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Also: is Tabish Khan’s 18-year gap between first-class and Test debuts a world record?

Steven Lynch11-May-2021 Which player has scored the most runs in T20 cricket without ever playing an Indian Premier League match? asked Ian Hugo from Ireland

Unsurprisingly, most of the leading scorers in T20 cricket have played some part in the IPL. Top of the list of those who haven’t is James Vince of Hampshire and England, who has scored 6544 runs so far without any in the IPL, which puts him 31st overall as I write. Here’s the list of the leading scorers in T20 cricket – and the teams they played for. The equivalent record for the bowlers is held by Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz, with 324 wickets, which puts him ninth overall.Where does Abid Ali’s double-century stand on the list of highest Test scores against Zimbabwe? asked Simon Merchant from South Africa

Abid Ali’s 215 not out against Zimbabwe in Harare last weekend was the 16th double-century – and the tenth-highest score – against Zimbabwe in Tests. Biggest of all remains Matthew Hayden’s 380 – briefly the Test record – for Australia in Perth in 2003-04. The only higher score for Pakistan against Zimbabwe was Wasim Akram’s remarkable 257 not out in Sheikhupura in 1996-97.Of the previous 15 double-hundreds against Zimbabwe, Marvan Atapattu made three, and Mushfiqur Rahim two.Tabish Khan won his first Test cap for Pakistan more than 18 years after his first-class debut – is this a record? asked Khalid Mohammad from Pakistan

The 36-year-old Pakistan seamer Tabish Khan finally made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in Harare last weekend – and took the wicket of Tarasai Musakanda in his first over. He had made his first-class debut back in January 2003, for Karachi Whites against Multan in Karachi.The longest gap between first-class and Test debuts is more than 24 years, by the Trinidadian Nelson Betancourt. In an era when there was not much first-class cricket in the West Indies, he made his debut in August 1905. He captained West Indies in Port-of-Spain in February 1930, aged 42, in what turned out to be the last of his 18 first-class matches. It was West Indies’ first home series, and they decided to appoint a captain from the host territory for each of the four Tests.Chris Gayle has twice hit ten or more sixes in an ODI innings and ended up on the losing side•Getty ImagesTabish Khan, who was Pakistan’s oldest debutant since the 47-year-old offspinner Miran Baksh in 1954-55, took 598 first-class wickets before his Test debut, more than anyone from a country other than England – apart from Tim Murtagh, who had 712 when he made his debut for Ireland, against Pakistan in Malahide, in 2018. The overall record is held by Leicestershire’s Ewart Astill, who took 1504 wickets – and waited more than 21 years – before his Test debut, against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1927-28.The Sri Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera recently retired from international cricket. Is he the only player to finish on the losing side after hitting 13 sixes in an ODI? asked Ray Penson from New Zealand

That innings by Thisara Perera came against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in January 2019. Despite Perera’s onslaught, Sri Lanka ended up 21 runs short. It was a record at the time, but lasted little more than a month: in February, Chris Gayle slammed 14 sixes for West Indies against England in Grenada, but also finished on the losing side. That match contained 46 sixes in all, easily the most in any one-day international.There have been six other instances – including another by Gayle – of a player hitting ten or more sixes in an ODI innings yet ending up losing.Sir Alastair Cook scored his 68th first-class century recently, against Worcestershire. Which of the other 17 counties has Cook yet to record a century against? asked Andrew Cross from England

That century in Worcester a week or so ago was indeed the 68th of Alastair Cook’s fine career – but 33 of them came in Tests for England, and only 25 for Essex (plus ten for other teams). That means he still has few gaps among the other counties: he hasn’t yet scored a century against Glamorgan, Lancashire or Nottinghamshire.And there’s an update to last week’s question about four overseas players from the same country in an IPL match, from Krishan Avtar from India

“I think the first franchise that fielded four overseas players from the same country was Royal Challengers Bangalore, against Mumbai Indians in Johannesburg in 2009, when they included four South Africans – Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Roelof van der Merwe and Dillon du Preez.” This is correct, so I apologise for the oversight: it arose because Roelof van der Merwe was showing up on our database as a Dutch player. He has played 32 white-ball internationals for them, starting in 2015, but back in 2009 he was still representing South Africa, for whom he appeared in 26 matches.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

There probably isn’t a lot of time left for the pair to turn things around, nor is there an easy way out of their ruts

Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Jan-20223:58

Manjrekar: Techniques of Pujara, Rahane not making their lives easier

In the 59th over of India’s innings, Duanne Olivier banged in a short ball. It rose steeply, but it was just far enough outside off stump to allow Mohammed Shami, India’s No. 9, to free his arms and uppercut over the slips for four.If you’re of a certain age, you might have been taken back to November 2001, when Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, on Test debut, unleashed a dizzying array of uppercuts and ramps during a fifth-wicket stand of 220 in Bloemfontein.This Johannesburg pitch was as bouncy as that one in Bloemfontein, but until that shot from Shami, this South Africa attack hadn’t given this India line-up the opportunity to play that sort of shot. They bowled a lot of short balls, but mostly directed at the body, denying room to free the arms.Related

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And while the bounce here was often steep, it was of a spongy, tennis-ball nature, popping steeply without the ball necessarily arriving at a predictable pace. At Bloemfontein the bounce had been far truer, allowing Tendulkar in particular to sway away from the line and manufacture room against short balls angled into him.India, in short, were up against a testing attack on a testing pitch in the here and now. Yet again. It’s been the case at nearly every venue they’ve played at over the last two years or so, overseas but often even at home.You probably know where this is going. You’ve seen the headline.Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are in the middle of a slump•ESPNcricinfo LtdYou’ve seen the scorecard, too: 3 (33) and 0 (1), on a day when every other member of the top seven got into double figures. 3 (33) and 0 (1), on a day when the other senior middle-order batter was absent. 3 (33) and 0 (1), at a time when runs have been hugely elusive. Not a good look for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.Pujara didn’t look particularly good during his time in the middle. South Africa had a clear plan for him: use the spongy bounce and target his low hands. The ball popped constantly at him from just short of a length, and two inside-edges eluded short leg – a similar delivery had led to his first-ball dismissal in the first innings in Centurion – before the eventual wicket ball from Olivier, which hit the bat’s outside shoulder and lobbed gently to backward point.Pujara had survived 32 balls before that, scoring three runs, two of them off those inside edges. Two other balls that might have been scoring opportunities on other pitches, full from Marco Jansen and short from Olivier, stopped on him, and he ended up driving and slapping them, respectively, to wide mid-off, rather than into the big gap square of the fielder.And Rahane? He only faced the one ball, and it’s hard to judge someone after a first-baller, but did he really need to push at that ball? There was some of the same steep bounce that had consumed Pujara, but it wasn’t a monster ball that Rahane to play at. And this shot, this half-shot, came after two promising starts in Centurion that had been aborted by shots that you could have called loose, if you wanted to.Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t look particularly good during his time in the middle•AFP via Getty ImagesThat’s been the trouble with Rahane, really. His dismissals leave too much room for interpretation, and of late have usually followed low or middling scores.Pujara and Rahane have been stuck in ruts for many, many months now, and there’s been no easy way out of them. Flat pitches and shallow attacks have been few and far between, and where others in better form – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, for instance – have still found ways to score runs, Pujara and Rahane have endured either bad days or good days defined by things other than sheer weight of runs. Spells seen off, time spent at the crease, miles added to bowlers’ legs, and sessions rescued are all well and good, but runs are runs, and hundreds are hundreds, .At the end of 2019, Pujara averaged 49.48, and Rahane 43.74. They now average 44.05 and 38.90.India’s team managements have backed Pujara and Rahane heavily through this period, more heavily than they did when they were younger and going through less prolonged troughs. They’ve certainly earned that backing, through the weight of past performance and the influence of their contributions even during this lean phase, contributions that have helped India achieve some of their greatest moments as a Test team, ever: the MCG, the SCG, Gabba, Lord’s and The Oval.But could younger and more in-form candidates have made the same sorts of contributions? You don’t know until you try them. And when all or even most of India’s batting options are fit and available, the list of candidates will be long and compelling.There probably isn’t a lot of time left now for Pujara and Rahane to turn things around. There won’t be an easy way out of their ruts either. No shallow attacks, no flat pitches. The same was the case for Rahul when he went through a prolonged slump in 2018 and 2019, averaging 22.23 over 15 Tests .Things have turned around for him now, spectacularly; in the matter of months, he’s gone from fourth-choice opener to stand-in Test captain. But he won’t have forgotten the bad times. Watching from the other end as Pujara and Rahane walked off, one ball after another, he might have proffered a wordless look of sympathy.

da cassino： Whilst they are yet to officially get their summer business underway, Nottingham Forest have reportedly set their sights on several rising talents and that includes a young Bundesliga left-back.

