Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl should be relatively pleased with his start to life in the dugout at Ibrox, with four wins out of four in the Scottish Premiership so far.

The Light Blues beat Livingston 2-1 at Ibrox in a controversial clash in their first game back after the international break, as no penalty was awarded for handball against Emmanuel Fernandez, who also scored the opening goal in the match.

Rangers got the job done, though, and claimed all three points thanks to a second-half strike from Mohamed Diomande, who tapped into an empty net at the back post.

The Ivorian central midfielder had an open goal in front of him because Bojan Miovski made a brilliant run over the top and poked the ball to Diomande as the goalkeeper came out to meet him.

It was a moment of real quality from the Macedonia international to help clinch all three points for the Scottish giants on Saturday, after what has been a difficult start to the campaign.

The Light Blues bolstered their attacking ranks with the £8m signing of Youssef Chermiti and the £4.2m signing of Miovski in the summer, and supporters may need to be patient with both of them.

Why Rangers fans need to be patient with Miovski and Chermiti

Rangers splashed the cash to bring those two centre-forwards to Ibrox, particularly Chermiti, and you can understand why some supporters may not be happy with what they have produced so far this season.

Both strikers have only scored one goal so far in the Scottish Premiership under Russell Martin, Stevie Smith, and Danny Rohl combined, which shows that they have rarely provided much in the way of quality in the final third.

Appearances

9

7

Goals

1

1

Minutes per goal

551

231

Big chances created

1

0

Assists

1

1

Duel success rate

33%

39%

As you can see in the table above, Chermiti and Miovski have both failed to offer value for money in the league since their respective big-money moves from Everton and Girona in the summer.

Rangers and their supporters should still have some patience, though, because Miovski is a proven Premiership goalscorer who can offer quality if he hits his stride.

The left-footed attacker, as shown in the graphic below, was a prolific scorer during his time with Aberdeen, before his move to Spain last year, and this suggests that there is still hope that he can turn his Ibrox career around.

Chermiti does not have the same history of goalscoring, having failed to score a single first-team goal in two seasons with Everton, that Miovski behind him has to suggest that he will come good, but the Portuguese striker is only 21.

The former Toffees flop has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and signed a long-term contract at Ibrox, which is why there may need to be patience with him to allow him to flourish as a player. It is not his fault that former sporting director Kevin Thelwell spent £8m on him, and he should be given a chance to prove his worth in the years to come.

Whilst patience is needed with Miovski and Chermiti, who were both permanent additions signed to long contracts, there are some other summer signings who should not be awarded the same patience.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Nasser Djiga was brought in on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers during the summer transfer window in an attempt to bolster Russell Martin’s defence, but he has been an even bigger waste of time than the two strikers.

Why Djiga has been a worse Rangers signing than Miovski and Chermiti

The Burkina Faso international is only on loan from the Premier League side until the end of the season and the club do not have an option to make the deal permanent next summer.

That means, as it stands, the central defender should only be judged on his performances in the short-term because he is not a player who the Light Blues will benefit from if he develops and improves by the end of the campaign, as he will be off down south to England again.

Therefore, on current performance levels, Djiga looks to be an even bigger waste of time than Miovski and Chermiti, because he is not delivering quality on the pitch for Rangers in the present.

Livingston

90

Dundee

8

Roma

90

Celtic

102

Hibernian

90

Kilmarnock

0

Brann

76

Dundee United

0

Falkirk

90

Sturm Graz

0

The Wolves loanee, as shown by the table above, has been in and out of the side in recent weeks and months, which has been because of his inconsistent performances.

Injuries to John Souttar and Derek Cornelius provided him with a chance to impress against Livingston, but his error for Tete Yengi’s equaliser was described as “appalling” defending by reporter Tom English, as the centre-back allowed the forward to run off the back of him to score from a long pass.

That mistake against Livingston on Saturday is far from the first one that he has made in a Rangers shirt. Four Lads Had A Dream claimed that he

“genuinely looks lost” during the 3-1 defeat to Celtic in the semi-final of the League Cup earlier this month.

Djiga also got off to a poor start to life at Ibrox in August. He was sent off in a 1-1 draw with Dundee at Ibrox before making a ‘disastrous’ error at the start of the club’s Champions League play-off qualifier against Club Brugge.

These examples show that the central defender has been an unreliable performer for the Light Blues throughout the season, for both Martin and Rohl, which is why he has been a dismal signing on current evidence.

That is also why he has been an even bigger waste of time than Miovski and Chermiti, because the two strikers were permanent signings on multi-year deals and have time to turn things around, whilst Djiga was a season-long loan signing who should be making an instant impact.

The new Ryan Kent: Rangers can unearth "electrifying" Gassama upgrade

Rangers have a possible upgrade on Djedi Gassama who could be their next Ryan Kent, but he has not played any minutes this season.

ByDan Emery Nov 23, 2025

Unless the Wolves loanee can drastically turn his form around and prove himself to be a reliable figure at the back for Rohl, he may go down as one of the worst signings of the Thelwell era, which lasted one summer.

Manchester United and Ruben Amorim could now be without one Red Devils star for their next five Premier League games.

Man Utd injury latest on Martinez, Mainoo, Maguire

The Red Devils have been without Lisandro Martinez for the majority of 2025 due to an ACL injury, however, the Argentine defender appears to be closing in on a return.

Back in full team training, Martinez wanted to travel with the side for the draw against Nottingham Forest and has since been training with his national side during the international break.

Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo missed the 2-2 draw with Tottenham last time out, whereas Harry Maguire was replaced with a hamstring issue, however, both could return in time as Man Utd host Everton at Old Trafford on Monday.

Summer signing Benjamin Sesko also joined the injury list prior to the international break after being replaced late on against Spurs. Amorim admitted that he was “concerned” with Sesko’s injury and not his form.

“That [his recent form] is not the biggest concern now. I’m concerned with an injury, because it is in the knee, and I don’t know. We need Ben [Sesko] to be a better team. We have to check. He has something in his knee. Let’s see.”

Now, Amorim has found out how long the Slovenian will be missing for.

Man Utd handed Sesko injury update

As reported by Sky Sports, Sesko has avoided a major knee injury after further scans.

The forward will now undergo a period of rehab running into December and is expected to be sidelined for a month.

Should that prove accurate, Sesko will miss United’s next five Premier League fixtures and could return just before Christmas against Aston Villa on December 21.

Man Utd games Sesko will miss	Date
Man Utd vs Everton	November 24
Crystal Palace vs Man Utd	November 30
Man Utd vs West Ham	December 4
Wolves vs Man Utd	December 8
Man Utd vs Bournemouth	December 15

This will come as a blow to Amorim, who hailed the £160,000-a-week striker following his performance and goal in the 2-0 win over Sunderland.

“He has time, he’s going to stay here for a lot of years. The media puts a lot of pressure on the goals for the striker but for me it’s the effort that is the most important thing. Every time we kick the ball he’s fighting for it, that’s massive for us. To win the second ball and give us time to breathe. I’m really happy with that.”

Now, Amorim will have to find a way to cope without the towering striker, whether that be by bringing back someone like Joshua Zirkzee or using Matheus Cunha as a forward with captain Bruno Fernandes playing in a more advanced midfield role.

Forget Bruno and De Ligt: Man Utd "monster" is looking like a new captain

Once again, the San Diego Padres' bats fell silent when they needed them most.

Last October, San Diego had the Los Angeles Dodgers on the ropes, leading 2–1 in the National League Division Series with a home game on deck. Then, L.A. shut the Friars out over the next 18 innings, won the series and cruised to a World Series title. In all, the Dodgers held San Diego scoreless for 24 consecutive innings.

A year later, the same problem reared its ugly head again.

The Padres were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, dropping their NL wild-card series 2–1 after three tight games. San Diego’s batters scored five total runs in the three-game set and looked helpless against every pitcher Chicago threw at them. Perhaps most crucially, the top three in the Padres lineup, Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arráez, and Manny Machado, combined to go 4-for-33 (.121) in the series, and as a group went 0-for-11 with three strikeouts in both Game 1 Game 3.

It wasn’t a shocking outcome if you’ve followed San Diego’s offense this season. Manager Mike Shildt and his staff have focused the team on a contact-heavy, small-ball approach all year. The result was a shocking absence of power given some of the names in the lineup. As a team, the Padres slugged .390, which ranked 22nd in baseball, and they totaled only 152 home runs as a team, which ranked 28th. That philosophy has gotten them unceremoniously dumped in the postseason in back-to-back seasons.

Something has to change.

San Diego’s Approach Needs an Overhaul

The Padres don’t hit enough when it counts. They ranked 25th in OPS with runners in scoring position this season (.707), which continually bit them in big spots. In the three wild-card games against the Cubs, San Diego was 3-for-26 in those situations, including 0-for-8 in the decisive Game 3.

Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts struggled with injuries this season, and neither really got things going until late in the campaign. Bogaerts was the team's best hitter in the wild-card series and closed the season well. Merrill is too good to slash .264/.317/.457 with only 16 home runs next season. If he's healthy, San Diego can count on him to be better.

Expecting bounce-backs from those two and having trade deadline acquisition Ramón Laureano for all of 2026 should be a boost. But that won't be enough.

The impending departure of the high-contact, no-power Arráez will free up the Padres to add a first baseman with pop. Gavin Sheets far exceeded expectations this season with 19 home runs and a .746 OPS, and could take the job, but the team should aim higher. Sheets fits as a potential DH as well, and they could attempt to bring trade-deadline pick up Ryan O’Hearn back.

Tatis produced 6.1 fWAR this season, primarily as the team’s leadoff hitter. But his wRC+ (131) was down slightly from 2024 (135), and he slashed .268/.368/.446. His .814 OPS was fine, but below where a player of his caliber should be. He did have a career-high 89 walks and lowered his strikeout rate by a full 7%, but while his average exit velocity of 93.9 was in the 95th percentile, his launch angle dropped to 9.4, continuing a downward trend since he logged 13.8 in 2021. Tatis also swung at the first pitch in 42% of his at-bats—not exactly the approach of an ideal leadoff guy.

The 26-year-old isn’t the only one who needs to do some tweaking. Machado hit 27 home runs, drove in 97 runs, and slashed .275/.335/.460. His OPS was .795, down .002 points from 2024, but has significantly dropped from a high of .898 in 2022. Some of that is likely age-related, but he did produce 3.8 fWAR, his best total since 2022. The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer can still get it done, but his chase, whiff and strikeout rates have continued to inch up over the past few years.

Frankly, the biggest issue isn't that Tatis and Machado haven't come through enough. The problem is that if they don't, the Padres are sunk. There simply isn't enough thump throughout the lineup to make up for it if one or both of them struggle.

That much was obvious over the past three games.

