From Henderson to Cariappa: The biggest surprises from previous auctions
The IPL auctions are known for making millionaires. Here’s a look at some buys that left most people surprised
ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2016
The IPL auctions are known for making millionaires. Here’s a look at some buys that left most people surprised
ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2016
Pakistan’s 2-0 series sweep over Australia was forged by players who came in either struggling or with a point to prove, and ended as stars
Umar Farooq04-Nov-2014
Younis Khan scored two hundreds and a double-century in four innings.•AFPAfter being dropped from the ODI squad for the Australia series, a “hurt” Younis Khan told the PCB, “Don’t select me. Not even in Tests. I sacrifice my future.”His words carried a lot of weight, and echoed in every floor of the PCB headquarters. Younis eventually made himself available and was selected for the Tests, but he was under massive pressure to cash in on the chance and prove his value to the squad.And prove his value he did, with scores of 106, 103*, 213 and 46 from four innings, and by breaking a number of records on the way. Younis put himself among the best batsmen in the history of Pakistan cricket by becoming only their third player to collect 8000 Test runs. His 213 in Abu Dhabi was the fifth double of his career, and took him to second in the list of Pakistan batsmen with most double-hundreds, behind Javed Miandad who has six. Younis also became the leading century-maker for Pakistan, with 27 tons. His 468-run tally in this series is the second best by a Pakistan batsman against Australia, after Saleem Malik’s 557 in 1994.It came as little surprise when the PCB later hinted that Younis would be a part of Pakistan’s 2015 World Cup plans.
Before the Test series, Misbah-ul-Haq was told by the PCB that the road ahead was his to choose: whether to lead, or leave. So poor was his form with the bat, that after losing the first two ODIs and the series to Australia, Misbah sat out the third game in Abu Dhabi.In the end, 24 minutes was all it took for Misbah to remind both the selectors and his critics just what he is capable of, as he scored the fastest ever Test fifty. Fifty minutes later, Misbah equalled the record held by Viv Richards for the quickest century, off just 56 deliveries. He became only the second Pakistan captain to score a hundred in each innings of a Test, and the first to do so against Australia.His efforts paved the way for a 356-run victory, Pakistan’s largest victory margin in terms of runs, and sealed the series 2-0.
Azhar Ali had been nearly dropped from the team in January, but a quick-fire hundred against Sri Lanka in Sharjah gave his career a new lease of life. Azhar, however, failed to make good on those chances and his ineffective performances in Sri Lanka in August did not help his cause. What was especially worrying, though, was Azhar’s continued inability to convert his good starts into big scores.Those concerns, however, were eased in the UAE. After scores of 53 and 30 in the first Test in Dubai, Azhar became the ninth Pakistan batsman to register a ton in both innings of a Test by hitting 109 and 100 not out in Abu Dhabi. Those knocks also marginally increased his Test strike-rate, and made him a key middle-order batsman in the side. It’s now up to Azhar, who is also a competent close-in fielder, to sustain this good run of form following a forgettable 2013.
Zulfiqar Babar’s slider was a deadly weapon throughout the series•Getty ImagesAt the age of 35, Zulfiqar Babar had to make up for plenty of lost time. Babar finally got his chance, but he was only a few internationals old, and was under massive pressure to fill a Saeed Ajmal-sized hole in Pakistan’s spin attack.Babar, though, was unfazed by the weight of the responsibility thrust on his shoulders. He bowled 115.4 overs – the most in a two-Test series – snapped two five-fors and became the top wicket-taker with 14 scalps at 26.35. His slider in particular was a deadly weapon. Babar might have had to wait until he was 34 to make his Test debut, but the left-arm spinner, who is nicknamed (old man) in the press box, has no regrets. “Better late than never,” he said.
Thirteen years after making his first-class debut, Yasir Shah had 279 wickets at 24.43 heading into the Australia Tests. He has been regarded as a bright prospect since making his ODI debut in 2011, but the presence of Ajmal meant Yasir always had to wait. He finally got to make his Test debut in Dubai, but as a specialist spinner against Australia, he had plenty to prove and live up to.Yasir picked up 13 wickets in the series at an average of 17.25. His variations, energy levels, and composure as a legspinner won him plenty of fans, including Shane Warne, who predicted a prosperous future for the bowler.”I like the look of this leggie Yasir Shah, plenty of energy and nice variations of pace,” Warne tweeted. “He is going to take 200-plus Test wickets.”
