Hardik Pandya (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: It was at an intimate dinner hosted by Irfan Pathan that a young, dynamic Hardik Pandya was first introduced to one of his idols — Wasim Jaffer. Years later, the India all-rounder’s admiration for the domestic stalwart has only grown stronger, with Pandya once again naming Jaffer as his cricketing idol at the Naman Awards.While Jaffer represented India just 33 times, his legacy was built in domestic cricket, where he scored nearly 20,000 first-class runs over a remarkable 25-year career.

Recalling his first interaction with Pandya, Jaffer went back to the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy season, when Mumbai faced Baroda and Pandya was still an emerging talent.Speaking on his Instagram profile, Jaffer said: “The first time I met him was during the 2014 or 2015 Ranji season. Mumbai were playing Baroda in Baroda. Irfan (Pathan), Yusuf (Pathan), and Munaf (Patel) were playing in the opposition team. I was not playing that match because I was injured, but I traveled with the team.”“I remember that we went to Irfan’s house for dinner, and that is when I met Hardik and Krunal for the first time,” said Jaffer. “Irfan told me, ‘Meet Hardik, he is going to play very soon.’ And I think he was picked by the Mumbai Indians that season itself.”At the time, Pandya was just beginning to make a name for himself, but his admiration for Jaffer was already evident.“Irfan told me that he is a big fan of mine. Hardik himself said, ‘Main aapki batting bahut dekhta hoon aur mujhe bahut apka khelne ka andaz pasand hai (I watch your batting a lot and I really like the way you play).’”“It’s very nice of him that he still takes my name in front of big stars. And that is why there has been so much news about who Wasim Jaffer is,” reflected Jaffer. “People keep hearing other names very often, but they might not remember Wasim Jaffer because I made a name for myself in First-Class cricket.”

TOAST OF A NATION: The women’s team’s ODI World Cup victory was the high point for Indian sport in 2025 (Photo: Getty Images)

Lucknow: The biggest names in Indian sport will once again gather under one roof as the much-anticipated Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) returns to Lucknow for the third consecutive time on Saturday, celebrating the inspiring journeys and achievements of the country’s finest athletes across multiple disciplines. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will grace the occasion as a guest and hand over the trophies honouring achievers and emerging stars who made the nation proud over the past year. The event will be attended by sporting legends like PT Usha, Leander Paes, Mithali Raj, Madan Lal, Sandeep Patil and Sardar Singh, and other top athletes, coaches, administrators and guests from across the country, making it one of the most prestigious sporting evenings of the year. This edition of TOISA will recognise athletes across more than 45 categories, honouring performances during the Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2025 evaluation period. The wide range of categories ensures that excellence across mainstream as well as emerging sports disciplines is duly acknowledged. Having begun in 2015, TOISA completes a decade, and a special section will honour the best players of the past 10 years. Besides, there will be a special segment on the best player of the year from UP. For the last decade, para players have shown their mettle on fields and courts, bringing several laurels to the nation. To felicitate their talent, TOISA has 13 categories dedicated to para sports. A distinguished jury comprising eminent Indian sporting personalities — Abhinav Bindra, the country’s first individual Olympic gold medallist; tennis legend and Olympic medallist Leander Paes; PR Sreejesh, a two-time Olympic medallist; Devendra Jhajharia, a two-time Paralympic gold medallist; Mithali Raj, one of the greatest names in women’s cricket with over 10,000 international runs; and Sharath Kamal, India’s most decorated table tennis player with 13 Commonwealth Games medals — will select the winners. The jury faces a tough task in choosing from a star-studded list of nominees, as the past year witnessed several landmark achievements. Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra continued his remarkable run on the global stage with outstanding performances in the Diamond League, while shooter Samrat Rana clinched three medals, including two golds, at the World Shooting Championships held in Cairo, Egypt. Lakshya Sen has been one of India’s top performers in badminton for quite some time now. He recently contested the final of the All England Championships. The young shuttler is cruising towards etching his name among the game’s elite. Indian cricket also enjoyed a historic year. The India women’s national cricket team lifted their maiden ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title on home soil, while the India men’s team captured both the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup. Smriti Mandhana’s World Cup-winning feat and her own performance were exceptional this year. She played a pivotal role in India’s historic win, scoring 434 runs overall, the maximum by any player. The Indian vice-captain scored a blistering 109-run innings against New Zealand and an 80-run innings against Australia, along with a crucial 45 runs in the final against South Africa. Another peach of a performance came from Deepti Sharma. This Agra girl’s all-round performance bagged her the Player of the Tournament award as well. In another remarkable feat, the India women’s blind cricket team became the first-ever champions of the Women’s Blind Cricket T20 World Cup. Beyond cricket, the India men’s hockey team triumphed at the Asia Cup, securing qualification for the 2026 FIH World Cup. Indian para-athletes also shone brightly at the World Para Athletics Championships, returning with a rich haul. Promising athletes like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in cricket, Divya Deshmukh in chess, and Tanvi Sharma in badminton emerged as stars of the future. Through these honours, TOISA continues its mission of celebrating India’s sporting heroes, whose grit, dedication and excellence inspire India.

