The visitors were bowled out for 102 as their batting woes continued before Travis Dean and Peter Handscomb stretched the lead

Alex Malcolm27-Oct-2023A career-best return from Fergus O’Neill and a trademark display of metronomic MCG bowling from Scott Boland helped Victoria take control of a low-scoring Sheffield Shield clash against New South Wales as the Blues’ batting woes continued.Travis Dean’s patient half-century and an unbeaten 40 from Peter Handscomb in the afternoon helped Victoria build a lead of 225 with four wickets in hand at stumps on day two, although NSW fought back well with the ball to avoid the game getting away from them.But the damage was done earlier in the day. Four wickets from O’Neill, three from Boland and three from Mitchell Perry saw NSW bowled out for just 102 in reply to Victoria’s first innings total of 196. O’Neill finished with career-best figures of 4 for 23.Related

• Boland joins Durham for 2024

• Dwarshuis sparks Victoria collapse to put New South Wales on top

• Michael Neser returns to Shield clash after mid-match withdrawal for personal reasons

It was the ninth time in the Blues’ last 15 consecutive winless Shield matches that they were bowled out for under 200 and the third innings in a row after scoring just 186 and 136 in their loss to South Australia in Adelaide last week.O’Neill and Boland were masterful with the new ball hitting an immaculate line and length on the spicy MCG track. O’Neill rattled the stumps of both openers. Daniel Hughes was bowled in the second over after a length ball climbed and hit his bottom elbow as he tried to defend and Ryan Hackney scored just 2 in 30 deliveries before leaving a ball that pitched on middle and hit the top of off. O’Neill was then on a hat-trick when he scratched Moises Henriques’ outside edge to leave NSW 7 for 3.Perry got in on the act with Jason Sangha and Matthew Gilkes both caught well in the slips before Boland returned to remove the obdurate Blake Macdonald who had replaced the axed Kurtis Patterson. He made 22 off 87 balls but Boland’s suffocating length and line did for him as he chopped on trying to withdraw the bat late.Boland clean bowled Ben Dwarshuis shortly after to give him figures off 11-6-8-2. He should have had Jack Edwards cheaply but he was dropped twice in the slips by the usually reliable Handscomb and Matt Short.The reprieves meant NSW could avoid an unwanted record. At 54 for 8 they were staring their lowest ever Shield score at the MCG in the face with the previous record of 66, set in 1894, still 12 runs away.But Edwards and Jackson Bird swung hard and rode their luck to push NSW beyond three figures. Bird’s 29 included a massive six down the ground off Boland. The Australia Test quick claimed Edwards in the end but his figures took some damage, finishing with 3 for 36 from 15 overs.Victoria turned a 94-run lead into an 184-run buffer for the loss of just Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski in their second innings as Dean ground his way to the first half-century of the match with some disciplined defending and controlled punches into gaps.Chris Tremain continued his good form in removing Harris, who is struggling early in a season where a Test spot is set to open up, and Pucovski having cleaned up Victoria’s first innings in the morning, taking his tally for the match to six.But Dean and Handscomb frustrated NSW until Dwarshuis broke through claiming Dean caught behind. Henriques brought himself on and sparked a mini-collapse. Short was given out to a questionable lbw decision with the ball appearing to hit him outside the line then Will Sutherland was trapped lbw next ball to leave his opposing captain on a hat-trick and Victoria teetering at 92 for 5.Handscomb remained composed and guided the hosts to stumps but there was one more twist late with Sam Harper edging behind in the final over to give the Blues a glimmer of hope. Such was the dominance of the fast bowlers, Australia’s two Test spinners, Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, bowled just three overs between them for the day – all of them by Lyon.

MatériaMais Notícias

da premier bet： O estádio Nilton Santos deve ter novidades para a temporada, e um dos projetos do Botafogoé instalar grama sintética em sua casa. O clube vem se organizando para iniciar as obras em janeiro e o objetivo é estar com um novo formato de grama em abril, quando inicia o Campeonato Brasileiro.

A previsão do término da obra é de três meses. Enquanto a grama do Nilton Santos estiver sendo trocada, as partidas do Glorioso serão realizadas em outros estádios. Os dirigentes alvinegros estudam colocar os jogos deste período em locais como Volta Redonda e Ilha do Governador.

