Pakistan have added batsman Sharjeel Khan and fast bowler Mohammad Sami to their squads for the Asia Cup and World T20, following injuries to Babar Azam and Rumman Raees. The selectors also made another change to the World T20 squad, bringing in batsman Khalid Latif in place of Iftikhar Ahmed.Azam has been ruled out for 3-4 weeks after suffering a fracture on his left forearm during a practice session in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. Raees has a Grade-1 hamstring strain and is “operating at 60% of his fitness currently”, the PCB stated in a release.Pakistan’s selection committee chairman Haroon Rashid said that PSL performances played a part in the selection. Sharjeel, Sami and Latif are with Islamabad United, who will face Quetta Gladiators in the final of the inaugural edition of the league on Tuesday.Sharjeel has hit the only century of the league till date, with his 62-ball 117 against Peshawar Zalmi booking Islamabad United’s place in the final. He is the third-highest run-scorer, with 287 runs in ten innings at a strike rate of 151.05. Sami has picked up 11 wickets in six matches, including a haul of 5 for 8 against Karachi Kings. Latif was included on the basis of his power-hitting, according to Rashid, who clarified that the batsman could not join the Asia Cup squad due to technical reasons. Latif has scored 190 runs in six innings, at a strike rate of 114.45.”After having looked at the performance of the players in the PSL competition, the selection committee along with Captain Shahid Afridi and Head Coach Waqar Younis have come to the conclusion that keeping in view the outstanding performances of Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Sami in PSL matches, they should be included as replacements for injured Babar Azam and Ruman Raees respectively for both Asia Cup and World Cup,” Rashid said.”Since we have the option available to bring in changes in our World Cup squad before the support period starting from March 8, 2016, it has also been decided to use this option and decided to include Khalid Latif, who showed tremendous display of power hitting in the PSL matches, which paved the way for his inclusion in the World Cup squad in place of Iftikhar Ahmed.”Sharjeel’s previous T20 international appearance was in December 2013, while Sami made his comeback into the Pakistan side after nearly three years during the home series against Zimbabwe in May 2015. Latif last played an international match for Pakistan in June 2012.

Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2016
ScorecardVictoria did well under tranquil skies in Alice Springs•Getty Images

Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.The Bushrangers are fighting to preserve a narrow lead at the top of the points table and thus ensure the competition final is also played in the Red Centre.Tremain and the left-arm spinner Jon Holland (2 for 72) were among the wickets, both sides choosing twin spin on a slow surface. The Blues have named Arjun Nair alongside Nathan Lyon, while Holland joined Fawad Ahmed for the Bushrangers.Victoria had looked capable of bowling the Blues out cheaply when Ben Rohrer was fourth man out for the visitors with only 69 runs on the board, but a 110-run stand between Kurtis Patterson and Ryan Carters allowed NSW to gain a foothold.Patterson’s assured 82 off 174 balls maintained a strong recent run of scoring since the Big Bash League break, though he would have been disappointed to fall to Holland’s left-arm spin when within sight of a hundred.Carters also added a useful 69, and NSW will hope for some tail-end resistance from Nair and Lyon when play resumes.

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is expected to sign a two-year extension on his current deal at Stamford Bridge imminently, according to a fresh report.

The Lowdown: Kante’s future up in the air

The Frenchman has endured a frustrating 2022/23 season for the Blues, with injuries constantly robbing him of playing time under both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

In fact, Kante has only managed to appear in two Premier League matches throughout the campaign, which are his only outings in all competitions.

At 31, there has been speculation surrounding the midfielder’s future at Chelsea, especially with his current deal expiring at the end of the current campaign.

Some reports have linked Kante with a move away from west London but a new update suggests that he could now be set to extend his stay with the Blues.

The Latest: Two-year extension ‘on the way’

According to Calciomercato, Kante is very likely to sign a new two-year deal at Chelsea ahead of the summer, with the official confirmation ‘on the way’.

Inter Milan and Juventus are noted as potential suitors to sign him in the report, hence the interest from the Italian media, but they fully expect to miss out.

The Verdict: Great news for Chelsea

This has to be considered positive news from a Chelsea perspective, with Kante still an important player even though injuries have clearly become an issue of late, once being hailed as ‘world-class’ by none other than Cesc Fabregas.

The 53-time capped Frenchman is such an experienced head, when fit, with his ability to cover ground so influential, too, and he averaged 2.5 tackles per game in the league in his two games this season.

Granted, Kante may no longer be considered a guaranteed starter for Chelsea, given his age and the fact that Enzo Fernandez has come in – more midfielders are also needed during the summer transfer window – but he can continue to be a great asset for another two years, at which point an exit will make sense.

