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The player loan system became active from October 7, and yet no franchise has sought this path

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Oct-2020Chennai Super Kings have been searching for a good Indian batsman, preferably left-handed, in the absence of Suresh Raina. Delhi Capitals can do with an Indian wristspinner after a freak injury ruled out Amit Mishra as well as an Indian keeper as back-up for Rishabh Pant. Kings XI Punjab desperately need an overseas fast bowler who can reduce their death bowling woes. Rajasthan Royals will benefit from another allrounder to support Ben Stokes.There are players sitting idle in IPL with other franchises who can actually help teams plug these holes. Parthiv Patel can fill the void at Super Kings. Mayank Markande and Aditya Tare could be an option for the Capitals. Billy Stanlake or Lockie Ferguson or Keemo Paul could help Kings XI. As can Fabian Allen or Mitchell Santner at Royals.Franchises can seek to borrow some of these players via the player loan system which became active from October 7, after match 20 as per the IPL rules. And yet no franchise has sought this path which could fix their issues.According to the IPL rules:

• A franchise can borrow at least two players (capped or uncapped) for a short-term loan.
• The player should not have featured in more than two matches before he is loaned
• During the loan period the player cannot play against the parent franchise that released him
• He also cannot return to the parent franchise for the remainder of the season.

Where did the idea come from?The IPL’s player loan system is based on the football model, especially the one in Europe. The loan system there serves several purposes. It’s a good way for teams to hang on to players who don’t fit in their immediate plans but have high resale value; in some cases the player is on very high wages, so the two clubs reach an understanding about sharing the wage cost while on loan.When Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-final two months ago, their scorers included Philippe Coutinho (ironically, on loan from Barcelona) and Ivan Perisic, on loan from Inter Milan.It’s also a good way for big clubs to send young players to smaller clubs to pick up experience – a way of both toughening them up and also ensuring they get match time from an early age. So Manchester United loaned out their promising goalkeeper Dean Henderson to Sheffield United in 2018; Sheffield were then in the second tier of English football, and Henderson’s heroics in goal were a big factor in their promotion to the Premier League that season.He remained with Sheffield through 2019-20, though Premier League rules barred him from playing against his parent club. He is now back at Manchester United after two standout seasons and, though 23, is seen as a challenger to the club’s main keeper, David de Gea. From the player’s and club’s perspective, mission accomplished.A player like Parthiv Patel, who has not played a single match for RCB, could be good player to borrow for CSK•Royal Challengers BangaloreWhy the resistance, then? The IPL works differently, though; most importantly, the season is shorter so a half-season loan with a bar on playing against your parent club means you would play only six matches at the most. Even if for a full season, with each team playing between 14-17 matches, the scope to loan youngsters to help them gain match time, as is done in Premier League, is not appealing for franchises.But the most important reason IPL franchises remain insecure about the player loan system is because they believe by releasing a player to a rival franchise they risk disclosing their plans and strategies. Kasi Viswanathan, the Chennai Super Kings chief executive, told this week as much.According to Viswanathan the Super Kings, who have won the IPL thrice and made the play-offs more than any other team, picks players at the auction with different plans in mind. If one plan does not work out, then players who are identified for Plan B come into play.It does not matter that MS Dhoni’s team, usually accustomed to being in the top-four in IPL during the league phase, right now is in the bottom half of the points table with just three wins in eight matches.Along with Raina, the Super Kings also lost Harbhajan Singh even before the tournament started. Kedar Jadhav, one of the key batsman in the middle order, has struggled. A player like Patel, who has not played a single match at Royal Challengers Bangalore could then be good player to borrow.One other reason is a team buys extra players as back-ups. Take Rahane, whom the Capitals bought from Royals after 2019 IPL as part of a trade. Rahane was bought with the sole purpose of serving back-up for the Capitals’ start-studded Indian top order. Rahane has now served as a replacement for Pant who has a hamstring injury. Similar examples can be seen with Chris Lynn at Mumbai Indians, who is a back-up for Quinton de Kock.What is the solution? The only way the player loan system could work in IPL is if a team is out of contention for play-offs. The parent team can then exploit the loan system to make extra money through the loan fee which needs to be paid by the franchise borrowing the player. However the IPL usually is a closely fought race especially for the top six slots, so teams are highly unlikely to let go any resource easily.Franchises are highly unlikely change their rigid mindsets. Consequently, the player loan system is a non-starter.

