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Thomas Frank issued a concerning injury update on Mohammed Kudus ahead of their Manchester United clash this weekend. The Ghanaian playmaker, who joined Spurs from West Ham United in a £55 million ($72.5m) summer move, has become one of the club’s most consistent performers this season. He has scored once and set up five goals across 15 appearances. But just as he seemed to gain momentum, disaster struck again.

• Spurs sweating on Kudus fitness

  Kudus picked up a knock during training last week, ruling him out of Tuesday’s emphatic 4-0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen. Now, his participation against United is also uncertain. 

  Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Frank cut a cautious figure and said: "Kudus is touch and go for tomorrow, we’ll see."

  In Kudus' absence, Brennan Johnson, who started on the right flank in midweek, is expected to retain his spot. The Welshman impressed with his intensity against Copenhagen and should be a handful for United defenders. 

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  Tottenham's injury list grows longer

  The north London side’s growing injury list continues to stretch the squad thin. Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison all remain long-term absentees, while Yves Bissouma and summer recruit Kota Takai are still awaiting their first minutes of the season. To make matters worse, promising youngster Lucas Bergvall will sit out the United game after suffering a concussion during last weekend’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. 

  Frank also offered an update on Dominic Solanke’s slow recovery. The striker has been limited to a total of 59 minutes this season. Solanke’s ankle problems have kept him sidelined since pre-season, and he even underwent a minor surgery on October 1. And while his rehabilitation is progressing, Frank insists the club won’t rush his return.

  "I think the international break will be the big decider, because we have two weeks there, to push with the next steps," said Frank.

  "It was clear that he was not ready before the international break, it’s more that we look after the international break, that’s what we’re aiming for. I think you always want to get it right, I think it’s important to get it right so he’s out there, can help the team, and we need him back." 

  However, he did offer some positive updates as well. 

  "The ones that have been out for a small spell, Cuti (Cristian Romero) and Destiny (Udogie), responded well, so fit and available," he said. 

• Amicable resolution with Van de Ven and Spence

  Frank has also had to manage an internal situation involving defenders Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence. In the aftermath of the disappointing defeat to Chelsea, the Spurs head coach encouraged his players to perform a lap of appreciation for the fans. However, television cameras caught Van de Ven and Spence walking away, apparently ignoring the manager’s request. At the time, Frank refused to publicly criticise the pair, choosing instead to defuse the incident.

  "All the players are, of course, frustrated," he had said after the match. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform. I understand that. I think it’s difficult to be consistent in good times and bad times, that’s why I went around to the fans as I did, it’s more fun when we win, I can tell you that."

  He added, "I understand why you ask the question. But I think that’s one of, how you can say, small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence doing everything they can. They’ve performed very well so far this season. Everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, I don’t think it’s a big problem."

  However, the two players have apologised to the manager to reach an amicable solution.

  "Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation," he informed. "They didn't want it to look bad or any misconception that you can get in this beautiful media world. So there was no disrespect meant at all towards me or the team. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game."

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  A pivotal match for Spurs

  Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Chelsea was another frustrating afternoon for the fans, who voiced their displeasure at full-time. Saturday’s showdown against United now carries enormous weight for both sides. A win could reignite Tottenham’s momentum and strengthen their Champions League ambitions. They remain sixth in the Premier League table with 17 points from 10 games and are level with Manchester United but eight behind leaders Arsenal.

Khaleel Ahmed has signed a deal with Essex for the remainder of the County Championship and the entirety of the One-Day Cup. It will be Khaleel’s first foray in County cricket. The two-month stint goes on till late September and includes six first-class games along with eight List A games, which could stretch to ten if Essex progress to the final.Khaleel will join the squad in York and will be available for selection for the County Championship match against Yorkshire starting Sunday.”I have heard a lot about the rich history of the Club, and I’m excited to be part of it and will look to make an immediate impact,” he said. “I’m looking forward to playing at Chelmsford, meeting the loyal Essex Members and fans, and delivering performances they can be proud of.”Related