Padres Face a Big Offseason

Arráez, O’Hearn, and Jose Iglesias could all bolt the team this offseason, along with pitchers Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez and Michael King. As long as the incredible Ruben Niebla is in charge of the rotation and bullpen, there isn't much room for concern there, but the team’s offense needs more pieces to be successful.

San Diego’s pitching staff will remain among the best in baseball for the foreseeable future, but the lineup needs to be upgraded to match. I’m not sure how they’ll do it, but with Bogaerts and Machado aging and after A.J. Preller has traded piles of prospects over the past few years, the franchise needs to treat this like an urgent problem.

The Friars sold out in 72 of their 81 home games this season and finished second in attendance, trailing only the Dodgers, as 3,437,201 fans entered Petco Park. Despite a long history of losing, the team has reached the playoffs in four of the last six years. By current standards, this is a wildly successful franchise that needs to continue pushing forward.

San Diego isn’t far from having a championship-caliber roster. A few more pieces could get the team over that sizable hump. For now, the reason the Padres failed in 2024 and ’25 is clear: they simply don’t have the bats or approach to compete when it matters.

That needs to change if they hope to bring the city its first World Series title.

For the Los Angeles Dodgers, weaknesses do not stay weakness for very long.

The Dodgers are signing pitcher Edwin Díaz away from the Mets in an apparent bid to boost their bullpen, according to a Tuesday morning report from Will Sammon of . The deal is, per Ken Rosenthal, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Sammon, reportedly a three-year pact that will pay Diaz $69 million.

Díaz, 31, has spent six seasons with New York (excluding a 2023 lost to injury). Over the course of his tenure, he saved 144 games for the Mets—third in team history—after saving 109 in three years for the Mariners.

He was particularly effective in 2022, when he finished ninth in the National League Cy Young voting and 16th in the NL MVP voting (additionally, he helped turn his entrance music into a minor electronic hit). He also made the NL All-Star team in 2025.

Los Angeles' relievers lost 33 games last year—four above the league average—but the Dodgers won their second straight World Series title anyway.

Also: has there been an instance of both openers getting out in the nineties in a Test?

Steven Lynch09-Jun-2020Tim Southee scored 77 in his first Test, but hasn’t exceeded that in 104 more innings in 72 matches. Has anyone played more Tests without surpassing their highest score? asked Chris Barraclough from New Zealand

The New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee made quite a splash with the bat in his debut Test, against England in Napier in 2007-08, slamming 77 not out in the second innings with nine sixes. Thanks to some nimble number-crunching from Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team, I can confirm that no one else has played as many as 72 matches without improving the score they made in their first game. The previous record belonged to England’s Darren Gough, who hit 65 on Test debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1994, and never exceeded that in 57 further Test matches.Zaheer Abbas scored 274 in his second Test, for Pakistan against England at Edgbaston in 1971, and never improved on that in 77 further appearances. But the record for most Tests played after recording a top score is held by the South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, who hit 125 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1999-2000 in his 21st Test, and played 126 more matches without bettering that. Stuart Broad has so far played 106 Tests since making 169 – his only century – against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010 in his 32nd match.South Africa’s Jacques Kallis made his highest score in his 150th Test, with 224 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town in 2011-12. Kumar Sangakkara (122nd match), Sachin Tendulkar (119th), Anil Kumble (118th, a maiden century), Gordon Greenidge (107th), Brian Lara (106th, his 400 not out), and Glenn McGrath (102nd) also made their highest score after playing more than 100 Tests. Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly both recorded their highest scores in their 99th. Has there ever been an instance of both openers getting out in the nervous nineties in a Test? asked Zohaib Asif from Pakistan

It turns out there have been four Test innings in which both openers were dismissed in the nineties. The first two were by India: against Pakistan in Lahore in 1978-79, Sunil Gavaskar made 97 and Chetan Chauhan 93; then in Kolkata in 1997-98, VVS Laxman scored 95 and Navjot Singh Sidhu 97 against Australia.For Pakistan at The Oval in 2006 – the match eventually won by England after Pakistan forfeited on being accused of ball-tampering – Mohammad Hafeez made 95 and Imran Farhat 91. And in Melbourne in 2009-10, Shane Watson made 93 and Simon Katich 98 for Australia against Pakistan.In all there have been 56 Test innings that included two scores of 90-99, from anywhere in the batting order.Yusuf Pathan played his first ever match for India in the final of the inaugural World Twenty20 in Johannesburg, in 2007•Getty ImagesWhich player made his international debut in a T20 World Cup final? asked Joel Pojas from the Philippines

I think the only man who fits the bill here is India’s Yusuf Pathan, whose first international appearance came in the final of the inaugural World T20 competition, in Johannesburg in September 2007. Pathan opened the innings and hit his second ball (from Mohammad Asif) for six. He went on to play a further 78 white-ball internationals for India.Syed Kirmani won 88 Test caps for India. But which other Test player also had the first name Syed and the last name Kirmani? asked Simon Bechley from England

The answer to this tricky one is not, as you might expect, another Indian: it’s one of Pakistan’s finest batsmen, Zaheer Abbas, who generally used only the middle part of his full name – Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani. Wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani caught his almost-namesake seven times in Tests, and once in a one-day international. Which is the most experienced Test side of them all, in terms of matches played by the team? asked S Mehra from the United States

