News
20 January 2026
RCB Badly Trolls GG For Taking A 'Queen' Jibe At Smriti Mandhana
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s social media team didn't waste the opportunity to hit back at their counterparts at Gujarat Giants after confirming their place in the knockouts with a dominant 61-run victory in Monday's Women's Premier League (WPL) clash at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara. Put in to bat, RCB suffered an early wobble as Grace Harris and Georgia Voll were dismissed inside the first two overs, reducing them to 9 for 2. Gautami Naik then assumed responsibility, restoring stability alongside captain Smriti Mandhana. The duo carefully rebuilt, adding 60 runs for the third wicket before Mandhana was adjudged leg-before for 26 against Ashleigh Gardner, who got her out for the umpteenth time. The GG team put a photo of Gardner and Mandhana together, with what looked like an AI-generated chess queen destroying another. They captioned it: 'Only one Queen in Qila Kotambi'. But Naik continued to anchor the innings and found strong support from Richa Ghosh, with the pair accelerating through a 69-run stand. Naik's innings of 73 from 55 balls ended late in the innings by Gardner. An effective cameo from Radha Yadav then ensured RCB finished at a good 178 /6. In response, Gujarat's chase never gained traction. Early strikes left them four down within seven overs, putting the pressure firmly on the middle order. Gardner tried to lead a recovery with a fighting 54, but with little support at the other end, Gujarat slumped to 117 for 8. After the match, RCB posted a photo of Mandhana holding a chess queen with the caption, 'Only one team with Q next to the name tonight!', accompanied by a couple of mic-drop emojis. Fans loved it and the post has gone viral. "One of its kind for RCB (laughs)," Mandhana said about RCB's sixth consecutive win in the WPL across the last two seasons. "Again, it's not been really big on what's going to happen after 10 or 15 days. It's about doing the smaller things right, doing each day right, taking each match at a time and also having practice sessions. Everyone's put in a lot of hard work. Credit to our support staff as well. They've kept everyone really positive and happy, which is again a good atmosphere to be in."
20 January 2026
Zee Sports Morning Bulletin: Pakistan Takes U-Turn, RCB Qualify For WPL Playoffs, Babar Azam In Action In BBL Qualifier
Zee Sports Morning Bulletin: The cricketing world is experiencing significant turmoil today, January 20, 2026. An escalating administrative standoff between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) over T20 World Cup 2026 venues in India has put Scotland on standby as a potential replacement team. Simultaneously, the Women's Premier League (WPL) playoffs picture is clear after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) dominated the Gujarat Giants, a loss that left Giants skipper Ashleigh Gardner "angry and frustrated." This morning also features a high-stakes BBL Qualifier between the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers. Also Read: Shubman Gill's ODI Captaincy So Far: Visionary Plan Or Premature Move? The primary search intent surrounding the T20 World Cup controversy is news-based and analytical. Users want to understand the specifics of the BCB's refusal to play in India and the potential consequences, including why Scotland might replace them. This information provides a unique angle compared to generic match reports. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has created a major headache for the ICC by refusing to send its team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 due to unresolved security concerns. This unexpected turn of events has forced tournament organizers to explore contingency plans, including a formal request to Scotland Cricket to be prepared to step in if a resolution isn't reached soon. The controversy deepened when the BCB publicly dismissed reports that the ICC had issued a firm January 21 deadline to confirm participation. This "he-said, she-said" dynamic highlights the communication breakdown at the highest levels of cricket administration. The BCB is reportedly lobbying hard for their matches to be shifted to a neutral venue, specifically Sri Lanka. In a related development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially dismissed rumours suggesting they would boycott the tournament in solidarity with Bangladesh. A Gulf News report confirming Pakistan's participation provides much-needed clarity on the potential geopolitical impact of the venue dispute, as reported earlier. Shifting focus to the WPL, the sentiment is one of analysis and impact assessment. Fans are looking for insight into the Gujarat Giants' poor performance and what their elimination means for the rest of the tournament. The Gujarat Giants' season effectively ended on Sunday after a crushing 61-run defeat to the high-flying Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RCB's victory not only secured their place as the first team in the WPL playoffs but also exposed deep-seated issues within the Giants' squad. Skipper Ashleigh Gardner pulled no punches in her post-match comments, describing herself as "angry and frustrated" with her team's "incapability to win small moments." "You can't win big tournaments if you can't nail the basics," Gardner lamented in the press conference. "We keep finding ways to lose from winning positions. That's a coaching issue, a tactical issue, and a player execution issue." This raw assessment provides valuable expert opinion on the Giants' structural failures this season. The Big Bash League reaches its peak today, January 20, 2026, with the highly anticipated Qualifier between the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The match is set to stream live on JioHotstar in India, capturing high viewership. The Scorchers hold a psychological edge, having beaten the Sixers in the season opener in a rain-affected 11-over match where young gun Cooper Connolly stole the show with a rapid half-century. All eyes will be on Pakistan's star batsman Babar Azam, who had a quiet BBL debut in that first encounter.
