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Silly season is here, and it looks set to be a busy one for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta and new Sporting Director Andrea Berta will be looking for the right attacking players who could help them finally get over the line in the Premier League next season.

One of the most interesting links in recent weeks has been to Real Madrid superstar Rodrygo, who has been a key component of a team who have won it all in recent years – even if 24/25 was a bit of a disappointment.

There is no doubt that the Brazilian is just the sort of signing that would get fans on their fee, but if recent reports are to be believed, the club may be closing in on another signing, someone who’d be even more exciting than the winger.

Arsenal lodge new striker bid

Before we get to the star in question, it’s worth going over some of the other incredibly exciting players who have been touted for moves to Arsenal in recent weeks and months, such as Rayan Cherki and Benjamin Sesko.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The former could be available for around £30m in the coming weeks, and that might end up being one of the bargains of the window, as in just 44 appearances for Lyon this season, the young Frenchman has scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists.

Sesko, on the other hand, might cost as much as £75m, but as he’s still just 21 years old and managed to rack up a tally of 21 goals and six assists in 45 games for RB Leipzig this season, he may well be an investment worth making.

Yet, if Arteta and Co really want to get the fans excited ahead of next season, they need to sign someone who can come in ready to score bags and bags of goals, someone like Viktor Gyokeres.

So, supporters should be delighted that, according to a recent report from Italy, Arsenal are in active talks with the Swede’s representatives, and they have already offered him a contract until 2030.

Furthermore, the report has claimed that Sporting CP is asking for a fee of around €65m, which is about £54m, to give the “green light to the sale” and allow the Gunners to complete a signing that would be even more exciting than the potential signing of Rodrygo.

Why Gyokeres would be a more exciting signing than Rodrygo

So, the first thing to say is that both players would be simply brilliant additions to this Arsenal squad, but there is one fundamental reason from which all others stem as to why Gyokeres would be more exciting than Rodrygo: his output.

Even with everything that went wrong this season, the Gunners were still able to produce the best defence in the Premier League, so to bridge the gap and overtake Liverpool, they need someone who can come right into the first team and start scoring goals for fun, which is just what the Swedish “powerhouse,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, could do.

For example, since he joined Sporting CP ahead of last season, the former Coventry City star has scored a simply astounding 97 goals and provided 28 assists in just 102 appearances, totalling 8417 minutes.

That means the goalscoring “monster,” as dubbed by Mattinson, has averaged 1.22 goal involvements per game, or one every 67.33 minutes for two seasons now.

In contrast, the Real star has scored 31 goals and provided 19 assists in 102 appearances, totalling 7067 minutes, since the start of last season.

Appearances

50

52

Minutes

4169′

3777′

Goals

43

18

Assists

15

9

Goal Involvements per Match

1.16

0.51

Minutes per Goal Involvement

71.87′

143.04′

Appearances

52

50

Minutes

4248′

3290′

Goals

54

13

Assists

13

10

Goal Involvements per Match

1.28

0.46

Minutes per Goal Involvement

63.40′

143.04′

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.04 games, or every 141.34 minutes, which is still impressive but nowhere near as good as the Stockholm-born marksman.

Ultimately, in an ideal world, Arsenal should sign both players, but as an out-and-out goalscorer is what they need more than anything else at the moment, it has to be said that Gyokeres would be just about the most exciting addition Berta and Co could make to the team this summer.

He's a lot like Isak: Arsenal make contact to sign £42m Havertz upgrade

The incredible goalscorer would be great for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 27, 2025

Following ankle surgery and a knee issue, the 34-year old restated his class with 5 for 53 against Bangladesh

