FIFA President Gianni Infantino

The United States-Iran war, in which Iranian forces have attacked US bases in several Gulf States, has posed a looming threat to the conduct of several sporting events, including the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixes (F1) and the Finalissima, scheduled to be played between Spain and Argentina in Doha, Qatar. However, that is not the only football event under threat. With the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup less than three months away and scheduled to be played in Mexico, Canada and the United States, an event which has not been free from controversies on account of the Mexico Cartel Violence and extremely high ticket prices, and the general volatility in the bi-lateral ties between US and Mexico and US and Canada on account of the tariff threats, the war puts FIFA in a tricky situation, more so on account of the controversial statements made by American President Donald Trump.

While Trump may have “welcomed” Iran to participate in the 2026 Football World Cup, in the same breath, he proceeded to point out the threat to the life and safety of Iranian footballers should they choose to participate. This has cast a shadow on Iran’s participation, which was the first country to qualify from Asia; however, prior to Trump’s abovementioned statement, Iran publicly expressed its intent to withdraw from the World Cup on account of the US having assassinated their leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The withdrawal, if any, will be an unprecedented move in the modern football era, and is comparable to the Bangladesh cricket team withdrawing from the recently concluded T20 World Cup due to a security threat, which was questioned by the global governing body ICC. However, after some negotiations, no sanctions were imposed on Bangladesh. ALSO READ | Who can come in if Iran withdraw from FIFA World Cup?The World Cup, being a FIFA event, the ultimate duty to provide a safe and secure environment rests with them, who are supported by local security authorities and the police. Should FIFA confirm a secure environment and Iran still chooses to withdraw, FIFA, in accordance with its bye-laws, may impose sanctions such as: (i) imposition of fines to the tune of at least CHF[Swiss Francs] 250,000 if the withdrawal is more than 30 days prior to the scheduled start or of at least CHF 500,000 if the withdrawal is less than 30 days prior (Article 6.2 of the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup, 26); (ii) as per FIFA statutes, member associations must participate in all official competitions for which they qualify, a ban from participating in future events may also be imposed.

File photo of the Iranian football team. (Getty Images)

What is ironic is that at the time of banning the Russian football team in 2022, for invading Ukraine, FIFA itself took a stance that matches involving the Russian teams would give rise to unacceptable safety and security risks, even if they were held at neutral venues, which was upheld by CAS. The position of the stakeholders differs, though. In the first case, Russia (the invaders) is a participant in competitions and subsequently banned. In the current scenario, the USA (the invaders) is a tournament host, putting FIFA in a Catch-22 situation.Further, Article 6.5 of the World Cup regulations allows Member Associations to withdraw on account of force majeure; the interpretation of force majeure will depend on the prevailing circumstances at the time of withdrawal. Since the World Cup is being played across 3 countries, an option for FIFA may be to take refuge under Article 6.9 of the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup, 26 which permits them to relocate one or more matches for any reason, including as a result of force majeure, and schedule all of Iran’s matches outside of the US as a middle ground and develop a contingency plan should Iran make it to the final, which is scheduled to be played in New Jersey. This was also the approach taken by the ICC in the T20 World Cup, should Pakistan have qualified for the semi-finals and final.

A woman displays a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as she waves her country’s flag during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Such a decision, if taken, may come with its own set of political consequences. Any aggressive decision taken now would also put a question mark on Iran’s participation in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with football being an Olympic sport.Sport, which has for time immemorial been used as a tool to unite people, is increasingly being affected by geopolitical events in today’s volatile global environment. As a result, international federations have not remained insulated and have often found themselves in the middle of controversies. While the charters of all international federations demand neutrality, this principle has, on several occasions, been called into question. Consequently, now more than ever, there is a growing need to establish clear directives in the interest of fairness.(Aahna Mehrotra is the Founder & Principal Lawyer of AM Sports Law & Management Co.)

