Pakistan named an unchanged squad for the three-match Test series against Australia next month
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2016Pakistan have named an unchanged squad for the three-match Test series against Australia next month. Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Rizwan, who were Pakistan’s only inclusions for the Test series against New Zealand, retained their place.With Misbah-ul-Haq unavailable, Rizwan was handed his debut in the ongoing second Test, but was dismissed for a first-ball duck in the first innings. Sharjeel did not play a game on the tour.Kamran Akmal, the leading run-scorer in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and Mohammad Hafeez were considered but the selection panel led by Inzamam-ul-Haq opted to stick with a young squad.Pakistan played both Tests in New Zealand with three fast bowlers and one spinner in Yasir Shah. With pitches in Australia not conducive to spin bowling, Pakistan were satisfied with allrounder Mohammad Rizwan as the back-up spin option.The series against Australia begins with a day-night Test in Brisbane on December 15.Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan
Liverpool have taken one step further in their pursuit of Ryan Gravenberch this week, with The Mirror reporting that FSG will back Jurgen Klopp in his pursuit of the player.
Are Liverpool signing Ryan Gravenberch?
The midfielder has only just joined current club Bayern Munich, having made the switch to the German giants at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign, racking up 72 appearances for Ajax prior to that. He was viewed as hot property when the Bundesliga outfit decided to snap him up, but the youngster has been unable to break into the first-team fold on a regular basis.
He's played 24 times for Bayern in the league over the course of the season and did help the side to claim another division title. However, only three of those fixtures saw Gravenberch start and he bagged no goals or assists either – his worst career totals to date.
The player though has previously proven he can produce the goods, managing seven and eight goal contributions during his last two seasons in the Netherlands. Both of those returns came as the player featured in over 30 league games – showing that if he gets minutes on a frequent basis, he can produce the goods.
With the midfielder out of favour in Germany, it means he could be available on a deal this summer and it is Liverpool who seem to be leading the race to sign Gravenberch, and it seems as if the man himself fancies a switch to Anfield over other suitors according to a recent report.
Now, The Mirror are reporting the latest update in this transfer saga – with Klopp eager get a deal done, the Reds are set to support his call to bring in the 21-year-old and support him in the transfer. It also adds that they are more "advanced" in terms of a potential transfer when compared to other interested Premier League parties and are "pushing" to get it done.
What is the value of Ryan Gravenberch?
No fee or official bid is mentioned yet but CIES Football Observatory suggest that the player's value would be around the 30 million Euro mark (or £25m). It's unclear if this is how much Bayern value him at but if it is, then it would be a bargain deal for Liverpool.
He's also highly regarded thanks to his time at Ajax, with football talent scout Jacek Kulig admitting that Gravenberch has a "huge future" in the game. He has yet to realise that since his switch to Bayern but it has only been one season and he barely ever got a chance. Given that chance at Liverpool, Gravenberch could thrive and live up to that potential with the Reds.
Jatin Paranjape and Gagan Khoda will be removed from the men’s selection committee, which will be trimmed to three going forward, as per the Lodha Committee recommendations
Nagraj Gollapudi07-Jan-2017Jatin Paranjape and Gagan Khoda will be removed from the men’s selection committee, which will be trimmed to three going forward. That is because the Lodha Committee has told the BCCI to adopt its recommendation on the selection committee, which was approved by the Supreme Court of India on July 18 last year.The next big assignment for the senior men’s selection panel will be to pick the squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, which is scheduled from February 8 to 12.The BCCI used to pick five-men selection panels through a zonal process, but the Lodha Committee recommended the panel be trimmed to three selectors, all of whom would be Test players retired for at least five years. Paranjape, the former Mumbai batsman, and Khoda, who led Rajasthan, will be removed from the existing selection committee considering neither has played Test cricket.On Friday, both Paranjape and Khoda were present at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai along with selection panel chairman MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh to pick India’s limited-overs squads for the England series. Before that meeting started, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri wrote to the Lodha Committee on January 4 to check whether the existing five-man selection panel could pick up the squad for the England series.In response, Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan told Johri that the five-man panel could pick the squad but this was being permitted only as “an exception”. The Lodha Committee also told Johri that he could continue as convenor of the selectors until the BCCI holds elections to elect new office bearers in keeping with the committee’s recommentations. “Going forward, it will have to be strictly in terms of the Supreme Court judgement,” Sankaranarayanan told Johri. Johri then informed both Paranjape and Khoda about the development.At its last AGM in September 2016, the BCCI had defied the court order and picked a five-man selection committee through an interview process. It also modified the eligibility criteria, allowing Paranjape and Khoda to sit on the panel.
