New Delhi: Indian men’s cricket team player Sanju Samson with a trophy during the BCCI Naman Awards 2026. (PTI Photo)

Sanju Samson, the standout performer and Player of the Tournament in India’s 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup victory, admitted he still wakes up in disbelief at winning the title on home soil. Yet, he is confident that India’s continuous stream of emerging talent ensures more triumphs in the years ahead.“Not yet, I am still like, when I get up in the morning, I’m like, ‘has it really happened’. So honestly, that’s the feeling. But I feel that in the coming years, with the quality of players we have in our country, this is going to be repeated. The number of players who are coming up in India is definitely going to do this more and more often,” Samson told broadcasters at the BCCI awards in New Delhi on Sunday.

Samson’s tournament performance was extraordinary. Despite not being part of India’s starting XI, he amassed 321 runs in just five innings at a strike rate approaching 200. His innings included a match-winning 97* against West Indies in the Super Eight stage, followed by 89 in both the semi-final against England and the final versus New Zealand.Reflecting on his journey, Samson said, “You can only dream where you want to go, but you can’t definitely ride the path towards it. So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do this a couple of years ago. I want to win a World Cup for my country, but it had its own plan, its own script. So, it’s more like a movie. I enjoyed it.“As I said before, I wanted to do something like this, then I got pulled out of my journey, and then suddenly, the team wanted me to contribute, and that’s when I actually mentally flipped a bit… I think, before that, in the New Zealand series, the focus was all about me.“But in the World Cup, the focus is all about the team, what the team requires. And in the Zimbabwe game, right from that moment, everyone wanted me to contribute. I had a role to play. So that’s when the shift happened and the confidence that, okay, ‘the team needs you, Sanju’, and let’s do what you can to the best. So that’s where everything started from.“And then I had the experience, I was working mentally. I was working physically, so I knew that I was ready, and I knew that this was meant for me, so I just had to do what I know best.”Samson’s story was not the only one of perseverance. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who joined the squad late as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, described his journey to a second T20 World Cup medal as almost miraculous. “I was not in the initial squad, then I got it, played a game, and now I have been part of two World Cup-winning squads. I would say it’s a miracle for me,” he said.

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, added his weight to a growing conversation about what AI is doing to software engineering. On March 13, he quote-tweeted a post by physics and AI/ML student @TheVixhal with two words: “Well said.” The original post, which racked up 15,000-plus likes and nearly a million views, argued that LLMs are quietly automating the grunt work of coding—and in doing so, pulling computer science back toward its mathematical and physics-heavy roots.The idea isn’t fringe. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said the industry is 6 to 12 months from AI handling most of what software engineers currently do end-to-end. Some engineers at Anthropic, he noted, no longer write code at all. Replit’s CEO put it more bluntly: the software engineering role, as currently defined, “sort of disappears.”

GitHub Copilot boost developers speed by 55%—but the gains are uneven

The data backs the shift. A 2023 Microsoft-run experiment found developers using GitHub Copilot completed tasks 55.8% faster. Anthropic’s own AI Exposure Index puts programmers at roughly 75% task coverage by LLMs—the highest of any profession tracked.

What’s changing isn’t just speed. It’s what engineers spend time thinking about. Boilerplate is increasingly off the table. The questions that remain—how systems fail, what trade-offs to make, whether the architecture holds at scale—are closer to physics and math than to typing syntax correctly.

LLMs still hallucinate on complex system design, keeping senior engineers in demand

Not everyone’s convinced the transition is clean. Critics point out LLMs still stumble on novel, complex problems. Junior developers gain the most from these tools; senior engineers remain essential for verification and judgment calls. The “6 to 12 months” timeline Amodei floats applies to existing tasks, not the harder work of inventing new systems.Still, the direction of travel is clear enough that even Code.org’s founder is rethinking CS education—less syntax, more logical reasoning. “Coding is dead,” he said, adding, “Long live coding.”

Harbhajan Singh picks overseas players for Mumbai Indians: The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will start from March 28, as the 10 teams are gearing up for the massive event for two months. Reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be playing the first game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). It is going to be an exciting encounter to watch.

Ahead of the IPL, former Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Harbhajan Singh has dropped his comments on the possible Mumbai Indians XI for the upcoming season. While speaking on JioHostar, the former captain predicted the four overseas players who can play for the five-time champions of the IPL. He believes that the franchise will have some headaches picking four players.

Harbhajan Singh picks four overseas players for the Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians retained Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Ryan Rickelton, and Allah Ghazanfar in their overseas slot. They bought in Sherfane Rutherford as a trade from the Gujarat Titans, and in the auction, they only bought Quinton de Kock. Bhajji predicted that one of the South African wicket-keepers would play, along with Trent Boult and Allah Ghazanfar.

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However, MI would have a tough decision on choosing the final overseas player, between Will Jacks and Sherfane Rutherford. Both cricketers have been in brilliant form; however, the former might just edge out due to his bowling skills and the red-hot form he carried during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

One more player, it could be Rutherford or Will Jacks- Harbhajan Singh

“To start with, either Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton will play and start in the XI. Then we will go down to the bowlers. Trent Boult, obviously, will be the second one who will play. Allah Ghazanfar is someone who will definitely be in that squad,” the former MI spinner said.