TOISA NOMINATIONS

Here are the nominees shortlisted for various categories by the illustrious TOISA jury, which includes icons like Abhinav Bindra, Mithali Raj and Leander Paes… BADMINTON (MALE) Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Kiran George, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy BADMINTON (FEMALE) Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda, Tressa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand CRICKET (MALE) Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav CRICKET (FEMALE) Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma ATHLETICS (MALE) Neeraj Chopra, Animesh Kujur, Gulveer Singh, Sachin Yadav ATHLETICS (FEMALE) Parul Chaudhary, Rupal Chaudhary, Jyothi Yarraji, Pooja Singh EQUESTRIAN Ashish Limaye, Shruti Vora, Divyakriti Singh HOCKEY (MALE) Abhishek Nain, Harmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas HOCKEY (FEMALE) Udita Duhan, Navneet Kaur, Mumtaz Khan, Rutuja Pisal SHOOTING (MALE) Samrat Rana, Ravinder Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Anish, Varun Tomar, Rudrankksh Patil SHOOTING (FEMALE) Suruchi Inder Singh, Simranpreet Kaur, Esha Singh, Elavenil Valarivan, Sift Kaur Samra, Manu Bhaker CHESS (MALE) R Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh Chithambaram, P Iniyan, Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi CHESS (FEMALE) Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, Nandhidhaa PV ARCHERY (MALE) Dhiraj Bommadevara, Abhishek Verma, Atanu Das, Prathamesh Fuge, Rishabh Yadav ARCHERY (FEMALE) Ankita Bhakat, Jyothi Surekha, Deepika Kumari, Prithika Pradeep BILLIARDS/SNOOKER Pankaj Advani, Aditya Mehta, Brijesh Damani WEIGHTLIFTING (MALE) Rishikanta Singh, Muthupandi Raja, Dilbag Singh, Lovepreet Singh WEIGHTLIFTING (FEMALE) Mirabai Chanu, Mehak Sharma, Bindyarani Devi WRESTLING (MALE) Sunil Kumar, Nitesh, Aman Sehrawat, Sujeet Kalkal WRESTLING (FEMALE) Antim Panghal, Manisha, Nisha Dahiya SQUASH (MALE) Abhay Singh, Saurav Ghosal, Velavan Senthilkumar, Mahesh Mangaonkar SQUASH (FEMALE) Anahat Singh, Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Tanvi Khanna TABLE TENNIS (MALE) Manav Thakkar, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Payas Jain TABLE TENNIS (FEMALE) Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Diya Chitale, Ayhika Mukherjee TENNIS (MALE) Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, Sumit Nagal TENNIS (FEMALE) Ankita Raina, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli FOOTBALL (MALE) Subhasish Bose, Sunil Chhetri, Vishal Kaith, Brison Fernandes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu FOOTBALL (FEMALE) Soumya Guguloth, Grace Dangmei, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Manisha Kalyan, Pyari Xaxa KABADDI Sanju Devi, Pawan Sehrawat, Ritu Negi, Arjun Deshwal BOXING (MALE) Sachin Siwach, Hitesh Gulia, Pawan Bartwal, Ankush Panghal BOXING (FEMALE) Minakshi Hooda, Jaismine Lamboria, Nikhat Zareen, Pooja Rani SAILING Vishnu Saravanan, Zahaan Hemrajani, Abhimanyu Panwar, Ghashiayah A COACH OF THE YEAR Amol Majumdar (Cricket), Suresh Singh (Shooting), Ashok Kumar Rana (Shooting) PARA ARCHERY (MALE) Harvinder Singh, Vivek Chikara, Rakesh Kumar, Shyam Sunder Swami PARA ARCHERY (FEMALE) Sheetal Devi, Payal Nag, Jyoti Baliyan PARA ATHLETICS (MALE) Sumit Antil, Shailesh Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Nishad Kumar PARA ATHLETICS (FEMALE) Simran Sharma, Preethi Pal, Ekta Bhyan, Deepthi Jeevanji PARA BADMINTON (MALE) Pramod Bhagat, Sukant Kadam, Krishna Nagar PARA BADMINTON (FEMALE) Mandeep Kaur, Manasi Joshi, Nithya Sre PARA CHESS Vaibhav Gautam, Samarth J Rao, Venkata Krishna Karthik K PARA JUDO Kapil Parmar, Avidha Sharma, Rahul Rajora, Kokila PARA SHOOTING (MALE) Bhat Amir Ahmad, Nihal Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Rudransh Khandelwal PARA SHOOTING (FEMALE) Mona Agarwal, Avani Lekhara, Rubi Kumari EMERGING SPORTSPERSON Tanvi Sharma (Badminton), Divya Deshmukh (Chess), Shree Charani (Cricket), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Cricket) PARA SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR Sheetal Devi (Para Archery), Praveen Kumar (Para Athletics – High Jump), Preethi Pal (Para Athletics – Sprint), Sumit Antil (Para Athletics – Javelin) PARA COACH OF THE YEAR Dr. Satyapal Singh (Para Athletics), Subhash Rana (Para Shooting), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton), Sandhya Bharti (Para Taekwondo) TEAM OF THE YEAR India Women’s Cricket Team, India Men’s Cricket Team, India Men’s Hockey Team, India Men’s & Women’s Kabaddi Teams, India National Shooting Team, India Women’s Cricket Team for the Blind, India Squash Team, India Women’s Ice Hockey Team

