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The dearth of capable young wicketkeepers forces selectors to keep turning back to the pair of Parthiv Patel and and Dinesh Karthik

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Jan-20181:18

India’s dearth of young wicketkeepers

There were jokes aplenty this week after the BCCI announced Dinesh Karthik as the replacement for Wriddhiman Saha, who was ruled out of the Test series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury. The joke was how Karthik and Parthiv Patel were India’s best wicketkeeping options before MS Dhoni made his Test debut in 2005, and continue to remain the best options more than three years after Dhoni’s retirement from the format.Jokes apart, in the last 10 years has there really been nobody other than Parthiv and Karthik each time the wicketkeeper’s slot has opened up? Before Dhoni, it was Parthiv and Karthik. After Dhoni, it has been Saha and when he is injured, it is back to Parthiv and Karthik.”Who else is there? Nobody stands out,” Vijay Dahiya, former Delhi and India wicketkeeper says. Another former India wicketkeeper and coach of several Ranji Trophy teams, Chandrakant Pandit, agreed: “I don’t find anybody in domestic cricket who has been doing well as a wicketkeeper-batsman.”Pandit played 41 international matches for India, and recently coached Vidarbha to their maiden Ranji Trophy title. A successful captain, Pandit won multiple Ranji titles as a player and coach with Mumbai too.Dahiya played a couple of Tests for India before retiring in 2006. He then served as Delhi’s coach for six years and an equal number of seasons as part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ staff when they won the IPL title twice.Both Pandit and Dahiya learned and developed their keeping skills in the last century, when specialist wicketkeepers was the norm, and importantly, the only yardstick for getting selected, both at state and national level. Both men bemoan that is no more the trend. It is partly because team think-tanks, including at the national level, want better batting depth.”Selectors have started picking players who can bat and then keep,” Dahiya says. “Why do you think Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant have started getting picked [in emerging squads] so quickly? Because they were getting runs.”Pant, 20, has already played two T20Is for India last year. Kishan, 19, has played more first-class matches than Pant. Both of them came into reckoning based on their explosive batting in the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 and then were picked by IPL franchises. Their USP: they play first-class cricket with similar tempo. Pant was even retained by Delhi Daredevils recently for INR 8 crore (US$ 1.26mn).When the BCCI announced Karthik as Saha’s replacement earlier this week, some experts sighed, saying the selectors had once again taken a backward step by not sending Pant to South Africa for the third Test. The same pundits wanted Pant to replace Dhoni in the limited-overs formats in the past year when Dhoni struggled for fluency and impact as a batsman in T20s.BCCIPandit is against such an idea only because on overseas trips, he feels, selectors want a player with experience, someone who would not be overwhelmed by the conditions. “When you are playing abroad and suddenly your first-choice wicketkeeper is injured, you always look for an experienced player, somebody who has played in those conditions, someone who can take that challenge.”Both Pant and Kishan have kept wicket on A tours, including in South Africa last year, but Dahiya and Pandit believe they are not ready for the step up to Test cricket. “Because of Twenty20 cricket, makeshift wicketkeepers are getting opportunities,” Pandit says. “What is happening now is most of the [young] wicketkeepers are not able to concentrate on keeping. That element is being badly neglected.”The only specialist wicketkeeper among the young lot whom Pandit finds promising is 27-year old Sufiyan Shaikh. However, he has played only three first-class matches for Mumbai because Adtya Tare, the captain, is the team’s primary wicketkeeper. Shaikh only got in the XI last season, when Tare was injured and Pandit was the Mumbai coach.Pant is still far from a “thoroughbred” option behind the stumps, according to Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave, who was a selector until 2011 and who kept tabs on Pant while Maharahstra played in Delhi in the Ranji Trophy in November. There were a few words of comfort though. “Although he did not have a good semis and final in the Ranji Trophy, on an iffy wicket at Palam (in Delhi), Rishabh kept brilliantly against Maharashtra. [He] covered the bounce, both low and high.”Pandit, too, saw Pant, when Vidarbha faced Delhi in the Ranji final in Indore earlier this month and the impression he got, at least based on Pant’s batting, was that he was playing a T20. “He kept well against the fast bowlers in the Ranji final. But that can be done by most wicketkeepers,” Pandit says of Pant, who held five catches in Vidarabha’s first innings.According to Bhave, Pant’s “super-explosive” batting style in the T20 format has hurt his first-class form. “He failed in a few matches before he played Maharashtra. He did get a 99, but only after being dropped twice, against us. He has a patchy form this Ranji Trophy, so he has not actually batted all that consistently in multi-day cricket.”Pant has so far played 21 first-class matches. He averages 53.62 with four centuries including a triple-century and five fifties. Having averaged 76.38 in his maiden season, Pant struggled in this Ranji Trophy; his average was halved to 34.92 and he couldn’t make a century in 10 matches.As a wicketkeeper, Pant has 56 catches and 7 stumpings. Since his Ranji debut, Parthiv played 31 matches to finish with 92 catches and three stumpings with a batting average of 41.90, including three hundreds; Karthik played 22 matches, took 55 catches, made four stumpings and had a batting average of 48.25, with three centuries.Bhave believes a wicketkeeper should be picked for Test cricket based on his work behind the stumps. “First and foremost is they have got to be a fantastic wicketkeeper. An absolute must. The batting comes as a plus.” For Test cricket, he says, you need someone who keep wickets “day-in-day-out and has good powers of concentration, reflexes and balance.” Saha was the one who possessed all those qualities during Bhave’s tenure as a selector. The second choice was Parthiv.BCCIMSK Prasad, a former India wicketkeeper, and current chairman of the selection panel, had last year expressed similar sentiment when he said the reason Saha was the No. 1 choice was because of his wicketkeeping. But selectors at the state level, Pandit points out, have started looking for players who can bat first and then keep. “In the past, keeping wickets was given priority over scoring runs, but now wicketkeepers need to bat.”Dahiya agrees that you cannot anymore pick just a specialist wicketkeeper in modern-day cricket. “You are picking up allrounders. Their mindset is more batsman-wicketkeeper than wicketkeeper-batsman.” As an example of such a trend, Dahiya cites the tour match against the Australians last February where Pant and Kishan played for India A. “One guy was keeping (Pant) and one was fielding (Kishan). How can you justify that? It has been going on for a while. That is why Saha had to wait for so long. Even earlier selectors picked Parthiv or Dinesh.”When it comes to Parthiv and Karthik’s wicketkeeping skills, the experts disagree on who is better. Dahiya puts Karthik slightly ahead of Parthiv. “He (Karthik) is too flamboyant at times, but he is much more fit as a keeper. In the current lot including the youngsters, DK is a better wicketkeeper than anyone else as a Test-match wicketkeeper-batsman.”The selector in Bhave remains unconvinced about Karthik the wicketkeeper. The panel he was part of (which was led by former India opener and captain K Srikanth), did not have enough confidence in Karthik because he made “a lot of mistakes and failed to be consistent.”One area, according to Bhave, where Parthiv has an edge is his ability to bat in various conditions. “Parthiv’s keeping might be iffy but overall he is a good package. He can bat in seaming conditions, pull and hook. He can bat on fast pitches.”

