Delhi Capitals Mitchell Starc, with captain Axar Patel, left, and Mohit Sharma (PTI Photo)

Injuries have already begun to reshape plans for several teams ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 season, with a number of key players unavailable at the start. Among the biggest concerns are the absences of Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, all of whom are expected to miss at least the opening phase. While Hazlewood has already linked up with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Cummins’ recovery is being monitored by Sunrisers Hyderabad, the situation around Starc remains uncertain. According to head coach Daniel Vettori, a decision on Cummins’ availability will be taken in the next 10 to 12 days. In contrast, Starc’s return timeline is still unclear, with Delhi Capitals awaiting clearance from Cricket Australia. The uncertainty around Starc sparked reactions from fans, one of whom questioned his absence on social media after spotting him at a golf course alongside his wife Alyssa Healy and other athletes.

Alyssa Healy response to a fan

“This is so unfair to us Delhi Capitals fan that Hazelwood and Cummins despite being injured will be available for their teams but you wont be,” the fan wrote. Healy responded sharply, defending Starc’s situation. “Probably cause he’s injured mate…if he can’t bowl how’s he supposed to play?!” She added, “If he was fully fit he’d be there.” Delhi Capitals had built much of their bowling strategy around Starc’s pace and ability with the new ball, and his absence has forced the team to reassess their plans. Despite that setback, the franchise believes it has the depth to compete, combining experienced names with new additions. Last season, Delhi Capitals started strongly with four consecutive wins but lost momentum later, eventually finishing fifth and missing out on the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. As IPL 2026 begins on March 28, Delhi will be aiming to end that run and finally push for their first title, even as they navigate early challenges with key players unavailable.

Ishan Kishan and Daniel Vettori (PTI Photo)

BENGALURU: Sunrisers Hyderabad will be without their regular skipper and lead pacer Pat Cummins for at least the first two weeks of the IPL, with the Australian currently working his way back to full bowling fitness.Head coach Daniel Vettori moved to allay concerns around Cummins’ condition, stressing that the pacer’s overall fitness is not in question.

ISL football match between East Bengal FC and Mohammedan Sporting Club (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Dream11-owned FanCode and Genius Sports have emerged as the two bidders for commercial rights of the Indian Super League (ISL) and Federation Cup on a 15+5 year model that was floated earlier this month. Capri Sports, subsidiary of Capri Global, is the only party interested in rights for the Indian Women’s League (IWL) and IWL 2.After a long day where the tender document was presented to the 14 ISL clubs for the first time and the three bids were evaluated on the basis of their technical and financial aspects, it was back to the drawing board for all involved. Genius Sports, the official data feed provider for the English Premier League, the Championship, and the Scottish league, made a bid of Rs 2129 crore over 20 years. Beyond being a data provider, Genius Sports’ technology is also used for real-time betting odds. This could prove a hurdle at a later stage as betting is illegal in India.FanCode, meanwhile, went with a more pragmatic approach of Rs 36 crore each year with 5 percent increments, amounting to approximately Rs 1190 crore, nearly half of what Genius Sports bid. The AIFF and the ISL clubs will now reconvene over the next couple of days to mull over the specifics of the tender document and the bids. One club that Timesofindia.com spoke to said the decision would take a few days.Capri Sports are the only contenders for the IWL and IWL 2 having made a bid of Rs 150 crore over 20 years. GMR Sports, which had attended the pre-bid meeting, didn’t make a bid in the end. It is understood that the entity behind multiple sporting ventures, including IPL’s Delhi Capitals, had asked for more time but that was not agreed to by the AIFF. The Indian football federation had already pushed the bid due date from March 20 to March 26. As far as the tender is concerned, it would go beyong the media rights. It would entail sponsorship, advertising, digital and data initiatives, merchandising, and event-linked commercial opportunities — creating a long-term deal that consolidates the full commercial ecosystem of Indian club football.During the initial stages, AIFF had introduced a strict eligibility requirement: companies had to purchase the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Rs 2.5 lakh, and only those entities were allowed to submit bids.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Josh Hazlewood (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