Meet Geoffrey Toyana of the Lions, whose methods of achieving success aren’t too different from those of the man in charge of the No. 1 Test side
Firdose Moonda12-Apr-2013Mark Boucher. Makhaya Ntini. Ashwell Prince. Adam Bacher. Boeta Dippenaar.”Almost everyone I was with in the national academy went on to play Test cricket.” That is not quite correct but it is how Geoffrey Toyana remembers it. He can even laugh about it – these days, a little more.His first season as a franchise coach ended on Sunday with the Lions breaking a five-season trophy drought with victory in the domestic 20-over competition. They were joint holders of the one-day cup and got a second-place finish in the first-class competition, making Toyana’s maiden season among the most successful since the franchise system was put in place. (Matthew Maynard won two trophies and had a fifth-place finish in his first season at the Titans).It has also earned him national honours. Toyana will take a South African Emerging Squad to a quadrangular T20 tournament in Namibia later this month. It is not a position Toyana had imagined he would be in when he first decided he would embark on a career in cricket almost two decades ago.As a young man, Toyana was led to the pitch by his father, Gus, but he was not immediately taken in by the 22 yards in front of him. Gus played with the Majola brothers in the Eastern Cape and cricket was in his blood. He enrolled Toyana in the Baker’s Mini-Cricket programme, where Geoff remembered enjoying the free biscuits more than the games. Gus was disappointed that he did not show greater enthusiasm.”I was 15 years old when I told my father that I was not going to play cricket anymore,” Toyana said. “His response was that if I didn’t want to play his sport, I could go and find my own place to live. He was joking obviously, but it showed how much he wanted me to play cricket.”And so the boy did. Toyana’s journey began at the Soweto Cricket Club (SCC), where his talent was nurtured despite the struggle for equipment and good facilities. He quickly became one of their best players and was elevated to captain – a position he occupied for eight years. As one of the top club cricketers in the Gauteng province, he was on the radar of the higher-ups and was eventually hand-picked by Ali Bacher as one for the future.Bacher organised for Toyana to be included on the MCC’s ground staff programme in 1995. Toyana became friends with New Zealand opening batsman Matt Bell, alongside whom he played many times against county sides. “It was a fantastic learning experience. On match days at Lord’s we used to sell scorecards, and we got bowl to the internationals in the nets. I learnt a lot and when I came back, I was offered my first contract.”Toyana played at Gauteng and went to the national academy the next year but did not always live up to his potential. When he found himself on the fringes, Ray Jennings came to his rescue and took him to Easterns, just as changes began to take place on the domestic scene. When the franchises formed, Toyana considered himself lucky to receive an offer from the Titans. He had been playing for almost a decade and he knew time was not on his side.In 2007, 12 years after making his debut, the dreaded call came. “They told me it was over for me,” he said. But Easterns asked him to return and play provincially (a tier below franchise cricket), and he accepted. The following year, they needed a coach and Toyana was offered a joint role as a player-coach.He saw it as the right time to step off the field completely, took a Level 3 coaching course, and asked if he could take charge on a full-time basis. He turned out to be well-suited to the job and his stocks rose steadily. He was invited to tour as an assistant to the emerging side two years later and for last year’s Under-19 World Cup.Then came a call he had waited four years for. “Dave Nosworthy was on the line and he asked me, ‘Do you want to come home?’ I didn’t even have to think about it.”Nosworthy was in charge of the Lions, the team made up of players from Toyana’s old Gauteng and North-West, and he needed a second in command.
The Lions envisioned grooming Toyana to take over after three seasons, but when Nosworthy resigned at the end of the 2011-12 period, they made history by fast-tracking Toyana. He was the first black African to become a franchise coach, a significant fact, because the Lions were regarded as the least transformed of all teams. In a way, that made his appointment look like a quota one, but the board and Toyana didn’t let that suggestion provoke them.