After he emerged as an early candidate to take the job, sources have shared Scott Brown’s stance on replacing Brendan Rodgers in the Celtic dugout.

Chris Sutton names "obvious choice" for Celtic

Rodgers shock exit has sparked several rumours as to who could arrive to replace the veteran manager. Many expected the former Leicester City boss to leave at the end of his contract next summer, but the Bhoys have now been left with no choice but to replace him several months early following his resignation.

Already eight points behind unexpected leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership after suffering a 3-1 defeat against Derek McInnes’ side on Sunday, Celtic must get their next permanent appointment right.

On that front, one name that has already been mentioned is Ange Postecoglou. Having initially hired Rodgers to replace the Australian in 2023, Celtic could re-hire Postecoglou to come full-circle in a decision that Chris Sutton would certainly back.

The Celtic legend told Sky Sports: “I think Ange Postecoglou would be a really smart appointment. He was loved the first time round.

“His brand of football went down well in Glasgow. He’s out of work. I think that would be a pretty obvious choice, a good choice and bring a lot of positivity back to Celtic, which they need right now.”

The 60-year-old arguably needs the Bhoys just as much as they need him these days following a disastrous 39-day spell in charge of Nottingham Forest. After being sacked twice by two Premier League clubs in the last year though, it remains to be seen whether he’ll make such a swift return.

“Shambles” – Sutton names the 3 ways Celtic were poor against Hearts

The Bhoys were defeated in Edinburgh today to cap another dismal day at the office.

BySean Markus Clifford Oct 26, 2025

It may be too soon for Postecoglou and the same may be said for ex-player Scott Brown, who also knows Celtic incredibly well.

Celtic job would come too soon for Scott Brown

Among the early candidates for the job has also been Scott Brown. The legendary midfielder has been perfecting his craft as a manager since 2022 and is now in charge of Ayr United. According to PA Media sources, however, the Celtic job would reportedly be coming too soon for Brown.

“The former Celtic captain is seen as a long-term candidate, but is still learning his trade as a manager with Ayr following a spell at Fleetwood. The 40-year-old led Ayr to the William Hill Championship play-offs last season and has them third in the table. Given the instability around the club, squad and league position, the timing does not look ideal for the former Scotland midfielder.”

For any young manager, especially those more inexperienced, the Celtic job would represent an incredible risk. The Bhoys need the stability that O’Neill could first lay the foundations for and an option like Postecoglou could provide. As things stand, they cannot afford to take a gamble on Brown, who should continue to learn his trade at Ayr United.

MatériaMais Notícias

Philippe Coutinho está muito perto de acertar com o Vasco, clube que o revelou, e que provavelmente jogará ao lado de Dimitri Payet, camisa 10 da equipe. Se por um lado, a dupla pode ser companheira no futuro, por outro, os jogadores foram adversários em campo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoTorcedores do Vasco vão à loucura com foto de Coutinho em casamento de atacante vascaíno: ‘Pacotão de reforços’Fora de Campo25/05/2024VascoO que Lance! sabe sobre Lyanco no VascoVasco25/05/2024VascoEspeculado no Vasco, volante Souza confirma que estará com Philippe Coutinho em clássico contra o FlamengoVasco25/05/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

Coutinho e Payet já se enfrentaram em três oportunidades quando jogaram na Premier League, a liga de futebol da Inglaterra. Em todas, o meia francês levou a melhor sobre a cria de São Januário. Confira os resultados abaixo.

