Perth, 1985. India were trailing West Germany 1-5 at hockey's Champions Trophy with about eight minutes left when a 20-year-old fullback picked up the ball near the halfway line, ran at the defence, skipped past four defenders, and lifted it over the goalkeeper. It sparked a comeback still counted among Indian hockey's greatest. India scored four times in that spell to draw 5-5. Forty-one years later, the Congress has handed him the ball in Punjab with lots to defend against, and everything to play for. "It all happened so fast. Maybe the Germans did not expect it from me," Pargat Singh recalled about that match in Australia in a 1991 interview. On Friday, the party named the former Olympic captain its state unit chief, two days after Amarinder Singh Raja Warring resigned and months before the 2027 Assembly elections. Picking Pargat was a fallback, though not purely defensive. Former minister Vijay Inder Singla, a Hindu from the Bania (trader) community who he...
Abhishek Sharma's participation in India's match against Pakistan here depends on his recovery from a stomach bug, but the swashbuckling opener arrived with the team on Friday, raising hopes of his return at the Premadasa on Sunday. Abhishek had missed India's match in New Delhi against Namibia on Thursday despite being released from a private hospital in the national capital. India will have a net session on Saturday evening, and Abhishek's fitness will be monitored closely before a final decision is taken.
In a video posted by Punjab Kings (PBKS), pacer Arshdeep Singh can be seen asking him, "How are you?"
To this, Abhishek replied, "Dal-rice, very good. Me? Good."
Daal-rice khao, jaldi theek ho jaao! pic.twitter.com/aKEpKCw08G
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) February 13, 2026
Parents arrive in Colombo
Meanwhile, the parents of the India opener also arrived in Colombo ahead of the Pakistan match. Rajkumar Sharma has been a constant source of support for Abhishek and has coached the left-handed batter since childhood. The parents were also present in Dubai during the Asia Cup.
If Abhishek continues to be unavailable, India can either persist with Sanju Samson or bring in the fit-again Washington Sundar to pair with Ishan Kishan at the top.
Having played his entire T20I career after the T20 World Cup win by the Rohit Sharma-led side in 2024, Abhishek has scored 1,297 runs in 38 matches and 37 innings at an average of 37.05 and a strike rate of 194.74, with two centuries, eight fifties, and a best score of 135. He entered the T20 World Cup as the world's top-ranked T20I batter.
In three matches against Pakistan, he has scored 110 runs at an average of 36.66 and a strike rate of 189.65, with a best of 74.
Following the toss against Namibia on Thursday, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said about Abhishek, "Abhishek is still not fine; he will miss a game or two."
Earlier, the Indian opener was hospitalised due to a stomach infection, according to a BCCI source. The southpaw was not looking well during the team dinner at head coach Gautam Gambhir's residence on Sunday and was the first to leave the gathering.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/VidWCYG
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