+ MERCADO DA BOLA: Acompanhe as movimentações dos clubes nesta janela de transferências

RelacionadasVascoRoberto Dinamite, maior ídolo do Vasco, é sepultado em Duque de CaxiasVasco10/01/2023Futebol NacionalQuem são os maiores campeões do Campeonato Carioca? Veja lista atualizadaFutebol Nacional10/01/2023BotafogoMarlon Freitas elogia união do elenco e explica escolha pelo projeto alvinegro: ‘O Botafogo é gigante’Botafogo10/01/2023

da doce： + A despedida de Roberto Dinamite: veja imagens do velório do ídolo do Vasco

O gramado será importado e promete ser mais moderno que os modelos utilizados no Allianz Parque e Arena da Baixada. O objetivo da diretoria alvinegra é modernizar sua casa e torná-la compatível com as filosofias de jogos que estão sendo implementadas no clube nestes últimos meses.

O Botafogo planejava iniciar as obras nesta semana e mandar sua estreia no Campeonato Carioca para Volta Redonda. No entanto, os trabalhos precisaram ser adiados. Com isso, Nilton Santos será palco de Botafogo x Audax no dia 15 de janeiro.

In the 2024/25 summer transfer window, Chelsea spent €261m (£216.2m) on transfers, making €198m (£164m) in sales, in order to fund much of this business. A large majority of those sales included academy graduates, being sold in order to comply with PSR.

Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson were all sold after either coming through the Chelsea academy or being initially signed for the academy, meaning all of these sales constitute as “pure profit” for the club – and owner Todd Boehly – on their books.

Player

Fee (£)

Ian Maatsen

£36.8m

Conor Gallagher

£34.7m

Lewis Hall

£27.3m

Romelu Lukaku

£24.8m

Omari Hutchinson

£19.4m

Angelo

£19m

Diego Moreira

£1.6m

Hakim Ziyech

£0

Thiago Silva

£0

Tino Anjorin

£0

Malang Sarr

£0

Whilst most of the sales were players on the fringes of the squad, Gallagher – who captained Chelsea for the majority of last season in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell – made 50 appearances for the Blues, scoring seven goals, providing nine assists and totalling 4,036 minutes played.

The sale of the Englishman may now look to be something of a mistake, considering his soaring market value, although the Blues may well have struck gold with another high-profile sale in the summer.

Chelsea's key academy sales

Gallagher came through the Chelsea academy, going on to make 95 senior appearances, scoring ten goals, providing ten assists and totalling 6,061 minutes played.

The English midfielder was viewed as “priceless” by Mauricio Pochettino, being a clear favourite of his throughout his season in charge.

The 25-year-old midfielder was sold to Atlético Madrid in the summer for a fee of around £35.8m, making 30 appearances so far this season for the Spanish giants, scoring two goals, providing three assists and totalling 1,633 minutes played.

Whilst the Gallagher sale wasn’t the best value, selling him for what is now seen as under his current value, there was another sale in the 2024 summer window, which perhaps was more on the side of a good sale price, with Boehly and co extracting a fee higher than his current valuation.

Chelsea struck gold with 2024 exit

Moving on academy talent like Gallagher has been a common theme in recent years at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues having also cashed in on the likes of Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Marc Guehi, among others.

Another among that list is the aforementioned Maatsen, who Chelsea sold to Aston Villa ahead of the current campaign, with the 22-year-old signing a six-year deal for the Villans, costing them around £37.5m.

The left-back has made 30 appearances this season, providing one assist, contributing to five clean sheets and totalling 1,029 minutes played.

Since being sold, Maatsen’s value has decreased according to Transfermarkt, now being valued at €32m (£26.5m).

This would suggest Chelsea made the right decision at the time, selling Maatsen off the back of a strong loan spell with Dortmund, despite Pochettino being “so happy” with the Dutch full-back in the 2023/24 pre-season:

That being said, Maatsen, being 22 years old, still has plenty of time to fulfil his potential, and in years to come the Blues could look back on this deal differently.

But as of right now, Chelsea will be happy with the timing of this sale, and the value extracted from it.

Chelsea can unearth bigger talent than Paez with "one-man war machine"

The Chelsea youngster is currently starring out on loan this season.

