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Joe Root has insisted it's "disrespectful" to accuse Pakistan of showing "no fight" with the tourists on the brink of suffering a Test series whitewash by his England side. England head into the third Test at Edgbaston starting Wednesday with an unbeatable 2-0 up in a three-match series after mammoth wins at Headingley and Lord's.

Last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took the extraordinary step of sending seven players home after the second Test and sacking Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, with white-ball boss Mike Hesson replacing him. Seven players have been added to the Pakistan squad, five of whom have yet to make their Test debuts ahead of the series finale in Birmingham.

The team has been labelled one of the worst Pakistan cricket sides in decades. Root, during his pre-match press conference at Edgbaston on Tuesday, was asked what it was like to face opponents offering "no fight", with Pakistan yet to make 200 in four innings so far this series against a revamped England pace quartet of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson. England captain Root took issue with the question, saying it was "disrespectful" to both sides.

"Absolutely we have found (Pakistan) a challenge," Root said, even though England thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley, before inflicting a 194-run defeat upon the tourists at Lord's. "I think that's a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team," added Root, in his second spell as full-time England skipper following the shock international retirement of Ben Stokes.

"I don't think we've allowed them to get into games because of how well we've played as well and how quickly we've read the situations and the surfaces that we've had. "I think it's very easy to say one team is excellent and one team is poor. Normally it's somewhere in the middle."

"If one team has been outstanding then the other team can't have been poor and vice-versa. I think it's important to live in that middle area somewhere and understand that that's not how it is. "Regardless of what's happened over the last two games, this week it's a completely different proposition for us. "There's a very talented group of players in that dressing room and you've got to be ready for it, so we'll make sure that we are."

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India’s badminton contingent arrives at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a blend of experience, established champions and an emerging generation ready to make its mark.

Indian badminton has steadily grown into an Asian Games medal contender, with 13 medals in the sport’s history. The breakthrough gold came at the previous edition, while India’s highest badminton medal haul at a single Asian Games remains the five medals they won at the 1982 New Delhi Games.

The challenge in Japan will be significantly tougher. Japan will welcome some of the strongest shuttlers in Asia, making every draw a potential test for India’s medal ambitions.

Men’s Singles

Lakshya Sen: The highest-ranked Indian men’s singles player in the squad, Lakshya returns to the Asian Games after being part of India’s silver-winning men’s team at Hangzhou. He brings major international and continental experience and will be one of India’s leading singles medal hopes. He last won a major event at the 2025 Australian Open Super 500. He then finished runner-up at the 2026 All England Open and played a key role in India’s bronze-medal finish at the 2026 Thomas Cup. Apart from these performances, he has not enjoyed an impressive run in tournaments.

Ayush Shetty: One of the brightest young names in Indian badminton, Ayush has continued to make his presence felt on the international circuit. He was also an important part of India’s Thomas Cup bronze-medal campaign earlier this year. The Asian Games debutant has already made his mark on the big stage after defeating World No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in his opening match at the BWF World Championships in August. He also enjoyed a strong run at the Badminton Asia Championships, finishing as the runner-up.

Women’s Singles

PV Sindhu: The most decorated player in the squad, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu brings enormous Asian Games experience. She won silver in the women’s singles at Jakarta 2018 and bronze at Incheon 2014 and will once again lead India’s singles challenge in Japan. She enters the tournament in strong form, having reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and Australian Open Super 500 before clinching the Japan Open Super 750 title in July.

Unnati Hooda: One of the emerging faces of Indian badminton, Unnati has delivered impactful performances on the senior international circuit. She will make her Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya, where her progress will be closely watched in a highly competitive women’s singles field.

Men’s Doubles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty: The reigning Asian Games champions headline India’s badminton challenge. Their gold in Hangzhou was India’s first-ever Asian Games badminton gold, and the pair return to Japan with the clear objective of defending their title. Satwik’s shoulder injury and Chirag’s lower back issue can be a matter of concern, but their recent China Masters triumph, which was their second at the Super 750 event after the Singapore Open, has added further momentum ahead of Aichi-Nagoya.

