NEW DELHI: Former India captain Rohit Sharma has revealed the unlikely comfort food he would turn to during sleepless nights in the middle of Test matches, recalling how the pressure of his favourite format often left him nervous and craving a late-night snack.Rohit, who played 67 Tests for India between 2013 and 2024, opened up about his midnight cravings on his television show, ‘Family Full House with Rohit Sharma’. He revealed that his mother’s homemade banana wafers became his go-to comfort food during those long nights on Test match duty.“Haan, hoti toh hai. Main jhooth nahi bolunga, lekin jab bhi main Test match khelta tha, andar bahut nervousness hoti thi. Toh Test match ke time khaas karke, kyunki yeh mera favourite format tha, Test match khelna,” Rohit said.The former opener called time on his Test career last year after scoring 4,301 runs in 67 matches at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score in the format was 212.

‘Nervousness mein mujhe neend nahi aati thi’

Rohit explained that the demands of Test cricket often made it difficult for him to switch off after a day’s play.“Kyunki Test match khelna aasaan format nahi hai. Koi bhi format aasaan nahi hota, lekin Test match ke apne alag-alag challenges hote the. Toh Test match ke liye main hamesha nervous rehta tha aur nervousness mein mujhe neend nahi aati thi, toh raat bhar main jaaga rehta tha,” he said.Those sleepless nights, in turn, often brought with them the urge to eat something.“Toh aap jaage rehte ho toh kuch na kuch khaane ka mann karta tha. Toh main hamesha mere saath mera comfort food rakhta tha, jo meri mummy hamesha bana ke deti thi, woh tha banana wafers,” Rohit said.The snack came with a personal touch. Rohit revealed that the banana wafers were made by his mother, who used a baking method rather than frying them.

His mother’s homemade midnight snack

“Woh fried nahi hota tha. Meri mummy ke kuch tareeke the, woh bake karti thi usko aur woh main hamesha apne saath leke chalta tha. Toh kabhi bhi mann karta tha toh usse kha leta tha,” he said.For a batter who spent years dealing with the mental and physical demands of the longest format, the simple homemade snack offered a familiar taste of home during the intensity of Test cricket.

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, a two-time Asian Games gold medalist, was initially supposed to be India’s flagbearer alongside Manu Bhaker, but was replaced last-minute. “Technical issues” was cited as the official reason by the IOA.

A PTI report suggested that Toor had to be replaced as he did not receive his official kit in time, which will force him to miss the event.

Arsenal are “open” to allowing teen sensation Max Dowman to leave the club on loan, if the circumstances are right.

The 16-year-old is back in the spotlight this week after he marked his first appearance of the season with a brace in Arsenal’s 4-2 Carabao Cup win at Ipswich.

Mikel Arteta is keen to protect the youngster and wants him to continue to be involved in a squad which is probably the strongest in the Premier League.

However, the Spaniard accepted in his news conference on Friday that the Gunners will evaluate “every six months” the possibility of Dowman leaving on loan.

Luton manager and former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is said to have spoken to Arteta about the prospect of bringing Dowman to his League One side on a temporary deal.

Dowman will be eligible to complete a loan switch when he turns 17 on December 31, with the transfer window opening the following day.

And Arteta said: “We haven’t really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season and then start to see where we are from there.

“We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision.

“It depends on a lot of factors. What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes. We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team.”

Another of the club’s prospects, Ethan Nwaneri, joined Marseille on a loan deal last January. Arteta said that Nwaneri, 18 at the time, needed to “swim with the sharks”. After he returned from France Nwaneri was sent out on loan again, to Borussia Dortmund, for this season.

Asked if Dowman might be “too young” to go out on loan, Arteta continued: “There have been many cases of that age when they have gone out and been successful and others not.

“In my particular case, I was 17 when I went to Paris (St Germain). It depends on the atmosphere that you find there, and how much the coach believes in you as to whether you go there just to be part of a squad or play minutes. Which country, it depends. But now he is in a good place, let’s keep him here.”

Dowman will be pushing for a first Premier League outing of the campaign at Brighton on Saturday as Arsenal bid to retain their 100 per cent record.

But when asked if the teenager has been “knocking on his door” to play, Arteta replied: “The best way to knock on the door is to do it on the pitch, not in the office.