تحدث نائب رئيس نادي برشلونة الرياضي، رافا يوستي عن مواجهة باريس سان جيرمان في ربع نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، هذا الموسم.
كان يويفا قد أجرى، ظهر اليوم الجمعة، مراسم قرعة مرحلتي ربع ونصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، موسم 2023/24.
وأسفرت القرعة عن مواجهة ساخنة مرتقبة بين فريقي برشلونة الإسباني وباريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي.
وقال يوستي في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “إنه لشرف كبير أن نكون هنا بين أفضل ثمانية فرق في أوروبا والهدف الذي وضعناه لأنفسنا هو التأهل”.
وأضاف: “مبابي؟ لدينا لامين يامال، المدرب شجاع بما يكفي لاستدعاء اللاعبين الشباب، ستكون مباراة جميلة للغاية، لديهم مدرب نعرفه جيدًا على أرضنا (لويس إنريكي)، ولكن لدينا أيضًا فريق رائع وجمهور كبير”.
اقرأ أيضًا | نتائج قرعة نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.. مواجهة إنجليزية محتملة
وفيما يتعلق بشعوره بالارتياح بعدما أسفرت القرعة عن مواجهة بين مانشستر سيتي وريال مدريد، أجاب: “الأمر يتعلق بالناحية العاطفية مع جوارديولا، لم نرد مواجهتهم، وكذلك نحن”.
واستمر: “بالنسبة لـ ريال مدريد فالأمر بمثابة كلاسيكو، سنتواجه قريبًا بالفعل، أعتقد الأمر جيد”.
وأكد: “عليك أن تحترم جميع منافسيك، لأن هذه هي أفضل ثمانية فرق في أوروبا، علينا أن نتبع المسار الذي لعبنا به أمام نابولي”.
واستطرد: “تشافي؟ أفضل شيء يمكن أن يتمتع به المدرب هو أن يتغنى الملعب باسمه وبالحب الذي يحمله تجاهه الرئيس ومنا جميعًا”.
Liverpool are looking to make tweaks to their successful squad this summer following a disappointing season and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Pau Torres?
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool are one of the many clubs who have been admiring Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres.
As per the report, Aston Villa are working hard to get a cut-price deal done for the talented defender, whilst Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and the Reds are named as admirers of the player.
Would Pau Torres be a good fit for Liverpool?
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp's top priority this summer has been a midfield rebuild, however, the Reds are also seemingly on the hunt for a left-footed centre-back who can offer balance in the back-line as the current crop of central defenders at Anfield are all right-footed.
Liverpool have been linked with VfL Stuttgart ace Micky van de Ven and RB Leipzig titan Joska Gvardiol, both of whom are dominant on their left foot with the latter now reportedly agreeing on personal terms for a potential €100m (£86m) deal to join treble-winning Manchester City.
As a result, the signing of Torres could be an opportunity for Klopp to secure a centre-back with an extremely similar profile as Gvardiol but also would be much cheaper than his Croatian positional peer, with Villarreal possibly considering a fee as low as €40m (£34m), per some reports.
According to FBref, Gvardiol is named as the third most comparable player to Torres over the last 12 months, and it's not hard to see why when you consider their vast similarities.
When comparing the defensive duo, the pair shared resemblances in many key attributes last season including aerial duels won (55.1% v 55.8%), ball recoveries (195 v 167), blocks (36 v 34), shot-creating actions (1.21 v 1.20) per 90, tackles and interceptions won (56 v 57) and pass accuracy (85.1% v 85.9%).
Not only that, Torres – once hailed as an "extraordinary talent" by former Villarreal star Javi Calleja – is one of the most progressive defenders in the top five European leagues, ranking in the top 7% of his positional peers for progressive passes, progressive carries and shot-creating actions per 90, demonstrating unrivalled ability in his ball-playing role in Villarreal's defensive set up.
