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Promotion was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the initial promise that it would return after six tournaments.

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Ten Liga de Expansión clubs have officially taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.CAS has yet to confirm whether it will take on the caseThe last team to be relegated was Jaguares de Chiapas in 2017Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Amid ongoing controversy over the suspension of promotion and relegation in Mexican football, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has issued a formal response to an appeal filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by ten Liga de Expansión clubs demanding the reinstatement of these mechanisms.

The suspension was agreed upon in April 2020, during the height of the pandemic, providing a six-season period during which Liga de Expansión clubs could focus on consolidating their projects without the sporting pressure of promotion and relegation. According to Íñigo Riestra, FMF’s Secretary General, this measure was requested by the clubs themselves to avoid bankruptcy, as many were operating at a deficit and facing precarious financial conditions.

“The FMF General Assembly approved this temporary suspension to protect the economic stability of the clubs,” Riestra explained in an official video. Additionally, a financial rescue fund was created at the clubs’ request to ensure their survival.

To complement this strategy, an Improvement Fund was established, distributing significant resources for infrastructure and strategic development within the Liga de Expansión teams—investments that can sometimes go under the radar. This fund mandates an annual investment of 20 million pesos (1,036,418 million) from 2020 onwards to modernize stadiums and enhance sporting facilities.

At the same time, in 2022, a Certification Committee was created to set administrative, sporting, and infrastructure requirements that clubs must meet to be eligible for promotion. Starting in the 2023 season, only certified clubs that win the Campeón de Campeones are eligible for promotion; however, so far, only two clubs have met these standards.

The 10 clubs involved in the appeal—Atlante, Morelia, Leones Negros, Atlético La Paz, Alebrijes, Cimarrones, Cancún, Mineros, Venados, and Tampico Madero—argue that the absence of promotion and relegation has negatively impacted their ability to secure commercial agreements and television broadcasting rights.

In summary, the FMF maintains that the suspension was a necessary measure to prevent the economic collapse of several clubs and that the pathway for promotion remains open, albeit conditioned on meeting certain criteria that only a few teams have fulfilled so far.

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The legal action comes amid growing frustration among Liga de Expansión clubs, who claim that Liga MX has failed to provide transparency regarding the promotion and relegation system. The issue has been further complicated by ongoing controversies in Mexican football, particularly surrounding the topic of multi-club ownership.

There has been ongoing debate about whether reinstating promotion and relegation could raise the competitive level across all tiers of Mexican football. However, it is evident that Liga MX has presented significant obstacles for Liga de Expansión teams, many of which have spent recent years striving to meet the league’s demanding certification requirements.

Getty Images SportWHAT MEXICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAID

"Promotion remains active through certification. A club will be promoted once at least four clubs are certified at the start of the season and one of them wins the Campeón de Campeones," reads the official statement posted on the FMF’s X account.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

In 2020, due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican football executives decided to temporarily suspend the promotion and relegation system in Liga MX. This decision was made to support franchise owners in the first division and strengthen Liga Expansión, with the idea that, years later, the system would return with a stronger second division. However, it seemed that this reform would remain permanent.

This decision mainly affected the teams in the second division. Teams like Atlante, Leones Negros de la UDG, Venados de Mérida, and Atlético Morelia are among those that have expressed their dissatisfaction in recent years with the suspension of promotion and relegation. But, according to Liga MX, these teams do not meet the necessary requirements to be First Division clubs. It's a stance that has been heavily criticized by executives from the mentioned teams, who have even taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The franchise also parts ways with spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed while bringing back Nathan Leamon as director of strategy

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2023Abdul Rehman, a stalwart of the Pakistani domestic coaching circuit, has been promoted to Multan Sultans’ head coach after serving as the team’s assistant coach for the last five years. He replaces former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper-batter Andy Flower at the helm.Rehman, currently the assistant coach of Pakistan men’s team, had joined Multan in 2018. Under Flower and him, the team reached the final of the last three PSL editions and won the tournament in 2021.”The past five years have been a great journey for the Multan Sultans and I am privileged to have been part of it,” Flower said. “When I agreed to join the Sultans, my first request was for Abdul Rehman to be my assistant coach. He is an exceptional coach and a consummate professional, and I am confident the team will benefit with him at the helm.”A month ago, Flower, who is one of the most decorated coaches in the game, was appointed head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL for a three-year term. Till the end of IPL 2023, he was head coach of Lucknow Super Giants and under him, the franchise made back-to-back playoffs in their first two years in the competition.”It is an honour to be carrying forward Andy Flower’s legacy at the Multan Sultans,” Rehman said. “Together with our leadership team, our coaching and support teams, we look forward to taking Multan Sultans forward with passion and innovation.”Multan have also parted ways with Mushtaq Ahmed, who was their spin-bowling coach for the last four years. They have also brought on board Nathan Leamon as Multan’s director of strategy. Leamon had worked closely with England across all three formats from 2009 for more than a decade. He has also worked exclusively with the white-ball teams since 2016, and had spent time with Multan in 2019 and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Recently, Multan also became the first T20 franchise in Pakistan with a female general manager.

