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Is Virat Kohli set for a T20 retirement?
Former India captain Virat Kohli is likely to retire from Twenty20 cricket after the 2022 World Twenty20. This was stated in the recent interview of BCCI which was attended by Virat Kohli.
Usually known as an aggressive and personable player, Kohli was very calm during the interview. Several topics were highlighted in the discussion, including Kohli’s recent absence from the ranks and mental health.
The batsman, who has been a headache for the bowlers for the last decade, said that even he had to work hard to do what he usually did now.
The last time Virat Kohli scored a record number of runs was two-and-a-half years ago when India played a Test match against Bangladesh. Since November 2019, he has suffered some setbacks. Kohli still has to wait for the 71st century.
Moreover, after the match against Pakistan in the 2022 Asia Cup, the talk of his T20 retirement was revived. He initially struggled to regain his rhythm and scored 35 off 34 balls at a strike rate of 102.94.
The date of Virat Kohli’s retirement from the T20 format has not been officially announced yet. Virat Kohli has announced that there is a possibility of retirement in this interview.
විරාත් කෝලි T20 විශ්රාම ගැනීමකට සූදානමින්ද?
හිටපු ඉන්දීය නායක විරාත් කෝලි 2022 විස්සයි20 ලෝක කුසලානයෙන් පසු විස්සයි 20 ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාවෙන් ඉවත් වීමට ඉඩ ඇත. විරාත් කෝලි සහභාගී වූ BCCI හි මෑත කාලීන සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවදී ප්රකාශ කොට ඇත.
සාමාන්යයෙන් ආක්රමණශීලී සහ මනා පෞරුෂයකින් හෙබි ක්රීඩකයෙකු ලෙස හඳුන්වන කෝලි, මෙම සම්මුඛ සාකව්චාවේදී ඉතා සන්සුන් බවක් පෙන්වන ලදී. කෝලි මෑත කාලීන දක්ෂතා අතර නොසිටීම සහ මානසික සෞඛ්යය ඇතුළු මාතෘකා කිහිපයක් මෙම සාකච්චාවේදී අවධාරණය කර ඇත.
පසුගිය දශකය පුරාම පන්දු යවන්නන් හට හිසරදයක් වූ පිතිකරුවා පැවසුවේ තමාට දැන් සාමාන්යයෙන් කළ දේවල් මේ මොහොත වන විට ක්රියාටව නැංවීමට ඔහුට පවා මහන්සිවීමට සිදු වී ඇති බවයි.
විරාත් කෝලි අවසන් වරට වාර්ථාගත ලකුණු ප්රමාණයක් ලබා ගත හැකි වූයේ මීට වසර දෙකහමාරකට පෙර ඉන්දියාව බංග්ලාදේශයට එරෙහිව ටෙස්ට් තරගයකට ක්රීඩා කළ අවස්ථාවේදීය. 2019 නොවැම්බර් මාසයේ සිට, ඔහු යම් කිසි පසු බෑමකට ලක්ව ඇත. 71 වන ශතකය සඳහා කෝලිට තවමත් බලා සිටීමට සිදුව ඇත.
එපමණක් නොව, 2022 ආසියානු කුසලාන තරගයේදී පාකිස්තානයට එරෙහිව තරගයෙන් පසුව ඔහුගේ T20 විශ්රාම ගැනීම පිළිබඳ සංවාදය නැවත ආරම්භ කරන ලදී. ඔහු මුලින් තම රිද්මය නැවත ලබා ගැනීමට මහත් පරිශ්රමයක් දැරූ අතර පන්දු 34කදී ලකුණු 35ක් රැස් කළේ 102.94ක ප්රහාරක වේගයක් සමගිනි.
ලෝක පූජිත ක්රීඩකයෙකු වන විරාත් කෝලි විස්සයි 20 තරග රටාවෙන් සමු ගන්නා දිනය නිල වශයෙන් තවමත් ප්රකාශයට පත් කොට නොමැත. මෙම සම්මුඛ සාකච්චාවේදී විශ්රාම ගැනීමට ඉඩ කඩක් ඇති බව විරාත් කෝලි ප්රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත.
