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The sports minister of India, M S Gill has come down strongly on the IPL for commercializing cricket at the cost of its spirit and rules of the game

Cricinfo staff29-Mar-2010

The sports minister of India, MS Gill has come down strongly on the IPL for commercialising cricket at the cost of its spirit and rules of the game. In an interview with , Gill also questioned the conflict of interest arising out of the involvement of BCCI functionaries, with the IPL franchises.”… the BCCI, they have a direct interest as owners of teams, as people who have a direct benefit from it [IPL] and this is something very dangerous,” Gill said. “They have also used the rules against another rival league [ICL]. But the controlling body has to be for India, for cricket for the long term. It has to be totally uninvolved.”Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the IPL is the vice-president of the BCCI. N. Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary is a top functionary of India Cements, the company that owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise, while Kris Srikkant, the chief national selector is an ambassador for the Chennai side.”Those who are to make rules for everyone, for all aspects of the game and keeping in view the interest of the game and the country and the long term, have to be totally apart from being involved in IPL in any way,” Gill said.Gill accused the IPL of changing the rules and conditions to favour batsmen in the name of entertainment, thereby severely diminishing the bowlers’ role in the game. “The bowler is only the victim and the bat.. now you have mongoose bat. I look forward to a cobra bat. The boundaries have been shortened I think, as I hear. The whole thing is to entertain the masses. The bowler is just an instrument for this promotion,” Gill said.Gill cautioned that Twenty20 cricket posed a serious threat to the longer formats of the game. “The five-day Test is under challenge and you see nobody turns up for it, crowds have already been moved away. Even the 50-over game is reduced to Twent20. I sometimes say jokingly that we’ll go to T5 and then T1 and then half an over,” Gill said.

A report from 90min at the beginning of the month claimed Everton had joined the race for Zenit St.Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun, with the 26-year-old set to be available for free next summer.

However, with the January window now just days away, it would be a good idea for the Toffees to further their interest next month.

Dubbed previously as ‘the Iranian Messi’, the £22.5m-rated forward has scored ten goals in 21 appearances across all competitions for Zenit so far this campaign, including a goal against Chelsea in the Champions League recently.

Furthermore, having joined Zenit from Rubin Kazan three years ago, Azmoun has a prolific record of 62 goals and 23 assists in 104 appearances for the Russian giants. A goal contribution every 1.2 games.

The Iranian has reportedly attracted interest from Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, who is of Iranian decent, and, according to a previous coach of Azmoun, Moshiri previously contacted him and “tried to negotiate a transfer.”

The Russian Premier League side may have no choice but to sell the 26-year-old next month in order to receive a fee, with his contract set to expire in just seven months time.

The Toffees have appeared stuck all season, sitting in an underwhelming 14th place in the Premier League and are in desperate need of some extra firepower to propel them up the table in order to avoid any nervy moments in the second half of the campaign.

Luckily, signings that initially received a mixed reaction from fans in the summer have exceeded expectations with Demarai Gray (five goals) and Andros Townsend (three goals) helping to fill the void left by star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Moreover, with the lack of goals from Rondon who has netted only once, Rafa Benitez’s side’s attacking output could’ve been much worse.

Alas, extra options in that department will be welcomed with open arms by the Everton faithful, and a possible deal for Azmoun would be shrewd business given his goals record for Zenit.

The only doubt would be the fact that the Iranian hasn’t played professional football outside of Russia, and therefore the jump up to the Premier League may prove a tricky one…at least initially.

AND in other news, Time to go: Benitez should axe EFC’s “reckless” £18m-rated dud, he’s not good enough…

Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin says there have been complaints about the club’s medical and sports science departments for ‘years’. 

The lowdown

Kyogo Furuhasi, Celtic’s top scorer this season with 11 goals, became the latest addition to the Hoops’ injury list when he limped out of Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Real Betis.

The Japan international sustained a hamstring injury, the same problem which befell Albian Ajeti against the La Liga outfit.

Christopher Jullien, Karamoko Dembele and Filipe Jota were already sidelined.

Manager Ange Postecoglou said after the game that his side were ‘just going through a bit of a rough trot which never seems to end’.