Manchester City are safely through to the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to a 3-1 win at home to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

This game had the potential to be a tricky one to navigate for the Citizens given the Pilgrims knocked out Premier League leaders Liverpool in the previous round.

As it happened, the visitors took the lead at the Etihad Stadium. It was a poor goal to concede from City’s point of view, as Argyle centre-back Maksym Talovierov found himself unmarked from a corner and rose highest to head home.

However, City did not have to wait too long for their equaliser. Youngster Nico O’Reilly levelled the game back up in first-half stoppage-time and got himself a second to give City the lead with 15 minutes left.

Pep Guardiola’s men sealed their place in the next round thanks to a goal from Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian, who put in an impressive performance, ran onto a through ball from talismanic striker Erling Haaland and poked home from just inside the six-yard box.

It was a professional performance on the whole from the Citizens, although one player who struggled at times was youngster James McAtee.

James McAtee's stats v Plymouth

Make no mistake, McAtee’s performance was by no means a poor one. However, the City ace, who operated in the No 10 role against the Championship outfit, did not really have a big influence on the game.

That said, this was not through lack of effort. The midfielder, who was substituted on the hour mark for Haaland, worked incredibly hard, but simply struggled to get into the game.

McAtee’s stats from the game on Sofascore show just how tough of a match it was for him. The 22-year-old had just 35 touches, although he did manage to create two chances in that time.

Joe Krishnan, a journalist for The Express, gave the attacking midfielder a post-match rating of 6/10 for his efforts. He explained that he “looked bright in the early stages” and was “recognised with a warm ovation” upon his substitution.

It was certainly a mixed night for McAtee, although the same cannot be said for another City academy star who didn’t just outclass the academy graduate but also the great De Bruyne.

The Man City player who thrived most vs Plymouth

It was an excellent evening for Nico O’Reilly. The youngster has now played nine times for the first team this season following his performance against the Pilgrims, and has impressed with his ability on the ball and versatility.

On Saturday night, the youngster started at left-back, but he has also played at centre-back, across the midfield and even as a No 9 this term, which is certainly handy for Guardiola to rely on.

His goals were impressive, too. Both were headers from set-pieces, with the first a glancing effort from a De Bruyne cross that the goalkeeper got a hand to, but nothing more. O’Reilly’s was teed up by Phil Foden for his second, scoring with a towering effort at the back post from a corner.

The youngster’s stats from the game showed how big his influence was. He had 90 touches and completed 89% of his passes. The City left-back also made one clearance and one interception.

Stat

Total

Touches

90

Pass accuracy

89%

Passes completed

65/73

Shots on target

2

Goals

2

Clearances

1

Interceptions

1

Krishnan highlighted that O’Reilly had to grow into the game, pointing out that he “initially struggled to make the same impact” as Josko Gvardiol in an attacking sense. However, he gave him an 8/10 for what was ultimately a decisive performance.

O’Reilly is certainly an exciting talent and really feels like the future feature of the Citizens team for the coming years.

His ability to play anywhere required of him on the pitch and his capability of finding the net is extremely useful.

The 19-year-old has certainly not done his future first-team chances any harm after Saturday’s showing. Perhaps City will get used to the sight of him donning that famous sky blue shirt with Haaland and co on a more regular basis.