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Feb-20251:41

Kumble: Shami used the cutter to great effect

Eventually we all get old and the body just ain’t what it used to be. The joints feel weird in rooms where the air conditioning is too strong. You twinge an oblique muscle reaching for the remote. You dislocate a kneecap and make up a story about how you did it playing football, when really you had slipped in the shower.And where sleep used to be the thing that fixed your ailments, at some point in your 30s, your body decides there is a correct way and an incorrect way to sleep, and man, you had better not mess it up because otherwise your neck is going to pay for it for a week.Mohammed Shami has been coming to terms with these truths over the past 14 months too. He’s in his mid-30s, which is about the age at which the body’s natural unclehood starts to set in.The difference is that his is a body that bowls fast at the elite level, which, you know, is one of the most impressive things a human body can do. And Shami was doing this already-impressive thing especially impressively.Few bowlers have ever had a tournament like Shami’s 2023 World Cup. He rolled up part-way through it, scythed through 24 batters in seven matches, and averaged 10.70 in India’s run to the final. His right ankle, it turns out, was hurting him right through those spells. Just as he was hitting some of the greatest rhythm of his life that body had begun to let him down. The Achilles tendon needed surgery.Could another ICC tournament bend to Shami’s whim?•Associated PressThere is something profoundly humanising about fast bowlers confronting their physical fragility. Dale Steyn, one of cricket’s most menacing figures ever, said he would “have a little cry” and “throw [his] toys around the cot a little bit” when the injuries piled up towards the end of his career. Shami wasn’t admitting to tantrums, but he too used the language of childhood to describe his recovery process. “It felt like I was starting over, like a toddler learning how to walk,” he said of putting his surgery-addled foot on the ground for the first time.You could be one of the finest quicks your country has produced. You could have thrilled hundreds of millions with spectacular World Cup spells, and turned Ben Stokes into a brain-melted mess as a stadium roared for you in Lucknow. But you go to enough hospitals, see enough X-rays and MRI scans, have enough medical professionals comment on swelling, bleeding, ruptures, bone stress, etc, and it is hammered into you that you are a skin-bag filled with bones, flesh, organs, blood, plus some extras, just like the person who is slipping in the shower and dislocating their knee. What a distance to fall.And what a distance to travel to return to where your body once had been. Fast-bowling fitness is not like batting fitness, or even spin-bowling fitness. Your workload will almost always be more taxing than any other kind of cricketer in the team. Your knees not only have to climb or descend stairs, they have to withstand several times your body weight with each delivery, and you likely have to repeat that dozens of times a day. Part-way through his Achilles recovery, his left knee – the one right-arm bowlers put the most stress on – gave way, substantially extending his recovery period.Related

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There is some understanding here, and in this India team, there appears to be a lot of space for Shami to be less than what he used to be, at least while he’s feeling his way back into the game. “All we wanted with Shami was to get back to wearing Indian colours more than anything else,” Rohit Sharma said of Shami’s comeback in the recent England series, in which his returns were middling. “Whether he took wickets or not was completely immaterial to us.”But wickets are not immaterial to top-quality bowlers. In professional sports, the goodwill you have earned with your team only lasts so long. At some point, there had to be some big numbers in that wickets’ column. Such is his quality as a bowler, it didn’t take long for Shami to get there.Many of the Shami hallmarks were there in this spell. The ball seamed viciously early on, Soumya Sarkar not quite the mess Stokes had been, but this may only be because he faced just five deliveries from Shami, one which jagged back at him and found the inside edge, followed by KL Rahul’s gloves. Shami was mostly moving it in one direction on Thursday, and it was the outside edge of the right-hand batters he tested. One of those awayseamers soon kissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s bat, and Shubman Gill snaffled the chance in the cordon.This was not premium Shami. There were errors in length. There were occasional strayings too far down the off side with the new ball. But in between the messy deliveries, Shami also played the hits. When he came back at the death, there were wide, full deliveries with the off side stacked, decent slower ones, the occasional bouncer, and three further wickets to complete the five-wicket haul. The consistency wasn’t quite there. The rhythm wasn’t 100% back. But his best balls – yeah, there were plenty of those – had survived the surgery, and the arduous trek back to fast-bowling fitness.From doubt and rehab to elation and relief•Getty Images”Those 14 months were very tough because you have to do the same things again and again, those things pinch you and you feel the pain 24 hours a day,” he said. “Every person wants to continue their good form, but you can never say for how long such things continue. I always ask myself if I’m satisfied with my performances according to my role. Especially in ICC events, I know that even if I leak plenty of runs, I should at least try to get some wickets.”Ideally, Jasprit Bumrah would have been here to ease his return, but he’s confronting his own fragility right now. There is no question that, particularly in Asian conditions, they make each other greater.But India play every one of their games in Dubai, the cricket world in constant thrall of the money their board brings in. If Thursday’s track was anything to go by, the pitches in Dubai are likely to be similar for the rest of the tournament. As they had been in heavy use during the ILT20, these essentially are pitches that are described as “tired” – as if it is the pitch’s job to summon the energy to rush the ball on to the batter – and these ones are feeling a bit of a nap coming on.What this really means is that there is likely to be less bounce for the duration of the tournament in Dubai. The ball is likely to be a little slower, and occasionally it will skid. What we are describing, essentially, are the perfect conditions for Shami.Whether all that will play out remains to be seen. For now, this is enough. Shami is back. His skin-bag of flesh, bones, blood, and guts is doing the thing we are used to watching it do. And we are in the earliest days yet, but he is, at this moment the highest wicket-taker in another big ODI tournament.

The Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans batter has 243 runs in three innings so far in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Daya Sagar and Rajan Raj16-Nov-2022Tuesday was an unforgettable day in the life of Tamil Nadu opening batter Sai Sudharsan. Not only did the 21-year-old score his maiden List-A century in his team’s 14-run win over Chhattisgarh in Alur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans also opted to retain him for the 2023 season.Sudharsan’s innings had an added significance because his mother, Usha Bharadwaj, was also in attendance, having made the 500-kilometre trip from Chennai to watch her son play. She has watched Sudharsan in all three Vijay Hazare Trophy games this season, with the left-hander serving up scores of 121 off 109, 73 off 75 and 49 off 38.Related

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Who is Sai Sudharsan, and what's his back-story?

Usha was herself a volleyball player in her youth. She has become a fitness trainer since and guides her son too about his fitness routine.”More than being emotional, I am quite happy today,” Usha says. “The way he [Sudharsan] has been working hard, this century was just a matter of time. He would have got there in the previous match itself but he got run out. He may have got a three-figure score today, but our conversations will be completely normal. We speak to him more on days when he fails to perform.””I am very happy because I have been looking forward to scoring a century for a long time,” Sudharsan says of his knock. “To do it with my mother and brother in attendance just makes it more special.”Sudharsan’s entire family has strong sporting connections. His father R Bharadwaj was a sprinter and represented India at the 100m event at the 1993 SAF Games in Dhaka. His elder brother Sai Ram played football and cricket at competitive levels, and was also present at the Alur ground to watch his sibling bat on Tuesday.The last one and a half year has been surreal for Sudharsan. On his Tamil Nadu Premier League debut in July 2021, he smashed 87 off 43 balls. He scored five half-centuries in eight innings and finished the season with 358 runs, second on the run-getters list, ahead of more experienced batters like Shahrukh Khan, Vijay Shankar, N Jagadeesan, Baba Aparajith and Baba Indrajith.Sai Sudharsan scored 145 runs in five innings in IPL 2022•BCCIThis performance brought the attention of IPL teams upon him, and he also got his first taste of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu. New franchise Titans picked him at the auction, and he scored 145 runs at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 127.19 in his debut season. He didn’t have a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (170 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 121.42) but in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, has accumulated 243 runs in three innings so far, at an average of 81.00 and a strike rate of 109.45.Sudharsan’s parents have had a big role in his success. Being sportspersons themselves, they emphasised the importance of “discipline in sports” from his early years.”He was about eight when he first showed an interest in sport,” Usha says. “My husband was an athlete too and we were keen that he should also be associated with some sport. We didn’t know then that cricket would be his sport of choice. But we supported him wholeheartedly once we realised it would be cricket.”My husband and I make sure we take care of his physical and mental fitness. In the past couple of years, there wouldn’t have been too many days when he hasn’t devoted some time to meditation and yoga. He goes to bed only after preparing a list of things to do the following day. This would be details of meditation, yoga, sprints, on-field training and net practice. He also maintains notes of what he has done well and what he could improve upon.”Sudharsan concurs. “I maintain a note of my daily targets and also what I want to improve upon,” he says. “I will also analyse this century, because while I did put up a score, there were areas that I could have improved upon.”Apart from this, I also write other observations about myself. I do some different kinds of sprints, and also run longer distances for 15-16 minutes every day. My parents guide me through this. My father has represented India and knows what it takes from a fitness standpoint.”Sudharsan understands that his cricketing journey has just begun, and he still has a long way to go. That’s why any questions about his IPL future or the prospect of a Ranji Trophy debut this season are met with a simple statement that all he wants to do for now is to help his team win the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Also, with Mayank Agarwal not playing, why did Chris Gayle not open?

