure were fluctuating dangerously, which meant the Indian team medical staff took him to the hospital right away.

“At the hospital, scans revealed internal bleeding due to the fall’s impact and on discovering that, Iyer was immediately admitted to prevent the risk of infection spreading to other vital organs.

“Based on what the specialists say after assessing him, he could spend more days in ICU or be under their close observation for maybe a week. His family is also kept in the loop and if needed, they could go to Sydney to be by his side,” said sources.

The incident occurred in the 33rd over of Australia’s innings when Alex Carey miscued a short ball from seam-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana. Stationed at backward point, Iyer sprinted back with the ball swirling overhead and launched himself full length to complete a tumbling catch near deep third man.

The effort gave India a crucial wicket, but Iyer remained on the ground clutching his left side in visible discomfort. After that, with support from team-mates and physio Kamlesh Jain, Iyer walked off the field and didn’t come back for the remainder of the innings, as Australia were bowled out for 236 in 46.4 overs.

In reply, India chased down the target easily, thanks to an unbeaten 168-run stand between Rohit Sharma (121 not out) and Virat Kohli (74 not out). Iyer, 31, is not a part of India’s T20I squad for the subsequent series against Australia, starting on Wednesday.

Adelaide, Oct 23: Batting stalwart Virat Kohli’s much-anticipated appearance at his favourite hunting around, the Adelaide Oval, ended in a disappointment on Thursday as the former India captain was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the ongoing second ODI against Australia.

After bagging a duck in the rain-hit first ODI in Perth, Kohli’s return to playing at the Adelaide Oval, where he has scored five international centuries – the most for any ground in his career – was expected to get him some runs under his belt, especially with a huge crowd of Indian fans present at the venue.

But all of that anticipation ended in the seventh over when an impressive Xavier Bartlett hit Kohli flush on the pad with a brilliant inswinger to trap him lbw. After failing to be in the line of the ball, Kohli opted to not go for the review after a brief chat with non-striker Rohit Sharma.

It was an incredible set up from Bartlett, who bowled three deliveries away outside off before getting one to nip back in and dismiss Kohli. It also marked the first time of Kohli being dismissed for consecutive ducks in ODIs.

As he walked off, the Adelaide crowd rose in a standing ovation, acknowledging the batter who has scored 976 runs at the venue – the most by any visiting player. In appreciation of the crowd giving him a standing ovation, Kohli made a gentle raise of his right hand as he walked towards the dressing room.

If this was indeed Kohli’s final outing at the iconic ground, it ended not with a flourish but with a poignant wave to fans who have witnessed some of his finest innings here.

Kohli will now have the third ODI in Sydney, set to happen on Saturday, to have some runs and sign off from the Australia tour on a high.

New Delhi, Oct 22: The Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction ahead of the 2026 season is set to be held in the last week of November in New Delhi, tournament sources told media on Wednesday.

Media understands that there was a toss-up between New Delhi and Goa as the WPL mega auction venue in the aforementioned window. But in the end, New Delhi emerged as the top choice as the hosts for the mega auction set to be held in the WPL for the first time.

The same has been communicated by the WPL committee to the five franchises – two-time winners Mumbai Indians, 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru, three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants.

“It is most likely during the last week of November that the WPL mega auction will happen. But nothing has been confirmed on the exact date of the auction and its expected to be finalised in some time from now. Once its done, the same will be communicated to the teams,” further said sources.

It is also understood that the auction proceedings will be completed in just one day, considering the number of teams in the competition. As per a previous intimation in October, the retention deadline is November 5, with five players to be retained per team.

Each franchise will be allowed to retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. If a team chooses to retain five players, at least one must be an uncapped Indian player.

The auction purse has been set at rs 15 crore. Retention slabs have been defined as follows: Rs 3.5 crore for Player 1, Rs 2.5 crore for Player 2, Rs 1.75 crore for Player 3, Rs 1 crore for Player 4, and Rs 50 lakh for Player 5. The Right to Match (RTM) option will enable franchises to buy back players who were part of their 2025 WPL squads, with a cap of five RTMs per team.

Depending on the number of retained players, the corresponding deductions from the purse will be: Rs 9.25 crore for five players, Rs 8.75 crore for four, Rs 7.75 crore for three, Rs 6 crore for two, and INR 3.5 crore for one. The number of RTMs available will vary accordingly – franchises retaining fewer players will have more RTMs at their disposal. Teams using all five retentions will forfeit the RTM option entirely.

After the retention deadline, franchises will submit players who will head into the auction on November 7, while the final date for the mega auction’s player registration is November 18 and final list of players in the auction will be released on November 20.