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One of the early ones? One dominated by Mumbai? Or a Dhoni special? Our staffers watch the footage and get to arguing

13-Apr-2021Matt Roller, assistant editor: Well, regardless which season was our favourite of the first 13, I’m sure 2021 is going to be the best yet. []Sreshth Shah, sub-editor: Before we get to the contenders, can we all just agree that 2011 was the worst? Ten teams in two groups of five, accompanied by complex match-ups where some teams faced each other only once? (Yes, Deiva, I know CSK won).Roller: 2011 had the highest Kochi Tuskers Kerala coefficient, which means it was the best. I mean, you guys remember those kits, right?Shah: Orange and purple, to symbolise their desire to have the orange-cap and purple-cap holders! Still gives me nightmares.Deivarayan Muthu, sub-editor: Hahaha, back-to-back titles for CSK, but that final was so very one-sided. And, for me, some of these early seasons were bit hit-and-giggle.Roller: To be fair, RCB signing Chris Gayle as a replacement for Dirk Nannes (like for like) was an all-time great off-field move. Orange cap and MVP, and the move that turned him into an IPL legend. But yeah – that format was horrible.Shah: Honestly, Deiva, the hit-and-giggle may have attracted me the most! Most teams were still firming their strategies up. I’m pretty sure the Rajasthan Royals had the worst odds to win IPL 2008, having spent the least money at the auction. And the league still had Pakistani players – Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar among others.Related