1 ByDan Emery Feb 18, 2025

India captain fined and receives four demerit points for her outbursts during the final ODI vs Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-20232:13

Mandhana: Hopefully we’ll have neutral umpires next time

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to miss the first two matches of the Asian Games, having been suspended by the ICC for breaching the code of conduct during the final ODI of the Bangladesh series.Harmanpreet, who had reacted angrily to her dismissal by smashing the stumps after being caught, pleaded guilty to two different charges pressed by the match referee Akhtar Ahmed.In a media release on Tuesday, the ICC confirmed that Harmanpreet received three demerit points relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”. Harmanpreet becomes the first women’s player to be handed a Level 2 sanction since the ICC started listing code of conduct breaches publicly in 2016. The India captain was also fined 50% of her match fee for the same offence.Harmanpreet also received a separate Level 1 penalty along with a fine of 25% of her match fee and one demerit point for “public criticism” of match officials, having described the umpiring in the Bangladesh series as “pathetic”.As per the ICC’s rules, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. Anything in the range of four to seven demerit points equates to two suspension points i.e. a ban from one Test, two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule.The last time Harmanpreet earned a demerit point was during the semi-final of the 2017 ODI World Cup against Australia. After working legspinner Kristen Beams through midwicket, she was involved in a mix-up with Deepti Sharma before they completed the double that brought up Harmanpreet’s century. Instead of celebrating the milestone, Harmanpreet flung her helmet to the ground and fired verbal volleys at Deepti. Harmanpreet was found guilty of a Level 1 offence, which she had accepted.After the game in Dhaka, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana supported Harmanpreet’s actions by saying her captain disagreed with the umpire’s call and that led to an angry reaction. Mandhana also said she expected “neutral umpires” to be present when India tour Bangladesh next time.Players breaking the stumps – either with the bat or by kicking them – while reacting to umpiring decisions is a rare occurrence in top-flight cricket. Coincidentally, the most recent case also happened in Bangladesh: in 2021, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for three matches and fined US$ 5800 (approx.) during a Dhaka Premier League T20 match between Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club.India women’s next campaign will be at the Asian Games in Hanghzou in China between September 23 and October 8. India will be fielding both men’s and women’s teams at the Games, which features the T20 format.

The Blaugrana came from 2-0 down to be on the verge of a famous victory, only to concede twice in devastating fashion and lose in extra-time

Barcelona were beaten 4-3 by Inter on Tuesday in an exhilarating Champions League semi-final that ended with the Italian side winning 7-6 on aggregate despite Hansi Flick's side being seconds away from securing a spot in the final.

The hosts raced into a two-goal lead via strikes from Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu, before Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo drew Barca level shortly after the break.

Raphinha then seemed to have booked his side's place in the final with an 87th-minute strike, only for Francesco Acerbi to equalise in added time. Davide Frattesi then struck in the first half of extra-time to settle this epic tie.

GOAL rates Barcelona's players from the San Siro…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Wojciech Szczesny (5/10):

  Not at fault for any of the goals and was otherwise not called into action too much.

  Eric Garcia (6/10):

  Neither of Inter's opening two goals came from his flank and he scored with a lovely volley to get his side back into the tie, though he did miss another fine chance to draw them level in normal time.

  Pau Cubarsi (4/10):

  Committed the foul for the Inter penalty when Martinez got his body between him and the ball.

  Inigo Martinez (4/10):

  Struggled up against Thuram when the pair raced into the space left behind Barca's defence.

  Gerard Martin (7/10):

  Had a tough first half against Dumfries but produced two excellent assists to get his side back level, and could have had another when Garcia forced a fine save from Sommer.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Midfield

  Frenkie de Jong (5/10):

  Struggled against Inter's athleticism and speed in the first half, but warmed up as the game wore on.

  Pedri (7/10):

  Had the best day of all of Barcelona's midfield and was increasingly influential, exhibiting some superb touches.

  Dani Olmo (5/10):

  Had a bad first half, summed up by being caught on the ball for Inter's opener, but made up for it in the second by powering home a header to make it 2-2.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Lamine Yamal (7/10):

  Saw plenty of the ball and produced some lovely moments of skill to turn the tide in the second half, with his change of pace a particular feature.

  Ferran Torres (5/10):

  A quiet evening for the forward, who generally occupied Inter's backline while the others grew in prominence.

  Raphinha (6/10):

  Also struggled to make an impact as Barca funnelled the ball to Yamal on the right as often as possible. So close to then becoming the hero with a late goal to make it 3-2 before Inter's dramatic equaliser.

• AFP
  

  Subs & Manager

  Ronald Araujo (4/10):

  Could not get tight enough to Acerbi to stop him equalising and was skinned by Thuram in the build-up to Inter's fourth.

  Fermin Lopez (5/10):

  Was not too involved in extra-time.

  Robert Lewandowski (5/10):

  Hardly touched the ball as Barca went in search of an equaliser in extra-time, but did miss a headed chance with a rare opening.

  Hector Fort (5/10)

  Struggled to make an impact off the bench as his side ran out of steam.