Man City hit the jackpot on £76m ace who has genuine Ballon d'Or potential

The Man City star has been brilliant this season

1 ByJoe Nuttall Feb 28, 2025

He will return to action after taking a six-week break to recuperate from his injuries

Mohammad Isam07-Jul-2023Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his retirement a day after announcing it in emotional circumstances in Chattogram, following an intervention by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Their meeting took place on Friday afternoon at her residence in Dhaka. Tamim, accompanied by his wife, met Hasina alongside former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan.The turnaround ultimately came on Friday afternoon but ESPNcricinfo learned of the meeting as early as Thursday evening. It is understood that Mashrafe, a member of parliament, started the process around that time when he spoke to the prime minister to possibly intervene in this situation. Tamim had, until then, refused to discuss his retirement with Hassan.An eventful 78 hours

Tuesday, 12pm: In a pre-match press conference, Tamim says he’s not fully fit and wants to test his fitness by playing 1st ODI
Wednesday, 9am: publishes an interview of Nazmul Hassan, where he calls Tamim unprofessional for the statement on his fitness
Wednesday, 10.30pm: Bangladesh lose the first ODI against Afghanistan
Thursday, 1.30am: Tamim informs media he will address a press conference on Thursday afternoon.Thursday, 1.30pm: Tamim announces his retirement from international cricket
Thursday, 8pm: ESPNcricinfo learns a meeting between Tamim and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is being arranged
Friday, 6pm: Tamim announces he has reversed his decision to retire following the PM’s intervention.

Tamim made the retirement announcement on Thursday afternoon. In a live TV broadcast, he broke down several times while delivering a 13-minute monologue about his decision. It captured the airwaves and social media for the rest of the day.A different Tamim spoke to the media on Friday evening outside the Prime Minister’s residence. He revealed that he had been given a break of six weeks to recuperate from his injuries.”The honourable Prime Minister invited me to her residence this afternoon,” Tamim said. “We had a long discussion after which she instructed me to return to cricket. I am withdrawing my retirement.Related

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Did Nazmul Hassan's comments precipitate Tamim Iqbal's retirement?

“I can say no to anyone but it is impossible to say no to the most important person in the country. Mashrafe called me while Papon [Hassan] was here. They were big factors [in the reversal]. The Prime Minister has also given me a break of a month and a half. I will complete my treatment and return to playing cricket.”BCB chief Hassan said he knew a solution was around the corner, and was relieved to have been able to sit with Tamim and convince him to reverse his decision. “Having seen his press conference [on Thursday], I knew that he was being emotional about his decision,” Hassan said. “I knew that if we could sit face-to-face, I could find a solution.”We sat with him through the Prime Minister, and he just told you that he is withdrawing the retirement letter. He is not retired. He has taken a break of six weeks when he will undergo rehab and get ready physically and mentally. He will return to cricket soon.”Asked if he is relieved, Hassan said: “Of course we are relieved. How can we play without our captain?”Tamim, who made his retirement announcement a day after leading Bangladesh in the first ODI against Afghanistan, will not feature in the rest of the series. Litton Das has been appointed captain for the remaining matches on July 8 and 11.

Chelsea have suffered a terrible turn in form since their 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on December 22nd, picking up just nine points in their last nine Premier League games, dropping from second in the league to sixth after 25 games played.

However, in their last ten Premier League games, Chelsea have only lost the “xG battle” three times, so what exactly has gone wrong?

Game

xG for

xG against

Brentford (2-1 Win)

2.23

1.61

Everton (0-0 Draw)

1.17

1.03

Fulham (2-1 Loss)

1.12

1.78

Ipswich (2-0 Loss)

2.00

1.58

Crystal Palace (1-1 Draw)

1.24

1.08

Bournemouth (2-2 Draw)

2.50

1.18

Wolves (3-1 Win)

3.20

0.81

Man City (3-1 Loss)

1.80

2.50

West Ham (2-1 Win)

1.67

1.22

Brighton (3-0 Loss)

0.54

1.42

A mixture of their inexperience to see out games when they are ahead and control the tempo of a game, their lack of ability to break down low block defensive units and poor shot volume from their wide men have all contributed to this poor run of form. Something needs to change with Aston Villa up next…

Jadon Sancho's Chelsea woes

The wing pairing at Chelsea has been an issue in recent weeks, as a lack of output from wide areas has left the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson with an awful lot of the attacking workload.

Noni Madueke has netted seven Premier League goals, but Pedro Neto has only managed two league goals and Jadon Sancho has only managed two himself.

Aside from Madueke, Neto and Sancho have been much less direct with their actions on the field, often turning back to retain possession, taking fewer shots in games and looking to create for others rather than taking the game by the scruff of the neck themselves.

Sancho did do this against Tottenham, getting Chelsea back into the game after going 2-0 down, but in recent weeks the form of Sancho hasn’t helped Maresca’s side, and it could require a change in this position to add something different.

