Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Image credit: Agencies)

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has questioned India’s decision to pick Sanju Samson ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the first T20I against Afghanistan.Samson returned to the Indian team but managed only 10 runs off nine balls as India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.Sooryavanshi was among India’s best performers on their recent tour of Zimbabwe. The 15-year-old was named Player of the Series after India completed a 3-0 T20I series sweep.The youngster also scored runs for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026. However, he was left out of India’s playing XI for the first T20I against Afghanistan.

Samson over Sooryavanshi

India had to choose between Sooryavanshi and Samson after the latter returned to the squad. Samson had missed the Zimbabwe tour and was also dropped from the playing XI midway through the series in England.Samson opened the innings with Abhishek Sharma against Afghanistan. The pair added 18 runs in 2.1 overs before Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Samson.

Kaif questions Samson’s selection

Kaif questioned the decision to pick Samson over Sooryavanshi, especially as Samson had not played competitive cricket after being left out of India’s squad for the Zimbabwe tour.“What did Sanju do to play the first T20I? When you are dropped from the team, you play in different tournaments to return to form, but nothing like that happened in Samson’s case. Why didn’t you opt for the Abhishek and Suryavanshi combination after the young batter did well in Zimbabwe? They are not sure about their best opening combination. The Indian team is still thinking about their openers. Vaibhav must have felt bad as he didn’t do anything wrong. This could lead to confusion, which is not good for any team,” Kaif said on Cricbuzz.The former India cricketer also felt the decision showed that the team management was still unsure about its preferred opening combination.“In my opinion, they are hesitating a bit; they are unsure of what their best opening combination is. The Indian team are still thinking about it. Vaibhav must be saying what did I do wrong? So this is a state of confusion going on, there is no doubt about it,” he added.

Sanju Samson under pressure after another low score

Samson has struggled for runs since India’s 2026 T20 World Cup final. He has scored 43 runs at an average of 8.60 since then. He was expected to play in the Kerala Cricket League after being dropped from the national team but opted out at the last moment due to personal reasons.The Kerala batter had also scored only 33 runs in four innings before the Afghanistan series.With Sooryavanshi waiting for an opportunity, Samson will be under pressure to score runs and retain his place at the top of the order.

Abhishek Sharma powers India to victory

India, however, made a strong start to the Afghanistan series with a seven-wicket victory.After restricting Afghanistan to 156/8, Abhishek Sharma smashed 82 off 32 balls to lead India’s chase. The hosts reached the target in just 13.4 overs. Ishan Kishan also made an important contribution after overcoming a minor back injury scare during training. He scored 42 off 33 balls, with five fours and a six.Abhishek’s aggressive knock also helped him answer questions about his recent form.India and Afghanistan will face each other in the second T20I on Tuesday.

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Accept


Manage my choices

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Try again

From the show

Reading time
1 min

Paris Saint-Germain secured their first win of the season away at Brest (1-0), bringing the fourth matchday of Ligue 1 to a close. Ferran Torres, who remains in fine form, scored the only goal of the match (5′).

Britain’s Tom Aspinall has vacated his UFC heavyweight title because of complications in his recovery from an eye injury.

The 33-year-old has not fought since October, when the first defence of his title against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest following several eye pokes.

Aspinall was diagnosed with a rare eye condition, and has had persistent double vision and several operations.

“I am absolutely gutted. I have chased this dream since I was 10 years old,” he said in a statement.

“I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title.”

In June Aspinall said he had returned to full training for a rematch with France’s Gane and suggested they could fight in September.

In August Aspinall rejected reports that he would leave the UFC.

“I am not done. Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport or the dream,” he said on Monday.

“I will continue doing everything I can to get healthy, get cleared and get back to competing as soon as possible.”

UFC president Dana White hinted over the weekend that Aspinall could be stripped of the title.

This month Valentina Shevchenko vacated the women’s flyweight title because of persistent injuries.

Gane beat Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title in June before calling for a rematch with Aspinall.

Ryan Garcia has assessed Conor Benn’s performance at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, highlighting a critical mistake that contributed to his stoppage defeat.

The pair collided last weekend, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title after dethroning Mario Barrios in February.

Benn, meanwhile, was widely considered to be a sizable underdog, having not made 147lbs in over four years and never proven his credentials at even domestic level.

It therefore came as no real surprise that Garcia won inside the distance; only the manner in which he went about his business was perhaps somewhat unexpected.

While many anticipated Benn lasting a few rounds, on account of his heart and durability, it ended up being a one-sided demolition job in favour of Garcia.