  Gavi (5/10)

  Quiet as Barcelona couldn't recapture their second-half dominance in extra-time.

  Pau Victor (5/10)

  Also unable to help his side force more drama.

  Hansi Flick (5/10):

  Inspired a big second half from his side after they started the game badly, but ultimately defensive vulnerabilities let them down when they should have won.

Defending champions Adelaide Strikers struggled to find top gear with the bat

Tristan Lavalette27-Oct-2023

Captain Elyse Villani powered Hobart Hurricanes to their first win of the WBBL season with an upset over defending champions Adelaide Strikers in a truncated match at a bleak Allan Border Field.Restricted to an eight overs per side contest, Villani bludgeoned an unbeaten 39 from 24 balls as Hurricanes chased down the target of 75 with an over to spare.It was an impressive bounce back from Hurricanes, who suffered two big losses against Perth Scorchers to start the season.Strikers were left to rue Danielle Gibson dropping Villani with a regulation chance at midwicket on the second ball of the innings. Villani made them pay instantly with a couple of boundaries off legspinner Anesu Mushangwe.It wasn’t long before opener Lizelle Lee found her range with a trio of sixes in the space of four deliveries. Her purple patch ended when Lee was bowled by offspinner Georgia Adams, but Villani was in command as Hurricanes inched closer.They lost Bryony Smith and Heather Graham, but consecutive boundaries off thick outside edges from Ruth Johnston got the Hurricanes over the line.There were fears of a washout with rain persistent throughout the day in Brisbane, but the match finally got underway almost two hours after schedule.Hurricanes elected to bowl in the gloomy conditions and were confronted by an aggressive Katie Mack, who was looking to bludgeon almost every delivery to the boundary.She succeeded in whacking offspinner Molly Strano for successive boundaries in the opening over, but it wasn’t easy with the ball coming off the wicket slowly and the outfield wet.Hurricanes started disastrously when legspinner Amy Smith dropped a return catch when opener Laura Wolvaardt was on six. After a slow start, tied down by Smith’s looping leg breaks, Wolvaardt smashed a six over deep midwicket to ignite Strikers.After struggling to hit boundaries square of the wicket, the openers sought an inventive approach with Wolvaardt clearing her leg to conjure several effective slogs as they plundered 26 runs across the fifth and sixth overs.Just when Strikers had the momentum, they were shackled at the death with quick Shabnim Ismail cleverly changing her pace and bowling into the wicket. A desperate Strikers went for broke with Mack run-out after turning back for an unlikely second run.They finished on a high with a Wolvaardt boundary but the total ultimately was not enough, with the last two overs bringing just 15, as Strikers’ title defence has started with two defeats from their opening four games.

Leeds United have conducted phenomenal business over the last couple of years, helping them in their quest to secure promotion from the Championship.

Joel Piroe may have cost a small fortune at £10m in the summer of 2023, but he’s been worth every penny, scoring 29 times in his 85 games since his transfer from Swansea City.

The Dutchman currently sits as the club’s top goalscorer, showcasing his excellent form for Daniel Farke’s side, playing a key role in their success this campaign.

Such form has kept talented youngster Mateo Joseph out of the starting lineup, with Piroe easily the German’s first-choice striker after his recent form, which has seen him net six times in 2025.

He’s been joined in the side by one other player who’s been another phenomenal addition, thriving at the heart of the side and looking to be a bargain, given his cheap transfer fee.

Ao Tanaka’s stats for Leeds in 2024/25

Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka joined Leeds for just £3.5m in the summer, looking to provide the needed squad depth in the centre of Farke’s squad.

However, he’s exceeded beyond all expectations, becoming a regular in the side, starting every Championship game of the calendar year – showcasing his rise over the last few months.

The 26-year-old has won an average of 1.7 tackles per 90 in the league throughout this season, the joint-most in the squad, with only Jayden Bogle matching his tally.

He’s also managed to win 1.5 interceptions per 90, a figure that is the highest in the Whites’ side, showcasing his crucial ability to regain possession – allowing the likes of Piroe in attacking areas.

Tanaka has also completed 90% of his passes, handing the forwards the ammunition to succeed in the final third, making him the perfect box-to-box midfielder for Farke.

However, despite his importance to the club, he’s still valued lower than one player who’s taken his career to the next level after his move away from Yorkshire.

The former Leeds star who’s worth more than Tanaka

Leeds attackers have often captured the hearts of the fanbase at Elland Road, more than likely being the stars of their success over various time periods.