With that being said, if Liverpool could table an attractive offer to rival their competitors for Torres this summer he could be a fantastic signing for the club and provide Klopp with the profile of centre-back that he clearly desires to acquire ahead of next season.
Just over a month on from the end of the 2022/23 campaign, it looks as if Manchester United are now finally closing in on their first signing of the summer, having reportedly agreed a £60m deal with rivals Chelsea for the signing of Mason Mount.
The addition of the England international will no doubt provide a fresh injection of youth and quality into the midfield ranks at Old Trafford, with the Champions League-winning playmaker having registered 70 goals and assists in 195 games during his time with the Blues.
With the likes of Fred and Scott McTominay having been linked with the exit door of late, however – and with young Zidane Iqbal already on his way to the Netherlands – that may not be the last of the midfield incomings this summer, with manager Erik ten Hag likely to require further depth in the centre of the park next summer.
As per ESPN, the Red Devils are said to have made an enquiry regarding the possibility of signing United States international, Taylor Booth, with the Daily Mail having also stated that Ten Hag is said to be a 'known admirer' of the 22-year-old – who currently plies his trade for Eredivisie side, Utrecht.
While such speculation had come amid a standstill in negotiations with Mount, it would be no surprise if Booth – who has been valued at around €12m (£10m) – ultimately ends up following the one-time Vitesse Arnhem loanee to the Theatre of Dreams in the coming weeks.
Who is Taylor Booth?
As has been illustrated by Ten Hag's previous additions – including the likes of Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez – the 53-year-old has regularly utilised his Dutch connections in order to get deals done during his United tenure to date, with it looking as if he may well do so again with the acquisition of Booth.
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong
The former Ajax man's admiration for the promising American may well stem from the youngster's apparent likeness to another of his former assets, Frenkie de Jong, with Booth having been compared to the Dutchman by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Described as a "roaming playmaker" by Kulig, the Utrecht starlet appears to mirror the Barcelona ace in his ability to drive forward with ease from his deep-lying berth, showcased by the fact that he has averaged 3.25 progressive carries and 1.45 successful take-ons per 90 across the last 365 days, while De Jong has a similar record having averaged 3.39 and 1.34 for those same two metrics, respectively.
As ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand previously said of the latter man, the 26-year-old's main strength appears to be "about dictating the game", with Booth also seemingly sharing that trait, having said of his own approach: “I love to have the ball at my feet. I love being involved in the game, getting my teammates involved in the game and I love to be able to dictate the tempo of the game.”
Described as a player who "has the sauce" such is his exciting potential – according to writer Joseph Lowery – the former Bayern Munich asset could then prove a dream alternative to De Jong for Ten Hag, with United having been unable to prise the Netherlands international from Camp Nou last summer despite agreeing a deal with the La Liga giants.
With De Jong having again outlined his desire to stay put in Catalonia this time around, the possible bargain signing of Booth could be the ideal solution that the Premier League outfit.
The head of the Lodha Committee, RM Lodha, has called for state associations to make public revenue from ticket sales and ensure transparency in the distribution of complimentary passes for cricket matches
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2017
RM Lodha: ‘There is no account of where these [passes] go, no disclosures, and facts are not brought to public domain’•AFP
The head of the Lodha Committee, RM Lodha, has called for state associations to make public revenue from ticket sales and ensure transparency in the distribution of complimentary passes for cricket matches.He pointed out that the report of the Lodha Committee – which recommended an exhaustive overhaul of the BCCI’s governance and administrative structures on the court’s bidding – had asked for steps to be taken to make sure tickets to cricket matches were available to the public at reasonable rates. The culture of passes, according to him, is an easy method to “oblige people who matter”.”Let us remember that complimentary passes reduce the availability of tickets to the public and revenue from their sale,”Lodha, a former Chief Justice of India, was quoted as saying by the . “It instead goes to friends, government department, and others. A lot of them get these free passes. There is no account of where these go, no disclosures, and facts are not brought to public domain. We all know that complimentary passes are a largesse by the cricket association concerned, given as entitlement to certain sections of society.”Lodha said his committee had raised the following questions to the BCCI: “What is the basis of free tickets and passes being given for games? What proportions of tickets are available to the general public and how is that transparently ensured? What is the policy for giving tickets and passes to governmental and statutory authorities? We have also specified that the ombudsman must redress grievances of the public concerning ticketing.”While Lodha felt doing away with the practice of handing out free passes should be the eventual goal of state associations, he said they could make a “good beginning” towards transparent functioning by providing details of allocation of passes on their websites. “With RTI [the Right to Information Act] not being applicable here, associations must take the initiative to inform the public about distribution of passes, the categories of people who got them, and revenues from ticket sales,” he said.The allocation of complimentary passes has always been a thorny issue for state associations. During the IPL in 2012, the Karnataka State Cricket Association invited the wrath of Bangalore’s municipal corporation officials for turning down their request for 450 free passes. More recently, according to reports, Biswarup Dey, the former secretary of Cricket Association of Bengal, alleged that Sourav Ganguly’s administration had “unethically” denied him the “allotted quota of complimentary tickets”.
