Doeschate: Kohli, Rohit’s fitness to be assessed before Afg ODIs

India`s assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate conceded that too many players have batted at number three in Test matches after Cheteshwar Pujara`s retirement and it was time that either Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal is given a long rope at the key batting position. Pujara announced his retirement in 2025 but last played in white flannels for India in the WTC final in 2023. Since then Shubman Gill, Padikkal, Sudharsan, Karun Nair and Washington Sundar have all been tried in that position. Sudharsan has played six Tests and has managed a not-so-impressive average of 27 plus.

"There`s been a lot of changes in that spot and and that`s not ideal, you know. You need to look at the incumbents for that role and and maybe stick with someone," Ten Doeschate said at a press conference on Thursday. While both Sudharsan and Padikkal have been getting long rope at nets, Ten Doeschate didnt want to spill the beans about the one who would make it. On the day, during slip formation, Padikkal was seen standing alongside KL Rahul and skipper Shubman Gill. After Rahul went to the nets, Sudharsan came in. During nets, Sudharsan once again lost the grip on his bat which slipped and flew backwards like it happened in IPL twice.

"It`s a difficult position to bat in and a very important position to bat. Dev comes in with a ton of runs in domestic cricket across all the formats and obviously Sai`s been high on runs in IPL with Gujarat, so they`re both in good form. "Whoever plays they`ll be given a bit of a run. That`s quite difficult with one Test match now, and then we don`t play a Test match for another two months, and then we play two Test matches, and then you don`t play for a while. So, you know, we need to factor that in," Ten Doeschate said citing a practical problem. ipltable.lol

However he maintained that one needs to quickly decide and continue with the person of choice. "The main point around there is we want to make a decision and then trust that person to grow into the role, and ideally quickly. Where we find ourselves in the WTC table? It`s probably something we could have done better leading up to this is maybe backing someone in a different spot."

Siraj looks, fine assures Dutch coach

While there were reports about Mohammed Siraj`s workload management, the Hyderabad fast bowler looked in fine rhythm at the nets. "Siraj bowled yesterday, he looked absolutely fine."

Suthar vs Dubey? Keep guessing

If one goes purely by net petformance, Manav Suthar looks a way more crafty bowler compared to Harsh Dubey but the Vidarbha slow left arm orthodox`s better batting skills could get him a maiden Test cap. Suthar is no mug with the bat having a first class ton under his belt. Ten Doeschate said only one among Suthar and Dubey will play alongside Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav. "The chance of both of them playing in the Test are probably pretty small. We haven`t finalised the combination but I imagine, Kuldeep will play and Washington will play, and then one of those two will play," Ten Doeschate said. Combination is being looked keeping the WTC games in mind.

"I would imagine we play two seamers and a spinning all-rounder, and two spinners (spin-all-rounders) if you consider that the two guys we brought in can bat a little bit as well." "It`s going to be nine crucial Test matches in the in the WTC cycle, and sort of our last chance of making that final which is top of priority at the moment."

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Every IPL leaves behind scorecards, champions, disappointments and statistics. IPL 2026 left behind more questions than anything else in my head. Here are six themes that I keep reflecting on as I bid goodbye to this season of the IPL:

1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: The New Sachin or Something Entirely Different?

When a teenager dominates a professional league, the instinctive comparison is with Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar entered a man’s world at sixteen. He survived it, conquered it and eventually became its king. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi feels different because he is emerging in an era where fearless cricket is the default setting. The more intriguing question is this: what if Vaibhav is not the outlier? What if he is the prototype? If Indian cricket begins producing multiple teenagers capable of striking international bowlers from ball one. IPL 2026 may be remembered not as Vaibhav’s season but as the beginning of a new world order.

2. Virat Kohli: The Lone Warrior

At 37, Virat Kohli played every innings as if the game depended on him. The intensity never dipped and the hunger never diminished. While younger stars rose and fell through the season, Kohli remained the constant. Not every battle was won, but the image that stays with me is of a veteran refusing to surrender relevance in an increasingly youthful tournament.

3. The Old War Horses Refuse to Leave

Every season we ask whether this will be the last dance. Players such as Sunil Narine, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey find a way to remind us why experience still matters. The IPL has become obsessed with youth, data and potential. Yet when pressure arrives, teams still look toward players who have seen everything before.

4. The Bowlers Strike Back

Much of the discourse this year focused on batting excess. Yet hidden beneath the avalanche of sixes were some encouraging bowling stories. Youngsters like Prince Yadav, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Yash Raj Punja and Anshul Kamboj offered glimpses of a healthier future.
These young bowlers showed they are willing to embrace that challenge.

5. A Leadership Pipeline Emerges

For years there was anxiety about India’s post-Rohit, post-Kohli leadership future. IPL 2026 offered reassurance as several young Indian captains demonstrated tactical maturity, calmness under pressure and the ability to manage diverse dressing rooms. Leadership is difficult to quantify, but this season suggested India may finally have a genuine succession pipeline.

6. Why Overseas Excellence Still Matters

Every IPL eventually reminds us why elite international players continue to command respect. Whether it was Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins or Jacob Duffy, these players brought something beyond skill. In a tournament defined by chaos, elite overseas professionals consistently demonstrated clarity of role, execution under pressure and tactical discipline.

