India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out of the upcoming Women’s Asia Cup and Asian Games after suffering a high-grade right hamstring tear while playing for Southern Brave in The Hundred in England. Rodrigues sustained the injury on August 3. The 25-year-old subsequently underwent an assessment by the BCCI Medical Team at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, which confirmed the extent of the injury.

Pratika Rawal returns to India squad

Pratika Rawal has been named as Rodrigues’ replacement in India’s Asia Cup squad. Rawal, who has so far represented India only in ODIs, returns to the national setup after missing the recent England Test due to injury. The opener had suffered a knee injury while fielding for India A and required stitches after hurting herself during the match.

The Women’s Asia Cup will begin in the UAE on August 28, with India placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong. India’s biggest group-stage fixture will be against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 5 in Dubai. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, while the final is scheduled for September 13.

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Rodrigues also misses Asian Games

The hamstring injury will also keep Rodrigues out of the Asian Games in Nagoya, where women’s cricket will once again be played in the T20 format from September 17 to October 3. India are the top-seeded team in the women’s competition and will begin their campaign in the quarter-finals against Japan. A potential semi-final could see them face Bangladesh or Hong Kong, China.

Pakistan are placed in the opposite half of the draw, meaning India and Pakistan can meet only in the gold-medal match or the bronze-medal play-off, both scheduled for September 22.

India’s updated Women’s Asia Cup squad

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Pratika Rawal.

Trainer Brian Gentle is unconcerned about reducing Coincide’s race distance from 1100 metres to 800 metres as the stable targets two wins in succession.

The gelding, formerly with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, has a record of four wins and eight placings from 37 starts. It was only after joining Gentle’s stable that the horse found winning form.

A victory last start over 1100m at Ipswich could prove advantageous for the shorter 800m journey in the Vale Barry ‘Keith’ Self Benchmark 58 Handicap, provided Coincide gets a clear run.

“Back in distance? I don’t think it is too much of a drama,” Gentle stated.

“He has performed well over 800-metres before and he has shown a liking for Ipswich.”

The six-year-old has a strong track record at Ipswich, with one win and three minor placings from seven starts.

“With his record, he has had couple of unlucky runs but he is a rejuvenated horse,” Gentle added.

“He is the sort of horse who puts in 120% into his race day and also puts 120% into his gallops so at some stages he has been leaving everything on the track.

“At his last four starts he was missing the start on jumping and getting four or five lengths behind the second-last horse. Then he was making up a ton of ground late.

“I don’t know if there’s a trick but since he jumped well when he won at Dalby, he hasn’t looked back.”

Apprentice Jasper Franklin will partner Coincide for his fourth consecutive start.

“Jasper was unlucky on him a few runs back and so I was happy to give him another chance,” Gentle said.

“He wasn’t really happy (with the outcome) then and he said ‘if you keep me on your horses I’ll win for you’.”

Gentle attributes Coincide’s $9.50 price tag to the market’s uncertainty regarding the shorter race distance.

Compare the racing odds at these Australian betting sites.

Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes he could have taken 400 Test wickets if he had played under Imran Khan‘s leadership earlier in his career.Shoaib took 178 wickets in 46 Tests during his international career, which ended during the 2011 World Cup in India amid reported differences with then Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi. He also took 247 wickets in 163 ODIs and 21 wickets in 15 T20Is.Speaking on a Geo TV show, Shoaib pointed to his first-class record, where he took more than 400 wickets, and said playing under Imran could have helped him develop further as a Test bowler.“If I had played earlier under the fiery leadership of Imran Khan I would have learnt a lot and I would have taken 400 wickets in Test cricket,” said the 51-year-old, as quoted by news agency PTI.Shoaib made his Test debut against the West Indies in Rawalpindi, his hometown. At the time, Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had reservations about giving the young fast bowler his debut, believing it was not the right time.The relationship between Akram and Shoaib remained complicated during their careers, with both having moments of admiration and disagreements.The two also formed part of Pakistan’s bowling attack during some notable performances, including the 1999 tour of India and the 1999 World Cup in England. Pakistan finished runners-up to Australia in the final at Lord’s.Shoaib also spoke about the physical toll of his career, which lasted from 1997 to 2011.He recalled the routine he followed to stay fit and recover from injuries, including problems with his knees.“I had to wake up three hours before everyone else. I had to cycle first, then go to the gym. My knees would get jammed and lock up.“I would have fluid drained from them, apply medication, and ice them,” said the 51-year-old.