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Ishan KishanParthiv arrived at the big stage as cherubic 17-year old, making his international debut two years before playing his first match for his home state of Gujarat. This was in England in 2002, and back then he was the youngest wicketkeeper to play Test cricket. He would play 15 Tests before Karthik replaced him. And Karthik would play 10 Tests before the selectors handed the job to Dhoni.Dhoni was not a technically correct wicketkeeper, but with his fitness, reflexes and street-smarts, he remained a solid presence behind stumps. Since his debut in December 2005, he missed only nine Tests. Karthik (6 matches), Parthiv (1) and Saha (2) filled in for him. Since Dhoni retired in December 2014, Saha, who is technically proficient, has kept in 29 Tests while Parthiv (4) and Naman Ojha (1) have featured in the other five matches India have played until now.However, in the past 15 months, Saha has been injured twice in the middle of Test series. The first time was in November 2016 when he suffered a shoulder strain and couldn’t play against England. Parthiv stepped in, playing his first Test in eight years. He showed enough character both in front and behind the wicket, and then went and won the Ranji Trophy for Gujarat.Saha, Parthiv and Karthik, in that order, remain the first choices for the selectors now, but all three are fast approaching their twilight years. Saha is 33, Karthik and Parthiv will be 33 by June. Maintaining their agility and fitness are bound to be their main challenges.All three experts agree it is a difficult job to find a classical wicketkeeper in Tests. Pandit suggests the Indian selectors need to identify and speak to those young hopefuls they feel can graduate to the Test squad in the near future.”Indian cricket has to take this seriously,” he says. “I feel that your best wicketkeeper probably can win the game also for you if he takes a couple of brilliant catches. Many wicketkeepers in domestic cricket are lacking appropriate skills.”Dahiya agrees. “Don’t pick them only for runs. If you think the next in line are Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan, then sit with them and tell them they need to bat at this number in first-class cricket; tell them, ‘we know you guys can bat, but you need to sharpen up your wicketkeeping’.”A wicketkeeper needs to be safe. He needs to be somebody whose basics are good and can bat at a particular number.”Pandit reckons these qualities cannot be learned by playing T20s. “Even if you identify a talent in T20 cricket, he must be made to play at least two to three years in Ranji Trophy. That is the only place where he can develop his wicketkeeping skills.”Dahiya believes picking Pant in the Test squad right now would be rushing him. “He was fast-tracked earlier and you saw what happened to him in West Indies (played only one out of six limited-overs matches in 2017).”Pandit too has a word of caution for the selectors in case they feel Pant is next in line. “He can be coached, but it also remains to be checked how keen and serious he is about his wicketkeeping. Wicketkeeping cannot be forced on anybody. You have to have that passion and love for the job.”

They picked and promoted young talent and challenged the established teams, but all that will only be history soon

Hassan Cheema01-Jun-2018While Saad Ali celebrated Pakistan’s win at Lord’s, a lot will have gone through his mind. This is his first tour with the national team. A great domestic season, followed by a national call-up, and a potential debut at Headingley might have constituted the best of times, but there were rumblings back home in Pakistan that it might be the worst of times too.What he wouldn’t have known at the time was that his livelihood might be under threat. A day after the win at Lord’s, reports circulated that United Bank Limited (UBL) had decided to close down their cricket operations.This decade of Pakistan’s domestic cricket has been defined by three departments. The behemoth at the top has been Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL). Under Misbah-ul-Haq, they have become the Bayern Munich of Pakistan in first-class cricket. Not since Karachi in the early ’90s has a team dominated the domestic game as much as they have. They have won the title in five of the past six seasons, and have done so while being a team more in Misbah’s image than even his Test team ever was.It began with Misbah and his Faisalabad cohort (led by Mohammad Hafeez), and two youngsters in Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali, who have since gone on to become Pakistan’s best long-form players in their respective disciplines. In the intervening years, SNGPL have brought in Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan from Peshawar, and attracted the best regional/department players from elsewhere, signing Mohammad Abbas, Asad Shafiq and Shadab Khan in the last two years. With those signings it seems that even with Misbah likely to go upstairs, they are ready to rule over the domestic game for a few more years in their disciplined, hard-working way.Two teams have challenged them over the last couple of years. The first of those was Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) – the only team apart from SNGPL to win the title in the last six seasons. While SNGPL are built on discipline – to the point that they fine players for not being punctual for training sessions – WAPDA have attracted more old-school Pakistani players. Their rise in recent years was led by the signings of Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Irfan, and most recently, Wahab Riaz. Add to those five names Zulfiqar Babar, who has been with WAPDA since 2010, and you have enough to win at the domestic level in all conditions.WAPDA followed SNGPL’s model of attracting established performers. Their team’s in this season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final only had one 23-year-old (Khushdil Shah); eight of their XI were over 30. SNGPL had only one player under 25 in the final – Mohammad Rizwan (since Shadab was playing the Big Bash at the time).

UBL, meanwhile, have a history of developing young players. Their 1988-89 team had a trio of then uncapped players by the names of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Waqar Younis (more on their history here).Starting from 2015, under coach Nadeem Khan and captain Younis Khan, they signed the best young players in Pakistan: Ehsan Adil, Sohaib Maqsood, Sharjeel Khan, Hammad Azam, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Nawaz, Saad Ali, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal and Sameen Gul.With the exception of Sohail and Wahab (who left for WAPDA last year), all the rest are under 30. In the last three seasons, UBL and WAPDA have both finished in the top four. The private sector bank, which runs the UBL cricket team, has also become one of Pakistan cricket’s major sponsors, and was the title sponsor for the World XI tour to Lahore last year.UBL, unlike most other departments, has its own first-class ground, in Karachi, and one of the best academies in the country. Shan Masood, Rumman Raees, Sharjeel Khan and Mir Hamza are all products of that academy.They even won a domestic one-day title earlier this year – going unbeaten – even though they have traditionally not been a great limited-overs side.So from the outside, you would think their future in cricket seemed robust. But it looks like the final of the Department One Day Cup 2018 might have been the last time we saw the UBL side in action. Last month, the bank announced a 63% decline in its profit for the first quarter of this year, from Rs 7.25 billion to Rs 2.64 billion (from US$6.27 million to $2.28 million approximately). As is the case with financial or capitalist institutions throughout the world, it was time for “downsizing”.Still, even with this reduced profit, the cost of running the UBL team for a whole season would be only 0.2% of UBL’s annual profit from 2017 – not the revenue, just the profit, mind. But such is the situation in a country where the domestic game is built around departments rather than regions: you never know when it will be all over, and there’s nothing you can do about it.For Saad Ali, it’s time to think of the future. It won’t be surprising if he finds an offer from SNGPL in his inbox.