Hariharan Amsakarunan-MR Arjun: The emerging combination gives India another strong option in the men’s doubles draw. Arjun will bring valuable Asian Games experience from the silver-winning men’s team in Hangzhou, while the pair have established themselves as one of India’s promising combinations. They will be aiming to turn that potential into a deep run in Japan.

Women’s Doubles

Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela: India’s leading women’s doubles combination will carry much of the medal expectation in this category. The duo has established themselves among the country’s top pairs after securing a historic bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in August. Treesa and Gayatri will now be looking to make a strong impact against Asia’s established doubles powers.

Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi: The second women’s doubles combination adds depth to India’s challenge. Both players have been part of India’s emerging doubles pool and will be looking to make their opportunity count against some of the continent’s strongest pairs.

Mixed Doubles

Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto: The pair will represent India in mixed doubles, which will help the country compete across all five disciplines. Both will bring international experience and will be looking to make a deep run in a category traditionally dominated by the leading Asian badminton nations. Dhruv was also part of India’s team medal-winning campaign at Hangzhou.

The Team Events

India will also enter the Asian Games team events with strong squads across both men’s and women’s categories. The men’s team, which won silver at Hangzhou, will look to go one better this time, while the women’s team will aim to make a deeper impact against Asia’s established badminton powers.

Men’s Team: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Tharun Mannepalli, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Hariharan Amsakarunan, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila.

The men’s side combines experience with emerging talent. Lakshya, Prannoy and Srikanth were part of the silver-winning team in Hangzhou, while Satwik and Chirag bring the experience of winning the men’s doubles gold at the same Games. Ayush and Tharun add further depth to the pool, with Hariharan-Arjun strengthening the doubles options.

Women’s Team: PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Devika Sihag, Tanvi Sharma, Isharani Baruah, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, Kavipriya Selvam, Simran Singhi and Tanisha Crasto.

The side will be led by veteran PV Sindhu, and the women’s team features a mix of experience and promising young talent. Unnati, Tanvi, Devika and Isharani represent the emerging generation, while Treesa-Gayatri and Kavipriya-Simran provide established doubles options. Tanisha Crasto also adds experience from the mixed doubles circuit.

The Hangzhou Benchmark

The Hangzhou Asian Games marked India’s most successful badminton campaign. The country returned with three medals: one gold, one silver and one bronze.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history by winning India’s first Asian Games badminton gold in the men’s doubles. India’s men’s team won silver, while HS Prannoy claimed bronze in the men’s singles.

That three-medal haul now provides the benchmark for the 2026 squad, which will be looking to better its performance in Japan.

Potential Medal Contenders

Strongest gold contenders: Satwik-Chirag remain India’s biggest gold medal hope after their historic Hangzhou triumph. Sindhu, with two Olympic medals and previous Asian Games silver and bronze medals, remains a major singles contender who can finish at the top of the podium, while Ayush can also push for a podium finish. Treesa-Gayatri will also be among India’s leading medal hopes in women’s doubles.

Ones to watch: Ayush and Unnati are among the younger players who could make the biggest impact on their Asian Games debuts. Hariharan-Arjun will also be under the spotlight, while Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto could emerge as an outside threat in mixed doubles.

The team events could provide India with another podium finish. The men’s team, which won silver in Hangzhou, has enough depth across singles and doubles to mount another strong challenge, while the women’s team will look to improve on India’s previous performances in the event.

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Legendary cricketer Ricky Ponting has joined the Australia Champions as an owner, whereas aggressive opening batsman David Warner has been appointed as the captain for the upcoming edition of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) Season 3.

The WCL ushered in a new era for the franchise at an exclusive Australia Champions: A New Era media press conference in Melbourne, according to a press release.

The landmark press conference took place on Tuesday at Eureka 89, bringing together some of the biggest names from Australian cricket and the World Championship of Legends.

Ponting's arrival ahead of WCL Season 3 added one of the most iconic figures to the Australia Champions ownership group, alongside Puneet Singh.

