Author: robin24

India men’s U17 football team© X (Twitter) Head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Friday named a 23-member India squad for the 2026 AFC Under-17 men’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, beginning Saturday at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. India will face Palestine (November 22), Chinese Taipei (November 26), Lebanon (November 28) and Iran (November 30). The group winners will qualify for the final tournament in Saudi Arabia next year, which will act as the qualification pathway for next year’s FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar. India’s squad: Goalkeepers: Manashjyoti Baruah, Maroof Shafi, Rajrup Sarkar.Defenders: Abhishek Kumar Mondal, Ankur Rajbagh, Indra Rana…

Bangladesh vs Ireland (X) Play came to an unexpected standstill on day three of the second Test in Mirpur after an earthquake rattled Dhaka on Friday. The tremors were strong enough for the on-air commentators to feel the commentary box shake, while Ireland’s players rushed out of the dressing room and waited near the boundary rope. Fans in the stands appeared unsettled for a moment, but once the situation stabilised, the match continued without further interruption. Before the dramatic pause, Ireland had shown resilience in the opening session. Despite losing two early wickets, they pushed their total to 113. Stephen…

Australian captain Steve Smith and England Captain Ben Stokes pose for a photo with the Ashes Trophy in Perth (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: England and Australia are facing off in the opening Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series at the Optus Stadium in Perth, renewing one of cricket’s most iconic rivalries. The contest derives its famous name from a mock obituary printed in 1882 after Australia claimed their first Test win on English soil.For both nations, the Ashes series carries immense prestige, often regarded as being on par with the honour of winning a World Cup. Its name has a…

Lionel Messi in action© AFP Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will open its new Miami Freedom Park stadium on April 4 against Austin as part of the 2026 Major League Soccer schedule unveiled on Thursday. Next year’s 510 MLS regular season will kick off on February 21 with each team playing 34 matches before concluding on November 7 and the league will take a break for the World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States from May 25 to July 16. MLS scheduled its return just ahead of the July 19 World Cup final. There will be 13…

Team Germany in action© AFP Spain and Germany will face off in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup after coming through respective last-eight ties in Bologna with the Czech Republic and Argentina on Thursday. The Spanish came back from one match down to beat the Czech Republic 2-1, while Germany — and world number three Alexander Zverev — saw off Argentina by the same scoreline. Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez beat Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (10/8) to seal Spain’s passage to the last four. Jaume Munar set Spain up to win the tie by…

Aakash Chopra has revealed that he was once publicly trolled by England’s Moeen Ali after offering technical criticism of the all-rounder during the 2016 India–England Test series. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, the former India opener recounted how a piece of analysis led to an unexpected online dig from Moeen shortly after the Chennai Test. Chopra explained that while working as an analyst for Cricinfo during the tour, he broke down what he believed was a recurring weakness in Moeen’s batting. “I said something about Moeen Ali’s problems against the short ball. I felt that the short ball should…

Arsenal are expected to be without defensive lynchpin Gabriel Magalhaes when they host London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as Manchester City seek to keep up the pressure on the Premier League leaders. Pep Guardiola’s City could cut the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table to just one point, at least for 24 hours, if they beat Newcastle on Saturday. Reigning champions Liverpool desperately need a win after five defeats in their last six Premier League matches, while Rob Edwards takes charge of his first match as Wolves manager. AFP Sport looks at three talking points…

“Social media cannot make or break your day,” said six-time Grand Slam Champion Sania Mirza while speaking with Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh during a fireside chat at the Future Makers Conclave (FMC) in Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025. Moderated by sports journalist Mayanti Langer, Mirza shared her hard-earned wisdom. “There are a couple of ways to handle it. She (Richa Ghosh) is still young, and my advice to her is just be as somebody who has faced and grown up in an era where electronic media and social media were coming. “When I was coming up, we were about…

Oscar Piastri said there had been some “tough moments” as his commanding Formula One lead evaporated, but he was “looking forward to getting back in the car in Vegas” this weekend. The Australian started the season in style with four wins in the first nine races. After his fifth victory in round 15 in the Netherlands, Piastri led McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 34 points. Yet, going into round 22 in Nevada this weekend, Piastri trails Norris by 24 points.  “I was particularly strong in the first half of the season. Even though things aren’t going as well…

Kemar Roach of West Indies, center, celebrates with team mates (Photo by Daniel Prentice-Gallo Images/Getty Images) Veteran fast bowler Kemar Roach has been recalled to the West Indies Test squad for their upcoming three-match series against New Zealand in December. The 15-member squad announcement comes as Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph remain out due to injuries, with 29-year-old Ojay Shields receiving his first Test call-up.Roach, whose last Test appearance was in Multan against Pakistan in January, brings crucial experience to an otherwise inexperienced pace attack. Allrounder Kavem Hodge has also made a return to the squad since his last Test…