There were some awesome stats for the bowlers – Jason Holder in particular – and some dismal ones for both teams’ top orders

Bharath Seervi26-Jun-201820 – Wickets fell on the third day in Bridgetown, which is a new record for Tests in the West Indies, eclipsing the 18 that fell during England’s tour in 2015. Here, Sri Lanka were 99 for 5 in first innings at the start of the day, and at stumps, they were five-down in the second innings.8-40 – Jason Holder’s match figures are already the second-best by a West Indies captain, behind Courtney Walsh’s 13 for 55 against New Zealand in 1994-95. Holder’s figures are also the second-best by any captain against Sri Lanka.9.71- Holder’s bowling average at Kensington Oval – the best for a West Indies bowler at a single venue (min 20 wickets) and fourth best for any bowler with the same criteria. He has picked up 21 wickets in four Tests, including five three-fors in eight innings and three of his best match-figures. At all other venues combined, Holder has managed only 43 wickets averaging 46.76. Ernie Toshack (Brisbane), Bert Ironmonger (MCG) and George Lohmann (SCG) are the three bowlers with better averages at a venue under condition of 20 wickets taken.

21.06- The West Indies fast bowlers’ average in this series, making it their best performance in 10 years. They have racked up 45 wickets in three Tests – 20 to Shanon Gabriel and 11 each to Holder and Kemar Roach.93- West Indies’ score in the second innings – their third-lowest total at home, behind the 47 against England in 2004 and 51 against Australia in 1999. Prior to their Bridgetown collapse, they were the only side not to be bowled out for less than 100 in Tests in last decade.93- is also the lowest total that Sri Lanka have kept a team to while playing away from home. Their previous best was 102 against Zimbabwe in Harare 2004. Also, the last time Sri Lanka dismissed their opposition for fewer than 100 was in 2009, against Pakistan in Colombo.226- Runs added by the first five wickets across the four innings of this match – the lowest such aggregate in any Test over the last 80 years, and the fourth-lowest in history. West Indies’ top five wickets added 53 and 14 runs in the two innings while Sri Lanka’s contributed 85 and 74.17- Runs added by West Indies’ first three wickets in this Test – nine in the first innings and eight in the second. It is the worst performance by their top order in any Test match. Only once has a team suffered a smaller contribution from the first three wickets: Zimbabwe’s top three wickets combined for only 13 runs against New Zealand in 2011-12.

Mominul Haque struck his sixth century in eight Tests at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Thursday. By Bangladesh’s standards, that is good enough to get the stadium named after him

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong22-Nov-2018The Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, situated at the dead end of Chattogram’s western industrial belt, should now be called Fort Mominul Haque. On Thursday, the opening day of the first Test against West Indies, Mominul struck 120, after Bangladesh had elected to bat. It was Mominul’s sixth century at this venue in eight Tests. It isn’t quite in the league of Mahela Jayawardene at the SSC yet. But Mominul became only the 10th batsman to score six or more hundreds in a single venue.Going by Bangladesh’s standards, this is definitely “name-the-stadium-after-him” good. No other batsman from the country has scored more than two hundreds in one venue, and those who have scored more than 1,000 runs in a single venue, have done so at 44.03 (Shakib in Dhaka), 37.50 (Tamim in Dhaka) and 43.84 (Mushfiqur in Chattogram). Mominul, by comparison, averages 89.90 in Chattogram, after 14 innings, including this one.But is this his favourite venue? Does he have a connection with the ground or the city? Does he care if the city is now called Chattogram? Does he feel comfortable coming to this dead end of the industrial area in Sagarika? Because not many would.”I don’t really turn up at the stadium and say, ‘yeah, I am going to score a century here’,” Mominul said while walking across to the dressing room. “I don’t really think about these things. I really don’t have an answer to this question.”Mominul usually doesn’t have an answer to many questions, particularly when his batting is taken into context with something else. He is of the see-the-ball-play-the-ball kind. The quiet guy who does the job.There is some connection, of course. Mominul plays his first-class cricket for Chittagong (curiously the name of the team hasn’t switched to Chattogram yet). But he averages 11.00 here in four first-class matches. He plays for Chattogram because he is from Cox’s Bazar, which is under the Chattogram Division. Mominul isn’t known to have played a lot of club cricket in Chattogram either, having learned his game at BKSP, the famous sports institute in Savar, 46km to the north of Dhaka. And, like every Bangladeshi cricketer, he has played most of his cricket in the capital city.So his only connection to Chattogram is his Test hundreds, and on the first day against West Indies, he made a fond return.The quality of the innings was admirable too. Mominul’s 120 evoked memories of Tamim’s 104 against England in Dhaka two years ago. Tamim’s knock then turned out to be the highest score of the match, as he took full advantage of the first two sessions, when the Dhaka pitch was at its best. In Chattogram, Mominul, too, struck his hundred within the first two sessions, playing with more ease than the batsman at the other end.Soumya Sarkar lasted just two balls, while Imrul Kayes, given two lives during his 87-ball stay, looked the most haggard. Mohammad Mithun hardly played like a Test No. 4, while Shakib Al Hasan batted with discipline until the tea break.West Indies perhaps didn’t have as good a bowling attack as England did in 2016, but Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel featured heavily in Bangladesh’s nightmarish Test series in the West Indies this July. Mominul tackled Gabriel well early on, and was mainly conservative against Roach.What he did best was cash in any time the West Indies spinners gave him room or dropped short. He had the better of Roston Chase and rotated the strike quite regularly off Devendra Bishoo. He didn’t attack left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, but looked mostly in control.When he brought up his century with a four past point in the post-lunch session, Mominul equaled Tamim for the most Test hundreds (eight) by a Bangladesh batsman. It was also his fourth hundred in 2018, as many as Virat Kohli. Now, he also has the most hundreds by a Bangladesh batsman in a calendar year, bettering Tamim’s three hundreds from 2010.Bangladesh should also be encouraged by the effect that a Mominul century has in Chattogram. They have never lost when he has scored a hundred here.His 181 against New Zealand in 2013 was his first Test innings at home, arriving on the back of plenty of lessons learned on the road in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that year. Mominul’s unbeaten 100 against Sri Lanka, three months after his maiden Test ton, was a final-day, back-to-the-wall effort that ensured a face-saving draw.His unbeaten 131 against Zimbabwe later that year not only put Bangladesh on the winning course, but also gave him some confidence after a rough time in ODIs and T20Is that year.He then broke his four-year century drought at this ground, when he made 176 and 105 against Sri Lanka in January this year. The first innings ton was typically Mominul – full of shots, and plenty of mental control against the good deliveries. His unusually excited celebration at reaching the hundred was also memorable. He punched the air, and banged his bat against his pad. It was not a lot, but Mominul wouldn’t even raise his bat if it weren’t the tradition.It was believed to be pointed towards the Sri Lankan dressing room, where Chandika Hathurusingha sat. Many believe that it wasn’t a coincidence that Mominul’s stagnation between 2014 and 2018 came during Hathurusingha’s reign as Bangladesh coach. The only time Mominul was dropped from the Test team, in September last year was, according to several sources within the BCB, Hathurusingha’s decision. BCB chief Nazmul Hassan brought back Mominul 24 hours later.Since that career-changing experience, Mominul has batted well in South Africa and has scored four Test hundreds at home, in between a bad West Indies tour. One of those was a 161 against Zimbabwe last week, when Bangladesh had slipped to 26 for 3 in the first morning. He put together 266 runs for the fourth wicket, and paved the way for a big win.Whether the 120 against West Indies leads to a Bangladesh win is unknown, but the hundred was that of an opportunist. Previously, pitches in Chattogram have improved as the Test has progressed, but that cannot be predicted by a batsman trying to build something on the first day. But when Bangladesh is in trouble in Chattogram, count on Mominul to step up and guard his fort.