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Muthu: Absolutely. The Pakistan flavour in the IPL was something else. What a remarkable debut that was from Shoaib Akhtar at the Eden Gardens – the same venue where he had yorked Tendulkar and Dravid. Shoaib took down Gambhir and Sehwag, then bounced out AB de Villiers with what took off like a NASA rocket. He was touching 150kph and the ground was jiving and grooving to all of that. Sohail Tanvir: purple-cap holder in the first season. Great fun. Anyway, I know this will make me feel me old, but how old were you then, Matt?Roller: Was our combined age less than Imran Tahir’s actual age now? I was ten! [in 2008]Muthu: I was six years older than you. I suck at math, but definitely less than Tahir.Shah: And I was at the ground as a 15-year old doing DX-type celebrations. Never mind…Roller: Shah + Muthu + Roller in IPL 1 = 41; Tahir in IPL 14 = 42. Nice.Muthu: Hahaha, sorry to veer away, but Shawn Michaels was the best among the DX crowd.Shah: So let’s start from the top, shall we? I thought 2008 was excellent, only because we didn’t know what to expect and the proper underdogs went on to clinch the whole thing. Shane Warne leading his troops to battle. The emergence of Yusuf Pathan.But 2009, in South Africa, was even better. Imagine: the teams that finished seventh and eighth in 2008 reached the final the following season! That really cemented the IPL as a league where “anything could happen”. And of course, the old wardog Anil Kumble playing a crucial role in the final. Proving that T20 cricket wasn’t just for the newbies.Roller: 2008 and 2009 were really fun from the “cricketainment” side, but that often made things feel a bit gimmicky, rather than a fully fledged league.Personally, I think the early season that is worth considering is 2010. Third season, teams had developed their identities to a certain extent and were getting smarter about strategy, and you had global T20 specialists like Kieron Pollard beginning to get picked up for huge money after doing so well in the Champion League T20. And the SRT narrative arc: orange cap and MVP, but a match-losing innings in the final.Sizzling in South Africa: Adam Gilchrist made a 35-ball 85 to take the Deccan Chargers into the 2009 IPL final•Themba Hadebe/Associated PressShah: Don’t forget table-toppers Delhi Daredevils finishing with ten wins out of 14 in the league stage in 2009, only to get knocked out by an Adam Gilchrist masterclass in the semi. That was one of the last of the “knockout-style semis”.Muthu: That’s certainly missing in the IPL these days.Shah: Matt, 2010 should be in consideration only because of the list of players who put up match-winning performances: Nannes, Dmitri Mascarenhas, Justin Kemp – remembering him taking 3 for 12 against Kolkata for CSK – and Juan “Rusty” Theron!I’d still place 2009 above 2008 and 2010 among the first three seasons.Roller: I don’t think the early ones come close to anything that’s happened in the past five editions. If you can ignore the nostalgia, then it feels pretty clear to me that the standard has shot up, T20 has evolved in plain sight, and each of the last five seasons has been brilliant in terms of the race for the playoffs in particular – all of them going down to the final day of the group stage, I think?Shah: Thanks for bursting the (sorry to drop that all-important word these days) bubble, Matt, and bringing us all back to reality.Muthu: Yeah, I’d agree with Matt that the first couple of seasons were more about “cricketainment”. In the 2010 season, there was a bit of strategy, and it marked the arrival of Pollard. It was also one where spinners started to bowl more often in the powerplay. Ramesh Powar for Kings XI Punjab. Andrew Symonds used to take the new ball against the lefties. R Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan were CSK’s powerplay spinners. The best strategic move that season has to be MS Dhoni stationing Matthew Hayden at the edge of the circle at short, straight mid-off and then placing a long-off right behind him, challenging Pollard to hit over both men, but Pollard eventually holed out to Haydos!High-speed chase: Corey Anderson’s unbeaten 95 allowed the Mumbai Indians to get a jaw-dropping 190 in 14.3 overs to qualify for the 2014 playoffs•BCCIRoller: We should acknowledge there’s a big personal aspect to all this too, by the way. I’ll always look back at 2020 particularly fondly because it took place while the UK was heading back into lockdown – it was such good escapism to be able to watch that from mid-afternoon every day for two months while the days were getting shorter and the pubs and restaurants were starting to close again.Muthu: There’s maybe some recency attached to 2020, but it was quite thrilling, delivering one Super Over after another, including a double Super Over. Three teams at 12 points, three teams at 14. Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified with a mere 12 points in 2019, I think. KKR could have qualified in 2020 had they not lost heavily to RCB. Sure, it was CSK’s worst season, but if Dwayne Bravo had limped and rolled out one cutter after another to Axar Patel, even they could have snuck in. Instead, Ravindra Jadeja tossed it into the swinging arc of Axar. There was a gulf between Mumbai and the rest, but If you look at just the other teams, it was pretty close.Shah: Matt, I agree with you too. But just before we go into the last few seasons, the 2014 and 2015 editions deserve shoutouts too. Kolkata won 2014 on the back of nine straight victories – including doing the double over Mumbai in the league phase. And the last game of the league phase in 2014 had Mumbai Indians chasing 190 in 14.3 overs thanks to Corey Anderson (and Aditya Tare’s last-ball six), which left Rahul Dravid throwing his cap on the floor.And in 2015, Mumbai Indians were struggling after the first half of the season. Then they pulled out seven wins in their last eight league games to not only enter the top four but a streak of five wins took them to the top two. It was the first season where they really outmuscled their opponents – the start of an era that’s still running. Both 2014 and 2015 story arcs made for fascinating seasons.Roller: 2014 had the best