Two billion people can’t be wrong — even in baseball Pakistan-India is a hot rivalry
Yankees-Red Sox?
The baseball-playing Khan brothers of St. Charles North believe they’re involved in an even bigger rivalry. And they’re ready to represent.
Subhaan Khan, at 18 a recent graduate from St. Charles North, and incoming junior North Star Jibraan Khan, 16, were chosen from a nationwide pool to play for a team of Pakistan Under-18 prospects. This weekend they’ll face a team of players of Indian heritage likewise recruited from throughout North America.
“It means everything that we’re able to represent our country and play India, which is a huge rivalry,” Subhaan Khan said.
“I’m a Yankees fan,” he said, “and I know that India-Pakistan is a bigger sports rivalry than the Yankees and Red Sox.”
First meeting for a long practice on Thursday, the two teams will play baseball games Friday and Saturday evenings at Kerry Wood Cubs Field in Chicago. Each game will be shown live on YouTube.
“I’m really excited,” Jibraan Khan said. “Off the field I have so many Indian friends, they’re so nice. But on the field there’s a little bit of a different mentality.”
The sport of cricket is generally where this rivalry is found. While the Khan boys have dabbled in cricket, they picked up baseball at an early age from their father, Farhan.
A native New Yorker, Dr. Khan played ball there and elsewhere. He actually introduced his older son to baseball through collectible cards. Farhan recently sold a Mickey Mantle card that brought a decent sum.
Subhaan and Jibraan Khan − both pitchers and corner infielders − came up through Wasco Baseball and then Top Pick Athletics in Sugar Grove.
Subhaan, heading to Michigan State University, wants to be an orthopedic surgeon with an emphasis on sports medicine. He looks forward to holding the knife, not going under it.
Arm injuries, one requiring Tommy John surgery, essentially scuttled his ability to play at St. Charles North, or at least pitch, after his freshman year.
“I feel like I always pick myself back up, try to work hard and do what I can now with this injury,” Subhaan Khan said.
In addition to this Pakistan-India collab, Jibraan Khan has been invited to play this fall with a Pakistan national team in Taiwan and Japan.
His ability to play in those overseas tournaments depends on school schedules and such. On the diamond this weekend against India, he and his brother are all-in.
“I mean, at St. Charles North the rivalry’s against St. Charles East, and there’s a different feel when you step on the field and prepare for those games,” Jibraan said.
“Now, with 2 billion people this (Pakistan-India) rivalry is pretty massive, and I’m excited to see how it goes.”
On the ball
The American Volleyball Coaches Association recently released its list of 2026 team academic award recipients. The list is full of teams the Daily Herald covers.
Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire heads AVCA’s boys list alphabetically. The Patriots have been honor roll qualifiers a strong 10 straight years.
Other boys teams for 2026 include Glenbard East, Hinsdale Central, St. Viator, Vernon Hills, Warren and Wheaton Warrenville South.
There are 58 boys high school teams nationally that earned AVCA academic awards. There are − jiminy crickets − 513 girls teams.
Alphabetically, Illinois girls teams included: Barrington, Batavia, Downers Grove North, Glenbard East, Lake Park, Lisle, Metea Valley, Mundelein, Wauconda, Wheaton Warrenville South and York.
Batavia’s girls team, whose Team Academic Honor Roll distinction put the Bulldogs in the top 20% of teams nationally, has made the AVCA list 29 straight years.
That streak encompasses the run of recent Bulldogs coach McKenna Kelsay and extends deep into the long tenure of the retired Lori Trippi-Payne.
“Coach McKenna and Coach Trippi deserve a tremendous amount of credit for establishing and sustaining that standard over the years. They built a program where academic excellence was expected, and we’re committed to continuing that tradition,” said first-year Batavia head coach Tom Barry.
The 2002 Elgin High School graduate is taking over for Kelsay after four years as her assistant.
“A streak like 29 consecutive years doesn’t happen by accident — it reflects a culture where student-athletes understand that success in the classroom is every bit as important as success on the court,” Barry said.
“I can't count the number of times I have witnessed our athletes doing homework on the bus to and from matches, sitting in the bleachers studying for an exam in between tournament games. It's truly inspiring.”
doberhelman@dailyherald.com