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New Zealand and Pakistan face off in a five-match series which features Williamson’s return and Afridi’s captaincy debut in internationals

Alagappan Muthu11-Jan-2024New Zealand and Pakistan couldn’t have hoped for better preparation leading into the T20 World Cup less than six months from now. The losing finalists in 2021 and 2022 will be facing each other over a series of five matches, starting on Friday in Auckland, which will serve as fertile ground for implementing new strategies and/or seeing if maybe the old ones still work.

The hotshot

Pakistan have the most prolific opening partnership in T20 history. But they might not use it here. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have 2400 runs at the top of the order but their run-rate as a partnership is so paltry (7.92) they are ranked 37th out of the 43 contenders who have put up at least 500 runs together. So in comes Saim Ayub. He was among the top 10 run-getters in PSL 2023 and he got those runs at a strike rate of 165.53. Equally as compelling are his stats from the CPL last year, which he won with Guyana Amazon Warriors. In conditions where the World Cup will be taking place, Ayub scored 478 runs at a strike rate of 142.26. He has potential written all over him. Pakistan have already bet on him in nine international matches so far. Now it looks like they’re going all in.Related

• Main character Afridi begins his biggest test in tranquil New Zealand

• Finn Allen, perfect and imperfect all at once

• Andre Adams appointed New Zealand bowling coach for T20I series against Pakistan

• Mohammad Rizwan named Pakistan T20I vice-captain

The veteran

Kane Williamson was one of the last all-format captains standing before he relinquished the role in Test cricket, which seemed odd considering that is his best format. But in another light, it makes perfect sense. He’s kept the reins in the two formats that offer him the chance of winning a World Cup and very few have ever come as close as he has to achieving that ultimate goal. Williamson somehow zipped through rehab for an ACL injury to turn up at the ODI World Cup last year. He says he is still managing the effects of that problem but will once again turn up for this series (barring the third ODI which he will miss for personal reasons) because he knows he needs matches and form under his belt. The New Zealand white-ball captain hasn’t played any T20s since March last year and no T20Is since November 2022. So there’s plenty riding on this series for him.Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have 2400 runs in T20Is at the top of the order•Associated Press

The X-factor

An X-factor player by definition can’t be a banker because their whole thing is taking big risks for big rewards. And yet, Pakistan had a guy who walked both sides of that line. Shadab Khan, for a fair old while, seemed like he could do anything. Lately though, he’s hit a bit of a rough patch and out injured as well, meaning Pakistan have a little leeway to try out another legspinner who has been doing rather well. Usama Mir will be joining the team on the back of a BBL campaign where he picked up five wickets at an economy rate of 6.64 and average of 22.6. He stood out in the PSL as well where the only spinner to take more wickets than he did was Rashid Khan.

The search

With Trent Boult fulfilling franchise commitments, New Zealand have spread the net far and wide to try and find fast bowlers who can lead their attack, both for right now and also looking ahead to the future. Matt Henry was excellent for them in the ODI World Cup and they seem to be hoping that he might replicate some of that form in T20Is too, even though he’s only played a total of 13 of them since his debut in 2014. Adam Milne is another of the new but actually old guys in the squad, hoping to make up for missing the last T20 World Cup with injury. Ben Sears (age 25, ave 22, economy 7.4) is a more long-term investment. New Zealand have another T20I series, against Australia starting February 21, to finalise their options at which point they may well have Boult available. His ILT20 season will end on or before February 17.

Even if you believed Kohli-cam to be the most egregious example of a team game being turned into a personality cult, you might just find yourself missing it

Karthik Krishnaswamy16-Jan-20222:06

Is Rishabh Pant a dark horse to be India’s next Test captain?