“Then you just leave out the arguments. When a player delivers constantly on the pitch, every single day in training, that’s the best way, that’s the best signal for the manager. That’s the best signal for his team-mates, too.

“And what Max did the other day, alongside all the other players as well that haven’t played many minutes this season, was really impressive.”

Pawan Sehrawat and Manu Bhaker (Image credit: X

NEW DELHI: India kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat could not sleep after learning that he would carry the Indian flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony.Sehrawat was named India’s co-flag-bearer alongside double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker after a late change. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who was earlier named as a flag-bearer, was ruled out due to technical issues.The 2022 Asian Games gold-medal-winning captain said the honour made him so excited that he stayed awake through the night.

‘I did not sleep last night’

Sehrawat said he still had enough energy to carry the Indian flag despite not sleeping.“It is a very proud moment for me. We have a practice schedule. Normally, I practise according to the schedule set by our coaches or the IOA. I did not sleep last night. Today, I went to the gym in the morning and came here.“I have been awake for the whole night. But I still have the energy to carry my nation’s flag in my hands. It is a proud situation for me,” Sehrawat said in an IOA video.

Only elder brother knew

Sehrawat said he did not tell anyone about the news immediately. He only informed his elder brother, Ankur, after receiving a call from him during the night.“I told everyone in the morning (flag-bearer news). I did not tell anyone, not even my close ones. I told everyone in the morning. I only informed my elder brother, Ankur. I texted him last night because he gave me a call in the night,” he highlighted.

‘I will go with the Olympic medallist’

Sehrawat will share the honour with Manu Bhaker, who won two medals at the Paris Olympics.The kabaddi star said he was proud to walk alongside the decorated shooter at the opening ceremony.“I have met her before. She is a very motivated athlete. It is a proud moment for me as well. I will go with the Olympic medallist as the flag bearer.“It is a good moment for me to go with such a big athlete. When I met her for the first time, she gave a very motivating speech. She came to meet the entire Indian team. Today will be our second meeting,” he said.

LSU and Ole Miss will play one of the year’s most hyped games in Oxford on Saturday.

Is Lane Kiffin playing games with Sam Leavitt’s injury status?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin makes predictions for a couple of big Big 12 games.

ASU takes on Kansas (in London) while West Virginia seeks a statement win against No. 25 Virginia.

Northwestern over Colorado? Arizona State over Kansas?

Spencer wraps today’s show, laying out his best bets for the week after going 4-1 with last week’s picks.

00:00 Discussing Lane Kiffin’s play style
06:08 Improving the secondary’s performance
07:28 Discussing quarterback Sam Leavitt
15:56 Overseas college football impact
19:11 West Virginia’s impressive rushing stats
24:58 NC State coach on the hot seat
26:49 Kamario Taylor’s first SEC game
30:32 Discussing Louisville vs. SMU game

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

The Ineos founder has spoken just months after apologising for comments suggesting that the UK had been ‘colonised by immigrants’

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes the UK is ‘on the slide’ and that politicians must act to deal with ‘immigration and benefits problems’. Ratcliffe, whose petrochemical giant Ineos owns a large stake in United, landed himself in hot water in February after claiming the UK had been ‘colonised by immigrants’.

Ratcliffe apologised for those comments, stating: “I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe, but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth. My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

“My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”

Greater Manchester Mayor at the time, now Prime Minister, Andy Burnham called out Ratcliffe, describing the comments as ‘inaccurate, insulting and inflammatory’. United’s Muslim Supporters’ Club also criticised the billionaire, stating: “It was inflammatory, it was divisive and it was just totally uncalled for.”

Since then, Ratcliffe has kept out of the political spotlight, until now. Speaking to the BBC in Denmark at the launch of the EU’s first carbon capture and storage system (CCS), he said: “Unfortunately at the moment, the UK is on the slide and it is quite difficult to see how we arrest it.

“Ultimately we need two things, we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are, and we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. We haven’t had one of those for a very long time.

“Nobody is tough enough to deal with the immigration problem, nobody is tough enough to deal with the benefits problem, but somebody needs to do it because otherwise it ends in a bad place, doesn’t it.”

Ratcliffe added: “In America they applaud people who create wealth. Unfortunately the UK has got a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment.”