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Agency Image)

Quick quiz: Since the first T20 World Cup in 2007, how many players who played only ODI cricket have been part of a 50-over World Cup-winning side? Answer: None. In 2027, across Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, Rohit and Kohli would love to change that. Assuming, of course, that they will be picked. Having retired from Tests and T20Is, they now occupy a curious space: giant names, shrinking game-time. Which is why this IPL matters so much. It is their most visible audition. If both want to convince a team management and selection panel that has become increasingly ruthless and pragmatic, they need to perform over the next eight weeks for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, respectively. That may sound dramatic. After all, few players have achieved more. But the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup will not be paved by reputation or old highlights. It will depend on present-day form and fitness. Both remain in the conversation, with captain Shubman Gill and others indicating as much. The harder question is whether they can last that long. For Rohit, who turns 39 on April 30, and Kohli, now 37, this IPL is a fitness test-cum-batting examination. Both are now one-format cricketers. Both must show they can endure a long, high-intensity campaign and still be standing in 2027. Fitness, though, is only half the issue. Form, that fickle friend, is the other. Ask any Indian cricketer what they fear most and the answer is simple: being out of sight, out of mind. That is what makes this IPL so important for Rohit and Kohli. It puts them back in view after public attention was seized by the heroes of India’s T20 World Cup triumph. ODIs are increasingly rare. India last played a five-match ODI series in Feb–March 2019. For single-format players, one poor series can mean a long wait for another chance. Those gaps hurt batters most: rhythm fades, match sharpness dulls and every failure feels terminal. For them, every substantial IPL innings will be read as evidence — or the lack of it — that Rohit and Kohli are still moving well, reacting sharply and carrying the intensity top-level ODI cricket demands. And unlike the IPL, ODIs offer no impact substitute, the ultimate safety valve for sluggish movers. It remains a seven-hour test of endurance. Lazy analysis has caused us to hyphenate Rohit and Kohli’s careers. Acronyms like the nauseating “Ro-Ko” have only reinforced that. Yet, the stakes are higher for Rohit. His ODI legacy is secure but age and role now sit at the heart of the debate, especially with younger opening options available alongside Gill that offer greater athletic value in the field. Fan armies have dressed up Rohit’s loose dismissals as intent. His rollicking 20s and 30s were hailed as selflessness. But poor habits become more stubborn with age. They bled into his Test game too, accelerating both technical decline and his eventual exit from the format. This IPL, selectors and coach Gautam Gambhir will watch him closely. Can Rohit start with intent, pull quality pace without losing shape, run hard, field efficiently and maintain acceptable fitness through a long campaign? He has crossed 500 runs in an IPL season only once, in 2013. Another middling season and quiet murmurs could metamorphose into harsh verdicts. His last three ODI scores, remember, were 3, 11 and 24. Kohli’s case is different. He has been the defining white-ball batter of his generation and one of Indian sport’s great athletic specimens. What he is chasing now is not excellence but sustained relevance. Against South Africa and New Zealand, he showed greater willingness to attack early, looking for boundaries inside his first 10 balls. It suggested adaptation. Kohli had already mastered low-risk accumulation in ODIs; now he has garnished it with consistent urgency. That matters in the IPL, where strike rate and impact shape or destroy narratives. Kohli will want to show he can still dominate key bowlers and keep pace with the modern game’s demands. If he can combine control with carnage, his case remains strong. He has 11 IPL seasons of 400-plus runs and while many came at strike rates in the mid-120s, in each of his last three seasons it has risen to above 140. Last year, while batting first, his strike rate was 147.8, higher than his strike rate while chasing, 142.18. Since 2025, his ODI strike rate is 98.45, above his career mark of 93.41. Kohli also knows that when senior players try to stretch themselves into another World Cup cycle, selectors judge more than numbers. They look for hunger, energy and intent. The IPL, played under relentless scrutiny and offering instant, unforgiving public judgment, is the perfect stage for such examinations. The league has increasingly become a selection filter across formats in India — sometimes, disturbingly, even for Tests. For Rohit and Kohli, this season is more than a tournament. It is their ticket to relevance.

