Shahbaz Ahmed plays a shot during the third day of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 cricket match between Bengal and Gujarat, at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)

NEW DELHI: True ambition rarely follows a straight path. For Shahbaz Ahmed, pursuing a career in elite-level cricket meant walking away from an established life, making extreme personal sacrifices, and rebuilding his dreams from scratch over 1,500 kilometers away from home.Born in Mewat, Haryana, Shahbaz was on a traditional career track, pursuing a degree in civil engineering. His father wanted him to secure a stable corporate future, but Shahbaz had a different vision. Deep down, he knew his heart belonged to the 22 yards of a cricket pitch, not blueprint designs.Taking an enormous leap of faith, he decided to leave his engineering studies on hold and packed his bags for Kolkata. Moving roughly 1,500 kilometers away from his hometown to the heartland of West Bengal, Shahbaz was determined to make it in the ultra-competitive Kolkata club circuit.

Hardship, Hustle, and grinding on the Maidans

Arriving in Kolkata without guaranteed contacts or financial security, the young all-rounder experienced the harsh reality of living on a shoestring budget. During his early days chasing opportunities across the famous Kolkata Maidans, Shahbaz endured severe financial strain.To stay afloat and cover basic living expenses, he washed utensils and took up odd tasks while living in local club quarters and modest accommodation.Even while fighting for survival, his commitment to cricket never wavered.He carried engineering textbooks alongside his cricket kit to keep his family’s condition afloat while spending every remaining hour of daylight training under the sun.

Breaking into the spotlight

His break came when local club Tapan Memorial gave him a chance in Division 1 club cricket. Shahbaz grabbed it with both hands, scorching the local scene by scoring six hundreds in seven matches alongside a heap of wickets.His cerebral understanding of angles, a trait he credited to his love for geometry, turned him into an invaluable asset.His domestic consistency soon earned him a debut for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, followed by a coveted IPL contract. Known for his crisp left-handed middle-order hitting and pin-point left-arm orthodox spin, Shahbaz quickly became Bengal’s crisis man.His impressive outings paved the way for an international call-up, making his ODI debut for Team India against South Africa in October 2022 and later playing in the 2023 Asian Games.

Reviving India hopes

After drifting out of national reckoning, Shahbaz made a statement in the opening leg of the domestic season. Representing East Zone in the Duleep Trophy against North East Zone, he showcased his full repertoire as a elite match-winner.Slotted in the lower middle-order, Shahbaz shepherded the tail to orchestrate a massive total of 467. He was the last man out, scoring a career-best 167 in first-class cricket—an innings packed with 17 boundaries and four sixes across 80 overs.Returning to the field with the ball, his left-arm spin ripped through the opposition batting order, picking up 3 for 20 in 10 overs to enforce a follow-on and wrap up a massive victory inside three days.From washing dishes and skipping semester exams to firing off career-best performances on the big stage, Shahbaz Ahmed’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that pure determination can break down any barrier.

He added: “I spoke to Mark [Jones, Ospreys head coach] prior to making my decision and he was very clear in what he expects of me in my work on the pitch and my work off it.

“There are some young, high-potential players in this squad and if I can play a part in helping them to reach the next level of their game, then that is something I will take pride in doing.”

Koroibete was spotted playing in Fiji by NRL scouts and played for Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm before switching from rugby league to union in 2016.

Since his 2017 Australia debut he has scored 20 tries in 63 Tests, featuring at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.

The powerful wing becomes eligible to represent Fiji before next year’s tournament in Australia.

Koroibete is the fourth Australian to follow Ryan Smith to Ospreys after the lock made a big impression in 2025-26.

Head coach Jones has also signed former Wallabies captain Liam Wright to bolster the back row, nine-times-capped centre Lalakai Foketi and versatile Australian back Lawson Creighton.

On signing Koroibete, Jones said: “I think I speak for everyone involved with the club when I say how happy we are to have added such an explosive talent to our squad.

“I think it says a lot about the club that we are still able to attract overseas players of his calibre. This is a signing that we believe will get our supporters up out of their seats.