They were thirty-sixed in Adelaide, and there was no Virat Kohli for the rest of the series. How did India cope? Rather well, as it turned out.Back spasms ruled Kohli out in Johannesburg, and a younger, quieter stand-in oversaw an unexpected defeat during which, in some eyes, India’s efforts on the field lacked the full-time captain’s energy and aggression. Kohli returned in Cape Town and poured his energy and aggression onto every blade of grass and into the stump mic. India lost in more or less the same way.Captains get far more credit for victory and far more blame for defeat than they ever deserve. They are as good as their teams happen to be, and Kohli’s results across formats are the best of any full-time India captain because he led India’s best-ever team. It’s as simple as that.Well, almost as simple.Related

• Ricky Ponting: Virat Kohli was passionate about continuing as India's Test match captain

• Ravi Shastri not reading much into India's twin losses: 'How can the standard go down suddenly?'

• Bumrah: 'Don't think anyone is in a weird space' with changes in captaincy and coaching staff

• Talking points: Spotlight on Kohli the batter, Rahul's slot, and India's bowling combination

• Kohli resigns as Test captain: Rohit 'shocked', tributes from colleagues pour in

Go back to Kohli’s first-ever Test as captain. Not yet full-time captain, he made – or was involved in making – two decisions that immediately spelled out what his captaincy would be like, and how it would be different from anything that came before.He dropped R Ashwin and played the debutant Karn Sharma, in the belief that wristspin would bring quicker wickets than fingerspin on Australian pitches. Then, on the final afternoon, Kohli kept playing his shots and going after an outlandish fourth-innings target even after India had lost every other recognised batter, this when he had already scored hundreds in both innings and had the chance to pull down shutters and try to bat out a draw.Australia scored at five-and-a-half runs an over against Karn’s legspin over their two innings, and he never played Test cricket again. And Kohli’s willingness to risk defeat in the pursuit of victory ended up in defeat.Seemingly impulsive selections and the preference for the outright aggressive option remained a marked tendency during Kohli’s early years as captain. St Lucia 2016 was a case in point, when India left out Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay and brought in Rohit Sharma for his freer-scoring style, which they perhaps desired with the forecast suggesting that significant time would be lost to rain. India won despite an entire day getting washed out, as it transpired, even if Rohit didn’t make a hugely significant contribution to the result.It wasn’t the first or last time Pujara found himself out of the XI following a short stretch of poor form. Ajinkya Rahane would experience this too, during the South Africa tour of 2017-18. It would seem an irony, then, that the last year of Kohli’s captaincy would feature an unwavering belief in Pujara and Rahane despite both experiencing far longer streaks of even leaner form.This reflected, possibly, a tempering of Kohli’s early impulsiveness. Or it perhaps just reflected a greater belief in his two middle-order comrades after they had both proven their ability multiple times in difficult situations, and a recognition that their low averages over a prolonged period may have had as much to do with the bowlers and conditions India were facing, Test match after Test match, as any drop in their ability. Kohli’s returns over the same period were hardly any better.Kohli’s early trigger-happiness, then, may have simply been a consequence of having a younger and less experienced core group of players. As they grew older and more settled in the side, they may simply have become harder to displace. It’s a natural cycle that all teams go through.Shami, Bumrah, Ishant – the pace bowling riches that flourished under Kohli get a doff of his hat•Getty ImagesThe other quality Kohli showed in his Adelaide captaincy debut, however, never changed, and he always remained willing to risk defeat in the pursuit of Test wins. That quality would come to define his captaincy.Nowhere was this more evident than in his consistent use of five-bowler combinations. His predecessor MS Dhoni had also been keen on it, but the fifth bowler was usually someone in the mould of Stuart Binny or Ravindra Jadeja, who in the early stage of his Test career was viewed as a batting allrounder, even if that aspect of his game took longer to live up to its potential than his bowling.In contrast, Kohli played five genuine bowlers in his first two Tests after that 2014-15 Australia tour, when the post-Dhoni era began in full earnest. In Fatullah, he picked three fast bowlers – Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav – and two spinners – Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh – and if a one-off Test against Bangladesh seems like the easiest assignment for a brave selection, he went in with two fast bowlers – Ishant and Aaron – and three spinners – Ashwin, Harbhajan and Amit Mishra – in India’s next Test in Galle. All five were bowlers first, and for all his ability with the bat, Ashwin had never batted above No. 8 before those two Tests. And with