Islamabad: The Pakistan Tennis Federation has announced the selection of the national Davis Cup Juniors team for the upcoming international competition in Kazakhstan.

The Davis Cup Juniors event is scheduled to take place in Shymkent from May 16th to 24th, 2026.

Trials to finalize the squad were held at the PTF Tennis Complex in Islamabad from March 30th to April 2nd. A total of twelve players participated in the selection process, shortlisted based on their recent performances and national rankings.

Notably, Abubakar Talha was granted direct selection and exempted from trials in recognition of his outstanding recent performance.

Following the trials, the selected squad includes: Abubakar Talha, Hassan Usmani, and Zohaib Afzal Malik.

President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, along with Secretary General Col. Zia-ud-din Tufail and other officials, congratulated the selected players and extended their best wishes for success in the tournament.

The federation expressed confidence that the young team will represent Pakistan with determination and excellence on the international stage.

Italy’s sports minister has called on the country’s soccer federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina to resign after the four-time world champions failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup on Tuesday.

Italy‘s penalty shootout loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying playoffs comes after the Azzurri were eliminated at the same stage by Sweden ahead of the 2018 World Cup and by North Macedonia in 2022.

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“It’s evident to everyone that Italian soccer needs to be overhauled,” Sports Minister Andrea Abodi said, “and that process needs to start with new leadership at the FIGC.”

Gravina is still holding onto his job after also surviving the qualifying elimination for the 2022 World Cup.

“Next week we will make much deeper reflections on the situation,” Gravina said, hinting that he could call for a new election for the country’s top soccer position. “There are a lot of evaluations to consider.”

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has also yet to give any indication about his own future after taking over when Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier to Norway last year.

“I’m not interested at all in talking about my future today,” Gattuso said following the loss in Bosnia. “It hurts, it really hurts. More than hurting me, it hurts to see this group which has really given everything in these months and I think we deserved to get back what we put in and I honestly think it’s too reductive and too immature to be talking about my future today.”

Gattuso was given a contract until the end of this summer’s World Cup, with an automatic renewal until 2028 if Italy reached the tournament in North America.

Even if Gattuso hasn’t made up his mind whether to stay or not, the Italian soccer federation gave a clear sign it would like him to remain on Tuesday.

“I have to praise Gattuso. I think he’s been a great coach, he is a great coach, I’ve asked him to stay on in charge of these players,” Gravina said.

The issues in Italian soccer extend beyond the national team.

The last Italian club to win the Champions League was Inter Milan in 2010; while in this season’s continental competition, all four Italian clubs were eliminated before the quarterfinals.

Added former Italian Premier Matteo Renzi: “Unfortunately the third consecutive elimination from the World Cup is not an April Fool’s joke. It’s a sign that Italian soccer has failed. Soccer isn’t just entertainment in our country; it’s part of our culture and national identity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell have escaped with a formal warning from the England and Wales Cricket Board’s independent regulator after being found to have brought the game into disrepute following a late-night incident in Wellington last year.

Brook had already been disciplined internally by the ECB after admitting he had been out drinking the night before captaining England in the third One-Day International against New Zealand on November 1. The batter also acknowledged he had been “clocked” by a bouncer while attempting to gain entry to a late-night venue.

England had considered stripping Brook of the captaincy for the match but ultimately opted to fine him in a process that was not made public at the time.

Details of the incident only emerged more than two months later, shortly after England’s defeat in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, through a report in the Daily Telegraph. Brook initially claimed he had been alone but later admitted he was accompanied by Bethell and fellow England player Josh Tongue, adding that he had lied to protect his team-mates.

The matter was subsequently referred to the Cricket Regulator, an independent body responsible for enforcing professional conduct regulations in England and Wales and operating separately from the ECB.

Following its investigation, the regulator ruled that both Brook and Bethell had breached Regulation 3.2 of the ECB’s Professional Conduct Regulations.

The regulation states: “No Participant may conduct themself in a manner, do any act or make any omission at any time which is improper or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute.”

Both players accepted “caution notices” issued by the regulator, effectively placing them on a final warning. While no formal charge letter will be issued, the notices will remain on their disciplinary records for the next three years.

No further action has been taken against Tongue, who said earlier this week that he had “learned from” the episode.

The incident has also drawn attention to England’s team culture, particularly around alcohol consumption during tours.

ECB managing director Rob Key said in December that England had encountered “none of these issues” since his appointment when asked about footage showing players out drinking on the night in question. He also denied that any formal disciplinary action had been taken, later clarifying that he was referring specifically to action arising from the footage.

However, Key acknowledged concerns following the ECB’s post-Ashes review, which examined the team’s environment and standards.

“Like a lot of teams, there’s two or three players that can be irresponsible with alcohol given the opportunity,” Key said. “What we’re trying to do is try to find that happy medium.”

In response, England introduced a midnight curfew ahead of their tour to Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup earlier this year. The measure is expected to remain in place for the upcoming home summer.

Brook, who serves as England’s Test vice-captain, is expected to feature in County Championship matches for Yorkshire before England’s three-match series against New Zealand in June.

Bethell, meanwhile, is currently in India representing Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League.