كشفت تقارير صحفية، عن غياب الدولي البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو، عن مباراة منتخب بلاده أمام السويد وديًا، خلال فترة توقف مارس الجاري.
صاحب الـ39 عامًا، سجل هذا الموسم 22 هدفًا مع النصر السعودي، لكنه لن يشارك في مباراة السويد الودية التي ستقام يوم الخميس المقبل.
البرتغال تواجه السويد وديًا يوم 21 مارس، ثم سلوفينيا 26 من الشهر الجاري، بعد أن فاز المدير الفني الإسباني روبرتو مارتينيز بالمباريات العشر الماضية التي خاضها مع المنتخب، مسجلًا 36 هدفًا وصنع هدفين.
طالع أيضًا.. قائمة منتخب البرتغال لمواجهتي السويد وسلوفينيا.. موقف كريستيانو رونالدوقب
صحيفة “ريكورد” البرتغالية، أكدت بأن كريستيانو رونالدو ضمن ثمانية لاعبين كبار سيغيبون عن مباراة السويد يوم الخميس، إلى جانب دالوت وكانسيلو، ودانيلو بيريرا، وأوتافيو، مع روبن نيفيز وفيتينيا وجواو فيليكس.
وأشارت التقارير إلى أن روبرتو مارتينيز قرر إراحة رونالدو، في ظل ضغط المباريات خلال هذا الموسم مع النصر السعودي، كما هو الحال لباقي المستبعدين.
كريستيانو رونالدو سجل 128 هدفًا في 205 مباريات مع المنتخب البرتغالي في مسيرته الدولية التي تمتد لأكثر من عقدين، فاز خلالها ببطولة كأس أمم أوروبا 2016 ودوري الأمم الأوروبية 2019.
كشفت تقارير صحفية أن أحد لاعبي فريق برشلونة تحصل على عرض خرافي من أحد الأندية السعودية للانتقال إلى صفوفها في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي المقبل.
وتسعى أندية دوري روشن للمحترفين إلى تعزيز صفوفها في الصيف القادم، مثلما فعلت في الميركاتو الصيفي لعام 2023.
اقرأ أيضًا | الهلال السعودي يُغري برشلونة لبيع لاعبه في الصيف
وحسبما ذكرت صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، عبر غلاف عددها المرتقب يوم الأحد، فإن روبرت ليفاندوفسكي نجم برشلونة كان مطمعًا لأحد الأندية السعودية.
وأوضحت أن أحد أندية الدوري السعودي تقدم بعرض سيحصل ليفاندوفسكي بمقتضاه على أكثر من 100 مليون يورو في الموسم الواحد.
وأشارت إلى إنه بالرغم من ذلك، فإن نية ليفاندوفسكي واضحة حيث يرغب في البقاء مع فريق برشلونة، مع العلم أن الصحيفة لم تكشف عن هوية النادي السعودي صاحب العرض الخرافي.
🗞️ #LaPortadaMD
‘Millonada por Lewy y por Lamine’https://t.co/jGO7UupQW3 pic.twitter.com/yifBU2mGYy — Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) March 23, 2024
وسبق أن ارتبط ليفاندوفسكي بإمكانية الانتقال إلى الدوري السعودي، الصيف الماضي، ولكن ذلك الأمر لم يتجاوز حاجز التقارير.
