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Dasun Shanaka and Dilshan Madushanka were left out, while Dushmantha Chameera missed out due to injury

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Oct-2024

Bhanuka Rajapaksa hasn’t played for Sri Lanka since January 2023•AFP/Getty Images

Middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the three-match series against West Indies, but former captain Dasun Shanaka was left out. With Shanaka out, 22-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe, who made his debut against India, keeps his spot.There was also no room for left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka. Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera failed to make the squad as well, but that is on account of an injury, which has kept him out of competitive cricket since July.Elsewhere, the squad is fairly predictable. Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay makes it into the squad proper this time, after impressing as Wanindu Hasaranga’s replacement during the ODI series against India. Hasaranga himself is back as well.Dinesh Chandimal, who was named in the squad against India, but has not played a match in this format since 2022, retains his place, helped perhaps by his good performances in the Test format.Meanwhile, Rajapaksa, 32, hasn’t played for Sri Lanka since January 2023, and doesn’t come in with a lot of form, having been only a middling performer for St Lucia Kings at the recently-concluded CPL. But he has been picked on past performances, as Sri Lanka seek hitters who can close out innings – a long-term problem for them.Madushanka’s omission, meanwhile, is down to his having been too expensive in this format. After 15 matches, his economy rate is 9.75 – too high for a bowler who takes a wicket a match on average. But Sri Lanka have alternatives. Slingers Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, left-armer Binura Fernando, and right-arm seamer Asitha Fernando make up the frontline pace contingent.On the spin-bowling front, Sri Lanka have Hasaranga, Vandersay, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage to choose from, with overs potentially to come from Kamindu Mendis as well. Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva has not made this squad.The T20Is start on Sunday, and all three of them will be played in Dambulla.Sri Lanka’s T20I squad against West IndiesCharith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamidu Wickramasinghe, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Binura Fernando and Asitha Fernando

If Ashwin is fully fit for Sydney, and if the pitch demands only one spinner, India might have an interesting decision to make

Sidharth Monga in Melbourne29-Dec-20182:30

Laxman: Tired Lyon couldn’t put as much body into his action as Jadeja

Let’s say all goes to plan. India win the Melbourne Test, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy stays with them, they travel to Sydney to try to preserve their lead, and R Ashwin is fit. Who will India pick then? Ravindra Jadeja, who has bowled 57 overs for 127 runs and five wickets in Melbourne, or Ashwin, who bowled 86.5 overs for 149 runs and six wickets in Adelaide?Of course, the conditions will decide whether they can play both of them. If the Sydney pitch is true to character, and there has not been much rain in the lead-up, there’s a good chance both of them might play if they are fit, with Hardik Pandya possibly slotting in as the third seamer. But there will be a big decision to make if either the pitch is not dry or Pandya, coming off a back injury, is not ready for Test cricket yet. This is where some of Jadeja’s history comes in first.Between Southampton 2014 and Melbourne this year, he didn’t play a single live rubber as the lone spinner. When India went in with two at Lord’s, Kuldeep Yadav was picked ahead of Jadeja. Unless there have been other fitness issues, which were not disclosed as with the time in Perth, there has been clear lack of faith in him.One of the reasons for that lack of trust could be the number of left-hand batsmen India have played against. England and Australia both have a good amount of them, which makes Jadeja a less potent threat, according to conventional wisdom. But as he showed in this Test, when Jadeja can latch on to a spot of rough, that conventional wisdom doesn’t always hold true. This is also what happens when India’s right-hand batsmen find themselves in the headlights with opposition offspinners. And with sides bowling more right-arm seamers, in theory left-hand batsmen should have more rough to contend with than the right-hand ones.4:03

B Arun reveals the secret to Bumrah’s pace

The one problem with that is left-hand batsmen grow up facing this all the time, so they are more adept at handling a left-arm spinner hammering that rough than offspinners landing it in the rough outside a right-hand batsman’s off stump. Moreover, the rough created by a left-arm fast bowler is more prominent and pronounced than the one created by various right-arm quicks. A conflict exists in theory as does on the field. In pockets, Jadeja seemed unplayable to left-hand batsmen, drawing short-leg catches from Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris. And yet, in this Test, he averaged 42 against left-hand batsmen and 15 against the right-hand ones, also maintaining a better economy rate against the right-hand batsmen.By no means can Jadeja’s contribution to what should be a memorable win be understated. He has bowled a major share of the overs, keeping the run-rate down, making sure the fast bowlers remained fresh, and has himself contributed five wickets, more than 25% of those fallen.”Jadeja has matured a lot over the years,” India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun said. “What he has done in the last one-two years, he has gained a lot of confidence and the way he has progressed today and also the way he did in England at The Oval, we can be quite confident that Jadeja can lead the spin attack.”I would say that a spinner maturing is about him understanding and discovering himself. And how he does it is he tries various angles with which he can bowl and variations in position of wrists. In the last couple of years, Jadeja has learnt quite a lot and that has helped him evolve from what he was earlier.”Getty ImagesJadeja’s fielding might give him an edge over Ashwin, but he loses it right back when it comes to batting on bouncier tracks. This is where Ashwin’s other quality comes in. If Jadeja is good at hitting the rough over and over again, Ashwin has the subtleties to beat batsmen in the air, those small changes in pace and trajectory that Harris acknowledged in Adelaide. It is when nothing was happening for him that Jadeja began to fire the ball in on the fourth day. Tim Paine’s wicket was a bonus when Jadeja went over the wicket and the batsman went to cut. Who can draw a genuine error when nothing is happening is a question India’s think tank will ponder. Kuldeep Yadav remains unlikely to play if it is deemed only one spinner is required; playing him as a lone spinner is a big risk because he can go for runs and you can’t afford one of the four bowlers to be unusable.If India go to Sydney with a series lead in hand – which should be a mere formality – it could come down to their lead spinner to preserve that lead, which will make this selection between Jadeja and Ashwin important. However, with his performance in Melbourne, Jadeja has done enough to earn the team management’s trust should Ashwin not recover in time.

Manchester United have now thundered into the race for a “world-class” £84m forward, having expressed a concrete interest in securing his signature in the summer, according to a report.

Man Utd set sights on winger to replace Garnacho

While Man United managed to sign off the 2024-25 campaign on a high note, securing a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford, the Europa League final defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao will remain fresh in the memory for supporters.

As such, it is difficult to be too positive ahead of the summer, with the Red Devils’ summer transfer plans likely to be affected by the lack of Champions League football, and Gary Neville has expressed concerns they may choose to cash-in on some of their young players to raise funds.

Neville said: “I know it’s become a thing now whereby people sell players from their academy to facilitate PSR and financial fair play, but if Manchester United start to sell academy players to raise funds to bring in other players, I think that’s the thin end of the wedge.

Man Utd also ready to pay £44m release clause for "king of kings" after Cunha

The Red Devils are now willing to trigger the release clause for another striker to partner up with Cunha at Old Trafford.

ByDominic Lund May 26, 2025

Alejandro Garnacho is one of the youth products that could be on his way out, with Arsenal now being contacted over the possibility of signing the Argentine, and if the 20-year-old does end up being sold, it is likely a replacement will be necessary.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Man United may now have just the player in mind, having thundered into the race for AC Milan star Rafael Leao, who is looking increasingly likely to exit the San Siro this summer, with a £84m fee being touted.

United have now registered a concrete interest in signing Leao, who could be on his way out due to the lack of European football on offer at Milan, with Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Barcelona also keen.

"World-class" Leao could be Garnacho upgrade

It is unclear whether the 25-year-old would be interested in a move to Old Trafford, given that Ruben Amorim’s side will not be playing in Europe next season either, but the allure of playing for one of the world’s biggest clubs could be tempting for the winger.

Should the Red Devils manage to get a deal over the line, there are plenty of signs he could be an upgrade on Garnacho at left-wing, having outperformed the starlet across a number of key statistics for wingers over the past year. Leao also loves current Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes, having called him a “maestro” in the past while on international duty together.

Statistic per 90

Rafael Leao

Alejandro Garnacho

Non-penalty goals

0.32

0.20

Assists

0.26

0.17

Successful take-ons

2.83

1.31

Having also been lauded as “world-class” by football writer Carlo Garganese in the past, Leao could be a fantastic signing for Man United this summer, but a move to Old Trafford could be a tough sell after the Europa League final defeat.

In what would be a statement move in his first few months in the job, Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta has now reportedly made an approach to sign a top Manchester United target.

All eyes on PSG for Arsenal

With the Premier League title race over and Liverpool confirmed as champions, Arsenal have all of their focus on the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday. Heading to France with a 1-0 deficit to overturn courtesy of Ousmane Dembele’s early strike last time out, the Gunners have it all to do.

Bournemouth’s trip to The Emirates this weekend should simply be seen as the chance for Mikel Arteta to rest key men. In a season full of injuries, the Spaniard must take control of the narrative and avoid what would be the most frustrating absences heading into Wednesday.

The Arsenal boss rallied his troops after their disappointing 1-0 defeat against PSG on Tuesday, telling reporters: “It’s half-time. I said exactly the same message after we beat Real Madrid 3-0 [in the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates]. Go to Paris, win the game, and we are through.

“That’s what we have to do. We saw two teams that are very aggressive, intense, not a lot of margins. Their keeper made two saves that normally are goals and those are the margins you have in these games.”

Mega Kiwior upgrade: Arsenal initiate talks for "superb" £34m monster

The experienced international could be just what Arsenal need.

ByJack Salveson Holmes May 2, 2025

After frustration in the title race, Arsenal will be desperate to avoid even more heartbreak on the European stage. There’s no doubt that winning the Champions League would have a major impact on Arteta’s project on and off the pitch too, especially when chasing summer transfer targets.

Berta makes Arsenal approach to sign Trincao

Instantly ruffling a few feathers, Berta has reportedly set his sights on a top Manchester United target. According to Record in Portugal, Berta has now made an approach to sign Francisco Trincao from Sporting CP this summer and has already had scouts in place to take note of his impressive campaign.

The winger, who is represented by the same agency as United stars Manuel Ugarte and Leny Yoro, has been reborn in Portugal following a failed spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now, four years on from leaving the Premier League and failing to make his loan move permanent, Trincao could be back with a vengeance courtesy of Arsenal.

By signing the winger, Arsenal would also solve a major problem of theirs by welcoming an added creative spark and someone who would provide instant backup for Bukayo Saka.

Starts

31

17

Goals

8

6

Assists

14

10

Key Passes per 90

2.42

3.02

Described as “terrific” by U23 scout Antonio Mango in 2022, Trinaco has only reached new levels ever since and his eye for an assist is particularly impressive. As Martin Odegaard’s numbers continue to fall too, it’s the type of passing ability that Arteta arguably needs at his disposal more than ever at Arsenal.

This was the first time since 1936 that South Africa lost successive Tests by an innings

S Rajesh23-Oct-2019Lungi Ngidi’s bizarre dismissal on the fourth morning in Ranchi – caught off a ball which hit the non-striker – mercifully brought a quick end to what has been an utterly shambolic series for South Africa. With both bat and ball, they were completely outplayed in each of the three Tests, and that is reflected in the series stats. In several parameters, these are the worst numbers for South Africa since their return to international cricket in 1992.The overall series numbersESPNcricinfo LtdThere have been two other series of at least three Tests, since their readmission, in which South Africa have lost every game, and both were against Australia – at home in 2005-06, and away in 2001-02. But they weren’t outplayed in this manner, in terms of the difference between their batting and bowling averages. In fact, this was the first time since 1936 that South Africa lost successive Tests by an innings.Over these three Tests in India, South Africa averaged 23.01 with the bat, and 76.92 with the ball. The difference a whopping 53.91, which is the largest ever for them in any series since their readmission. In fact, it’s almost twice as much as the next-highest difference of 27.67 in the 2006 series in Sri Lanka, when Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had that massive partnership of 624.The 10 series with the highest difference have all either been in India, Sri Lanka, or against Australia, illustrating the opponents/countries which have been the toughest for them.The wickets mismatchSouth Africa took 25 wickets in the entire series, while India took all 60 that were on offer. The difference of 35 is the highest ever in South Africa’s history. Since their readmission, that difference had never exceeded 22 before this series; in fact there is only one other series when the difference has gone beyond 20 (when the opposition team took more wickets than South Africa). In the 94 series South Africa have played since their readmission (including one-off Tests), only 26 times have opposition team taken more wickets than South Africa.