Parunika Sisodia and Nuzhat Parween will replace them at MI and RCB respectively
ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2025Mumbai Indians (MI) seam-bowling allrounder Pooja Vastrakar and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legspinner Asha Sobhana have been sidelined from the entire WPL 2025 with injuries. Parunika Sisodia, fresh off winning the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, and Railways wicketkeeper-batter Nuzhat Parween, will replace them at MI and RCB respectively.Vastrakar has been a “big player” for MI, as their head coach Charlotte Edwards alluded to during the pre-season press-conference, so filling the void created by her absence could be a challenge. Sisodia, the left-arm fingerspinner isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Vastrakar, but her recent form is encouraging for MI: she took five wickets across the semi-final and the final of the Under-19 World Cup, helping India become back-to-back champions.Related
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Akshita Maheshwari, the Rajasthan seam-bowling allrounder, is more of a like-for-like replacement for Vastrakar. In the Under-23 Women’s One Day Trophy last season, Maheshwari had finished with 23 wickets, the second-most in the competition, and picked up two hat-tricks: against Mizoram and Odisha.Asha’s unavailability, meanwhile, compounds RCB’s troubles. They are also sweating on the fitness of Shreyanka Patil and Ellyse Perry. Asha’s 12 wickets in 10 games at an economy rate of 7.11 were vital to RCB winning their maiden WPL title last season.Parween, who has played five T20Is for India, will be a back-up wicketkeeper to Richa Ghosh. She had scored 134 runs at a strike rate of 101.51 for Railways in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy earlier this season.WPL 2025 will kick off on February 14, with defending champions RCB taking on Gujarat Giants in Vadodara.
Birmingham City suffered a shock defeat to Port Vale in the League Cup on Tuesday night. The Valiants are currently sitting 41 places below Birmingham in the league pyramid, and post-match, Chris Davies tried to explain the result, via the club’s official channels.
“I think overall, we just didn’t find our normal rhythm to our game that we are so used to seeing – especially at home. Ultimately, we’ve gone behind to a set-piece, which can happen, but we just couldn’t find enough of our normal fluidity to create pressure and chances.”
The Birmingham boss thought that his side’s lack of attacking threat was a bigger concern than the goal they conceded: “Our connections, our passes, we weren’t as quick onto the ball as we normally are. A little bit of our intensity wasn’t there; they broke away a few times and got up the pitch. We just couldn’t find those chances.”
The Blues only managed an xG of 0.33 and didn’t register a shot on goal despite having 70% possession. Following the defeat, Birmingham have entered the race for an attacking talent who may help them avoid a repeat of their League Cup embarrassment in the Championship.
Birmingham turn to Celtic for new forward
Birmingham City are the latest club to enter the race for Yang Hyunjun as they “approach” Celtic to discuss a permanent deal, via Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph. The 23-year-old currently has three years left on their contract.
The Scottish champions have received a number of inquiries about the South Korean so far this window from clubs including Legia Warsaw, Gent and Norwich City, and when Norwich came in for the winger, it was reported that he indicated to Celtic his desire to explore a move away from the club
Warsaw inquired about Yang in early July, and they have since signed Sparta Prague winger Ermal Krasniqi on loan. Sky Sports have also reported that Gent are out of the race for Yang. Like Warsaw, Norwich have also signed an alternate winger since their Celtic inquiry with Senegal’s Papa Amadou Diallo.
This indicates that Birmingham’s rivals for Yang may be out of the race, allowing them a free run at the forward.
Suitors moved away from Yang, but that shouldn't dissuade Birmingham
While the Huddersfield game has illustrated Birmingham’s need to sign another attacker, the fact that numerous teams have inquired about Yang and gone in a different direction may raise concerns for some Birmingham fans.
Sky Sports went into detail about Gent’s decision not to sign Yang, saying: “The Belgian club’s head of recruitment and director of football both wanted to sign the South Korea international. However, it’s understood the manager, Ivan Leko, ultimately blocked the move as he wanted a left-footer with a better goals and assists record.”
