MS Dhoni with Chennai Super Kings’ captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (Image: PTI)

Ravichandran Ashwin has come out strongly in support of Ruturaj Gaikwad following Chennai Super Kings’ disappointing IPL 2026 campaign, urging fans to stop abusing the young captain after the franchise’s playoff exit.CSK were officially eliminated from the tournament after suffering a crushing 89-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 21. Chennai ended the league stage with six wins and eight defeats, marking their third failure to qualify for the playoffs in the last four seasons, a rare downturn for one of the IPL’s most successful franchises.The season also represented a major transition phase for CSK, especially in the absence of legendary skipper MS Dhoni, who did not feature in a single match during IPL 2026. With Gaikwad leading a young and injury-hit squad, the team struggled to maintain the consistency that once defined the Dhoni era. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin defended Gaikwad against the growing criticism from fans and stressed that poor form can happen to any player.“I will maintain, Ruturaj is a good player, yes. Sometimes, people abuse so much, I don’t know the reason. Ruturaj Gaikwad is not that kind of a player. It can happen to anyone. Time can change for anyone. Take Ishan Kishan, for example. If you remember, Mumbai Indians spent a lot of money to get Ishan Kishan in the auction, but he didn’t do much at the Mumbai Indians. SRH also invested in him, but he is batting well for SRH. So, time changes for everyone, but it doesn’t make any sense to, you know, abuse any players or anything like that,” Ashwin said.Ashwin also reminded fans that the IPL has become significantly more competitive compared to the early years of CSK’s dominance under Dhoni.”Dhoni and CSK have made everyone habituated over the last 18 years that we will win, we will reach the play-offs, it’s that easy. It is not like that now. There are 10 teams now. Every team plays good cricket. Anyone can beat anyone on their day, and Chennai this time won against all the teams below them, who are at the bottom of the table. So, they have some yards to go, but they have a lot of promise in their team,” Ashwin explained.Gaikwad himself endured a difficult IPL 2026 campaign both as batter and captain. Re-acquired by CSK for INR 18 crore ahead of the mega auction, he managed 337 runs in 14 innings at an average of 28.08. His strike rate of 123.44 became a major talking point throughout the season, especially during Chennai’s sluggish Powerplay performances.One of the biggest moments of criticism came during the group-stage clash against Gujarat Titans, where Gaikwad registered the slowest half-century of IPL 2026, reaching his fifty in 49 deliveries.

After an instant heavyweight classic earlier this month, Fabio Wardley will seek to avenge his defeat to Daniel Dubois and recapture the WBO world title. Eddie Hearn, who promoted Wardley earlier in his career, has shared his thoughts on the rematch.

Wardley scored two early knockdowns against Dubois in his first defence of the WBO crown after being elevated to world champion. Dubois recovered and took charge, dishing out plenty of punishment before the fight was stopped by referee Howard Foster in round 11.

Many fans and experts believe Wardley would take some time away from the sport in order to recover, but the Ipswich fan-favourite has instead triggered his contractual rematch clause to force a second encounter with ‘Triple D’.

Speaking with Boxing News, Matchroom promoter, Eddie Hearn, explained why he believes Wardley ‘has done the right thing’.

“I think that he has done the right thing. It is easy to criticise and I have been there before, ‘AJ’ is a classic example, specifically after the [Andy] Ruiz fight, it was very one-sided after he [Joshua] got dropped and everyone said ‘don’t take the rematch first, do this, do that’.

“You have, on your plate and in your hand, a shot to win the world heavyweight championship. After that fight, and specifically after the damage [he suffered], Fabio is an underdog in that fight, but he can win. He can win that fight and, if you have a chance of winning that fight, for me, I think that you have to take it.

“So, good luck to him and I wouldn’t rule him out either. Like I said, I think that Daniel, this time, is a big favourite in the fight, but I wouldn’t rule Fabio Wardley out in this fight.”

“He needs to make adjustments, Usyk said it today, where was the jab? But you’re talking about a guy with little experience over a period of time, so what he is doing is incredible, but he is always live and he is always dangerous.”

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It is believed that Dubois-Wardley 2 will take place before the end of the year, with the clash potentially landing in a stadium.

The financial demise of the city’s football team, who were relegated to the fourth tier in 2024, has helped rugby become the city’s main sporting attraction.

Stade Chaban-Delmas became UBB’s permanent home in 2011 and the club regularly play in front of near-capacity crowds – making them the best-supported club in Europe.

Consolidation in the top flight was followed by a first Champions Cup appearance in 2015-16, thanks to Pierre Bernard’s late drop-goal against Gloucester in a qualification play-off – a game Connor started.

Back-to-back Champions Cup appearances began to take a toll on Bordeaux’s league form as they struggled to compete on two fronts, finishing 11th, 10th and 10th.

“During that period [2016-2019], we started taking steps backwards. The budget was getting bigger and we were signing bigger names, the culture was not gelling,” added Connor, who played regularly.

“We were going backwards and it was frustrating because I felt like I was in my prime and we were missing opportunities we could have taken.

“Near the end of my career [2020], I felt a bit outdated – like a dinosaur from that crossover Pro D2 team.

“Guys like Cameron Woki and Matthieu Jalibert were starting to come through, and while we used to drink in the dressing room after every game, they were like, ‘No, we need to recover and get ready for the week.’

“Mentally, I knew I was done and it was time to hand over the baton to the new generation of Jalibert and those sort of guys. They took the club where it needed to go.”

File Pic: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and renowned commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has made another explosive revelation about his years in cricket broadcasting, alleging that he was forced to return to commentary duties immediately after his elder brother’s cremation.The former leg-spinner, who recently retired from the BCCI commentary panel citing “colour discrimination”, shared the emotional incident through a series of posts on social media on Thursday.“My elder brother passed away a few years earlier. We finished cremation in the evening, minutes after that, The Director Broadcasting of BCCI called me and said, ‘now that the cremation is over, can you take a flight the next morning to commentate on Ind v Aus Test in Mohali?’. I went,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote on X.The 60-year-old revealed that despite personal grief, he prioritised his professional commitments.“I sacrificed the mourning and went. My mother passed away when I was doing commentary in Pune. Having done all that, I was subject to whatever I went through,” he added.

‘That’s why I retired’In another post, Sivaramakrishnan hinted that the same individual was one of the major reasons behind his decision to step away from commentary duties earlier this year, although he stopped short of naming the person publicly.Back in March, just days before IPL 2026, Sivaramakrishnan had announced his retirement from BCCI commentary, alleging discrimination based on skin colour and claiming he was sidelined in favour of newcomers.The former India spinner, who represented the country in nine Tests and 16 ODIs, had earlier opened up in interviews about battling depression, anxiety and severe emotional trauma during his commentary career.

‘I thought I was going to die’In a deeply personal interaction with the Indian Express earlier this year, Sivaramakrishnan spoke about experiencing a mental breakdown during the IPL in the UAE during the Covid-19 period.“I was down completely and I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror,” he had said. “Whenever I was awake, I thought I was going to die.”He described terrifying hallucinations, sleepless nights and emotional isolation, while also alleging years of racism and appearance-based discrimination within cricket circles.Sivaramakrishnan further claimed he was often denied high-profile on-air roles because he was considered “not presentable”.“I’ve never done a toss or a presentation,” he said earlier, adding that producers allegedly told him they had been instructed not to put him in those positions.The former spinner also recalled painful experiences from his early cricketing days and said such incidents severely damaged his self-esteem at a young age.