• Kishan signs short-term deal with Nottinghamshire

• Tilak Varma signs a short-term deal with Hampshire

• Ruturaj Gaikwad to join Yorkshire for Championship, One-Day Cup

Essex’s director of cricket Chris Silverwood looked forward to the “new dynamic” Khaleel’s left-arm pace adds to the attack.”We were impressed with his performances for India A and firmly believe he can strengthen our already very strong seam attack,” Silverwood said. “As a left-arm seamer, he offers something different and will add a new dynamic to the squad in both the One Day Cup and the County Championship.”Khaleel has taken 15 wickets in 11 ODIs for India at an average of 31.00. He has played 20 first-class games and picked up 56 wickets at an average of 27.67. He was also part of the India A side that took on England Lions in June.Apart from Khaleel, Ishan Kishan (Nottinghamshire), Tilak Varma (Hampshire), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Yorkshire) and Yuzvendra Chahal (Northamptonshire) are the other Indians who have signed County deals.Essex currently sit at No. 8 in division one of the County Championship with one win in eight games.

CSK’s latest signing Brevis has linked up with the squad in Mumbai and will be available for selection for Sunday’s game

Vishal Dikshit19-Apr-20254:12

Boucher: Brevis is a perfect candidate for No. 5

Big picture: CSK’s hopes starting to fadeHad either of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) had a result or two not go their way in the last few days in IPL 2025, the “El Clasico” narrative of this rivalry would have turned into “L Clasico”. CSK managed to break their five-match losing streak and will look for another win on the road, against MI, on Sunday evening.If results from nearly a month ago still instill some sort of confidence, CSK could have a feel-good factor in how they had won at home last month at the start of the tournament, but MI have since got back Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah to their side.Related

IPL 2025 mid-season review: The importance of mega auction and local leagues

Fleming says poor results have forced CSK to 'bring all squad members into play'

MI themselves had been grappling with two losses at the start of IPL 2025 but have picked themselves up in all facets of the game to win both at home and away, on different kind of surfaces, and batting first and chasing. Barring Rohit Sharma, whose form continues to be a concern, their top order has started scoring freely, their middle order is hitting boundaries at a good clip, and the all-international bowling attack has started to function like a well-oiled machine, as was seen in their last game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).CSK, despite beating a strong LSG side, are still trying to put their pieces together with several players still far from at their best, which has forced their think tank to look to younger options, as head coach Stephen Fleming said on match eve. After a strong bowling performance against LSG that would ease some of their worries before walking out at the Wankhede, CSK will now hope their batting steps up.Form guideMumbai Indians WWLLW
Chennai Super Kings WLLLL2:45

Rayudu: Slower balls have worked for ‘wicket-taker’ Hardik

In the spotlight: Rohit Sharma and Shivam DubeShivam Dube has struck at 128.57 this IPL, a steep slide from his 150-plus strike rates in the last three seasons. He has improved in the last couple of games after sub-20 scores at the start, but still, scores of 43* off 37 and 31* off 29 suggest that he isn’t at his best yet. Oppositions have also started to keep spinners away from him to try and keep him quiet. Dube now returns to his domestic home ground where he once hit five sixes in an over in a Ranji Trophy game, and will hope familiar conditions help him hit the pedal.Almost everything is falling in place for MI, except for Rohit Sharma’s form. Batters around him and after him are all scoring while his average for the season has dipped to just 13.66, having faced 57 balls this IPL. Since Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks – his partners in the top three – have looked good in the last few games, this could take some burden off Rohit’s shoulders to try and get out of this rut.Team news: Brevis links up with CSKLegspinner Karn Sharma had split a webbing in his bowling hand while fielding in their last game and is unlikely to play against CSK after getting a couple of stitches on the hand. Depending on the conditions for this game, MI could bring in either left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur or left-arm quick Ashwani Kumar, who took 4 for 24 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) the last time he played at the Wankhede.Mumbai Indians 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Vignesh Puthur/Ashwani KumarDewald Brevis has joined the CSK squad as a replacement player and is available for the game even though he didn’t train a whole lot since reaching India. Fleming said on Saturday that they are likely to give some of the younger players, such as bowling allrounder Ramakrishna Ghosh and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti, more chances. Ravindra Jadeja is set to continue at No. 4.Chennai Super Kings 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Shaik Rasheed, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Ravindra Jadeja, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Anshul Kamboj, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Matheesha PathiranaThe big questionPitch and conditionsHaving lost to CSK in their opening game on a slow turner at Chepauk, MI would not want the kind of spin-friendly pitch they played on against SRH for the CSK game, especially without Karn, and with Noor Ahmad, Jadeja and Rachin Ravindra in the opposition camp. Their batting plans are falling in place, which means a high-scoring track – like the one against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – may suit them better. Whatever the pitch, the team winning the toss is expected to chase as there has been some dew in Mumbai in hot and humid conditions.1:03

Who will finish in the top four?