The latest

In the comments section of an article published by The Athletic, a supporter argued that ‘the sheer level and similarity of injuries in the squad is borderline professionally unacceptable’, and raised concerns over ‘the sports science, medical and coaching staffs’.

Devlin responded: “Don’t disagree re: medical and sports science issues and it is feedback I’ve heard repeatedly over the years from sources close to players.”

The verdict

Intriguingly, Postecoglou suggested on Thursday that the injuries may partly be a consequence of the players adapting to his demands on the training pitch and on matchday.

So it could be argued that he should reduce the intensity of the sessions at Lennoxtown to mitigate the risk – this injury to Furuhashi could, of course, cause real damage to their title bid.

However, the Australian also blamed what he called a ‘ridiculous’ fixture schedule and pointed out that the injuries would be less of an issue if Celtic had greater squad depth, so he doesn’t appear to be overly introspective about the mounting injury plague.

In other news, Celtic have reached agreement over this transfer.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left talking after Sky Sports shared a live TV transfer update involving their club.

Manager David Moyes, seeking to maintain his side’s push for a Champions League-qualifying spot whilst continuing to battle in the FA Cup and Europa League, will need reinforcements before January 31.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The club have been linked with signing a new striker, central defender, Jesse Lingard and potentially a left-back this month as reliable reports suggest these are the priorities of Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman (The Evening Standard).

Nearly half way through the window, West Ham are still yet to seal any deals, with Sky sharing the latest on their transfer plans on live TV.

As relayed by the broadcast giant on their Transfer Show, presented by Sky reporters Kaveh Solhehol and Dharmesh Sheth, Moyes has personally set his sights on ‘forward and centre-back options’ with the Scotsman revealing he has GSB’s backing.

“David Moyes says the West Ham board have told him he has money to spend if he wants to strengthen his squad,” they explained.

“Moyes is looking at forward and centre-back options.”

West Ham fans react…

Flocking to this Sky update (shared on Twitter by @WestHamViews), many West Ham fans have been left talking, with some optimistic given the positions being targeted and backing from their owners.

Others pitch who the club should sign, but given how far we are into the winter window, there are also some supporters pleading for West Ham to start making moves.

Find all of their best reactions down below:

“Finally the best news all year”

Credit: @Heardy768

“So he is being backed kind of. Get to it then David!”

Credit: @FromTheAnvilWHU

“Time to sort it out david…. we need players in Asap!”

Credit: @fatboyfeaver16

“Would love Origi and Diallo from PSG”

Credit: @HammersMighty

“Moyes has always been known for dithering with regards to signings. I’m satisfied by the only want the right players statement. But I believe the right players are available on 1st of Jan as well as 31st. And we could use those players. Prices are driven down end of window?”

Credit: @dazwhufifa

“Jonathan David please.”

Credit: @matthewpeet87

In other news: ExWHUemployee: West Ham could make move for 63-goal ‘monster’ loved by Irons chiefs, find out more here.

Jamal Lewis could make his first start of the season when Newcastle United face Norwich City tonight, according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh. 

The lowdown

The 23-year-old has only seen six minutes of Premier League action this season, having come on as a substitute in the 4-1 defeat against Manchester United. His solitary start in 2021/22 thus far came in the Carabao Cup defeat against Burnley back in August.

He may have hoped that Steve Bruce’s sacking would improve his prospects of game-time, but he didn’t feature under Graeme Jones’ caretakership and hasn’t been given a chance by Eddie Howe as of yet.

However, that could change when his former club visit St James’ Park tonight. Matt Ritchie, who started at left-back against Arsenal last time out, is suspended after picking up five yellow cards since the start of the campaign.

The latest

During a Q&A for The Athletic on Monday ahead of the match, one Newcastle supporter voiced concerns over Howe apparently being ‘uninterested’ in Lewis, but Waugh swiftly moved to allay those fears, even claiming that the Northern Ireland defender could come into the team against the Canaries.

The journalist stated: “As for Lewis, again, he was on international duty when Howe first arrived, but also his lack of game-time (and confidence) has been counting against him. But Howe is keen to improve Lewis, a young player he sees great potential in, and so in the medium term he the left-back could see more action – and could even start tomorrow night, with Ritchie being suspended.”