final, I reckon? Wriddhiman Saha 115 not out off 55 and ends up on the losing side.Encore: after beating the Pune Supergiant by a run in the 2017 final, Mumbai Indians won by the same margin in 2019, against the Chennai Super Kings•Mahesh Kumar A/Associated PressShah: It was the best up until the two one-run wins – Mumbai vs Pune, 2017 and CSK vs Mumbai, 2019.Roller: The UAE leg of 2014 made it quite fun too, in the effect it had on teams’ strategies and the fact that we got to see some pure, uncut #MaxwellBall for a few weeks.Muthu: Pujara and Maxi FTW. I’d put the 2010 final up there too – it was the beginning of the IPL’s fiercest rivalry.Roller: Oh, and nobody thinks 2013 was the best season, right? But it’s worth mentioning that it did have the most iconic IPL innings of all time: Chris Gayle 175 not out.I reckon 2016 is a genuine contender here – the Virat-AB year.Shah: Of course. Sunrisers needing to win all three playoff games, having not finished in the top two. Kohli magic.Roller: And also the season where Gujarat Lions turned up and were unbelievable! Easy to forget they were top of the points table.Shah: It was the only time since the inception of the playoffs that a team outside the top two won.Roller: Those Kohli-AB stands at Chinnaswamy were something else – against the Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers particularly, but they were just next-level good throughout the season. And then for SRH, the unfashionable team playing unfashionable cricket to do the job in the playoffsDouble the appetite: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers’ together ransacked 939 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 season•AFPBen Cutting MOTM in the final! And another thriller – 208 v 200… David Warner scoring 50 every other game… what a season. I think that’s got to be a podium finish as a minimum.Muthu: But these were all seasons where the winning franchise got to play at home and maximise it. Which brings me to 2018. It started with everyone trolling CSK as Dad’s Army. It ended up with Dhoni trolling everyone in typical Dhoni style. The played just one game at Chepauk due to political turmoil and showed that they could win away. Lungi Ngidi was yanked off the bench in Pune and became the enforcer. There was some Dhoni chaos theory, where he inverted his batting order, in Pune. He showed he still had it. There were games where Harbhajan Singh and Karn Sharma didn’t bowl a single over. Dhoni is often criticised for being rigid, but this was one season where we went against the grain and absorbed all the pressure on comeback.Shah: An overseas player, Mustafizur Rahman, winning the Emerging Player award. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s consistency. It was perhaps the first season that showed you need your bowling smarts to actually win T20 games consistently.Muthu: It was also Rishabh Pant’s coming-of-age season in the IPL. I think he smashed Bhuvi for 40-something off ten-something balls. Rashid was a phenom that season – his all-round brilliance vs KKR in the knockout was stunning.Roller: Agree that 2018 was a really good one – Pant winning emerging player and coming through with some outrageous innings, the Chris Lynn-Sunil Narine combo flourishing, KL Rahul having a great season back when he used to play with intent…Shah: Throw in Narine’s emergence as a pinch-hitter.Muthu: Oh yeah, Narine at the top was peak T20, one of the revelations of the 2018 season.Roller: But equally, the overriding memory is slower-ball specialists doing really well – AJ Tye purple cap! – and I’m not convinced that always makes for the most enjoyable spectacle.Rishabh Pant vs the Sunrisers in 2018•ESPNcricinfo LtdShah: Okay, 2018 has my vote for the best season, pipping 2016 by a whisker. Now to see if 2020 has enough oomph to beat 2018.Muthu: I never expected AJ Tye to hit close to 150kph. Didn’t he bowl the fastest ball this Big Bash, Matt?Roller: Yeah, he has completely reinvented himself, to be fair. But there were a few other guys that season too, Siddharth Kaul for example, bowling knuckleballs and taking 20-plus wickets.Quick one for 2019: the Andre Russell season. I guess a few players leaving early maybe took the sheen off 2019. And there was the constant feeling that it was the warm-up act for the World Cup immediately after. That said, Dre Russ was out of this world – and the final was one of the best, as we’ve mentioned.Muthu: Yeah, Dre’s hitting was unbelievable that year. And that final was the most tactical final in the IPL. Mumbai made CSK dig deep and made Dhoni think like Mumbai do. Then Lasith Malinga, the greatest T20 bowler in the world (that’s a debate for another day), did what he does.Roller: But the real winner for me personally is 2020. My pitch: Everyone needed that season to happen. Expectations were probably a bit lower with the fact that every game was at a neutral venue, there was chaos in the build-up with various positive Covid tests, and uncertainty as to whether the tournament would even happen. But there were so many close games and multiple Super Overs. The most intricate and advanced tactical side of the IPL won, yet there was so little gap between the teams – there was almost nothing between the other seven. Throw in the context of lockdown over here and it’s a clear winner for me.Muthu: But 2020 and 2018 finals turned out to be one-sided affairs, but otherwise the quality of cricket…the playoff line-up being decided on the last day, big-ticket players lighting up the league. To stage the IPL itself during a pandemic was a massive achievement. Agree, it was hotly contested. For me, it’s a tie between 2018 and 2020, with a Super-Over shootout. Or we don’t need one. We know 2021 is gonna be even better.Roller: Back to this for the pay-off line 🙂Muthu: Are we done?Roller: Think so?Shah: 2020 was amazing, considering the constraints teams were facing. Covid, neutral venues, hot playing conditions. Add the end of Chennai Super Kings’ dominance (sorry, CSK fans), Kings XI Punjab losing games they shouldn’t have (against DC, Kolkata). Then the late Kings XI rally. Rahul Tewatia magic, T Natarajan emergence. Amid the terrible year that 2020 was, maybe the IPL saved the year’s face for cricket?

أكد حامد حمدان، لاعب منتخب فلسطين، فخره واعتزازه بتمثيل بلاده في بطولة كأس العرب 2025، مُشددًا على أن لاعبي الفريق اجتهدوا وعانوا كثيرًا للوصول إلى الدور ربع النهائي.

ويستعد منتخب فلسطين لمواجهة نظيره السعودي غدًا الخميس في تمام الساعة السابعة والنصف مساءً على ملعب لوسيل، ضمن منافسات الدور ربع النهائي من البطولة المقامة في قطر.

وقال حامد حمدان خلال المؤتمر الصحفي قبل مواجهة السعودية: “أعتقد أن ما حققه المنتخب الفلسطيني لم يكن صدفة ولا وليد اللحظة، بل كان نتاج عمل وجهد كبيرين، وتعب وصعوبات كثيرة”.

طالع أيضًا | شوبير يُفجر مفاجأة من العيار الثقيل بشأن موقف حلمي طولان من جهازه المعاون قبل كأس العرب

وتابع: “نحن، كمنتخب وكجهاز فني وكفلسطين عامة، عانينا واجتهدنا وواجهنا لحظات صعبة حتى نصل إلى هذه المرحلة، لتكون فلسطين حاضرة في ربع نهائي كأس العرب، وهو أمر لم يتوقعه الكثيرون”.

وأضاف: “دائمًا الفلسطيني قاهر المستحيل، وأنا فخور بتواجدي في هذه اللحظة بين مجموعة من اللاعبين والجهاز الفني وكل الكوادر، فخري بهم لا حدود له”.

واختتم: “هذا بالإضافة إلى فخري بكوني فلسطيني، نعد جماهيرنا دائمًا بأن نقدم أفضل ما لدينا، وأن القادم سيكون أفضل بإذن الله”.

It was a typical Bruno Fernandes display on Sunday afternoon, with the Manchester United skipper shaking off a stodgy first-half display to ultimately prove the difference-maker yet again for Ruben Amorim’s side.

In that opening 45 at Selhurst Park, both Fernandes and his ageing midfield partner Casemiro were given the run around by Crystal Palace’s boy wonder, Adam Wharton, with United heading in at the break having once again seen their midfield unit woefully exposed.

Fast forward to just past the hour mark, however, and the visitors had completed a creditable comeback, with the captain first teeing up Joshua Zirkzee – à la Anthony Martial in the March 2020 Manchester Derby – before then reacting swiftly to lay the ball for Mason Mount to dispatch what proved to be the winner.

Now fourth on the all-time list for Premier League assists for the Old Trafford side with 56, ahead of Paul Scholes, the 31-year-old remains United’s beloved maverick.

But for how much longer will he be the main man still?

Latest on Man Utd's search for a midfielder

Having been refreshingly open about his discussions with Saudi side Al Hilal over the summer, Fernandes suggested that no further talks would take place over his future until after next summer’s World Cup, with his existing deal set to expire in 2027.

Amorim has already suggested that the Portuguese playmaker may have to adjust to more “rotation” next season, should the club return to European competition, while reports this season have even suggested that INEOS could look to cash in on the club’s number eight to fund a midfield rebuild.

In any case, depth and competition is certainly needed in the centre of park heading into 2026, with the likes of Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson all deemed to be leading targets.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Equally, however, reports in Spain are even suggesting that United have lodged a bid of around €80m (£70m) for Real Madrid sensation, Federico Valverde, with the Red Devils said to have taken the ‘first step’ toward trying to seal that marquee move.

As to be expected, the LaLiga giants won’t allow their Uruguayan star to depart on the cheap, with the report outlining that Xavi Alonso’s side are likely to demand in excess of €100m (£88m) if they are to even consider sanctioning a sale.

United will then have to up their bid if a deal is to be struck, with Valverde’s existing deal set to run until 2029, although this is certainly a pursuit worth continuing.

How Valverde compares to Bruno Fernandes

If Amorim – and INEOS – is to persist with this much-discussed 3-4-2-1 set-up, then acquiring a figure like Valverde might just be the perfect solution, with the 27-year-old lauded as the “most complete player in football” not too long ago by manager Carlo Ancelotti.

That assessment is certainly warranted considering the versatility that the Montevideo-born talent has showcased in recent times, having frequently flitted between operating in central midfield or at right-back for Los Blancos.

Like Fernandes – who has missed just three games through injury or illness since joining United, as per Transfermarkt – one of Valverde’s key strengths is that he’s “always available”, in the words of Ancelotti, while willing to perform to his best no matter the position he is deployed.

While not a natural creator or playmaker like Fernandes, the one-time Penarol man does still boast four assists in LaLiga this term, only just behind the United skipper’s return of five in the Premier League.

As indicated below, Valverde’s all-round quality can be evidenced in his superior record with regard to pass completion and duels won, in particular, while he is also far less erratic in possession, losing the ball less than half as many times per game as Fernandes.

Valverde (LaLiga) vs Fernandes (PL)
Stat (*per game)	Valverde	Fernandes
Games (starts)	14 (12)	13 (13)
Goals	0	2
Assists	2	5
Big chances missed	1	4
Big chances created	2	3
Pass accuracy*	90%	84%
Total duels won*	58%	50%
Dribbled past*	0.4	1.6
Possession lost*	7.4	15.8
Stats via Sofascore

Equally too, the Madrid man’s physical superiority can be seen in how little he is dribbled past per game in LaLiga, whereas Fernandes – seemingly unsuited to a deep-lying role – is regularly outpaced or outmuscled by his opposite number.

What also sets him apart from Fernandes is his proven, consistent quality at Champions League level, winning the competition on two occasions to date, alongside his three Spanish titles and various other domestic or continental honours.

He may not rank as the outright best midfielder in the world right now, but he seemingly warrants his status as among the top ten – arguably even above Fernandes.

Now approaching almost 350 games for his current side, the 71-cap international is about as proven as they come, while at 27, he would still be an asset for the long-term, were he to arrive in Manchester.

Of course, Fernandes – as was evident at the weekend – is still a majestic, creative genius, but for this system and for this current iteration of the Premier League, Valverde would surely represent the perfect midfield upgrade.

Anderson upgrade: Man Utd set to bid for "the best English CM since Scholes"

Manchester United look set to make a huge move for a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

1

By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 2, 2025

Nearly two years before J.C. Escarra made the Opening Day roster for the New York Yankees, he was working as an Uber driver and a substitute teacher on the side of playing independent baseball, just trying to keep his dream of one day making the big leagues alive.

Escarra, a 15th-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2017, spent nearly five years in the Orioles' minor league system before he was released at the end of spring training in 2022. He began playing independent baseball for multiple leagues, including the American Association, Puerto Rican Winter League, Atlanta League of Professional Baseball, and Mexican League. After getting married in 2022, Escarra briefly worked as an Uber driver and substitute teacher to make some money. His wife, Jocelyn, also worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Escarra would ultimately sign a minor-league contract with the Yankees in January 2024, and spent the season with the Yankees' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. After a strong spring training in 2025, Yankees manager Aaron Boone named Escarra to the club's roster.

Shortly after Escarra found out he made the team, he called his mom, who was overcome with emotions after learning her son had made the Yankees.

“When he called me, I was not expecting anything,” his mother, Marinelys, said while appearing with her son on . “So, I was talking to my mom, and then I said, ‘Look, J.C.’s calling,’ so as soon as I got it and then he start talking, I was normal until he say that (he made the team). And then I said, ‘Ohhhh.’ And then I start crying.”

Escarra's mom cried again when arriving at Yankee Stadium on Thursday ahead of the Yankees' Opening Day game. Escarra did not play in the Yankees' 4-2 win, but was in uniform on Opening Day as a member of a big-league roster for the first time in his career. He also had his own full-circle moment ahead of the game, fittingly taking an Uber driver to Yankee Stadium for Opening Day.

“It was pretty cool. Got down there and there was an Uber Black luxury waiting for me. Felt pretty special,” Escarra said, via .

“There was a time in my life that I thought I wasn’t going to be playing baseball no more," Escarra said. "So to wake up this morning as a Major League Baseball player, especially for for the New York Yankees, it means the world to me."

Martin O’Neill’s future as Celtic’s interim manager remains unknown for the time being, but a new update has now emerged regarding the situation.