⚽ CONFIRA O RETROSPECTO ENTRE PHILIPPE COUTINHO E DIMITRI PAYET:
– West Ham 2 x 1 Liverpool – 4ª rodada da FA Cup (2015/2016);
– West Ham 2 x 0 Liverpool – 20ª rodada da Premier League (2015/2016);
– Liverpool 0 x 3 West Ham – 4ª rodada da Premier League (2015/2016).
*Philippe Coutinho atuou pelo Liverpool, enquanto Dimitri Payet pelo West Ham

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Na primeira vez que Philippe Coutinho e Dimitri Payet se enfrentaram, o West Ham levou a melhor sobre o Liverpool e venceu por 3 a 0. Naquela ocasião, a cria do Vasco ainda foi expulsa ao receber o segundo cartão amarelo e, consequentemente o vermelho, por uma entrada dura no meia francês.

Porém, o West Ham já estava vencendo o Liverpool por 2 a 0. Lanzini, que esteve na mira do Vasco em 2023 abriu o placar, e Mark Noble ampliou antes de Coutinho ser expulso. Confira.

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O único jogo que Philippe Coutinho e Dimitri Payet participaram diretamente no placar foi o da 4ª rodada da FA Cup na temporada 2015/2016. Na ocasião, a cria do Vasco empatou o confronto com um golaço de falta “à la Ronaldinho Gaúcho”. Nos acréscimos, o francês fez um cruzamento magistral para o zagueiro Ogbonna desempatar de cabeça e garantir a classificação do West Ham. Veja o lance no player abaixo (o gol de Coutinho é aos 2:00 e o lance de Payet aos 4:25).

Philippe Coutinho tenta uma rescisão amigável com o Aston Villa para poder acertar o retorno ao Vasco. A cria de São Januário antecipou as férias e já está no Brasil com a família. Se a negociação for concretizada, o meia-atacante será o primeiro reforço para a janela de transferências do meio do ano.

Tudo sobre

Dimitri PayetFutebol NacionalPayetPhilippe CoutinhoVasco

أثنى روبرتو مارتينيز، المدير الفني لمنتخب البرتغال، على المستوى الذي قدمه تشيلسي خلال مباراة برشلونة، في منافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

تشيلسي استطاع أن يحقق انتصارًا كبيرًا على برشلونة يوم أمس الثلاثاء، بثلاثة أهداف مقابل لا شيء، ضمن دوري أبطال أوروبا، لحساب الجولة الخامسة من مرحلة الدوري.

وشهدت مباراة الأمس تعرض مدافع نادي برشلونة رونالد أراوخو، للطرد، بعد تدخل قوي على نجم نادي تشيلسي، مارك كوكوريلا.

ومع ذلك، يرى مارتينيز في تصريحات نقلتها “بي بي سي سبورت”، أن طرد أراوخو أو بقائه في المباراة لم يكن ليغير من نتيجتها، مشيرًا أن البلوز قدم عرضا مثاليا.

وقال مارتينيز: “بطاقة برشلونة الحمراء تفقد تشيلسي بريقه، لأن أداءهم كان متكاملاً، فلقد كانوا مسيطرين على المباراة”.

طالع .. كوكوريلا عن مواجهة لامين يامال: قمت بدوري.. وقدمه اليسرى مذهلة

وأضاف مارتينيز في حديثه: ”سواءً ببطاقة حمراء أم لا، كان تشيلسي متفوقاً للغاية سواءًا من خلال فكرة المدرب قبل المباراة أو من خلال التنفيذ”.

كما وجه مارتينيز الإشادة إلى موهبة تشيلسي، إستيفاو ويليان، حيث أوضح: “يستمتع الجمهور بكل مرة يستحوذ فيها استيفاو على الكرة، أعتقد أنه كان له تأثير كبير على المباراة وكذلك بيدرو نيتو، وحتى جارناتشو، لما تحلى به من انضباط وترك المساحة التي أرادوا استغلالها”.

