Capitals await clarity on Starc; Stubbs and du Plessis, too, yet to join camp
With fifth-placed DC battling for a playoff berth, Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc's participation is particularly essential. The franchise is expecting to get clarity on the left-armer, who is part of Australia's squad for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in London from June 11-15, only on Friday. His Australian teammates Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head are heading back to their respective IPL franchises for the remainder of the league stage.
The South African duo of Tristan Stubbs and Faf du Plessis, too, is yet to join the DC camp. In Stubbs' case, he is anyway unlikely to stay for the entirety of the tournament should Capitals qualify for the playoffs. While Qualifier 1 is slated for May 29 and the final is on June 3, the Proteas Test squad has to leave for the United Kingdom on May 30 ahead of a warm-up game versus Zimbabwe from June 3.
On Wednesday, DC signed Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman as a replacement for Aussie opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who did not wish to return for the business end of the campaign. But there is uncertainty over Mustafizur as well. The 29-year-old hasn't yet got a no-objection certificate from the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and is part of his country's squad for a T20I series against Pakistan starting on May 25.
At the training session on Thursday, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was a prominent absentee. K.L. Rahul, who was the first to have a bat, practised his range-hitting during the session.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
18 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Tottenham's best XI: How Thomas Frank's Spurs could line up for the Premier League 2025-26 season
Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to quickly move on from this week's UEFA Super Cup defeat against Paris Saint-Germain when it begins the 2025-26 Premier League season against Burnley on Saturday. It will be the North London side's first league campaign under new manager Thomas Frank who arrived at the club as Ange Postecoglou's successor. The Australian coach was sacked days after leading Spurs to the UEFA Europa League title. For former Brentford coach Frank, the task would be to bring Tottenham back to challenging for Europe — last season the team finished at an all-time low 17th place in the Premier League era — but he will have to deal with not having the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, with both midfielders being indefinitely ruled out due to injuries. FILE PHOTO: In the absence of South Korea's Hueng-min Son, who left the club after a decade, new arrival Mohammed Kudus could prove to be the livewire on the wings for Frank's side. | Photo Credit: AP New signings Mohammed Kudus: €63.80m (from West Ham) Mathys Tel: €35.00m (from Bayern Munich) Kevin Danso: €25.00m (from Lens) Luka Vuskovic: €11.00m (Hajduk Split) Kota Takai: €5.80m (Kawasaki Frontale) Joao Palhinha: €5.00m (On loan from Bayern Munich) How can Tottenham Hotspur line up for the 2025-26 Premier League season? Frank is known to favour the 4-3-3 formation. If one of Maddison or Kulusevski was fit, they could have slotted into that No. 10 role to facilitate a 4-2-3-1 shape as well, but the coach may stick to what he knows best. Tottenham's Best XI - (4-3-3) Guglielmo Vicario (gk); Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero (c), Kevin Danso; Pape Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha; Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus Player to watch out for In the absence of South Korea's Hueng-min Son, who left the club after a decade, new arrival Mohammed Kudus could prove to be the livewire on the wings for Frank's side. In the last two seasons in the Premier League, the Ghana forward registered 25 goal contributions in 65 appearances with West Ham United. Kudus is also not a stranger to European football, having scored five goals in nine appearances during West Ham's Europa League campaign in the 2023-24 season. This could come in handy as Tottenham returns to the UEFA Champions League after three years.
Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
How Lionel Messi was convinced to visit India for exhibition tour: Ronaldinho, Emiliano Martinez, and Durga Puja statue
In one of the most eagerly-anticipated moments of the year for Indian football fans, four cities across the country will get the chance to welcome Lionel Messi to their homes this winter. There are no two ways about it: when it comes to sport, Messi is a god-like figure, with nobody inspiring quite as much awe as the little Argentinian. Lionel Messi in action during a recent match for Argentina.(REUTERS) So how is it that he was convinced to visit India for a taxing four city tour in the twilight of his career, 14 years on from the first time he visited? Kolkata-based sports promoter Satadru Dutta, responsible for this set of exhibitions, had a fairly simple reasoning: getting good reviews of India into the ears of Leo Messi. Messi's teammates Emiliano Martinez, who helped lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Argentina, and Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho had both arrived in India last year for similar events organised by Dutta. As per the promoter, asking them to get a word in edgeways with Messi was the only way. 'The football world is a small circle. When I got Emi Martinez and Ronaldinho to Kolkata, I told them that I am trying to bring Messi to India and your review will matter,' he explained to the Indian Express. 'If you can give a good review to his team and even Messi himself, it will help. Touchwood, I executed it in a neat and clean way, they gave a very good review to Messi,' he continued. How nostalgia and a Durga Puja statue helped convince Messi The good news for Dutta was that Messi agreed, even if not immediately, but that the deal was cut thanks to the help of Messi's former teammates. Dutta revealed that a chat with Messi in 2024 led to the decision that within that year would not be possible, but it would be on Messi's agenda for the future 'I just said if it would be possible over the next one or two years, he said 'I love the idea',' Dutta continued. He further revealed that a couple of flourishes helped seal the deal, such as showing Messi videos of his last time in India in 2011, which happened to be the first of many times he wore the skipper's armband for the Albiceleste, as well as a picture of a Messi statue that was installed on a Durga Puja pandal in a football-crazed Kolkata. Messi will first be flying to Kolkata, the first stop on a four-city tour also including Ahmedabad, New Delhi, and Mumbai. The multi-city model for the tour would be tougher to organise, but also essential for it to be lucrative, said Dutta: 'If it is not multiple cities, it won't be financially viable.' The Argentinian megastar is expected to take part in several functions, meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also participate in seven-a-side games from legendary Indian athletes to Bollywood celebrities — and potentially even try his hand at cricket alongside some modern-day Indian greats, if reports are to be believed.
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Cricket: Bob Simpson dies at 89 - who was the legendary Australian?
Australian cricket has lost one of its great figures with the passing of former captain and coach Bob Simpson at the age of 89. Cricket Australia confirmed the news on Saturday. Simpson was a central figure in the game for decades. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He played 62 Tests for Australia between 1957 and 1978, scoring 4,869 runs at an impressive average of 46.81 while also taking 71 wickets. As captain, he led his country in 39 Tests and guided them to 12 victories. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! In one of the most remarkable chapters of his career, Simpson returned from retirement at the age of 41 to captain a depleted Australian side during the challenging years of World Series Cricket. After hanging up his boots, Simpson went on to become Australia's first full-time coach. He took charge of a struggling team that had gone four years without a Test series win and turned them into a dominant force. Poll What do you think was Bob Simpson's greatest achievement as a cricketer? Leading Australia to the 1987 World Cup Returning from retirement at age 41 Scoring nearly 5,000 Test runs Transforming the team as a full-time coach Under his leadership, Australia lifted the 1987 World Cup, won four Ashes series and finally claimed the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1995, ending a 17-year wait for success against the West Indies. Simpson stepped down after the 1996 World Cup but continued to serve Australian cricket as a national selector. His contributions were formally recognised in 2013 when he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Bob Simpson's impact went far beyond numbers. He was a leader, a teacher and a pioneer who helped shape the modern Australian team into the powerhouse it became.