Dhoni no longer in the side, the five bowlers were batting below Wriddhiman Saha, whose batting ability was at that stage largely unproven.It didn’t quite come off in Galle – even though it took a freak innings from Dinesh Chandimal to turn what looked like an inevitable Sri Lanka defeat into an unexpected win – and India tempered their approach as they came back to win the series, with Binny recalled as a hedge-your-bets allrounder. But Kohli had shown his willingness to sacrifice batting depth to heighten India’s chances of picking up 20 wickets, and it would remain a feature of his captaincy.It was fitting then, with Jadeja – now a genuine batting allrounder overseas – out injured, that Kohli’s last Test as captain featured five out-and-out bowlers, with Ashwin and Shardul Thakur making up a hit-or-miss combination of lower-order batters at Nos. 7 and 8.But how much was this down to Kohli, and how much down to Ravi Shastri, in both his stints as head coach? Five bowlers was also a feature of Anil Kumble’s brief and highly successful tenure, during which Ashwin often batted at No. 6. With Kohli out injured for the decider of a tense home series against Australia in Dharamsala, Kumble and the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane chose to give the wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav a debut rather than pick a like-for-like middle-order batter.And when Rahane stood in after 36 all out, India brought in Jadeja as a second spinner at the MCG rather than replace Kohli with a specialist batter.Kohli, Shastri, Kumble, Rahane and even Rahul Dravid, then, all seemed to share the same vision as far as picking five bowlers was concerned. And you can see why. It was a sound idea, and India had the players to make it work.In a sense, Kohli was lucky to take over the captaincy when the bulk of those players, particularly a promising group of bowlers, were all just beginning to mature at the Test level. Ashwin, Jadeja, Ishant, Umesh and Mohammed Shami had experienced most of their growing pains under Dhoni.You could argue, however, that Kohli and Shastri laid down the fitness standards that drove those bowlers to become the best versions of themselves. Over the course of their tenures, the fast bowlers went from being able to deliver one spell of high intensity during a day’s play and then losing steam, to being able to come back with the same intensity over multiple spells. Bharat Arun must take some of the credit for their upskilling as well.Ishant exemplified the extent of growth that was possible in this regime. He had averaged 37.30 in 61 Tests until the end of 2014. Since the start of 2015 – which is when Kohli became full-time captain – he has averaged 25.01 over 44 Tests, pitching the ball significantly fuller and closer to off stump than he used to, and rediscovering his inswinger.And as the incumbents became more threatening bowlers, newcomers came in looking like they had already played 20 Tests. One of them, Jasprit Bumrah, was both a once-in-a-generation genius and a product of the BCCI’s system, having been recognised as a prospect as far back as his stint at the National Cricket Academy in 2013, when he began building up the fitness he needed to ensure his body could withstand the demands of his unorthodox action. The other, Mohammed Siraj, was an even clearer product of a smoothly-paved talent pathway, having performed brilliantly on multiple India A tours before making his Test debut.As with everything else, Kohli may have only had a limited role to play in the rise of those two bowlers. But it’s not a knock on his captaincy. It’s just a reminder that a team’s success is the culmination of a number of processes overseen by a number of skilled decision-makers, of which the captain is only one. It’s probably healthier anyway when less power is concentrated in one pair of hands, even if – at the peak of his powers as batter and captain – it seemed as if Kohli was Indian cricket’s biggest power centre.Virat Kohli arrives at India’s training session•BCCIThe aura around Kohli’s captaincy, in truth, was much larger than the actual scope of his role, and this was simply a reflection of how aggressively personality-driven cricket’s marketing and packaging has become. Even Sachin Tendulkar didn’t have a dedicated camera following his every movement to ensure that the producer could bring you every pump of his fist and every raise of his eyebrow. And as the camera sought Kohli out, Kohli played up to it, a symbiotic relationship that filled our screens with frenzied send-offs, fingers on lips to quieten the opposition’s fans, and hands cupped around ears to raise the volume of India’s fans.This, of course, is who Kohli is, even if it’s a hyperreal version of him. Even if that on-field personality’s contribution to India’s results was negligible, it’s the part of his captaincy that will be remembered most fondly – or, if you fall on that side of the divide, with the most distaste. It’s possible that he’ll remain just as expressive when he is no longer captain, but it’s likely that Kohli-cam will play a smaller role in our lives, leaving you with curiously mixed emotions. Even if you believed Kohli-cam to be the most egregious example of a team game being turned into a personality cult, you might just find yourself missing it.