Last season, Yang got 11 goal involvements in 34 appearances, which, while a decent return, isn’t an exceptional feat. What makes Yang’s record more impressive is that in the league, his 23 appearances lasted an average of 42 minutes, which indicates that when given the chance to play, he makes the most of it.
Despite his limited opportunities, Yang’s work ethic has been praised by Celtic’s Arne Engels, who, when asked about him, described Yang as “unbelievable”.
This indicates that Yang has the positive attitude and work ethic that will help in Birmingham’s promotion push, and his goal involvement will likely increase when he is given more opportunities to play.
Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, meanwhile, have signed George Linde and Alex Carey as replacement picks
Danyal Rasool24-Mar-2025Former Australia opener David Warner will captain the Karachi Kings in the tenth edition of the Pakistan Super League. Warner, who was the Kings’ first pick at the draft in January, replaces Shan Masood as captain.”We have a fantastic line-up and I’m super excited to take on the role of captain this year,” Warner said.Related
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Kings’ owner Salman Iqbal said Warner’s “track record as leader and match-winner aligns perfectly with our vision” while paying tribute to Masood, whom he expected to remain a “key player in the squad”.The Kings are looking to break out of a rut that has seen them miss out on the playoffs each of the last three seasons. Since winning their only title in 2020, they haven’t come close to replicating that success.Warner recently captained Sydney Thunder to the final of the 2024-25 Big Bash League, seven years on from Cricket Australia imposing a lifetime leadership ban on him in the wake of the ball-tampering fracas that engulfed Australia in Cape Town in 2018. The ban was lifted last year.George Linde has replaced Corbin Bosch in the Peshawar Zalmi squad•AFP/Getty ImagesLinde replaces Bosch, Carey replaces van der DussenPeshawar Zalmi have drafted in South Africa allrounder George Linde as a full replacement for his compatriot Corbin Bosch, who pulled out of the PSL to take part in the IPL that is running concurrently.Anoher South Africa star, the Islamabad United batter Rassie van der Dussen, is set to miss part of the season for personal reasons. Islamabad have named Australia keeper-batter Alex Carey as his partial replacement.These picks were made in an online replacement draft held on Monday. Peshawar Zalmi and Kings have reserved their replacement picks for Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana and keeper-batter Litton Das respectively, while Quetta Gladiators and Kings have reserved their replacement picks for New Zealand batters Mark Chapman and Kane Williamson respectively.The PSL begins on 11 April in Rawalpindi, with the final on 18 May in Lahore.
Arsenal are now leading the race for a “world-class” Barcelona star, who has the same agent as Viktor Gyokeres, with Mikel Arteta personally keen on a creative midfielder.
Gunners eyeing new midfielder despite Zubimendi masterclass
After suffering a setback against Liverpool before the international break, the Gunners responded in perfect fashion against Nottingham Forest, chalking up a 3-0 victory, with summer signing Martin Zubimendi looking particularly impressive.
The Spaniard bagged the opening and final goal against the Tricky Trees, finding the back of the net with a superb volley from the edge of the box, which saw the 26-year-old pick up the Man of the Match award.
Arteta is well-stocked in the engine room, with the manager clearly a big fan of Mikel Merino, having trusted the 29-year-old to start ahead of Declan Rice against Forest, saying: “Mikel [Merino] comes back after scoring four goals in two games with a really high emotional state and I want to use that when a player is in that moment.
“I want to play him because he is going to bring something different with the qualities that they have and Declan comes in and it will have an impact immediately or he will play the next game.”
However, according to a report from Spain, Arteta has set his sights on bringing in another creative midfielder in the January transfer window, with Arsenal now keen on a deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
The Gunners are said to be the leading candidates for De Jong’s signature, despite interest from the Saudi Pro League, with the Dutchman keen to remain at an elite European club, although ideally that would be Barcelona.
However, the 28-year-old, who cost the La Liga club €75m (£65m), is yet to agree a new contract with Barca, which means his current employers could look to cash-in this winter.