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained a strong core of 17 players and made targeted additions in the IPL 2026 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi. For the first time in their history, RCB will enter an IPL season as defending champions.Here’s a look at RCB’s predicted Playing XI and Impact Player for IPL 2026:Virat Kohli: The veteran batter will continue in his opening role for RCB, riding on his red-hot IPL form. Having already crossed the 9000-run milestone, Kohli remains crucial in providing aggressive starts during the powerplay.Phil Salt: Phil Salt was a key figure in RCB’s title-winning campaign last season, consistently giving the team explosive starts. However, he could face competition from Jacob Bethell, who impressed in the T20 World Cup, including a century against India at Wankhede.Devdutt Padikkal: Devdutt Padikkal is expected to play a pivotal role at No. 3, acting as the bridge between the explosive opening pair and the middle order. While he is likely to be the first-choice option, he will face competition from Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought for Rs 7 crore in the auction.Rajat Patidar (C): Rajat Patidar will continue as captain after leading RCB to their historic maiden IPL title. Alongside his leadership, his impact as a powerful middle-order batter will remain vital for the team.Jitesh Sharma (WK): One of RCB’s unsung heroes, Jitesh Sharma played crucial knocks last season, including a standout innings against LSG. He will continue as wicketkeeper and finisher, supporting Tim David and Romario Shepherd in the death overs.Tim David: Tim David will serve as RCB’s primary finisher and lower middle-order power-hitter. With a strike rate hovering around 170-180 in the death overs, he brings stability and firepower to the team’s finishing efforts.Romario Shepherd: Romario Shepherd’s all-round abilities make him a key asset. He delivered crucial performances in the playoffs last season with both bat and ball and is expected to provide balance once again.Krunal Pandya: All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who played a key role in the IPL 2025 final taking 2 wickets for just 17 runs in 4 overs. He offers perfect balance with both bat and ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The “swing king” will lead RCB’s pace attack, especially in the absence of Josh Hazlewood at the start of the tournament. His powerplay bowling will be vital.Yash Dayal: Yash Dayal has been a reliable all-phase bowler for RCB in recent seasons. His role across powerplay, middle, and death overs will be important, although concerns remain as he hasn’t played competitive cricket since IPL 2025 due to legal issues.Jacob Duffy: Jacob Duffy is expected to fill the void left by Josh Hazlewood in the early stages of the tournament. His performances with the new ball will be crucial for RCB’s bowling unit.Impact Player: Suyash SharmaSuyash Sharma made a strong impact last season with his wicket-taking ability. His mystery spin makes him a leading candidate for the Impact Player role once again.

Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) predicted playing XI for IPL 2026

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)

NEW DELHI: As the cricket world gears up for IPL 2026, one of the tournament’s most iconic “bromances” is back in the spotlight. AB de Villiers, the legendary South African batter and former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart, has made a candid admission regarding his first impression of former captain Virat Kohli.While the duo eventually became the most feared batting pair in T20 history, De Villiers revealed that it wasn’t exactly “friendship at first sight”. Speaking about their early encounters on Mbangwa Media YouTube channel, the man known as Mr. 360 confessed that Kohli’s initial demeanour rubbed him the wrong way.“I didn’t initially like him a lot, to be honest. He was a bit cocky, you know, and I’ve told him that before. I’ve said it in many interviews. We sort of laugh at that now,” De Villiers remarked.

