Author: Soorya G

The Real Madrid head coach has claimed that Eden Hazard is still in his plans for the next season, contrary to rumours that the Los Blancos were prepared to sell the underperforming attacker, after a huge transfer from the Premier League that set back the Spanish giants a €140 million. The Belgian was believed to be on his way back to the Premier League, with a few clubs reportedly interested in securing deals to sign the previously brilliant winger. However, Ancelotti has rubbished these reports as he quashed the possibility of Hazard moving away from Madrid, as he claimed that…

Ahmedabad and Kolkata have been named as the venues for the ODIs and the T20Is, respectively. The board has modified the venues of the ODI and T20I series against the West Indies, scheduled for February, with the ODIs set to be played in Ahmedabad, while the T20Is will take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The third ODI has also been preponed to February 11, with the Indian Premier League auction set to kick off on February 12. The board has taken this decision keeping the pandemic in mind, as they aim to reduce the possibility of the coronavirus outbreak during travel. …

The Magpies could add the Colombian to their squad in the ongoing window as they seek to avoid the drop. Zapata has been performing at the highest level in Serie A for quite some time now but has consistently gone under the radar, possibly being one of the most consistently underrated performers in modern-day football. The 30-year-old has been a prolific goalscorer, and his talents have finally been recognised, as reports suggest that newly taken over Premier League side Newcastle is planning to swoop in on the centre-forward as they build a top-quality side, having already signed full-backs Kevin Trippier and Lucas Digne.…

The former England international had a successful tenure at Surrey County Cricket Club, which lasted about four years. He was first appointed as deputy head coach back in 2018, and was subsequently promoted to head coach in 2020. The English county side announced Vikram Solanki’s departure with an official statement, thanking him for his work and warmly acknowledging that he was indeed a valuable member of the club. The 45-year-old, quoted in the statement, said that Surrey was an important part of his life, and also thanked director Alec Stewart for his support over the years. “Surrey has been an extremely valuable…

England’s woes continued even after the conclusion of their humbling Ashes defeat, as they were trounced by the Windies in the first T20I at the Kensington Oval, after a Jason Holder masterclass with the ball. The Caribbean Kings produced a spectacular bowling performance to restrict the English to a measly total of 103, which many would consider a decent total after they were reduced to 49/7. The West Indian batsmen had absolutely no troubles chasing that total down as they registered a huge 9-wicket victory. West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and made the right decision of putting the English…

The Swiss international also heaped praise on coach Arteta for Gunners’ comeback after horror start to the Premier League season. Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka received his fifth red card in a Gunners jersey since joining the club in July 2016, despite severe backlash from fans and experts alike. He brought Liverpool forward Diogo Jota to the ground in a last-man situation during their 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final (Jan 13), earning him a straight sending off. https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1484919018070945794 The red card was Xhaka’s second of the ongoing season across all tournaments. Back in August, he was sent to the…

Veteran Indian footballer and manager Subhash Bhowmick was suffering from kidney-related ailments prior to his death. The former Bengali striker and coach has died at the age of 72 following a prolonged illness. He was diabetic and was hospitalised following some complications related to the kidneys and passed away at around 3:30 am, as per sources. https://twitter.com/MarcusMergulhao/status/1484789502740938753 The former striker, who was born in the English Bazar Municipality in 1950, represented two of the biggest clubs in India, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Fondly called “Bhombolda” in football circles, Bhowmick was part of the India team that won bronze medals at the 1970 Asia Cup. According…

Indian women’s football team coach Thomas Dennerby has expressed his disappointment with the squad after their 0-0 draw against Iran on Thursday, after the Indians dominated the vast majority of the game, but lacked in finishing, missing many chances on the way to a frustrating goalless draw against the Iranians in the opening game of the Asia Cup. However, the Swede also took home some positives from the game, as he felt that some clinical finishing would give them better results, as he praised his side for their dominant performance in the middle of the park. Iran, who are ranked…

Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has called out stand-in captain KL Rahul’s decisions in the ODI against South Africa for his poor rotation of bowlers during India’s bowling innings. The Indians had initially bowled well to reduce the Proteas to 68/3, after which captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen scored centuries to propel their side to a score in excess of 290. Jasprit Bumrah picked up a couple of wickets for the visitors but was left fighting a lone battle as he got little support from the rest of the attack. KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer played his first ODI at…

Six India U19 internationals, including captain Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, have tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the World Cup game against Ireland on January 19. This situation left the Indians with just 11 fit players, who all took the field against the Irish. Nishanth Sindhu was named captain in the absence of both Dhull and Rasheed. The BCCI released a statement clarifying the medical condition of the players, which said that Siddharth Yadav has returned a positive RT-PCR test, Aaradhya Yadav, Shaik, and Dhull have returned positive Rapid Antigen Tests, while Manav Parakh and Vasu Vats, who showed symptoms of the virus, went into isolation.…