This is someone with two Premier League titles to his name, not to mention one World Cup and Champions League apiece, and he also won the PFA Player of the Year and Footballer of the Year awards back in 2016/17.

Some may feel that offering an extension to an injury-prone figure is a needless risk, but Kante could remain so important upon his return, proving to be a great foil for the younger players around him.

Farhad Moshiri backed former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti with significant amounts of cash as the Italian was charged with taking the Toffees to the next level.

The start of the 2020/21 campaign saw the former AC Milan manager sign the likes of James Rodriguez, Ben Godfrey, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan in the hopes of challenging for the European spots and despite a wonderful start, winning their first seven straight matches in all competitions, they eventually fizzled out and finished tenth.

What Everton fans would give for a finish like that now, but Ancelotti left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2021 and although some of his signings clicked, Allan failed to replicate the form he showed at Napoli under the Italian.

How much did Allan cost Everton?

The Brazilian midfielder signed for a fee of £25m and having enjoyed success in Serie A, reuniting with Ancelotti looked like it could bear fruit in the Premier League.

It quickly became apparent that the move wouldn’t become a success, as he struggled to cope with the demands of English football and across his 57 appearances for the club, he failed to score a single goal while registering just three assists, a far cry from the 28 goal contributions he managed at Napoli.

Journalist Dave Downie even described the midfielder as an “imposter” last season as he couldn’t perform half as well away from home as he did at Goodison Park.

That summary was rather apt throughout his time on Merseyside, bemoaned for one game in particular where he staggeringly made just two passes in 73 minutes of a clash with Liverpool. To make matters worse, both of those came from kick-off.

Much was expected of him following his arrival, especially with the big fee attached and the fact he was approaching 30, many felt it was a move that would produce immediate results.

He left at the start of the season to join Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi having failed to make a single appearance under Frank Lampard in the opening weeks of the campaign.

The 32-year-old earned a staggering £70k-per-week across his 107-week stint at the club and combining that with his transfer fee, Allan ransacked Everton for a grand total of £32.5m, a ridiculous sum of money.

Transfers such as this one have ultimately dragged the club down a few notches, and it’s no wonder they are battling relegation. Under Sean Dyche, the Merseyside outfit may have a decent chance of building a team without splashing the cash.

Joe Denly made his first century of the season but four wickets after tea left the opening day between Northamptonshire and Kent quite even

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2016
ScorecardMonty Panesar celebrates his first Northamptonshire wicket since 2009•Getty Images

Joe Denly made his first century of the season but four wickets after tea left the opening day between Northamptonshire and Kent quite even, with the visitors closing 300 for 7 after winning the toss. There were also two wickets for Monty Panesar – his first for Northamptonshire since 2009 – on his return to the county where he started his career.Denly’s only previous innings of note was a half-century against Glamorgan but here he looked assured, drove the ball smartly, and went through to three figures in 207 balls with 12 fours.He might have departed for 26 had Panesar, on his comeback, claimed a sharp caught-and-bowled chance; one of three missed chances for the hosts in the morning session. But Denly took advantage and, having resumed 92 after tea, drove Panesar for four in the second over after the break and was soon celebrating a third Championship century back in Kent colours, having rejoined at the start of last season.Panesar’s return was for the most part less noteworthy, wheeling away for 31 overs on a docile wicket, but he did claim a second caught-and-bowled opportunity, this time offered from Sam Northeast on 49, that he took low down by his left boot, before having Calum Haggett caught behind four overs from the close. It was a fair return, seven years on from his last appearance for Northants.”I’ve really enjoyed my first day back,” Panesar said. “It was nice to get a good workload in. I was nervy first thing but I got some rhythm going. The first chance came at me harder than expected but the second chance was one of my best catches.”Northeast’s wicket was the first of several tame dismissals that saw Kent fail to take full advantage of their strong position. At 202 for 2 they were in control of the day but after Northeast departed, no other partnership breached 30.Sean Dickson tried to lift Rob Keogh – also making his first appearance of the season – down the ground, only for Alex Wakely to leap to his right from mid-off and claim a stunning one-handed catch. The celebration was surely learned from Shahid Afridi in his time at Wantage Road last season.Darren Stevens fell in the first over of the second new ball, clipping Rory Kleinveldt straight to square leg. Adam Rouse fell in similar fashion looking to hit Kleinveldt through the leg side, only to get a looping leading edge to cover giving Wakely a much easier catch.Northants should have been in a much better position earlier in the day, having broken Kent’s opening stand in the fifth over, Wakely helping to run out Tom Latham.Panesar’s miss of Denly was the second of the three early chances to go down. Richard Levi twice spilled Daniel Bell-Drummond in the slips, first on 9 and then on 26. But Bell-Drummond couldn’t take full advantage as Northants finally did hold a catch after lunch with Kleinveldt taking Bell-Drummond for 47 at first slip. By then he had helped Denly put on 85 for the second wicket as Kent made a solid start.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is urging Etihad officials to sign RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol this summer, Football Insider report.