Matt Roller24-Oct-2020Why did Gayle not open?With Mayank Agarwal missing – he suffered some bruising in the last match and is likely to be available for their next game – the Kings XI brought in Mandeep Singh to open, opting to leave Chris Gayle at No. 3.ESPNcricinfo LtdThat decision was likely influenced by two Gayle match-ups: one good, one bad. Sandeep Sharma has had the better of Gayle whenever he has bowled to him in the IPL, dismissing him four times in 59 balls. Given Sandeep had bowled three powerplay overs in two of the Sunrisers’ last three games, it made sense to shield Gayle from him.Meanwhile, Gayle has been one of the few men to achieve sustained success against Rashid Khan: he had hit 79 runs from the 45 balls he had faced from him in all T20s before tonight, while the Kings XI’s other middle-order batsmen Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran had both struggled to score against him.The decision appeared to have worked when Gayle avoided facing Sharma, and hit Khan’s fifth ball for six over wide long-on – though when he fell to Jason Holder just at the halfway point in the innings, it left two overs of Khan for the rest of the batting line-up to negotiate.Is time running out for Maxwell?This was the 80th match of Glenn Maxwell’s IPL career, and his stats in the competition do not make for pretty reading: he averages 22.04, and while his overall strike rate is an impressive 155.01, it has been a sluggish 102.00 this season.ESPNcricinfo LtdAttempting a rebuild with Nicholas Pooran, he knocked the ball around for 12 balls, before holing out to David Warner at wide long-on with his first boundary attempt. Maxwell has now faced 100 balls in the season without hitting a six, and nobody who has faced that many balls has scored at a slower pace.It will be interesting to see whether he keeps his place against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the next game – though with several left-hand batsmen in the opposition, his offspin can come handy.Why did Jordan come in for Neesham?After a solid contribution in the win against the Delhi Capitals, James Neesham was left out for Chris Jordan. It was a move that strengthened the Kings XI’s bowling but weakened their batting, with Jordan slotted at No. 7 and four genuine tailenders after him. The issues with that move were laid bare when Maxwell and Pooran found themselves having to knock the ball around after KL Rahul and Gayle fell in successive balls, knowing that they did not have the batting depth required to keep attacking in their usual gung-ho way.Perhaps the decision was made in the knowledge that Maxwell would have less of a role with the ball. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow both have superb records against offspin, meaning that Maxwell – who had opened the bowling in the Kings XI’s last three games – had to be held back. As a result, the Kings XI opted to play five frontline bowlers rather than splitting four overs between allrounders Maxwell and Neesham. It proved to be an excellent call, with Jordan coming up trumps at the death to finish with 3 for 17 from his four overs.Warner’s fast startFaced with a low target and the opportunity to improve the Sunrisers’ net run rate, Warner got off to an uncharacteristically fast start this season. So far in the tournament, he had struck at just 97.70 in his first 15 balls, generally getting himself set and trying to bat through the innings while letting Bairstow fly out of the blocks.But tonight, he decided to attack early and take the required rate below six as soon as possible: he hit two sixes in his first eight balls, lofting Mohammed Shami over extra cover and slog-sweeping Arshdeep Singh over square leg.He was dismissed in the seventh over, gloving a reverse sweep through to Rahul, but by that point, the Sunrisers had a 96.17% chance of victory, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster. It was also the first time since May 2014 that Warner had been dismissed without reaching a half-century against the Kings XI, a run which saw him put up nine consecutive fifties against them.What has happened to Bairstow against legspin?Last season, Bairstow was dismissed by legspin in each of his first five IPL innings – although he made 39, 45, 114, 48 and 16 in them. But all told, he was brutal against leggies in his first IPL season, scoring at a belligerent strike rate of 189.88 against them.ESPNcricinfo LtdThis year, it has been a different story. He has managed only 73 runs in 63 balls against legspinners, being dismissed four times in the six innings he has faced them. His issues against them were evident tonight as he struggled to read M Ashwin out of the hand, making 12 off 12 balls against him before being bowled around his legs while sweeping the first ball he faced from Ravi Bishnoi.What was Pandey thinking?Following a superb, match-winning innings against the Rajasthan Royals, Manish Pandey’s turgid knock of 15 off 29 balls was almost inexplicable. Coming in with 71 required off 82 balls, perhaps it was understandable that he didn’t come out all guns blazing, but according to ESPNcricinfo’s data, he didn’t attempt a single boundary.He struggled against Bishnoi in particular, scoring only six runs from the 12 balls he faced from him. While the pitch became slower and slower as the innings went on, Pandey’s innings undid the work that Warner and Bairstow had done in breaking the back of the chase against the new ball, and when substitute J Suchith took a spectacular catch at long-off, the required rate was above seven.Why was Holder not used to counter the spinners?Since 2018, Jason Holder had scored at a strike rate of 147.39 against spin in all T20s, and just 110.66 against seamers coming into this game. For Vijay Shankar, those numbers are almost inverted: 106.56 against spin, and 146.31 against seamers. As a result, it seemed like a strange call to leave Holder in the lower-middle order rather than promoting him to counter Bishnoi and Ashwin.With such a fine margin between victory and defeat in the end, and with Holder struggling against the seamers in his innings of 5 off eight balls, it could have been the crucial difference.

