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Viral Challenges
India head coach Gautam Gambhir found himself at the centre of a growing storm after a video of him refusing to comment on Shubman Gill’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup 2026 squad began circulating widely on social media. The incident
Source: www.mykhel.com
Ishan Kishan’s road back to India’s T20 World Cup squad has been long and uncomfortable. Pushed out of the national setup in 2023 and left on the sidelines for months, Kishan has now forced his way back into contention with performances that were impossible to overlook. His return has been powered by a dominant Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign. Leading Jharkhand, Kishan guided the side to its first-ever title in the tournament. He finished as the leading run-scorer with 517 runs from 10 matches at a strike rate of 197, underlining his impact with a match-winning 101 off 49 balls in the final against Haryana.
The numbers alone made a strong case, but the bigger story was the path Kishan chose. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin framed the comeback as something earned, not gifted. “Cricket has given Ishan Kishan a gift,” Ashwin said. “People on the outside can guess whether it was fair or unfair, but life comes back in a circle. The reason Ishan was not in the side and why he is in the team now is because of one thing: he gave cricket the respect it deserves.” Ashwin explained that Kishan never viewed domestic cricket as a step down, but as the only way back. “In first class, he even came to play the Buchi Babu Invitational,” Ashwin said. “A player like Ishan Kishan came to play the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai for Jharkhand.” From there, Kishan stayed involved throughout Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy preparations and delivered when opportunities came. “He was there for Jharkhand, he was number one in preparation, and in first-class cricket he scored runs,” Ashwin said. “In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he led Jharkhand and performed. It is because of this.” Addressing the debate around Kishan’s removal from the team and contracts in 2023, Ashwin dismissed the idea that off-field factors played a role in his return. “It is not about Ishan Kishan the person,” Ashwin said. “It is about Ishan Kishan the cricketer who went through the yards of the game, respected the game, and hence succeeded.”
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Anthony Joshua admits he needed time to decide if he wanted to carry on boxing after his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in 2024. The answer? He does.
The two-time heavyweight world champion marked his return to the ring with a sixth-round knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Miami on Friday night.
Joshua immediately followed up the win by reiterating his desire to fight Tyson Fury in a long-awaited all-British showdown.
“I had a tough defeat in 2024 and I just want to pick up and move forward again,” said Joshua. “So yeah, I’m glad that I got back in the ring and I figured out that this is where I want to be.
“It was a real test for me to figure out if I still want to continue or not, and this was a good eye-opener that this is where I want to be, that I want to get back in the ring and go again.”
Joshua’s return was unorthodox, a bout between him and Paul emerging as one of the most controversial in the era of crossover clashes.
Nonetheless, Paul barely laid a glove on the former Olympic champion before suffering a double jaw-break from Joshua’s devastating finish.
“I needed to do better. I needed to do better,” said Joshua after the fight. “Yeah, it’s a win, but it’s not a success. I think my coach expects more from me, and I expect more from myself.
“But what can we do? We can’t reverse the clocks. I have to move forward. I have to put that in the past now.
“After today, you may see a bit of social media trying to lap up all of the algorithm attention, but for me, it’s in the past. I can’t live off of that win. I’ve got a lot of improvement I need to do. So, yeah, I’m not happy.”
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Highlights of AJ’s win. Jake vs Joshua is now available to watch globally only on Netflix
During the build-up to the fight Joshua had willingly accepted a responsibility to represent the sport of boxing while seeking to end the ‘Jake Paul Show’, the social media sensation having fought both Mike Tyson and Julio César Chávez Jr. in his previous two fights.
“There was a lot riding on this fight. A lot of pressure, a lot of expectations, so I had to perform,” he said. “A lot of people doubt me. I saw (WBC President) Mauricio Sulaiman put a picture up of Jake, he don’t put a picture up of me.
“A lot of people don’t respect me so there’s a lot of pressure, and I had boxing on my back, and that was what it was really, I took Jake as serious as I needed to, but most importantly, I take myself as serious as I need to. I respect myself, I respect boxing.”
Joshua’s next steps had been unclear and uncertain after he was sensationally stopped by Dubois in the fifth round of a thrilling fight at Tottenham. It would take the following 12 months to reset and regroup in view of his next target, notably working with Oleksandr Usyk’s team ahead of his fight with Paul.
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The best bits from Joshua’s post-fight press conference. Jake vs Joshua is now available to watch globally only on Netflix
“I was trying to fall back in love with boxing,” he said. If you’re a family man, I realised that I was working away from home, I had to kind of look up the decisions I was making, and I had to come back home to boxing, and I had to sacrifice. I had to take a look at my life, make necessary changes to put my love back to the sport.
“This sport is unforgiving, if you don’t give 100 per cent attention, those belts will be torn away from you and be put on someone else’s waist, who gives it a love and attention that boxing needs – and I wasn’t giving it enough love and attention.