In a statement, Smriti Mandhana says “it’s time to move forward”

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2025India batter Smriti Mandhana has confirmed that her wedding has been “called off”. She and music composer Palash Muchhal were scheduled to marry on November 23, but it was initially postponed after Mandhana’s father was hospitalised.Mandhana appealed for privacy in her statement on Instagram. “Over the past few weeks there has been plenty of speculation around my life and I feel it is important for me to speak out at this time,” she wrote in her post. “I am a very private person and I would like to keep it that way but I need to clarify that the wedding is called off.”I would like to close this matter here and implore all of you to do the same. I request you to please respect the privacy of both families at this time and allow us the space to process and move on at our own pace.”I believe there is a higher purpose driving us all and for me that has always been representing my country at the highest level,” she wrote. “I hope to continue to play and win trophies for India for as long as possible and that is where my focus will forever be.”She concluded her statement by saying, “It’s time to move forward.”Mandhana was the second-highest run-scorer during India’s successful campaign in the recent women’s ODI World Cup, with 434 runs at an average of 54.25.Her next assignment is the five-T20I series against Sri Lanka at home from December 21 to 30, after which she will lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2026 WPL from January 9. RCB play the opening game of the season against Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai.

The fallout from Liverpool's terrible performance in the 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League has seen defender Ibrahima Konate singled out for additional criticism. The Frenchman has responded by issuing a heartfelt message to fans. Konate was at fault for PSV’s third goal, and the calls for manager Arne Slot to be sacked are growing louder by the day.

• Konate under-fire over high-profile mistakes

  Konate has endured a dreadful start to the season, consistently underperforming and to blame for a number of dreadful errors amid the Reds’ defensive struggles. Pundits and fans alike have slammed his form, with Kop hero Jamie Carragher describing his positional play as "all over the place". 

  The defender has been involved in several key errors, including a recent "dreadful" mistake that led directly to PSV’s third in the Champions League clash at Anfield, and he was substituted early in the recent 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. The growing consensus is that his individual performances are a major factor in Liverpool's poor results. In 12 Premier League games with Konate on the pitch the Reds have conceded 17 goals, contributing to an alarming rate of a goal conceded every 58 minutes. His struggles are compounded by ongoing contract uncertainty and a string of injuries that have hampered his rhythm this season.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Konate: 'We know we need to improve'

  The France international said on Instagram: "We have to take this moment on the chest. Criticism is part of football, and we’ll fight back every time and come through this storm. In these moments, the fans matter most. The ones who stand with us in the good times and the bad – the ones who sing for us even in the difficult moments! Your voice and your support mean everything to us. We know we need to improve and we’ll keep fighting for you. Always."

• Carragher makes 'sack' claim

  Anfield legend Carragher was caught bemoaning Slot’s decision to continue picking Konate during the heavy defeat by PSV, claiming the decision was a sackable offence. 

  Carragher said: "Honest to god, I've had enough of them. That Konate, I mean, that's a sackable offence for the manager for f******g keep picking him. He should be sacked for that."