Nottingham Forest reject Elanga bid

da imperador bet： As those at the City Ground push to welcome the likes of Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula, they also face a fight to keep hold of Anthony Elanga amid interest from Newcastle United. The Magpies reportedly formalised their interest with a bid worth £45m earlier this week only for Nottingham Forest to reject that bid without any counter as they look to keep hold of a key player.

Whether Newcastle return to the negotiation table remains to be seen, but Forest’s stance may not change anytime soon. The Tricky Trees will be desperate to enjoy a repeat of last season, if not better, when August arrives and keeping hold of players like Elanga will play a large part in matching those ambitions.

Given that Botafogo duo Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus are also reportedly on their way, it’s clear that Evangelos Marinakis is only in pursuit of boosting Nuno Espirito Santo’s attacking options rather than selling key men for profit.

Related Dream Elanga replacement: Nottingham Forest open talks to sign £12m winger

Nottingham Forest may lose Elanga this summer.

Posts ByJoe Nuttall Jun 25, 2025

One player that the Greek owner will need to replace, however, is Harry Toffolo. The experienced left-back is now a free agent following the expiration of his contract at the City Ground and Forest would be wise to find a replacement.

To that end, it looks as though those in the Midlands have set their sights on young options who could challenge the likes of Neco Williams for years to come and that may see one particular Bundesliga talent arrive.

Nottingham Forest join Ullrich race

According to The Boot Room’s Graeme Bailey, Nottingham Forest have now joined the race to sign Lukas Ullrich from Borussia Monchengladbach this summer. The 21-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign in the Bundesliga last time out and has since played his part in helping Germany reach the semi-final of the U21 Euros.

The Gladbach man particularly impressed against Elliot Anderson’s England side in the group stage, providing an excellent assist as Germany ran out 2-1 winners.

Anderson received a first-hand glimpse of the type of quality that he could benefit from next season if Nottingham Forest push on with their move to sign Ullrich.

It won’t be an easy race to win, however, given that they are joined by Premier League rivals Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in pursuit of the Bundesliga talent.

Gladbach, meanwhile, may not be keen to lose their defender who manager Geraldo Seoane has not been shy to praise. The manager told reporters when asked about Ullrich: “You can see that he’s got pace going forward and that he has a very good mentality. He’s confident, he’s active and he makes runs in behind. He brings a lot to the table playing as an attacking left-back.”

All the statistical highlights from the performances in Bristol

Sampath Bandarupalli20-Jun-20215 Number of fifties from the players on debut during the Test, the most fifty-plus scores by debutants in a Test match (men or women). There have been six men’s Tests with four fifty-plus scores from the debutants and four such Tests in women’s cricket before the Test match at Bristol.Shafali Verma, Sophia Dunkley, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar – the Bristol debutants•ESPNcricinfo Ltd159 Runs aggregated by Shafali Verma across the two innings in Bristol, the third most runs by a player on women’s Test debut. Michelle Goszko scored 204 on her debut against England in 2001, while Lesley Cooke accumulated 189 runs, with scores of 72 and 117 on her debut against India in 1986.0 Number of players from India with a fifty-plus score and a four-plus wicket haul on Test debut (men or women) before Sneh Rana did it against England. Rana is also the fourth player with this all-round double on women’s Test debut.ESPNcricinfo Ltd80* Rana’s score in the second innings, the third-highest while batting at No. 8 or a lower position on women’s Test debut. Chamani Seneviratna struck an unbeaten 105, batting at No.8 against Pakistan in 1998 while Shelley Nitschke scored 81* at No. 10 against England in 2005. Rana’s 80* is also the second-highest score on the women’s Test debut for India, behind Verma’s 96 in the first innings.3 Number of players to have scored 50-plus runs in both the innings on women’s Test debut before Verma. Cooke against India in 1986, Vanessa Bowen against Pakistan in 1998 and Jess Jonassen against England in 2015 had fifty-plus scores in both innings on their debut.ESPNcricinfo Ltd104* Ninth-wicket partnership between Taniya Bhatia and Rana in the second innings, the second-highest ninth-wicket stand in women’s Tests. Beverly Botha and Maureen Payne added 107 runs after South Africa lost eight wickets for just 49 runs against New Zealand in 1972.4 Players to have won the Player-of-the-match award on women’s Test debut, including Verma against England. A six-wicket haul for Isobel Joyce against Pakistan in 2000, a double ton for Michelle Goszko against England in 2001 and twin fifties for Jonassen against England in 2015 earned them a Player-of-the-match award on Test debut.