"World-class" De Jong could take Arsenal's midfield to next level
There are perhaps some doubts over whether the Gunners need another central midfielder, having signed Zubimendi in the summer, who has made a flying start to life at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal intensify interest in signing "special" gem ahead of Liverpool
He’s a future star…
ByTom Cunningham Sep 13, 2025
However, with Arteta’s side clearly at the stage where they can go deep into the Champions League, having reached the semi-finals last season, it makes sense to have a deeper squad, and De Jong could take their midfield to the next level.
Simone Inzaghi has suggested the Netherlands international could be one of the best players in the world in his position, saying: “Let me say that Frenkie de Jong is just sensational, he’s a world class player. Frenkie surprised me at same level as Lamine Yamal did.”
The Barca star, who is represented by HCM Sports management, the same agency as Gyokeres, has considerable experience at the top level, picking up 19 goals and 23 assists in 261 games for Barcelona, so it is exciting news that he could be on his way to the Emirates Stadium this winter.
Inaki Pena was "left with a bitter taste" after spending the latter half of the 2024-25 season on the bench, with Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick opting to play Wojciech Szczesny as the first-choice goalkeeper. Pena also revealed that the Catalans pressured him to delay his departure amid difficulty in registering summer signing Joan Garcia and the long-term absence of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
From Barcelona starter to bench warmer
Pena was included in the 2024-25 roster by head coach Hansi Flick, being assigned the role of Ter Stegen's understudy. However, just a month into the campaign, the German international suffered an ACL injury. Pena, thus, became the automatic choice to serve as the first-choice goalkeeper. In October, Barca struck an agreement with Wojciech Szczesny, who came out of retirement to join the Catalans until the end of the season.
Pena proved his credentials and showed that he was ready to shoulder the responsibility in Ter Stegen's absence, drawing praise for his incredible performance in the 4-0 drubbing of Real Madrid in a La Liga Clasico in October 2024. However, at the turn of the year, Szczesny was handed his first start in the Supercopa de Espana, and the Polish veteran sealed his spot in the XI, much to Pena's disappointment.
The-then 25-year-old reportedly had a private meeting with Flick, in which he was told by the German boss that the chances of him returning to the lineup were slim barring an injury to Szczesny. In all, Pena made 23 appearances for Barcelona last season.
Barcelona were keen on extending Szczesny's contract after his reassuring displays as the protector of their goal. Additionally, the Blaugrana were desperate to sign Garcia from Espanyol following his sensational performances in La Liga, with the young keeper coming to the club as the new first-choice custodian. With Ter Stegen also pretty much a part of the club's plans despite going to war with Barca's board, Pena's future at the club remained as uncertain as ever.
It was obvious that the Alicante-born goalkeeper would depart this past summer, but his exit was blocked by Barcelona. The club's fragile financial condition meant that they faced difficulties in completing the registrations of Garcia and Szczesny. As such, Pena was pressured to delay his transfer after explaining to the player that his switch to another club was contingent on if and when they could get the required registrations over the line.
Teams such as Como and Galatasaray had previously expressed interest in acquiring Pena's services, but the two clubs eventually moved on due to the recurring delays in Barca's clearing Pena for a departure. In the end, Pena signed a three-year extension with the reigning La Liga champions and joined newly-promoted Elche on a season-long loan.
Pena criticises Barcelona for asking him to delay summer transfer
“I played 25 or 26 games, but you're left with a bitter taste in your mouth when you haven't played for the last few months,” said the goalkeeper at his official presentation for Elche, who admitted that he chose Elche after weighing up “the pros and cons.”
He explained why his departure got delayed. “Barca asked me to wait until they registered the goalkeepers, and obviously, it was going to be easy because I have a contract, but I needed to play as many games as possible and have continuity, which is what I've been lacking in recent years to make the leap,” Pena added.