Thomas Frank’s appointment at Tottenham Hotspur has seen a new era begin at the football club, with the Dane tasked with taking the side to the next level under his guidance.

The 52-year-old has already formed numerous impressive partnerships across the first-team squad, with centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero nailing their places down as regular starters.

The duo have started all but three league games together in 2025/26, with the pair no doubt playing a crucial role in the Lilywhites’ away record – which is the joint-best in the division at present.

Spurs’ latest fixture against PSG saw Frank unleash a midfield duo of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, an opportunity which both players took full advantage of, potentially making them the manager’s long-term pairing at the heart of the side.

However, the Dane will no doubt be wishing that he could rely upon a couple of players who set the Premier League alight during their period together in North London.

The success of Kane & Son’s partnership at Spurs

Back in the summer of 2015, Spurs completed the £23m signature of winger Heung-min Son from Bayer Leverkusen – subsequently arriving as an unknown quantity to many supporters.

Such a move came at around the same time as academy striker Harry Kane was making his mark in the first-team ranks after various loan spells across the Football League.

However, not many people could have foreseen the impact they would have alongside one another, with such a partnership being one of, if not, the best, in England’s top-flight.

The pair linked up for 47 goals between one another – the most of any duo in the division’s history – with many of which handing the fans memories to last a lifetime.

A two-year spell between 2020 and 2022 was by far and away their most successful, as the duo linked up on 21 separate occasions for goals – a simply staggering feat.

One game will no doubt stand out, as Kane registered all four assists for Son in the 5-2 demolition of Southampton back in 2020/21 – with such a record putting the Englishman joint-top for most assists in a single English league game.

However, in 2025, Frank is unable to rely upon either of the aforementioned talents, with both moving on to pastures new over the last two years – undoubtedly leaving a huge hole in the Lilywhites’ attack.

The Spurs duo who are becoming Frank’s own Son & Kane

During his time as a manager, Frank has not been alien to iconic duos at the top end of the pitch, with the Dane fortunate to work with multiple elite attackers at Brentford.

In the Championship years and the first few seasons in the Premier League, he was able to rely upon the likes of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo at the GTEC.

The pair scored 29 combined goals back in 2022/23, 11 goals shy of the tally produced by Kane and Son, but still managed to cement themselves as one of the division’s most threatening pairs.

In the present day, the Spurs boss has none of those players at his disposal in North London, but the Lilywhites hierarchy have handed him the opportunity to improve the options in his current squad.

He took full advantage during the summer window, splashing a reported £55m on the signature of winger Mohammed Kudus from fellow Premier League side West Ham United.

Such a fee will have raised eyebrows, but the Ghanaian international has already made an immediate impact in North London after his controversial transfer.

He’s already managed to register four assists in the Premier League to date, with such a tally putting him joint-top in the division alongside the likes of Jack Grealish and Yankuba Minteh.

The numbers produced by Kudus are similar to Son’s, leading to similarities being drawn due to their ability to create endless opportunities for their teammates in North London.

Their playstyles are also extremely similar, with both talents loving to take on their opponents, before cutting off their respective flanks and getting shots off on goal.

Games played

11

Goals & assists

5

Pass accuracy

87%

Successful crosses

1.8

Successful dribbles

3.3

Dribble success

48%

Chances created

1.5

Duels won

7.1

The other half of Frank’s duo at the top end of the pitch is made up by loanee Randal Kolo Muani, who joined the Lilywhites on a season-long loan from PSG.

The striker has often had to bide his time to regular minutes since his switch, as Richarlison has often been ahead of him in the pecking order, or he’s been sidelined with fitness issues.

However, his showing against his parent side on Wednesday night highlighted his impressive ability within the final third when given an opportunity to thrive.

The 26-year-old netted twice and registered an assist in the 5-3 defeat in the Champions League, but his clinical finishes certainly did show glimpses of what Kane produced in North London.

The pair, who earn a combined £300k-per-week at Spurs, will need time to gel and form a deadly partnership, but the early signs appear positive for the individuals.

