From the beaches of Brazil to the streets of Naples, football remains the one spectacle capable of uniting and dividing the globe like no other. Next week, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off across North America, the largest edition of the tournament ever staged. Yet beneath the spectacle of 48 nations and packed stadiums lies a deeper truth: football remains the world's most powerful expression of national character, cultural identity and collective passion. It is impossi

For years, Royal Challengers Bengaluru supporters carried hope the way a pilgrim carries a lamp through a storm. The flame flickered, but it never went out. Last year, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, RCB finally broke 18-year drought and lifted their maiden IPL trophy. Many wondered whether it was the end of a long journey. But on Sunday night, it turned out to be the beginning of something even bigger. By defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 final, RCB not

In the grand theatre of Indian cricket selection, where committees move with the urgency of a sloth on sleeping pills, we have a genuine phenomenon on our hands: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Fifteen years old. Yes, fifteen. The boy is still closer in age to a school science project than to a driving license, yet he bats like he’s got a personal grudge against bowlers and gravity itself. But fear not, dear cricket fans. Our wise selectors are on the case. They’re thinking. They’re de

What a time to be alive in the grand theatre of Indian Premier League drama. In a world plagued by actual problems, the cricket fraternity has decided that the real crisis of our era is Virat Kohli refusing to shake Travis Head’s hand after SRH demolished RCB by 55 runs. Yes, dear reader, the sport that proudly calls itself the “gentleman’s game” is once again clutching its pearls over etiquette while conveniently ignoring that the field itself often resembles a verbal war zo

As the IPL 2026 curtains fall—presumably with Mumbai Indians once again discovering that talent and chaos are not the same thing—cricket’s most elegant lounger, Rohit Sharma, stands at the crossroads. At 39 (yes, the man who looks like he was born wearing sunglasses and a half-smile is now closer to 40 than to his debut), the Hitman faces a future that is part nostalgia tour, part fitness miracle, and entirely unpredictable. One thing is certain: retirement for Rohit will be

In the high-octane circus of the Indian Premier League, few phenomena have exploded onto the scene quite like Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Bihar prodigy, still a teenager at 15, burst into global consciousness in IPL 2025 as the youngest debutant and centurion in T20 history. His 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans wasn’t just a knock; it was a declaration of intent from a player who treats boundaries as birthrights and bowlers as mere target practice. With a career strike ra

Indian sport has always been irresistibly drawn to legacy. The idea that greatness can flow through bloodlines—that the son will carry forward the genius of the father—has a certain poetic charm. It offers continuity in a country that reveres its sporting icons almost mythically. But peel away the romance and a harsher truth emerges: in Indian sport, legacy is less a gift and more a weight. And more often than not, it is a weight too heavy to carry. Consider the towering fi

While Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s precocious rise stirs wonder, it tests how gently a nation can nurture its next cricketing hope. What does a 15-year-old carry in his kit bag. A bat, a pair of gloves, perhaps a water bottle. Or something heavier: dreams, pressure, and the quiet weight of a nation that never stops searching for its next cricketing marvel. In the case of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the question lingers with unusual urgency. At first glance, he appears like any other teenag

The IPL has turned a summer sport into a global cash machine by reshaping talent and testing the limits of cricket’s soul. Each summer, India stages one of the world’s most dazzling sporting spectacles, the Indian Premier League (IPL). Once, the country’s tropical heat discouraged outdoor tournaments, but the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) transformed this perception by hosting evening T20 matches under floodlights, turning scorching temperatures into an electrifyin

Ah, the IPL 2026 season – where Mumbai Indians, five-time champions and eternal blue-blooded royalty, have decided to cosplay as a mid-table struggler. And leading this glorious downward spiral? None other than Hardik Pandya, the man who swapped Gujarat’s trophy cabinet for Mumbai’s hot seat and somehow turned “five-time winners” into “one-win wonders.” Four losses in a row. Ninth on the points table. Negative NRR that looks like it was calculated by a depressed accountant. I