"[Elche head coach Eder Sarabia] knows what I can give and I know what he wants from me. I spoke to him several times in the summer, but Barca wouldn't let me leave until they had registered their goalkeepers. But he gave me confidence and told me they were waiting for me, something not all clubs do."
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Getty Images SportWhen does Pena play next?
Pena made his debut for Elche on September 21, helping his side to a 1-0 win over Real Oviedo. He started the next game, too – a 1-1 draw against Osasuna. However, he faces competition from 38-year-old Matias Dituro, who has started five games. Elche remain one of the only two teams, alongside Barca, to not have lost a single La Liga game so far.
Durham hampered in bid for victory by weather and injuries to seam attack
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay21-Apr-2025Captain Jonny Bairstow posted an unbeaten 86 as Yorkshire thwarted a depleted Durham attack to secure a Rothesay County Championship draw during a shortened fourth day at the Banks Homes Riverside.Impressive Bairstow shared half-century partnerships for the fifth and sixth wickets with allrounders George Hill and Matthew Revis during the morning session as Yorkshire, who started the day on 132 for 4 in their second innings – leading by 12 – reached 232 for 5 at lunch.With a lead of 112, Yorkshire had taken the sting out of the situation and continued to build their lead after the break, when rain arrived just before 3pm with the score at 277 for 6 from 105.3 overs and 157 ahead. A draw left them with a 13-point haul from this third round match, added to an earlier defeat and victory to start the season.Durham will rue the loss of injured seamers Paul Coughlin and Brendan Doggett throughout this fixture, which saw them claim 15 points and end a two-match losing start.Bairstow’s 167-ball effort included 11 fours and represented his second fifty of the summer.Coughlin’s abdominal problem was sustained on day one and seems more serious. Australian overseas Doggett, however, went over on his ankle during day three and was not on the field purely as a precaution.It meant captain Alex Lees, who scored a first-innings 172, was left with only four bowling options on day four – tireless new-ball seamers Ben Raine and Matthew Potts, medium-pacer Will Rhodes and the part-time offspin of Colin Ackermann. Durham had to use their 40-year-old batting coach Will Gidman as a substitute fielder.Bairstow started day four, which began with the floodlights on, with only two runs to his name. But he was quickly out of the blocks with a couple of boundaries off Potts in the day’s opening over.The situation meant that Bairstow, who played the last of his 100 Tests for England to date in March of last year, was never going to be wholly dominant. But he was far from becalmed against both the old ball and then the new.He completed a fifth-wicket stand of 59 with Hill, who contributed 24 before pulling Ackermann to midwicket, leaving Yorkshire at 176 for 5 in the 73rd over, a lead of 56.Bairstow was strong on the pull against Potts and then Raine, either side of reaching his fifty off 91 balls, while he drove another eye-catching boundary almost arrow straight off Rhodes.Revis also moved into the 20s with a couple of back-foot boundaries off Raine just before lunch at 232 for 5 with some light rain falling. After lunch, Potts had a five-over spell which Yorkshire negated. But by then, it felt as if the sting had been taken out of the situation with the threat of rain increasing.Potts bowled 50 overs in this match – 20 in the first innings and 30 in the second – for three wickets and has sent down 139 in three matches so far this season. Raine, meanwhile, has bowled 141 overs – the most in Division One. He took six wickets in the match.Ackermann had Revis caught behind off the inside-edge on 40, leaving Yorkshire 272 for 6. That ended a 96-run partnership with Bairstow, who was denied the chance to post a 32nd career first-class century. But his No. 1 objective of steering his side to safety had been achieved.Umpires Martin Saggers and Surendiran Shanmugam called a close to the fixture at 4pm.
Liverpool won the Premier League last season and then underwent major surgery throughout the summer transfer window.
Perhaps you could frame the Reds as a team in transition. This could be asserted for the 2024/25 campaign, when Liverpool pranced their way through the term and, yes, won the league title in Arne Slot’s first year at the helm.
Maybe it could also be argued that this is a transitional year for Liverpool. After all, many ins and outs occurred down Anfield Road this summer.