I vaguely remembered answering this question some time ago when the answer was the ICC World XI that took on Australia in the Super Series Test in Sydney in 2005-06. That team had a combined total of 818 caps (including the game in question). But that answer has been out of date for some time: India have now fielded eight teams with more caps between them. The current record stands at a combined total of 861, by the Indian XI that played Australia in Bangalore in 2008-09. The team comprised Sachin Tendulkar, who was winning his 151st cap, Anil Kumble (131), Rahul Dravid (126), Sourav Ganguly (110), VVS Laxman (97), Harbhajan Singh (70), Virender Sehwag (61), Zaheer Khan (57), MS Dhoni (30), Gautam Gambhir (18) and Ishant Sharma (10).Use our
feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Atapattu calls the youngster “positive, free and energised”, and Siriwardene expects her to do her job once she quits

Annesha Ghosh29-Feb-2020A Dilscoop for four in the penultimate over of a nervy chase against India in just her second international match made heads turn. A wily run-out in her delivery stride to dismiss South Africa’s Sune Luus for leaving the crease at the non-striker’s end became a talking point. Only a year into her international career, Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling allrounder Kavisha Dilhari had made quite the splash with her pluck, smarts and offspin darts – enough for Chamari Atapattu to identify her as one the “most positive, free and energised cricketers” she had “ever seen play for our nation”.”I feel she is like me; in my little age, I used to be like her – aggressive, wanting to do more, wanting to prove myself through my cricket,” Atapattu told ESPNcricinfo as she watched Dilhari go through a lengthy nets session at the Murdoch University Field in Perth last week. “That Dilscoop was one of the most audacious things I have seen a teen cricketer pull off.”I know she’s positive, but I didn’t expect her to Dilscoop a pacer with such ease. That was special, as were the wickets she took of the dangerous Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] on that tour; I scored a hundred in that match, but it was Kavisha who turned the game in our favour with that over, that shot; she won my heart.”Atapattu is not the only Sri Lanka player to gush over Dilhari, now 19 and playing her second T20I World Cup.”I am going to retire [from international cricket] after this World Cup,” senior offspinning allrounder Shashikala Siriwardene said, “and I feel she is the one who will fulfill my role in the team. When I came into the side, my passion for the game and, of course, my skills, were quite similar to hers. She has the talent and tenacity to serve Sri Lanka cricket for a long period.”A native of Rathgama, the southern village close to Galle town, Dilhari’s journey from playing cricket for several years with just two pairs of training pants to being among the 20 centrally contracted players has demanded resilience from the young allrounder both on the field and off it.”When I was 14, my father bought me two sets of pants – really cheap ones – from Colombo, so I could start training,” Dilhari said. “But even then it ate considerably into the modest income he would earn from fishing. But he realised I must start early. He would see me grow eager by the day to get into a formal set-up every time I read some newspaper article on Inoka Ranaweera [the left-arm spinner] and her,” she adds, pointing coyly at her idol Siriwardene, who volunteered to play interpreter for this interview.

“She is one of the best young players in Sri Lanka, in the world and I trust her to be one of our bests of all time. I know her talent and potential, so I explained why it’s important to get her back into the side.”Chamari Atapattu on Kavisha Dilhari

“This is my second World Cup, and she [Siriwardene] will soon be gone, but I don’t think I would have been playing this tournament here in Australia had it not been for the support of seniors like her, the captain, and others who guided me through my recent injury layoff, the most difficult, testing phase of my career so far.”A beneficiary of the SLC inter-school structure and the charity organisation Foundation of Goodness, Dilhari started out as a right-arm medium-pacer but switched to bowling offspin on the advice of her school coach Mahesh Sandaruwan. The decision fast-tracked her graduation to the national level but played a part in an injury that grounded her for over seven months.”At an SLC Under-19 inter-school tournament in 2015-16, I took three-wicket hauls in the semi-finals and final for Devapathiraja College,” Dilhari recounted. “A coach in my school said SLC were looking for young spinners for the 2016 T20 World Cup in India and my offspin was key as I started getting noticed around that time.”A call-up for a national camp materialised that year, where “the exposure, and knowledge received on spin bowling and batting became pivotal”, by Dilhari’s own admission, towards her debut for Sri Lanka in a home ODI against Pakistan in March 2018. A year on from stepping on to the international arena, though, a problem emerged. A stress fracture.Unnoticed – and indiscernible – to some degree, remnants of her front-on, open-bowling pace action could have played a part in in the injury, which she sustained on the left of her back during a practice match against England at home in March last year. “I was just 17, so I thought my career as a spinner would take a blow if I couldn’t be part of the England series,” she said. “But my seniors made me see merit in the decision to just focus on regaining fitness without thinking of what is, at the end of the day, part and parcel of every athlete’s life.”Overcoming the disappointment of missing top-flight international cricket for a protracted period, Dilhari put her mind into recovering in time to thrust herself back onto the selectors’ radar. With help from team physio Tasneem Yusuf and head coach Harsha de Silva, she changed her action to a more side-on one, “a big step towards a comeback”. The four-team Asian Cricket Council Women’s Emerging Team’s Cup in October last year, where she finished as Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker, marked her return to competitive cricket. A month-and a half later, the South Asian Games Women’s Cricket Competition where Sri Lanka finished runners-up to Bangladesh, brought more game-time in a largely uncertain lead-up to the T20 World Cup squad announcement.”Just after her injury, she was struggling both as a bowler and batter. Her all-round performance fell because she didn’t get much time to practice,” Atapattu recalled. “But after the Emerging Cup, I spoke to her because a lot of the Sri Lankan management said she is not good.”But I told them that we have to back her; she is one of the best young players in Sri Lanka, in the world and I trust her to be one of our bests of all time. I know her talent and potential, so I explained why it’s important to get her back into the side.”Coach de Silva echoed Atapattu’s words after Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup opener last week. “Her recovery took longer than expected, but I think with her the strength is her consistency with the ball, the control that she has,” de Silva said after his side’s match against New Zealand where Dilhari picked up the wicket of veteran Suzie Bates. “She has the potential to become probably a good like a good all-round cricketer in the future.”An admirer of Nathan Lyon, Dilhari, who counts her Dilscoop moment among her favourite experiences in her nascent career so far, said her time away from the competitive circuit had taught her to embrace the uncertainties of international cricket.”I try to think back about my good performances when my morale is down,” sh said. “That’s what I did when I was out of the side for so long. The Dilscoop, that dismissal (of the non-striker backing up), the wickets, the injury – everything is part of my journey. My dream is to get the team into the top four rankings across formats. If I am able to do that, I know it will be all worthwhile and I would also be able to fulfil a major part of my other dream: to become one of the world’s best allrounders.”