If they can click together in the near future, there’s no reason why they can’t star together in the remainder of 2025/26 and potentially lead Frank to a successful first season at the helm.

Romero upgrade: Spurs "ready to make" £35m bid for "world-class" defender

Tottenham Hotspur look set to make a huge January move for a new centre-back.

1 ByEthan Lamb Nov 28, 2025

India have a training session in Kolkata on Tuesday morning but Gill is not expected to take part in that

Sreshth Shah16-Nov-20253:39

Bangar: Sai Sudharsan should have played instead of a fourth spinner

India Test captain Shubman Gill has been discharged from the hospital where he was receiving treatment for neck spasm sustained during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. He, however, remains in doubt for the second Test in Guwahati starting Saturday.India have a training session in Kolkata on Tuesday morning but Gill is not expected to take part in that. The team is expected to fly to Guwahati on Wednesday, but with commercial air travel not advised for people recovering from neck issues, Gill is unlikely to fly with the team that day.Head coach Gautam Gambhir said at the post-match press conference that Gill was “still being assessed”, with another assessment to be carried out by the physio and team soon. Gill’s absence in the fourth innings left India a batter short in their 30-run loss in a low-scoring game.Related

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“It was tough because we always knew we were one down,” Gambhir said after India were bowled out for 93 in their chase of 124. “Obviously, Shubman wasn’t there, and then losing two before lunch, we were literally three down. But we always felt that if we got those partnerships, a 50-run partnership or two 40-run partnerships, we would’ve been in the game.”If Gill is unavailable for the next Test, potential replacements are left-hand batters B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal. Sudharsan made 87 and 39 against West Indies in Delhi but had a top score of 32 in four innings for India A against South Africa A earlier this month. Padikkal, who played one Test each in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the home series against England, returned three single-digit scores and a 24 against South Africa A.If that’s the only change India make for the Guwahati Test, it would leave them with seven left-hand batters in their XI. In Kolkata, India fielded six left-hand batters for the first time. Of the eight wickets offspinner Simon Harmer took in the Kolkata Test, six were of left-hand batters, while part-time offspinner Aiden Markram also dismissed one left-hand batter.Gill was admitted to the hospital after the second day of the Kolkata Test, following the decision to retire hurt after facing only three balls in India’s first innings. On the morning of the third day, the BCCI said Gill would take no further part in the Test.Gill missed a Test against New Zealand in October 2024 due to a neck spasm too. His injury scare comes at a time when his workload has been under constant monitoring. He has played cricket non-stop across formats since IPL 2025 and was among four Test players who flew to Kolkata straight from Australia after the T20I series.

County Championship 2026 will be played in three blocks of matches starting in April, June and August

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2025

Player representatives have reiterated their fear of burnout in the wake of the full fixture release for the 2026 domestic season in England and Wales.Following the announcement of the County Championship and One-Day Cup schedules on Thursday, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) was particularly critical of the period from late August to late September, which comprises six rounds of Championship fixtures and the 50-over final.The 2026 Rothesay County Championship will be played in three blocks of matches – with each side playing a total of 14 times after counties rejected a proposal earlier this year to cut the number of first-class games to 13, a decision which had already raised the ire of the players’ union.Related

Warwickshire retire Birmingham Bears moniker for revamped T20 Blast

Counties reject plan to cut Championship fixtures

Each county will play six matches during the first seven-week block, with all matches during that period starting on a Friday. A mid-summer block will be staged in June with each county playing twice while the third block of matches begins on August 20 with each team playing six times. The final round begins on September 24.Daryl Mitchell, the PCA Chief Executive, said he “feared” for that latter part of the season.”Unfortunately, the County Championship schedule does raise concerns with player burnout with mental and physical dangers attached to an overly intense end to the season following the conclusion of The Hundred,” Mitchell said.”The reduction of just one game could have gone a long way to resolving a period that does not look manageable for the majority. I already fear this section of the season.”This is through no fault of the schedulers, but the decision by the county Chairs to not allow for sufficient minimum standards regarding time between games has meant we have a period of 12 days of Championship cricket in just over two weeks with some lengthy travel for the majority.”Nottinghamshire will open their County Championship title defence at Somerset while Leicestershire and Glamorgan, both back in Division One for the first time in more than two decades, host Sussex and Yorkshire respectively in the opening round from April 3.Nottinghamshire won their first Championship trophy for 15 years and seventh overall when their South African wicketkeeper, Kyle Verreynne, hit a six to secure a batting bonus point and top spot in Division One on the penultimate day of the 2025 season.Lancashire, winners of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s Competition and the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup, will begin their 50-over title defence away to Durham on April 11 ahead of a historic first professional Roses clash with Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford on April 25.Yorkshire, the 2025 Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s League 2 champions, begin life as a Tier 1 side away to Somerset after their elevation to the top flight was brought forward by one year following a restructure of the women’s domestic competition ahead of last season.Men’s One-Day Cup champions Worcestershire Rapids will begin their 2026 campaign at home to Derbyshire Falcons on July 24, with groups randomly drawn and each county playing once against every team in their group.Gloucestershire, Kent Spitfires, Lancashire, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire make up Group A while Group B comprises Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Middlesex, Sussex Sharks, Worcestershire Rapids and Yorkshire.The One-Day Cup Women’s final will be played at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton on Saturday, September 19 followed by both the men’s final at Trent Bridge and the Women’s League 2 Final at Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol the following day.Ellie Threlkeld holds the One-Day Cup aloft•ECB via Getty Images