What’s the latest on Man City and Gvardiol?

It could well be a busy summer for City chiefs, with a new midfielder possibly on the agenda to replace Ilkay Gundogan. The German is out of contract in Manchester at the end of the season and has reportedly held talks with Barcelona. City have Bundesliga duo Jude Bellingham and Florian Wirtz as potential replacements for Gundogan, and it appears as if a new centre-back is of interest as well.

The club are willing to sell Aymeric Laporte after falling out of favour under Guardiola, with the City boss seemingly identifying his top defensive target. Football Insider provided a Manchester City update they have heard regarding Gvardiol in the last 48 hours, revealing that Guardiola is a big fan of the player and has personally urged the club to sign the centre-back.

Chelsea and Real Madrid are also interested in Gvardiol, who will have a £97m release clause in his deal from 2024. As a result, there could be a rush to secure the player’s services this summer.

Has Guardiola already laid the groundwork?

Guardiola had the chance to watch Gvardiol in action in Manchester City’s last 16 Champions League tie with Leipzig, with the 21-year-old scoring a first-leg equaliser in Germany. The player admitted that he had a conversation with the City boss after the second leg in Manchester but refused to go into detail, saying:

"I extended my hand to Guardiola and congratulated him on advancing in the Champions League. Guardiola, a great coach, threw a few words at me, but I will keep them to myself."

Therefore, Guardiola may have already laid the groundwork and hinted to the player over a potential summer move to the Etihad.

The left-footed centre-back recently starred at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for Croatia and has been called 'sensational' by members of the media. Former midfielder and pundit Owen Hargreaves has also declared that Gvardiol will be "the best centre-back in the world one day", which highlights his potential, which he may end up fulfilling in Manchester.

Should Laporte depart as speculated, Gvardiol could prove to be a brilliant long-term replacement, looking to establish himself as a regular ahead of the likes of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus this summer, having been linked with him in the past.

Is Neuhaus thriving in Germany?

The German was linked to joining the Reds back in the summer of 2021, at a time when midfield reinforcements were needed to make up for the loss of Gini Wijnaldum to Paris-Saint Germain. Neuhaus ended up staying at Monchengladbach, however, and Liverpool made no new signings in that area.

This continued lack of investment in the middle of the park has become increasingly problematic for the Merseysiders, as age catches up with the likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago.

It is essential that Liverpool make midfield additions at the end of this season, especially with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moving on, but with a move for Jude Bellingham appearing to be dead in the water, they need to look at alternatives.

Are Liverpool back in for midfielder?

Taking to Twitter, whilst sharing his article for 90min, reporter Graeme Bailey provided an update on Neuhaus' future, admitting that there is interest in him, as well as name-checking Liverpool in his piece as one of the clubs who are keen in the article:

"A number of Premier League clubs are looking at German star Florian Neuhaus. Back from a knee injury, Borussia Moenchengladbach are trying to tie him to a new contract – if not he could move this summer."

Neuhaus could still be a good signing for Liverpool this summer, even though his reputation arguably isn't as great as it was back in 2021, at a point where his performances for Monchengladbach were particularly strong, scoring six goals and registering five assists in the Bundesliga in 2020/21.

This season, the 26-year-old has only started 10 league matches, which is largely down to a serious knee ligament injury that saw him miss around three months of action.

He has been back playing regularly of late, though – deployed in three full 90 minutes since the middle of March, and given his age, signing him wouldn't feel like too big a gamble.

Journalist Jack Collins once hailed Neuhaus as a "magnificent" player and his all-round midfield ability as a footballer – he has 46 goal contributions (22 goals and 24 assists) in 166 Monchengladbach appearances, and netted twice in 10 caps for Germany – could help ease Liverpool's woes in that area moving forward.