However, the Proteas legend was quick to clarify that this perceived arrogance was actually a mirror image of his own personality. “Why I say cocky is because I probably saw a similar kind of thing that I have in him; it’s that competitive drive,” he added. “It’s that thing that you’re born with, that I don’t like losing, nothing is going to change that. So I probably saw that in Virat initially when I met him.”The ice began to melt as the two spent more time together on the international circuit. De Villiers noted that beneath the aggressive exterior was a cricketer driven by a profound sense of duty to his team.“Then in the second or third meeting, getting to hear his voice and hear him speak, I’m like, oh okay, he’s also just human, you know, just a nice guy who’s got a deep drive of wanting to perform and win games of cricket for his country,” he added.The foundation of their legendary RCB partnership was actually laid during a tense Test match at the Wanderers after RCB picked Kohli. Despite being in the heat of an international battle, Kohli reached out to his future teammate.“And I remember in that tunnel, he came up to me, he’s like, ‘I’m glad you’re on our team.’ And we sort of vibed, like we’re going to be good friends. In the middle of a Test match, we would hardly ever speak to each other, and he just went like, ‘Yes, I’m so glad we got you.’ I’m like, okay, this guy actually likes me, we can maybe be mates,” De Villiers recalled

MS Dhoni (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has stirred debate ahead of IPL 2026 by leaving MS Dhoni out of his preferred Chennai Super Kings (CSK) playing XI. He feels Dhoni’s current role as a lower-order batter, who faces very few balls, doesn’t add enough value to the team unless he takes on more responsibility.Pathan explained that while Dhoni remains a legend, his limited time at the crease doesn’t always help the team. He suggested that a more active batter like Sarfaraz Khan should take that spot instead.

“Sarfaraz Khan has a place in this team at number six,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel. “But if MS Dhoni says he’ll play regularly… because at some time, even the world’s best batter has to retire. Will he play all games? Will he not? I have been saying this for a long time, him being out there for two overs are certainly pleasing for Dhoni’s fans, but CSK don’t benefit from it. “If Dhoni has to play, it has to be four overs, only then does it benefit the team. If he doesn’t play, then does he think ‘Let’s make a team where batters get the best chance?’ because it’s Dhoni’s team,” he added.Irfan Pathan’s Playing XI for CSK: Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhare, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Noor Ahmad and Impact player: Khaleel Ahmed.Pathan picked a playing eleven that included new faces like Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, leaving out Dhoni for now. He also hinted that this decision could change depending on Dhoni’s role in the batting order.With CSK struggling in recent seasons, including finishing last in 2025, the franchise is looking to rebuild. The addition of players like Sanju Samson shows a shift towards the future, and IPL 2026 could be a crucial season in deciding the team’s direction and Dhoni’s role going forward.

Matheesha Pathirana (AFP Photo)

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that its players will only be allowed to participate in IPL 2026 after successfully completing mandatory physical performance tests. The board confirmed that No Objection Certificates (NOCs) will be issued strictly based on players meeting the required fitness standards.“Only those who successfully meet the required standards of the physical performance tests will be cleared to participate in the ongoing domestic tournament and also granted an NOC to take part in IPL 2026.

“Accordingly, Dushmantha Chameera, Pathum Nissanka, and Kamindu Mendis, who have successfully completed their physical performance tests, have been issued NOCs to participate in the IPL. Nuwan Thushara’s eligibility for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to participate in the IPL will be subject to the outcome of his Physical Performance Test.“Wanindu Hasaranga, Eshan Malinga, and Matheesha Pathirana, who have requested NOCs to participate in IPL 2026, are yet to undergo the Physical Performance Test, as they are still undergoing rehabilitation to recover from injuries sustained. The respective players will undergo the tests upon completion of their recovery and rehabilitation programs,” said SLC in a statement on Friday.With IPL 2026 to begin on March 28, Chameera and Nissanka will now link up with Delhi Capitals, while Mendis will join Sunrisers Hyderabad. Pathirana, who is to turn out for Kolkata Knight Riders, has been on the sidelines after a hamstring injury ruled him out of Sri Lanka’s campaign in the mid-way of 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup.Hasaranga (Lucknow Super Giants), Malinga (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and Thushara (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) also missed the World Cup at various stages due to injuries to hamstring, shoulder and broken left thumb.“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that players who have requested to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) only upon successfully passing SLC’s mandatory Physical Performance Test.“At present, SLC is conducting an eight-week specialized physical training program for all nationally contracted players. This initiative aims to enhance players’ physical performance standards in preparation for upcoming international assignments.“Along with this program, players are also undergoing the mandatory physical performance tests, a routine process followed to check the fitness standards of the players,” added SLC.The board added that these tests are part of a routine process to monitor and maintain player fitness at the highest level.