HYDERABAD: Nagarkurnool police detained a 17-year-old Intermediate student on Thursday for allegedly raping three minor girls of his age and impregnating one of them. Police arrested the accused’s 22-year-old friend, in whose house one of the survivors was raped, along with two doctors and a nurse of a private hospital for illegally carrying out an abortion procedure on a pregnant minor.The accused allegedly lured the survivors on the pretext of love and sexually assaulted them. He filmed the crimes and blackmailed the girls, pressuring them to pay up. He also threatened to release the videos on social media, and circulate them among family members unless they met his financial demands.The abuse unfolded over a period of several months in 2025, but came to light recently when one of the survivors, unable to tolerate the torment any further, broke down and confided in her parents, police said. Her family confronted the accused, thrashed him, seized his cellphone and handed him over to the cops along with the device.

“Based on her complaint, we investigated and found that he had sexually assaulted and blackmailed two other minor girls. Of the three survivors, one is from his college and two from other colleges,” Nagarkurnool SP Sangram Singh G Patil said. “The accused took the survivor he had impregnated to a local hospital for an abortion,” he added.Following three separate complaints, police booked the accused under Sections 14, 15, and Section 3 (rw 4) of the Pocso Act; BNS Sections 294 (circulating obscene digital content), 87 (kidnap), 77 (voyeurism), 64 (1) (rape); and Sections 67 (b) of the IT Act. The accused was sent to a juvenile home.“We have, so far, retrieved the videos of the assault on one survivor from the accused’s phone. We visited the hospital where the abortion was carried out, and seized its records,” DSP Srinivas Yadav said, adding that further investigation was underway.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin casually sidelined Indian captain Shubman Gill from the 2027 World Cup squad, asking Virat Kohli to open the batting alongside the former skipper Rohit Sharma.

After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from the longest format of international cricket, the coaches did not give them the liberty to feature in ODIs without performing. Rohit Sharma was also snubbed from captaincy, as India aimed to move towards a new dawn with new skipper Shubman Gill.

However, the two veterans of Indian cricket have proved once again why they are the modern-day greats of the 50-over format. Rohit started off with a staggering effort against Australia and then continued his form against South Africa, while Kohli has been reliving his prime at the twilight of his career.

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Ravichandran Ashwin wants Virat Kohli to open alongside Rohit Sharma for the 2027 WC

Focused only on playing ODI cricket for India, Rohit Sharma worked hard to regain his shape and scored runs against Australia and South Africa, only to miss out against the Kiwis. Kohli, on the other hand, was unbeatable by the Proteas and the Black Caps.

With the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup scheduled to be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, India, the runners-up of the previous World Cup, would need their two most experienced batters to cope with the completely different conditions on the African continent.

Citing their form, a former teammate of the two veterans and 2011 ICC ODI World Cup winner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed his desire to watch Virat Kohli open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma.

He said, “I don’t know who will open. I would ideally like, I mean, in this case, why not Virat? Virat opens the batting in T20 cricket; why not Virat again? If he can open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma…”

🚨 Ravichandran Ashwin on YouTube:

Ashwin said, “If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli open in the 2027 World Cup, then Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer can bat at No. 3 and 4.”

Bro casually removed captain Shubman Gill from the XI. 😭🔥 pic.twitter.com/BjuO2ElXVO

— Abhishek Kumar (@Abhishek060722) March 14, 2026

“Shreyas Iyer is a bona fide no. 4,” Ashwin wants Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad to play in the 2027 World Cup

While Rohit Sharma was seen batting alongside Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup 2024, if that has to happen in ODIs, Shubman Gill has to be sidelined. Ashwin’s choice of players in that top four never mentioned the Indian skipper.

He instead opined that if Shreyas Iyer returns to the team as the vice-captain, he is a bona fide choice for the middle order. But if Virat could be sorted in the top four alongside Rohit, then Ruturaj Gaikwad could make a promising no. 3 for India.