“We feel his experience will be extremely beneficial to our youngsters and will have a real ripple effect on their development over the next few years.”

Ospreys play Coventry in a friendly on Friday, 4 September (19:30 BST) as they build towards their URC opener at Sharks on Saturday, 26 September.

Should United and City make it past the league phase, this is when the knockouts shall begin:

Knockout phase play-offs: February 16/17 and 23/24

Round of 16: March 9/10 and 16/17

Quarter-finals: April 6/7 and 13/14

Semi-finals: April 27/28 and May 4/5

Final: June 5

For much of the summer, while Tottenham have been wheeling and dealing, it didn’t include attackers. Fast forward, and they’ve added not one but two players from Manchester City, doing a double to add Savio and Omar Marmoush. Savio is already someone who can add plenty to the wings under Roberto De Zerbi, and while Spurs have been linked to a few strikers, on paper, Marmoush will be someone who can create for others while also finishing his own chances.

Because Marmoush is an Eintracht Frankfurt product, Tottenham will have plenty of experience and some post-traumatic stress from Randal Kolo Muani, who was on loan from Juventus last season after also breaking out with the German side. Kolo Muani only scored one goal and assisted one more in Premier League play despite starting 21 games, which is why he’s now back with the Italian side. But Marmoush did have back-to-back seasons with 10 or more goals for the German side before making the move to City, where he’d hit the ground running before last season’s step back, although he also only logged 700 Premier League minutes during the season. It is also worth noting that Marmoush isn’t just a goal scorer; he’s able to play passes off to his teammates or feature on the wing, which would give Tottenham flexibility in their approach in setting up this new-look attack.

Even with Marmoush’s struggles last season, when you look at his xG overall, it’s clear that he spent some time underperforming but was able to return to form after recovering from a knee injury early in the season. For City, it was also a strange season overall with an ever-shifting squad and the public end of the Pep Guardiola era. While Tottenham are far from the picture of stability under De Zerbi, the club does seem to have a plan for the season and it’s one that involves ensuring that they are nowhere near the relegation zone again. It may be too soon for a push for European soccer, but this is a club looking to bounce back and this addition is part of that.

Tottenham

With Dominic Solanke and Richarlison both struggling for the past few seasons, the need for a striker at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is clear. Unfortunately, getting a consistent striker is quite a tough thing to buy on the market, and almost any player that they brought in at an affordable price range would also bring their own question marks. While Marmoush isn’t free of any, getting someone versatile who has shown that they can perform in big five leagues gives a good chance of this working out. An Egyptian international in his prime, Marmoush will be up for the challenges of what’s ahead while being able to help the team in different ways.

Alongside Savio, Marmoush also brings a dribbling threat to the club and can hit free kicks too. Chance creation was an issue for Tottenham last season, with Pedro Porro’s 52 chances created being the most by a long shot, followed by Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel in the 30s, but the addition of Marmoush will change that. To become unpredictable in attack, multiple players have to be able to set each other up, and that’s something that Marmoush adds in a big way.

A De Zerbi attack is reliant on chances coming quickly and having someone who can take them in stride, and Marmoush adds to the number of players who can do that. Even when it comes to drawing defenders out of position, his dribbling can create nightmares to keep up with as others will crash the box behind him. He comes at a steep price of £50 million which can rise to  £ 60 with add-ons, but on paper, this is a move that should work. Grade: B

Manchester City

Who is Erling Haaland’s backup? With Marmoush departing, it’s anyone’s guess, as there isn’t another natural nine on the roster. Antoine Semenyo has played there before, but this still leaves Enzo Maresca light atop the squad as he makes City in his image. Considering that the team has been changing quickly, with Ayyoub Bouaddi being the most recent addition, there’s still time to add another striker to the squad, but right now it’s extremely Haaland-dependent. Considering that Guardiola used false nines at times, that’s another option if someone isn’t added by the transfer deadline, but when looking to close the gap between City and Arsenal atop the Premier League, you don’t want to have major positional questions.