وأوضح: “ما أعجبني في إستيفاو هو ثباته، فلقد استمر في اتخاذ القرارات الصائبة، كان مستعدًا ولقد كانت مباراة متطلبة”.

واختتم مارتينيز: ”سيتابع المدرب هذه المباراة ويعتقد أن إستيفاو مستعد للعب في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز بفضل تركيزه المستمر وأدائه”.

Having declared overnight, India completed their demolition of WI after lunch on day three

Alagappan Muthu04-Oct-20255:02

Chopra: Gulf between India, West Indies there for everyone to see

Ravindra Jadeja has been building a case to be one of the best allrounders in the game. A four-for to follow a hundred against West Indies to start the new home season was just the latest evidence he offered in favour of that argument. On the back of his 104 not out and 4 for 54, India completed an innings win with two-and-a-half days to spare.A proud record stood tall between February 22, 2013 and October 25, 2024. It buckled 24 hours later. India lost a Test series on home soil for the first time in nearly 12 years. Many of the players who had contributed to that run are now retired, including Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara. But Jadeja remains.He was there when India began that run against Australia in Chennai. He was there when New Zealand broke them last year in Pune. And he was there once again, lifting them back up against West Indies now. At 36 years old, it is unclear how much cricket is left in him but it was poetic that in the first of 66 Tests that India had to play at home without R Ashwin, his old pal came up with a hundred and a four-for.ESPNcricinfo LtdAlick Athanaze carried the West Indies flag, showing why he is rated as a good player of spin. He picked up length well. He was decisive going forward or back. And he remembered to put pressure back, two rock-solid reverse sweeps for four and one sumptuous cover drive for three highlighted his process. All of those scoring shots were against half-volleys that were well wide of the stumps. This is the judgment and the competence that convinced the coach Daren Sammy and the management to bring him back into the Test side.India, though, kept placing new threats in front of Athanaze. Jasprit Bumrah hit him on the helmet. Washington Sundar tested him with the ball turning away. They were waiting for Athanaze to be just slightly off with his process and eventually, after 73 balls, he was, closing the face of the bat, baited by an offbreak that pitched on middle. Washington took a simple catch, which then led to a symbolic representation of West Indies’ batting in this Test.Jomel Warrican tried to impose himself on Mohammed Siraj, swinging as hard as he could, only for his bat to fly out of his grip and land at square leg. The ball meanwhile settled in mid-off’s hands.Alick Athanaze offered some resilience for West Indies•Getty ImagesWest Indies are a side still building its best batters. Ahead of this tour, they were shorn of two of their best bowlers. This informed the challenge they could pose. They are struggling to find a better opener than John Campbell, 32, who is the third-most experienced player in this XI. He has 23 caps and in all that time, he has no centuries. Even in first-class cricket, after 101 matches, he has only nine centuries. In Ahmedabad, he fell for 8 and 14. The only slightly younger Tagenarine Chanderpaul finished with 0 and 8. Top-order returns like that just won’t do.Jadeja is sometimes accused of being that left-arm spinner who just fires the ball in and lets the pitch do its work. But he knows how to work batters out too. He saw Brandon King lunging forward to try and smother the turn and that helped him once. He hit a crisp cover drive for four. It also led to his downfall as Jadeja recalibrated his flight. It was still full so it triggered King’s instinct to get on the front foot. But he had no way of getting to the pitch of this one. Having committed to the shot, he ended up vulnerable to the turn and presented a straightforward catch to slip. All this happened in the space of two overs. In that small period of time, Jadeja turned what the batter thought was a strength into a weakness.Siraj was the other bowler among the wickets, taking five or more over the course of a home Test for the first time.West Indies lost 10 wickets in two sessions on the first day. They did it again on the third day. Only two players got into the 30s. Only two faced 50 or more balls. They have five days to address these problems before the start of the second game in Delhi. The wait to win a Test match against India in India, which is into its 31st year, continues.

