‘Hindutva does not talk about this side of Parasurama. It prefers to talk of the second side of Parasurama, where a king called Kartavirya Arjuna tried to steal his father’s cow. In the skirmish that followed, he beheaded his father. ‘ The tale of a mythical weapon.

‘… in India, racially, we are a diverse country. When you look at players coming from Kerala, Punjab, Bengal or Mizoram, you’re looking at different kinds of people; with mindsets, physicality, body types, strokes. It is very different for us as Indians. I focus on whatever style suits a player depending on the body type.’ Pullela Gopichand on his 2001 All England win and India’s badminton hopes.

‘Suryakumar Yadav was the undisputed star, his first hit in international cricket reaffirming his class and pedigree. He has had to wait a long time for his opportunity, but made an instant impact with a spectacular hooked first-ball six off Jofra Archer.’

‘With Manchester United playing well and Manchester City far ahead, the race for the other two in the top four is between Leicester, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool at the moment with Tottenham not far behind.’