The local boy is no longer part of his hometown franchise, but he still lives and breathes the city. Will Chepauk continue to cheer for him?

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai05-Apr-2019Before MS Dhoni became the he is today, R Ashwin was the original Chennai Super King. He secured a contract with Super Kings even before he graduated from college, fronted up to bowl in the Powerplay, and soon became a fan favourite.Ashwin and Dhoni would combine to snaffle batsmen down the leg side by deploying a leg slip. There was a time when he dismissed Chris Gayle for fun. He brought the (carrom) ball from the streets of Chennai and made it sexy.Super Kings were then suspended for two years, and both Dhoni and Ashwin moved to Rising Pune Supergiant(s).Super Kings marked their return to the IPL with their third title in 2018, but a familiar face was missing. Super Kings had raised the paddle five times for Ashwin, but Kings XI Punjab bid more furiously for him and scooped him up for INR 7.6 crore in the auction.Kings XI made Ashwin their captain, but he admitted to being a “tad disappointed” to part ways with Super Kings. With protests over the Cauvery river water dispute forcing games out of the MA Chidambaram Stadium last year, Super Kings’ Kings XI’s Ashwin did not line up in Chennai.ALSO READ – : Chennai Super KingFor the first time in the IPL, Ashwin will line up at the Chepauk on Saturday as part of the opposition. Quite a few things have changed in Chennai and at Chennai Super Kings. For starters, the summer keeps getting hotter. The metro rail is up and running; Ashwin himself had taken a ride in it to avoid the traffic and get home after the ODI series against England in January 2017.Super Kings, meanwhile, have rebuilt their side with old pros and Harbhajan Singh has caught the attention of fans with his offbreaks as well as his poetic tweets in Tamil, the local language. Dhoni’s popularity has swelled to a crescendo. You all watched video.You can take the Super Kings out of Ashwin. But you just can’t take Chennai out of Ashwin. In various interviews, he has proudly said: “I own the space around Chepauk”. His first spectator experience here was the Test match between India and England in 1993, when Sachin Tendulkar made 165 in a series-clinching victory. Ashwin and his father Ravichandran have been regulars at Chepauk since. Ashwin then became a regular for Tamil Nadu and India in the Test set-up as well.R Ashwin is hoping to do well in the IPL to have a shot at making the World Cup squad•BCCIIn his first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, he picked up 12 wickets in front of his family and rattled Australia. Whether it is a first-division club game or a Ranji Trophy game or a one-day game, Ashwin relishes playing in Chennai. Heck, he even relishes playing street cricket here. Back in the day, Ashwin was in such demand in street cricket that a certain group from the opposition sort of kidnapped him just to stop him from playing a game.Even before Ajantha Mendis introduced the carrom ball to the wider world, Ashwin was using that variation in tennis-ball cricket. He mastered it at the Super Kings nets and took to the new ball like a magnet, becoming Dhoni’s Powerplay specialist. In addition to his tricks on the field, his tricks off it impressed the Chennai faithful. On social media, he reels off inch-perfect punch dialogues of Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan, Tamil cinema’s biggest icons.A massive movie buff, Ashwin also used to watch videos of the famous Tamil comedian Goundamani with team-mates L Balaji and S Badrinath at Super Kings, and is adept at pulling off impressions of him as well.Ashwin continues to live in West Mambalam, the low-profile locality he grew up in. Usually, top-tier Tamil Nadu cricketers tend to move to posher localities along the beaches off East Coast Road, but Ashwin still retains the image of the guy every Chennaiite can connect to. He owns a lower-division team in the TNCA league and despite his packed schedule, he is actively involved in coaching young players at his academy Gen-Next.When the city was ravaged by floods in December 2016, Ashwin was helping India win a Test in Delhi, but he did his bit for Chennai too.From being the face of Chennai, Ashwin is no longer part of Super Kings. But the shift has helped him realise another dream: captain a high-profile side. From plotting with Dhoni against Gayle, Ashwin plotted with Gayle against Dhoni and even outsmarted his old mate when Kings XI met Super Kings in Mohali, in 2018. Yeah, the IPL is a strange tournament.In the return fixture in Pune, Dhoni unleashed “chaos theory” and trumped Ashwin. Dhoni promoted Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar up the order and upset Ashwin’s plans, knocking Kings XI out of the playoffs.Ashwin had got a taste of his own medicine – he is used to inverting his batting order and bumping up pinch-hitters in domestic cricket. Against Rajasthan Royals last season in Jaipur, Ashwin promoted himself to No. 3 in a chase of 159, but he fell for a duck. More recently while leading Tamil Nadu in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that preceded the IPL, Ashwin bumped up tailender R Sai Kishore to No. 3. He fell for a duck too, but that won’t stop Ashwin from venturing whacky captaincy moves.These are still early days in this IPL season, but it has already been a dramatic one for Ashwin. He reignited the spirit-of-cricket debate when he mankaded Jos Buttler, and there could be more drama when he returns to Chepauk – a place where he feels “even the air talks” to him – as the opposition captain.How will the crowd react to him? Some might still cheer for him. Some might still have a soft corner for him. Some might give him the cold shoulder and only get behind Dhoni. Ashwin will look forward to all of this and will be eager to show Super Kings what they are missing.