At Soweto Cricket Club, they knew Toyana to be “always very analytical” but also a “very good listener”. He was the man people spoke to when they needed an ear but not necessarily an advisor, and they trusted him to be a sounding board
“He played first-class cricket at a difficult time in our country, he showed promise as a coach and he was a local, so we decided to go for it,” said Mohammed Moosajee, a Lions board member who is also the national team manager. “We knew it was a position he would develop into and that mistakes would be allowed.”In Toyana’s first match in charge, the Lions lost by ten wickets and it seemed they would continue to languish near the lower half of the table as they had in the recent past. But they won the next week, against expectation. They set the Dolphins a mere 241 to chase and the conclusion seemed foregone on the third day at 149 for 4, but Chris Morris steamed in on the final morning, the Lions took 6 for 27, and for the first time in a long while, there was a sense of belief.As the summer burned brighter, they roared louder. They sauntered through the first-class competition, finishing second behind Paul Adams’ Cobras, dominated the one-day cup and reached the final, only for the fixture to be washed out twice. They also led the T20 table and were the first team to book a spot in the Champions League.Their remarkable turnaround was put down to a change in attitude that Toyana encouraged. “He didn’t go in with a headmaster’s style. He just wanted everyone to enjoy themselves,” Moosajee said.Toyana’s tactical ability had been well-honed through years of playing cricket, and so had his people skills. At SCC, they knew him to be “always very analytical”, according to current chairman Gordon Templeton, but also a “very good listener”. He was the man people spoke to when they needed an ear but not necessarily an advisor, and they trusted him to be a sounding board.At Lions, he did a similar thing simply by making players feel comfortable. “I expect that by the time players get to franchise level, they know what to do most of the time. My job is just to serve them. Even though I am a coach, I am a person as well, and that’s how I approached it,” he said.He paired some junior players with old hands, having Test opener Alviro Petersen watch over the prodigious talent that is Quinton de Kock, Neil McKenzie mentor Temba Bavuma, and Imran Tahir work with fellow legspinner Eddie Leie. “That way I knew they were in good hands,” he said.Those youngsters have been key to the Lions’ success and showed the health of cricket in the province is not as poor as was once suspected. “I suppose we were a little surprised in the way he backed the youngsters and stuck with them. It was quite brave,” Moosajee said. And it paid off.Confidence ran high and support swelled. At the T20 final, among the 14,000 fans at the Wanderers (a significant number for a domestic match), were 100 former players and administrators of the SCC, where Toyana regularly offers to help out despite his franchise duties. “We are so proud of him,” Templeton said.To know people from his childhood were behind him left Toyana “humbled, because that is a very special place for me”. The victory will have given them something equally special to celebrate with one of their own. But Toyana knows it will not always be this good.”My biggest challenge is to keep the guys focused, to keep them coming back and performing again and again. At the start of the season we said that our goal is to be the best franchise in the country and to do that we have to win year after year,” he said.There is a bit of Gary Kirsten in that statement. South Africa’s coach often says his aim is to make sure his team becomes (in limited-overs) and stays (in the Test arena) the best in the world and he wants his players to understand the processes that will help them do that.”I can see a lot of Gary’s methods in Geoff,” Moosajee said. “He gets the players to take responsibility, which is important when you want to build a successful unit.”Praise of that magnitude is something Toyana may only have expected to receive after years on the job. Even though it has come now, he said he has a long way to go before he can step into Kirsten’s shoes.”I am not even thinking that far. I am still trying to learn how to control the emotions of being a franchise coach. Maybe in ten years’ time I can think of things like that,” Toyana said. If it happens, he would have something to compare with his national academy team-mates.