Andy Flower has offered a balanced view on the much-debated Impact Player rule, calling it a positive addition to the Indian Premier League even as opinions remain divided within the cricketing fraternity. Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Flower described the rule as an “interesting innovation” that adds a new tactical layer to the game. While prominent names like Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have criticised the rule for reducing the importance of all-round skills, Flower believes it enhances strategic decision-making. “I think it has been a good innovation, it’s interesting to be part of it. You’re making decisions on the impact player, and I think it’s interesting for the audience to debate what’s right and what’s wrong, so tactically it’s quite an interesting addition to the game,” Flower said. However, he also acknowledged that the rule comes with its own complications. According to Flower, one of the traditional challenges of cricket — balancing a playing XI — becomes slightly diluted. “I must say that one of the things I love about cricket is that when you select an 11, one of the challenges you have is balancing your 11 — the length of the batting order, balancing, perhaps, some guys that can’t field that well and it’s one of the things that makes selection a little bit tricky.” “The impact player rule hides that selection problem a little, so I think one of the great things about cricket is some of the debates around selection and when you select single-skilled players, you weaken another area of your game, the impact player can hide that, so there are pros and cons I think to it,” he added. From an RCB standpoint, team combination has been further complicated by the absence of key pacers. Josh Hazlewood, who was the franchise’s leading wicket-taker last season, has only just rejoined the squad after arriving in Bengaluru. “Hazlewood did arrive yesterday, he’s looking fit. I did comment to him that he looks even younger than I remember. So, he’s enjoyed some good downtime but he’s worked hard to get himself back up to full fitness, we’ve been liaising closely with Cricket Australia on his fitness. So, it’s great to have him in our dressing room and in the meetings.” “But he won’t be ready for tomorrow, he’s just got off the plane, but we’ll be monitoring his fitness very closely and looking forward to him making his entrance into the IPL,” Flower said. In the meantime, Flower expressed confidence in the available pace options stepping up in Hazlewood’s absence, especially with Yash Dayal also unavailable. “Yash is not with us unfortunately. So, we have Mangesh, Abhi and Rasik all competing for a place. We’re happy with recruiting Mangesh, a left-arm seamer to replace Yash. We’re also happy with Abhinandan’s progress, he’s bowled a lot more in matches just recently, played in the recent DYP competition.” “I think Rasik is a better bowler than he was last year, he’s obviously been working very hard and he shows a lot of qualities that could stand him in really good stead if he gets a chance in this tournament, so we’re happy with those three Indian seamers,” he added. As RCB gear up to begin their title defence, Flower’s comments reflect both the opportunities and challenges that come with modern T20 innovations.

PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin (Image credit: BAI)

NEW DELHI: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu on Friday wrote a touching tribute for Spanish badminton legend Carolina Marin. Marin announced her retirement from professional badminton on Thursday, saying she is still dealing with the aftereffects of the serious injury she sustained at Paris 2024. Marin won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics 2016 and is a three-time world champion.Sharing an emotional message for her long-time rival, Sindhu took to Instagram and wrote: “Some rivals become part of your journey forever. Carolina was one of them. We first played each other when we were 15 or 16-year-old girls in the Maldives, and from then on we went on to share so many battles.“To be honest, you were also a complete pain on court. The constant shouting, the intensity, the little tricks, they would get to anyone. But your skill, speed and fighting spirit were second to none,’ Sindhu wrote.Sindhu also recalled a verbal duel between the two shuttlers during the 2023 Denmark Open semifinal, where the chair umpire showed both players a yellow card.“People remember the big matches and even the ugly spat we had in that third set over picking the shuttle. I’ll admit I was completely infuriated that day.“But a few months later we sat across from each other over coffee in Madrid, talking and laughing, and in that moment there was nothing but respect. That’s the Carolina I’ll always remember,” she wrote.“I’ll also always be grateful for the incredible camaraderie our generation built. Our batch of girls made women’s singles such a special place to compete in, and I honestly don’t know if badminton has seen something like it before or will again.“Thank you for every battle, every lesson and most of all the friendship. I wish you the happiest retirement, Carolina. Badminton will miss you. And so will I,” Sindhu concluded.Marin’s career was marked by serious knee injuries, forcing her to withdraw from the defence of her Olympic gold and her home World Championships in 2021.However, she made a remarkable comeback, reaching a fourth World Championships final and coming close to an Olympic final in 2024. Leading He Bing Jiao comfortably in their semifinal at Paris 2024, Marin collapsed in pain — a moment that proved to be her final appearance on the biggest stage.