The CPL 2025 final pits the two fiercest rivals in the competition – Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders – against each other

Deivarayan Muthu21-Sep-2025

GAW head coach Lance Klusener and TKR assistant coach Ottis Gibson with the CPL trophy ahead of the final•CPL

With two old rivals set to meet again, in the CPL final on Sunday at Providence, emotions have been running high among the players and supporters of Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). Managing those emotions in the face of pressure will be key to winning the title, according to coaches Lance Klusener and Ottis Gibson.Gibson, TKR’s assistant coach, said that their team has been banking on the experience of senior players like Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who have enjoyed success in T20 cricket around the world.”Emotions – that’s the beauty of sport, isn’t it? I guess the team that handles those emotions the best will most likely come out on top,” Gibson said on the eve of the final. “This is the CPL final – it’s a big day in the Caribbean. [These are] two of the best teams over a number of years now in the final. Guyana will have home advantage and a lot of crowd support behind them.Related

CPL's fiercest rivalry resumes as TKR, GAW meet in final

“But we, as Trinbago, will also carry a lot of travelling support. We’ve got a lot of experienced players that have won big finals before – IPL, World Cups – and we’ve been leaning on that experience throughout the tournament. And we will be doing that tomorrow night as well.”Klusener, who is in charge of Amazon Warriors, concurred with Gibson. “It’s just [about] controlling those emotions and trying to make sure they don’t get in the way of making cricketing decisions on the move,” Klusener said. “Not really much more to add to that [from Gibson].”Trinidad has been the spiritual home of T20 cricket that keeps churning out superstars. While Pollard’s playing career is on its last legs – he has already forayed into coaching in the IPL – Pooran has emerged as the new face of the region. Pooran has evolved into a six-hitting machine, but he is yet to win the CPL despite playing 12 seasons of the tournament. The desire to win his home league has given Pooran extra motivation, Gibson said.It has also been five years since TKR last won the CPL title. In 2020, Pollard had overseen their unbeaten run, but their form has cooled off since then.”Sport is about taking those little opportunities that come along” – Lance Klusener on Quentin Sampson•CPL T20/Getty Images

“Look, Trinidad, for a number of years, saw itself as the gold standard for T20 cricket in the Caribbean,” Gibson said. “The number of world-class players that they’ve produced… [but] we haven’t won it [CPL title] since 2020. And that’s the main motivator really; we haven’t won it for so long. So the opportunity to do that is a massive driver for everybody. So, Andre especially; Nicholas Pooran has never won the CPL. So there’s a lot of reasons why everybody is really motivated for tomorrow night. We can’t wait to get started.”Amid the Caribbean stalwarts, a rookie from Guyana will be in action on Sunday. Quentin Sampson, 25, has made the step up from tape-ball cricket to the CPL this season, whacking sixes as a pinch-hitting opener. His back-to-back fifties against St Lucia Kings and Barbados Royals smoothened Amazon Warriors’ path to the final. The onus is now on him to harness his potential, and raise his game to the next level.”Sampson has taken his opportunity,” Klusener said. “Sport is about taking those little opportunities that come along. So he’s responded to that, and I’m thoroughly happy for him. The ball is in his court now as to where he goes with that talent and with those performances he’s shown.”This competition will finish, and he will go back to his country, and it’s up to him to make those changes that he needs to make and grow. As coaches you can only do so much; a lot of it comes from the person inside. So watch this space and let’s see how he goes.”

Tottenham Hotspur have now expressed an interest in signing a “world-class” forward, who Thomas Frank approved signing during the summer transfer window.

Spurs looking to sign new forward amid Tel and Odobert concerns

Frank strengthened his forward line during the summer transfer window, with Mohammed Kudus arriving from West Ham United, and the 25-year-old has emerged as a key player so far this season, chipping in with one goal and five assists in the Premier League.

However, there are concerns about the performances of some of the players who were already at the club, with journalist Andreas Vou particularly critical of the decision to bring in Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, rather than making one statement signing in attack.

