Socceroos ready for World Cup fight
Socceroos ready for World Cup fight
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Hindustan Times
44 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Sourav Ganguly fires shots at Agarkar, BCCI for dropping Shreyas Iyer from India squad: 'Not a player to be left out'
Sourav Ganguly was one of the biggest advocates of Ajit Agarkar when he was the captain of Team India and even the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Agarkar has dished out memorable performances in Ganguly's captaincy but none more special than his six-wicket haul in Adelaide to help India register a famous win against Australia in 2003. So fond was Ganguly of Agarkar that he didn't consider his KKR team to be at full strength till Agarkar was injured. This was more than a year after Agarkar played his last international match. Cut to 2025, there is nothing to suggest a crack in the Ganguly-Agarkar relationship but the former India captain surely did not shy away from pointing fingers at the Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee for leaving out Shreyas Iyer from India's Test squad for the England tour. Iyer, who was a part of India's middle-order the last time they toured England, drifted away from the Test side due to his struggles against the short-pitched deliveries. The right-hander, however, made a strong statement by scoring heavily in ODIs, returning as one of India's top run-scorers in both the World Cup in 20243 and the Champions Trophy in 2025. Iyer maintained his upward surge with a productive domestic season in all formats for Mumbai. In between, Iyer won the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and then led Punjab Kings to their first IPL final in 11 years. The 30-year-old scored 604 runs in 17 matches in the IPL this year. His strike rate of 175 was by far the most by any batter in the top 10 of the Orange Cap list this year. Agarkar and his selection committee, however, did not pick Iyer in India's Test squad. Reports suggested that there wasn't a lot of discussion about Iyer as the selectors and the team management thought Iyer had a lot to work on when it comes to red-ball cricket. Ganguly said Iyer should have been in England simply because of his current form in all formats. 'He has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn't the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket's different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do," Ganguly told RevSportz. The former BCCI secretary saw Iyer closely when he was the Director of Cricket at the Delhi Capitals. Iyer is currently leading theMumbai Falcons in the Mumbai League 2025, where the team has already reached the finals of the tournament. In Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's absence, the heavy lifting of the middle-order batting will have to be done by new captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant. There is a possibility that both Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair might get a look in the XI unless India decide to play a seam-bowling all-rounder in Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy. When asked if he is giving India a chance going into the series, Ganguly said, 'Yes, sure. We just need two things, batting well and [Jasprit] Bumrah remaining fit. We won in Australia, in Melbourne (2020-21), with a young batting line-up, having no [Virat] Kohli, no Rohit Sharma. So, I do not see why we cannot win.' The five-match Test series starts on June 20 at Leeds.
North Wales Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Brazil clinch World Cup spot as Carlo Ancelotti enjoys home debut in charge
The Italian's second match in charge made for a memorable night in Sao Paulo, courtesy of Vinicius Jr's 43rd-minute goal. The hosts dominated possession, but managed just four shots on target as Paraguay took the result down to the wire. The result was still much-improved from Ancelotti's debut in last week's goalless draw against Peru. The win lifts Brazil to third in South American qualifying, level on points with second-placed Ecuador who sealed their World Cup place with a goalless draw in Peru. The top six teams in CONMEBOL qualifying receive automatic qualification. Elsewhere, first-place Argentina drew 1-1 with sixth-place Colombia after Thiago Almada's goal in the 81st minute cancelled out Luis Diaz's 24th-minute opener.
South Wales Argus
44 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Brazil clinch World Cup spot as Carlo Ancelotti enjoys home debut in charge
The Italian's second match in charge made for a memorable night in Sao Paulo, courtesy of Vinicius Jr's 43rd-minute goal. The hosts dominated possession, but managed just four shots on target as Paraguay took the result down to the wire. Brazil's Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against Paraguay (Andre Penner/AP) The result was still much-improved from Ancelotti's debut in last week's goalless draw against Peru. The win lifts Brazil to third in South American qualifying, level on points with second-placed Ecuador who sealed their World Cup place with a goalless draw in Peru. The top six teams in CONMEBOL qualifying receive automatic qualification. Elsewhere, first-place Argentina drew 1-1 with sixth-place Colombia after Thiago Almada's goal in the 81st minute cancelled out Luis Diaz's 24th-minute opener.