The 4-2-3-1-playing O’Neill has enjoyed a successful return to Parkhead, winning three of his four matches in temporary charge of the Hoops.

The 73-year-old remains as popular as ever among the Celtic supporters, while Ian Wright has recently heaped praise on the job he is doing at the Scottish Premiership champions, calling him “amazing”, and Paul Scholes has lauded the “unbelievable energy” that he has.

It has recently been claimed that O’Neill’s time in charge of the Hoops could come to an end during the current international break, however, with the Scottish giants seeing Wilfried Nancy and Kjetil Knutsen as the front-runners to come in.

There are some Celtic fans who would like the idea of him staying on, though, given his history with the club and the results he has masterminded since returning, and now a new update has emerged over his future.

Dermot Desmond set for Martin O'Neill talks this week

According to a new claim from Sky Sports, Celtic majority shareholder Dermot Desmond is set to hold “discussions” with O’Neill this week, although it isn’t specified whether it is to do with staying on until the end of the season or bringing someone else in.

That said, the report states that the Hoops are “pleased with the way O’Neill has galvanised the squad and lifted the mood at Celtic Park”, which can only be a good thing for him.

As is always the case with a manager, opinion is sure to be split over O’Neill’s future, with some feeling that he is the right man for the job until next summer, and others perhaps thinking a younger and more long-term option is required right now.

The Northern Irishman has even admitted himself that the demands are tough on a 73-year-old, perhaps showing that he may not have it in him to take the Hoops job on a permanent basis.

“Do you know, that is a genuinely good point, so I’m going to be serious here. I really don’t know. It’s a young man’s game, and I’m almost talking myself out of this here, but it’s been tough, you know. All the things that I kind of thought I knew about it have come to sort of fruition.”

Approach imminent: Manager with 209 wins to 70 losses excited by Celtic

The Bhoys appear to have made their move as they target a permanent successor to Martin O’Neill.

BySean Markus Clifford Nov 10, 2025

It still feels more likely that O’Neill will be moved on, with a younger alternative coming in soon, but he has a good relationship with Desmond, which can’t be a bad thing, and there would be clear positives to him staying on if he is keen to.

Shock Celtic manager frontrunner receives backing from Parkhead higher-up

For the second straight night, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a chance Wednesday to close out the 2024 World Series. But, also for the second straight night, the New York Yankees' offense have an answer.

Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty didn't last long on the bump in Game 5, as he allowed four earned runs on four hits and one walk over 1 1/3 innings. He was relieved of his duties in the second inning, walking off the mound with Los Angeles facing a 4–0 deficit.

Most of the damage arrived in the first inning, as Flaherty served up back-to-back homers to Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. According to Opta STATS, Flaherty is the first starting pitcher in World Series history to allow at least four runs and two homers while lasting less than two innings.

Not ideal.

If Los Angeles can't complete a comeback Wednesday night, they'll turn their attention to Game 6 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers haven't officially announced a probable pitcher for the rest of the series, although it's expected that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 6 and Walker Buehler will toe the rubber in Game 7 if neccessary.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos renovou contrato, pelo terceiro ano consecutivo, com a Tekbond Saint-Gobain para a empresa estampar o uniforme dos times masculino e feminino do clube.

+ Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro-2023 clicando aqui

O valor para a marca do segmento de construções estar na parte frontal da camisa santista gira em torno de R$ 1,5 milhão anual. O novo vínculo é válido até o término de 2024.

+ Garanta a sua vaga no curso que formou craques como Pet, Dante e Léo Moura! Cupom: LANCE1000

– É uma marca vencedora, que segue conosco desde 2020, e é um grande orgulho saber que estaremos juntos até dezembro de 2024. A manutenção dessa parceria, demonstra que a empresa também confia no nosso trabalho – celebrou o presidente do Santos, Andres Rueda.

A empresa irá figurar em todos jogos da temporada profissional do Alvinegro Praiano. Além disso, a marca também deve aparecer nas mídias sociais do clube, em outras coleções de roupas utilizadas pela comissão técnica e jogadores, sem contar a exposição em placas publicitárias e backdrops de entrevistas.

– Ver nossa marca na camisa do Santos é um passe para o mundo, abrindo portas aonde chegamos. Estamos satisfeitos com o que alcançamos juntos, mas ainda mais empolgados com os desafios e vitórias que o futuro nos reserva – ressalta Eduardo Mano, diretor de Marketing da vendedora de colas e selantes.