Waugh then added: “In time, I do think he will get more opportunities and I actually think he might start tomorrow night. It’s against his former club and Ritchie is suspended, so I do hope Lewis is given an opportunity.”

The verdict

Newcastle forked out £15m to sign Lewis in 2020 and they are paying him roughly £38.5k per week. It was a big investment, and expectations were perhaps heightened by the fact that Liverpool pursued him earlier in that transfer window.

If he can’t get a chance to impress now, so soon after a change of manager and with a positional rival suspended, then it mightn’t be long before he begins to consider his future.

On the other hand, if he does get picked, the challenge for the 23-year-old is producing a performance good enough to give Howe a selection headache when he’s had so few minutes under his belt and may be lacking sharpness as a result. Opportunity does seem to knock for Lewis tonight in the enforced absence of Ritchie.

In other news, Newcastle have enquired about this midfielder

Pakistan maintained their perfect Twenty20 record against an injury-ravaged New Zealand by strolling to a 49-run victory

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran12-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outNone of the New Zealand batsmen stuck around long enough to challenge Pakistan•Associated PressA clinical Pakistan maintained their perfect Twenty20 record against an injury-ravaged New Zealand by strolling to a 49-run victory. Imran Nazir smashed his first half-century in limited-overs since returning from the ICL and some swinging from the lower order pushed the target to a tough 162. The spin pair of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal had confounded New Zealand’s batsmen in the one-dayers, but the match was settled even before they came into the attack today.Against the Twenty20 world champions, New Zealand’s chances were slim, given the long list of unfit players. The biggest blow was the loss of captain Daniel Vettori to a head injury picked up during the one-dayers; the list also included James Franklin and fast bowler Kyle Mills. Key allrounder Jacob Oram had also rushed back home, on paternity leave. New Zealand were actually forced to bring on a half-fit Franklin as a substitute when Aaron Redmond (who didn’t come out to bat) picked up a groin strain while bowling.The difference between the two teams was the top-order batting. The worms couldn’t have looked more different after two overs: Pakistan were 3 for 0, New Zealand were 29 for 1. After seven, it read: Pakistan 53 for 1, New Zealand 44 for 4. Pakistan kept their wickets intact till the 12th over, which enabled them to overcome a middle-order collapse and keep the runs flowing. New Zealand, on the other hand, lost four quick wickets, leaving the lower order to flail against the spinners.The early overs of the chase also showcased the outstanding temperament of Mohammad Aamer. He was taken for 17 in the first over – four runs to overthrows, four off an inside edge, four more to a poor piece of fielding from Sohail Tanvir – but came back to take out the dangermen, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor, in his next two overs. After three overs, Aamer’s figures were 3-1-21-2. Abdul Razzaq complemented Aamer’s work with two wickets of his own, of Scott Styris and Neil Broom to put Pakistan on track for a sixth straight Twenty20 victory.New Zealand lacked the sort of effort that Nazir turned in earlier in the evening. After Pakistan were sent in by stand-in captain McCullum, Nazir was the engine in the first half of the innings. He didn’t blast the boundaries from the get go, having to survive a testing first over from Shane Bond, who was getting the ball to jag in sharply. Nazir was even content to shoulder arms to a couple of deliveries initially, and it was Kamran Akmal who got the innings going with a couple of boundaries off Bond in the third over.It was only in the fifth over, when the slightly slower Ian Butler was brought on for Bond, that Nazir switched to Mad-Max mode. He welcomed Butler with a couple of flat-batted sixes off his first two deliveries. Kamran fell in the next over but Nazir was undeterred. Butler watched the ball fly over his head off the first ball of the seventh, his mood worsened two deliveries later when a top-edge flashed over the keeper’s head for another four. A high full-toss followed, which Nazir promptly cracked beyond the point boundary; the cheergirls there having an anxious moment as the ball homed in on them.That had the crowds cheering but the biggest roar came a minute after debutant wicketkeeper BJ Watling pulling off a smart catch off a top-edge to send back Umar Akmal in the eighth over. Afridi walked out. He played a couple of streaky shots early on, but gave his fans something to savour, slamming a slower ball from Scott Styris over long-on. A similar stroke from Nazir two deliveries later brought up his half-century, and Pakistan looked set for a massive score.McCullum turned to his main man, Bond, for help. He delivered by ending the stand, getting Nazir to slice the ball to third man. McCullum then relied on his part-timer Redmond to get through some quiet overs with his flighted legspinners. Redmond exceeded expectations by dismissing the experienced middle-order pair of Afridi and Shoaib Malik.Pakistan had lost some of the impetus, but Razzaq showed some of the big-hitting he was famous for several years ago to muscle Pakistan past 160, which proved more than sufficient.New Zealand have less than a day to regroup and find XI fit players before the second Twenty20 on Friday.