With HotSpot absent, India were “surprised” by the third umpire’s decision to uphold the on-field lbw verdict, by Nigel Llong, that signalled Virat Kohli’s wicket
Daniel Brettig06-Mar-20171:36
‘HotSpot can be difference between out and not out’ – Hazlewood
Virat Kohli’s distress at his lbw dismissal was mirrored by “surprise” within an India dressing room still getting used to the concept of the DRS. Yet to make a score of note this series, Kohli was stunned to be sent on his way after unsuccessfully reviewing an lbw decision given by the umpire Nigel Llong.Llong had raised his finger quickly even as the bowler Josh Hazlewood pulled out of his own appeal in the apparent belief that Kohli had hit the ball. Other Australians behind and square of the wicket were, however, more vociferous. The TV umpire Richard Kettleborough told Llong he could find no definitive evidence that the ball had struck bat before pad, so as per current DRS protocols it left him no choice but to stay with the original on-field decision. Kohli made his unhappiness clear as he walked off the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.Australia pacemen ‘too wide’
Josh Hazlewood has admitted he and Mitchell Starc have been outbowled by their Indian counterparts Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the second Test, conceding the visiting duo did not land enough balls on the line of the stumps to make best use of the variable bounce on offer. While Hazlewood claimed three wickets and at one stage had India effectively 33 for 4 in their second innings, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided India to safer ground. This was possible, Hazlewood said, because he and Starc had not challenged the stumps often enough. “The quicks were still too wide, I think with the odd ball shooting through and that up and down bounce you need to be a bit straighter,” Hazlewood said. “I think the spinners bowled really well again and Garry (Nathan Lyon) was quite unlucky in terms of a few of those balls around the gloves. “The plans are pretty simple but sometimes they’re hard to execute. You’ve got to bowl stump-to-stump, the Indian quicks bowled really well for the majority of yesterday and I think we can still improve on today.”
His mood cooled as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided the team to stumps, but India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said the hosts were united in their surprise at the lbw verdict being upheld on review. Their consternation formed another episode in their familiarisation with a system the BCCI had long barred from use in their bilateral series. “We all are a bit surprised by the call the umpire eventually did,” Bangar said.”In terms of was there conclusive evidence or not, that’s something that definitely the match referee will look into and they’ll have a chat about it. Obviously Virat was really pumped up, he’s a big match player, and he wanted to succeed very badly in this innings. It was a very normal reaction from a batsman in the dressing room when he gets out cheaply.”We are new to DRS and the rules have also been tweaked a bit, so it is very much the umpire’s call has become really crucial, and we haven’t really sat down and evaluated but that is the way it is, it’s new to us and we are learning from the number of games we are playing with DRS, we are in the learning curve.”Replays available to Kettleborough included super slow-motion and UltraEdge cameras – the version of Real-time Snicko developed by the HawkEye ball-tracking inventors – but not HotSpot, which uses infrared cameras to pick up heat signalling from balls striking bat or pad.Hazlewood said HotSpot, which is part of the full suite of technology available for use in Tests in Australia, would have been a welcome addition and can make a difference in similar circumstances. “Yeah I think so, it’s obviously a massive series and you want to have all the technology you can if it’s available,” Hazlewood said. “HotSpot works really well sometimes, we use it in Australia and it can be the difference between a not out and and out. If it’s there, it’s there.Virat Kohli wasn’t pleased after his review was struck down•AFP
“I think initially I just heard a bit of wood so I pulled out of the appeal but the guys behind the wicket and square of the wicket were pretty confident and obviously it got given out. I think after looking at the reviews you could see it just touching that pad before the bat so you had to stick with the on-field call.”Though the BCCI has shown interest, they has been unable to use HotSpot in a bilateral series so far. The board had contacted the operators of the technology about having it in place for the England series last year, only to be informed that the cameras would not be able to arrive until after the series had begun and perhaps even later.When HotSpot’s use for the Australia series was discussed, the board decided against it. Those talks took place during a complicated period, around the time the Supreme Court of India had removed senior board officials and frozen BCCI bank accounts.There remains hope, however, that the technology will be available when India next plays a home Test series later in 2017.