20 January 2026
It's unbelievable, says Kaze of the spirit at Chiefs as they gun for Arrows and Zesco
There will be plenty of action to whet the appetite when the second and final part of the 2025/2026 Premier Soccer League (PSL) season resumes after a dramatic finish to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco on Sunday. The exit of Bafana Bafana in the last 16 of Afcon has helped all the PSL clubs to start preparing for the continuation of their campaigns early, with Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Stellenbosch benefiting the most as they also have inter-continental matches to worry about in the coming days. Sundowns, who host Al-Hilal of Sudan in the third round of the Caf Champions League group stages on Friday, will be looking to maintain top spot after starting with a win and draw. Chiefs will be away to Zesco United of Zambia on Sunday in the third round of the Caf Confederation Cup group stages. Amakhosi have a lot to do in their group after only gaining one point in the last two matches against Egyptian giants Zamalek and Al Masry. Stellies, who have coach Gavin Hunt as their new man at the helm after the departure of long-serving Steve Barker, have been busy in the market during the January window. They have boosted their squad with two notable signings in former Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa and Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa. While Stellies have battled with form in the Betway Premiership and languish near the bottom, Hunt cannot afford to lose the solid foundation laid by his predecessor in the Confed Cup, where they lead Group C with four points after two games. The Cape Winelands outfit will look to consolidate their lead when they visit CR Belouizdad of Algeria on Sunday where even a draw will not be a bad result. But before these three teams turn their attention to continental matters they will have played at least one league match in what will be a tight schedule ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup in North America in June. Defending league champions Sundowns hosted newcomers Orbit College FC in Pretoria on Monday, while Chiefs will play Golden Arrows at FNB Stadium on Tuesday and Stellies travel to Polokwane to face Sekhukhune United on Tuesday before departing for Algeria. It is this hectic programme that had Chiefs co-head coach Cedric Kaze sweating for answers at Naturena in Johannesburg on Monday as he explained how they plan to juggle their squad after resuming training on December 28. "The games are going to be hectic. We spent the last two weeks thinking about how we're going to manage the schedule because it's very hectic. "There are some games that we're going to travel from one to go straight to another venue before coming to Johannesburg. "Imagine playing in Bloemfontein against Marumo (Gallants) next week, but as well at the weekend we'll play in Durban against Zesco, which means that the time to come here does not exist. "We had a meeting with the players to show them the schedule and everyone knows that he is going to get time to play. But the most important thing is to make those minutes count because when you're given a chance you need to be ready. "This is about everyone, but the good thing is the attitude that we have seen at training in the last few weeks. It's unbelievable. "Everyone is working hard, everyone is running crazy to try to earn the spot to play." But while the trio worry about their continental commitments, all eyes will be on Pirates to see if they can end Sundowns' dominance in the league that has seen them winning the South African title eight times in a row. The Buccaneers have had an incredible start under Moroccan coach Abdeslam Ouaddou and should regain their top spot on Friday when they visit Sekhukhune in Polokwane. Pirates were two points ahead of Sundowns with a game in hand when the season closed for the Afcon break and will be looking to avenge the defeat they suffered against Sekhukhune in the opening league fixture.