Newcastle United are keen on Burnley’s Ben Mee in addition to his centre-back partner James Tarkowski, according to The Mirror’s James Nursey. 

The lowdown

Back in October, it was reported that Tarkowski was one of the first targets of the new regime (via The Telegraph), but it has now emerged that Mee, whose contract is also up at the end of the season, is attracting the Magpies’ interest as well.

The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson has previously written that Newcastle’s new owners would focus heavily on players in the final months of their deals.

It should be noted that, in the case of Mee, who is valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, there is the option for a further year. He has been described as a ‘true leader’ and an ‘underrated’ defender by TV pundit Micah Richards.

The latest

According to The Mirror, Eddie Howe is ‘desperate’ to bring in a new centre-back and likes both players. His former club Burnley are unlikely to let both of them leave, but importantly, Newcastle are in a position to double their wages.

Mee and Tarkowski are the top two earners at Turf Moor, taking home £55,000 and £50,000 per week respectively.

The verdict

As noted by Nursey, there is an added advantage to targeting Burnley players – weakening a likely relegation rival.

Newcastle are shipping an average of two goals per game this season, and the hope would be that Mee and/or Tarkowski could give them a more secure platform for their survival bid. This was a duo which helped Burnley to keep 15 clean sheets in the 2019/20 season – a record bettered only by Manchester City.

Compared to positional peers in the top five leagues, Mee ranks in the 99th percentile for aerial duels won and the 97th for clearances. Based on those figures, he could help Newcastle immeasurably when their backs are against the wall.

In other news, Newcastle are also interested in this ‘incredible talent’

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has said the amount of pressure that his bowlers built around New Zealand paid off and brought them victory on the final day of the first Test

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Galle22-Aug-2009

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has said the amount of pressure his bowlers built around New Zealand paid off and brought them victory on the final day of the first Test in Galle.”It wasn’t an easy victory, I think we had to work very hard for it,” Sangakkara said after Sri Lanka won by 202 runs. “It’s the amount of pressure we built around the New Zealand batsmen that really paid off. We kept the run-rate down at 1.8 runs an over and right throughout the game it didn’t go beyond the average of 2.5 runs an over. Once we do that, especially with our first-innings total, we were always going to have them on the back foot and on the defensive.”Sangakkara said Dilshan’s aggressive batting was another key factor behind the success. “Dilshan’s batting in the first innings got us out of trouble and in the second innings he gave us enough time to declare.”Everything Dilshan does have brought us results either with his bowling, a crucial run-out on the field, a brilliant catch or with his batting,” Sangakkara said. “We asked him to take on a lot of responsibility this year and he’s matured as a cricketer willing to take on the responsibility. Opening in this series is another task we’ve entrusted him with. He took it in the right spirit and made it a great success for himself.”Left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara was another impressive performer, taking six wickets in the match, but Sangakkara said Thushara had a long way to go before taking on the mantle of the great Chaminda Vaas. “Thilan is a different type of bowler. He doesn’t get the same amount of swing that Vaasy does,” he said. “What he does get is he is consistently at 140-plus kmph, swings and seams, and at that pace when that happens even on flat decks like this he gets batsmen into trouble. He is on the right track we just want to make sure he stays there and keeps improving. [Nuwan] Kulasekera and Thushara have been a huge bonus for us this year in all forms of the game.”The return of Prasanna Jayawardene as wicketkeeper was also a huge bonus, Sangakkara added. “Prasanna was amazing. I always maintained that he is the best wicketkeeper in the world by far and he just showed us why that is today. He was very tidy behind the stumps, took every single chance that came his way and exerted a lot of pressure on the batsmen by the way he went about his job. The real positive for us was the way he batted in the second innings.”Sangakkara said that if the New Zealand batsmen batted like their captain, Daniel Vettori (who made a battling 67), the game would have gone on for a longer period. “The character that Dan Vettori showed especially with his batting in both innings just goes to show that one or two partnerships like that could have stretched the game for longer but the pressure we put on them was relentless with Mendis, Murali, Thushara and occasional bowlers coming in and picking up wickets.”