Tim Albone’s acclaimed documentary told the tale of how a war-torn country became an inspiration for all aspiring cricket nations. Now you can read about it
Sahil Dutta25-Jun-2011There are some stories so compelling they need no embellishment. The story of Afghanistan’s cricket team is one of these. Amid hardship unimaginable to most cricket-playing countries, Afghanistan discovered a love for the sport and, in the wreckage of conflict, founded a team that rose five divisions in two years to make a fairytale appearance at the 2010 World Twenty20 in West Indies.It’s a remarkable tale and Tim Albone recounts it in this stirring book. Albone was a foreign correspondent based in the country with the Times and Sunday Times, and grew weary of retelling the stories of violence and victims that were the staples for newsreaders around the world. Instead, he decided to make a documentary – which aired to much acclaim last year – following the team as they made their mark on the world game. His purpose, he writes, was “to show the beauty, the madness, the humour, the resilience, the enterprise, the humanity and the people.”The book’s greatest quality is that he achieves just that, and in doing so reveals much about the sport that gets written out of the sanitised highest level. The book centres on Taj Malik, the overbearing, obsessive and frighteningly driven Afghani refugee who makes it his life mission not just to bring cricket to his country but to take the side he builds to the World Cup.Malik – whose brothers Hasti and Karim play in the Afghanistan team – ended up coaching the side through its first outings before being cast aside, when the team needed more professional guidance, for the former Pakistan player Kabir Khan. Yet it is Malik’s audacity that pulsates through the team and through the book. Without him and his dream none of it would have been possible.In this context the ICC’s decision to block Associate and Affiliate nations from the next World Cup becomes all the more frustrating. As they ponder a U-turn, the decision-makers would do well to read Albone’s book. The galvanising force of a World Cup possibility – however remote – was powerful enough to bind factions and overcome unthinkable burdens in Afghanistan. Malik’s messianic fervour ended up creating the most uplifting cricketing story in decades. His mission was founded on the dream of a World Cup, and for the ICC to remove it is as self-defeating as it is cruel.Yet, as we’re taken on a tour beyond the Test world, starting with Division Five in Jersey to a rung higher in Tanzania and then to Argentina, it shows just how well parts of the game are run. Unlike at the highest level, where the ICC is an impotent forum for competing national boards, it has genuine power to organise the sport competently in countries where cricket is less familiar. There remains administrative bungling – like the promotion of the USA to the World Twenty20 qualifiers in another attempt at jump-starting a “market” in the country – but Afghanistan’s rise shows that the ICC is capable of serving cricket’s best interests.Throughout, though, it is the human story that remains most enthralling and, often, amusing. The journey from Kabul to Jersey, via Dubai, describes the Afghanistan players, rarely short of bravado, crippled by shyness when confronted by the unfamiliar sight of bikini-clad women sunbathing by the hotel swimming pool. In Jersey, the familiar complaints of Anglo-Saxon cricketers in Asia gets reversed as, rather than long for Baked Beans, the team wistfully recall the naan and lamb of home.
The book shows how different ethnic and tribal groups are absorbed into a common Afghan identity when playing cricket. In one part of the book Albone describes how Afghan journalists had to devise an entirely new vocabulary in Pashtu to cover the World Cup qualifiers for the new Afghani audiences
Albone’s dressing-room position privileges him to the coarser realities of team sport. The rivalry between players, the frantic worries of Malik as coach, nepotism and tension of life back home make for a volatile mix. On one of their first tours – to Malaysia for the Asia Cup – an almighty pitch-side row explodes, where Hasti punches the assistant tour manager for bad-mouthing his brother, the coach. Karim sees what’s happening and runs from the pitch, where he is keeping wicket, to join in the fisticuffs. If that all seems a touch amateur, let’s not forget the Test nations have had their share of dressing-room squabbles too.Similarly, the inexorable tension between achieving the team’s objectives and winning individual plaudits is revealed with an explicitness anodyne top-level sides would never allow in public. In showing the whole human story, with all its egos and nastiness, Albone resists the temptation to patronise. It would be easy to view Afghanistan’s story as “pure” cricket, untainted by the commercialism and sordid temptations that have undermined Test teams in recent times. But in charting the origins of Malik’s team, the book demonstrates how gambling, winner-takes-all fixtures and, indeed, administrative corruption, were part of the development of the game there. Just as it was to the sport in England.Yet, what shimmers beyond the individuals, the money and the records is the collective mission. Much like it was for West Indies in the 1970s and 80s, the desire to remake a nation’s identity is an irresistible force running through the team. As Albone writes: “The players