விராட் கோலி டி20 ஓய்வு பெற உள்ளாரா?
இந்திய அணியின் முன்னாள் கேப்டன் விராட் கோலி, 2022 உலக இருபதுக்கு 20 போட்டிக்குப் பிறகு டுவென்டி 20 கிரிக்கெட்டில் இருந்து ஓய்வு பெறுவார் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது. சமீபத்தில் விராட் கோலி கலந்து கொண்ட பிசிசிஐ பேட்டியில் இவ்வாறு கூறியுள்ளார்.
பொதுவாக ஆக்ரோஷமான மற்றும் ஆளுமைமிக்க வீரராக அறியப்படும் கோஹ்லி பேட்டியின் போது மிகவும் அமைதியாக இருந்தார். இந்த விவாதத்தில் கோஹ்லி சமீபத்தில் அணியில் இல்லாதது மற்றும் மனநலம் உட்பட பல தலைப்புகள் முன்னிலைப்படுத்தப்பட்டன.
கடந்த பத்தாண்டுகளாக பந்துவீச்சாளர்களுக்கு தலைவலியாக இருந்து வரும் பேட்ஸ்மேன், இப்போது வழக்கமாக செய்வதை செய்ய கடினமாக உழைக்க வேண்டியிருந்தது என்று கூறினார்.
விராட் கோலி கடைசியாக இரண்டரை ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு வங்கதேசத்துக்கு எதிராக டெஸ்ட் போட்டியில் விளையாடிய போதுதான் சாதனைப் படைத்தார். நவம்பர் 2019 முதல், அவர் சில பின்னடைவைச் சந்தித்தார். 71வது சதத்திற்காக கோஹ்லி இன்னும் காத்திருக்க வேண்டும்.
மேலும், 2022 ஆசிய கோப்பையில் பாகிஸ்தானுக்கு எதிரான போட்டிக்குப் பிறகு, அவரது டி20 ஓய்வு பற்றிய பேச்சு மீண்டும் எழுந்தது. அவர் ஆரம்பத்தில் தனது தாளத்தை மீட்டெடுக்க போராடினார் மற்றும் 34 பந்துகளில் 102.94 ஸ்ட்ரைக் ரேட்டில் 35 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார்.
டி20 போட்டிகளில் இருந்து விராட் கோலி ஓய்வு பெறும் தேதி இன்னும் அதிகாரப்பூர்வமாக அறிவிக்கப்படவில்லை. இந்த பேட்டியில் ஓய்வு பெற வாய்ப்பு இருப்பதாக விராட் கோலி அறிவித்துள்ளார்.
Football
AIFF Faces FIFA, AFC Ban Threat as October 30 Deadline Looms
Indian football is staring at yet another international suspension as FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have jointly warned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to ratify its long-pending constitution by October 30, 2025, or risk a complete ban from world football.
In a strongly-worded two-page letter sent on Tuesday (August 26) to AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, FIFA and AFC expressed “profound concern” over the failure to finalise and implement a revised constitution, a matter pending before India’s Supreme Court since 2017.
If suspended, India’s national teams and clubs would be barred from all international competitions, while the country’s ambitious 2036 Olympic Games bid in Ahmedabad could also be thrown into uncertainty.
FIFA & AFC Ultimatum
The letter, signed by FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov and AFC Deputy General Secretary Vahid Kardany, set out three urgent requirements for the AIFF:
1. Obtain a definitive Supreme Court order approving the revised constitution.
2. Ensure full compliance with FIFA and AFC statutes.
3. Formally ratify the constitution at the next AIFF General Meeting.
Failure to comply, they warned, would trigger sanctions, including full suspension of AIFF membership.
Previous Suspension in 2022
This is not the first governance crisis to hit Indian football. In August 2022, FIFA suspended the AIFF for “third-party interference” after a court-appointed Committee of Administrators temporarily ran the federation. That ban lasted just two weeks, lifted only after fresh elections were held in which Kalyan Chaubey defeated football legend Bhaichung Bhutia.