“One more player, it could be Rutherford or Will Jacks. If I were part of the management, I would be very keen to play Rutherford, and depending on the surfaces, of course. If we are playing in Chennai, I would like to play Will Jacks there because he can bowl a few overs as well for you,” he added.

Hardik needs to come like Hardik Pandya- Harbhajan Singh

Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs in the 2025 season. Though they lost to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2. Hardik Pandya is expected to lead the side in the upcoming season. He since joining have failed to qualify for the final of the tournament. In 2024, they finished at the bottom of the table.

Bhajji further added, “Hardik needs to come like Hardik Pandya. He needs to bring his A game to the table, not just as a batter, but as a bowler. We recently saw him bowling in the World Cup. I think he was brilliant with the ball. That’s what he needs to do.”

“When a captain leads from the front, showing the way forward to the team, everyone follows. It will come down to the belief. If they start believing from day one that they are there not just to compete, but to win, I think things can change for them very quickly.”

Also Read: Rishabh Pant’s cricket future at stake in IPL 2026

US President Donald Trump said Sunday (US local time) that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open amid the ongoing war with Iran.Trump’s statement came amid reports that he is set to announce a global coalition to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil exports normally pass.However, he did not name the countries but noted they are nations heavily reliant on Middle East oil. “We’re talking to countries about policing the straits, because they are the ones — you know, we don’t get oil, very little, 1%. China, as an example, gets about 90% of its oil from the Hormuz Strait. It’d be nice to have other countries policing with us. And we’ll help, and we’ll work with them,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” he added.So far no nation has made firm commitments as global oil prices continue to rise.“I think we’re getting a good response… We’re always there for Nato. We’re helping them with Ukraine… It doesn’t affect us, but we’ve helped them. It’d be interesting to see which country wouldn’t help us with a very small endeavour, which is just keeping the Strait open,” Trump noted.He reiterated that the US has defeated Iran but said Tehran can have a “little bit of fight back.”“As far as I’m concerned, we’ve essentially defeated Iran. I guess they can have a little bit of fight back. But not much… We have taken out their air forces, air defence… They have no air defence whatsoever. We have taken out their leadership… Militarily, it’s been amazing. We have attacked Kharg Island… They wanted to negotiate badly… I don’t think they are ready… I think they will be ready in some time. But we do it very well...”He further emphasised the scale of US operations and the effect on Iran’s capabilities. “My comparison is small because Iran has very little firepower left. Their missiles are down to a low number. They’re shooting very few of them… Because we’ve decimated their manufacturing capability. Likewise, the drones are way down. They’re down to about 20% of what they had… as of yesterday, we’re starting to hit the places where they manufacture the drones. We think we know where they are. It’s a very strong military operation, just as it was in Venezuela. We have the strongest military anywhere in the world by far, not even a contest. And I think people understand that, and we will finish the job.”Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told CBS that Tehran has been approached by a number of countries seeking safe passage for their vessels, and that allowing such passage is a matter for Iran’s military. “A group of vessels from ‘different countries’ had been allowed to pass,” he said, without providing further details.He added that “we don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about ending the war, noting that Israel and the US began the fighting with coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Araghchi also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that was destroyed following US and Israeli attacks last year.The Iran-caused disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has put pressure on global oil markets, with prices surpassing $100 per barrel since US operations began two weeks ago. US gas prices have risen by more than 70 cents per gallon. Iran has restricted passage using sea mines and small vessels, while members of the US administration have said the US Navy will support commercial vessels navigating the strait.Republicans in Congress have urged the White House to act quickly to prevent a short-term economic shock at the start of an election year. Despite these pressures, Trump and some party members have resisted calls to end the war quickly, aiming to avoid longer-lasting supply issues.

Gujarat Titans’ Jos Buttler (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma)

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has highlighted key concerns for the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2026 season, pointing to their reliance on the top-order and star batter Jos Buttler’s lacklustre form as potential trouble spots.The Titans reached the IPL 2025 playoffs but fell to the Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator. Their success last season largely stemmed from standout performances by Sai Sudharsan (759 runs), Shubman Gill (650), and Jos Buttler (538).In a recent YouTube video, Chopra explained that Gujarat’s batting strategy leans heavily on the top three. “What are their weaknesses? They can be called weaknesses or challenges. A slight overdependence is still seen on the top three. It’s great if they replicate what they did last year, which means the top three together bat till the 14th or 15th over, and at least one of them should 100 per cent be there till the 15th over. You should only be one down by the 14th or 15th over,” he said.Chopra also flagged Jos Buttler’s recent struggles, calling his form “pedestrian” compared to his past standards. He stressed that if Buttler continues to falter, it could pose problems for the Titans, as both openers cannot be expected to consistently carry the scoring load.“However, the truth is that Jos Buttler’s current form is very, very pedestrian. We have not seen Jos Buttler playing more ordinary than this in any World Cup edition. He was seen struggling in good conditions this time. So will that be a bit of an issue for the Gujarat Titans? You want to start with Jos Buttler, but what if the form isn’t good? Both openers can’t score runs every time,” Chopra added.Buttler’s poor run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, held in India and Sri Lanka, saw him accumulate just 87 runs across eight matches.Gujarat Titans are set to begin their IPL 2026 campaign on March 31, facing Punjab Kings at the PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh.