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Chelsea are believed to be targeting another Man United star alongside their interest in Kobbie Mainoo, with two players in Enzo Maresca’s squad heading towards the exit door.

Chelsea approach Kobbie Mainoo's agents over transfer

In the last week, credible media sources revealed Chelsea’s serious interest in signing Mainoo, who is currently in the midst of a contract debacle, as the England international sets his sights on improved terms.

Chelsea "in talks" for first 2025 signing in versatile £30 million forward

The west Londoners have entered negotiations.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 17, 2025

The 19-year-old rising star is on just £20,000-per-week at United, which hardly reflects his status as a Three Lions midfielder and crucial player to Ruben Amorim, but rumoured PSR concerns are stalling an agreement over a new contract for Mainoo.

As a result of this, it is reliably believed that Chelsea have approached Mainoo’s agents in an attempt to lure him, as reported by journalist and Stamford Bridge insider Simon Phillips on his Substack.

“Chelsea also still want to bring in a new midfielder this window on request of Enzo Maresca,” wrote Phillips earlier this week.

“However, that does not need to be a new midfielder, and there are still chances that either Lesley Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos could be recalled, SPTC sources have heard again yesterday.

“There’s a chance Santos is recalled too by the way, something that we were not expecting to happen at all, until now, potentially.

“Chelsea have tried to turn the head of Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United by approaching his agents, and this one is still potentially one that could happen this month, if the player decides he is keen on the move.”

While this is far from advanced, it appears Chelsea are seriously pursuing Mainoo, but he isn’t the only Red Devils sensation on their radar.

Chelsea target Alejandro Garnacho with Disasi and Nkunku set to leave

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, exciting United winger Alejandro Garnacho has emerged as a target for Maresca.

The Argentine is attracting reported interest from Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who appear to have set their sights on him as a potential replacement for the PSG-bound Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

However, Conte now faces competition from his former club. Chelsea are targeting Garnacho and have “launched” an operation over his potential signing, according to L’Équipe, who also provided an update on the futures of Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi.

The £275,000-per-week duo are apparently set to depart west London before deadline day on February 3, with Maresca’s squad facing a serious overhaul in the latter stage of this transfer window.

Going back to Garnacho, the 20-year-old has bagged eight goals and five assists in 31 appearances so far this campaign, putting in some exceptional displays, and he fits the mould of a young, exciting player that BlueCo has repeatedly targeted since Chelsea’s takeover.

Garnacho is also highly versatile, capable of playing anywhere across the attack – including the left-hand side, right-hand side, through the middle as a central attacking midfielder and even as a second striker. However, he won’t come cheap, as some reports suggest the South American could cost £70 million.

Rub of the green, invisible heroes, plants in rival teams… is it too early to say ?

Sidharth Monga26-May-2022Forget the role clarity. Never mind the death bowling of Harshal Patel and death batting of Dinesh Karthik. Leave aside Wanindu Hasaranga in the middle overs. If you are a Royal Challengers Bangalore fan and believe in signs, you are probably already playing “” at wedding celebrations. For it looks destined right now that this is Royal Challengers’ year. You probably know more signs than us, but here are a few that are staring us right in the face.If you haven’t noticed these, you either don’t follow IPL or are just trying to be a hipster by following only teams that have no connect with the geographical units they claim to represent: Rajasthan Royals or Punjab Kings or whatever their name was last week or Delhi Capitals.

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Watch live coverage of Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on ESPN+ in English or in Hindi

DRSYou probably get nightmares of the marginal calls gone against your team or that erroneous short run that you believe ended up costing you a playoffs spot, but this year the rub of the green has been on Royal Challengers’ side. Remember the second ball Karthik faced in the Eliminator? Looked gone for a duck. Not given. Saved by an umpire’s call on the review.Who will forget Rishabh Pant, so trigger happy on most days with DRS requests, being conservative in a match that Royal Challengers desperately needed Mumbai Indians to win against Capitals?All these marginal calls are going against Royal Challengers’ rivals elsewhere. Capitals’ Rovman Powell not getting the no-ball, for example. Gujarat Titans’ Matthew Wade hitting the leather off the ball only for Ultra Edge to not show a sound signature. With some luck, we might even have a year when Royal Challengers don’t demand for an aspect of decision-making to be taken away from the umpires.Related

• The thing that makes Sanju Samson special

• Manjrekar: KL Rahul needs to bat 'quicker rather than longer'

• du Plessis on Harshal: 'Every time I feel the pressure, I go to him'

• Patidar, Rahul and their different high-wire acts

• Stats: Patidar's big-match hundred

They are dropping your match-winnersBoth Rajat Patidar and Karthik were dropped when the partnership was hardly past 10: in the end they end up with 92 in 41 balls.Also before we let Pant go, he dropped Karthik on five in the league game against Royal Challengers only for Karthik to score 66 off 34 that buried Capitals.Speaking of match-winnersShouldn’t they be Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli? Between them, Maxwell and Kohli have played three innings of 40 or more at a strike rate above 140. du Plessis last had such a big impact on May 8. It’s the others who have been carrying them. You would think with two matches remaining the big three are due according to the law of averages.He’s won it with Mumbai. He’s won it with SRH. He’s won it with CSK. This year, Karn Sharma is with RCB. Should we say more?•BCCIWhat are the odds?Patidar was supposed to be getting married during this IPL. It was only an injury to young Luvnith Sisodia – an event so unremarkable that the IPL release doesn’t even mention what injury – that brought Patidar in as replacement after Royal Challengers had let him go. He spent more than 20 days on the bench, and came in only when others played them out of contention. Now he won you the Eliminator with his first century in T20 cricket.Plants in rival teamsIf Patidar is an example of a lost soul finding its way back, another lost soul helped them from the outside. Tim David was part of Royal Challengers last year but they made not a single bid for him at the auction table this year. Only for David to score 34 off 11 in Mumbai’s final league match to make sure Capitals finished below Royal Challengers.The invisible heroStarting 2016, only Mumbai have been able win the IPL without Karn Sharma in their squad even though Karn has played only four matches in the playoffs. That’s four titles in four playoff matches, one with Sunrisers Hyderabad, one with Mumbai, two with Chennai Super Kings. In one of the title runs, he didn’t play a single game.If you think all of Royal Challengers’ calls at the auction table have worked only in a circuitous way, you have another thing coming. They managed themselves a steal deal this year: Karn Sharma at the base price of INR 50 lakh.The captainThe last time a team won the IPL from outside the top two, it was an overseas captain leading them. du Plessis is the only overseas captain in the playoffs this year. Okay now we are taking it too far but you get the drift.

Fast bowler named in 16-man white-ball leg of tour after suffering stress fracture in summer

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2023Saqib Mahmood will make his return to competitive action on the white-ball leg of England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka in February, following the stress fracture in his back that ruled him out of the 2022 home international season.Mahmood, 25, impressed on England’s tour of the Caribbean in early 2022, where he made his Test debut and claimed six wickets at 22.83 in his two appearances. However, he has not played since his solitary County Championship fixture for Lancashire against Gloucestershire in May.He was, however, part of the pace bowler rehab programme in the UAE in October, as was his fellow quick, Brydon Carse, who is also included in the white-ball squad after sustaining a toe injury during last summer’s ODI series against South Africa.Yorkshire’s fast bowler Matt Fisher, who made his Test debut alongside Mahmood in Barbados in March, is one of four players named for both the red- and white-ball legs. Somerset’s captain Tom Abell, Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, and the prolific Essex seamer, Sam Cook, are also included in both 16-man squads.The Test squad includes two other capped players in Alex Lees, who opened alongside Zak Crawley throughout the 2022 home summer but was dropped for the recent tour of Pakistan in favour of Ben Duckett, and Haseeb Hameed, who made a century for the Lions against the senior squad in the UAE in October, having been dropped after the last Ashes tour in 2021-22.With several contenders for England’s squads set to be in action at the SA20 and ILT20 tournaments in the coming months, the 28 players in the Lions party include three members of the Under-19 squad that reached the World Cup final in Antigua last year. Jacob Bethell, Tom Prest and James Rew were all key figures in the team that helped propel Rehan Ahmed towards his memorable Test debut in Karachi last month. Ahmed is not included in the Lions set-up, but two other legspinners feature, in Hampshire’s Mason Crane and the Essex allrounder Matt Critchley.Bethell and Rew are both currently playing grade cricket in Australia, and will rejoin the Under-19s squad for this month’s two Youth Tests in Australia before joining the Lions ODI squad.ECB Performance Director, Mo Bobat, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to expose players to the challenges of playing A-team cricket in the sub-continent, which will be fantastic for their development.”The series also provides us with the chance to observe the players ahead of this year’s World Cup as well as next winter’s Test series in India.”The squads have been selected with careful consideration of each player’s individual programme. We’ve worked closely with the counties to understand the players’ best interests as we map their development opportunities. In some cases that includes enabling players to play in domestic franchise cricket.”The ODI squad takes into account the strength in depth that we have across a number of key roles in our England Men’s white-ball teams and many of the players will join us directly from cricket they’ve been playing elsewhere, in Australia, South Africa or the UAE.”After a hugely exciting and successful first half of the winter for our Test and Twenty20 teams, I am sure the Lions players will be suitably motivated to make the most of this opportunity.”The red-ball tour will begin with a three-day warm-up match in Colombo on January 25 before two four-day Tests against Sri Lanka A in Galle. The white-ball squad will then play three ODIs against Sri Lanka A in Colombo, with the opening match scheduled for 15 February.The ECB is set to confirm the Head Coach and the captains for each squad before the series, while selection is subject to attainment of England Lions’ minimum fitness standards.Lions Test squad Tom Abell, Josh Bohannon, Jack Carson, Sam Cook, Matt Fisher, Nathan Gilchrist, Tom Haines, Haseeb Hameed, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Lyndon James, Alex Lees, Liam Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh TongueLions ODI squad Tom Abell, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Matt Fisher, Sam Hain, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Prest, James Rew, Luke Wood.

Plays of the day from the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad

Devashish Fuloria11-May-2015 The Maxwell effect
With no help in the first six overs for either the seamers or the offspinner Gurkeerat Singh, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan made brisk progress, adding 56 runs. So when Glenn Maxwell came in to bowl in the seventh over, Dhawan hoped to continue in the merry way. Maxwell, not known for turn, not only got his first ball to dip, but also got it to spit away from an advancing Dhawan, leaving him stranded down the pitch.The Neo effect
Warner had been hitting the ball hard all day, but one got very close to the non-striker. As the batsman made room to hit Sandeep Sharma inside out in the 11th over, the bowler followed him. Warner, though, went ahead with the shot and hit it firmly back at Moises Henriques, who, to his credit, stayed mostly still before just getting his right shoulder out of the way. The ball was travelling at some speed, but Henriques probably saw it in slow motion.The parallax
In the 17th over, Warner, while trying to make room, had to reach out for a low full toss outside off. He managed to hammer it over cover for a boundary but instead of being forced to stay on his normal stance, Warner went in the other direction. He took stance way wide of leg stump, just inside the wide marker. Anureet, confused whether to go for the open stumps or the batsman, ended up serving another low full toss. That was clubbed to the cover boundary as well.The misfiring gun
No runs should have come off the last delivery of the Sunrisers innings. Instead, two were given away. Sandeep Sharma bowled an accurate yorker that was dug out back down the pitch, straight to the bowler, by KL Rahul. As the batsmen went for a non-existent single, Sandeep had plenty of time to walk to the non-striker’s end and take the bails off. But he chose to fire a throw from his position a couple of meters away from the stump only to miss them. Sandeep couldn’t believe it. George Bailey couldn’t believe it either.Six in third dimension
It would be hard to beat Chris Gayle on the length of his sixes, but M Vijay could now possibly stake claim on the vertical dimension. He greeted Trent Boult with a flick that launched the ball as high as the light towers and but didn’t seem to have much horizontal distance. When it landed, though, it was over the square-leg boundary, 68 meters away.

West Ham United have now been offered an ex-Chelsea manager as a potential replacement for Julen Lopetegui, with the Spaniard facing his last chance saloon against Wolves in the Premier League on Monday.

Julen Lopetegui could be fired if West Ham fail to beat Wolves

It has been reported by reliable media sources that Lopetegui has been given one last chance to save his job against Wolves (The Telegraph), with insiders viewing the all-important clash as a “cup final” in terms of the 58-year-old’s future.

West Ham approach Chelsea over signing "fast" £120k-per-week ace in January

The Hammers are looking for winter reinforcements to help save their season.

By
Emilio Galantini

Dec 7, 2024

A disastrous start to the season for Lopetegui was exacerbated by demoralising defeats to Arsenal and Leicester City last week, which piled even more pressure on the Spaniard, who’s led West Ham to just four league wins so far this season.

Lopetegui has been slammed on various occasions for his tactics, player selection and overall approach to games – with calls to relieve the ex-Spain boss of his duties prevalent long before the last few days.

There have been reports that “several” senior West Ham stars are not behind their manager, and other media sources believe that Lopetegui has frustrated key club figures with last-minute changes to game plans (GiveMeSport).

In response, the Hammers are drawing up contingency plans in case they’re forced to fire their current head coach, with reliable club source ExWHUemployee revealing earlier this week that they’ve held talks with multiple managers already.

Graham Potter, Sergio Conceicao, Kasper Hjulmand, Roger Schmidt, Thomas Frank, Edin Terzic, Massimiliano Allegri and Matthias Jaissle have all been linked with the potentially vacant post this week.

New candidates are emerging on a consistent basis, with former Chelsea, Juventus, Napoli and Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri also in the frame.

West Ham offered ex-Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri to replace Julen Lopetegui

Sources in Italy last month reported that West Ham have been considering Sarri as an option, and French news outlet Foot Mercato now backs this up with a new claim.

Indeed, it is believed West Ham have been “offered” Sarri, with David Sullivan and Tim Steidten apparently open to the possibility of handing him a job back in the Premier League.

Famed for his brand of “Sarri-ball”, which was successful at Napoli and drew admirers, the tactician boasts a Europa League triumph from his time at Chelsea and a Scudetto from his period in the dugout at Juve.

Called “extraordinary” on a tactical level by his former star midfielder Jorginho, the 65-year-old won Serie A’s Manager of the Year award in 2016/17 and guided Lazio to second place a year before he left the Stadio Olimpico.

Sarri does have major credentials, and if supporters want to see attacking football, he could be a good option considering that the Italian is known for being an offensive-minded coach (The Football Analyst).

Liverpool, despite sitting top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League and advancing into the final four of the Carabao Cup, are still awaiting some much-needed news on the contract front.

Liverpool transfer news

Barring one slip-up against Nottingham Forest, Arne Slot’s Liverpool side have been unstoppable so far this season and look on course for what they hope to be the first of many historic campaigns under the Dutchman. The quality within their squad and even outside of their strongest side was on full show once again against Southampton, as a much-changed Liverpool side sent the Saints packing in the Carabao Cup.

Amid such a successful season so far, however, a darkening contract cloud has continuously threatened to rain down on the Reds’ campaign and disrupt what would be the ultimate first season without club legend Jurgen Klopp.

As things stand, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all set to leave as free agents at the end of the campaign. And whilst reports have been more positive regarding Salah and Van Dijk’s Anfield futures, those in Merseyside are still facing a nervous wait for good news on all three.

Slot was let down by 103-touch Liverpool man after 5/10 Southampton display

Liverpool made it through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 win against Southampton.

By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 19, 2024

According to Caught Offside, FSG and Liverpool have now offered Alexander-Arnold a contract worth £7.1m more per year than his current Anfield deal, which is worth a reported £9.4m-a-year.

As per Caught Offside, the talented right-back has been offered a deal worth €20m-a-year (£16.5m-a-year) in the hope that he will finally put pen to paper and end any concerns over his future.

Even after such an offer, however, Liverpool are still reportedly unsure whether he will be tempted into joining European giants Real Madrid, who are planning a January meeting with the right-back to discuss a potential summer move.

