International
Bumrah jumps six spots to fourth in ICC Test Rankings; Kohli drops to ninth

India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged eight wickets, including his maiden Test five-wicket haul at home in the second India versus Sri Lanka Test at Bengaluru, has jumped six spots to attain fourth ranking in the latest ICC Test Rankings for bowlers released on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old speedster leapfrogged Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi, New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, England’s James Anderson, South Africa-born Kiwi cricketer Neil Wagner and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood in the table.
On the other hand, former India skipper Virat Kohli has slipped from fifth to ninth among batters.
India’s pace bowling stalwart Mohammed Shami has climbed a spot to displace fellow countryman Ravindra Jadeja to 17th, while Sri Lanka’s Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama jumped five positions each to 32nd and 45th slot respectively.
Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada have retained the top three spots.
Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne too has made significant gains in the latest Test Rankings, breaking into the top-5. Karunaratne jumped to a career-best No.3 after his fighting 107 in the second innings in Bengaluru.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has advanced to No.8 in the table led by Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne, followed by England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson respectively.
West Indies’ Nkrumah Bonner and India’s Shreyas Iyer took giant leaps, advancing a staggering 22 and 40 spots respectively to 22nd and 37th position. While Bonner scored 123 and gritty, unbeaten 38 in the first drawn Test against England in Antigua last week, Iyer was rewarded for his match-winning 92 and 67 against Sri Lanka.
England batter Zak Crawley’s 121 in the second innings against West Indies saw him jump 13 spots to 49th.
In the all-rounders’ table, West Indies’ Jason Holder has reclaimed the top spot, replacing Ravindra Jadeja, who had risen to No.1 after his unbeaten 175 and nine wickets in the Mohali Test earlier this month. Ashwin, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and England’s Ben Stokes round off the top-five all-rounders.
International
Mark Zuckerberg strikes gold against jiu jitsu fighters, posts pictures on Instagram

In the past, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has appeared helpless in front of the US Congress where he has been slapped by fines, and fired 11,000 vulnerable employees after being hit by falling revenues. But outside the business arena where Meta is facing tough competition from TikTok and other rivals, Zuckerberg is a huge mixed martial arts fan.
Contrary to setbacks in the tech sector, the Facebook founder has tasted victory in jiu jitsu.
Striking gold, but in a different arena
- The billionaire who has trained with UFC fighters, posted pictures after winning jiu jitsu matches for the first time.
- The billionaire who tried his hand at martial arts, revealed that he won a gold medal in the Gi categroy and a silver medal in the No-GI category.
- His post on Instagram received comments from UFC featherweight and bantamweight category champions, as well as jiu jitsu hall of fame member Bernardo Faria.
Competitive or short tempered?
- The entrepreneur turned sportsperson, who also enjoys surfing, was seen getting into a heated argument after losing a contest during the tournament in California as well.
- On the work front, Zuckerberg’s firm Meta also surprised the markets by bouncing back with strong earnings, after struggling with loss of ad revenue.
International
Al Hilal swoop in with bumper €400 million per year salary deal amid reports of Lionel Messi leaving PSG

Paris Saint Germain forward Lionel Messi is reportedly planning to cut short his time at FC Barcelona and eventually join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. This comes after Messi was suspended for two weeks for travelling to the Kingdom without PSG’s Qatari owners’ permission.
End of Project Messi
Messi had hoped to stay at PSG beyond the end of the current season. However, with recent events, the situation has changed drastically. Given his incredible record with FC Barcelona and PSG, Messi’s potential move to Al-Hilal would undoubtedly shake the football world.
While Messi’s priority remains to play in Europe, transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal has offered the Argentine superstar a bumper contract with a record-breaking salary worth €400 million per year. The potential deal will lead to Messi surpassing his eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who earns €223 million per year at Al Nassr.
Hindrance to Messi’s Barcelona return
There is strong speculation that Messi may return to his former club, FC Barcelona. However, the club is facing difficulties in shedding the €200 million ($220 million) required from their wage bill to make the deal viable. Despite this challenge, Barcelona is trying to convince La Liga that they have a workable plan to make the numbers work for a potential deal with Messi.
Consequences of Messi’s Suspension
Messi’s suspension was imposed because he went to fulfill his duties as a tourism ambassador. The Argentine will also be docked two weeks’ pay, which Forbes’ recently-published list of the World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2023 estimated to be around $2.5 million. As a result, Messi will miss games against Troyes and Ajaccio.
In addition, PSG has reportedly cancelled a contract renewal offer to Messi, whose current agreement at the Parc des Princes expires on June 30. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will be free to negotiate with other clubs starting in January 2023.
International
Saudi Arabia to host FIFA Club World Cup 2023

Saudi Arabia has been named the host of the FIFA Club World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place from December 12-22.
“In relation to the FIFA Club World Cup 2023�, which is due to be played under the current format with seven clubs, the FIFA Council unanimously appointed the Saudi Arabian Football Federation as tournament hosts from 12 to 22 December 2023,” the FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday night.
The unanimous decision was made at a FIFA Council meeting and came only a few days after Real Madrid lifted the trophy in Morocco, following a thrilling 5-3 win over Al-Hilal, the first Saudi club to reach the final of the tournament.
Saudi Arabia will be only the sixth host of the competition since its inception in 2000.
The Gulf nation, earlier this month, was awarded the hosting rights of the men’s Asian Cup 2027 and is also bidding to host the Women’s Asian Cup for the first time in 2026.
The FIFA Council also confirmed a change in the format of the tournament from June 2025 — to expand the FIFA Club World Cup from 24 to 32 teams — with 12 teams from Europe involved along six from CONMEBOL, while CONCACAF, CAF and the AFC will each have four, with one place for the OFC and another for the hosts.
In addition, the Council also confirmed that the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico and the USA, will qualify automatically as the joint hosts of the tournament, with their slots, therefore, being deducted from the overall allocation of six assigned to Concacaf.
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