You couldn’t have scripted the end of the World Cup final better and it will take a long time to make sense of it. But here’s an attempt

Jarrod Kimber at Lord's15-Jul-2019Over 44.5Jos Buttler has changed how batsmen hit the ball. His golf-swing-power-fade shots have shown that big sixes aren’t solely about how big you are. Not that he isn’t in peak physical condition; as usual, every part of him is immaculate. If he looks like he has been grown in a lab by sports scientists, it’s because the ECB would actually do that if they could. And like he seems to do more than most, Buttler bats as if the pitch is different for him. His strike rate is 100 when he faces the last ball of the 45th over. The rest of his team is nowhere near that.Lockie Ferguson is bowling to him. He has his long-sleeved shirt untucked, he’s wearing his black boots, he does not look like an international cricketer. More the bloke who rocks up to your local club like he has never played the game, before bouncing out everyone. He doesn’t use pace or bounce, he bowls wide and slow. Buttler slices it towards deep point. Tim Southee – the 12th man who took 7 for 33 against England in the last World Cup – is part of the best fast-bowling fielding packs in the world. But he misjudges the ball, going left, then right, before sliding in to take it barely above the surface.Maybe it was like this all day, but this is where it really started. Whatever was – one of those things.Over 45.6Jimmy Neesham is a part-time bowler. He is probably the sixth bowler for New Zealand at times. At best he is part of the fifth bowler with Colin de Grandhomme. But in the last two games, he has been something else: a death bowler. Last match he had to hold his nerve with MS Dhoni at the crease. In this one, to win a World Cup. And this part-timer, fifth bowler, batting allrounder, whatever you call him, stands up. His first 11 balls in the Powerplay go for seven.Now he’s bowling to Ben Stokes, a man desperate to not be remembered for a fight outside a nightclub. And he has three boundaries in 85 balls. Buttler is gone, the lower order is in, it is now or never for Stokes. The ball is full and straight; it’s a shovel-helicopter-heave, the shot you play when you spend a lot of time in the gym. And he finds four.Jos Buttler walks off the field after being dismissed by Lockie Ferguson•Getty ImagesOver 46.1Ferguson digs one short, and it is Chris Woakes facing. England’s batting has been so deep over the last four years that Adil Rashid and his ten first-class hundreds have batted No. 11. And yet here, in the only game that matters, Woakes is at seven. It all feels different. England’s entire set-up is for 350-plus and hacking the middle overs with a never-ending batting order. Now it is about just getting the runs any way you can. With Ferguson’s bounce, Woakes can only top-edge.Under the catch is Tom Latham. He came into this tournament as a quality player and then hit a form slump at the wrong time. In the first seven games he never went past 14. It was only the game against England that he looked right, but his best innings was probably today, when he made 47. The catch is the same – it goes very high, he moves in nine directions and is not in control, before finally pulling it together, taking the catch and almost falling over in disbelief.Over 46.3When Ferguson bowls to Liam Plunkett, it is beast meets beast. The big fast bowler up against the burly hitter. But we get beauty instead. Ferguson bowls a Richard Hadlee legcutter. Here is this young, raw fast-bowling demon – New Zealand use leg gully as near necessity for him – bowling an intricate ball that angles in, grips and moves away, missing Plunkett’s outside edge. This game feels apocalyptic, and this is the daisy that stands tall in the rubble.Over 46.5There was a time when Plunkett was one player who looked like losing his spot to Jofra Archer. Plunkett had a disappointing Big Bash League, seemed to be down on pace, and those magical cross-seam balls just weren’t working. But they did today: they did for Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls – and now he is in at eight and doing his other skill, slogging a few at the end. Plunkett kept going like England keep going.This was England’s 2992nd boundary since the last World Cup. From 1 to 11, they all get it done.Trent Boult catches a Ben Stokes shot, but…•Getty ImagesOver 47.2Trent Boult was the one who would win New Zealand this. Left-arm seam rules Lord’s, England do not face it well, and first ball, when he hit Jason Roy’s pad, it looked like it would be his game. But the lbw wasn’t given, and now he is scrapping away at the death. He starts well, but he gives Stokes length, and Stokes smashes one out to midwicket. Against most teams it would be four. But Mitchell Santner is there. It was Santner patrolling the boundary against India as well, pulling off great saves that put extra pressure on Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.Over 48.4The ball prior, Neesham made Plunkett mistime one down to long-off; Boult took the catch. Now Neesham gets another mishit, this time from Stokes, and it’s straight to Boult again. It was Boult who caught Carlos Brathwaite after Brathwaite had made a hundred at Old Trafford. It was a simple chance under colossal pressure, right on the rope. He has pulled off some of the most fantastic boundary (and non-boundary) catches over the last few years. This one isn’t near his hardest. He takes the catch while falling back, and for a moment it looks like New Zealand have won the World Cup. But Boult gets his feet wrong. His right foot lands safely – had he just tried to balance on that, he would have been fine, but his left foot lands on the boundary triangle. It’s not a catch, it’s a six, England’s first for the entire innings. Martin Guptill, the relay catcher, doesn’t hesitate in calling it a six.Over 49.3Boult nails two yorkers. Those are the exact balls that Stokes couldn’t deliver against Brathwaite in the T20 World Cup final of 2016. Here is Stokes, back in the most important over in cricket, and again he has started poorly. When Don Topley tried to comfort Stokes after that over in Kolkata – regaling him with a time in domestic cricket where Topley had allowed a big match-losing over – Stokes turned to him and said, “But it didn’t happen in front of a billion people, did it?” That over haunts Stokes. It was out there in the middle with him today.Boult gives him a chance – he hits a length. Stokes swings across it as he loses balance. His power base is lopsided, but the ball flies deep into the stand. Lord’s had been nervous all day; this was the time it first roared.Over 49.4Boult misses his yorker again, and this time it’s a full toss. Stokes should hit it back into a stand, but he clangs it and it dribbles to deep midwicket. This time Guptill is there. In the 2015 World Cup he was the leading scorer. This time he struggled all tournament with the bat, but in the field he has been god-like. It was his run-out from deep backward square to remove Dhoni that got New Zealand here. Now he’s motoring in to stop Stokes from finding two. He picks it up third bounce and throws in one motion. It’s a beautiful throw, right in at the stumps. The only thing that can stop it hitting the stumps is Stokes’ dive.The law change of recent times means that batsmen can’t impede the ball being thrown at the stumps without a risk of being out. But Stokes is just diving because he needs to get in. He doesn’t know where the ball is, but he middles it off the back of his bat while he is horizontal. The ball goes past Latham and out towards the third-man boundary. But third man is up in the circle.Colin de Grandhomme played possibly one of the poorest innings of his life with the bat and then followed it with maybe his best spell of bowling ever. Now he’s chasing this ball up the Lord’s slope, and towards the rope. Behind him, Stokes has raised his hands and does not try to run for the deflected overthrows, he looks confused and apologetic. In the old days, to get a four to the Pavilion End the ball had to go up the slope and then also up the slight hill right in front of the pavilion. That hill, if it was there, might have been enough for the exhausted looking de Grandhomme to overcome the ball, instead the four metres of lost space means he can’t get there – it doesn’t race to the rope, it just gets there. And England have scored their second lucky six.There are conversations between players and umpires, Stokes doesn’t seem to want the runs, New Zealand would prefer they didn’t count, but there is nothing they can do. No one is sure if the umpires have noticed that Guptill’s throw came in before the batsmen had crossed, so perhaps the four overthrows should have stood, but only one of the actually run runs. But six runs in total are given to England. They need three from two.Ben Stokes smashes a six as he takes the match to the end•Getty ImagesOver 49.6Because of a great Boult yorker and a great Boult take, they run Rashid out at the non-striker’s end. That means England need two from the last ball. Stokes talks to Mark Wood. Stokes decides on a two, and even when Boult bowls a slower yorker outside leg stump, Stokes just pokes it into a gap, and they look for two. But he has hit it too hard, and Neesham flies in and gets the ball back to Boult, who takes off the bails. Wood, who looked injured earlier in the day when he finished his overs, Wood who almost always looks injured, who bowled probably the quickest spell in a World Cup final earlier that day, is now lying on the turf, run out by metres. New Zealand have two run-outs in as many balls. England have a tie.