A number of Wolves supporters have hailed Daniel Podence’s Twitter post following an excellent performance in the 1-0 win over West Ham.

Bruno Lage’s side returned to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon, looking to respond from the 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace before the international break.

They came up against an in-form Hammers team sitting third in the table before the game but the hosts came away with all three points at Molineux.

A tight game was eventually decided by a Raul Jimenez goal in the second half and one player who stood out throughout proceedings was Podence.

On his first league start for nearly two months, the Portuguese forward played three key passes, had two shots on target and provided the assist for the goal. After the game he posted on Twitter, simply saying: “Always delivering” followed by emojis including the number 3 and a check mark.

Wolves fans laud Podence

It was a fantastic performance from the winger against West Ham, and these Wolves fans took to Twitter to shower him with praise, with one supporter calling him an “absolute baller” and others imploring Lage to start him consistently.

“I proper love Danny P”

Credit: @GladonK

“Absolute baller today lad”

Credit: @Cal_Wood1990

“Postman Pod”

Credit: @wwfcscott

“Maybe not always but today when it counted. Great to have you back: love to see you at your best. UTW”

Credit: @dobspoon

“Great game lad”

Credit: @jlewwfc

“The most underrated Wolves player. Bruno should start him every match. Oi Oi Podence!”

Credit: @Joeybrainsgood

In other news, some Wolves fans have bemoaned a transfer rumour that has emerged. Read more here.

Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal has said he exchanged tips with Muttiah Muralitharan on bowling the doosra during the tour of Sri Lanka which just concluded

Cricinfo staff15-Aug-2009Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal has said he exchanged tips with Muttiah Muralitharan on bowling the doosra during the tour of Sri Lanka. Murali, Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker and one the leading practitioners of the doosra, was interested in how Ajmal bowled the same delivery.”Yes we had a few chats, it was interesting and useful to talk to a great bowler like Murali,” Ajmal told Pakpassion.net. “I asked him about some of his newer deliveries and his methods behind those deliveries.”We talked about the importance of varying the flight and the pace of deliveries and he was particularly interested in my doosra, wanted to see how I bowled it and my grip when I bowled that delivery”.Ajmal had earlier troubled the Australians during the one-day series in the UAE in April. He was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in his debut Test series in Sri Lanka with 14 wickets. He took five wickets in the ODIs and 3 for 18 in the one-off Twenty20, the best figures in the match from either team.”There was a lot of extra pressure on me as it was my debut Test series,” Ajmal said. “I took 14 wickets at 30.07 which isn’t too bad against a team that plays spin very well and we were playing in conditions that they were familiar with.”Ajmal bowled 43 overs in the second innings of the third Test at the SSC but managed to take just one wicket. After squandering big opportunities in the first two Tests, Pakistan had a shot at a consolation win in the third but the Sri Lankans batted out the final day and lost only four wickets in their improbable chase of 492.”The third Test was very frustrating as the heavy roller used on the last day just seemed to flatten the pitch and it became lifeless,” Ajmal said. “There was no spin, no pace and no extra bounce, unlike the first innings when it was very lively and assisted Danish [Kaneria] and I”.Ajmal said he would be cooling his heals for a bit before his next assignment. “I’m looking forward to a nice two-week rest and some time with my family before the training camps and trial matches start for the Champions Trophy.”