Rohit Sharma reflects on the influence of coach Vasudev Paranjape on his formative years and how it continues to define him as a cricketer today

Rohit Sharma01-Oct-2020Cricket Drona: For the Love of Vasu Paranjape (Penguin eBury Press)I remember very clearly when I met Vasoo Sir [Vasudeo Paranjape] for the first time. There was an under-17 camp at Wankhede Stadium, and out of the thirty probables only fifteen were going to make it to the team. When you’re a kid trying to make your mark in Mumbai cricket, you’re more focused on what you have to do at a trial than on learning about people who are watching you. I knew they were all respected coaches, especially Vasoo Sir, but I had no clue about what cricket he had played or which players he had mentored.Soon after, Vasoo Sir was in conversation with Pravin Amre, who was the chairman of the Junior Selection Committee; he was telling him about me. When Amre Sir started to talk to me about Vasoo Sir and explained who he was and what he had done for Mumbai cricket, I was dazed. I realized that this was a massive opportunity for me. Here was a man whose knowledge of cricket was amazing, and whose mind bordered on cricket-crazy, and I had a chance to absorb what I could. I decided to make the most of this opportunity – to learn, to glean as much as I possibly could from Sir. This was my big moment!Though he mainly had to focus on the playing eleven, I kept trying to find some excuse to be near him and talk to him. Actually, I just wanted him to talk, so I could listen and learn. Remember, we come from the Bombay school of cricket. There is a standard that has been set and these are the people who have done it before us – they played with legends and won everything, every season.He watched me during one of my net sessions at Wankhede, and then something happened. He went to the captain and said, ‘We need to get this kid into the team. You figure out your combination and all that. I won’t interfere. But this boy needs to play. Work with me.’Prashant Naik, who was the captain, came to me. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I don’t know anything about you and I’ve not heard much about you either, but Vasoo Sir says you have to play. So you’re playing tomorrow.’When I scored a century in an under-17 game in Baroda, I remember Vasoo Sir talking to Kiran More about me. Vasoo Sir saw some spark in me, and he always made it a point to push my case.I got to learn from him how to approach batting in different situations. He always told us: ‘No two situations are the same. Try and read the game – where you are, what you can do for your team and the situation your team is in. Learn this as soon as you can because now is the time to learn, not when you are playing for Bombay or India.’

He protected us from everything. He got negative feedback from selectors, officials, journalists and others, but he just kept it all to himself. When he came to us, he never mentioned a word. It was all batting, bowling, fielding, solving problems.

In so many of my innings for India, there have been instances when I have thought of something that Sir had told me all those years ago and applied that to the present game.When I first met him, I had only played one season of junior cricket. I had no concept of playing for Mumbai or India. But here was this person telling me what I should do, urging me to take small steps ahead. Young players sometimes get overawed and forget that the big things happen only if you do small things perfectly. This is something he always did, as I later realised.When speaking to young players, he knew how to get them to move forward, one step at a time. There is no point telling youngsters about bigger goals at that early a stage in their careers, and he understood that. This is what you call a helping hand. This is just what young sportspersons need.When I go out to the middle, I remember the things Vasoo Sir told me back then. Things like: as a batsman or a captain, if you can’t read the situation, the team is already in trouble; if you’re the boss, you have to walk out like you mean it, otherwise the shoulders of those who follow you will droop.He treated all of us like his own children, not as cricketers. We never felt that we were training under a coach. He was more like a father figure to us. He never uttered an aggressive word, projected no negativity. We lost games, there were people who did not perform consistently, but he never spoke to them harshly. He was always polite and friendly, and that’s what you need at that age. I was lucky to have played under him.I felt no pressure despite the fact that I was playing in the Mumbai atmosphere. All our lives we had been told that if you don’t win the title, it’s not a successful season. We were always reminded of the high standards set by those who came before us. All of us had to play with that in mind. But I can confidently tell you that not for one moment did we feel any pressure from the management, coach or selectors, and that was because of Vasoo Sir. He would speak to all of them, listening carefully to what they had to say and then tell them, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.’He protected us from everything. He got negative feedback from selectors, officials, journalists and others, but he just kept it all to himself. We also heard these things. But when he came to us, he never mentioned a word. It was all batting, bowling, fielding, solving problems.Paranjape knew how to get young players to move ahead one step at a time, by setting small, achievable goalsIt’s very important to be able to demonstrate a skill, especially to younger guys, when they’re just not getting it. The worst thing is for the coach to send the wrong message. If a player does not understand, Vasoo Sir would not let him go. If he had to pick up a bat and get in the nets to show the player just how something should be done, he would do that.Our team was the Mumbai gang. But Vasoo Sir could talk to us in Hindi, English, Gujarati and obviously Marathi. Apart from those, he could also speak other languages: fielding, batting and bowling. Everyone got what they needed from him, whether it was information or technical input.Even today, I look forward to any message from Vasoo Sir. Jatin, who has always been around, is my bridge. I always ask him, ‘Anything?’ I know Vasoo Sir watches my games when he can and, trust me, any input he gives me is gold dust. After every innings I wait to hear from him, and if he can’t get through to me because I’m travelling, I wait for Jatin to get in touch.I blossomed as a cricketer in that one season with Vasoo Sir. Whether we won or lost, he would sit us around and talk about the game. After these sessions, we let it all go and went to sleep with a light mind, shedding the baggage and thinking about what we needed and wanted to do the next day. He freed my mind, allowed me to dream about playing for India and showed me the steps I had to take to get there. That’s what Vasoo Sir does to a cricketer.When I look back, I realise how shrewdly Sir had forged the path that led me to the world stage of cricket. I was not from a big club or a big school or a college team. I was an outlier. But Sir’s recommendations to Pravin Amre, Kiran More and Dilip Vengsarkar got people talking about me, and I delivered on that promise. Without Sir by my side in those early years, I would not have been able to achieve as much as I fortunately have.