England’s motivation for this summer is to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team

Andrew Miller22-Apr-2016You’d have thought that Ben Stokes would be sick of the sight of batsmen teeing off after the agonies he endured at the hands of Carlos Brathwaite in the World T20 final in Kolkata earlier this month.And yet, after spending the morning in the company of Joe Root at Woburn Golf Course in Buckinghamshire, it is safe to surmise that Stokes – and the rest of the England team – have parked that near-miss in India and are ready to take the positives (as only sportsmen can) into their next international assignment: the Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway next month.”I’d been back in the country for about eight or nine days before I realised I wanted to get back to training,” said Stokes, whose hectic round of sponsors’ engagements in recent days – from a game of street cricket in Soho to a bout of WWE in Newcastle and now to an Investec golf day – reflects the extent to which his and England’s exploits, in victory and defeat, have captured the imagination this winter.Though the winter ended in a manner that Stokes will not wish to dwell on for too much longer – with his head in his hands and Brathwaite’s fourth six in a row disappearing into the Eden Gardens stands – England’s shortcomings in that contest cannot detract from the sense that a real team ethic has been forged in the course of 18 extraordinary months.”The amount of people who’ve said how excited they were by the World Cup, and how we should be proud of what we achieved, it was a lot more than I thought it would be,” said Root. “That is really nice to see. That puts a smile on your face and gives us a lot of confidence.”The squads vary from format to format, and the captains too, with Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan taking charge of red- and white-ball cricket respectively. However, Stokes and Root have been integral players throughout, from England’s reboot in limited-overs cricket to their hard-earned Test series wins against Australia and South Africa. Root in particular believes that the confidence forged in one format can be carried across to the others.”It’s a completely different playing XI, but we are implementing how we want to play in all three formats,” he said. “Cooky has been like Morgs in reminding us that we got here by playing in this way for our counties and through the last 18 months, so let’s keep trying to push that. We don’t want to get to a certain level and stop, we want to keep trying to improve and play positive and aggressive cricket.”Teeing off: Stokes prepares to unleash at Woburn•Investec

“In one-day cricket, I think perceptions have been changed for a while now,” he added. “We’ve said previously we’ve got inexperience and we are going to make mistakes, but we want to play a certain way and everyone’s committed to doing that.”We won’t get it right every time, but the more we do that, we’ll get better and better, and we’ll learn along the way, both from getting it right and getting it wrong. Hopefully throughout this summer we’ll get more consistent and become a really strong side.”England’s motivation for this summer, said Root, was to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team – at home to Sri Lanka in 2014 and in the UAE against Pakistan last winter. That, he added, would complete a clean sweep of the trophies available to England in Test cricket, and help to propel them towards another of their goals – the reclaiming of the No.1 Test ranking that they last held in 2011-12.”Of course, that is obviously a main goal of ours,” he added. “But as with anything, you can look miles ahead and fall miles short, so you have to take it very slowly. If we win both series it would be a huge achievement.”England’s batting line-up for the first Test against Sri Lanka, at Headingley on May 19, may be significantly altered from the team that was beaten in the fourth and final Test against South Africa at Centurion in January. Not only are they now looking for a replacement for James Taylor, who was sadly forced to retire last week with a serious heart condition, there is talk of Root – the best batsman in the team – being pushed up the order to No. 3, from where he will be better placed to influence the course of an innings.”Who knows?” said Root, who averages more than 65 at positions 4 and 5, from where he has scored eight of his nine Test hundreds. “There have been lots of runs scored in the County Championship so far, but I’ve not had any conversations with the coaches yet about batting orders. I feel pretty settled at 4 but if they want to change things up, I’m sure we’ll have a discussion and see what’s best for the side.”One man who would prefer Root to stay exactly where he is, however, is Stokes, who has played some of his finest innings alongside his team-mate at four-down – not least their game-changing stand of 161 in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand last summer.”His record at 4 and 5 has been incredible,” said Stokes. “I’d personally like him to stay at 4 as he’s been so successful. When we’ve got off to bad starts, he’s come in and still kept the run-rate going, and also it would mean he’s closer to where I’m batting, and I enjoy batting with him.”The reason for their success as a partnership, Stokes added, was their shared sense of enjoyment and relaxation in the heat of the battle.”Some players are very keen and switched on when they are batting in the middle,” he said. “That is them. They stay with themselves in their own bubble, and you know that and respect that, you let them do what they want.”But me and Joe are very similar in the middle – having a laugh, not taking things too seriously, letting things go on. It lets us both play our natural games, which we want to do anyway, but it almost frees us up even more. I know Rooty scores quick, he knows I score quickly. We don’t put any pressure on each other.”As for Root himself, he finished the World T20 as one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the game, with most commentators agreeing it is a three-way shoot-out between him, India’s Virat Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson when it comes to identifying the best current batsman in the world.The player himself, however, only has eyes for the team cause. “You hear stuff and it’s nice when people say nice things about you, but it’s about scoring runs, isn’t it?” he said. “It’s not about personal gain. It’s about winning games of cricket and being part of something really special with your team-mates. By contributing runs, hopefully that will bring all that stuff along.”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