“……(If Virat Kohli can open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma….) Then, Ruturaj and Shreyas also come into the mix,” opined Ashwin.

Ruturaj Gaikwad played a stunning hand in the win against South Africa but was dropped the very next series due to the return of the India vice-captain. Gaikwad can open the innings as well as bat in the middle order, hence making him more of an ideal pick for analysts like Ravichandran Ashwin.

Shubman Gill’s ODI form as the captain of the Indian team

Shubman Gill has been in awful form since his return to the Indian ODI team and his appointment as the new skipper of the Men in Blue side. Having played three ODIs against Australia and then three more against New Zealand, Gill has managed to score two half-centuries and less than 200 runs in the 6 innings.

The skipper has not been in the best of batting form, and hence, his former No. 1 ODI batter status was soon taken over by his teammates Rohit Sharma and, now, Virat Kohli. Gill’s lack of form saw him out of the ICC T20 World Cup team, and if he doesn’t trigger back, then his place in the ODI World Cup squad could also be threatened.

Rohit Sharma could still make the ideal skipper to lead India in the next World Cup in 2027, making captaincy not the main reason for Shubman’s selection.

ALSO READ: Ex-PBKS all-rounder names Shreyas Iyer to win Orange Cap of IPL 2026

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Mumbai: A decade and a half after the Right to Education (RTE) Act was implemented, the world’s largest schooling system is facing a learning crisis that threatens to undermine the massive gains in student enrolment. While the country successfully brought nearly 260 million children into classrooms, a recent paper from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), published in Education Policy Analysis Archives, points to a significant performance gap, with over 70% of students performing at basic or below-basic levels. The paper also notes that although enrolment in primary classes has improved, the system struggles to retain students as they grow older. Enrolment drops by around 17% by the time students reach Grade 9, when the legal mandate for free education under RTE Act expires, mentions the paper.The analysis, undertaken by professors Mythili Ramchand, who worked at TISS till 2024, looks at ‘the conceptions of equity and quality that have shaped varied policies and state reform efforts in curriculum, teacher education, RTE and also the latest National Education Policy (NEP) 2020′. The researchers examined school enrolment, sample-based national assessment surveys and central teacher eligibility tests (TET) to interpret the RTE. “Unlike earlier policy discussions on quality, the RTE Act uniquely articulates quality as a legally enforceable right for all children aged 6 to 14 years… What prompted our study was the observation that while the Act offered a robust framework with equity and inclusion at its core, subsequent interpretations, state-level formulations, and amendments appeared to have ‘hollowed out’ these conceptions of quality,” Chandran told TOI.Analysing the enrolment data, researchers noted that 73.65% of the population drops out before completing senior secondary school, as per the National Sample Survey Organisation. The risk is even higher for students from marginalized sections, where as many as 80% drop out before finishing Grade 12, at a point when education is most crucial for breaking the cycle of poverty.In the classroom, the data presents a stark picture of declining learning outcomes. As per the National Assessment Survey 2021, the proportion of students failing to meet proficiency levels rises in subjects sharply as they progress from Grade 3 to Grade 10. By the time they reach Grade 10, nearly 90% of students fall into the lowest performance categories in science and language. While the 2021 data also reflects the impact of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, the disruption disproportionately affected students from marginalised sections in the higher grades, further widening existing learning gaps.Even as the RTE ACT envisioned teachers as ‘transformative agents’, the reality has been a decline of professional credibility through ad-hoc appointments and narrow, managerial accountability measures. Additionally, the paper highlights how the central TET assesses teachers on school content knowledge with little emphasis on pedagogical knowledge and overall child’s development (see box).TISS researchers highlighted the ‘four important barriers’ that have contributed to the massive gaps in quality and equity in education — a narrow and instrumental definition of quality in the course of RTE implementation, a rigid examination system with no reforms, a weak teacher education system primarily operated by private players and a lack of desired budgetary allocation (less than 3% of the GDP, as opposed to 6% recommended in the RTE).Based on their experiences, Chandran suggested that policy makers take several measures, including a significant increase in investment by states, allowing more autonomy to schools and teacher education institutions to adopt quality measures suited to their contexts, moving away from content testing to robust pedagogical knowledge in teacher preparation. “Also, structural inequities through affirmative action should be addressed. The 25% reservation for economically weaker sections in private schools, while well-intentioned, has been critiqued as weakening govt school provisioning. The focus, therefore, must return to strengthening public schools as neighbourhood schools of equitable quality,” said Chandran.