know Afghanistan has a reputation centred on war, drugs and violence, but they want to play their part in changing minds. They want to show the world that Afghans are civilised, can play by the rules, can integrate and can compete.”They do more than that. For all sport’s irrelevance when set against war and poverty, it does play a role, however fleetingly, in making a new nation. The book shows how different ethnic and tribal groups are absorbed into a common Afghan identity when playing cricket. The thousands of new fans spread across the country suddenly belong to a new community that is not defined by the old orders. In one part of the book Albone describes how Afghan journalists had to devise an entirely new vocabulary in Pashtu to cover the World Cup qualifiers for the new Afghani audiences.If there is a criticism, it is that Albone’s perspective is perhaps too restricted. He discusses how other teams and their supporters are suspicious of the brash Afghanistan players and their on-field antics, but it would have been interesting to hear their views directly. Also, in his attempt to straddle the divide between those who would read the book for cricket and others who would read it for the Afghanistan story, Albone occasionally oversimplifies on both counts. But these are minor gripes in a book that is overwhelmingly uplifting, engaging and an essential for any cricket lover.Out of the Ashes: The extraordinary rise and rise of the Afghanistan cricket team
Tim Albone; foreword by Mike Atherton
Virgin Books, 304pp, £11.99
Yusuf played his part to perfection in the finale, flattening Chennai with a match-winning all-round show
Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2008
Yusuf Pathan’s hurricane knocks have caught the attention of the national selectors (file photo) © Cricinfo Ltd
Soon after moving to Jaipur, Shane Warne wrote a paper which would serve as the vision for the Rajasthan Royals over the next 44 days. Warne’s plan culminated in success as the Indian Premier League’s least expensive franchise edged the Chennai Super Kings in the final.In the paper titled ‘What’s My Role’, Yusuf Pathan’s task was: “1. Be aggressive, dominate the start of the innings. Play with freedom, take ’em [bowlers] on. 2. [Bowl] Stump-to-stump off-spin. 3. Field in the ring early on and in the deep later.”Yusuf played his part to perfection in the finale, flattening Chennai with a match-winning all-round show. First, his accurate line cramped the batsmen, and he dismissed the openers in his first two overs. His tight bowling frustrated the dangerous Albie Morkel, who became his third victim – mistiming a pull. Yusuf’s strikes dried up the runs and ensured Chennai could manage only a modest total.With low-scoring encounters the trend at the DY Patil Stadium, Chennai were still hopeful and their confidence soared as Rajasthan stumbled to 42 for 3 in the seventh over. In walked Yusuf at a stage when his team desperately needed someone to deliver.One of Yusuf’s strong points is his willingness to attack in any situation. In the World Twenty20 final, his first game with the national team, he hit Mohammad Asif out of the ground. He was sent up the order and he understood his brief clearly. Today was the same.Rajasthan appeared edgy as the asking-rate climbed above ten, but Yusuf was unperturbed. After pulling L Balaji for two boundaries, he survived a close call when Suresh Raina failed to latch on to a skier off Muttiah Muralitharan. That was the turning point and in Murali’s next over, Yusuf twice sent the ball into the crowd over long-on. By the time he was done, he had scored 56 off just 39 and taken Rajasthan within touching distance of a memorable win.Yusuf’s power-hitting had been influential in several earlier matches as well: 61 off 28 balls in the third game against Deccan Chargers, 55 off 33 against Kolkata Knight Riders and 68 in 37 in the return match against Deccan. Despite these scores, he admitted he was nervous before he went in. “I spoke to [Jeremy] Snape, the team’s mental conditioning coach, and after that I felt good,” he said. He was scratchy to begin with, but Shane Watson took the pressure off at the other end as Yusuf found his groove.Yusuf has pummelled attacks with his clean hitting in domestic games, and his three first-class hundreds in the season gone by have come at a strike-rate well over 100. Irfan Pathan had also acknowledged his elder brother’s prodigious talent. “I always thought he was the more talented. It’s just that I got lucky and got a break [ for India] sooner.” Yusuf’s hurricane knocks in the IPL finally convinced the national selectors to pick him for India’s ODI squad for Bangladesh tri-series and the Asia Cup.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s limited-overs captain, was well aware of the threat Yusuf posed. “He is one of those players you have to get out,” Dhoni said. “You can’t let him stay for long because he will score runs and that, too, at a fast rate.”Warne called Yusuf’s performance “fantastic”. When Warne had presented his vision paper to every individual he had given a tag of responsibility to each player. Yusuf’s read “The Statement Maker”. The laconic man from Baroda lived up to his billing and made the most telling statement when it mattered.
Tasmania took regular wickets during the afternoon but Connolly’s performance on first-class debut lifted the hosts
Tristan Lavalette21-Mar-20241:52
Should players prioritise Sheffield Shield over IPL?