In the swirling chaos of the 2026 IPL, where established stars chase milestones and franchises hunt for silverware, a 15-year-old from Bihar has stolen the spotlight with the casual swagger of a veteran. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not merely participating in the world’s richest T20 league—he is dominating it. His blistering 15-ball half-century against Chennai Super Kings in the early days of the season, followed by a 26-ball 78 that powered Rajasthan Royals to a record powerpla

Mohammed Shami, the eternal comeback kid who just won’t quit—except the selectors seem determined to make him. As of April 2026, India’s once-reliable seam spearhead hasn’t worn the blue jersey since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025. That’s over a year of watching from the sidelines while racking up 67 wickets in domestic cricket for Bengal across Ranji, Vijay Hazare, and Syed Mushtaq Ali. Impressive? Sure. Enough for a recall? Apparently not. Bravo, selectors. Nothin

Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh Mumbai: As squash prepares to make its long-awaited debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, India’s position on the global map of the sport received a significant boost with the successful staging of the JSW Indian Open 2026 in Mumbai. The tournament, held on the Professional Squash Association World Tour circuit, not only showcased elite talent but also underlined the growing importance of corporate partnerships in nurturing emerging sports.

Mumbai: The IPL 2026 opening match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium wasn’t a cricket contest. It was a full-scale six-hitting festival, complete with bowlers serving as reluctant ball boys and the leather sphere treating the boundary ropes like an optional suggestion rather than a hard limit. SRH, batting first after being inserted, scraped together 201 for 9 in their full 20 overs. Stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan led the

Mumbai: For decades, One-Day International (ODI) cricket occupied a unique space in the sport. Positioned between the endurance and tradition of Test cricket and the high-intensity spectacle of T20s, the 50-over format once represented the ideal balance of strategy, skill and entertainment. It produced some of the game’s most memorable moments, from India’s historic triumphs in the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup to countless dramatic run chases and reco

In the glitzy, high-scoring arena of the Indian Premier League, where power-hitters and express pacers often steal the headlines, a quieter revolution has been brewing. Spinners – those deceptive practitioners of flight, turn and guile – have quietly become the league’s most potent force. The numbers from IPL 2025 tell a story of dominance: after 50 matches, spinners claimed 220 wickets at an average of 30.02, bowling 41 per cent of all overs and accounting for 39 per cent of

Mumbai: When Lakshya Sen walked off the court after the final of the All England Badminton Championships, he carried with him the disappointment of another near miss. The Indian shuttler went down in straight games to Lin Chun-Yi, who created history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to lift the prestigious title. But the story of Lakshya Sen’s defeat is not merely about badminton final. It is also about the contrasting way India celebrates its sporting heroes.

In the high-stakes world of T20 cricket, where every ball can swing fortunes, India’s opening conundrum has intensified following Abhishek Sharma’s unceremonious drop due to a string of dismal performances in the lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Sharma, once hailed for his explosive starts, faltered with low scores and a strike rate dipping below 130 in recent domestic outings and warm-up games, prompting selectors to pivot. This leaves a pivotal decision: who par

Mumbai: At just 23, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal has already established herself as a regular in the senior Indian Women’s Hockey Team, emerging as an influential presence in the midfield and has been included in the squad for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Hyderabad, Telangana, scheduled from March 8 to 14. Hailing from Phaltan, a small village in the Satara district in Maharashtra, Rutuja’s journey into hockey began somewhat unexpectedly. “Before hockey, we used

The victorious strategist wins first and then goes to battle Mumbai: Two years ago in Barbados, the scars of India’s crushing ODI World Cup final defeat still lingered and the drought of ICC titles weighed heavily. India had seized control in the middle overs, only to see it slip under Heinrich Klaasen’s fierce assault. With South Africa needing 30 off 30 balls and their in-form batter at the crease, momentum appeared lost. That was when he stepped in to halt the Proteas’ su