Jess Jonassen, the Australia Women left-arm spinner, is set to undergo surgery on her left knee later this month. Jonassen had been “managing” an ongoing injury through the 2015-16 season, the team’s physiotherapist Kate Mahoney said, and the surgery has been scheduled for the off season.”Jess is managing an ongoing left-knee injury, which she has been managing this season,” Mahoney said. “She was reviewed by an orthopaedic surgeon after returning from the [team’s] commitments at the Women’s World T20 in India, and will require arthroscopy surgery later this month.”Her rehabilitation and return to play will be more clear after the procedure, but we are hopeful that she will recover in time for the tour of Sri Lanka later this year.”Jonassen, 23, has turned out in 31 ODIs and 46 T20Is for Australia Women, taking 43 wickets at 21.23 and 33 wickets 22.27 in the two formats respectively. She has also played the one Test match, against England Women in 215. In the just-concluded Women’s World T20, where Australia Women finished runners-up, she had picked up just the one wicket in six games.

The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended that all Ranji Trophy matches in 2016-17 be played at neutral venues to make domestic cricket more competitive

Arun Venugopal29-May-20163:42

Agarkar: Should be good enough to play at opposition’s home

The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended that all Ranji Trophy matches in 2016-17 be played at neutral venues to make domestic cricket more competitive. The committee’s recommendations, according to the BCCI, seek to “rule out the issues related to preparing specific wickets for home teams, as well as to expose players to play in different conditions.” These recommendations will have to be ratified by the board’s working committee. A similar recommendation, to play all Ranji matches at neutral venues, was made before the 2012-13 season but was later turned down.The pitches used in the Ranji Trophy last season came under scrutiny after nine matches finished inside two days. Former India captain Rahul Dravid was critical of the “poor” pitches that stunted the development of young cricketers. He had also said state associations had to be forced to prepare good surfaces.

India A’s tour to Australia approved

The BCCI’s technical committee has approved India A’s tour of Australia in August for two four-day matches and a tri-series. India A had last toured Australia in July 2014 where they played two unofficial Tests against Australia A before playing a quadrangular series that also featured South Africa A and Australia’s National Performance Squad. Australia A had returned the visit with a tour to India in August last year, where it played two Tests against the home side before playing a tri-series that comprised South Africa A as well.

“A lot of people criticise and say Ranji Trophy [knockout] matches should be held in home venues of teams,” he said. “But if teams resort to doing these kind of things, then I think it is better the knockout matches are staged in neutral venues.”While Karnataka coach J Arun Kumar welcomed the panel’s recommendation, his Assam counterpart Sanath Kumar disagreed with the idea.”Apart from not having the home-crowd advantage and the home-pitch advantage, I don’t see anything wrong in that,” Arun Kumar told ESPNcricinfo. “There have been a lot of problems in the past with home-team advantage [resulting in] very bad wickets. Not having crowd support is the only setback but otherwise I think it’s a very fair move.”Sanath Kumar said the existing system, where a team played four games at home and four away, was fair. “I don’t think anybody will now come and watch. [Playing games at home meant] at least a few fans will come and support the team,” he said. “It will be like a knockout match where hardly anybody is watching the game. Instead of this recommendation, they could have had a [neutral] curator to prepare the pitches. That would have been an easier solution.”The technical committee has also recommended that the Duleep Trophy be played entirely as a day-night tournament, with four teams, picked by the selectors, playing in a round-robin format. In January, the BCCI tours and fixtures committee had asked the technical committee to explore the possibility of trialing the pink ball in the tournament. This move is significant considering the board’s keenness to host a day-night Test during India’s long home season where they will play series against New Zealand, England and Australia.Sanath Kumar said there had been discussions about changes in the zonal format of the Duleep Trophy since last season. “[In the coaches and captains enclave last year] we told the BCCI that the zonal system didn’t make much sense,” he said. “In the past we used to play Ranji Trophy at the zonal level and then we go to the knockouts. That time Duleep Trophy had a lot of relevance whereas now Ranji Trophy itself has become an all-India tournament and so Duleep doesn’t have a lot of recognition. Even the players don’t take it seriously.”We suggested that if the selectors select four teams like they do for the Challenger Trophy, it would be a better way of going about things.”