Captain Sam Whiteman stepped up in the absence of opening partner Cameron Bancroft before nerveless debutant Cooper Connolly halted Tasmania’s comeback late on day one of the Sheffield Shield final.Western Australia reached stumps at 325 for 8 after being sent in on a green-tinged WACA surface. Whiteman made a fluent 104 and combined in a first-wicket century partnership with D’Arcy Short, who replaced Bancroft having not opened at the first-class level since late 2019.Related
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Whiteman and Short’s efforts helped alleviate the big loss of Bancroft, who was ruled out of the contest with concussion after a cycling accident.Connolly, WA’s other inclusion, helped lift WA to what appears a solid first innings with his first fifty in professional cricket. He finished on 73 from 79 balls and will eye a century on day two as Connolly’s fearless approach showed exactly why WA have been so keen to get him in the line-up. He was supposed to play the season-opener against Victoria before suffering a toe injury from a freak boat accident.”If we got asked before the day that [at stumps] we’re still batting and over 300, you would take that nine times out of 10,” Whiteman said.Tasmania toiled, but were inconsistent and relied on offspinner Jarrod Freeman, who produced sharp turn to finish with 3 for 103 from 24 overs.Sam Whiteman acknowledges his century•Getty Images”I think we really clawed our way back in the game,” Freeman said. “If we can go bang, bang tomorrow then I think we are on top.”Without the formidable presence of Bancroft, Tasmania hoped to ruffle up WA’s rejigged top order but quicks Riley Meredith and Gabe Bell were inconsistent with the new ball.Whiteman had cut a relaxed figure ahead of the match, underlining his experience on this stage, as the roles of the openers were reversed. He was composed at the crease and drove elegantly to rattle off 21 off 14 balls.In a notable contrast, the innately attacking Short, who batted at No. 5 in his sole Shield match this season, was scratchy and made just 4 off his first 24 balls.Surprisingly picked ahead of teenager Teague Wyllie because of his experience and aggressiveness, Short rode his luck after gloving down the leg side on 13 only for Beau Webster to have overstepped. Short had more fortune in the next over when he was dropped at first slip by Caleb Jewell after playing rashly at a wide Iain Carlisle delivery.It proved costly for what appeared to be a jittery Tasmania hoping to end an 11-year Shield drought. Whiteman and Short batted through the opening session and shortly after lunch registered a rare century opening stand in the Shield this season.Short had streakily edged a boundary to reach his fifty, but fell on the next delivery when he nicked off a good line and length delivery from Bell, who had finally found his radar.Jayden Goodwin, who had been a contender to move up the order and replace Bancroft, fell cheaply to a Freeman delivery that straightened and caught the edge to first slip.Jarrod Freeman produced a beautiful delivery on the stroke of tea to remove Aaron Hardie•Getty ImagesHilton Cartwright has struggled in the Shield this season, but decided to end his slump by playing shots and he was particularly aggressive against Freeman. He combined well with Whiteman, who notched his second century in a Shield final much to the delight of his teammates in the terraces.Whiteman looked impregnable before he fell lbw to the hardworking Carlisle as Tasmania capped a decent session when Freeman bowled Aaron Hardie through the gate for a duck with a cracking delivery.Cartwright notched his half-century after tea, but Connolly took centre stage in the final session with brave batting. Undaunted by the big stage, much like when he was the hero of Perth Scorchers’ triumph in last year’s BBL final, Connolly drove at his first ball and edged between second slip and gully for a boundary.He did not hold back and clubbed a couple of sixes, including one that sailed high down the ground and into the lower tier of the Lillee-Marsh Stand.Tasmania needed some inspiration and they turned to the versatility of Webster, who unfurled his offspin and it did the trick when he bowled Joel Paris.But Connolly raced along to his fifty in only 48 balls to justify his selection, with left-arm quick Liam Haskett unluckily missing selection after taking six wickets against Victoria in the last round.Bancroft was at the ground before play with deep cuts evident on his right side of his face. He is recovering well from concussion and went for a light run yesterday.
AC Milan are looking to pluck Kyle Walker from the transfer bargain bucket, with a discount being requested on Manchester City’s asking price.
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يبدو وأن مستقبل مصطفى محمد غير محسوم وغامضًا بعض الشيء قبل أيام قليلة من انتهاء سوق الانتقالات الصيفية في الدوريات الأوروبية الكبرى، رغم اقتناع مدرب نانت بإمكانياته الفنية.
ويلعب مصطفى محمد مع نانت منذ عام 2023 وينتهي عقده في يونيو 2027، لكن هناك العديد من الأندية الراغبة في ضمه.
وينوي نادي باناثينايكوس الدخول بقوة في سباق التعاقد مع مصطفى محمد مهاجم نانت، قبل أيام قليلة من غلق الميركاتو الصيفي في أوروبا، بطلب مباشر من مدربه روي فيتوريا المدير الفني السابق لمنتخب مصر.
ويبحث الفريق اليوناني عن مهاجم بديل في ظل اقتراب مهاجمه فوتيس إيونيديس من الرحيل إلى سبورتنج لشبونة، لتعويض انتقال فيكتور جيوكيريس إلى آرسنال.
صفقة انتقال إيونيديس المرتقبة، والتي قد تصل قيمتها إلى 25 مليون يورو، ستمنح باناثينايكوس سيولة مالية قوية للتحرك نحو ضم مصطفى محمد هذه المرة بشكل حاسم، بحسبما علم بطولات.
اقرأ أيضًا.. تقييم مصطفى محمد في مباراة باريس سان جيرمان ونانت بـ الدوري الفرنسي
من جانبه، حدد نادي نانت مبلغ 10 ملايين يورو للتخلي عن خدمات مصطفى محمد، الذي بدأ الموسم الحالي في الدوري الفرنسي كأساسي أمام باريس سان جيرمان، وهو ما يجعل الصفقة ممكنة ماديًا للنادي اليوناني.
يُذكر أن باناثينايكوس كان قد دخل في مفاوضات مع مصطفى محمد خلال يناير الماضي، لكن اللاعب فضل في ذلك الوقت الاستمرار بالدوريات الخمس الكبرى وعدم الانتقال إلى الدوري اليوناني.
إلا أن الثقة تبدو أكبر هذه المرة داخل إدارة باناثينايكوس، في ظل اقتراب رحيل إيونيديس، وهو ما يفتح الباب أمام إتمام التعاقد مع مصطفى محمد قبل إغلاق سوق الانتقالات.
تجدر الإشارة إلى أن نادي نيوم السعودي كان قد تقدم بعرض رسمي إلى نانت لضم مصطفى محمد في وقت سابق من الصيف الجاري، غير أن المفاوضات لم تشهد تقدمًا ملموسًا حتى الآن.
Regardless of how Tottenham Hotspur fare in the Europa League Final later this month, this summer has to be one of significant change at the club.
To ensure next season isn’t as much of a disaster as this one has been, Daniel Levy and Co need to dig deep and bring in some genuine quality to improve the first team.
However, signing a load of talented players won’t be enough on its own.
On top of adding to the first team and squad, the North Londoners need to get rid of several players, including one who is being eyed up by one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The players Spurs should sell
Unfortunately, due to the nature of their campaign this season, there are several players Spurs should probably be looking to move on in the summer, such as Richarlison and Yves Bissouma.
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The former has never got even close to justifying the £60m fee he cost the club in 2022, and while there have been the odd moments he’s looked good this year, a return of five goals and two assists just isn’t good enough.
Likewise, Bissouma might occasionally put in a performance that reminds fans why the club signed him in the first place.
Still, there have been far too many games this season in which he’s looked entirely out of his depth, like away to Fulham, when he was hooked at half-time and given a 3/10 match rating by Alasdair Gold.
However, there is another player, one who is actually incredibly talented, who is being eyed by a major European force that the North Londoners should cash in on: Cristian Romero.
Yes, according to a recent report from the Sun, Real Madrid are now sniffing around the World Cup winner once again.
The report has revealed that incoming manager Xabi Alonso is a big fan of the Argentine, and with their defence considered to be their weakest area, the Spanish giants could make a move to sign the former Juventus ace.
The report does not mention a potential price, but according to stories from earlier this month, Spurs value their defender at £60m, a fee think they should accept for him.
Why Spurs should sell Romero
Okay, so the first thing to say is that we do not think Romero is a bad defender, far from it.
However, there are a few genuine reasons as to why it might be smart for Spurs to sell the World Cup winner this summer, with chief among them being his desire.
While there can be no doubt about his intense need to win when it comes to the big games – just look at his performance against Bodo/Glimt – there have been questions over his commitment to the club for some time now.
For example, only last week, a new report from GIVEMESPORT revealed that he is planning to push for a move to La Liga this summer regardless of what happens in the Europa League, and then last month, other reports claimed he had already held discussions with Diego Simeone over a potential move to Atlético Madrid.