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  Selection headache for boss Slot

  Konate’s place in Liverpool’s starting XI to face West Ham on Sunday is anything but secure and Joe Gomez is a fit and ready-made replacement on the bench, should Slot decide to ring the changes. Andy Robertson was also deployed at centre-back in the clash with Crystal Palace earlier this season. 

  But Slot has remained tight-lipped on whether he will make wholesale changes for the match, saying: "Everyone trains with us every single day, and they can prove themselves in that moment. It's always a balance. There was a period where I lost, and I made a few changes and people complained that I made too many changes. Of course, I consider but I can not tell you the end decision of what I've considered for Sunday." Anything other than a victory for Slot on Sunday will pile even more pressure on the beleaguered boss ahead of a midweek visit from Sunderland in the Premier League.

  And when pressed on what he can change to arrest the dreadful run of results, Slot added: "That's not so easy to say. It's normal to reflect on a game with decisions you have made. Maybe you do it a little bit more if you lose. In the end, it's about doing what this club is about. Keep fighting no matter how difficult it is. It would be nice if we rewarded ourselves in the moments we play well. People are focused on the parts we don't play well but there are large parts where we do play well."

علّق حازم إمام، نجم الزمالك السابق، على الأداء المميز الذي يقدّمه فريق المصري البورسعيدي خلال مشاركته في كأس الكونفدرالية، مشيدًا بالمنظومة الفنية التي يقودها المدرب التونسي نبيل الكوكي، وبالدور المحوري الذي يلعبه عدد من نجوم الفريق.

وقال حازم إمام في تصريحات عبر إذاعة “أون سبورت إف إم”: “أحيّي النادي المصري البورسعيدي كثيرًا، كما أوجّه التحية للأستاذ كامل أبو علي، وللمدرب المحترم نبيل الكوكي، الذي يقدّم كرة قدم جميلة للغاية”.

وتابع: “المصري سجّل ثلاثة أهداف في شباك زيسكو، وقدم مباراة رائعة، ومن يشاهد اللقاء يلاحظ أن المصري يمتلك نظامًا واضحًا وشكلًا ثابتًا لا يتغير؛ فهو يعتمد دائمًا على اللعب من العمق، والاستحواذ، وبناء الهجمات بشكل منظّم، الهدف الثالث الذي سجله دغموم كان من الأهداف التي تقول عند رؤيتها: الله! لقطة نُفذت بإتقان”.

وأضاف: “عبد الرحيم دغموم هو كلمة السر دائمًا، هذا اللاعب كان متاحًا مجانًا هذا الموسم، وكان بإمكانه التوقيع لعدة أندية، وربما كان الزمالك أو الأهلي يتواصلان معه، لكن الأهلي كان يملك عددًا كبيرًا من الأجانب”.

طالع أيضًا | حازم إمام يتغزل في لاعب الزمالك ويؤكد: الأهلي تعرض للظلم أيضًا

وأشار: “دغموم لاعب محوري في أداء المصري؛ يركض كثيرًا، ليس مجرد لاعب مهاري ينتظر الكرة، بل يجيد الدفاع والعودة بشكل ممتاز، كما يمتلك قدرة كبيرة على التسديد واللعب في المساحات”.

وواصل: “في مباراة الأمس، عندما شارك اللاعب الجزائري في مركز المهاجم، تحرّك بذكاء في المساحات، وكان هو من أكمل الهجمة وسجّل الهدف الثالث، يستطيع اللعب كمهاجم ثانٍ، أو كصانع ألعاب، أو جناح أيمن أو أيسر؛ إنه لاعب مهم للغاية، ونبيل الكوكي يستغله بأفضل طريقة ممكنة”.

وأردف: “اللاعب ازداد تألقًا هذا الموسم، ورغم أننا لم نصل بعد إلى منتصف الموسم، ستجد دائمًا أن دغموم هو كلمة السر في الفريق، إلى جانب لاعبين مميزين مثل عراقي، ومحمود حمادة، وغيرهم”.