The new look of Australia Champions comes at a time when WCL Season 3 promises to be the biggest edition yet, considering the inclusion of more legendary names and entertainment lined up for the cricket fans across the globe.

Ponting sees it as an opportunity to build something special for Australian cricket fans.

"I'm excited to be part of Australia Champions and the World Championship of Legends. With Puneet and the team, and David leading from the front, we have a great opportunity to build something special for Australian cricket fans," he said as quoted in the WCL press release.

David Warner speaks about his captaincy appointment

Warner feels that there is no better feeling than getting back to the ground and playing along with legendary players.

"I am really excited to lead Australia Champions in WCL Season 3. There's nothing better than getting back out there, playing alongside some greats of the game and giving the fans plenty to cheer about," he said.

The press conference, led by Australia Champions owner Puneet Singh, marked a significant moment for the franchise as Ricky Ponting formally joined the ownership group and David Warner took on the responsibility of leading Australia Champions as captain for WCL Season 3.

The event marked the beginning of a new chapter for Australia Champions, bringing together Australian cricket's legendary legacy with a new generation of energy, leadership and ambition.

(With ANI Inputs)

We use the word “factory” rather loosely in Indian sport. Talent factory. Medal factory. Champion factory. As though athletes arrive at one end of an assembly line and emerge at the other wearing India colours and carrying medals. An afternoon at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, alongside Boria Majumdar, was enough to dispel that notion. It was equal parts humbling and inspiring.

And at the centre of it all was Gopi. At 52, Pullela Gopichand still seems to possess the fitness, energy and drive of a teenager. He runs the institution with an iron hand, his affection for his wards carefully concealed beneath the visage of the passionate disciplinarian. You sense that he cares enormously. You also sense that he would rather they discovered that through what he demands of them than through what he says.

Sitting in his office, looking through the glass windows onto the world-class badminton courts, we watched something extraordinary unfold. It was a guru taking his disciples through their lessons. Gopi stood on one side of the net, an elbow loaded with more than 30 shuttles tucked neatly against his body. Then they began to fly from his racquet with the ease of an accomplished magician pulling tricks from a hat.

One shuttle demanded a delicate touch at the net. The next forced the player backwards to retrieve and lob from deep court. Another was fired low, under the net, simulating a vicious smash that had to be rescued with the slightest flick of the wrist. Forward. Back. Bend. Stretch. Recover. Anticipate. React. Again. And again. And again.

It was less a badminton drill than a theatrical performance… efficacy of movement combining with the elegance of ballet. A group of young girls rotated through different modules under the watchful eyes of the Guru. Gopi missed almost nothing. A word of encouragement here. A sharp expression of displeasure there. The body movement wasn’t right. The chest hadn’t opened enough to generate power in the smash. Someone had shrunk into the shot and lost leverage. These were details invisible to most of us. To Gopi, they were everything.

And perhaps that is how champions are made: not through one spectacular intervention but through a million tiny corrections, repeated until they become instinct. There was something surreal about watching these young athletes. Somewhere among them, you wondered, might be a future Indian champion. Perhaps an Olympic medallist. Perhaps someone whose name we don’t know today but will chant a few years from now.

Then, almost as if to complete the picture, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly trudged in.

Fresh from their recent BWF success, surely there would be some latitude for the established stars? Not quite. The Guru put them through their paces with pretty much the same intensity and scrutiny as everyone else.

That perhaps explains Pullela Gopichand better than any citation can. And there have been plenty of those. He is the winner of India’s second-highest civilian honour, another milestone in an extraordinary journey from All England champion to the architect of a badminton ecosystem that has produced some of India’s greatest sporting names.

Yet watching him on court, honours seem almost incidental. Because what we witnessed in Gachibowli wasn’t a factory at all. Factories manufacture identical products. This place painstakingly shapes individuals. It combines science with repetition, discipline with intuition, toughness with care and ambition with extraordinary attention to detail. It is a temple of learning. And presiding over it, shuttles tucked under one arm, racquet in the other and those sharp eyes missing absolutely nothing, is Indian badminton’s remarkable high priest.

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