20 January 2026
Opinion: From real estate to the pitch, Pacific FC reflects a rare Island opportunity | Urbanized
Written for Daily Hive Urbanized by Ross Marshall, who is a Senior Vice-President of commercial real estate firm CBRE, and the Managing Director and a founding shareholder of Pacific FC. Every day of the week, soccer pitches across Victoria and Vancouver Island are packed with kids. As soon as one practice or match ends, another group is already lining up to take the field. There are tournaments and road trips; parents crowd the sidelines, parking lots overflow, and cars line the surrounding streets. Soccer is having a real moment on the Island. With Vancouver hosting the world's biggest sporting event this summer, the FIFA World Cup is set to elevate that momentum even further. I am from the Island, living and running a real estate business on the Island, and proud to lead the Island's first and only ever professional soccer club. As of April last year, I have served as Managing Director of Pacific FC, which competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) -- Canada's domestic men's league. I have been involved with the club since its launch in 2019 as one of its founding investors. During that time, we have won the national league, defeated the Whitecaps, and seen a team from Vancouver Island compete in the CONCACAF League against some of the best clubs in the region. In many ways, investing in a professional sports team mirrors investing in real estate. In real estate, investors are always in search of that trophy asset -- the rare opportunity with "hair on the deal," offering a clear value-add or repositioning opportunity and tremendous upside potential. Those are the assets sophisticated buyers chase. Today, that same mindset is driving a wave of investment into professional sport ownership. Private equity groups, institutional investors, and even global celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady are pursuing clubs as a dynamic and fast-growing asset class. Pacific FC embodies that kind of opportunity -- a well positioned asset with a compelling repositioning story and exceptional upside within the Canadian Premier League, a market still in its infancy. Just as in real estate, early movers in emerging markets tend to realize the greatest returns. Much like an emerging market poised for rapid appreciation, the sport's value and visibility are about to accelerate dramatically. The Canadian market, and this league, are in their infancy. Soccer in Canada is on the verge of an unprecedented boom -- one that will ignite national pride, attract global attention, and elevate the sport's commercial and cultural presence to levels never seen before. Soccer has always been such a big part of my life growing up -- it gave me a great sense of community, connection, and lifelong friendships. I played locally with Gorge FC, Prospect Lake, Lower Island Metro, and then for BCIT. But at the age of 18, like most young Canadian players before the creation of the CPL, there was no domestic pathway like there is now from grassroots or university soccer to try and become a pro. So when the opportunity presented itself to get involved with Pacific FC, I jumped at it. I could take my business background and combine that with my passion for the game and give back to the Island and the young boys and girls playing in the Lower Island Soccer Association now. Over the years, I have invited clients or partners from my business life out to our Pacific FC games, and whether they're real estate development companies or law firms or insurance companies, every time they tell me about the amazing atmosphere. There are many similarities between the world of business and the world of sport. To sustain growth in both, you need fresh perspectives and different ideas. You need different types of resources to continue to build. You bring something as far as you can and often somebody else comes in and brings it to the next level. We believe that's the case right now with Pacific FC as we explore the sale of the club. There's an opportunity for someone to capitalize on the opportunity which we've laid the foundations for. Someone could step up locally from a completely different background, but someone could also step up from overseas, with a totally new, fresh approach. At Pacific FC, we have built a true pathway to professional soccer on Vancouver Island -- a model that connects grassroots development to the professional stage. The soccer community here is thriving, united behind a successful team they can proudly rally around. With the sport's growth set to accelerate following the FIFA World Cup, it's time for new ideas, new voices, and expanded resources to carry our vision forward and meet the expected growth in participation, fandom, and commercial interest, while positioning Pacific FC at the forefront of Canada's soccer evolution. Last season was a disappointing one on the pitch for Pacific FC -- for the first time since 2019, we failed to qualify for the playoffs. However, in our first home match after elimination, we recorded our second-highest attendance of the season at Starlight Stadium. Only our home opener, and the sold-out derby against Vancouver FC at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria -- where just under 5,000 fans packed the stands -- drew larger crowds in support of Pacific FC. The kids here now wear purple and teal and realize that they can be like their heroes on Pacific FC. The success of the club has fanned the flames and been a catalyst for young talent to consider soccer as their main sport. When I was growing up, the big commercial sports were hockey, American football, basketball, and baseball -- all largely driven by commercialization and visibility. Those were the games you could watch on TV, where sponsors made household names out of players and kids naturally gravitated towards them and their sport. Today, the landscape has changed. Soccer is everywhere -- accessible, global and inspiring. Among the many community initiatives, the club has been involved in working with non-profits supporting youth, LISA, and local Indigenous communities. Pacific FC has been an excellent outlet to give back to our community. What we have built here is not all about winning. It is also about entertainment. It is about community. It is about supporting your local team, win or lose. There is a strong sense of family among people living on the Island. Perhaps it's being surrounded by water, or the size of the population and how close we are to one another, but there is a deeper, more intimate connection here. It creates something special -- both in the stands and throughout the broader community. We are protective of the community we have built, and we believe in supporting local. We support local businesses, we shop local, and we make a point of buying from local artisans. And, just as importantly, we want to support the local team. At the end of the day, for me and our ownership group, this has always been about something bigger than business -- it's about soccer on Vancouver Island and across Canada. Our passion and purpose remain the same: to see the game grow, to inspire the next generation, and to keep this club deeply rooted in the community that built it. Any change in ownership will be guided by that commitment ensuring Pacific FC continues to flourish, to lead, and to thrive for generations to come.