But Sancho isn’t the only man who could be dropped, as there is another Chelsea star who has been in poor form in recent weeks.

The Chelsea star who now needs to be dropped

Levi Colwill has made 23 appearances for the Blues this season, all coming in the Premier League, providing one assist, contributing to four clean sheets and totalling 2,070 minutes played.

Chalkboard

The 21-year-old defender has been a clear favourite of Maresca’s, but since Wesley Fofana went down injured, Colwill has struggled more in the defensive line.

Since Fofana’s injury, Colwill has been partnered with the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Josh Acheampong, Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah (returning from loan in January).

The lack of consistency hasn’t helped the Blues backline, as they have struggled to find that same balance afforded to them with Colwill and Fofana together.

Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley described Colwill’s mistake against Brighton as “inexcusable” for their second goal, looking for a foul, not sprinting back into position to defend the ongoing attack and then conceding. And this isn’t the young defender’s only mistake in recent weeks, after also gifting West Ham their goal to go 1-0 up a few weeks ago.

Whilst the talent of Colwill is clear, and the future of Chelsea’s defensive line absolutely has him in it, after a few poor performances, the Blues could possibly do with taking him out of the firing line, bringing Adarabioyo in, who adds some experience and looking to weather the storm.

Enzo Maresca sack claim made by ex-club chief as Chelsea pressure grows

The Italian is facing scrutiny right now.

ByEmilio Galantini Feb 20, 2025

Leroy Sane has been warned that Bayern Munich will not increase their salary offer following the winger's shock change in agent during negotiations.

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Sane and Bayern were close to agreementWinger made surprise agent changeWarned against raising salary demandsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Sane and Bayern have been in talks over a contract extension for the Germany international, who recently suggested progress was being made before suddenly swapping his representative to Pini Zahavi. The 29-year-old will be a free agent come the end of June should he fail to pen a new deal soon.

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The change has derailed the contract talks, as Sane was reportedly close to an agreement with the club over a deal that would see him accept a pay cut. Now, though, his new agent is said to be demanding a massive signing bonus similar to the €20 million (£17m/$23m) they agreed to pay Alphonso Davies for his recent extension.

WHAT EBERL SAID

Bayern sporting director Max Eberl has reiterated the club's desire to reach an agreement, but says it would be wrong of Sane to change the terms of the deal.

"Our wish would be to continue. If [the financial terms] were to be exceeded it would be very difficult," he said. "There's no bad blood on my part, not even with Leroy."

He added: "We thought we were already very far along. [Increasing the demands] would not be right, otherwise it would become fashionable."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR SANE?

The uncertainty around Sane's situation at Bayern could see him leave the club this summer, with Arsenal said to be interested in bringing the former Manchester City player back to the Premier League.

Understrength Glamorgan outgunned in one-sided encounter at Kia Oval

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Surrey made their highest T20 score at the Kia Oval as they crushed understrength Glamorgan by 81 runs to chalk up a fifth win in their last six Vitality Blast South Group games.Opener Will Jacks top scored with 69, his third fifty in this season’s competition, and there were cameos from Laurie Evans (40) and Sunil Narine (36) to lay the platform for a brutal assault by the Curran brothers in the closing overs.Sam cleared the ropes six times as he smashed 59 off 22 balls and Tom contributed 23 off 13 as they plundered 80 runs from the last 33 deliveries before Sam was bowled looking to ramp Jamie McIlroy off the final ball of the innings. Surrey’s 238 for 5 was also the third highest score in their T20 history.Glamorgan, whose injury issues meant they gave debuts to three players, also conceded their third highest score in the format. They made 157 for 8 in reply but despite this defeat still have a chance of reaching the knockout stages with four games to go.With the influential Colin Ingram injured, Glamorgan have brought in New Zealand batter Cam Fletcher, 30, on a short-term basis. Fletcher has been playing in the Bradford League for New Farnley while batter Will Smale and right-armer Andy Govin were also making their debuts for the county in T20.Gorvin was the only bowler whose economy rate was below ten an over as Surrey, put in on a green-tinged pitch, cruised along at 12 an over for most of their innings.Jacks and Evans had 64 up in the powerplay before Evans, who made 118 when the teams met in Cardiff earlier this month, was superbly caught by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke cutting leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou in the seventh over just when he was starting to cut loose.Glamorgan briefly stemmed the flow in the middle of the innings by claiming three wickets in 11 balls. Jacks, who’d hit eight fours and two sixes, cut to backward point and Sunil Narine (36 off 18) holed out to long off to give Hatzoglou two wickets in five balls. Jamie Overton top-edged a pull but that brought the Curran brothers together and the fun began.McIlroy was hit for five sixes in his final two overs and Hatzoglou two with Sam Curran unveiling some eye-catching shots and clean hitting, the highlight the successive sixes off McIlroy down the ground in the final over as he passed fifty in the format for the 14th time. His was also Surrey’s joint-third quickest fifty (18 balls) in T20.Asked to score at 12.25 an over Glamorgan had little option but attack but no one could play the substantial innings – or do so quickly enough – to give them a chance.Kiran Carlson was caught on the square-leg boundary in Sam Curran’s first over; fellow opener Smale hit 27 off 16 balls only to drive Gus Atkinson’s slower ball to Tom Curran at long on; and debutant wicketkeeper Josh Blake took a brilliant one-handed catch to his right to remove Sam Northeast.Billy Root (31) added 48 for the fourth wicket with Cooke, who top scored with 49 off 28 balls before holing out off Chris Jordan. The Surrey skipper finished with 4 for 21 and Narine picked up 2 for 25.