The player loan system became active from October 7, and yet no franchise has sought this path

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Oct-2020Chennai Super Kings have been searching for a good Indian batsman, preferably left-handed, in the absence of Suresh Raina. Delhi Capitals can do with an Indian wristspinner after a freak injury ruled out Amit Mishra as well as an Indian keeper as back-up for Rishabh Pant. Kings XI Punjab desperately need an overseas fast bowler who can reduce their death bowling woes. Rajasthan Royals will benefit from another allrounder to support Ben Stokes.There are players sitting idle in IPL with other franchises who can actually help teams plug these holes. Parthiv Patel can fill the void at Super Kings. Mayank Markande and Aditya Tare could be an option for the Capitals. Billy Stanlake or Lockie Ferguson or Keemo Paul could help Kings XI. As can Fabian Allen or Mitchell Santner at Royals.Franchises can seek to borrow some of these players via the player loan system which became active from October 7, after match 20 as per the IPL rules. And yet no franchise has sought this path which could fix their issues.According to the IPL rules: A franchise can borrow at least two players (capped or uncapped) for a short-term loan. The player should not have featured in more than two matches before he is loaned During the loan period the player cannot play against the parent franchise that released him He also cannot return to the parent franchise for the remainder of the season. Where did the idea come from?The IPL’s player loan system is based on the football model, especially the one in Europe. The loan system there serves several purposes. It’s a good way for teams to hang on to players who don’t fit in their immediate plans but have high resale value; in some cases the player is on very high wages, so the two clubs reach an understanding about sharing the wage cost while on loan.When Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-final two months ago, their scorers included Philippe Coutinho (ironically, on loan from Barcelona) and Ivan Perisic, on loan from Inter Milan.It’s also a good way for big clubs to send young players to smaller clubs to pick up experience – a way of both toughening them up and also ensuring they get match time from an early age. So Manchester United loaned out their promising goalkeeper Dean Henderson to Sheffield United in 2018; Sheffield were then in the second tier of English football, and Henderson’s heroics in goal were a big factor in their promotion to the Premier League that season.He remained with Sheffield through 2019-20, though Premier League rules barred him from playing against his parent club. He is now back at Manchester United after two standout seasons and, though 23, is seen as a challenger to the club’s main keeper, David de Gea. From the player’s and club’s perspective, mission accomplished.A player like Parthiv Patel, who has not played a single match for RCB, could be good player to borrow for CSK•Royal Challengers BangaloreWhy the resistance, then? The IPL works differently, though; most importantly, the season is shorter so a half-season loan with a bar on playing against your parent club means you would play only six matches at the most. Even if for a full season, with each team playing between 14-17 matches, the scope to loan youngsters to help them gain match time, as is done in Premier League, is not appealing for franchises.But the most important reason IPL franchises remain insecure about the player loan system is because they believe by releasing a player to a rival franchise they risk disclosing their plans and strategies. Kasi Viswanathan, the Chennai Super Kings chief executive, told this week as much.According to Viswanathan the Super Kings, who have won the IPL thrice and made the play-offs more than any other team, picks players at the auction with different plans in mind. If one plan does not work out, then players who are identified for Plan B come into play.It does not matter that MS Dhoni’s team, usually accustomed to being in the top-four in IPL during the league phase, right now is in the bottom half of the points table with just three wins in eight matches.Along with Raina, the Super Kings also lost Harbhajan Singh even before the tournament started. Kedar Jadhav, one of the key batsman in the middle order, has struggled. A player like Patel, who has not played a single match at Royal Challengers Bangalore could then be good player to borrow.One other reason is a team buys extra players as back-ups. Take Rahane, whom the Capitals bought from Royals after 2019 IPL as part of a trade. Rahane was bought with the sole purpose of serving back-up for the Capitals’ start-studded Indian top order. Rahane has now served as a replacement for Pant who has a hamstring injury. Similar examples can be seen with Chris Lynn at Mumbai Indians, who is a back-up for Quinton de Kock.What is the solution? The only way the player loan system could work in IPL is if a team is out of contention for play-offs. The parent team can then exploit the loan system to make extra money through the loan fee which needs to be paid by the franchise borrowing the player. However the IPL usually is a closely fought race especially for the top six slots, so teams are highly unlikely to let go any resource easily.Franchises are highly unlikely change their rigid mindsets. Consequently, the player loan system is a non-starter.