India vs Pakistan (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: Officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday held a press conference to address the team’s performance in the T20 World Cup, where India national cricket team went on to win the title. During the press conference, Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed spoke about the team’s results and also referred to the long-standing record against India in ODI World Cups.Speaking alongside former Pakistan players Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq, Javed said Pakistan should not keep using the India record as an excuse.

“Not being able to beat India in the World Cup is not an excuse, the result there is 8–0, and even the world’s best captains have played from 1975 to 2026, so set that aside. In the Super 8 stage, one match was washed out due to rain, and we lost one match nothing else happened,” he said.“Against Sri Lanka, winning by that margin wasn’t achievable. We lost only one match. We were eliminated only on net run rate. Making it such a huge issue is too much. It’s a big issue, but not so big that our cricket is destroyed or that we can’t compete anywhere in the world.”The discussion also brought back earlier controversy involving Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan. During the tournament, Shadab had strongly responded to criticism from former players after Pakistan’s defeat to India in Colombo. When asked about remarks from ex-cricketers such as Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf, he pointed out that their teams had never beaten India in World Cups, unlike Pakistan’s 2021 T20 World Cup victory over India. Shadab was part of the 2021 side.“Former cricketers have their own opinions. They (former players) were legends, but even they could not achieve what we have. We have beaten India in a World Cup,” he added.The message also carried nothing but a lack of respect for past players, including Shadab’s father-in-law Saqlain Mushtaq.Saqlain himself expressed disappointment with the remarks. “Those were unwanted comments, and most of the players had played with me. In fact, I am also one of them who had not won an ICC event, but we had won several big matches for Pakistan, Tests and ODIs,” Saqlain said on a Pakistani show.

Mumbai: The Director General of Shipping, in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian embassy in Baghdad, has initiated the process to repatriate the body of 54-year-old Kandivli resident Deonandan Prasad Singh, an additional chief engineer (superintendent), who was aboard the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker MT Safesea Vishnu that was hit by an Iranian attack on Thursday.The body could be brought home once the airspace opens this week, sources told TOI on Saturday. The tanker was near Khor Al Zubair Port, in Basra, Iraq, when it was attacked in the wee hours of Thursday. Singh, who was among 17 Indians on board, suffered severe injuries during the attack and later died. Singh spoke with his family on Wednesday evening and assured them that everything was fine before the ship was attacked. He called his family again at around 2:36 am on Thursday and informed them that the ship was on fire. Afterwards, he did not respond to his family’s calls, a family member said. A source from Mumbai’s DG Shipping office told TOI: “Singh’s body, along with the rescued 16 Indian crews, will fly back once the airspace opens. The travel documents and the necessary local formalities are currently in process. At present, Iraq’s airspace remains closed. Further, subject to completion of all formalities and reopening of airspace, the repatriation of the seafarers as well as the mortal remains is expected to take place next week, if all arrangements proceed as planned.” Meanwhile, Iran’s official news agency IRNA said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck one of the two ships, a US-owned vessel, the Safesea Vishnu, because it had ignored warnings and failed to comply with orders. Indian authorities earlier said the Safesea Vishnu, which sailed under the Marshall Islands flag, was attacked by an unmanned speedboat. Meanwhile, Singh’s employer Bravo Shipping Management, did not respond to TOI‘s email related to an update on the incident. Originally from Bihar, Singh moved to Mumbai in 2019 and lived with his family at Raheja Eternity Society in Kandivli East. He is survived by his wife Kumkum Singh, daughter Komal Singh, a medical student at Nagpur medical college, and a son who is currently pursuing a management course in the United States.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the United States had carried out strikes on Iran’s key oil export hub at Kharg Island. The US president said the operation targeted critical energy infrastructure linked to Iran’s oil trade.Trump said US forces had “obliterated” military facilities on the island, which sits in the Persian Gulf and handles the overwhelming majority of Iran’s crude shipments to the global market. While the strikes stopped short of targeting the oil infrastructure itself, the US president warned that the energy facilities could be hit next if Iran interferes with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.