Stats and trivia: Dhoni vs Bumrah Khaleel Ahmed bowled an impressive first spell of 3-0-22-1 against LSG and he will want to bowl to Rohit on Sunday because of this match-up: 28 runs in 43 balls for three dismissals and no sixes. Jadeja could have a similar feeling while bowling to Suryakumar Yadav, which could happen in the middle overs. Jadeja has conceded just 47 runs to Suryakumar in 62 balls while removing him three times. MS Dhoni is known to prefer pace bowlers as opposed to spinners. How he tackles Jasprit Bumrah could be interesting because he has scored just 60 runs off 61 balls against Bumrah in the IPL, hitting only three fours and two sixes while also falling three times. In the death overs, Dhoni has struck at 110.25 against Bumrah, which is only marginally better. The fierce rivalry between MI and CSK reflects in their head-to-head too: MI have won 20 out of the 38 clashes between these two teams. But CSK are on a four-match winning streak right now. Quotes”This pitch has been a little bit more high-scoring this year. So that’s the first thing we look at. But the greatest thing for us is to adapt to whatever it is on the day.”
“If it is going to be a slightly slower wicket like last game, we know he’s going to be a challenge. You’ve got to be quite smart against him. If he gets on a roll, he’s pretty tough to stop. As we’ve seen, he has bowled extremely well.”

Netherlands captain Scott Edwards will lead Melbourne Renegades, with four other BBL clubs sending academy sides

Alex Malcolm07-Apr-2025What is the T10 Melbourne Invitational?It is an 11-day T10 tournament that will be played at the Junction Oval in Melbourne between April 7 and April 17. Five teams will play 20 T10 matches with two matches held each day. The top three teams will play in the finals on April 17. The second and third ranked after the round robin will play first and the winner will advance to face the top ranked team in the final later on the same day.Which teams are playing?Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers have selected academy squads of 12-15 players to play a minimum of four games across the 11 days. Stars and Renegades are run by Cricket Victoria who are hosting the tournament. Cricket New South Wales runs both Sydney teams while Adelaide Strikers are run by the South Australian Cricket Association. The tournament has been approved by Cricket Australia.Australia Under-19 star Oliver Peake will play for Renegades in the T10 Invitational•ICC/Getty ImagesWhat is the purpose of the tournament?Cricket Victoria, led by their chief executive Nick Cummins, has been adventurous in stepping into the franchise sphere beyond functioning as an Australian state association. CV runs the high performance aspect of the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket. Victoria also sent a team to the inaugural Global Super League in Guyana last year and made the final. Significantly, this T10 tournament has Indian backing and is broadcast into India.It is a forerunner to potentially hosting a T20 tournament that is akin to the T20 Max that is played in Queensland in August and September each year and has become a hub for fringe domestic players to get playing opportunities at the time of year. CV is also in the final phase of gaining approval to build light towers at the Junction Oval so that both international and domestic matches can be played there under lights. Such an addition would allow this tournament to be played at night, and in a better timezone for audiences in the subcontinent.Are any big name player’s taking part?There won’t be any big name Australian players representing their BBL clubs. Part of CV’s vision for the tournament is to provide extra playing opportunities for developing players beyond the Sheffield Shield, domestic 50-over cricket, the BBL and the Top End T20 series in the middle of the year.”This is a fantastic opportunity to continue providing important match experience to players right through to the end of the season,” Cummins said.One international name is Netherlands captain Scott Edwards who grew up in Melbourne and lives there part of the year. He has previously been a replacement player for Renegades in the BBL but has yet to play a BBL game for them.BBL regular Sam Harper will play for Melbourne Stars. Former Australian Under-19 players Harry Dixon and Oliver Peake will play for Renegades after making their BBL debuts last season. A number of Victoria players including Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Sam Elliott and Xavier Crone are also set to feature while Sixers have selected Steve Waugh’s son Austin Waugh in their 12-man squad.How can I watch?The tournament can be watched in both Australia and India. It will be streamed in India via Fancode and can be viewed on Kayo in Australia, who stream all Australian domestic cricket and even some grade fixtures.SquadsAdelaide Strikers Academy: Aidan Cahill, Hamish Case, Isaac Conway, Josh Kann, Ryan King, Harry Manenti, Deakin Murphy, Tim Oakley, Tom O’Connell, Hayden Schiller, Aubrey Stockdale, Jerrssis Wadia, Jake WinterMelbourne Renegades Academy: Harry Dixon, Dylan Brasher, Oliver Peake, Arjun Nair, Jai Lemire, Scott Edwards, Xavier Crone, Aryan Sharma, Jackson Smith, Michael Archer, Cam McClure, David Moody, Harkirat Bajwa, Mitch Jamieson, Aidam NadeemMelbourne Stars Academy: Austin Anlezark, Max Birthisel, Liam Blackford, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Harry Hoekstra, Christian Howe, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Reiley Mark, Jonathan Merlo, Tom Rogers, Douglas WarrenSydney Thunder Academy: Ryan Hicks, Toby Gray, Bailey Abela, Charlie Anderson, Yuvraj Sharma, Riley Kingsell, Peter Francis, Angus McTaggart, Blake Nikitaras, Riley Ayre, Connor O’Riordan, Liam DoddrellSydney Sixers Academy: Brock Fitton, Harjas Singh, Tristan Kennedy, Addison Sherriff, Austin Waugh, John James, Lachlan Shaw, Connor Cook, Jake Scott, Joel Davies, Ryan Gupta, Oliver Patterson