Also: why is Pant’s strike rate so slow this season and why did Axar Patel bowl just one over?

Vishal Dikshit24-Oct-2020Why did Narine bat ahead of Morgan, and why did it work?When the Kolkata Knight Riders lost their third wicket in the eighth over, Anrich Nortje had bowled two and Kagiso Rabada was into his second. It was likely that their remaining four overs would be kept for the end and the Capitals would turn to a combination of their spinners, Tushar Deshpande and Marcus Stoinis for the middle overs. With express pace at bay, the Knight Riders smartly sent out Sunil Narine, who has a much better record against spinners than quick bowlers, ahead of Eoin Morgan at No. 5.The Capitals then bowled R Ashwin, against whom both Nitish Rana and Narine had good records, followed by Deshpande and Stoinis. Both batsmen cashed in, tonking Ashwin for 30 in his first two overs. By the time Nortje was brought back in the 13th over, the stand was already worth 61 off 28 balls with seven fours and three sixes. They saw off Nortje’s third over for eight runs, and then took on Stoinis and Ashwin again to reach a century stand off just 46 balls.When Narine fell for a 32-ball 64 in the 17th over, the task of facing Rabada was in the more experienced hands of Morgan, who scored 17 off nine balls. Narine also confirmed in the innings break that the plan was always for him to bat just after the powerplay to upset the Capitals’ bowling plans in the middle overs, and acknowledged it was good to get going against spin.Why did Rana open the batting instead of Tripathi and Narine?The Knight Riders have used four opening combinations so far this IPL. With Narine back in the XI, they had to pick the openers out of Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi and Narine, and they went with the least expected combination of Gill and Rana possibly because of the opposition bowlers, Narine’s poor form while opening this IPL, and the need for a left-right combination at the top.The left-right combination was worth a shot because the Capitals have been using left-arm spinner Axar Patel and Ashwin regularly in the powerplay and Rana could be useful against both, given he struck 19 off seven balls against Ashwin the last time these two teams met. Rana ha scored 58 off 35 in that game but since then he could manage only 54 runs in six subsequent innings at a strike rate of 98.20, so the Knight Riders gave him a new batting position and it paid off.Did the Capitals try whatever they could against Rana and Narine?Not really. They bowled express pace against Rana up front but without using the short-ball strategy. Since 2018, Rana has been dismissed six times against the short ball – the length that has troubled him the most in that period – with a strike rate of 122. The Capitals neither kept a short-ball field for Rana when Rabada and Nortje bowled, nor did they try to target his rib cage despite opting to bowl on a greenish pitch. When Deshpande tried a short ball against Rana in the 10th over, the pace wasn’t that high, the bounce not nasty and Rana smote him over the shorter leg-side boundary for a six.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Capitals also used two overs of Ashwin for the four overs that were bowled after Narine came out to bat, despite the dominating record both Rana and Narine have against the spinner. It meant Narine didn’t face any express pace early on and instead got time to settle against spin. As a result, Narine smacked Ashwin for 32 runs off 11 balls and Rana collected 13 from seven balls.Eventually, the Knight Riders scored 115 runs in the middle overs (seventh to 16th) – the second-highest in an innings this season, behind Kings XI Punjab’s 118 against the Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah. The Capitals also didn’t bowl Axar Patel at all in the middle overs.Why did Axar Patel bowl only one over?When Rana and Narine were going after all the bowlers in the middle overs, the Capitals didn’t use Patel even once even though he has been one of their best this season, especially with his economical bowling in the first 10 overs. The initial thought must have been to avoid bowling left-arm spin to left-hand batsmen, but when you have made bowling changes in such a way that you can’t use your express bowlers against two batsmen short of runs in the last few games, it was probably worth trying Patel for at least one over from the end where the leg side had the longer boundary.Patel bowled just one over – the fifth – in the game for seven runs and it makes you wonder if the Capitals had the right strategy in place knowing that the Knight Riders had three left-hand batsmen in their top seven (Rana, Narine and Morgan).Why didn’t Ashwin bowl in the powerplay?Ashwin had bowled in the powerplay in seven out of the eight games he had played before Saturday but Stoinis got the ball ahead of him possibly because of Ashwin’s record against Rana. Apart from their head-to-head record in their last fixture, Rana has scored a total of 53 off 22 balls against Ashwin without getting dismissed in the IPL. That’s Ashwin’s second-worst record against a batsman with the worst being against Narine for 28 off 10 balls for zero dismissals, before this game (minimum 10 balls).What’s going on with Rishabh Pant?One of the most destructive Indian T20 batsmen hasn’t shown his true batting colours this IPL. Rishabh Pant’s strike rate in IPL 2019 was 162.66, only behind Andre Russell’s 204.81 and Hardik Pandya’s 191.42 (minimum 250 runs) but this IPL it has plummeted to 117.29 after eight innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt’s not like he hasn’t had enough deliveries to score big; he has faced 20 or more balls in six innings out of nine, but there has been a clear fall in his boundary-hitting, striking only six sixes so far, less than one per innings. Pant has appeared more constrained this season, curbing his natural game, as if he has been told to play differently and not attack right from the beginning.Mostly batting at No. 4, he hasn’t been going after the bowling the way he is known to. He came out in the third over but was on 9 off 14 when the powerplay ended. He struck two fours against Lockie Ferguson’s pace after that and ended up handing a catch on the leg side off Varun Chakravarthy for a 33-ball 27. His scoring rate has been so slow that only Aaron Finch and Shubman Gill have a lower strike rate than Pant among 27 batsmen who have faced 150-plus deliveries this season.