Super Over – England

0.1Stokes faces Boult again for the Super Over, and the first ball he slices over third man. Buttler motors through for three, Stokes limps his. He looks moments from crippling cramp, and like running another three could have him close to retired hurt in a Super Over.0.6Boult finishes the over with another full toss. One of the most accurate bowlers in world cricket, but he has now bowled two consecutive last overs. He should have won the first one, now he’s strolling the second. Buttler whips the full toss with those golf power wrists, because that is what England do. That is what Buttler does. “Express yourself” is the English mantra, and Buttler’s self is boundaries. Since the last World Cup, his strike rate is 124; no one else over 1000 runs is faster. This is just four more, but it puts the Super Over into supernova territory.Jimmy Neesham smashes a six in the Super Over•Getty Images

Super Over – New Zealand

0.2Neesham had a list in front of him with reasons why he should or shouldn’t have quit cricket only 18 months ago. He was 27, but the grind of professional cricket had almost beaten him. Injuries, form problems and missing the last World Cup had all eaten at the game he loved as a kid. Now he is New Zealand’s designated hitter for the Super Over of the World Cup final. And he has slogged a full ball into the stands.New Zealand are seven runs from four balls away from winning.The moment that won England the 2019 World Cup•Getty Images0.3Neesham hits out to the leg side. The New Zealand pair are running two no matter what, but it turns out that they don’t have to worry, as Roy flies in but fumbles the ball. A clean take and throw at Neesham’s end could have removed the power-hitting batsman; instead, Roy picks the ball back up as the batsmen stroll home.0.5After New Zealand take another two, Neesham has two balls to find three runs. But Jofra Archer is bowling to him. Archer was a wicketkeeper in Barbados in his youth, whose selection started a row about how tight the English team were, and whether he would somehow fit in. Archer’s father was born in the UK. Usually that would be enough to play for the country, but because of regulations, he had to wait to qualify for England. It seemed everything was always against Archer until he started bowling fast. He bowls very fast. Today, Archer hit someone in the head – the third time this tournament he had.So when Neesham was drilling his full balls, Archer went short. It was in conversation with Eoin Morgan. Morgan has been through a lot in his career. A failed Test career, captaining against his own nation, and annoying some English fans by not singing their anthem. Also rebuilding English white-ball cricket. And he has captained a bowler who went for 24 runs in four balls to lose a T20 World Cup.But this short ball works. It smashes Neesham’s arm and takes him off strike. The Archer-Morgan gamble pays off. New Zealand need two runs from the last ball.0.6Archer’s full, straight ball is flicked out to midwicket by Guptill. The reason New Zealand sent Guptill out was because of his running between the wickets. “He is such a fast runner, and that was all he had to do,” Williamson said. After Guptill flicks the ball, he slips. His spikes just don’t grip the surface. Roy is running around like mad. Roy made Australia’s semi-final total look pitiful, but they dropped Roy during the Champions Trophy. And he has just misfielded a ball. This time he picks it up perfectly, he gets it out of his hand, and it goes back to Buttler. It is a long way from the stumps, but Guptill is a long way from the crease.It is another tie, but a fatal one for New Zealand. The scores are the same, but England have hit more boundaries; Buttler hit seven on his own.On the balcony, Williamson clutches his chest. It was just one of those games, hey!

It is possible that New Zealand are not punching above their weight but that their punch perfectly matches their weight and that is why they are in this final

Osman Samiuddin at Lord's 13-Jul-2019It is possible that this Lord’s surface stays as green, or even slightly less green than it was a day before the final, and that it behaves as green surfaces are usually meant to.It is possible that Williamson calls correctly at the toss and that he has read the pitch as well as he usually does – the Pakistan game apart. It is possible – but not necessary – that New Zealand choose to bowl first, as they have done four times out of the six times they have won the toss.ALSO READ: Boult, Henry, Ferguson – Brutal, Hellish, FastIt is possible that Trent Boult has first use of a new white ball, cloudy above, green below, and, at the least, one of the two elements in his favour.It is possible that Boult does not balk at the first few boundaries either of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow drive off him, like slaps on a bleary-eyed face first thing in the morning. It is possible that Boult resolves to keep going full, in order to squeeze out whatever swing there may be, little or a lot. As he did against Quinton de Kock earlier in a memorable first over when it looked as if the fuller he went the more firmly and cleanly de Kock hit him until he hit de Kock’s stumps. It is possible that he curls that white Kookaburra through either, even both, or finds a shin, firmly placed and set to drive.

