Cristiano Ronaldo and two Al-Nassr players will not travel to Tashkent for the match against Pakhtakor

Proteas fast bowler Anrich Nortje will be unable to participate in the final match of the series against Australia due to a minor groin injury. The South African cricket team decided not to name a replacement in the squad.

The three-match series is level at 1-1. The final match is scheduled for Tuesday in Newlands, Cape Town. Nortje's injury occurred during bowling in the first innings of the second match in Gqeberha, and the examination conducted the following day confirmed the extent of the damage.

The bowler was forced to leave the field midway through his fourth over on Thursday morning at St George's Park and did not return, spending the rest of the match in the dressing room. This incident interrupts Nortje's promising return to Test cricket, as he had not played a red-ball match in over three and a half years before the series in Durban.

Initially, it was expected that Nortje would rest in the second match, but South Africa kept him in the starting eleven after he successfully completed the first match without any issues. The duration of his break has not yet been determined.

South Africa must now choose between Gerald Coetzee, who has not played a Test match for almost two years, all-rounder Corbin Bosch, and seamer Dean Patterson to fill the spot vacated by Nortje in the starting eleven. These three were part of the squad from the first match.

If South Africa prefers a spinner, left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Senuran Mutusami may also be considered. South Africa is monitoring several other injured players ahead of the busy summer.

Lungi Ngidi, who sustained a hamstring injury in the first round of the first-class national tournament, is expected to return to play next month and could feature against Bangladesh. Ottniel Bartman, who also suffered a hamstring injury, returned to the Dolphins squad for the Pro20 competition on Friday, scoring 4/12.

There are no updates regarding left-arm fast bowler Quvin Maphaka or batsman Tony de Zorzi, both of whom sustained hamstring injuries in the third ODI against Australia last month.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced on Monday that Cristiano Ronaldo received a 30-day suspension for leaving the Portuguese national team training camp.

The 41-year-old athlete suddenly left the Portuguese camp on September 30 during the UEFA Nations League, after which he accused coach Jorge Jesus of breaking a promise to give him playing time.

Ronaldo apologized to fans earlier in October, stating that he would accept any punishment imposed. The former player for Manchester United and Real Madrid must also pay a fine of 255 euros ($286).

He received the minimum penalty stipulated by the federation's regulations, which provides for suspensions from one to six months for leaving the national team. Ronaldo left the Portuguese squad after initially being called up as a substitute for Norway on September 27 but not being substituted, and then learning that he would not start against Denmark in the match on October 1.

Ronaldo's suspension takes effect from the day of the match against Denmark, meaning he has already served 19 days of his ban and will complete it by the end of October. The FPF disciplinary committee took into account the 'remorse demonstrated in the statement' that Ronaldo published on October 6, admitting his mistake and expressing willingness to accept the punishment.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is Portugal's top scorer and a record holder in men's international football matches. However, in his absence, Portugal won all four matches in the UEFA Nations League and qualified for the quarter-finals with two games in hand.

Portugal will face Denmark on November 14 and then play Wales on November 17 in the last two matches of its Group A4 in the UEFA Nations League—by this time, Ronaldo will have served his suspension period.

Immediately after his departure, Ronaldo posted on social media accusing Portugal's manager Jesus of breaking his promise to give him playing time in the UEFA Nations League matches, but insisted that he would not leave his international duties. He wrote: 'I will be available, as I always was, to compete and win for our national team.'

He claimed that Jesus broke his word regarding playing against Norway and also failed to state several agreed-upon points at the press conference before the match against Denmark. One of the pre-approved theses from Ronaldo was that Jesus 'made a mistake by asking someone of Pele or Maradona's level to warm up and then not playing him in the match.'

Jesus, several days later, stated that he would select Ronaldo for international matches if the forward played for his club Al-Nassr, and that he was interested in calling him up.

After the FPF announcement, Ronaldo did not directly react to the news on Instagram, but posted a photo of himself preparing for training with his Saudi club, captioning it: 'Working on myself.'

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand as part of preparations for the 2027 One Day International World Cup. Separate squads were formed for the first three and the last two matches on Friday.

This decision raised questions regarding the prospects of Ravindra Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal participating in the World Cup. The most unexpected aspect was the absence of Ravindra Jadeja in the first three matches. The experienced all-rounder has been struggling with form in recent months, and instead, left-handed all-rounder Axar Patel was selected, who played in the last match against England in July and now has a chance to strengthen his position in the team.

Ravindra Jadeja was not included in any of the squads, which naturally casts doubt on his chances of participating in the 2027 World Cup, although this does not mean he is completely excluded from the tournament's plans.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was also not selected in any of the squads against New Zealand. BCCI did not provide an official reason for his exclusion. Although Shubman Gill will leave the team after the first two matches to prepare for the Test series with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi could have gotten a chance to play in the top order alongside Rohit Sharma, but this did not happen.

Furthermore, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel was dropped from the squad, making way for Ishan Kishan. Jurel was unable to play in the first four matches against West Indies. In addition to Ishan, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh returned to the team after being absent in the series against West Indies due to the 2026 Asian Games.

The reason for the changes in the squad for the series against New Zealand is also related to preparation for the Test series. The two-match Test series will begin just four days after the conclusion of the ODI matches. Therefore, two different squads were created to give regular players time to prepare.

Fast bowler Aujail Nabbi, who played in the first match against West Indies in Guwahati, was excluded from the first three matches because he missed 84 balls without taking a wicket. He was replaced by Anshul Kamboj. However, the situation will change for the last two matches: Kamboj will leave the team to prepare for the Tests, and Aujail will not return.

After the first three matches, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Anshul Kamboj, and Prasidh Krishna will leave the team to prepare for the Test series. For the fourth and fifth matches, Tilak Verma, Aujail Nabbi, Kumar Kushagra, and Yash Thakur will join the team. Kumar Kushagra and Yash Thakur may debut in ODI cricket.

The Indian team squad for the first three matches includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dihr, Anshul Kamboj, Guruonur Barad, Rituraj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep Yadav.

The Indian team squad for the last two matches includes: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper, vice-captain), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dihr, Aujail Nabbi, Guruonur Barar, Rituraj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav.