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La Liga: Barcelona bank on rejuvenated Philippe Coutinho for Valencia test

Agencies
February 1, 2019

Jan 1: Since joining La Liga leaders Barcelona just over a year ago, Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho has endured a mixed time in Catalonia.

He joined Barcelona to much fanfare for a club record 142 million pounds from Liverpool and was hailed as the long-term replacement for former Spain international Andres Iniesta.

But Coutinho has often failed to replicate his Premier League performance levels at the Nou Camp, playing second fiddle to fellow big-money arrival Ousmane Dembele.

With the Frenchman injured, however, pressure has grown on Coutinho to up his game and he is finally showing glimpses of his true potential.

A starring role with two goals in the 6-1 Copa del Rey second-leg win over Sevilla in midweek was his best performance in a Barca shirt and fans will be hoping for more of the same when fellow Cup semi-finalists Valencia visit on Saturday.

“He’s a brave player who always tries things and takes risks,” coach Ernesto Valverde said of his number seven.

“Hopefully, this performance is something that can give him more confidence.

“We’ve now got a game against a side who also had a really intense Copa match and there’s little time to recover. I’ll have to pick a side to get the three points and we know that next week we’ll have another game, too.”

Valencia endured a disappointing first half of the season but four wins from five matches in all competitions, including a stoppage-time Copa victory over Getafe, has lifted them to seventh in the La Liga standings.

Third-placed Real Madrid, who sit 10 points behind leaders Barca, host fifth-placed Alaves on Sunday. Gareth Bale returned from his latest injury setback last weekend and is set to reclaim his place in the frontline alongside Karim Benzema.

Doubts remain, however, over the futures of midfielder Isco and full back Marcelo, with both struggling for game time at the Bernabeu since the Argentine took over.

Elsewhere, former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata looks set to make his Atletico Madrid debut when they visit Betis on Sunday, while Real Sociedad host Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Saturday.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Mumbai, Mar 8: Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to India's ODI squad as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the team for the upcoming South Africa series.

South Africa are scheduled to tour India for a three-match ODI series, starting from March 12.

India's ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (C ), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have already announced their squad for the series and spinner George Linde was given maiden ODI call-up.

South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (c, wk), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan.

The first ODI will be played in Dharamsala while the other two matches will be played in Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18, respectively.

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News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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