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández is attracting serious interest from Real Madrid, with manager Xabi Alonso urging Los Blancos to strike a deal.

Real Madrid eye 2026 deal for Chelsea star Enzo Fernández

It’s approaching three years since Enzo Maresca’s side broke the British transfer record by signing Fernandez in a deal worth £107 million, and while Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool has since smashed that fee, the midfielder remains one of Chelsea’s most expensive ever buys.

Rank

Player

Fee

Signed from

Year

1

Moises Caicedo

£115m

Brighton

2023

2

Enzo Fernández

£107m

Benfica

2023

3

Romelu Lukaku

£97.5m

Inter

2021

4=

Kepa Arrizabalaga

£71m

Athletic Club

2018

4=

Kai Havertz

£71m

Bayer Leverkusen

2020

The £180,000-per-week star endured a very difficult first year at Stamford Bridge, failing to justify his mammoth price tag whilst even getting involved in a racism scandal in 2024, but he’s since been rejuvenated by Maresca.

The Italian shocked on-lookers by naming Fernandez as a captain just one month after his racism debacle with the Argentina national team. However, the 24-year-old repaid Maresca’s faith by becoming one of the linchpins of his engine room.

Since Maresca’s appointment, Chelsea’s tactical setup has played to Fernandez’s strengths, allowing him more freedom to influence the game in a more advanced role while also allowing him to maintain some defensive responsibilities.

This new place in the team has elevated his performances, and amid Fernandez’s surge in form, reports are seriously linking Real with a keen interest in signing the ex-Benfica star.

Some sources have suggested that Chelsea could be open to a part-exchange deal involving Fernandez and Fede Valverde, but a new report from Spain has made the Blues’ demands crystal clear.

Chelsea set mammoth price tag for Enzo Fernández amid Real Madrid interest

It is now believed that Real’s interest has intensified, with Alonso personally telling the La Liga giants to pursue Fernandez in a bid to upgrade his midfield.

However, Chelsea have placed a £100 million price tag on Fernandez, so if Real want to open talks, they could have to make him the Londoners’ biggest-ever sale.

Rank

Player

Fee

Sold to

Year

1

Eden Hazard

£89m

Real Madrid

2019

2

Kai Havertz

£65m

Arsenal

2023

3

Oscar

£60m

Shanghai SIPG

2017

4

Álvaro Morata

£58.3m

Atlético Madrid

2020

5

Diego Costa

£57m

Atlético Madrid

2017

Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards best summed up Fernandez’s newly-found importance to Chelsea, praising him as a “leader” in the squad who has a “little bit of everything” after yet another great performance against Liverpool just prior to the international break.

He would now be difficult to replace, and Chelsea will hope that Fernandez’s knee problem isn’t too serious after he was forced to withdraw from international duty.

Former England chief selector played for Kent, Middlesex and three Tests for England

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2025

Incoming MCC president Ed Smith at Lord’s•MCC / Jed Leicester

Ed Smith has been named as the next president of MCC.Smith, the former England selector, will serve a 12-month term as president from October 1, succeeding Lord King of Lothbury, the club announced following its AGM on Wednesday.”Lord’s has been a special part of my life – as a cricket fan, a player and then as a selector,” Smith said. “I am deeply committed to serving the club – and the whole game – to the best of my ability.”Lord King said: “The choice of my successor meets the twin criteria of being an outstanding first-class cricketer who played for England and a highly intelligent author and educator who is ideally equipped to help MCC navigate the challenges ahead.”Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and three Tests for England in a career which spanned 13 seasons, scoring nearly 13,000 first-class runs, including 34 centuries.After retiring from the game in 2008, he embarked on a career in the media and wrote five books. He was chief selector for the England men’s team for three years from 2018, during which time England won the World Cup.Smith is also involved in academia, as co-founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities (ISH), which has a mission to nurture and inspire sport’s current and future leaders, teaching the MA Leadership in Sport in partnership with Loughborough University London.During Smith’s tenure as MCC President, Lord’s will stage the final of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and host Women’s Test cricket for the first time.He will also be in office during the Hundred’s first season under private ownership. MCC will retain a 51% stake in London Spirit after selling 49% to Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a consortium of Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs, for £145.5 million – the largest sum accrued by any of the eight franchises.