Number 7. Oh well might as well do a seventh. The one who was simultaneously present and absent. What happens in 2027 may become one of the biggest storylines in IPL history!

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In the absence of Asian heavyweights at the Rome Diamond League, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage Tharanga shook the javelin world on Thursday, producing a colossal throw of 92.62m, igniting the Golden Gala. It was a watershed moment not only for his own career but also for Sri Lankan athletics.

Lined up against a strong international field which included reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott, former world champion Anderson Peters, former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, former Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, Rumesh entered as the dark horse. After opening with a solid 84.49m effort, the Sri Lankan unleashed a monstrous second attempt that sailed over to 92.62m, which in turn was the best throw unleashed in the javelin world since the Paris Olympics.

As the distance flashed on the digital screen, it had already rewritten multiple record books. With the remarkable throw, Rumesh won the Rome Diamond League. He became the first to breach the 90m in the 2026 season, alongside registering a World Lead. However, his last four throws were marked as foul.

Peters finished second with 83.91m while USA’s Curtis Thompson finished third with 82.44m. His first 90m breach also shattered the long-standing previous meet record in Rome, which stood over two decades in the name of Norwegian legend Andreas Thorkildsen.

The 2003 born also set a new Sri Lankan national record and a massive personal best. More importantly, the effort propelled him into eighth place on the all-time world’s list, placing him alongside some of the greatest names the javelin has ever seen.

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The magnitude of performance carries even greater significance in the Asian context. Rumesh became only the fourth Asian in history to breach the elusive 90 metre barrier and his 92.62m effort is also the second-best throw ever recorded by an Asian.

Rumesh, a former medium pacer who transitioned to javelin throwing, has been one of the most consistent performers of the 2026 season. He hogged into the headlines in March with a 89.34m hurl at a domestic meet. The Sri Lankan then backed up that performance with another impressive effort of 89.28m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi followed by an impressive 85.97 on his Diamond League debut in Rabat, before hurling into history on Thursday.

Sachin Yadav Disappointed on Debut

Sachin Yadav’s much-awaited Diamond League debut in Rome saw a disappointing end. The towering 6 feet 4 inch Indian with a muscular frame failed to breach the 80-metre mark and ended up at the eighth position with a poor 79.18m.

Coming into his first international event since his World Championship fourth place in Tokyo, Sachin carried expectations in the absence of Neeraj Chopra who’s yet to start his season.

The 25-year-old opened with a foul before registering 79.18m on his second attempt, which eventually remained his best throw of the evening. His graph then went downward as he managed 77.02m, 76.62m and 75.54m in the final three attempts.

The result also meant that the 2025 Asian Championships silver medallist once again fell short of the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 82.61m. As things stand, no Indian javelin thrower has secured qualification for the Glasgow Games till now.

Sachin is expected to return to action at the Ludhiana leg of the Indian Athletics Series on June 13, where the Athletics Federation of India has offered athletes a final opportunity to breach the CWG threshold.

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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has credited ex-India captain Dilip Vengsarkar for fighting with the selectors to pick him in India’s squad for the 1988-89 West Indies tour.

At the launch of the book A Legend with Difference, written by Vengsarkar’s King George High School teammate Sanjay Satam, at the MCA-BKC academy on Wednesday, Manjrekar, who was India’s top-scorer in that series with 200 runs, revealed that he was the squad’s 17th player.

“My first selection for India was when he [Vengsarkar] was the captain on the 1989 tour of West Indies. We were in Hyderabad and the selection meeting went on for two hours and we were all in our rooms waiting for the good news as we were all on the fringe of playing for India. And I remember Dilip came in and said: ‘There’s too much tension and stress in the selection meeting’. The greatest stress for him was to get me in the team. He got a lot of resistance from the selectors, saying that I [Manjrekar] was not ready don’t deserve to be here, but Dilip put his foot down and kept fighting, and I was the 17th member picked on that tour of the West Indies,” said Manjrekar, who went on to score an impressive 108 in the second Test at Bridgetown in April 1989, facing up to legendary pacers like Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh.

Manjrekar, 60, also recalled how he, Vengsarkar and a young Sachin Tendulkar had fun despite their big age difference. He said: “Despite the age gap and the stature gap as well, we were buddies. And I find it remarkable on that tour of New Zealand, I think 1990, when three generations of players, Dilip, myself, I think there was a [age] difference of about seven-eight years, and Sachin Tendulkar another six-seven years, the three of us hung around together. We were always there together and having fun. Dilip was the captain on one particular tour, but would hang with us and it was amazing that a guy who is already 100 Test matches old, found time and had the humility to be with people like us.”

Meanwhile, Vengsarkar, a veteran of 116 Tests, who is also a former national chief selector, was asked if the emphasis on domestic cricket should be stronger. “Yes, it’s very important, because all those players playing domestic cricket have that dream of playing for the country. So, if they do well, then they should be picked. I believe form and fitness are very important. If you’re in form and if you’re fit, then you should be picked at that point of time, na pehle na baad mein [neither before nor after]. And after a year or so, a player might lose interest, or he might lose his form and fitness. Picking them at that time would be stupidity,” Vengsarkar said.