Phoebe Franklin’s half-century in vain as Nadine de Klerk and Nat Sciver-Brunt claim five wickets between them

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2023Georgie Boyce hit a brilliant unbeaten 63 to steer The Blaze to a five-wicket victory over the South East Stars in the opening round of the Charlotte Edwards Cup at Beckenham.Boyce played a pivotal innings as the visitors recovered from a mid-innings wobble to win with four balls to spare, cashing in on a number of dropped chances to close on 161 for 5 in reply to the Stars’ 160 for 8.Phoebe Franklin was the Stars’ top scorer, hitting 53 from 32 balls and when she removed Tammy Beaumont for 48 it sparked a mini-collapse that had made the hosts look favourites until Boyce intervened.Nadine de Klerk had The Blaze’s best bowling figures with 3 for 21 while Nat Sciver-Brunt took 2 for 46.The Blaze won the toss and chose to bowl at a blustery, overcast New County Ground, a decision that looked questionable when Bryony Smith smacked 14 off Grace Ballinger’s first over, but her quickfire innings came to an end when Kirstie Gordon had her caught on the long on boundary by Marie Kelly for 18.Ballinger then trapped Tash Farrant for a three-ball duck and Paige Scholfield was out for four, driving Scivrer-Brunt’s second ball to Sarah Glenn at cover.Sophia Dunkley led an aggressive but short-lived counterattack until Sarah Glenn bowled her for 20 and it was left to Franklin and Kira Chathli to rebuild the innings with a partnership of 68.Chathli should have been out for 22 but Glenn dropped a dolly off her own bowling, though she fell soon after when she tried to scoop de Klerk and was bowled for 24.Franklin brought up her 50 when she pulled Gordon through midwicket for a single but she was finally out in the 19th over when she dragged a Sciver-Brunt delivery onto her stumps.Alice Davidson-Richards took the Stars past 150 with an elegant pull off Sciver-Brunt for four, but she was bowled by de Klerk in the final over, also for 24.De Klerk’s next delivery pinged back Kalea Moore’s leg stump and although Freya Davies blocked out the hat-trick ball, she couldn’t scramble any additional runs.It looked a challenging total but Beaumont made an electrifying start to the chase, which included a huge six over cow corner. Her opening stand of 30 with Kelly was broken when the latter was snared by Davidson-Richards off Scholfield for five.Beaumont was on 42 when she misjudged a Franklin delivery and although Davies couldn’t take a difficult chance, a cluster of wickets tilted the momentum back in the Stars’ favour.The Blaze were on 6 for 1 in the ninth over when Scholfield had Sciver-Brunt caught for 19 near the midwicket boundary by Farrant and in the tenth Ryana MacDonald-Gay claimed the key wicket of Beaumont, who fell to a brilliant diving catch by Smith.In the 11th Davidson-Richards had Kathryn Bryce caught behind and Glenn then holed to Franklin and was caught on the boundary by Davidson-Richards for four.At 91 for 5 the Blaze were in deep trouble, but Boyce then took centre stage, reaching her 50 with a drive off Davies that was nearly caught at deep cover but went for two.De Klerk played the anchor role at the other end and herself survived a tough chance for caught behind off Davidson-Richards.The Blaze needed just two from the final over and de Klerk hit the winning runs when she carved Davidson-Richards through the covers.