Shashank, coming in at No. 7, also contributed an unbeaten 52 off 36 balls, while Jansen struck 34* off 19

Deivarayan Muthu08-Apr-2025

Priyansh Arya, 24, smashed a 39-ball half-century, the joint fourth-fastest in the IPL, to lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 219 for 6 in Mullanpur against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).While Arya finished with 103 off 42 balls, the rest of the top six had a combined 32 off 25 balls in a bizarre scorecard. Shashank Singh, then coming in at No. 7, contributed an unbeaten 52 off 36 balls to power PBKS past 200.Arya had triggered a bidding war at the IPL 2025 auction after hitting six sixes in an over in the inaugural Delhi Premier League (DPL). Brad Haddin, PBKS’ assistant coach, said that the team management was convinced of Arya’s potential after just one practice session. Arya translated that potential into a sensational performance on Tuesday.Arya is a bit like a left-handed version of Virender Sehwag. He sees the ball, he whacks the ball. He also has the gift of timing. When Matheesha Pathirana marginally missed a wide yorker and bowled a full-toss – it was still a hard-to-hit full-toss – Arya carved it over point for six. He sent the next three balls off Pathirana for 6,6,4 to charge to a 39-ball hundred. Only Chris Gayle (30), Yusuf Pathan (37) and David Miller (38) have scored faster hundreds (in terms of balls) in the IPL, while Travis Head also has a 39-ball ton.After bringing up his ton in the 13th over, Arya holed out in the next over, dragging a wrong’un from left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad to long-on. Arya could’ve been dismissed in the very first over had Khaleel Ahmed held onto a fairly straightforward return catch. Arya was on 6 at that point, having scythed the first ball over point for six.Arya then got another life on 35 when Vijay Shankar dropped a more difficult catch at midwicket. He moved to his half-century, off 19 balls, when he backed away and cracked R Ashwin over mid-off in the last over of the powerplay. In all, he took Ashwin for 28 off ten balls.After Arya fell, Shashank struck up an unbroken 65-run seventh-wicket stand off 38 balls with Marco Jansen to deflate CSK even further. Ravindra Jadeja was the only CSK bowler to concede at under ten an over.

كشفت تقارير صحفية بريطانية تطورات صادمة بشأن كول بالمر جناح تشيلسي والذي يغيب حالياً عن صفوف الفريق تحت قيادة إنزو ماريسكا للإصابة.

ووفقاً ل “بي بي سي” البريطانية فإنه من المتوقع أن يغيب كول بالمر جناح تشيلسي عن الملاعب حتى نوفمبر المقبل بعد إصابته المستمرة في الفخد.