We are 36 matches into IPL 2025, and the Purple Cap table is led by a Gujarat Titans (GT) man, one of his team-mates is at No. 6 on that list, and another is at No. 9. Between them, the three of them – Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj – have 36 wickets in seven games each. But after Saturday’s win over Delhi Capitals (DC), the most interesting talking point was perhaps the overs Sai Kishore wasn’t given a chance to bowl.”It was quite strange,” Ambati Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut after the game. Sai Kishore bowled just one over in the game. It was the last over of the DC innings. He gave away just nine runs and got the wicket of the big-hitting Ashutosh Sharma. With Rashid Khan hardly setting the IPL on fire – he had none for 38 this time – why hide Sai Kishore away?”Given the conditions – it was an afternoon game – you would expect the ball to grip a little bit, especially with the new ball when the seam is hard and slightly elevated,” Rayudu said. “He should have bowled at least one over in the powerplay and definitely through the middle. He’s been their best spinner so far; he’s been bowling better than Rashid in this competition. Doesn’t make sense to me.”Related

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The answer, not unsurprisingly, could be match-ups, since the left-handed Axar Patel was batting from the fifth over onwards, till the 18th, and Nicholas Pooran, a left-hand batter like Axar, had given Sai Kishore a hiding in GT’s previous match – he ended with 1.3-0-35-0.”Spooked by match-ups and perhaps what’s happened before. I think the last time we saw him bowl, [he was] put under the pump, but it was Pooran. And that’s why we’re all scratching our heads, going ‘why didn’t he give him a go?’ Especially when three of your topline seamers are all going at more than ten runs an over,” Mark Boucher said on the same show.”Even if he’s bowling to a match-up like Axar, he’s still got the mindset that ‘I can bowl it outside his eyeline’ and I think he might still have created opportunity there. Yes, your best spinner in the competition at the moment and he only bowled one over, in a day game – it is very strange not to have given him the opportunity, or a better opportunity.”With Rashid well off his best, Shubman Gill, the GT captain, might have a job to do to make sure Sai Kishore doesn’t lose his confidence.”One of the biggest things as a spinner is the knowledge of your captain backing you in situations,” Boucher said. “There are certain times when, unfortunately, you’re going to have to bowl against a left-hander. And you get put under pressure. But the one thing as a captain you can do is go to him and say, ‘listen, I know it’s a match-up you don’t enjoy but you’re actually bowling really well, picking up wickets, so just bowl your best ball to him; you’re clever enough to bowl balls and deliveries that are going to make it tough for him to hit’.”On the day, Gill didn’t think so. And they won in the end to go to the top of the table, so who can question the plan?1:30

Rayudu: Prasidh a great prospect for India going forward

Boucher: ‘Prasidh is bowling with good heat’

The bowler who is only providing answers to GT is Prasidh. He started with a wicketless game, but has been a star since, the constant in an attack that is often shuffled around based on conditions. On Saturday, he went off his plan of bowling into the pitch for a moment and bowled one of the deliveries of the tournament, nailing the inswinging yorker to KL Rahul and catching the batter lbw.”He looks in great rhythm. His strength is hitting the pitch hard, but the ball he has bowled to KL Rahul was quite surprising and also it moved right at the end,” Rayudu said. “He surprised KL Rahul, and he has a lot of variations – his slower ball is quite effective as well. I think he’s a great prospect not only for GT but for India also going forward.”Prasidh had been out with an injury for the longest time, but made an impressive comeback in the Sydney Test against Australia earlier this year, picking up six wickets, and hasn’t looked back.”I think he really enjoys bowling with Siraj in his team. He takes a bit of pressure off him, as a sort of wicket-taker,” Boucher said. “His pace is up. He gets good bounce obviously because of his height. He’s also getting nice and tight to off stump when he’s delivering. So the ball doesn’t have to do a lot.”KL’s ball didn’t swing a lot, but just swung enough. I think he’s high on confidence at the moment, his release points are good, he’s bowling with good heat, and it’s a great position for him to be in and it’s a great position for GT to have a guy who’s not taking the new ball but is coming in the middle overs and taking wickets for them.”