Getting a backup for someone like Haaland, who will play the majority of minutes, is tough to do. But City are a club with resources, and going into Champions League play with only one nine feels like club malpractice. Grade: C

Omar Marmoush 

Trading a chance at a Premier League title for a chance at regular playing time feels like a worthwhile shift for the Egyptian. Tottenham are a club that expects to be in the Champions League, so it’s not like Marmoush is losing the chance to face Europe’s elite. If anything, he’s backing himself to be able to pull this club back to the top, which is exactly what you want to see from a striker. Attackers generally enjoy playing for De Zerbi due to the freedom that he allows players, and the case seems no different here compared to life in Manchester. From an athlete’s perspective, there’s a lot to like here. Grade: A

Over in Spain, Kylian Mbappé opened his goalscoring account in Real Madrid’s first home La Liga match. The Madrid side won 4-1, with a hat-trick from Mbappé. Meanwhile, their rivals Barcelona are doing everything they can to sign Argentinian player Julián Álvarez. He is still under contract with Atlético, but he wants to play in Catalonia. Finally, in tennis, the Williams sisters will be on the courts at Flushing Meadows for the US Open.

Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Poillard scripted history by becoming the highest run-scorer in the history of T20 cricket. The former Mumbai Indians star surpasses Jos Buttler‘s tally of 14,890 runs to reclaim the top spot in the list of batters with most runs in the format. Earlier this year, Pollard broke Chris Gayle‘s record for most runs in T20 cricket but his stay at the top was short-lived as Buttler claimed the spot in August. However, Pollard slammed 65 runs off 26 balls for Trinbago Knight Riders during the Carribean Premier League (CPL) match against Saint Lucia Kings to reclaim the record.

Saint Lucia Kings produced a commanding all-round performance to register a convincing 36-run victory over Trinbago Knight Riders and reclaim the top spot on the Caribbean Premier League points table on Thursday.

Asked to bat first, the Kings posted a massive total of 211/4 in their 20 overs, recording their second 200-plus score of the tournament.

Tim Seifert led from the front with a spectacular unbeaten 105 off 61 balls (with eight fours and five sixes). Kamil Pooran gave the team a flying start with a quick 25 off 17 balls, helping the Kings post 64/1 in the powerplay. Seifert and Pooran added 60 runs for the opening wicket in just 34 deliveries.

John Campbell kept the scoring rate high with a sharp 27 off 17 balls, sharing a 75-run stand with Seifert in 38 deliveries. Charith Asalanka then provided strong support in the middle overs, scoring a vital 33 off 21 balls (with two fours and three sixes) during a 51-run partnership. Seifert reached his century in 57 balls in the final over to seal a dominant batting display, as per a press release.

Defending 212, captain Roston Chase broke the back of the run chase in the eighth over. Chase claimed three wickets in five deliveries, removing Sunil Narine, Matthew Breetzke, and Nicholas Pooran to swing the momentum firmly in the Kings’ favour. Matthew Forde then ended Kieron Pollard’s counter-attacking knock of 65 (in 26 balls, with six fours and five sixes) with a sharp return catch.

The Kings bowlers kept the pressure on and restricted the Knight Riders to 175. With this comprehensive win, St Lucia Kings moved back to the No. 1 spot on the points table, becoming only the second team this season to reach eight points.

Kings will now face St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on September 3, 2026, in Basseterre.

(With ANI inputs)

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Spain’s World Cup Champions Celebrate Wildly At Cibeles Square

From the outside looking in, it’s been an underwhelming offseason for the Eastern Conference runner-up Cleveland Cavaliers. Two key things had been weighing them down all offseason.

First, after being swept by the eventual champions, the New York Knicks, how were they going to make substantial improvements to get over the hump and reach the Finals? And their second question was supposed to be the answer. Can you get LeBron to come back to Cleveland again?