Regardless of which side of the fence you stand on, none can argue that Slot’s Liverpool are not title contenders once again, having won all five of their opening Premier League fixtures to establish a five-point lead at the summit. It took them until November to achieve that last year.
It is early days, of course, but the Merseysiders are shaping into quite the force, having signed Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz and many more.
However, they are hardly impregnable, with Liverpool’s defensive issues made worse by the ACL injury sustained by Giovanni Leoni against Southampton on Tuesday evening in the Carabao Cup.
How Leoni's injury affects Liverpool
Leoni must be gutted. Impressive on his Liverpool debut after leaving Parma in the summer, the 18-year-old will now recover across his first campaign in England, unlikely to be match fit until the business end.
Liverpool centre-back Giovanni Leoni
He had looked calm and assured and confident on the ball. Sadly, this is a significant setback for one so young. It’s about now that sporting director Richard Hughes might lament Crystal Palace’s failure to sign a Guehi replacement at the end of the transfer window, thus ending a move that looked all but complete and a summer in the making.
Such is football, but there’s no question the Premier League champions are now one Virgil van Dijk injury away from alarm bells to start ringing, with a four-front charge for silverware currently underway.
Guehi, too, may be frustrated at how things have panned out, with his chances of regular football at Liverpool almost certain had he indeed finalised that last-minute move.
Crystal Palace'sMarcGuehilooks dejected.
Hughes and Slot may also be tacitly frustrated that they sold Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m, with the hierarchy unable to promise the homegrown talent regularity of minutes for the club.
But then there will also be much confidence in Liverpool’s capacity to pull through. The backline has been refashioned over the past few months.
However, Quansah’s isn’t the only signature that may have left with an air of ruefulness. In fact, far more regret could be attributed to the mood when Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid in June.
Alexander-Arnold's value after leaving
Liverpool were hamstrung. Noise coming from the concerning contract situations of Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Alexander-Arnold dominated the 2024/25 campaign, Slot’s first at the helm.
It’s small wonder that many felt the Reds would fall apart following Jurgen Klopp’s departure, with the ‘big three’ all slated to follow him out the gates.
That wasn’t the case. The skipper and the attacking talisman both renewed their Liverpool vows, but Alexander-Arnold, 26, left for pastures new and is now a member of Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid team.
Premier League
257
18 (67)
Champions League
60
2 (13)
FA Cup
13
1 (3)
Carabao Cup
10
0 (6)
Europa League
5
0 (2)
Club World Cup
2
0 (1)
CL Qualifying
2
0 (1)
Community Shield
2
1 (0)
UEFA Super Cup
1
0 (0)
Hailed as a “generational” talent by content creator Asim Mahmood, Trent’s range of passing and his vision and inventions on the ball have
He might not be the answer to Liverpool’s central defensive issues right now, but it’s an underpinning of the upheaval that has beset Slot’s backline in recent months.
Having refused FSG’s offers, the England international was set to sign for Real Madrid on a free transfer before Florentino Perez decided to bring him over for the Club World Cup, paying the English outfit an £8m fee to release him from his contract several weeks early.
This is some distance below the figure Liverpool recouped from Quansah’s sale, and does at least highlight the club’s expertise at the negotiating table, spending heavily this summer but banking a pretty penny too.
Alas, what’s done is done, but Alexander-Arnold is one of the world’s best, even if he is struggling to click from the off with Los Blancos, in and out of the starting line-up before a cruel injury that has ruled him out of action for the foreseeable.
For Liverpool to have got anything from a player imminently out of contract is a testament to Hughes’ prowess behind the desk, but, as Transfermarkt record it, his market value has already shot back up to £66m, which stands taller than the £35m figure the Reds were willing to pay for Guehi.
Moreover, when Alexander-Arnold brings it all together in Spain – and he will – this value will only skyrocket further.
In spite of the signing of Frimpong, the continued development of Conor Bradley and Dominik Szoboszlai’s interesting rebrand into a right-back, when called upon, none of them is Trent.