Domestic Fallout – ISL in Crisis
The deadlock has already disrupted Indian football at the domestic level. The Indian Super League (ISL), India’s top-tier professional league, has been put “on hold” by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the AIFF’s commercial partner, due to uncertainty over its Master Rights Agreement, which expires in December 2025.
At least three clubs have suspended operations or delayed salaries, while all 11 ISL clubs have warned of an “existential crisis.” Reports from FIFPRO further highlight cases of players’ contracts being terminated, leaving livelihoods at risk.
The Supreme Court of India will hear the matter again on August 28, a session that could determine the immediate future of the ISL and India’s football calendar.
What’s at Stake
If AIFF fails to meet the October deadline, India could lose:
• Participation in FIFA and AFC tournaments.
• Entry rights for national teams and clubs in international competitions.
• Momentum in its 2036 Olympics bid.
• Credibility with players, fans, and commercial partners.
For now, the football fraternity in India waits anxiously for the Supreme Court’s verdict and AIFF’s ability to steer through yet another governance storm
Football
Heritage Derby Trophy Goes to Hameed Al Husseinie College
Colombo – Hameed Al Husseinie College emerged victorious in the prestigious Heritage Derby Trophy football encounter against Zahira College, Maradana, securing a 3–1 win at the Colombo Racecourse grounds yesterday.
The match kicked off under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, adding special significance to this annual football rivalry.
Hameed Al Husseinie College took control early, leading 2–0 at halftime before sealing the victory with a third goal in the second half. Zahira College managed to pull one back, but it was not enough to challenge the dominant performance of the winners.
The trophy presentation was held soon after the final whistle, with the principals of both schools — Rizvi Marikkar of Zahira College and Mrs. Dain of Hameed Al Husseinie College — present to witness the celebrations.
This latest victory adds another chapter to the rich history of the Heritage Derby, further cementing Hameed Al Husseinie College’s reputation in school football.
Football
Exclusive: AFC Fines Sri Lankan Footballer Over “Free Palestine” Message
Colombo – June 13
Sri Lankan national footballer Mohamed Thilham, who recently made headlines after displaying a “PRAY FOR FREE PALESTINE” message on his undershirt during post-match celebrations, has now been officially penalized by international football authorities.
Following Sri Lanka’s 3-1 victory over Chinese Taipei in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers on June 10 at the Colombo Racecourse Stadium, Thilham—a non-playing substitute—unveiled the message, drawing both praise and criticism from various quarters.

⚠️ AFC Sanctions Player with USD 2,000 Fine
FIFA, in coordination with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has now issued a formal disciplinary notice to the player, imposing a USD 2,000 fine. This letter, according to sources within the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), was sent addressing to Thilham, underscoring AFC stance on politically charged expressions at official matches.
According to FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, players are prohibited from displaying political, religious, or personal slogans during matches or official ceremonies. While Thilham’s gesture occurred after the final whistle, FIFA and AFC treat any action within the stadium environment as part of official conduct.
⚽ FFSL Under Scrutiny for Disciplinary Action
FFSL President Jaswar Umar previously stated that the act “was not authorized by the federation” and “violates international football disciplinary norms.” He also confirmed that the FFSL would take internal disciplinary action against the player.
However, this incident has reignited public debate over the role of athletes in social advocacy and the limits imposed by international sports law. While some supporters see Thilham’s actions as courageous and morally driven, others have raised concerns about the player’s career stability and future opportunities under increasing scrutiny.
📝 Editorial Insight
At Sri Lankan Sports TV, we initially chose to withhold the content of the message in our match coverage—out of responsibility to the player’s career and to respect global sports protocol. However, the message went viral after several social media users circulated the full image, seemingly with the intention of sparking controversy.
The resulting spotlight has unfortunately led to a formal penalty, underscoring the real-world consequences that athletes may face when international regulations intersect with personal conviction.
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