Mateusz Bogusz could’ve been another player to add his name to the club’s history books, but the Polish star was unable to make a huge impact during his time in Yorkshire.

The attacking midfielder joined the Whites from Ruch Chorzow back in January 2019, originally linking up with the club’s academy setup before having minutes in the first team.

However, he would only feature three times before being sent on various loan spells to Logrones and UD Ibiza but was unable to wriggle his way into Farke’s plans.

As a result, Bogusz would move to MLS side LAFC for a fee in the region of £1m in a deal that would catapult his career into action, potentially leaving the club to rue his departure.

Statistics

Tally

Games played

36

Goals scored

16

Assists

8

Pass accuracy

84%

Chances created

77

Successful dribbles

41

Touches in opposition box

122

During his two years in America, the Pole featured 90 times, registering 24 times and 18 assists, leading to journalist Greg Beacham dubbing the midfielder as “dangerous”.

The 23-year-old has since moved to Mexican side, Cruz Azul, for a fee in the region of £8m, with his transfer fee higher than Tanaka’s current market value, with the Japanese star valued at £3.3m by Transfermarkt.

Given Bogusz’s rise away from Yorkshire along with his increase in value, the club may have offloaded the talent too prematurely – having the skillset to add to Farke’s side in their hunt for promotion.

However, he remains a case of what could’ve been for the Whites, with the Polish international showcasing what they have missed out on by not handing him the opportunity in the first team.

Leeds can finally axe Aaronson by starting "superb" star out of position

Daniel Farke could hand one Leeds United a new role at Elland Road over the coming weeks.

1 ByEthan Lamb Feb 27, 2025

Manchester City survived a scare in the FA Cup fourth round away to League One side Leyton Orient. Pep Guardiola’s side won 2-1 thanks to an admittedly lucky goal from new signing Abdukodir Khusanov before Kevin De Bruyne showed his class to win the game for the Citizens.

It was the home side who took the lead, with Orient close to scoring one of the all-time great FA Cup goals through Tottenham Hotspur loanee Jamie Donley. The attacker lobbed City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from 45 yards out, with his strike clipping the bar before bouncing in off the German goalkeeper’s back, going down as an own goal.

Just 11 minutes after the second half began, the Citizens equalised after Rico Lewis’ shot from range deflected in off Khusanov’s head. It was a slightly fortunate goal, which completely wrong-footed the goalkeeper and nestled into the back of the net.

With 11 minutes to go, the Citizens had their winner. It was a lovely move rounded off by some quality from De Bruyne. Jack Grealish played a lovely clipped ball over the Orient defence that the Belgian ran onto and finished expertly.

It was not pretty from the Citizens, but they are, ultimately, through to the fifth round. There were some standout players on the pitch for them.

City's best players against Orient

One of the standout players for City on Saturday lunchtime was Grealish. He was a creative force for 2023 winners, fashioning several chances which included his excellent ball over the top for De Bruyne which led to the winning goal.

Grealish’s stats from Sofascore show just how important he was today for Guardiola’s side. Playing on the left-hand side, the England international created five chances, including three big chances, and won four duels. It was an impressive performance.

Another player who was impressive against the League One outfit was Brazilian winger Savinho. The summer signing was constantly involved on the right, holding width well and running at the opposition defenders.

Charlie Parker-Turner, a journalist for The Express, agreed that Savinho performed well against Orient. He was given a 7/10 for his display, described as a “bright performance” and that “he was the pick of the City attackers”.

However, the same cannot be said for James McAtee, who struggled to impact the game at all.

McAtee's stats v Orient

It was a tough day at the office for City academy graduate McAtee. After a move in January to German champions Bayer Leverkusen did not materialise, he had to take his chance for City when it arose. Unfortunately, he struggled against Orient.

Operating as a No 10, the 22-year-old did not really have much of an impact on the game, struggling to create any chances of note. He did hit the post in the second half, but other than that, his contribution was disappointing.

McAtee’s stats from the game show just how frustrating of an afternoon it was for him. He completed just 78% of his passes and had only 37 touches in 72 minutes on the pitch. The City number 87 failed to create a chance and only won two duels from nine.

His tough afternoon was also noticed by Parker-Turner, who gave the Englishman a 4/10 for his performance. McAtee “never truly looked like leaving his mark on the game”, which is frustrating given how rare his opportunities can be.

After a hat-trick in the third round, McAtee would have loved to back that up with another good performance. He is clearly a talented player, but given he has only started five times this season, he needed to take his chance today.