Dominik Szoboszlai in action for Liverpool
He was truly one-of-a-kind, and the most painful part of all is that all of a red persuasion across Merseyside and beyond felt that he was on the pathway to immortality at Liverpool, sure to replace Van Dijk as club captain and then take his seat, one day, on a plinth beside Steven Gerrard.
“He’s been a superstar,” Alan Shearer said, acknowledging the Three Lions man at the end of his Premier League career.
Alexander-Arnold must always be treasured for his contribution toward a sustained period of success, but he sadly joins a different category now, and it’s one the fans will look back at regretfully for many years.
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Wayne Rooney has hit back at Steven Gerrard's claim that England's 'Golden Generation' were "egotistical losers". The Liverpool legend has attempted to explain why a star-studded group of players failed to savour international success. Manchester United icon Rooney also formed part of that squad for a while, and he is not convinced that fierce club divisions were to blame for the Three Lions struggling to roar when it mattered most.
Egotistical losers: What Gerrard said about Golden Generation
Ex-England captain Gerrard, who represented his country on 114 occasions between 2000 and 2014, has stated that the Three Lions “weren’t a team” during an era in which Sven-Goran Eriksson could call upon some of the finest talent in world football.
Gerrard told one of his former international team-mates on the podcast: "I think we were all egotistical losers. Why are we all mature enough now and at stages in our life where we’re closer and more connected? Why couldn’t we connect as England team-mates back then? I think it was down to the culture within England that we were all never connected. All in our rooms too much. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good strong team. It was like I didn’t feel part of a team. I didn’t feel connected with my team-mates with England. I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away."
AdvertisementGettyRooney's response to Gerrard
Rooney, having burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old, joined the England fold in 2003. He remained part of the set-up until 2018, taking the captain’s armband and raising a bar on the all-time goal front to 53 through 120 appearances. He never reached a major international semi-final, with the Three Lions going on to make back-to-back European Championship finals since then under the guidance of Gareth Southgate.
Speaking on , another Three Lions great said in response to Gerrard: "Obviously, we didn't win anything. I wouldn't quite put it that way but I know what he's saying. There was a lot of big characters in the dressing room. I wouldn't say [England squads now have a] better attitude. That's disrespectful to us as players because we worked hard, we tried. We didn't quite manage to do it. Even when you look back with the players we had could we have done better? We could have but it wasn't to be."
He added: "What you have now is [rival teams'] players training [together] before they go back to pre-season together – Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford for instance. It's a different generation. The big thing is the media coverage of it is much better. The players get on better with the media. From the outside that gives a better feeling."
England divides: Man Utd vs Liverpool rivalry
Rooney went on to say of supposed divides in the England camp caused by rivalries that form at club level: "It [was] difficult to have that relationship with Liverpool and Man United players. It's easier now. I speak to Steven all the time [now]. You can have better relationships now because you can have a beer together and relax more.
"I was fine with everyone, I got on with everyone. I was aware Becks [David Beckham] and Gary Neville and Scholesy [Paul Scholes], you could see they weren't going to be close to the Liverpool players. But one thing for sure is everyone worked hard for each other. I don't think that was an issue. We just didn't manage to get over the line. I didn't see that at all."
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GettyCan England deliver? Trophy wait to hit 60-year mark
Rooney maintains that England always "believed we could win, for sure", with "100 per cent" being given at all times, with factors outside of their control – such as untimely injuries and red cards – often conspiring against them.