The second season of the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup will involve 37 counties vying for a place on finals day at Emirates Old Trafford on August 29, including inaugural champions Lancashire Thunder.The opening round, from April 26, features 28 counties before the nine Tier 1 counties – Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze, Warwickshire and Yorkshire – enter the competition in Round 3 from June 21.Two all-Tier 1 ties have been confirmed for Round 3 with The Blaze at home to Durham and Yorkshire hosting Somerset.The PCA noted favourably a significant reduction in back-to-back games across men’s and women’s T20 fixtures, announced on Tuesday, down from 54 in 2025 to just six next season.Olly Hannon-Dalby, the PCA Chair, believed that holding the men’s Blast Finals Day ahead of the Hundred along with an improved schedule and less travel represented significant progress.”For the first time in a number of years, I feel the men’s Blast will have the energy and priority within the schedule to show everybody just how great this competition is,” he said. “The Vitality Blast lining up on an equal platform with men’s and women’s teams is something I’m very passionate about and is absolutely the right way to grow the game. We’ve seen the success in The Hundred and double headers should be an opportunity to attract bigger crowds for all.”But he echoed Mitchell’s concern over the Championship schedule.”At a time when many counties have threadbare squads, to start six four-day games and a 50-over final in the space of five weeks is so far from optimum it is something that needs addressing,” Hannon-Dalby said.”We will actively be canvassing opinion on how we could avoid this congestion in the future with options such as starting the season slightly earlier or ending it later. Conversations need to continue to prioritise the wellbeing of its players.”

Manchester United are building for the future under Ruben Amorim, and he now appears to have made key decisions on two of his most high-profile Old Trafford stars.

The Red Devils have made a reasonable start to the Premier League campaign and could well make a push for the European slots if they can maintain momentum, though that is something that will be challenged over the festive period due to the African Cup of Nations.

Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui are set to depart next month, leaving roles to be filled in the squad during a busy schedule that is set to be fraught with intense action.

Still, Premier League sides have known the competition is part and parcel of their squad planning, making it an issue they should be able to handle without the need for mass panic.

Signings in January will be important and there is an obvious need for midfield reinforcements, especially with Casemiro drawing closer to the end of his contract at Old Trafford.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes is the latest name on Manchester United’s list, and discussions are said to be progressing well over a potential move to work under Amorim’s stewardship in January.

Rob Edwards has signalled his desire to keep the Brazilian at Molineux. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped the Red Devils making tracks, even if there could be a twist in the tale regarding the state of play on their engine room, courtesy of Fabrizio Romano.

Fabrizio Romano delivers contract update on Casemiro and Maguire

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano has confirmed that Amorim wants both Casemiro and Harry Maguire to stay at Manchester United, providing they reduce their wages in line with the club’s new salary structure.

He said: “My understanding is that the situation of Casemiro is a really similar situation in terms of strategy to Harry Maguire.

“Casemiro and Harry Maguire are out of contract in the summer of 2026 and for Manchester United, they are two really important players, especially now.

“We have to say congrats to Casemiro. In this video let’s focus on Casemiro, because he’s been able to change his situation at Manchester United.”

Later, he added: “So now the desire is from Man United, obviously, to continue with Casemiro, but in different conditions. So the salary he has right now is a salary that Manchester United don’t want to pay in the future, not because of Casemiro or Maguire, but because they want to change the salary structure.”