Wells was released by Sussex and did not play a game in the Bob Willis Trophy this summer

Matt Roller18-Nov-2020Luke Wells’ association with Sussex spans far longer than his 10 years on the club’s books as a professional. He played for their age-group teams since he was a boy, while his father Alan and uncle Colin scored nearly 30,000 first-class runs for the county between them.As such, it is no surprise that it is still yet to sink in that he is now a Lancashire player. “In 2019, we played them and they completely killed Sussex,” he recalls via Zoom, before tailing off and correcting himself. “I need to get used to saying ‘we’. completely killed Sussex.” It may be some time before that becomes second nature.It can only be hoped that the nature of his exit will not ruin Wells’ memories of his time at Hove. He scored 18 first-class hundreds in a Sussex shirt, all of them in first-class cricket. While the runs dried up somewhat in his final years at the club, it is only so long since he was being talked up as a potential England opener.”I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with the manner in which it ended,” he admits. “I know the financial situation was difficult and tough decisions had to be made [but] it potentially could have been handled a bit better. But look, I’ve been associated with the club since forever. I’ll always have a connection with this place, and I’ll always remember the good times.”ALSO READ: Luke Wells signs for Lancashire on two-year deal after Sussex releaseIf the response on social media was anything to go by, then Wells’ release came as a surprise to many. “Surely someone must sign Luke Wells,” tweeted Rob Key. “Proper player,” noted Jofra Archer, “and can bowl too.”

“I felt quite helpless and stuck. It was challenging, there’s no doubt about it. My fiancée and I have got a little boy who will be three in February, and there’s mortgages and all the normal stuff”Luke Wells didn’t play a game for Sussex in the Bob Willis Trophy

In fact, he had seen it coming a long way off. At the start of lockdown, Wells had raised his concerns to this website about the possibility of the whole season being lost, knowing that after two lean years, he was not guaranteed a contract extension. “Normally it’s black and white: you’re judged on performance, runs and wickets are your currency,” he said. “But if we play no red-ball cricket whatsoever, what happens?”Three months later, in the days before Sussex’s first Bob Willis Trophy game, he was asked to come into training earlier than usual. “I had a sit-down meeting on the square with Ben Brown, Jason Gillespie, Jason Swift and James Kirtley,” he recalls. “I was basically told I wasn’t playing and the numerous reasons why – technical, and all sorts of other things.”That was only for the first game, but there was no second-team cricket this year. I was coming to the last year of my contract and hadn’t gone that well previously, so I needed an opportunity to prove myself. I asked: ‘What can I do to get back into the team? Am I in your plans?’ I was told: ‘Unfortunately, with such a short season, we’re unlikely to change the team’.”I felt quite helpless and stuck. It was challenging, there’s no doubt about it. My fiancée and I have got a little boy who will be three in February, and there’s mortgages and all the normal stuff [to worry about]. The lack of control and not knowing what would happen was the most difficult thing. You’re planning for when it ends, but when your career is potentially cut in half in the midst of the economic situation we’re in now, it’s scary and stressful.”Luke Wells shovels into the leg side•MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWells is studying for a history degree at the Open University and doing his coaching badges, but had not banked on the prospect of finding himself without a club at the age of 29. Various counties were interested in signing him before Lancashire ramped up their pursuit, but there were stumbling blocks due to the obvious financial uncertainty.”I was staring down the barrel of having played my last game, given the situation with Covid, all the uncertainty, finances, budgets… A lot of counties were coming back to me saying: ‘We’d love to have you, but finances [are the problem]. After staring the reality of not playing again in the face, I’m so excited now to be able to continue doing what I love for a living.”Wells would normally be playing grade cricket in Melbourne at this time of year, but has instead been packing boxes ahead of his move up north at the end of this week. His first day in pre-season training is on Monday, and after signing a two-year deal, he has some level of security at the club.He will have something to prove when he pulls on the red rose for the first time. After piling on over 1,200 Championship runs in 2017, Wells averaged in the mid-20s in both of the following two seasons, and admits that his performances “haven’t been at the level I would expect of myself”.He recalls a “eureka moment” in the nets while out of the Sussex side this summer, when he worked out that a technical flaw had crept in, and insists he can get back to his best after becoming “potentially a bit stale, without really realising it”. Following two seasons without a white-ball appearance, Wells’ cause may be helped by the anticipated absence of several Lancashire players during the One-Day Cup next season due to their involvement in the Hundred, and his legspin could come in useful, too.But for now, he is simply looking forward to playing the game again. “I don’t usually say stuff like ‘things happen for a reason’ – I’m not that type of guy. But I suppose going through something like this will, hopefully, give me a fresh lease of life and a challenge to embrace at Lancashire.”It’s very doubtful that I could come across a more stressful year than what this one has been, so I’m just going to try and enjoy every moment: the ups and the downs.”