واختتم: “كما أن صلاح محسن وهو لاعب مهم للغاية، كان غائبًا بسبب الإيقاف، ومع ذلك نجح المصري في تسجيل ثلاثة أهداف خارج ملعبه، وهذا يُحسب للمدرب نبيل الكوكي”.

If Leeds United end up getting rid of an under-fire Daniel Farke in the near future, they will need to heed a lesson of years gone by.

As was seen after Marcelo Bielsa’s exit – who lifted the Championship title aloft much like the German – the grass isn’t always greener when you dismiss an under-pressure manager in the Premier League.

Indeed, a flurry of managers in the form of Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce all didn’t work, which culminated in relegation.

The West Yorkshire giants would then land Farke to pick up the pieces, but even he will know he is on thin ice now regarding his job security, with four defeats picked up in the Premier League from his last five league clashes.

Leeds hang just one point above the dreaded drop zone, with Farke’s atrocious record in the top division of just nine wins from 60 matches, not doing a lot to raise spirits.

He hasn’t been helped, arguably, by some unconvincing transfers coming through the door in the summer, with Leeds splashing out £98m on some hit-and-miss purchases.

Where Perri ranks among Leeds' recent signings

The West Yorkshire outfit’s spending power was somewhat pushed to the background when weighed up next to fellow promoted side Sunderland, who sit eight points better off than Leeds, owing to £162m being forked out.

Still, Leeds have managed to steal some headlines with their own notable business, with Noah Okafor already two goals down donning his new white strip, after leaving AC Milan behind for a fresh adventure in the Premier League.

In much the same vein as Sunderland landed Premier League experience centrally with Granit Xhaka, Leeds also went down the shrewd, top-flight-calibre route themselves when acquiring Sean Longstaff’s services, with journalist Daniel Storey even going as far as to hail the capture of the Newcastle-born star for just £12m as “one of the best signings in the Premier League”.

Unfortunately, though, as Leeds have grown accustomed to over recent years when landing duds such as Luis Sinisterra and Rasmus Kristensen, they have also fallen victim to some underwhelming signings from the summer just gone, with Lucas Perri – in particular – sticking out as a costly blunder already in between the sticks.

Even the most casual observer of the Championship last season would have known that Leeds were far from satisfied with the amount of errors Illan Meslier was making in goal, during a crunch promotion run-in, with pundit Adrian Clarke stating last season that the error-prone Frenchman “has to go” if Premier League action was back on the menu.

The Championship title-winners listened to Clarke’s advice, with all signs pointing in the direction that picking up Meslier’s replacement in Perri for £13.9m from Lyon was a smart use of money, considering Meslier’s fellow compatriot had an encouraging ten Ligue 1 clean sheets under his belt when making the switch to England.

Unfortunately, though, under the intense heat of being near the foot of the Premier League, Perri has largely crumbled, with moments of “superb” goalkeeping, for which he was praised by journalist Graham Smyth after clawing away a goal-bound effort against Nottingham Forest, often then met with moments of Meslier-like indecision.

Consequently, Perri has now let in a concerning 12 strikes from six Premier League games, among other worrying numbers, with the outstanding ‘keeper they thought they’d obtained from Lyon yet to come to the forefront.

Purchased for a steep £13.9m, this is an almighty concern that he doesn’t look all that much of a notable upgrade on his former Lorient counterpart, with former Leeds player Jon Newsome even coming out after the crushing 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest to state that Perri looks like a “waste of funds”.

Journalist Adonis Storr has also been openly critical of Perri by stating that he always “parries straight to opponents”, which led the Tricky Trees to have a field day against the ropey Brazilian.

If Perri remains this unconvincing in goal in the long run, Leeds will find it hard to beat the drop, with one of his defensive teammates at the City Ground also in with a worrying shout to be one of the Whites’ worst bits of business from their recent bumpy Premier League history.