The duo were benched for the 3-0 victory against Everton on Sunday, having picked up just one top-flight goal between them this term, and the Lilywhites have now set out to sign another new forward.

That is according to a report from Spain, which reveals Tottenham have now expressed an interest in signing Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo, who has been put up for sale by the La Liga club ahead of the January transfer window.

Kubo is now expected to leave Real Sociedad this winter, which could open the door for a move to N17, and there is a feeling he could now be available for the relatively affordable fee of €40m (£35m).

Manchester United and Everton are also in the race for the winger, and there are indications that Frank could be keen too, having already approved a move back in the summer transfer window.

"World-class" Kubo may need fresh start

The Japanese forward is clearly very talented, having received plaudits from former Barcelona boss Xavi in the past, who said: “(Takefusa) Kubo is a world-class footballer. Not just with the ball, but also without it.”

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The 24-year-old has also impressed at times over the past year, particularly catching the eye with his dribbling ability, ranking in the 94th percentile for successful take-ons per 90, when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers.

That said, there may be concerns about some of the Japan international’s recent performances, given that he has provided just one goal for Real Sociedad in La Liga this term, while failing to pick up a single assist.

Kubo may simply need a fresh start in a new league, having been in La Liga since the 2019-20 campaign, so a move to Tottenham could be ideal, although his recent form means he would be a risky signing.

West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo is already feeling the heat, and his first home game as manager was quite simply the stuff of nightmares.

West Ham break club record after dismal loss at home to Brentford

During a match boycotted by large portions of the Hammers faifthful, amid ongoing protests against David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the board, Brentford took West Ham to the cleaners.

Keith Andrews’ side, bar an effort from Jarrod Bowen which nearly crept in at the far post, were never troubled by a lacklustre, uninspired home side who looked devoid of confidence, rhythm and a clear identity.

In truth, the 2-0 loss flattered West Ham, as Brentford also struck the crossbar twice, forced great saves from Alphonse Areola and had another goal chalked off by VAR just before half-time.

Nuno’s line-up was, at best, pretty questionable too.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

The Portuguese, in Niclas Fullkrug’s absence due to a thigh injury, experimented with Lucas Paqueta as the centre-forward — but he failed to convince, was largely isolated and gave the ball away carelessly.

Olly Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters took up unusual full-back roles on their opposite sides, with Freddie Potts and summer signing Soungountou Magassa sacrificed for a leggy midfield partnership of Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving.

Brentford exposed West Ham’s fragility time and time again, with the centre-back partnership of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo – who was given his first start under Nuno – having a night to forget against a rampant Bees side who had 17 shots in total.

The result means that West Ham have now lost all four of their first home league games for the first time in the club’s long history, and if things don’t change soon, it is clear that Nuno has a relegation dogfight on his hands.

Last term, the Irons escaped a drop to the Championship owing to how poor all three promoted sides were, as was the case in 2023/2024 as well, but West Ham may not have that luxury this time around.

The 51-year-old needs inspiration from somewhere, and one West Ham player is said to be working hard in an attempt to prove his worth to Nuno at Rush Green.

Igor Julio impressing Nuno in West Ham training

That man is summer signing Igor Julio, who joined the east Londoners on a season-long loan from Brighton.

The Brazilian, who’s made 37 Premier League appearances for Brighton since joining them from Fiorentina in 2023, was limited to just a single Carabao Cup appearance this term and signed for West Ham in pursuit of more game time.

Nuno is yet to start Julio in any of his first three matches as West Ham boss, having played just one minute off the bench against Everton, and he didn’t even feature in their matchday squad for Brentford.

Considering just how leaky West Ham’s defence looks right now, with Kilman and Todibo really struggling on Monday night, the 27-year-old could sense an opportunity to play his way into contention.

As relayed by The West Ham Way, Julio is believed to be impressing in West Ham training, and as Nuno experiments to try and find out his definitive best side, the door could be open for him to usurp the likes of Todibo, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Let’s face it, matters could hardly be any worse at the back right now, with West Ham conceding the most goals of any side in the Premier League so far.