The Englishman will be hoping the chance to start comes again soon, although he will have to wait as fielding him against Real Madrid in the Champions League play-off round next time out is a bridge too far.

The agents of Lyon star Rayan Cherki have reportedly approached Manchester United and Liverpool over a possible summer move.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Cherki linked with Lyon exit
• Agents approach Man Utd & Liverpool
• Tottenham & Man City wait in wings

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  CaughtOffside claims the 21-year-old's representatives have been in touch with United and Liverpool about a potential move, with the winger said to have a €22.5 million (£19m) release clause.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Tottenham and Manchester City have also been credited with interest in Cherki, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, they may be behind United and Liverpool in this transfer race if his agents have been in contact. The report adds that Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also keeping tabs on him.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  This season, Cherki, whose contract runs until 2026, has scored 12 goals and bagged 19 assists in 43 appearances for Lyon – who sit seventh in the French top-flight.

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Cherki, who was close to joining Borussia Dortmund in January but that move eventually fell through, may play his last game for Lyon when they take on Angers on Saturday in the final match of the Ligue 1 season.

India strongly back Suryakumar Yadav to bring his game-changing ability to the World Cup despite the slow start to his ODI career. Suryakumar is the No. 1 T20I batter on the ICC rankings, but he hasn’t yet found the same gear in ODIs, where his first 25 innings have only brought two fifties and an average of 24.40.Head coach Rahul Dravid has no doubt, however, of the qualities Suryakumar brings to the table, which he feels could make a significant difference for India from No. 6. He said India had no second thoughts about Suryakumar’s place in their World Cup 15 – which they will need to finalise by September 27.Related

• Audition time for Ashwin and Washington, much to prove for Iyer and Suryakumar

• India recall Ashwin for Australia ODIs; Rahul to captain in first two games

“I don’t think he needs to worry about the 27th; we’ve picked our team for the World Cup and Surya is in it,” Dravid said ahead of the first ODI against Australia in Mohali. “We’ve made that decision and we completely back him because he’s got a certain quality and ability that we’ve seen. Yes, we’ve seen those qualities at the moment in T20 cricket, but we know the kind of impact a player like him can make batting at six.”He can change the course of a game, so we’ve completely backed him. We’re very clear about that. There’s been total clarity on the fact that we’re completely behind him and we know hopefully he’ll be able to turn it around.”Suryakumar is presently not part of India’s first-choice top six, but Dravid indicated he will be part of the starting XI against Australia, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya rested for the first two ODIs.”These three games, he is someone who will get all three games, or at least the first couple certainly to be able to again develop and keep growing in his journey as a one-day cricketer, but in terms of selection, no, we’ve made our decision.”Rahul Dravid has indicated that Suryakumar Yadav will start the ODI series against Australia, and bat at No. 6•AFP/Getty Images

Dravid was also asked about the decision to rest senior players such as Rohit and Kohli ahead of what could be some “tough games” against Australia before India’s World Cup campaign officially kicks off with their first warm-up fixture on September 29.”With people like Virat and Rohit specifically, from our perspective, it’s really important that we get them to the first game of the World Cup physically and mentally in the space they want to be in,” Dravid explained. “At this level, the amount of cricket that they’ve played, they know how they need to prepare themselves. A lot of these decisions are made in discussion with them in an effort to try and get… all our players, obviously not only the two of them, but certainly the senior and the more experienced guys kind of have their routines and know what they need to do to get into the first game in the right frame of mind.”So a lot of these decisions we discuss with them on how best they would like to prepare in the lead up to big events like the World Cup. Based on those discussions, we come up with some mutual decisions on deciding probably these two games were good games to take off, just to refresh mentally more than anything else, and then come back from [the third ODI in] Rajkot, and then it’s going to be a tough couple of months ahead of us.”The one other major talking point at the press conference was R Ashwin, who will be auditioning for a spin bowler’s berth should the need arise, with Axar Patel nursing a quadriceps strain. Ashwin hasn’t played an ODI since January 2022, but Dravid isn’t worried; he echoed Rohit’s thoughts that an experienced player such as Ashwin doesn’t need too much game time to get back into the groove.”Having someone of Ashwin’s experience to come back is always good for us,” Dravid said. “Also, he’s got the ability to be able to contribute with the bat at No. 8. He’s someone who we’ve always thought of where in case there were certain injuries or opportunities opened up, he was always part of our plans. I know he hasn’t played a lot of one-day cricket in the last bit, but someone of his experience can deal with that really well.”