Also, who holds the record for the most 0 not-outs in Tests?

Steven Lynch18-Jun-2019Josh Hazlewood, missing from this year’s World Cup, played five matches in the last one without ever batting. Is this a record? asked Jenny McDonald from Australia

You’re right that the Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood played five matches in the 2015 World Cup – including the final – without being called on to bat. And it is indeed a bit of a surprise that he wasn’t selected for this one: as reported on ESPNcricinfo last week, he hasn’t been glued to the screen back home watching it, either.As it turns out, Hazlewood is second on this particular list, behind another tall Aussie seamer: the World Cup career of Nathan Bracken amounted to ten of his side’s 11 matches when Australia won the 2007 tournament in the West Indies, but he never batted. As I write, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has played four World Cup matches for India (one in 2015), and hasn’t batted yet.In the just-finished women’s one-day series, the England captain was Knight and their wicketkeeper was Taylor, while the West Indies captain was Taylor and their wicketkeeper was Knight. Can you think of anything similar? asked Paul Jacques from England

That’s a neat observation: England’s captain in that series against West Indies was Heather Knight, and their wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, while West Indies were led by Stafanie Taylor, with Kycia Knight behind the stumps (and her twin, Kyshona, elsewhere in the field).I can’t instantly think of any parallels. I do remember a men’s Test, in Bulawayo in 2011-12, where both sides were captained by a Taylor – Brendan for Zimbabwe and Ross from New Zealand, but the wicketkeepers didn’t share a name. And for many years Warwickshire were captained by a Smith (M. J. K.) while their wicketkeeper was A. Smith (Alan). I’m not sure if that counts, though!Sri Lanka’s batting in the World Cup match against Afghanistan was opened by their captain and their wicketkeeper. How rare is this? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

Sri Lanka’s openers in that match in Cardiff were Dimuth Karunaratne, the captain, and wicketkeeper Kusal Perera, who had gone in at No. 3 in their first game. It worked: they put on 92 against Afghanistan. I thought this might have happened reasonably frequently, but actually the only other pair to do it in the World Cup were England’s Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior, in two matches in 2011. Alec Stewart captained, opened and kept wicket in seven World Cup games for England – two in 1992 and five in 1999 – while Andy Flower did it twice for Zimbabwe in 1996.Jimmy Anderson has 31 nought not-outs to his name, three more than the next player on the list, New Zealand’s Chris Martin•Getty ImagesI noticed that Jimmy Anderson has had 86 not-outs in Tests. Is this the record? Has he also had the most nought not-outs? asked Alastair Spiers from Scotland

Jimmy Anderson has held this particular record since 2017, when he chalked up his 62nd Test not-out, against South Africa, to pass the record previously held by Courtney Walsh (61 not-outs). Next come Muttiah Muralitharan (56), Bob Willis (55), Chris Martin (52, exactly half his innings), and Glenn McGrath (51), before the first two specialist batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (40) and Steve Waugh (46).Anderson does also lead the way for Test innings of 0 not out – he’s had 31 so far, three ahead of Martin. Makhaya Ntini comes next with 18.Who is England’s oldest surviving Test player? asked Michael Robertson from England