Julio appears to be hard at work to earn a place in the starting eleven, and a tricky test away to Leeds on Friday would act as a baptism of fire for the new arrival who’s looking to get his Premier League career back on track.

Former Seagulls coach Inigo Calderón is on record calling Julio an “animal” of a defender, which is exactly what Nuno is crying out for.

Bell, meanwhile, cannot wait to bowl at Mandhana, her Southern Brave team-mate in the Hundred

Valkerie Baynes27-Jun-20251:32

Mandhana: ‘Shafali is a world-class player and always will be’

Smriti Mandhana vs Lauren Bell. It’s a contest Bell, spearhead of England’s seam-bowling attack, couldn’t wait to get stuck into on the eve of the opening match of India’s tour, the first of five T20Is at Trent Bridge on Saturday.For Mandhana’s part, she is looking forward to reprising her opening partnership with Shafali Verma, who is making a comeback – in this format at least – having fallen out of favour after India’s group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup last October and lean ODI returns at home against New Zealand later that month.Mandhana stood in for an unwell Harmanpreet Kaur at India’s pre-match press conference on Friday but expected her captain to be fit to play the first match. She was full of praise for Shafali’s efforts to earn her recall through the domestic circuit and the WPL, where she was the fourth-highest run-scorer with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.Related

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Powerplay: Beaumont talks India, T20I comeback and women's health

The metamorphosis woman – third time could be a charm for Shafali

“She’s had an amazing year,” Smriti said of Shafali. “Once the setback had come, she went to domestic cricket, scored bucket-loads of runs and had an amazing WPL.”No one had any doubts about her talent, the way she had come into the Indian team and dominated. She is a world-class player and always will be, but for her to go back and do what she did in the last year was amazing to watch. She deserves this comeback and I’m really excited to open with her again.”Shafali was the leading run-scorer in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy (527 runs, 152.31 strike rate, 75.29 average) and the Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy (414 runs, 145.26 strike rate, 82.80 average) – as captain of Haryana.Shafali Verma was the fourth-highest run-scorer at WPL 2025•BCCIMandhana and Shafali are second on the list for most partnership runs as an opening pair in women’s T20Is with 2636 runs and a partnership run rate of 7.90.Bell was keen to catch up with Mandhana, her Southern Brave team-mate in the Hundred, albeit on opposing sides.”I’m looking forward to bowling at Smriti,” Bell said. “I’ve obviously played with her, we’ve had a few net battles at the Brave before, so that’ll be a good challenge, playing against her. It’s exciting to be up against some of the best players and that normally brings the best out when you’re playing against the best.”The last time I played India, it’s always been Smriti and Shafali opening the batting, so it’s a challenge we’ve had before and one that is really exciting. They’re both very talented and play differently, so I’m hoping it just brings the best out of us. As an England player, you really look forward to these series and thrive off the challenge and how good the opposition are.”Last summer, as England went unbeaten through their twin white-ball series against New Zealand, Bell was working on changes to her action, which is now more upright and allows her to swing the ball both ways. She is satisfied with where she’s at but by no means feels that she is the finished article.”In terms of that whole chapter, I’d say I’ve got into a really good place and I feel really, really happy,” Bell said. “But I don’t think you can ever say you’re complete as a bowler.0:56

Bell: ‘Looking forward to bowling at Mandhana’