It is possible that Williamson does come out with his side in trouble and plays to type – that type being genius. It is possible that after such an innings he is the first name you take when talking about the Big Four, not the last (fine, this one’s a stretch).

It is possible that Lord’s plays up to its tournament trend in which left-arm fast bowlers average less than 14 runs a wicket and less than 17 balls a wicket. It is possible that England’s top five play to type against left-arm pace, against which they average between 29.6 and 34.6 (other than Joe Root, who has 44.2).It is possible that Matt Henry backs Boult up, as he has done so often over the last couple of years. It is possible that he recreates the delivery that ended Rohit Sharma’s love letter to this tournament, that he angles one in and then straightens it just enough to catch an edge.ALSO READ: Dot-ball devil Santner is up for the Lord’s challengeIt is possible that England are not entirely familiar about the threat Lockie Ferguson poses, simply because they have only played him once in an ODI and didn’t face him in Durham. It is possible that in those middle overs, he lets go of a bouncer, maybe touching 150kph, radars into Eoin Morgan’s right armpit and hurries him into a top-edged pull.It is possible that Ben Stokes has a bad day with the bat.It is possible that Mitchell Santner slips by unnoticed, having quietly bowled through those middle overs and tied up one end. It is possible that he doesn’t control as much as 6-2-7-2 against India but that he controls nonetheless.It is possible that New Zealand do what they do day in and day out in the field, make the impossible possible, like no other side in world cricket.Kane Williamson’s side can be the nicest bunch in the game and the world champions•Getty ImagesIt is even possible that Williamson himself doesn’t come out to bat in the first five overs.It is possible that Martin Guptill somehow defies a tournament average of 20.87 and 94 runs in his last eight innings. It is possible that Guptill ends up being remembered for what he does with the bat in this final rather than for the two most electrifying pieces of fielding this tournament has seen.It is possible that Williamson does come out with his side in trouble and plays to type – that type being genius. It is possible that after such an innings he is the first name you take when talking about the Big Four, not the last (fine, this one’s a stretch).It is possible that his genius finds an accomplice in Ross Taylor, the resident genius before this genius arrived.It is possible that Jimmy Neesham plays as he has been playing this tournament – 12 wickets at 20.75 and averaging 35.50 with the bat – and it is possible that he plays as well as he tweets.It is possible that losing in 2015 has no impact on what New Zealand do in 2019. It is possible that the six other semi-finals they have lost mean nothing.It is possible that this game means just as much to New Zealand and New Zealand cricket as it does to England and English cricket.It is possible that New Zealand are not punching above their weight but that their punch perfectly matches their weight and that that is why they are in this final. It is possible that New Zealand are not scrapping. It is possible that New Zealand don’t play the underdog. It is possible that they are not pooping any party on Sunday but merely hosting a massive one of their own.It is possible that a nation of less than five million can produce 15 world champions in one sport because five million is still a lot of people from which to find 15. It is possible that they can be the nicest team in cricket as well as the world champion team in cricket.It is possible that when Williamson says anything is possible, he really means anything is possible.

Given the numbers, the pedigree and the wickets Abbas has – how was picking Imran Khan ahead of him in Brisbane even a choice?

Osman Samiuddin22-Nov-2019Thirteen months ago Mohammad Abbas went from 21st in the Test bowling rankings to 13th and then to third, in the space of two Tests. In the far more important chamber of validation that is Dale Steyn’s twitter feed, he was there: “I see a new number one Test bowler coming… Mohammad Abbas.”He was breaking records wherever he went, taking wickets wherever he went, not giving away runs wherever he went; miraculously he was doing things like Mohammad Asif wherever he went while miraculously being nothing Mohammad Asif wherever he went. Naturally, then, the mind couldn’t help but drift towards the novel new way in which he would break and end up as another character in one of cricket’s greatest, cruellest, and most enduring storylines: The Ballad of the Unfulfilled Pakistani Pace Genius.A few ideas were thrown up here: “A doping ban. Mixing with the wrong guys. He could beat up on a team-mate. Get done for match-fixing. Probably spot-fixing. He could break a back. More to the point he could break his right wrist. He could look at somebody wrong. He could start getting picked for ODIs. He could be made captain. It could all go to his head. Test cricket could die before he really gets going. Duncan Fletcher could become coach and dump him because no pace. John Buchanan could become coach and teach him to bowl left-arm instead. Intikhab Alam could become coach. Ijaz Butt could return.”Not getting picked for a Test in Australia and it all going belly-up subsequently didn’t jump out as an option at the time but who knew? And make no mistake, this may be the exact moment Pakistan broke Abbas. Too dramatic? At least hear this scenario out.Pakistan lose badly at the Gabba. They react and recall Abbas for the day-night Test. Pakistan bat first, get rolled over and the bowlers are up against it already. Maybe Abbas doesn’t bowl badly but doesn’t run through them like people expect him to. His confidence is, understandably, fragile. He’s thinking they dropped me 66 wickets and a sub-19 average 14 Tests into my career and picked a guy who hadn’t played a Test for three years.Pakistan lose again, another Australian clean sweep and now Sri Lanka at home. Pitches will be different and they need some fresh blood. Naseem Shah’s pace is too exciting to ignore and being that a left-arm paceman is an immovable tenet of Pakistan’s cricket and that they’ll probably play two spinners, it means Abbas is no longer a shoo-in. He’s nearing 30 and because of the long gaps in Pakistan’s Test schedule and because he’s not quick, he’s vulnerable and easy to forget. Plus, in rushing him back for South Africa last year there’s that right shoulder injury that’s already been mismanaged – the PCB medical department’s record in managing-ruining player careers is exemplary. He may already be forever changed.Mohammad Abbas made early inroads•Sportsfile/Getty ImagesSo no, not so much drama, and even less if you consider the kind of judgements this new management team is making about him – as the rationale for dropping him at the Gabba. The line is that he didn’t fit in what Misbah-ul-Haq and team felt was Pakistan’s best bowling combination for this Test. He has lost pace and was unimpressive in nets, lacking in rhythm. Imran Khan looked better and so here we are. Oh, and Abbas is not injured, they’re very clear about that.Reflect on what that means. If he has lost pace – to a degree where they reckon he is unpickable even on a fast pitch – why bring him here in the first place? Presumably they saw him in the pre-series camp and kept tabs on him during his county season, so was this not clocked along the way? If, as one member of the backroom staff says, you need pace on Australian pitches, then why is Abbas here because he’s never been about pace?We’re not even getting into the gaping hole in the centre of this argument. Pace in Australia? Vernon Philander, twice on the series-winning side, and absolutely central in the 2016-17 series, is cackling away. Jimmy Anderson, central to the 2010-11 triumph and leading England wicket-taker in 2017-18, is probably just sneering at the assertion. More contemporaneously, just across the Tasman and on the same day as Pakistan were not using Abbas, Tim Southee’s 120-something clicks were scuttling England.What you need in Australia is an attack with a varied set of skills. Pace, sure, which Naseem Shah clearly has. A different angle, which Shaheen Shah Afridi brings. And somebody who can get something out of a surface – anything, a little seam, cut – exactly the kind that Abbas has managed in the UAE, West Indies, Ireland and England. And if they wanted someone quicker than Abbas, is Imran – who began with a delivery at 127kmph and didn’t venture over 135kmph – really that guy?Selection is no exact science and is right only in hindsight. You allow for gut calls and instinct picks so give Misbah and Azhar Ali that much. They have enough experience to be entrusted with this.Except when you have numbers like the following to consider, then? How was this even a choice?Since Imran’s previous Test – in January 2017 at the SCG – he has played 19 first-class games and taken 59 wickets at 29. Not standout but respectable. In that same period Abbas has played 45 first-class matches (including Tests), taken 203 wickets at an average of 19. He’s taken 14 five-fors and three ten-wicket hauls. Those are numbers built around the world, and include, generally, a higher quality of victim.So there’s gut calls and there’s what you see and it would seem as if they saw Imran take a five-for at Perth against Australia A and decided that was all they wanted to see – pink ball, day-night conditions and pitch be damned. These numbers be damned too, numbers which speak unequivocally of a pedigree. They speak of a quality that maybe, just , speak over and above a poor net session or three. Abbas’s figures this year aren’t as spectacular but the gulf is still so vast that it’s ridiculous we’re treating this as a choice that had to be made.And frankly, it was evident on day two. Imran has never been a bad bowler and he was harshly treated himself when first dropped – averaging under 27 from eight Tests and one poor Test later he was gone. He deserved a longer rope even if, ironically, it was his lack of pace that was his undoing.But he’s not Abbas. His first over made that very clear. Too many lengths, no set line and soon Australia off to a flyer, day decided. Also no surprise: in that same period Imran’s economy rate is 3.37 and Abbas’s is 2.50. Abbas may not have gotten wickets but bet the house that he wouldn’t have leaked runs and any control would’ve been gold dust.Imran ended up only bowling 12 overs on the day, an admission of this folly but a hollow one.