David Benavidez has the full support of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman as he looks to further establish himself in the cruiserweight division.

The 29-year-old made his 200lb debut in May, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with an emphatic sixth-round stoppage.

In doing so, Benavidez claimed the WBO and WBA titles while also retaining his WBC light-heavyweight strap, so as to afford himself the option of moving back down to 175lbs.

Since then, though, it would seem that the American has decided to remain at cruiserweight, having successfully lobbied the WBC to position him as its mandatory challenger.

WBC champion Noel Mikaelian, meanwhile, was already rumoured to be facing Jai Opetaia, who became Zuffa Boxing’s cruiserweight titlist by unanimously outpointing Brandon Glanton earlier this year.

But while their contest has now been announced for September 12, featuring on the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Mikaelian could soon be forced to relinquish his world title.

This is because, according to BoxingScene, Sulaiman has threatened to strip the 35-year-old of his belt unless he and promoter Don King agree to a fight with Benavidez.

From an outside perspective, it seems the Benavidez showdown is becoming increasingly unlikely, given that Mikaelian has reportedly signed to face Opetaia, a former IBF champion, and is attempting to distance himself from the notorious King.

Benavidez, however, is set to secure his three-belt unification match regardless, potentially with WBC ‘interim’ champion Michal Cieslak standing in the opposite corner.

The Polish veteran claimed his secondary title against Jean Pascal, who he stopped in four rounds, but has not fought since their cruiserweight contest in June 2025.

Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin bow out in Chess quarterfinals

India’s campaign in the Chess tournament at the Esports World Cup ended in the quarterfinals on Friday, with Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin finishing among the top eight.Arjun, representing Gen.G Esports, lost to Team Falcons’ Hikaru Nakamura after their quarterfinal was decided in an Armageddon tiebreak.The four regulation games all ended in draws, leaving the match level and forcing a decider. Nakamura had White in the Armageddon game and converted his advantage before checkmating Arjun to reach the semifinals.It was another close meeting between the two Grandmasters. Nakamura had also beaten Arjun in last year’s third-place playoff at the tournament.Nihal also faced a familiar opponent in his quarterfinal, taking on defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid in a repeat of last year’s knockout stage.Carlsen won the first two games before the third ended in a draw, giving him a 2.5-0.5 victory and sending him into the semifinals as he continues his title defence.The other two quarterfinals also needed decisive results. AG.AL’s Denis Lazavik beat Natus Vincere’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Armageddon, while Team Falcons’ Alireza Firouzja defeated GodLike Esports’ Hans Moke Niemann 2.5-1.5.The semifinal line-up will see Nakamura face Lazavik, while Carlsen will meet Firouzja in a repeat of last year’s final.Although Arjun and Nihal did not make the semifinals, their quarterfinal appearances gave India its best showing in the Chess event. Both players will receive USD 75,000 each from the tournament’s USD 1.5 million (approximately Rs 14.3 crore) prize pool.India’s four-player contingent also featured S8UL Esports’ Pranesh M, who was knocked out in the Lower Bracket a day earlier. He earned USD 55,000 (approximately Rs 52.5 lakh).S8UL’s Aravindh Chithambaram, who exited during the Play-Ins, received USD 23,000 (approximately Rs 21.9 lakh).The EWC Chess playoffs now move into the semifinals, which will be played across six games. The championship match will follow a best-of-three sets format. The first two sets will consist of four games each, while a third set, if required, will have two games to decide the champion.

Former British champion and Olympic bronze medallist David Price has assessed whether his countryman, Conor Benn, possesses the necessary hand speed to defeat Ryan Garcia.

The two welterweights will square off at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.

It was arguably a career-best performance that saw him dethrone Mario Barrios in February, scoring a first-round knockdown before winning a wide unanimous decision.

But despite coming off this dominant display, Garcia was far less impressive when he returned from a year-long doping ban and lost on points to Rolando Romero in May 2025.

Still, many would argue that the 28-year-old has shown signs of world-class quality, while Benn remains glaringly unproven at the top level.