“There’s always stuff that I want to get better, but the big shift and the big change, I’m feeling in a really good place… hopefully we’ve moved on.”Bell was the leading wicket-taker during the T20I leg of West Indies’ visit, which – like the ODI series – England swept 3-0, with seven wickets at an average of 9.72 and economy rate of 5.66.Her series-best figures of 3-28 in the second T20I at Hove were eclipsed by fellow seamer Em Arlott, with a Player-of-the-Match-winning 3 for 14 having made her international debut just two days earlier in encouraging signs as England prepare for a tougher test from India.”They’ll pose us a few more challenges,” Bell said. “We had people making debuts and some people playing different roles, so they can take a lot of confidence from that. It was a really good series to have first up in the summer.”Meanwhile, India have some new faces in their seam attack, handing maiden T20I call-ups to Kranti Goud and Sayali Satghare for a squad missing the experienced Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar.Mandhana said: “The WPL has been good in terms of finding new people and of course the domestic system as well, the amount of matches the girls play nowadays. All the girls have rich experience in the domestic format.”I’m really excited to see them. Young talent, whenever they come in, it’s always very exciting. Everyone’s been prepping well and what better place than England to come in as a pacer? Of course, they’ll take a lot of lessons out of it and I’m sure they’ll do the job for the team.”

“I do like experience though, experience has served us really well over the proud years that we’ve had”

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-20253:14

Cricinformed – CSK’s worst top-order show

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have had a strange season in IPL 2025. Their success in this tournament – five title wins and 12 playoff appearances – was built around having a core group of experienced players who could navigate the ups and downs of T20 cricket. Even when they were on a winning run, that philosophy was brought into question. Now that they’re losing – and have had to turn to their youth to see if their fortunes might turn around – coach Stephen Fleming was asked if there has been a strategy shift. He was emphatic there wasn’t.”No, I don’t care how old players are,” Fleming said on the eve of CSK’s game against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi. “I do like experience though, experience has served us really well over the proud years that we’ve had. It hasn’t worked out quite well for us this year and that could be a bit of form. It can be strategy, it can be a number of things, that just don’t quite work out.”The competition is very even, so the fact that we’ve been so consistent over a number of years, to have a poor year has sort of shaken everybody, but it’s understandable given that, the excellence in which the franchises are operating in.”Related

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Fleming could see that CSK were off the pace early this season. The bets they made at the auction table last November did not come off. They brought back R Ashwin. He had been a proven performer for them before and he continued to do well after he left them. They hoped to revive Rahul Tripathi or Deepak Hooda or Vijay Shankar in the same way they did Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane but that didn’t work out either. The collective failure of players who have been around the IPL for years caught them off guard. But that hasn’t yet pushed them to re-evaluate their whole way of doing things in T20 cricket. Over the last five seasons, CSK have either missed the playoffs, or won the title. It’s been a bit of a see-saw.”The challenge for us is making sure out of this that we do go over everything that we are doing [now] and have done in the past to make sure we are keeping up with the philosophies [of the time], but also identifying talent.” Fleming said.”It’s one thing to say we want a team full of young players, but you’ve got to find them. So it’s identifying talent and making sure they fit in. To the experience which I’ll say again, I do like [it] and you have a look at the, the top run-scores and wicket-takers and you see there’s a fair bit of experience there, but what it’s sprinkled with is some amazing performances by young players who are playing sort of fearless cricket.”B Sai Sudharsan, who is yet to play 50 IPL games, has the Orange Cap. Prasidh Krishna, who missed the last two IPLs, has the Purple cap. The past couple of seasons have revealed that lesser-known players have been able to make the step up. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have been a compelling opening combination for Punjab Kings who qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Digvesh Rathi, playing his first IPL, has more wickets than Kuldeep Yadav.Fleming has seen this and believes some of the people they’ve brought in – like Ayush Mhatre, Noor Ahmad and Dewald Brevis – have a future with them but he isn’t ready to burn the CSK playbook yet.”They have certainly had an impact which is positive from a season that has been a challenge,” he said. “But we realised that early on that we were off pace. So to be able to introduce these players, they are definitely in line for the future as we regenerate the team and redevelop or reconfirm our philosophy of how we want to play,”So it’s getting that balance right. But most importantly, it’s getting the player and the person right, and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”CSK have two matches left this season. After playing RR on Tuesday, they go to Ahmedabad to face Gujarat Titans on Sunday.