Shubman Gill meets Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, shares picture …

New Delhi [India], September 11 (ANI): India’s ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill met Dutch footballer and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and posed for a picture on Instagram on Friday.

Gill shared a picture of himself posing alongside the Liverpool defender in an Instagram photo carousel, captioning the post simply, “VVD,” offering a glimpse of the crossover between cricket and football’s biggest names. moryak.biz

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A post shared by Ꮪhubman Gill (@shubmangill)

Gill recently led India to a 1-0 Test series victory over Sri Lanka while also producing consistent performances during the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. The India batter has amassed over 1,000 runs in the ongoing cycle, including centuries against England, West Indies and Afghanistan. His impressive run-scoring earned him the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for Best International Cricketer at the BCCI Naman Awards. Gill has also remained a key figure for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, where he scored more than 700 runs during the 2026 season.

Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk remains a key figure for both Liverpool and the Netherlands. The Dutch defender continues to captain Liverpool as they look to reclaim the Premier League title after Arsenal (2025/26 winners) ended their reign as champions following their 2024/25 season win.

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Liverpool currently sit sixth in the Premier League 2026/27 standings. They have drawn against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, while securing a win over Ipswich Town. They will next face Fulham on Saturday. (ANI)

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The Delhi High Court has refused to allow Olympian Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Senior World Wrestling Championships by granting her a special exemption from the Wrestling Federation of India’s eligibility rules, holding that carving out an exception for one athlete could be unfair to others and open a “Pandora’s box”.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma declined Phogat’s plea for interim relief, saying the court could not effectively bypass the WFI’s September 7 selection policy in her individual case without first deciding whether the policy itself was legally valid.

The trials begin on September 14, while the World Championships are scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1.

At the heart of Phogat’s challenge is her absence from competitions prescribed by the WFI as qualifying events, an absence she says resulted from pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery.

The court acknowledged that her maternity-related circumstances would have to be examined while deciding the larger challenge to the selection framework. But that, it held, was not sufficient to give her a direct route into the trials at the interim stage.

Until the validity and applicability of the policy were adjudicated, the eligibility conditions could not simply be disregarded for one wrestler, the Bench said.

The court reasoned that other athletes across the country could be facing comparable circumstances but were not before it seeking exemptions.

Granting Phogat alone a special dispensation could therefore result in unequal treatment and prompt other athletes to seek similar departures from the selection criteria.

Such an order, Justice Sharma said, risked opening a “Pandora’s box”.

The court consequently refused interim relief without expressing any final view either on the validity of the September 7 circular or the merits of the disciplinary proceedings pending against Phogat.

The ruling came despite the Bench having raised larger concerns during arguments over how sporting bodies deal with women athletes returning after maternity breaks.

During the hearing, Justice Sharma had orally called upon the WFI to consider guidelines enabling women to return to competitive sport after pregnancy and childbirth, observing that a balance had to be struck between the interests of an athlete and those of the country.

In its order, however, the court emphasised another side of that balance, the country’s interest in ensuring that athletes representing India are selected through a fair, uniform and performance-based process.

The WFI’s September 7 circular makes eligibility dependent upon participation in specified competitions held during 2025 and 2026.

Phogat argued that she could not compete in some of those events because she was away from the sport during pregnancy, childbirth and subsequent recovery. She also contended that she had been prevented from participating in the Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda after the WFI issued a show-cause notice declaring her ineligible.

The High Court examined Phogat’s recent competitive history as well.

A Division Bench had earlier permitted her to participate in the Asian Games selection trials in May. Phogat competed in the 53kg category and reached the semifinals but was ultimately not selected for the Asian Games.

A subsequent show-cause notice concerning allegations of misconduct during those trials remains pending.

Justice Sharma noted that the latest eligibility criteria were applicable uniformly to wrestlers and had

not been framed specifically to exclude Phogat.

India’s cricket stars Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur recreated this (above) dance of their viral social media reel from 2021 during an episode of Rohit’s new TV show Family Full House. In the reel five years ago, the trio danced to the tune ‘Koi Shehri Babu.’

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Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane believes Sanju Samson should get another opportunity at the top of the order in the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. Rahane feels young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can wait for his chance, while Samson should return to the opening combination alongside Abhishek Sharma.

India are set to play three T20Is against Afghanistan on September 13, 15 and 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The team has made several changes to its top order since winning the 2026 T20 World Cup.

During the World Cup, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan formed India’s top three and produced strong performances for the team.

Rahane wants World Cup top three back

Samson was dropped after a few low scores during the England series, while 15-year-old Sooryavanshi was handed his T20I debut. However, the youngster could not make a major impact in his three matches.

Samson later returned for the final T20I against England but was not included in India’s squad for the Zimbabwe tour. The BCCI had said that the wicketkeeper-batter was rested.

Rahane believes India should go back to the combination that worked during their World Cup campaign.

“I feel the top 3 who played in the World Cup should be the top 3,” Rahane said.

‘Sanju Samson to get another chance’: Rahane

Rahane also backed Samson despite his recent struggles. He feels the experienced batter deserves a longer run instead of losing his place after just a few failures.

“Sanju Samson did very well. After that, he was dropped — maybe two or three bad innings — but after that, he was dropped. But I want Sanju Samson to get another chance. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, who did well for us, should get chances. Sooryavanshi will get his chance; his time will come. But for now, I feel the top 3 should be Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan — the ones who were our contributors in the World Cup,” he added.

Sooryavanshi and Kishan return from red-ball cricket

Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi were both part of the recent Duleep Trophy final. Their involvement in red-ball cricket means they will have limited time to switch back to the T20 format before India’s opening game against Afghanistan.

India have retained the Asian Games squad for the Afghanistan series, meaning both Samson and Sooryavanshi remain available for selection.

India face selection call at the top

Rahane’s comments have added another angle to the debate over India’s opening combination. While Sooryavanshi is one of the most exciting young batters in the team, Rahane believes there is no need to rush him into a regular role.

The former India captain feels the World Cup-winning top three should get priority for now. According to Rahane, Sooryavanshi has plenty of time to build his career and will get several opportunities in the future.

For the Afghanistan series, Rahane’s preferred combination would see Samson return alongside Abhishek, with Kishan completing the top three. The final decision, however, will be taken by India’s team management when the three-match series begins in New Delhi.