England’s wait for a first major international trophy in the men’s game since 1966 continues, with Thomas Tuchel charged with the task of bringing a 60-year wait for tangible success to a close as the Three Lions close in on qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Aakash Chopra calls CSK’s batting order “a stopgap arrangement”, while Stephen Fleming says they have been “just patching innings up, rather than constructing good innings”
ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20252:19
Chopra: CSK should ‘probably trade’ Jadeja
If you lose ten of your 13 games in an IPL season, chances are that everything, from top to bottom and even beyond, will come under scrutiny. Such is life for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as they look to finish their commitments for the IPL 2025 season and go back to the drawing board, and when they do, Sanjay Bangar wants MS Dhoni to say “enough”, and Aakash Chopra wants seven – seven! – players to be released.”I’ve got a long list actually. I would release [R] Ashwin, [Ravindra] Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi…” Chopra said in response to a question on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show after CSK’s latest defeat, this time to Rajasthan Royals (RR).Dhoni’s name didn’t figure in Chopra’s list, but Bangar doesn’t expect to see Dhoni playing one more season.Related
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“I think at 43 it’s very tough to play in that competitive environment. When you’re 43, why this competitive environment, even if you go and play some local cricket, you will find how tough it is on the body as well,” Bangar said in response to the question that has been asked pretty much every IPL season of late.”It all boils down to MS, but if I was MS, I would say ‘enough’. ‘Okay, I have played whatever I wanted to play, I have looked after the interest of the franchise’, if there’s any, if that was the motivation. But, you know, you move on.”By you being there, if you’re thinking that the transition will happen fast, there’s never an ideal time to pick. So you might as well [make] peace with the fact that, ‘okay, even if I leave now, the franchise will develop on its own; it will take a year longer, but I’m not going to be here for the entire cycle’. That’s how I would look at MS’ position if I was in that position.”Whether Dhoni chooses to stay or go, CSK could well be looking at an overhaul after what has been a horror season that started to turn pear-shaped early on, and only got worse. One of the players – another CSK veteran – who has come in for scrutiny is Jadeja, who was moved up to No. 4 and has struggled on more occasions than he has not.1:26
What should Dhoni do after this season?
“Probably trade him. You have Dewald Brevis as your No. 4. I will bat him at No. 4 [instead of Jadeja],” Chopra said. “And I am thinking that this won’t be the one-two-three any which way. This is a stopgap arrangement where you’ve got Devon Conway with Ayush Mhatre [opening] and Urvil Patel at No. 3. That is not going to be your one-two-three.”If you are releasing Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, it’s common sense that you will find somebody who can be an absolute banker at the top and probably [even] a destructor at the top. Why would you want Ruturaj Gaikwad to bat again with somebody who is not going hammer and tongs? I want to have Urvil Patel at three [and] I would rather have one more [overseas] guy… I mean, they need Noor Ahmad and [Matheesha] Pathirana, then you need two batters: either you get a finisher with Dewald Brevis, or you get a top-order batter with Dewald Brevis.”Like Chopra, Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach, said at the press conference after the loss to RR that the batting order was far from what the team had wanted, and it was just “patching innings up” at this point.3:01
Which players should CSK release ahead of the next auction?
“Our order is not right at this stage,” Fleming said. “That’s something that we are always looking to rejig. We’ve got some strong ideas for next year so that all facets are covered. But that hasn’t been possible this year because [of] lack of runs at the top. A lot of the batting positions are determined by how well a start we have, and then guys can fall into line. So we haven’t had that, so we’ve been just patching innings up, really, rather than constructing good innings.”The loss of Gaikwad, the captain, to an injury early on in the season was one setback that CSK, who have had many underperforming batters, couldn’t recover from.Bangar was also hoping for a sea change in terms of the approach for CSK between the end of the current season and the start of the next one.”If there are batters right at the top who are striking really well, and you have batters below you as well who are striking well in Brevis and in this case Shivam Dube – and they were hoping for better returns from all these players – do you require a player who has to do a particular job of holding that innings together as well,” he said when asked about Sam Curran often batting at No. 3 and Jadeja at No. 4. In fact, against RR, there was no Curran, but Ashwin at No. 4 and Jadeja at No. 5, which Chopra and Bangar agreed was far from ideal.
Sunderland’s season might well have hit a bump in the road at Old Trafford on Saturday, but the Premier League newcomers won’t feel completely derailed by the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
After all, the Black Cats are still sitting in an encouraging ninth position in the early standings, with an expectation that they can bounce back immediately from the defeat at the Theatre of Dreams when Vitor Pereira’s winless Wolverhampton Wanderers next come to Wearside.