I’m always slightly nervous about answering questions like these, but the man who holds this distinction as I write is the Sussex left-hander Don Smith, who played three Tests against West Indies in 1957. Smith has just celebrated his 96th birthday – on June 14, the same day the Australian allrounder Alan Davidson turned 90. There are currently 13 former Test player who are now in their nineties. The only other Englishman is Smith’s longtime Sussex team-mate Ian Thomson, who reached 90 in January.Don Smith was the subject of a recent booklet produced by the Sussex Cricket Museum. In it he remembers receiving his England colours: “Today it is carried out in front of the spectators. At Lord’s in the basement a minion handed over to me my England cap and two sweaters. I still thought it was great.”On the list of oldest surviving Test players, the only one older than Smith is the South African allrounder John Watkins, who was born two months earlier, in April 1923.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Bravo retired from all cricket on Thursday after a groin injury had cut short his CPL stint

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2024Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) have signed local offspinner Bryan Charles as Dwayne Bravo’s replacement for the rest of CPL 2024.Bravo had announced his retirement from all cricket on Thursday after a groin injury cut short his stint in CPL 2024. Bravo had suffered the injury when he attempted to take the catch of Kings’ captain Faf du Plessis in the seventh over in Tarouba.Charles, 29, plays for Trinidad & Tobago in domestic cricket, but is yet to play an official T20. He is better known for his red-ball skills, having recently earned a call-up to West Indies’ Test side for the home Test series against South Africa earlier this year.Related

• Pollard: We need to produce next batches of Bravos, Pollards, Narines

• Dwayne Bravo announces retirement from all cricket

Charles was also the leading wicket-taker for Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies four-day championship, taking 31 wickets in seven games at an average of 17. The tally included a career-best match haul of 13 wickets against Jamaica in Kingston in April.Charles could potentially act as cover for Sunil Narine, who has missed TKR’s last three games with a quad complaint. In the injury-enforced absence of Narine, Kieron Pollard had Tim David bowling offspin with the dry new ball in TKR’s last home game of the season, against Barbados Royals, on Friday. With three left-handers in Royal’s top six – TKR could potentially meet Royals again in the Eliminator – there’s a possibility of Charles coming into contention for selection if Narine’s still unfit for the playoffs.David has also joined TKR’s injury list, Pollard suggested, after he had seemingly hurt his side and banged his head into the ground while saving a six at the boundary on Friday.”Yes, the injuries are a big, big concern,” Pollard said after the match. “Obviously Tim [David] coming off the field as well, Narine [is] still not fit, Russell with his injury as well. My body is getting down a bit after a long tournament.”But having said that we are going to continue to rally, continue to try hard and continue to rest when needed. The support staff and the physio and doctors – they are all doing a really, really good job to keep the guys on the park.”

Mumbai finished the fourth day 274 runs in front with four second-innings wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2024Stumps The fourth day of the Irani Cup started with Rest of India well placed to challenge Mumbai’s first-innings score of 537, and overnight batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Dhruv Jurel did well to begin with. Shams Mulani, however, sent them back in back-to-back overs to finish off the fight, and from 393 for 4, Rest of India collapsed to 416 all out. That gave Mumbai a handy lead of 121, which Prithvi Shaw has added to since, putting the team in a strong position to finish on top.Abhimanyu and Jurel were on 151 and 30 overnight, and Jurel was the quicker of the two on the fourth morning, scoring at 76.85 to get to 93 before Mulani sent him back gloving an attempted sweep through to wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore. That ended the fifth-wicket stand of 165, and one wicket led to another when Abhimanyu also fell to the sweep, sending the ball pitched in the rough outside leg stump to Tanush Kotian at short fine-leg. He fell for 191.No one from Rest of India reached double figures after that as Mulani and Kotian finished with three apiece.The Mumbai second innings was all about Shaw. As wickets fell at the other end, all courtesy spin – Saransh Jain the offspinner and Manav Suthar the leg-arm spinner – Shaw went about his job merrily, scoring 76 in 105 balls with eight fours and a six. Shaw, who had missed out in the first innings, scoring only 4, became the fifth Mumbai wicket to fall late in the day, to Jain, who has 4 for 67 to Suthar’s 2 for 40.Rest of India will hope to finish off the Mumbai innings quickly on the fifth morning and give themselves a chance of pulling off the chase, however steep and unlikely – seeing that spinners are very much in the game at this stage – but Mumbai will start the day feeling the better of the two camps.