Kharg Island has long been considered Iran’s economic lifeline, with analysts warning that any sustained attack on the territory could cripple the country’s oil exports and deal a devastating blow to its economy.

Following the announcement, Iranian officials issued a stark warning, saying that any further attacks could lead to the destruction of oil and energy infrastructure across the region. The threat came amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran after a series of military exchanges in recent days.

Iran’s oil lifeline

Kharg Island lies roughly 30 kilometres off the Iranian mainland in the Persian Gulf, near the port city of Bushehr. Despite its small size just around eight kilometres long the island plays an outsized role in Iran’s economy.Often described as Iran’s “oil lifeline”, Kharg handles around 90 percent of the country’s crude exports. Oil from major offshore fields such as Aboozar, Forouzan and Dorood is transported via subsea pipelines to the island, where it is stored and loaded onto massive tankers bound largely for Asian markets.Its geography makes it uniquely suited for this role. The waters surrounding the island are deep enough to accommodate supertankers, something that many Iranian ports along the shallow Gulf coastline cannot handle.Over the decades, Iran has turned Kharg into one of the world’s largest oil terminals. At peak capacity, the facilities there can load as much as seven million barrels per day, though current exports are closer to about 1.6 million barrels daily.Because so much of Iran’s export infrastructure is concentrated on this single island, analysts have long considered it a critical vulnerability. Any serious disruption could immediately choke off the majority of Iran’s oil revenues, which remain a central pillar of the country’s economy and a key source of funding for powerful institutions such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Watch: $11 billion & counting; Trump bleeds American taxpayers with no Iran victory in sight

Why the island is strategically sensitive

The United States and Israel had previously avoided striking Kharg directly, largely because of the enormous economic and geopolitical consequences such a move could trigger.Energy analysts warn that targeting the island’s oil infrastructure would almost instantly halt most of Iran’s crude exports. That could provoke a major retaliation from Tehran, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s traded oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.Iran has already demonstrated its ability to disrupt maritime traffic in the area. Missile and drone attacks in recent weeks have slowed shipping through the strait and raised fears of a wider energy crisis.Tehran has repeatedly warned that any attempt to damage its oil infrastructure would provoke an “eye for an eye” response, potentially including attacks on energy facilities in neighbouring Gulf states.That risk explains why the latest US strikes appear to have targeted only military installations on the island rather than its vast oil storage tanks and loading terminals. Trump himself acknowledged this calculation, saying he had deliberately chosen not to destroy the energy infrastructure.Watch: Iran bombs 5 US military aircraft; big confirmation from DC as IRGC hits KC-135 planes in Saudi

A strategic prize in a wider war

Beyond its economic importance, Kharg Island also holds significant military and historical value. The island has been heavily fortified over decades and is guarded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.Its strategic location has made it a coveted asset for centuries. European powers including the Portuguese and the Dutch once attempted to control it because of its position along historic trade routes in the Gulf.In modern times, the island has endured repeated conflict. During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, Iraqi forces repeatedly bombed Kharg in an attempt to cripple Iran’s oil exports. Although heavily damaged, the facilities were eventually rebuilt and expanded.Today the island remains a tightly controlled zone with limited civilian presence, dominated by oil terminals, pipelines and military installations.