As many as 17 Indian cricketers have kept their base price as ₹2 crore for the IPL mega auction. They include Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik among others. IPL 2021's highest wicket-taker Harshal Patel has also listed a base price of ₹2 crore. The mega auction will take place next month.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Saturday confirmed that IPL 2022 will begin in the last week of March and will run until May end. "A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India...We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that IPL stays in India," he added.

A total of 33 players have been retained/picked ahead of the IPL mega auction. Punjab Kings will have the maximum amount to spend at ₹72 crore in the auction. SunRisers Hyderabad follow Punjab Kings with ₹68 crore. The new IPL teams, Ahmedabad and Lucknow, can spend ₹52 crore and ₹58 crore respectively.

Sachin Tendulkar superfan Sudhir Kumar Gautam was allegedly beaten up and abused by policemen at a police station in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district. Sudhir had gone to the police station to meet his cousin, who was in police custody. In his complaint to DSP, Sudhir claimed a duty officer started abusing him and when he opposed it, he was beaten up.

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is likely to be held in Mumbai behind closed doors, reports said. "Likely venues for IPL 2022 are Wankhede Stadium, Cricket Club of India (CCI) and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai and if needed, we can look at Pune as well," ANI reported quoting a source as saying. IPL player registration closed on January 20.

Ex-India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said Venkatesh Iyer should open for Team India in the third ODI against South Africa to "fit" Suryakumar Yadav in the middle-order. He added Deepak Chahar should replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Manjrekar said India could include pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj if they rest Jasprit Bumrah. "And Jayant Yadav in place of Ravichandran Ashwin," Manjrekar added.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Friday said players must submit a full vaccination certificate against COVID-19 to the CBF’s Medical Commission to participate in the country’s league championship. The top four national football divisions begin in the second week of April, with the CBF saying it provided an updated list of requirements to all its member clubs.

England all-rounder Sam Curran took to Twitter to reveal the reason behind opting out of the IPL mega auction 2022. "To focus on my rehabilitation," he wrote. "I'm back in the nets and feeling great, so hope to be back soon," the tweet further read. Curran added that he will be starting his season with Surrey Cricket.

Citing the example of his own transition from captain to player with KKR in IPL 2020, Dinesh Karthik said it will take "some time" for Virat Kohli to undergo the same transition. "It's a very weird phase. Kohli wouldn't want to be...giving advice which he feels would not be taken at this point," added Karthik.

World number two Daniil Medvedev reached the fourth round at Australian Open for fourth straight year after defeating Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 at Melbourne Park on Saturday. Medvedev, last year's finalist, will next face Maxime Cressy. Fourth seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas entered the fourth round with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(2-7), 6-4 win over unseeded Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Reacting to KL Rahul being named as the Lucknow IPL franchise's captain, the franchise's mentor Gautam Gambhir said Rahul has been a phenomenal run-scorer in IPL consistently. "No brainer when it comes to Rahul...[in the role of a] leader as well," added Gambhir, terming Marcus Stoinis as a "beautiful finisher". "Stoinis can bat in the middle order...as well," stated Gambhir.

Top seed PV Sindhu entered women's final at Syed Modi India International 2022 in Lucknow on Saturday. The Indian shuttler was leading Russia's Evgeniya Kosetskaya 21-11 in semi-final match before the fifth seed withdrew due to an injury. Sindhu will face compatriot Malvika Bansod in her first final this year. Bansod beat Anupama Upadhyaya 19-21, 21-19, 21-7 in other semi-final.

Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch said head coach Justin Langer has done "an amazing job". Finch stated, "To win the T20 World Cup when no one...gave us a chance...then dominate the Ashes 4-0, was super impressive." Talking about Langer's contract situation, Finch said, "Whatever happens from the Cricket Australia side of things, that's out of our control as players."

Following India's seven-wicket loss in second ODI against South Africa, India stand-in skipper KL Rahul said the team want to get better at bowling in middle overs. "We're making mistakes...in the middle...I don't think it was a pitch where they could've chased down 280 that easily. Credit to them," he added. South Africa chased the 288-run target in 48.1 overs.

After South Africa defeated India in the second ODI, veteran South Africa spinner Imran Tahir said Team India's "overconfidence" was the "main reason" behind their defeat in the Test and ODI series against South Africa. "India [are] dominating...in Tests and ODIs [for the] last four to five years but...Proteas team played very well and took...advantage of...home conditions," Tahir stated.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he believes Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse is the best free-kick taker in the world. "He is a guy who adapts in midfield positions, a team player who has great quality with or without the ball, and in understanding the game," Guardiola added. Manchester City play against Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp opined that Spurs forward Harry Kane is on "another level" to Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku. "There's no comparison between the two frontmen," Redknapp stated. In the ongoing Premier League season, Kane scored five goals for Tottenham Hotspur in 19 appearances, whereas, Lukaku also scored five goals for Chelsea in 15 appearances.

Defending champions India defeated Malaysia 9-0 in their first Pool A match of Women's Asia Cup Hockey 2022 in Muscat, Oman, on Friday. Vandana Katariya (8', 34'), Deep Grace Ekka (10'), Navneet Kaur (15', 27'), Lalremsiami (38'), Monika (40'), Sharmila (46', 59') scored for India. India are currently at top in Pool A. They will play against Japan on Sunday.

Reacting to India's ODI series defeat against South Africa, Zaheer Khan said India need to address the woes in their bowling during the middle overs. "It has not been...easy...for [India's stand-in ODI skipper] KL Rahul. It will be interesting to see how he responds," added Zaheer. "[India] will have to find a way to motivate themselves," stated Zaheer.

Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, who reached fourth round of a Grand Slam for first time in his career at Australian Open 2022, said he was supposed to play Novak Djokovic in first round. "Didn't have much of a chance there, but now I'm in...last 16," he added. The world number one was forced to withdraw due to his Australian visa cancellation.

Ex-Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said that India's body language was not the same after losing to Pakistan in 2021 T20 World Cup group stage match. "That's the amount of pressure players have to bear in an Indo-Pak encounter. And if you fail, things become very difficult," he added. It was Pakistan's first win against India in a World Cup.

After South Africa defeated India in the second ODI, ex-India spinner Harbhajan Singh said Team India will have to figure out which spinners will get them wickets. "Whenever your spinners or...middle-overs bowlers won't take wickets in the 15-40 overs, the match will slip out of your hands," Harbhajan stated. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal played in the second ODI.

Discussing the appointment of Hardik Pandya as the Ahmedabad IPL franchise's captain, Gary Kirsten who is the franchise's mentor-cum-batting coach said Hardik will be "motivated to show what he is capable of" as a leader. "Rashid has proven his value all around the world," added Kirsten on Rashid Khan, who is one of the draft picks of the franchise.

Ex-South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has said that T20 World Cup 2022 fixture between India and Pakistan is "going to be absolutely crazy." Talking about the match being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Steyn stated, "MCG is one of my favourite venues to play cricket. We played against India at the 2015 World Cup at the MCG."

The second T20I of Women's Ashes between England and Australia was called off after 4.1 overs of play due to rain at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. Both sides got one point each after the washout. The holders Australia lead the multi-format series 3-1 following their win in first T20I. The rain initially reduced the match to 14 overs per side.