وواجه اللاعب صاحب الـ23 عاماً مشاكل متكررة منذ ظهور الإصابة خلال فترة تحضيرية قصيرة للموسم الجديد استمرت أسبوعين والتي أعقبت مساهمته المحورية في فوز البلوز بكأس العالم للأندية في يوليو الماضي.

أقرأ أيضاً.. ريال مدريد يراقب.. موقف ديشامب من مشاركة مبابي أمام أذريبجان في تصفيات كأس العالم

وحدت هذه الإصابة من مشاركة كول بالمر مع تشيلسي سوى في أربع مباريات بجميع المسابقات منذ بدأ منافسات الموسم الحالي 2025-2026.

وكان بالمر قد جرى استبداله بعد 21 دقيقة من بداية المباراة التي تعرض فيها البلوز للخسارة ضد مانشستر يونايتد بهدفين لهدف واحد في 20 سبتمبر.

وصرح إنزو ماريسكا أنه سيقوم بحماية نجمه الدولي الإنجليزي وسيعطي له فترة راحة لضمان تعافيه بعد فترة التوقف الحالية، ومن المرجح أن يغيب بالمر عن مباريات نوتينجهام فورست وأياكس وسندرلاند وولفرهامبتون.

جدير بالذكر أن كول بالمر خرج من حسابات توماس توخيل مدرب منتخب إنجلترا للمباراة الودية ضد ويلز الخميس ولقاء تصفيات كأس العالم ضد لاتفيا يوم الثلاثاء.

Birmingham City have reportedly hijacked a Champions League team’s summer move for a striker who “does everything” in attack.

Davies eyeing another striker for Birmingham

The Blues have enjoyed a productive summer transfer window to date, signings the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Demarai Gray, bringing the latter back to the club where he started his career.

Manager Chris Davies has refused to rule out the idea of another centre forward arriving at Birmingham before the 2025/26 Championship season gets underway, though, no doubt wanting as much firepower as possible in his squad.

“No, not necessarily. At the moment we have got four centre-backs which is what we want. If nothing changes then we are where we are but you just don’t know how things are going to develop in the next few weeks.”

Birmingham will go strutting into the Championship looking for back-to-back promotions, following last season’s relentless title-winning League One campaign, and they are now being linked with an attacker who could help take them to greater heights.

Birmingham could sign a bigger talent than Cashin in "dynamite" £10m star

Birmingham City could soon win themselves a bigger talent than Eiran Cashin by landing this dynamite attacker.

1 ByKelan Sarson Jul 25, 2025 Birmingham hijack Celtic's move for striker

According to a report from Gol [via Celts Are Here], Birmingham are looking to hijack Celtic’s move for Girona striker Bojan Miovski this summer, holding talks with him over a switch to England. This has been followed by claims in the Spanish press that Girona are eyeing Leeds striker Mateo Joseph as they expect Miovski to leave.

The 26-year-old is a wanted man ahead of the new season, despite struggling to set the world alight in Spain since moving from Aberdeen last year.

Miovski could be another statement signing on top of Kyogo for Birmingham this summer, with the North Macedonia international scoring eight goals in 33 caps for his country.

It was at Aberdeen that the striker really made a name for himself, which is why he has been linked with Scotland’s biggest club for some time in Celtic, with a tally of 44 strikes in 98 appearances outlining his class. Meanwhile, former Scotland striker Billy Dodds is a big admirer of the attacker.

Miovski has the ability and pedigree to be a big hit in a Birmingham shirt, given his status as a proven international attacker, so it would feel big if they got a deal over the line.

To pip Celtic to his signature would also feel significant, considering they are a Champions League team, showing the giant strides being made by the Midlands outfit.