Leeds dud fast becoming one of their worst signings

In Perri’s defence, at least he has two clean sheets next to his name to have something to smile about.

On the contrary, fellow summer arrival Jaka Bijol is yet to collect a Premier League clean sheet from his limited opportunities in Farke’s first team mix, having been branded as “monstrous” centre-back by Como scout Ben Mattinson when plying his trade for Udinese.

Winning 4.8 duels won on average last season per Serie A clash, the hope would have been that Bijol would instantly get up to speed with the high intensity of the Premier League and be the gritty warrior Leeds need to comfortably survive.

After all, he cost even more than Perri to obtain at the £15m mark, with only Anton Stach and the aforementioned Okafor costing more this summer at £17.4m and £18m, respectively.

While Stach has that sweetly struck free-kick against Wolverhampton Wanderers to hold onto, and his Swiss counterpart has those two Premier League strikes also in his favour, Bijol’s start to life in England has been strangely stop-start.

Indeed, the Slovenian centre-back has only managed to line up for three Premier League clashes to date this season, with many wondering whether Leeds had made an almighty error splashing the cash on Bijol, only for him to warm the substitutes bench behind Pascal Struijk.

However, Farke might well have been better placed to leave the shoddy number 15 on the bench for the foreseeable future, when analysing his disastrous Premier League appearances so far, as Bijol was caught ball-watching for Forest’s decisive match-winner on Sunday afternoon.

Perri is hardly loving life under scrutiny at Elland Road, knowing he now has an out-of-sorts Bijol in front of him, with Leeds last keeping a clean sheet in league action when Struijk partnered Joe Rodon, and the Slovenian was left rooted to the bench.

At their current rate, with 20 goals already leaked, Leeds could be on their way to conceding even more goals than the 78 strikes they gave up during the 2022/23 season when relegation was on the cards.

That same season, Leeds had to put up with a weak Robin Koch in defence, who once cost £12m from Freiburg in another shambolic defensive purchase.

At his current downward slope, Bijol is likely to be remembered more for being a Koch-like blunder than a bright spark like Okafor, with the Slovenian having to buck his ideas up soon, or be viewed as £18m that was rashly chucked away.

Thankfully, he does have time on his side to rewrite his Leeds narrative, as Perri and Bijol hope the slide can be eventually arrested, with or without the manager that brought them to this country remaining in the dug-out.

Fewer touches than Perri: Farke must ditch Leeds flop who's Meslier 2.0

Daniel Farke has a new Illan Meslier figure to worry about at Leeds United.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 10, 2025

Teams to play three T20Is and three ODIs, starting four days after the Asia Cup final

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2025

Afghanistan will host Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in the UAE in October, shortly after the conclusion of the Asia Cup on September 28.The T20Is are on October 2, 3 and 5 in Sharjah while the ODIs are on October 8, 11 and 14 in Abu Dhabi.ESPNcricinfo understands the Bangladesh squad could stay back in the UAE after the Asia Cup to play the bilateral series. Both teams are part of Group B in the Asia Cup, along with Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, and play each other on September 16 in Abu Dhabi. Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Fours stage of the tournament. India, Oman, Pakistan and UAE are in Group A.The Afghanistan-Bangladesh bilateral series is the second part of what was supposed to be an all-format tour in July 2024, comprising two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. The schedule was revised to include only white-ball matches while that series, due to be played in Greater Noida in India, was postponed due to weather conditions and Bangladesh’s packed schedule.The two teams have a rivalry brewing. Bangladesh and Afghanistan have played four bilateral ODI series, with the head-to-head record level at 2-2. Bangladesh won in 2016 and 2022, while Afghanistan won the two most recent series in 2023 and 2024. It’s level in bilateral T20I series too, with Afghanistan winning in 2018, Bangladesh in 2023, and a tied series in 2022.