Last Sunday, United fans protested against Ratcliffe and the Glazer family’s ownership of the club. This was after the club stripped 685 fans of their season tickets, and sent warnings or sanctions to a further 464 supporters, to crack down on what the club describes as ‘ticket touting’.

“I hope Jim Ratcliffe’s watching this now, because my message to that man is sell this football club,” Steve Crompton, spokesperson for The 1958 told the Manchester Evening News last weekend.

The 73-year-old Failsworth billionaire was a supporter of Brexit during the EU referendum. However, since 2020, he has been a tax resident in Monaco. He concluded that ‘things would have to get better,’ before he returned to the UK.

NEW DELHI: Shooting ace Manu Bhaker has urged her fellow Indian athletes to put the organisational issues surrounding the Asian Games behind them and focus on competition, saying the continental showpiece represents a “once in a lifetime opportunity and experience”.The build-up to the Games in Japan has been marred by complaints from athletes and officials of several participating countries, including India, over cramped accommodation, organisational mismanagement and long travel times between hotels and training venues.With criticism mounting over the arrangements, Bhaker called on the Indian contingent not to allow the problems to distract them from their performances.“To all my fellow athletes from India, we will have some issues. I saw a couple of issues circulated in social media and people telling me these are the issues,” Bhaker said in a video message posted by the Indian Olympic Association.“Regardless of whatever the issues we have, this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and experience. We have to make sure that we enjoy the time rather than complaining,” she added.

‘We should not waste our energy’

Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist, said Indian athletes had worked too hard to reach the Asian Games to allow the organisational difficulties to consume their attention.“We have prepared the best we can and so we must try to perform the best we can. We have worked so hard to be here and we should not waste our energy in pointing out that this is not right and that is not right. Medal may come or not, that is another story, but we must give our best.”The 24-year-old has been given another significant responsibility at the Games after being named one of India’s two flag bearers for Saturday’s opening ceremony.Bhaker created history at the Paris Olympics in 2024 when she became the first athlete from Independent India to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games. She won bronze in the women’s individual 10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol events.

Manu Bhaker to lead India’s contingent as flag bearer

The Asian Games will also carry a strong personal significance for Bhaker, who is competing at the continental event for the third time.“When I came to know of this (being chosen as one of the flagbearers), I had flashbacks of my earlier days. When I started, I never thought I would reach this far one day. It’s definitely feeling proud and honoured,” she said.“I was just 16 years old when I competed in the Asian Games in 2018. This is my third Asian Games. I was in Palembang (Indonesia) in 2018 and so could not attend the ceremony.”Bhaker recalled that her late coach Jaspal Rana had allowed her to attend opening ceremonies of multi-sport events only when she was a flag bearer, given the tight competition schedule for shooters.“The first time I attended the opening ceremony was in the Commonwealth Games and I was like if I am the flagbearer I will attend because my (then) coach Jaspal (Rana) sir said he will allow me attend the ceremony if I am the flagbearer, otherwise not. Since our matches usually start just a day after the opening ceremony, it becomes hectic for us.“So in opening ceremonies, I am either a flagbearer or I watch the ceremony on television.”Earlier on Saturday, seasoned kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat replaced shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor as the other Indian flag bearer after Toor was unable to attend the ceremony because he did not have the required ceremonial kit in his luggage.

Boxer Daniel Teasdale was hailed as the heir to the legendary Prince Naseem Hamed, but his promise never materialised into fame, fortune and films.

“He’s better than Naz at the same age,” said trainer Brendan Ingle.

Hamed had won his first world title aged 21. Teasdale was still a teenager.

Ingle, from his gym in Sheffield, moulded the careers of a conveyor belt of world-beaters and title winners. He guided both of the fighters from childhood.

Before super-middleweight Teasdale’s first professional bout, the Rotherham fighter had been featured in national newspapers, books and was being documented by photographers and film-makers.

He won a succession of national titles, establishing himself as the next contender to emerge from the Ingle gym.

Photographer Simon Roberts travelled to the Ingle gym in 1997 hoping to photograph Hamed.

“Brendan said ‘don’t worry about Naz, start photographing that kid in the corner. He’s going to be bigger than Naz’. That was Daniel,” Roberts said.

Roberts began to follow the young sensation, hoping to capture his rise on camera.