Mumbai allrounder was part of the India A tour to Australia before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy began

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2024

Tanush Kotian, the Mumbai offspin-bowling allrounder, has been picked as R Ashwin’s replacement in India’s squad for the fourth and fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests.Kotian is expected to fly to Melbourne on Tuesday following Ashwin’s retirement at the end of the third Test in Brisbane. He is currently in Ahmedabad as part of the Mumbai squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.The fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on Thursday with the five-match series level 1-1. Kotian is expected to be back-up for Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the two spinners in the squad, with Axar Patel unavailable.When asked a day after Kotian’s call-up, Rohit Sharma joked: “Tanush was here a month back [with India A], and Kuldeep [Yadav] I don’t think has a visa… we wanted somebody to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready and he played here.”Rohit quickly clarified that he had been joking, and elaborated: “Not that Tanush is not good enough. He’s shown in the last two years what he’s done in domestic cricket. And we really wanted just a back-up in case we need two spinners playing here [MCG] or Sydney. You need a back-up option.”Kuldeep of course is not 100% fit. He went through a hernia surgery. And the other options, like Axar – Axar had a baby, so he’s not going to travel. Tanush was the right option for us at this point. He’s certainly shown in the domestic level what he’s capable of. He’s probably one of the reasons why Mumbai has gone on to win the Ranji Trophy last year. He played a major role as an allrounder, so a very good option for us.”Kotian, 26, has played 33 first-class games and taken 101 wickets at an average of 25.70. He has also scored 1525 runs in 47 innings, at 41.21 with two centuries and 13 fifties. He was part of India A’s tour of Australia that preceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – he played one match, scoring 44 runs and taking one wicket.Related

Tanush Kotian raises his all-round game for Mumbai

From Vikhroli to the MCG, the Tanush Kotian story

As Rohit mentioned, Kotian had played a massive part in Mumbai’s victorious 2023-24 Ranji Trophy campaign, scoring 502 runs at an average of 41.83 and picking up 29 wickets at an average of 16.96, which earned him the Player-of-the-Tournament award. Kotian was the only player to complete the season double of 500 runs and 25 wickets.In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, which is being played in two phases with the T20 and List A tournaments in between, Kotian has played two of Mumbai’s five matches, as he was away in Australia. He has been on target with the ball, picking up 12 wickets at an average of 16.66, but hasn’t had much luck with the bat, scoring 30 runs from three innings. His most recent performance of note, though, had come with the bat, when he scored 64 and 114 not out, both from No. 8, in Mumbai’s Irani Cup win over Rest of India in early October. He took three wickets in his only bowling innings in that game too.Kotian and Manav Suthar, the 22-year-old left-arm spin-bowling allrounder from Rajasthan, are thought of as the next in line when it comes to the India Test set-up, with 31-year-old Saurabh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh possibly having fallen behind in the race. Kotian and Suthar played one game each on that tour of Australia with India A.India’s squad for fourth and fifth TestsRohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Tanush Kotian

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has made quite the impression already since taking over from his predecessor, Edu Gaspar, in late March – and the 53-year-old is personally very keen to get one transfer over the line.

Arsenal complete signing with medical "done", announcement due "this week"

Mikel Arteta is set to welcome another player.

4 ByEmilio Galantini Jul 9, 2025

Berta is currently attempting to seal an array of deals behind-the-scenes, right after the club officially announced the arrivals of Spanish duo Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi, with Christian Norgaard also completing his move to Arsenal after a medical (David Ornstein).

Arsenal are in advanced talks for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, and the prolific 27-year-old could be joined by either Real Madrid star Rodrygo or Chelsea’s Noni Madueke as the Gunners also target a new left-winger.

19/20 – winter

£0

20/21 – summer

£81.5m

20/21 – winter

£900k

21/22 – summer

£156.8m

21/22 – winter

£1.8m

22/23 – summer

£121.5m

22/23 – winter

£59m

23/24 – summer

£208m

23/24 – winter

£0

24/25 – summer

£101.5m

24/25 – winter

£0

25/26 – summer

£65m

Madueke has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal, but Rodrygo is understood to be their “dream” target in that area, and Berta is known to do work on targets simultaneously before pressing ahead with the best deal.

Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera has agreed terms over an Arsenal move too, but the Premier League title hopefuls are yet to find an agreement with his club and some reports suggest that talks for the 21-year-old have stalled.

Moves for either Madueke or Rodrygo, as reliably reported, won’t impact their talks to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze.

Arsenal have held positive talks over signing Eze, but it is believed that Berta and co do not wish to pay the England international’s full £68 million release clause as all parties attempt to find a solution.

Eze is rumoured to be keen on joining Mikel Arteta’s side, though, giving the club some encouragement that there is a deal to be done here.

Arsenal could offer "emerging star" in swap deal for Eberechi Eze

There are a few avenues Arsenal could go down in their attempts to find a full agreement, and one of them is a potential player-exchange.