The Welsh midfielder will join the Liga MX side on a one-year deal

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• Joins from Cardiff City
• Will sign on a free transfer
• Has been watching Mexican football

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey has officially landed in Mexico as Pumas’ first signing for the upcoming season. The Welshman revealed that Efraín Juárez, the club's young coach with ties to Wales, played a significant role in convincing him to join the team. “He was very influential. That was one of the main reasons I came – he’s a young coach who’s already achieved success, and I’m eager to get involved and play my part.”

  “Right now, it’s about playing for this great club, falling in love with the game again, enjoying my football again, and letting everything else come naturally. I can’t wait to get back on the pitch.”

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  WHAT AARON RAMSEY SAID

  When asked about his familiarity with Liga MX, Ramsey admitted he’s been catching up by watching recent matches on replay and has been impressed by the standard of play.

  “I’ve seen a few games over the past weeks and I’ve been really impressed – there’s plenty of quality here, and I’m excited to get my role in this league. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks," he said.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Ramsey will be the first Welsh player in the Mexican league, which is increasingly opening up to the world with major signings. At 34 years of age, he arrives from Cardiff City, the club that gave him his debut at age 16 and the opportunity to shine at teams like Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Juventus, Rangers, and Nice.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR RAMSEY AND PUMAS?

  Ramsey is scheduled to undergo medical exams early this week, after which he’ll join training sessions and could make an appearance in Pumas’ friendly against Atlante this Wednesday. Once cleared, he’ll officially sign a one-year contract and be unveiled to the press, before potentially making his first minutes next Sunday against Leganés.

Rohit Paudel, in great form in the ongoing T20 series against the visiting West Indies A side at home, will lead a familiar-looking Nepal squad at the T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the USA next month.From the expanded Nepal squad that is playing the T20s against West Indies – and are 2-1 down after three games – Aarif Sheikh, Bibek Yadav and Aakash Chand have been left out of the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal’s best-known T20 cricketer, is currently serving a jail sentence for rape.In the series against West Indies A, Nepal’s preparatory series in the lead up to the World Cup, Nepal won the first game by four wickets courtesy Paudel’s 54-ball 112, but they have since lost by ten runs and 76 runs. The last two games of that series will be played on Thursday and Saturday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The experienced squad includes the likes of Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Sompal Kami and others, as well as Dipendra Singh Airee, who made history last month when he became just the third batter to hit six sixes in an over in a men’s T20I. He achieved the feat against Qatar in their ACC Men’s Premier Cup match.At the World Cup, Nepal are in Group D, which also has Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Nepal start their campaign on June 4 against Netherlands in Dallas.

Nepal squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Paudel (capt), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee

Teen sensation Estevao Willian admits that he "will have difficulties" when adjusting to life in England on the back of a transfer to Chelsea.

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• Wonderkid currently at FIFA Club World Cup
• Ready to complete transfer to Stamford Bridge
• Excited by challenge of the Premier League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 18-year-old wonderkid will complete a move to Stamford Bridge after representing Palmeiras at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. A deal worth at initial £29 million ($39m), which could end up costing as much as £57m ($77m), has been put in place.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Chelsea are hoping to be the ones to benefit from Estevao’s undoubted potential, with the youngster fondly known as ‘Messinho’ in his native Brazil. He is eager to open a new challenge in the Premier League.

  Watch every game of the FIFA Club World Cup live on DAZNStream now

• WHAT ESTEVAO SAID

  Estevao told : "It means everything. It's a dream come true for me. I've always dreamed of playing in Europe alongside the best. Playing in important competitions, such as the Champions League and the Premier League. It's a dream come true. It will be very important for my life.

  "It's a dream of mine and my family's. It will be an incredible opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. And I hope to get there and adapt as quickly as possible. I want to play. It's the thing I love doing most, what I enjoy most."

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  While being excited about what lies ahead, Estevao is eager to point out that he will face many challenges. He added when asked what he is expecting from his time in England: "Madness. It will be my first time. And I'm going to stay. A film plays in my head, from where I came from to where I'm going.

  "Of course, I know I will have difficulties, but I will be with my family, who are the pillar of my life. It will be an important step for me and my family. I hope it will be the best possible way. London, Chelsea… it couldn't be better."