“It wasn’t that I stepped away because I didn’t want to fight, I stepped away because I knew if I’m going to be in boxing, I need to be 100 per cent and that’s what it was.
“I gave myself a year. I said, ‘I’m going to give myself a year’ and on September 21, 2025 the year was done. We normally do a 12-week training camp, September 21, October 21, November 21, December 19 – three months of training, and we get straight back in the ring.
“For me, it was a perfect plan, and I don’t want to start losing my focus now and go and start socialising, and let’s get lit, you’re popping right now.”
Source: www.skysports.com
Sanjay Manjrekar didn’t just react to India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad—he took to X to frame it as a tacit acknowledgment of a previous error. In a sharp post, Manjrekar suggested that Shubman Gill’s omission isn’t a bold move but a corrective step by selectors trying to fix a misstep made after the England tour. That reference to England is significant: Gill had an extraordinary 2025 Test series there, scoring 754 runs, a tally that could dazzle even the most form-conscious decision-makers.
Sanjay Manjrekar post
Yet, Manjrekar’s observation is stark: success in Tests does not automatically guarantee a place in T20 cricket, especially in a World Cup season where defined roles carry more weight than reputations. India’s squad selection reflects this thinking clearly. The team carries two wicketkeeping options—Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan—both capable of opening. There’s a high-powered opening option in Abhishek Sharma and a late-innings finisher in Rinku Singh, signalling the selectors’ focus on specialists for distinct phases of the game.
Even Ajit Agarkar’s explanation echoes this logic. He spoke of being “short of little runs” and highlighted the need to balance combinations—opting for a keeper at the top comes at the cost of excluding a pure batter. This reasoning becomes more compelling when Gill’s recent T20I form is considered: he hasn’t scored a fifty in his last 18 innings and has also been managing a foot injury. What may have begun as an emotional misstep is now a pragmatic correction. Manjrekar’s post underscores a broader shift in India’s approach: the squad is no longer about picking the 15 best players, but about filling 15 pre-defined roles for the tournament. The management has made it clear that even high-profile players can be left out if the team blueprint leaves no room for them. This philosophy prioritises structure and role-specific strategy over star power, signalling a calculated, methodical approach for the World Cup.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Spinner Nathan Lyon is a doubt for the remainder of the series after suffering a hamstring injury as Australia completed victory over England in the third Test.
Lyon, 38, who became Australia’s second highest Test wicket-taker during the Adelaide Test, was injured diving in the field on the final day before the hosts sealed a win that secured them the series.
He clutched his right hamstring, left the field immediately and did not play any further part.
Lyon took two wickets in the first innings in Adelaide and three in the second, having played a bit-part in the first two Tests of the series.
After bowling only two overs in the first Test of this series, he said he felt “filthy” after being left out of the second in Brisbane.
There are just five days before the fourth Test begins in Melbourne on 26 December (23:30 GMT, 25 December), leaving Lyon with little time to recover.
The final Test in Sydney follows five days after the fourth has finished.
Lyon, one of the greatest spinners of all time, suffered a calf injury during the second Test of the 2023 Ashes, which was a significant factor in England recovering to draw the series 2-2.
There is no threat of an equivalent England comeback this time but Lyon’s absence, which would likely mean an inexperienced spinner being called up in his place, would hurt their chances of securing a 5-0 scoreline.
Source: www.bbc.com
‘The Tormentor’ Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu returned home to Mongolia to a hero’s welcome, after winning the coveted ONE bantamweight MMA world title at ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu on Prime Video earlier this month.
The 36-year-old delivered the goods against former titleholder Fabricio ‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade in the main event at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and Baatarkhuu couldn’t contain his happiness.
‘The Tormentor’ described the emotions he was going through on fight week. He told Bangkok Post’s Nick Atkin:
“It was an incredible week, you know, after I became a world champion. My fellow countrymen really welcomed me greatly and I appreciate it.”
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Not only did fans cheer Baatarkhuu on as soon as he touched down on Mongolian soil, but none other than the President of the country, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, honored the ONE Championship athlete for his historic achievement.
Baatarkhuu said:
“I haven’t seen him since I came back to Mongolia from Thailand. But I met him before with the Physical: Asia team. It was really inspiring to get this kind of compliment from the president of my country.”
Check out the interview below:
Fans in North America can catch a replay of ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu on Amazon Prime Video.
For his entire ONE Championship career, ‘The Tormentor’ Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu has been guided by none other than Mongolian legend Narantungalag ‘Tungaa’ Jadambaa, who was one of the promotion’s first world champions.
Baatarkhuu thanked Jadambaa for all the help throughout his career. He said to Mitch Chilson in the ring:
“I really want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my coach, legendary Narantungalag Jadambaa. He became a world champion 11 years ago. Today, I became a champion. It’s a lot to ask.”
Check back with Sportskeeda MMA for more on Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu.
Edited by Aziel Karthak
Source: www.sportskeeda.com