Between them, a pay packet of £540,000 per week is a major chunk of the Red Devils’ wage list, and with both edging closer to the twilight of their respective careers, it may be worth looking at younger reinforcements as their contracts look set to expire.

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Conversely, experience is vital and cannot be understated. Over the coming months, it would be a smart decision to tie down both stars if they can agree to a wage reduction.

“If you don’t believe you belong at the international level, you start over-respecting the opposition and forget your strengths”

Shashank Kishore15-Sep-20251:14

Maharoof: Bangladesh have been lacking in major tournaments

Belief. That was the buzzword as Mushtaq Ahmed, Bangladesh’s spin consultant, addressed a press conference ahead of his team’s must-win Asia Cup fixture against Afghanistan.Bangladesh’s chastening defeat to Sri Lanka with 32 balls to spare dented a net run-rate that should’ve received a bigger fillip when they beat Hong Kong. That they took 17.4 overs to knock off 144 despite having a platform was criticised from several quarters.That means Bangladesh won’t be able to control their fate even if they win, since Afghanistan and Sri Lanka play the last group game of the pool.Related

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“You have to believe. The coaches and management keep telling the players that belief is very important,” Mushtaq said. “It’s difficult, of course, having to rely on ifs and buts, but you have to concentrate on winning the match first.”Asked of potential dangers to look out for, Mushtaq was clear it would come from Afghanistan’s spinners, led by their captain, Rashid Khan.”Their spin department is very good, especially in the middle overs,” he said. “If we can counter their spin well and put a decent score on the board, we can challenge them because our bowling unit is also strong. My main concern is the middle overs.”This middle phase is where Bangladesh revived their innings in their previous game, with Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain reviving a floundering innings. From 59 for 5, they put together an unbroken 80-run stand to lift Bangladesh to 139.Mushtaq said despite their batting struggles, the messaging has been constant: to try and keep going for their shots, which he also said wasn’t something that can be ingrained instantly. But it’s something they’ve been trying to develop in trying to ramp up their batting methods – like their focus towards six-hitting.”Sometimes, early failures lead to losing four or five wickets quickly,” Mushtaq explained. “We tell our batsmen that such things happen, but they must move on fast. If they dwell on the past, their progress will be slow. As coaches, our duty is to prevent them from going into a shell, maintain their confidence, and keep giving them belief.Bangladesh suffered a heavy defeat to Sri Lanka•Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images

“As I’ve said in press conferences, I emphasise on belief. I played with legends like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, and Wasim Akram. One lesson I learned from them is that if you don’t believe you belong at the international level, you start over-respecting the opposition and forget your strengths. Even failure while playing aggressively makes you a stronger player.”If coaches and management can instill that belief, the team can challenge any side. Players like Litton [Das], [Towhid] Hridoy, Tanzim [Hasan], Jaker and Shamim have shown that even when situations look tough, they can find momentum and score 170-180. With good fast bowlers and spinners, and if we get stronger as a team, we can challenge any team.”Mushtaq also called for some patience while dealing with a player like Rishad Hossain, the legspinner. It’s an art that hasn’t always been explored to its full potential in Bangladesh, primarily because of their battery of traditional left-arm spinners over the years.Rishad, though, has had an impressive initiation into international cricket, even though he hasn’t picked up wickets by the truckloads. His only over the other night against Sri Lanka went for 18.”Sometimes, as a young leg-spinner, you can overthink and try too many deliveries in one over,” Mushtaq assessed. “Especially in the first few overs, you risk losing your line and length. Funny enough, you asked this question [about his form].”I spoke to him today before we came to the nets. His strength is always to bowl the first three balls in good areas. That builds belief and confidence, after which he can use variations. He has to learn these little things quickly and also figure out, situation-wise, which deliveries to bowl more.”If a bowler, like Rishad, struggles in the first three balls, it doesn’t mean he loses rhythm for the rest of the spell. As a leg-spin bowling coach, I remind all spinners to focus on the process. Bowling good balls consistently builds confidence. He’s young and hasn’t played much red-ball cricket, so it’s my responsibility to ensure he remembers his process before worrying about outcomes.”Mushtaq was then asked what Afghanistan are doing in their development of wristspinners and cricketers in general that Bangladesh aren’t.”Afghanistan players have played lots of franchise cricket,” he explained. “You can buy a bed, but you can’t buy sleep. Bangladesh has been strong at home, but in ICC or ACC tournaments, we have to improve.”