We now, of course, know that LeBron will be ending his career in Philadelphia, and over that waiting period, lost rotational pieces Dean Wade and Keon Ellis to free agency. Wing depth was a massive problem for Cleveland, and losing two of their limited options there wasn’t making things any better.

However, Cavs GM Koby Altman didn’t let the LeBron decision ruin this offseason for the Cavs. They found a way to improve their roster and keep them under the second apron. James Harden deserves a lot of credit too. He gave Cleveland runway to find alternative help before signing his extension and putting them over the first apron.

This allowed the Cavs to sign their LeBron consolation prize, Mario Henzonja, and make a swing for Peyton Watson. They had to lose Max Strus to acquire Watson, which might be a substantial loss; however, Strus struggled to stay healthy and was consistently inconsistent when he was available.

Watson immediately makes this Cavs team better going into next season. Dean Wade did his best to make up for Harden and Donovan Mitchell on defense, but he provided absolutely nothing on offense. Despite his great defense, he played himself out of the 4th quarter rotation in the playoffs after being unwilling to shoot any jumpers.

This also clears out a great path for Jaylon Tyson to be the 6th man or even start if needed. He took a massive leap forward in year two, and can hopefully make a similar leap this year.

Mostly, the Cavs are getting written off far too quickly in an Eastern Conference filled with question marks. I need to see more out of these newly built contenders before I give up on a Cleveland team that’s had at least 44 wins every year since the 2021-22 season.

Cleveland and Detroit are currently tied for the 4th-best odds in the East and will likely drop further once Kawhi Leonard’s trade is finalized to the Raptors. Once that trade goes through, I would take a flier on the Cavs to win the East with a great opportunity to cash out, or play it safe and take their team total over 48.5 wins.

Uefa is pursuing criminal legal proceedings against Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino over the now scrapped plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and its other competitions to private investors.

Documents seen by BBC Sport show an application has been made by European football’s governing body requesting access to evidence and documents for use in proceedings in Switzerland against both the embattled president himself and Fifa.

In the application, Uefa claims that Infantino engineered the plan in order to enrich himself and the potential private investors.

“In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from Fifa’s most valuable assets to the detriment of Fifa, its members, and other parties within the football family,” Uefa’s application says.

“Infantino pushed the plan through internal Fifa approval only days earlier at a hastily convened meeting where a limited number of Fifa’s management officials and employees – some of whom had never heard of the plan – were given mere hours to sign off on an unprecedented multi-billion dollar scheme.”

Uefa also claims that the valuation of the stakes to be sold were not independently verified and would have been offered too cheaply.

Uefa’s application adds: “Under the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in Fifa’s commercial arm for $4.2bn, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn, a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer.”

In the application, Uefa is applying to a court in Florida – where the businesses Fifa operated in order to deliver the 2026 World Cup are based – in an attempt to access files to be used to pursue the criminal charges in Switzerland at a later stage.

Uefa claims that its 55 member nations would have potentially been harmed by the sell-off plan, and that it may pursue criminal proceedings against other Fifa officials.

“Uefa and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other Fifa officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement,” the application states.

“The secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing inflicted direct and concrete injury on Fifa’s reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of Fifa as well as its 211 members, including Uefa’s 55 member associations.”

Uefa insists that the plan was concocted without the knowledge of them or other key stakeholders in football, and that it had been long in development.

The applications says: “On July 28, 2026, without consulting the Fifa Council, Uefa, or any of the other confederations, or any of the 211 Fifa member associations, Infantino, purportedly acting on behalf of Fifa, publicly announced a plan to place the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary: Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE).

“That announcement by Infantino was the public unveiling of a plan that he and a small circle of co-conspirators had conceived and reportedly been developing in secret for more than a year.”

More to follow.

India, featuring 11 World Cup debutants, will face a stern test against a side that has already beaten it twice in practice matches before the tournament. India’s semifinal hopes were dashed on Sunday after a goalless draw against Australia in their final second-round pool match, where they needed a win to progress.

The three-day break, however, has given Sjoerd Marijne’s side time to recover from the disappointment and refocus on the final challenge.