That is according to journalist Rahman Osman, who told The Sun this week that Arsenal could offer an unnamed “emerging star” to Palace in a swap deal for Eze.

Berta himself is personally “determined” to sign the 27-year-old – who scored 14 goals and registered a further 11 assists in all competitions last term – and the Italian has held talks with his representatives.

He will keep trying to convince Palace to part company, but the south Londoners are just as steadfast in demanding Eze’s full release clause be paid. That being said, Osman also reports that they might be open to accepting a “promising defender” as part of the deal.

A proven Premier League star, Eze spearheaded Palace to their first ever major trophy with the FA Cup final-winning goal against Man City at Wembley last season – 14 years after he was released by Arsenal as a 13-year-old academy youngster.

India captain provided the star turn with the ball, and his captaincy, as his team defended 137

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-20244:05

Takeaways – Suryakumar the captiain as funky as the batter

It was 30 needed off 30 balls again and India still pulled it off and like at the T20 World Cup final a month ago, Suryakumar Yadav was one of their heroes. Only this time he did it as bowler of the 20th over, where he defended five runs by picking up two wickets.Sri Lanka’s batting has been extremely brittle in this T20I series. They collapsed three times in three games – 9 for 30, then 7 for 31 and finally 7 for 22. Tuesday’s debacle would hurt particularly badly because they lost two wickets to Rinku Singh in the 19th over. He had only ever bowled 60 deliveries in his entire T20 career, which began way back in 2014. And two more wickets fell with the captain taking the ball. He’d only bowled twice in the last five years across first-class, List A and T20 cricket.Suryakumar’s inventiveness as captain – trusting two brand new bowlers to bowl the last two overs – pushed the game into a Super Over, where he hit the winning runs. At the presentation, he said he fully believed the win was possible even though India had only 137 on the board.”More than the last over, I feel when we were around 30 for 4 and 48 for 5, how the boys showed character in the middle and took the game away from them, I felt 140 was par score on that track and the way they batted. When we were going in during our fielding sessions, I told them I had seen such kinds of games. I think if we put our heart in for one, one-and-a-half hours we can pull it off.”All three games offered spin-friendly conditions which Suryakumar might have factored into his calculations because his bowling the 20th over was far from the plan.”It was fun,” Riyan Parag said, “And that’s why actually we didn’t feel the nerves. We planned it in such a fun way, it was very spontaneous, Rinku bowling the 19th over. I was pretty sure Siraj was going to bowl the last over but then Surya just came on to bowl and got it to a Super Over. So I think everyone was pretty chill. We were having fun. That’s one of our motto as well. We are being ruthless but we have fun and enjoy the game and that’s why we were able to pull this off today.”The specialist bowlers did their job too. Washington Sundar took two wickets in two balls in the 17th over, dismissing the Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka and their premier allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga to create chaos in the chase. Then he fronted up for the Super Over and took two wickets in two balls there as well.”I guess all work I’ve done, and a lot of blessings from God definitely helped me,” Washington said. “I just wanted to try and stay calm and just focus on what I’m supposed to do and very grateful to Surya especially to throw the ball to me in that [Super Over] situation.”We did a bit of homework against their batsmen. Obviously, there was a little bit of purchase in the wicket as well, so I didn’t really have to do too much. I just had to hit the right lengths often. The rest was there.”Suryakumar’s willingness to try unorthodox things was on show even in previous games, when he turned to Parag’s part-time spin to bowl in the death overs in previous games. Parag is actually India’s second most used bowler of the series (9.2 overs), behind only Ravi Bishnoi (12 overs). He was particularly pleased with the way his legbreaks are coming out.”I’ve been working on it,” Parag said. “Its taken some time. I’ve tried it out in domestic games. I had a few net sessions prior to the tournament and it was coming out pretty well. I just expressed myself. Surya said just go for it. I bowled it with a free hand and it turned out pretty well.”Parag’s plan in the third T20I, where he bowled four overs for 27 runs was simple. “It’s always easy to get carried away when its turning so much so the goal and the ideology behind todays’ bowling was to keep it stump to stump, get a lot of revs behind the ball and the wicket was helping so I didn’t really have to do much. I just had to hit the right areas. And then Rinku and Surya at the end [laughs]”