The 29-year-old has also not fought at 147lbs since 2022, with his last two outings resulting in unanimous decision victories over faded versions of Chris Eubank Jr and Regis Prograis.

Against Eubank, in particular, Benn’s speed seemed a key factor in their two middleweight encounters last year, despite him suffering a points defeat the first time around.

As he approaches this welterweight contest against Garcia, though, former heavyweight contender Price has told The Smith Brothers that he sees Benn contending with an unfamiliar disadvantage.

“I think I [favour Garcia]. Conor Benn’s got great hand speed, but I think [Garcia’s] hand speed could make the difference in the fight.”

Like Garcia, Benn tested positive for a banned substance – clomifene – and was eventually removed from his cancelled 2022 encounter with Eubank.

The best defensive linemen are the ones who play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Think back to some of the elite players of recent years such as Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, and J.J. Watt (among others). How often did those guys get behind the blockers?

Vikings d-lineman Jalen Redmond isn’t at that level (or, for that matter, likely to get to that level). Still, he’s a good player who is getting better.

Jeff Diamond used to be the Vikings’ GM. He now offers his work for Vikings Territory, writing a weekly column for us. Check out what he had to say of the ascending talent: “In watching pass rush drills on Wednesday, Darrisaw did a good job on Dallas Turner and Donovan Jackson had a solid rep against Jalen Redmond who has been in the backfield often in camp practices” (emphasis added).

Vikings D-Lineman Jalen Redmond Ready to Explode

In 2024, Mr. Redmond was a promising player who represented a good story. His 18 tackles alongside the single sack and 6 tackles for loss were representative of promise.

The 2023 undrafted talent always boasted nice athleticism but didn’t stick around in the NFL after Carolina scooped him up. A major part of his problem was health, or lack thereof. Still, the lineman ran a blistering 4.81 forty, a terrific time for somebody at his position. The Panthers moved on but nobody in the NFL gave him a deal to stick around.

What followed was a trip to the spring football league before getting a shot with the Vikings. All along, his chance of making the final roster was small, but he overcame the odds in that ’24 season.

Part of what’s missing within that all-too-tidy retelling is that Redmond got shuffled around in that 2024 season.

On October 11th, 2024, Jalen Redmond was waived by the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL’s 31 teams had a shot to snag the defender for free. No team decided to do so, allowing the Vikings to put him on the practice squad on October 14th. He then got elevated to the active roster again on October 19th.

The back-and-forth between the practice squad and roster continued for October, meaning he was vulnerable to getting poached the whole time. Minnesota tossed him back onto the roster on November 6th of 2024.

Looking back, it’s wild that no NFL team saw how good he would become. Goodness, it’s wild that the Vikings took the risk to expose him to getting stolen away.

Since then, Redmond has proven to be indispensable for where the Minnesota Vikings are going. He’s one of the few young talents to be on the cusp of breaking through into the range of “very good” or possibly even “elite.”

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Jalen Redmond’s first career sack!

Brian Asamoah does a good job of getting upfield on the Zero blitz and forcing Mills to step up in the pocket. The LG abandoned his block on Redmond to go block Ward, but he had no inside help, which freed up Redmond for the sack. pic.twitter.com/aUBOiFIsVA

— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) October 5, 2024

Last year, Redmond had 62 tackles; 12 of his tackles were for a loss (in the backfield, as Diamond’s recent observation notes). The Vikings d-lineman also had 6 sacks, 8 quarterback hits, 5 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble.

Quite possibly, Jalen Redmond will see a boost in production in 2026. Some of that is likely to be due to his own improvement and yet there’s a broader contextual argument. Is the front seven talent around Redmond better?

Adding Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange means welcoming a youth movement in the trenches. Some of the other key actors in play are Levi Drake Rodriguez, Ty Ingram-Dawkins, and Elijah Williams, none of whom are yet at their third pro seasons. Can youthful speed stress the other team’s o-line sufficiently to create more room for Redmond to do damage?

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Jalen Redmond is a 6’3″ and 305-pound lineman who is 27. Per Over the Cap, Redmond is demanding just $1,075,000 on the cap. Continuing to get into the backfield will mean seeing his compensation explode in the offseason of 2027.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.