Combine this desire to leave with the fact he’s got just two years left on his £165k-per-week deal, and it seems like cashing in on him now before he can drive the price down further seems smart.
Romero’s Spurs career
Appearances
123
Goals
7
Assists
3
Yellow Cards
33
Second Yellows
3
Red Cards
1
Points per Game
1.68
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Moreover, due to injury, the 27-year-old “monster,” as dubbed by journalist Charlie Eccleshare, hasn’t featured that much this season anyway, making just 25 appearances across all competitions and averaging just 1.56 points per game when he has played.
Finally, it looks as if the club would be able to replace him anyway, as they could either go back in for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi or even hand a considerable amount of game time to the incredibly exciting Luka Vušković, who respected analyst Ben Mattinson described as a “crazy” talent and a “monster of a CB.”
Ultimately, it’s not an ideal situation – far from it – but to make sure they aren’t left burned next year and to give themselves ample time to replace him, Spurs should look to sell Romero this summer.
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Dubai presents teams with a unique challenge, in that no one is always certain of what the surface will throw up.The main venue has been off-limits for training sessions, so India have had to train at the nearby ICC Academy to acclimatise in the energy-sapping heat. On Monday, after completing a two-hour nets session, they made a quick hop over to the Dubai International Stadium to get a feel of the conditions for the first time. And to hit the ground running, they had their fielding session there, just to be able to get used to the outfield and the stadium’s trademark ring-of-fire floodlights, and to have a look at the pitch, which bowling coach Morne Morkel had heard “had a greenish tinge”.This unique prospect of not training at the ground they will play at has led India to explore all possibilities as far as their combination goes ahead of their Asia Cup opener against UAE on Wednesday. Morkel wasn’t going to spell out the plans, of course, but the training session threw up a few hints.Related
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First up, it seems somewhat clear that Jitesh Sharma is winning the race to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter. And that means vice-captain Shubman Gill, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Monday, and who last played a T20I in July 2024, is set to slot back in at the top of the order alongside Abhishek Sharma.Sanju Samson, whose roles Jitesh and Gill appear set to take over, auditioned for a middle-order role during a short stint in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), perhaps to show he can fit in wherever the team needs him to. But he was largely a bystander during Monday’s session. Across three stints since India started training on September 5, he probably donned the keeping gloves for all of five minutes, and mostly batted towards the end of each session.The other slot India are pondering is the No. 8. Do they strengthen their batting by playing an allrounder like Shivam Dube, who has bowled a fair bit in the nets, or do they get Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana to partner Jasprit Bumrah with the new ball and have Hardik Pandya as their third seamer? Over the course of the past few days, the work the team management has put into their sixth-bowler options, including Abhishek, has been noticeable.
“In terms of planning at the moment, we will be covering all bases and then we’ll make a decision obviously on match day”Morne Morkel
“I’m always pushing for allrounders to work hard on both skills,” Morkel said. “Sometimes guys can get a little bit naughty and practice or focus just on one skill. But here, in this environment, we want to leave no stone unturned.”On the day, we’re going to need somebody to do the work for us and conditions might favour him [Dube] more than somebody else. So, for us, it’s about being professional. It’s about taking that responsibility of putting quality work in there.”The more guys that can give the captain options, that is obviously a great position to have. Yes, we will have our frontline guys that we can attack [with]. But if we can keep on developing guys, part-time guys to do a job, it gives us so many more options in terms of combinations for selection.”With the No. 8 slot up for debate, Harshit Rana (R) is a candidate to partner Hardik Pandya (L) and Jasprit Bumrah in the seam attack•AFP/Getty ImagesDuring the Champions Trophy in March, when they played all their matches in Dubai, India weren’t averse to playing four spinners, with Mohammed Shami as the lone specialist seamer and Hardik as the all-round option. This allowed India to play both Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav in their XI. That was in ODIs, of course, where India had a failsafe in Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8. Jadeja is retired from T20Is, leaving India with no such luxuries.”I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired,” Morkel said. “Tonight [Monday] we will have a first look at the surface. And I believe there’s quite a bit of a grass covering on the square.”So we’ll have a good idea going into the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go. But in terms of planning at the moment, we will be covering all bases and then we’ll make a decision obviously on match day.”Given the heat factor, the team will likely have an optional session on Tuesday. India will have the chance to train once more after the UAE game, in the lead-up to their match against Pakistan on September 14.