The UAE’s ILT20 has cut team salary caps by 20% after avoiding a direct clash with South Africa’s SA20 in the 2025-26 season. Each team will be permitted to spend up to US$2 million on player salaries this season, after a wage cap of US$2.5 million in the first three editions of the league.ESPNcricinfo has learned that there is a belief among the six franchises that they have overspent on wages, and that many top players will still play in the league for slightly lower salaries thanks to a clearer window this year.The ILT20 will shift forward this season, running from December 2 until January 4, and will only briefly clash with the SA20. The two leagues have competed directly against one another for talent in their first three seasons, and ILT20 chief executive David White said a key reason to move is to enable the league to “access a bigger pool of players”.Related

• ILT20: Powell, Ghazanfar retained; Hales, Livingstone among new signings

• ILT20 to move to December-January window for 2025-26 season

• Leagues like ILT20 'not good for the game' – Graeme Smith

The league is also expected to move to an auction model for the 2025-26 season, after relying on direct signings in its first three years. ESPNcricinfo has learned that an auction is due to take place in September, with franchises in the process of working through their retentions in the meantime. Teams will still be permitted to spend an additional US$250,000 on additional ‘wildcard’ signings.The ILT20’s business model relies heavily on a long-term TV deal with Zee TV, the Indian broadcaster, and the league has been criticised for its low minimum requirement of only two local UAE players in each playing XI. Dubai Capitals are the defending champions, after Gulf Giants (2023) and MI Emirates (2024) won the first two titles.The ILT20’s decision to trim the wage cap could provide an indirect boost to the Big Bash League [BBL] ahead of its upcoming draft. The BBL has struggled to retain its leading overseas players in recent years, who have either left for the UAE before the knockout stages or skipped the league altogether, but will hope that the ILT20’s cost-cutting plays in its favour.

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O técnico Mano Menezes quer colher o fruto dos elencos que monta. Por isso que o contrato com o Corinthians foi firmado até dezembro de 2025, mesmo com a atual administração se encerrando neste ano. 

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Em 2014, o treinador foi contratado para fazer um processo de reformulação no elenco corintiano, mas não permaneceu na temporada seguinte, justamente por conta de uma mudança de gestão, com Mario Gobbi saindo e Roberto de Andrade entrando. 

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– Quando eu voltei, na segunda vez, fizemos um ano de trabalho e quando estávamos alinhavando algumas coisas eu prometi entregar uma nova equipe montada até o fim do ano, e conseguimos. Quando o time estava ficando pronto, veio a eleição e a opção justa, correta, de escolher com quem vai trabalhar. Mas para quem monta o elenco é ruim, porque sai na hora de usufruir – destacou o treinador na sua apresentação, que ocorreu nesta sexta-feira (29). 

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Mas não foi só no Timão que Mano sofreu com o desligamento após contribuir na montagem do elenco. No Internacional, clube em que ele dirigia até junho deste ano, o técnico esteve na avaliação do mercado para ser assertivo na janela de transferências do meio deste ano, mas foi demitido durante o período de mercado, enquanto o Colorado anunciou nome importantes para a sequência da temporada, entre eles o artilheiro equatoriano Enner Valencia. 

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Eduardo Coudet assumiu a equipe gaúcha no lugar de Mano e está na semifinal da Conmebol Libertadores. 

– Esse ano, trabalho, time montado, me expus, tomei porrada. Na janela do meio do ano chegaram três jogadores de seleção e o trabalho tá aí – completou o treinador.

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+ Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro-2023 clicando aqui

Mano Menezes já teve o nome publicado no Boletim Informativo Diário, da CBF, e está liberado para comandar a equipe alvinegra já neste sábado (30), quando o Corinthians enfrenta o São Paulo, no estádio do Morumbi, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. Na terça-feira (3) ele terá pela frente o compromisso mais importante do Timão nesta temporada: o jogo de volta da semifinal da Conmebol Sul-Americana, contra o Fortaleza, na Arena Castelão, na capital cearense.