Regis Le Bris should very much be commended for this top start to the season, as well, with the Frenchman actually up for the honour of September’s Manager of the Month accolade.
He is joined by Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs in being recognised for their efforts over the last month with the Mackems pair up for Player of the Month.
In an alternate reality, the current make-up of the Black Cats team could look disjointed and messy after a hectic off-season that saw signings aplenty join the building, but also saw Jobe Bellingham disappointingly up and leave for the glamour of Borussia Dortmund.
Fortunately, even without him, they’ve been right as rain in 2025/26 to date.
How Jobe Bellingham is faring at Dortmund
Amazingly, despite garnering much hype at the Stadium of Light, the ex-Sunderland boy wonder never pulled on the famous red and white stripes of the Black Cats in the Premier League.
Instead, the 20-year-old’s final chapter on Wearside fell in the Championship as Le Bris and Co. sealed promotion, with journalist Josh Bunting even hailing the England U21 international as “sensational” when strutting his stuff at the promotion chasers.
While he did begin his footballing education at Birmingham City, it’s fair to say Bellingham very much honed his craft at Sunderland, with the standout number seven managing to mature at a rapid pace, after being handed the first-team reins initially by Tony Mowbray.
A bumper tally of 11 goals and four assists from 90 Sunderland clashes would eventually alert the Bundesliga giants of Dortmund to his services, with the Black and Yellow forking out a substantial £27.8m to land the exciting midfielder.
It hasn’t all gone to plan for Bellingham on German soil so far, though, with just two Bundesliga starts coming his way this season.
In fact, his spell in Germany has been a little controversial thus far with his father, Mark, reportedly unhappy with his son’s playing time, directing anger at manager Niko Kovac.
However, it still goes without saying that the 20-year-old was a stunning success story on Sunderland’s end, with the youngster once just a wide-eyed teenager but now a Champions League figure for Kovac’s side.
So, where could the next Bellingham come from?
Sunderland's biggest talent since Bellingham
Just one glance at those who have previously donned the number ten shirt at Sunderland gives you a quick indication as to why it’s a cherished number.
Kevin Phillips wore that exact number when he bagged 30 goals for the Black Cats during one single top-flight season, while Jordan Henderson also briefly pulled it on, too, before the might of Liverpool came knocking.
While it is, of course, early days into his Sunderland development, Timur Tuterov might well be in line to also pull on that much-talked-about number very soon.
It’s a bold call, indeed, but the Ukrainian is displaying a Phillips-like potency for the U21s this season, as one of his efforts – which saw Tuterov score a fine solo effort – seeing him nominated for Sunderland’s goal of the month competition for September.
Indeed, from just four Premier League 2 contests so far this campaign, the Ukraine U21 international has managed to bag a blistering five strikes in just four games, with back-to-back braces falling into his lap against West Ham and Burnley.
It’s rather evident to see why academy manager Robin Nicholls once described him as “an exciting prospect.”
LW
12
5 + 2
CF
5
1 + 1
RW
3
1 + 0
LM
2
1 + 0
AM
1
2 + 0
RM
1
0
Should he continue scoring goals at that rate of knots, then Tuterov could also be the biggest talent Sunderland has managed to produce since turning Bellingham into a Dortmund superstar, with the 20-year-old also an adaptable presence, much like the Englishman.
With Le Bris also well-known for getting plenty out of youngsters at his disposal, with Chris Rigg turned into a first-team starter last season, it does feel as if Tuterov could be the next shouted-about name ready to leave an impression on the senior ranks.
Patience will have to be exercised here, but Sunderland’s glittering track record does seem to suggest that Tuterov could be the next gem ready to pull on the number 10 jersey, living up to Bellingham’s insane hype in the process.
Forget Isidor: "Awesome" Sunderland man could be a £30m star in the making
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