“I am definitely old, you can’t really shy away from that, but however long I play, it’s very important to enjoy the IPL”

Ekanth21-Apr-2023MS Dhoni is 41 years old and has been part of 240 IPL games, but he came into this season after close to a year-long gap following last year’s edition. He knows he’s at the twilight of his career, but believes that it will not stop him from cherishing every moment of a tournament he has won four times with Chennai Super Kings.”[I am] Definitely old, you know, you can’t really shy away from that. Whatever said and done, it’s [the] last phase of my career,” Dhoni said after leading Super Kings to victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk.But he put a positive spin on the situation by drawing upon the loyal and vigorous support of his fans in Chennai, who came out in droves and sent out a cheer so loud that Dhoni had to wait before he could speak.Related

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“However long I play, it’s very important to enjoy the IPL. After two years, it has been a case where they [the crowd] can come [and] enjoy the game. It’s a full house, they have the new stand, so it feels good to play here.”And I said at the start of the tournament, we haven’t played in Chennai a lot, we have only played like six seasons. So it feels good to be here. They have given a lot of love and affection, and they always stay back to hear me out.”This year, Dhoni has had to mentor a mostly young bowling line-up with limited experience. On Friday, it featured the likes of Akash Singh, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana, who bowled 14 of the 20 overs. While Ravindra Jadeja did the bulk of the damage by taking three wickets, Dhoni trusted Akash and Deshpande with the new ball and used spin to tie down the batters in the middle overs. Super Kings conceded 60 runs and took two wickets between overs 6 and 16, including a 36-ball period where no boundaries were scored. When asked about his methods of guiding the youngsters, Dhoni said he offers the first say to the bowlers.”I always tell them that the first preference of field and whatever you want to bowl is with you. Yes, you can convey to me, I may say that, ‘no, I am looking for something like this.’ Other than that, from behind, if the batter is somebody who can play the scoop shot behind, then I try to tell them, ‘okay, we’ll keep the fielder behind then bring in some other fielder on the top.”With [Dwayne] Bravo it was difficult because he would never agree. But the good thing was he would keep an eye on the batters. But with these youngsters, you can tell them, and after that it is their call as to what field they want.”When asked about his wicketkeeping despite his age and lack of game time coming into the tournament, Dhoni let out his competitive spirit by half-jokingly complaining about not being awarded the best catch award for his take to dismiss Aiden Markram. Dhoni, standing up to the stumps, had little time to react and was wrong-footed, but managed to move his hands across and take a sharp catch.”Still they didn’t give the best catch [award], I was in such a wrong position,” Dhoni said. “Just because you wear gloves, people think it’s very easy but I felt that was a fantastic catch. Not because of your ability but at times you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time when you catch it.”

Barcelona could be set for another outing in last season's third kit due to La Liga's strict regulations.

Barca are likely to wear their 2024-25 third kit against LevanteLa Liga has ruled that all three of Barca's new kits clash with Levante's home stripThis is the second consecutive match they has faced this issueFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Barcelona are expected to wear their third kit from the 2024-25 season for their upcoming La Liga match against Levante, according to a report from Sport. The issue arises from La Liga's 'Kit Selector' process, which has determined that all three of Barcelona's new kits for the 2025-26 campaign clash with the home strip of their opponents. This follows Hansi Flick's side having to use the same lime-green strip in their opening day victory over Mallorca for the same reason.

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The situation means the reigning La Liga champions could play their first two matches of the new season without wearing any of their new kits. La Liga's regulations are designed to prevent chromatic clashes and ensure maximum visibility for television audiences and officials. Despite having a traditional home kit, an away strip, and a yet-to-be-released orange third kit, none have been deemed suitable for the fixture at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.

DID YOU KNOW?

The lime-green kit Barcelona are being forced to re-use is the same one they wore during their Champions League semi-final defeat against Inter last season, a strip that holds some painful memories for the club's supporters.

AFPWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

Flick's side travel to face Levante on Saturday evening, where they will likely take to the pitch in last season's colours. The club will be hoping the kit issue is resolved ahead of their third match of the season, an away trip to Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona were able to wear their home kit at Vallecas last season, suggesting they should finally be able to debut a new strip.