Immediately, the 28-year-old’s advantages in speed and class became apparent, with Benn ultimately succumbing to a crushing right hand in round two.

Referee Thomas Taylor then waved proceedings off around 20 seconds later, just as Garcia seemed on the verge of inflicting serious damage.

Speaking on the DAZN broadcast afterwards, the American said it was Benn’s lack of poise that allowed him to capitalise in such destructive fashion.

“I was so prepared and so focused – what a performance. The first round I knew he was going to apply mad pressure. I caught him a few times and I let him have his way, but the second round I stood my ground a little more and knew [I would catch him], because he was coming in reckless and you can’t do that against me.”

With Garcia retaining his welterweight title, he must enter one more fight with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy before becoming a free agent and exploring opportunities elsewhere.

Man United have taken four points from their opening four Premier League matches of the season after defeat to Manchester City in the derby

Manchester United are licking their wounds after a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford. Controversy surrounded Erling Haaland’s winner for City. Pro Ref released a statement afterwards admitting the goal should have been ruled out because Enzo Fernandez was interfering with play from an offside position.

However, that goal cannot mask the disappointment of the performance. On 23 minutes, Phil Foden was sent off for City after he lashed out at Bruno Fernandes. But despite having a man advantage, United struggled to make it count.

Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo clipped the post from long range and Bryan Mbeumo was denied in second-half stoppage time by a brilliant Gianluigi Donnarumma save. Those opportunities amounted to the Reds’ best chances of the game and, worryingly for Michael Carrick, City probably deserved the win on the balance of play.

In his post-match press conference, Carrick was hesitant to criticise his players. “That’s just part of the creation, I think, a little bit,” he said when asked why United reverted to long-range efforts against City. “Like I said, I can’t be too critical of the players and I won’t be, because I think we’ve done a lot of good things in that area particularly. So today we didn’t quite find what we needed.

“In terms of creation and scoring goals, that’s something I think all the games we’ve won here, we’ve scored at least two goals, and we’ve lost one game and we scored in that game. So it’s the first time, so I think there’s certainly a bit of context in that as well.

“Whatever reason, at some point, you have a game when we haven’t scored, so I can’t be too critical of the players, because I think we’ve got some really good creative players who’ve scored and created goals a lot. I think when we look at it as an isolated game, yeah, of course, we would hope for more in general from the team, and we certainly wanted to score a goal, and we didn’t today.”

In the wake of the Premier League defeat, we want you to tell us where you think United will finish in 2026/27. Have your say below:

The college football landscape changed over the weekend.

Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State has upended the narrative. Now, it’s the Wild West.

USC has taken advantage of its soft schedule to advance to the top spot for the first time in many years. At the same time, Washington has underperformed despite its own soft schedule.

All the results sent me back to the lab to re-rank the Top Teams in the West for Week 3.

Miller covers College Basketball and College Football as well as Formula 1 racing as a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor for SuperWest Sports.

Latest posts by Dane Miller (see all)

Real Madrid have started very well under Jose Mourinho, securing victories in five of their six games so far, with the Real Betis game the only exception.

The Portuguese tactician has done a very good job of rotating the players at his disposal, and one such area is left-back.

Advertisement

Alvaro Carreras has responded to increased competition at Real Madrid in exactly the way Jose Mourinho would have wanted.

Rather than allowing Marc Cucurella‘s arrival to push him into the background, the left-back has used his opportunity to remind the manager that he remains a serious option.

According to AS, Mourinho has complete confidence in Carreras when required and was already delighted by his professionalism and performances during pre-season.

His display against Rayo Vallecano has only strengthened that trust further.

Carreras takes his opportunity with both hands

Carreras produced one of his most complete performances for Madrid, playing a major role in the victory at the Bernabeu.

Advertisement

He won the penalty converted by Kylian Mbappe before scoring Madrid’s second himself, reacting sharply to a loose ball and finishing calmly after combining inside the penalty area.

Alvaro Carreras has responded brilliantly to Marc Cucurella’s arrival. (Photo by Christian Bruna/Getty Images)

His influence went beyond those decisive moments. Carreras created three chances, completed both of his attempted dribbles, made three recoveries and three clearances, won three tackles and came out on top in six of his eight duels.

He also completed 54 passes at an 88% success rate and recorded 90 touches, showing how involved he was throughout the match.

Advertisement

The performance was not necessarily a surprise to Mourinho.

The Madrid coach was impressed by Carreras throughout pre-season, particularly by his attitude and professionalism while the squad gradually came together following the World Cup.