Despite positive updates arriving regarding Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool’s future, the Reds are now reportedly willing to offer as much as £87m to sign one of the world’s best defenders.

Fabrizio Romano provides Van Dijk update

Whilst there’s no doubting the fact that Liverpool have endured a fantastic first season under Arne Slot, recent weeks have handed the Dutchman his most difficult spell in charge yet. First exiting the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on penalties, Liverpool then lost against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at the same time that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s likely departure stole the headlines.

Making matters worse, Slot’s side failed to make it back-to-back victories on their Premier League return, following their win against Everton with a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Fulham. So, although the title is just four wins away, those at Anfield needed the good news that Fabrizio Romano has just provided.

By sealing new deals for both Salah and Van Dijk, Liverpool would instantly avoid what would be a disastrous start to their summer transfer window. Losing Alexander-Arnold will be a major blow, especially for free, but losing all of the big free at the same time without making any profit would be the ultimate nightmare for those at Anfield.

For now, at least, Van Dijk has remained particularly relaxed over his situation – telling reporters after the Fulham game: “There is progress, yeah. Listen, these are internal discussions and we’ll see.

The next Michael Owen: Liverpool plot move for "phenomenal" £40m striker

Liverpool could be about to land a new version of Michael Owen this summer.

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Ethan Lamb

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“I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again [at Fulham]. We wanted to reward them, but I ask them to be there again on Sunday and make the stadium an amazing venue like always for us.”

What that recent news will do is allow the Reds to focus on incomings which could yet reportedly include one of the best defenders that European football has to offer.

Liverpool plotting £87m Araujo deal

According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are now willing to offer a ‘blockbuster’ deal to sign Ronald Araujo worth as much as €100m (£87m) this summer. The Reds reportedly have concrete interest in the Barcelona defender even with Van Dijk set to stay put and could yet form the ultimate partnership between the impressive duo.

Although Araujo has missed the majority of the current campaign through a hamstring injury, last season’s numbers suggest that he’d form quite the partnership with Van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s defence.

Having been dubbed “excellent” by Hansi Flick on his return from injury earlier this season, Araujo is certainly a key man for Barcelona. Whether they still decide to ease their financial problems by cashing in on their defender will certainly be interesting, however.

A “very interesting” Newcastle United transfer target is believed to be open to joining the club this summer, potentially coming in as an Alexander Isak replacement.

Isak's Newcastle future still unclear

There have been many standout performers for the Magpies throughout this season, but Isak has been their star man, leading the line superbly and maturing into one of Europe’s top strikers.

Isak has scored 21 goals in 30 Premier League appearances in 2024/25, with only Mohamed Salah (27) netting more times in the competition, and his performances have inevitably seen him linked with a move away from St James’ Park, with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal seeing him as an ideal target.

For that reason, alternatives are already being looked at, should the worst-case scenario happen for Magpies supporters, with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic mentioned as an option- the Turin giants are willing to sell him this summer.

While not a like-for-like replacement for Isak, Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has also been linked with a move to Newcastle at the end of the current campaign, having fallen out of favour under Pep Guardiola of late.

Emanuel Emegha open to Newcastle move this summer

According to a fresh update from L’Equipe, Emanuel Emegha is open to joining Newcastle this summer, with the Strasbourg forward seen as a target for the Magpies. The 22-year-old has been identified as a replacement for Isak, should the Swede depart St James’ at the end of the season, with Chelsea also still trying to sign him.

Ideally, Isak will remain at Newcastle for many more years to come, with Emegha coming in as competition, replacing Callum Wilson in Eddie Howe’s attack. Should the Dutchman only arrive as a direct replacement for the Magpies superstar, though, he would still represent an exciting option with a huge amount of promise, with his peak years still some time away.

Emegha has scored 22 goals in 58 appearances for Strasbourg, which is a strong return, and he has been capped across four different age groups at youth team level for the Netherlands. Meanwhile, talent spotter Jacek Kulig has described the young attacker as a “very interesting” player.

The importance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League is huge when it comes to Newcastle signing footballers of his quality, especially if they pip Chelsea to a place in Europe’s leading club competition.

As mentioned, the Magpies not signing Emegha this summer will hopefully mean that Isak has stayed put, but if he departs, the towering 6 foot 5 Strasbourg ace looks like an eye-catching option to replace him.