The 2024 MLS Coach of Year spoke with GOAL about both his and Hernandez's future, along with team's 2025 expectations

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Nancy happy to be in Columbus, but leaves door openNot surprised Hernandez is still on the rosterWon't use fatigue as an excuse for Crew's playoff exitFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱USA Today ImagesNANCY ADDRESSES FUTURE

MIAMI – Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is happy to remain with his current club in Major League Soccer, but he didn't rule out a potential move in the future.

"I've been in situations when nobody knew me, nobody was talking about me, and [now they do]," Nancy said to GOAL at MLS Media Day. "Now so with my staff, everything for a moment, works well. So I'm happy in Columbus, and after that, we'll see."

Nancy's journey has been remarkable since joining MLS in 2011, originally joining as an academy coach at Montreal, then known as the Impact. After spending 11 years at the club in various coaching roles, he was promoted as the first manager under the rebranded C.F. Montreal in 2021 – following Thierry Henry's abrupt resignation.

The manager took a side that was expected to be in the cellar of MLS's Eastern Conference and brought it to a third-place finish in 2022, going on an unexpected run to the conference semifinals that year.

Following that he moved to the Crew, which had a higher payroll, and brought immediate success to the club as he became the first black coach to lead his club to a MLS Cup win in 2023. In addition to that success, Nancy's team had significant success in the 2024 Leagues Cup trophy, and subsequently he was named 2024 MLS Coach of the Year.

He was directly linked with the U.S. men's national team job before the team decided to hire former Chelsea, PSG, and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. He also continues to be linked with jobs in France's Ligue 1. When Nancy was asked about his prospects, specifically Europe, he responded with a mix of levity and candor, "I come from Europe. So maybe I can also come to, and coach in Africa."

AdvertisementUSA Today ImagesON CUCHO'S FUTURE

Nancy isn't the only person on the Crew whose future is in question. 2024 MLS MVP finalist Cucho Hernandez has been speculated to move abroad. The forward, who had 19 goals and 14 assists last season, has been linked with moves to La Liga, Liga MX and Brazil's Serie A. Still, the 25-year-old remains on the roster to the surprise of many observers, but not Nancy.

"You know when, when someone is good and is able to deliver good stuff, it's totally normal that there is an interest," Nancy said. "I'm not surprised. So now, we'll see what we're going to do."

When asked specifically if Hernandez is expected to remain with the club for the full season, Nancy replied, "He's here with us now, so we will see."

Nancy also pointed to Aidan Morris' transfer to Middlesbrough last season as an example of how fluid things can be, saying "Last year, we didn't plan for Aidan Morris to leave, and all the sudden, boom, he decided to leave."

ImagnON REBOUNDING FROM LAST SEASON

Last season, the Crew reached three finals and finished second in the Eastern Conference. Despite all of that, the Crew took home just one trophy – something Nancy hopes his side will learn from this year.

"Eighty-five percent of our players are going to be the same [from last season]," he said. "So the evolution is about the way we're going to try to attack, defend, we won't change anything, but we're going to add more uncertainty [for opponents]…Last year, we had about 50 games, and we would like to do the same.

"So it's going to be difficult, but at the same time, we've learned a lot. Last year, we are in these 50 games that we played, so we can manage the players a little bit better [from experience]…To have the freshness until the end."

One assessment that gained traction last season was that the Crew were simply tired from reaching finals in three competitions – and the grind of an MLS season on top of that – and that's what ultimately led to their early exit from the playoffs. Nancy refused to use that as an excuse but did suggest mentally it was a challenge for his side.

"It was not physical," he insisted. "The data showed that we didn't run less, but mentally, it was new for everyone…We had the possibility, in the last game against the New York Red Bulls to score many goals, but we didn't do it. So, that's why the execution, maybe we struggled a bit with that, but it was more mentally that it was difficult."

WHAT NEXT FOR THE CREW?

The Crew's preseason is underway in Columbus before traveling for a nine-day training camp in Chula Vista, Calif. on Jan. 15.

Manchester City continued their perfect start to the 2024/25 campaign thanks to a 2-1 victory over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium.

Thomas Frank’s side presented some resistance to the Cityzens, and even took the lead, but could not stop the destruction of Erling Haaland as City went on to claim all three points.

It was a very early strike from Yoane Wissa which gave the Bees a shock lead at the home of the Premier League champions. The attacker got on the end of a bouncing ball in the box which City failed to clear, and headed home from inside the six-yard box to put his side in front.

However, the lethal Norway international had his say before too long, firstly getting on the end of a Kevin De Bruyne pass to fire home powerfully into the top left corner. Just over ten minutes later, Haaland scored again, this time latching onto a long pass from goalkeeper Ederson, getting into a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Mark Flekken and dinking home for 2-1 to City.

It was a superb performance from the Norwegian, who had good support from his teammates throughout the game as City continued their perfect start to the season.

Erling Haaland’s stats against Brentford

City’s number nine is simply inevitable. At this stage, the amount of goals the Norweigan striker is scoring on a weekly basis is getting quite ridiculous. Haaland simply cannot stop scoring, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

The striker has already scored nine goals this season, in four games. This is now the third time in those four games that he has scored more than one goal. His nine goals so far in the top flight are triple the amount of any other player in the Premier League this season.

The Manchester Evening News’ chief Man City writer Simon Bajkowski rated Haaland’s performance against Brentford a 9/10, which was unsurprisingly the highest rating from today’s game. He described the striker using one word, “outstanding”.

Indeed, the Norway centre-forward’s exceptional performance was reflected in his SofaScore stats. He had 25 touches of the ball and had four shots on target, also rattling the woodwork once. All that went along with his two goals, which proved to be the difference for the Cityzens.

Haaland was unquestionably superb today, and whilst he was the star of the show, plenty of his teammates also performed well against the Bees.

Ilkay Gundogan’s stats against Brentford

One of those players was City’s former captain, the returning Ilkay Gundogan. It was his first start since rejoining the club he skippered to a famous treble in 2022/23, and he was a shining light for Pep Guardiola in the middle of the park.

He certainly had an impressive impact on the game against Brentford today. Now donning the number 19 shirt rather than the eight that reflected his role in midfield during his first spell, he ran the show for the Cityzens.

According to SofaScore, the German was busy in midfield, having 74 touches, and completing 55 out of 58 passes, with a 95% accuracy. Gundogan also created four chances, although did not register an assist.

Stat

Number

Touches

74

Passes completed

95%

Pass accuracy

55/58

Chances created

4

Ground duels won

4/8

Tackles won

3/4

It was an excellent performance, a sentiment shared by Bajkowski, who gave him a 7/10 rating for his efforts. He explained that the midfielder improved throughout the game, and praised him for “linking well with Haaland” in the second 45 minutes.

For the Cityzens, it will no doubt be a huge boost to have Gundogan back at the club this season. If he continues to put in performances like he did against Brentford, they will be in a strong position to win a fifth-consecutive Premier League title.

Man City let a big talent leave for £76k, now he's outperforming Grealish

The former Cityzens youngster has caught the eye since moving on from The Etihad.

1 ByDan Emery Sep 9, 2024

Tottenham Hotspur have work to do. Despite playing well in each of their opening Premier League matches of the season, Ange Postecoglou's side have taken only four points from nine into the September international break.

Improvements were made under the Australian manager's leadership but up-and-down form after a blistering start saw Aston Villa glide into the top four toward the end of the campaign, trumping fifth-finishing Spurs to Champions League qualification.

Various issues across the park contributed toward the ebb and flow, but Postecoglou likes to implement fast and fluent attacking football. They aren't always on their a-game, but Heung-min Son and James Maddison are two of the best and are looking to play talismanic roles this year.

What to make of Tottenham's strikeforce

Dominic Solanke might have been signed for a club-record £65m fee during the summer but Son still stakes a claim to be Tottenham's star striker, having been praised for his "world-class" offensive qualities by his manager.

Not just a first-class goalscorer, the skipper created 20 big chances in the Premier League last season, only two behind first-placed Mohamed Salah.

His interchangeability was evidenced through his frequent deployment as the focal frontman. Following the events of the 2023 summer transfer window, the South Korean's qualities were required away from the left flank with greater regularity, especially with Richarlison foundering.

His blistering start was fuelled in no small part by the playmaking of Maddison, who was crowned the Premier League's Player of the Month for August.

Despite an ankle injury in his first season as a Lilywhite, Maddison ranked among the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the division for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions, the top 2% for passes attempted and the top 1% for progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.

The duo have started well this term too, with Son scoring twice and Maddison assisting just as many across the opening three fixtures. Solanke's inclusion and many more talented players suggest that Postecoglou does indeed have the tools to craft success.

It's impressive that he's got the Lilywhites playing to his attacking tune, especially when considering that Harry Kane departed at the start of the era.

The England captain would be an incredible option for Tottenham, quite simply eclipsing the performance level of his former teammates.

Harry Kane's record since leaving Spurs

Kane rose through the ranks at Tottenham to fire his way into legendary standing, with the centre-forward widely considered one of the finest players of his generation, Spurs' all-time top scorer and his nation's too.

1.

Alan Shearer

441

260

0.59

2.

Harry Kane

320

213

0.67

3.

Wayne Rooney

491

208

0.42

4.

Andy Cole

414

187

0.45

5.

Sergio Aguero

275

184

0.67

Having completed 435 appearances for Tottenham, scoring 280 goals, the 31-year-old completed a deal worth an initial £86m to German giants Bayern Munich last year, where he has obliterated the division.

Last year, while Bayern's long-standing Bundesliga dynasty was toppled by invincible Bayer Leverkusen, he scored 44 goals and added 12 assists across 45 matches in all competitions.

Son might have scored 17 great goals last year, but Kane scored more. Likewise, Maddison enjoyed an excellent creative campaign, but his countryman has 14 assists since moving to Germany last summer, whereas the 27-year-old only has 11.

Tottenham might have hit the jackpot on Kane, enjoying his world-class qualities for the bulk of his career, but what Postecoglou would give to wield him now, for he eclipses any of the talented current options.

Poch sold Spurs flop for £4.5m in 2019, now he's outscoring Richarlison

He was electric last season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 7, 2024

A Leeds United player who started against West Brom last weekend is pushing to leave the club in the summer transfer window, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.

Leeds lose numerous key players

Failing to leap from the Championship to the Premier League last season was a bitter blow for Daniel Farke and his players, following their playoff final defeat to Southampton at Wembley.

It immediately threw the futures of certain key players into doubt, with a number of Leeds heroes feeling like they should be playing Premier League football. Crysencio Summerville has departed for West Ham, having been voted the Championship's best player in 2023/24, but he wasn't the only individual to move on.

Highly-rated teenager Archie Gray also left, completing a move to Tottenham amid much interest from Brentford, acting as an undoubted blow for Leeds, given the vast potential he possesses.

Then there's Georginio Rutter, who has recently left for Brighton this summer, meaning three of the most influential figures for Farke have moved on to pastures new. Now, it looks as though Leeds could have to deal with another damaging exit, following a significant update.

Leeds star pushing to leave Elland Road

Writing on X in response to a question from a fan, Tavolieri said that Gnonto is "pushing to leave" Leeds this summer, potentially wanting to go a similar route to Summerville, Gray and Rutter as Leeds look for another winger after Largie Ramazani's arrival.

While no doubt hugely frustrating for Whites supporters, there is an inevitability about Gnonto looking to exit the club this summer, perhaps not helped by the fact that so many other key individuals have departed in the same transfer window, once again hampering their chances of promotion.

The £20,000-a-week Italian has started both of Leeds' opening Championship fixtures this season, at home to Portsmouth and away to West Brom, scoring against the former, showing that Farke still considers him one of the first names on his team sheet.

Gnonto's talent is undeniable, and at just 20 years of age there could still be so much more to come from him, with former coach Michael Skubala once saying of him: "He’s a great lad, he’s a special player. He’s a credit to Leeds, he’s a credit to himself and he’s a really nice player to work with."

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If the young winger has made up his mind, though, there is a repeat of last summer when the Italian went on strike looking to push through an exit. The hope is that the Whites manage to persuade him to stay put for another season, but if not, they need to spend the money received for him wisely.

Left-arm seamer Usman Shinwari called up as cover

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2022Karachi Kings’ floundering PSL campaign has been dealt another blow with the withdrawal of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ilyas because of injuries. This robs the 2020 champions of two key bowlers, as they look to recover from three straight losses as a start to their season, and move off the bottom of the table.Amir had yet to play a game in PSL 2022. “Mohammad Amir, who was nursing a side strain for the past week or so, has aggravated his back injury during the rehabilitation process and shall also no longer be available to participate in the remainder of the season,” a franchise statement said.Ilyas had played in all three games, but conceded 71 runs across the six overs he had bowled. He hurt his shoulder in Karachi’s last game, a six-wicket loss to Lahore Qalandars, but returned to bowl again. Now that he’s out of the tournament, Usman Shinwari has been drafted in to replace him.”Mohammad Ilyas, who had a severe shoulder injury, despite which he came back after receiving treatment to bowl two overs in the last match,” the statement said. “MRIs have confirmed the worst and he has been advised rest for the next six weeks or so, and shall be leaving for his home in Peshawar tomorrow evening.”Karachi’s next game is against Peshawar Zalmi on Friday.

North West have emerged as frontrunners at the CSA T20 tournament with two victories, including a bonus-point win, in the opening week of the tournament. They are a point ahead of Western Province, who also triumphed in both their matches, and five clear of the Dolphins, Lions, Titans and Warriors, all of whom won one each. Boland and the Knights are yet to register a win. Here are the highlights from the first round:North-West crush troubled KnightsAfter the semi-final between these two teams in the CSA T20 knockout earlier in the season was washed out, with the Knights advancing to the final and eventually claiming the trophy, North West exacted sweet revenge with an eight-wicket victory on Thursday. North West’s attack, which included ODI allrounder Dwaine Pretorius (1/13) and two-time Test cap Senuran Muthusamy (2/8), kept the Knights to 95 for 9 in 20 overs. Wesley Marshall’s 29-ball 43 and an opening stand of 69 ensured the result was never in doubt. Pretorius finished things off in the 11th over, to give North West an eight-wicket win.The loss speaks to broader problems for the Knights, who are struggling without marquee batter Rilee Rossouw, who is at the PSL. They hold the two lowest first-innings scores in the competition so far, after their opening match against the Dolphins saw them post just 128 for 5. All eyes will be on Raynard van Tonder, Farhaan Behardien and Pite van Biljon to see if Knights improve next week.North West, meanwhile, also beat their neighbours, the Lions, by defending 136. Their most successful bowler so far is left-arm spinner Johannes Diseko, who is the joint-leading wicket-taker and has the best economy rate among the leading 10 bowlers. De Kock, Levi, Lubbe in the runs His retirement from Test cricket means Quinton de Kock is not with the national side in New Zealand and available for the Titans as he focuses solely on white-ball fixtures. His campaign began with a first ball duck against the Warriors, who went on to defend 163 on the opening day. But de Kock quickly turned things around, scoring 72 off 61 balls and sharing in a 106-run opening stand with Gihahn Cloete to help Titans get to 158 for 2 against Boland. In what was the game of the round, Janneman and Pieter Malan got Boland off to a good start with 69 runs inside eight overs, then lost 3 for 29 before Under-19 World Cup returnee Michael Copeland hit a 39-ball 33. But then they lost three wickets for two runs and finally fell three runs short of victory. Junior Dala took two wickets in three balls in the penultimate over to leave Ayabulele Gqamane 11 to defend in the last over.Boland’s week went poorly after they also lost to Western Province, who chased 143 with little trouble. Richard Levi set the tone with 67 from 39 balls and then helped Western Province to victory over the Warriors as well when his 17-ball 40 provided the foundation to chase the highest total of the week: 164. Levi is the second highest run-scorer in the competition, with the highest strike rate.Wihan Lubbe leads the run-charts, 18 ahead of Levi, with two half-centuries. He scored 69* against Western Province and 56, in a winning cause, against the Titans.

MatériaMais Notícias

da apostaganha： As equipes sub-15 e sub-17 do São Paulo venceram mais uma vez nas categorias de base do Campeonato Paulista e lideram os seus grupos na competição.

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da wazamba： GALERIA
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TABELA
> Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro 2022 e simule os próximos jogos

As duas categorias foram até Embu das Artes e derrotaram o Referência FC, no estádio Hermínio Esposito. O time Sub-15 venceu por 2 a 0, enquanto o Sub-17 fez 4 x 0. Os dois grupos apresentam um desempenho 100% invicto até o momento.

No primeiro jogo do dia, o time infantil, comandado por Lucas Macorin, partiu para o ataque contra o Referência e abriu o placar aos 19 minutos do primeiro tempo, com Cássio. Na segunda etapa, Pedrinho marcou nos minutos finais e garantiu o resultado positivo.

Já quanto ao sub-17, a equipe abriu o placar ainda no primeiro tempo. Na etapa final, foram mais três gols.Paulinho ampliou a vantagem, aos 8 minutos. Igor, aos 13, marcou mais um gol e Guilherme Amaral, aos 38.

Os dois elencos lideram seus grupos com doze pontos cada um, com uma vantagem de três pontos a mais que o segundo colocado.

أكد مصطفى العش، لاعب فريق الكرة بـ الأهلي على جاهزيته هو وزملائه لمباراة صن داونز الجنوب إفريقي التي تجمع بينهما ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وتقام المباراة بين الأهلي وصن داونز يوم الجمعة المقبل على أرضية استاد القاهرة، في إياب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وكان الأهلي قد تعادل سلبيًا مع صن داونز في مباراة الذهاب التي أقيمت على أرضية ملعب لوفتوس بمدينة بريتوريا، يوم السبت الماضي.

طالع أيضًا | الأهلي يعلن موقف وسام أبو علي من مباراة صن داونز.. ويفسر لقطة بن شرقي مع محمد شوقي

وقال العش في تصريحات صحفية: “قدمنا المطلوب في مباراة الذهاب أمام صن داونز بجنوب إفريقيا، رغم صعوبة المباراة التي انتهت بالتعادل، لكننا عازمون على تحقيق الفوز في استاد القاهرة ووسط الجماهير الداعمة لنا”.

وأكمل: “جميع اللاعبين لديهم دوافع كبيرة لحسم الصعود إلى نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، ومباراة الذهاب صفحة تم إغلاقها منذ العودة إلى القاهرة، وتم على الفور التحضير لمباراة العودة”.

وأتم: “الحضور الجماهيري بالسعة الكاملة في استاد القاهرة يوم الجمعة المقبل دفعة معنوية قوية للفريق، وأتمنى أن يحتفل لاعبو الفريق بالتأهل إلى نهائي البطولة وإسعاد كافة جماهيره”.

Aston Villa fans would have been dreaming of watching their team topple the might of Bayern Munich when filtering into Villa Park last night, imagining their side upsetting the odds and stifling the free-flowing Bavarian giants by picking up an unbelievable second win in the Champions League.

Those wild dreams would become a reality as Unai Emery’s men managed to get over the line come full-time and shock Vincent Kompany’s Bayern 1-0, courtesy of yet another strike off the bench from devastating impact substitute Jhon Duran.

It was a determined team effort in the end that ensured Villa would upset the Bundesliga titans, with the game showing off Emery’s men at their best defensively, as much as it also reinforced their dangerous nature to be clinical when needed.

Top performers from Villa's win over Bayern

Touching on the shut-out Villa managed to pull off, Emiliano Martinez would have walked off the pitch at the end overjoyed with his individual showing against the visitors from Germany, having kept a clean sheet even when being regularly tested by the likes of Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry.

The South American shot-stopper would tally up a staggering seven saves in total, with Birmingham Live journalist John Townley after the game rewarding his efforts with a faultless 10/10 match rating.

In attack, Villa also impressed, even if Ollie Watkins would exit the field of play without a goal next to his name, as Duran delivered the goods once more in the England international’s place.

Only needing one shot on target to leave his mark on proceedings, the Colombian’s name will now be etched into Villa folklore forever more, after catching an onrushing Manuel Neuer napping with a clever finish to win the tie.

That means the explosive 20-year-old is averaging a goal every 48 minutes for his side so far this season, with this strike against Bayern the pick of the bunch from his five goals to date.

The home side’s defence got called into question after a shaky display against Ipswich Town before this clash under the lights, with Martinez undoubtedly helped in his mission to keep a clean sheet by the likes of Pau Torres also shining at the back, who was as important as both the World Cup winner and Duran on the night to help the famous win be secured.

Torres' performance in numbers

Emery stuck by the same back four that wobbled away at Portman Road and was vindicated for not going overboard with changes, as the Spanish centre-back stood out amongst a strong defensive effort.

The standout Villa number 14 even had his moment in the spotlight in the first half, when he thought he had opened the scoring after tapping home an opportunity that fell kindly to him, only for VAR to cruelly intervene and judge Jacob Ramsey to be offside in the build-up.

Stat

Torres

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

1

Touches

55

Accurate passes

36/42 (86%)

Total duels won

4/5

Clearances

4

Blocked shots

3

Tackles

4

He did have a role to play in Duran’s unbelievable winner though, with his ball finding the Colombian in space to then beat Neuer, to make up for the offside decision going against his side.

Moreover, Torres – as can be seen glancing at the table above – was key in Villa keeping Bayern at bay, with four out of four ground duels won on the night, alongside completing 86% of his passes as an option at the back unafraid to make things happen as well as thwarting Kompany’s men.

Bayern would have entered into this contest high off the confidence of putting nine past Dinamo Zagreb in their last match in Europe’s elite competition, only for the German giants to be humbled by Torres and Co, who was handed out a top 9/10 rating after the game by Townley.

Labelled by Townley as being Torres’ ‘best performance of the season so far’, the Spaniard will hope he can put in more stellar displays when back in Premier League action.

For now, however, Emery’s men will be giddy off the buzz of this result, as the Villa Park masses now crave more top European nights to come.

Villa wanted "monster" star when Grealish left, now he's outshining Rogers

Villa nearly replaced Grealish with dynamic man back in 2021

ByConnor Holden Sep 26, 2024

“Teams, players, coaches are better prepared for him,” says Daniel Vettori of the KKR allrounder’s batting slump, in conversation with Chris Lynn and Aakash Chopra

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-20225:52

Vettori – ‘Teams, players, coaches are better prepared for Venkatesh Iyer’

Since getting retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 8 crore (40 times his previous salary), life in the IPL hasn’t been easy for Venkatesh Iyer. He’s batted eight times this season and has gone past 20 only once, and neither his average (18.00) nor his strike rate (102.43) make for pretty reading.After six games as opener, Knight Riders have moved him into the middle order, and that hasn’t worked either. So what’s gone wrong?Related

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According to both the former captain and coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore Daniel Vettori and former Knight Riders batter Chris Lynn, Iyer’s troubles this season mostly fall into the category of second-season syndrome.”I think I remember a discussion with Lynny, probably when we were watching a game, when he just thought that there’s a lot more information on Venkatesh Iyer, and therefore bowling coaches, coaches in general, have put a lot more time and effort into how to find a way to bowl to him, and I think that’s simply second-season [syndrome] or whatever it is – it happens,” Vettori said on the ESPNcricinfo show T20 Time:Out. “It’s happened to a lot of players, it’s happened to a lot of very good players, and the challenge, I suppose, is to step up from that.”And I think bowlers also have an understanding – some bowlers would have had success against him and try to relive that, and some bowlers would try to rectify mistakes that they made last year. I don’t think you need to overthink it; it’s just the fact that teams, players, coaches are better prepared for him.”Lynn said Iyer’s challenge would be to come up with plans to fight his way back into form.”On the whiteboards in every change room will be exactly the same plans, no doubt about that, and he’s just got to find a way,” he said. “There’s no doubt he’s good enough to bat from [Nos.] 1 to 6 – he’s playing in the Kolkata side for a reason, because he’s got talent. It’s just that teams have more knowledge and it’s as simple as that, I think.Venkatesh Iyer has gone past 20 only once in eight innings this season•BCCI