Mourinho even experimented with him in a more advanced position, another indication that he sees useful qualities beyond conventional left-back duties.

Competition with Cucurella can benefit Madrid

Mourinho needs to manage minutes between Cucurella and Carreras. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Cucurella may currently have the advantage for Madrid’s biggest matches because of his defensive reliability, but Carreras has shown why Mourinho should not view the position as settled.

Advertisement

That is exactly the type of internal competition Madrid need.

Carreras offers energy, powerful forward running and genuine attacking threat. Cucurella provides a different profile and greater defensive security.

Mourinho can choose according to the opponent rather than simply searching for one permanent solution.

Carreras did not have the greatest first season at Madrid, but his second year at the club seems to have started very well.

He has shown Cucurella that he is no pushover at left-back, and it remains to be seen how Mourinho manages their minutes through the course of the campaign.

Lamine Yamal believes his World Cup success with Spain and winning La Liga alongside Barcelona should give him the upper hand over Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Ballon d’Or.

France striker Mbappe, who finished as top scorer in the World Cup, La Liga, and the Champions League, stated last week that no player was better than him last season despite failing to claim any silverware.

Yamal was voted La Liga’s standout player in 2025-26 as Barcelona successfully retained the title, before proving pivotal in Spain’s World Cup victory across North America.

“I honestly believe there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I’d deserve it because of what I’ve won,” Yamal said in an interview clip released by Movistar on Sunday.

“As far as I’m concerned, Mbappe and I are the two best in the world. It’s clear to me and everyone who watches the matches knows it.”

Yamal was runner-up behind PSG and France forward Ousmane Dembele last year, while Mbappe came third in 2023 when Lionel Messi won the honour for a record eighth time.

The 30-player shortlist for this year’s award was released last week, with Yamal, Mbappe and Dembele all making the cut.

However, England captain Harry Kane is considered by many to be the favourite for the Ballon d’Or this time around after scoring a staggering 73 goals for club and country last season.

Kane won the Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern Munich, but was knocked out in the semi-finals of the Champions League by Dembele’s PSG.

He also fell short of leading England to World Cup glory as the Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-finals, although they did regroup to beat France 6-4 in the third place play-off.

Speaking last week to TNT Sports about his Ballon d’Or hopes, Kane said: “Of course, now it is out of my hands, it is down to the voters and the people who decide it. The season I had was my best season by far and we’ll have to wait and see.”

The Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in London on 26 October.

Nigeria’s Falconets have booked their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after producing a stunning 10-1 victory over New Caledonia on Sunday.

The emphatic win at Stadion Miejski ŁKS Łódź was Nigeria’s biggest victory of the tournament so far and secured second place in Group F.

The Falconets turned on the style particularly in the second half, with Winner Onajite David leading the charge with a hat-trick. She scored in the 60th and 75th minutes before completing her treble in stoppage time.

Ramotalahi Kareem, Rebecca Adegbemile and Tosin Rafiu also got on the scoresheet as Nigeria’s attack ran riot.

Rafiu’s 70th-minute goal came after a fine assist from Onyedikachi Ekezie, while Adegbemile added another four minutes later. Kareem also found the net in the 64th minute.

Nigeria kept the pressure on through a series of attacking moves and set pieces, with Janet Akekoromowei, Amber Ogbolu and Kareem among those who repeatedly threatened the New Caledonia defence.

Head Coach Moses Aduku also made effective use of his bench, bringing on Amber Ogbolu, Victory Lucky and Bright Effiong Etim as the Falconets maintained their intensity deep into the game.

New Caledonia managed a consolation goal through Joceline Kourevi in the 89th minute, but David had the final say by completing her hat-trick in added time.

The result means Nigeria finish the group stage with four points from three matches. They had earlier suffered a 2-0 defeat to Spain before playing out a goalless draw against China PR.

More importantly, the 10-1 scoreline gave the Falconets a major boost in goal difference and confirmed their second-place finish in Group F.

Next up is a big Round of 16 test against England, winners of Group E, on Thursday.

NFF Acting General Secretary Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme praised the team for showing what he described as the “true Nigeria spirit”.

“The Presidency through the National Sports Commission, the NFF and Nigerian Football stakeholders, and I believe all Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, are very proud of the outing of the Falconets against New Caledonia.

“They showed the true Nigeria spirit and overcame the odds when it mattered most.

“The result has taken them to the Round of 16, and we believe the team can only get better. I charge them to sustain the win-mentality and go all the way.”

After a difficult start to the group stage, the Falconets have now sent out a strong warning ahead of the knockout rounds: Nigeria are ready for England.