“The challenge for him is to try and go back to the drawing board, build some confidence, whether that’s for Kolkata or for another team, but just try and have some clarity when he’s walking out to bat, and it might be putting away a big shot, it might be just getting off strike, it might be using his feet, whatever it may be, just finding a way to get down to the other end and bat time. He’s only scored one fifty so far, he’s just got to bat time, and that’s the only way you build confidence.”The former India opener Aakash Chopra, who was part of the same discussion, felt there might be two other reasons for Iyer’s dip in form.”I completely agree that there is data, there is analysis, and there’s a lot of homework with regards to certain players, and he’s a top-order batter. So that’s one part of the story,” he said. “But the second part is that since that fantastic [2021] season he’s batted at [Nos.] 5 for 6 for his state side, for India, and now he’s back to opening, so yes, while he’s facing these form issues and found-out kind of issues, but the fact is that he’s been up and down the order too much.”Even now, KKR lost faith very quickly. So that’s one side, that he’s now maybe slightly confused in the head, ‘what am I supposed to do, am I an opener or am I a finisher?'”Secondly, nobody else is [performing]. See, sometimes you could go through a bad patch but you have an opening partner who’s scoring runs. He makes your life simpler, easier, and gives you the allowance to just find form, sometimes, but that’s not happening, their batting is in slight disarray. You don’t have runs from a lot of them – once in a while from Shreyas Iyer but nobody has been consistent enough, so that just puts the added pressure on Venkatesh.”Should KKR have retained Iyer?
Another potential source of pressure on Iyer could be having to live up to being retained by his franchise – ahead of Shubman Gill, one of the brightest top-order talents in India, who has since moved to Gujarat Titans.KKR let go of Shubman Gill and opted to retain Iyer ahead of the 2022 auction•BCCI

Vettori felt Knight Riders had made a smart move in retaining Iyer.”You’d have to know the man to answer that question [whether being retained had put more pressure on Iyer], but I think KKR were right in retaining him, because I think that the auction would have taken him to another level in terms of the amount that he would have gone for,” he said. “Everyone talks about that Indian allrounder and what he could have brought to a team, so retained for 6 crore, if I’m correct? [8 crore] I think he would have comfortably gone for more than that if he’d gone into the auction. I think KKR’s strategy was right; it’s just the fact that he hasn’t had the season that they would have expected.”Chopra said he would have retained Gill ahead of Iyer, if it was his call to make.”There are two more seasons to go, two-and-a-half more seasons to go [before the next scheduled mega auction], so let’s not jump the gun, and you can’t always judge a decision based on how things are panning out,” he said. “You do the best at that point in time, whatever you think.”But I think, personally, they had a choice. They had a choice of paying a couple of crores more to Shubman Gill and retaining him, and then invest in him as maybe a long-term captaincy candidate. I think it’s not about Venkatesh Iyer getting retained, and maybe he was worth more or worth less, we don’t know, but Shubman Gill, I think letting him go was a mistake, because it’s important to know when to hold on to, and when to let go of [a player]. I think the best of Shubman Gill is going to come in the next three years for Gujarat Titans and not KKR.”And what of his bowling?
Iyer, meanwhile, has not had much of a chance to show off his second suit this season, with Knight Riders only calling on his medium-pace for two overs. This, Lynn said, was not a reflection of his skills as much as of the team’s requirements. He believes Knight Riders can get their money’s worth out of Iyer in the long term, if he and their coaches can find a way to fix his ongoing issues.Iyer (seen here bowling in the IPL 2021 final) has only sent down two overs so far this season•BCCI

“I think you can’t really use that [not being required to bowl] against him, because […] going back to the auction they’ve done well, and obviously Andre Russell is bowling quite well as well, when he’s needed, so it’s not Venky’s fault there at all, but I think it’s a positive move from Kolkata to retain him.”You look at other teams, there’s two world-class established players that’s probably had a similar season – it’s not rocket science to work out who those guys are – but I think it’s a great move from Kolkata and they’re investing in him long-term; the challenge is up to him now and the coaching staff to get him back up where he wants to be and needs to be, not only scoring runs for Kolkata but getting back in those Indian colours where he does belong, I believe.”As to where Iyer should bat for the rest of the season, the T20 Time:Out panel was unanimous in its opinion that he should go back to the top of the order.”My only humble submission is that once you invest in someone for whatever reason, stick with it for a little longer,” Chopra said. “Don’t lose patience, don’t lose faith that early, Venkatesh Iyer at the top of the order is your best bet. None of your other openers are anyway firing.”Lynn concurred. “Yeah, 100%. It’s the only way we’re going to build confidence back with him. Get him up. He’s a freely flowing batsman, he plays on instinct, and that’s not going to happen at 5 or 6, so let’s get him back up in the opening role when the field’s in.”