Liverpool must end Alexander-Arnold uncertainty

In the middle of a title race and in their first season of what they will hope to be an era full of success under Slot, Liverpool need to get their answers from Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah before their contract talks dominate the headlines and distract away from their pursuit of glory. The last thing any dressing room needs is an unanswered question on the future of a star player, let alone three.

The case of Alexander-Arnold seems particularly uncertain, but he too must come to a decision sooner rather than later. Either he stays put at Liverpool and becomes one of the highest-earners at the club before cementing his legacy as a true Anfield great, or he chooses the life of a Galactico and the chance to create undeniable history. It’s quite the choice, to say the least.

As for Liverpool, they must at least plan for the worst. The likes of Jeremie Frimpong have already been mentioned in recent weeks and the Reds must be prepared to make their move for the Bayer Leverkusen man or, indeed, an alternative option to replace Alexander-Arnold at the end of the season.

Ruben Amorim was asked about Manchester United's interest in Matheus Cunha as Wolves look to take advantage of goal-shy Red Devils.

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• Amorim asked about United's interest in Cunha
• Brazilian forward has a contract with Wolves until 2029
• Man Utd face Wolves on Sunday

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  United, who have struggled for consistency up front in the 2024-25 campaign, are strongly linked with a move for Wolves forward Cunha. With high-profile signings like Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund failing to cement their place in the number 9 position, as they have scored just six league goals between them, the Red Devils are considering triggering the Brazilians' £62.5 million ($82m) release clause. With Cunha under contract until 2029, Wolves are unlikely to settle for a lower price.

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• GOAL
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  United boss Amorim recently heaped praise on Wolves manager Vitor Pereira and his style of play while specifically naming Cunha, who has impressed the Portuguese coach. The former Sporting CP manager will look to bolster his squad ahead of the 2025-26 season as the Old Trafford outfit are headed for a busy summer transfer window.

• WHAT RUBEN AMORIM SAID

  Speaking about Pereira, the 40-year-old said: "I think he's doing an amazing job. He's playing a 343, he's doing quite well. He's changing some players, he has real quality players – Cunha and all these guys, they have real quality. They are fresh. So we know it's going to be a tough match and we are going to need a lot from our supporters. I know it is a bad thing to ask anything this season from our fans but we need them on Sunday."

  When asked if Cunha could head to Manchester next year, Amorim added: "I just gave the example because I remembered about Matheus – he's scoring a lot of goals. Just that."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  After a spirited performance against Lyon in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday, United will now aim to get back to winning ways in the Premier League as they host Wolves on April 20.

With the Champions Trophy only eight months away, India’s ODI selections from here on will have to be geared towards the larger picture

Arun Venugopal15-Oct-2016When Jayant Yadav turned up to bat during India’s net session at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday, he had a distinguished pair of non-regular bowlers bowling to him. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, bowling offbreaks, were amusing themselves by servicing a group of lower-order batsmen that included Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav. There was some good-natured teasing of Jayant’s batting as Dhoni and Kohli bantered with the rookie.Jayant is one of the newbies picked for the first three ODIs with the established bowlers rested. Ajinkya Rahane said the arrival of these players was “energising”. Jayant is the only member in the squad without any international experience; he is not one of the 31 players who have played ODIs for India since the 2015 World Cup. He is, in fact, the only player who returned from the Zimbabwe tour in June without featuring in a single game.But Jayant’s is not a one-off situation. Only seven players have featured in 12 or more of the 19 ODIs India have played since April 2015. More than 10 players on the fringes have played at different points, particularly during the two limited-overs tours to Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016 when many senior players sat out. The likes of Kedar Jadhav and Faiz Fazal would invariably make way for the bigger names once a more high-profile series began. There have also been injuries at different points, a reason for the high turnover of personnel. These patterns point to a larger issue; India’s ODI game has been in limbo for some time now, something that is easy to overlook because of their recent golden run in Test matches.India have lost nine of their last 19 ODIs since April 2015. While these numbers may not tell you much, consider this: India have lost three of their last five ODI series – against Bangladesh, South Africa and Australia – with their only wins coming against Zimbabwe. That they start the five-ODI series against New Zealand on almost equal footing despite playing at home and having swept the Tests tells you the story. India have only eight ODIs from now till the Champions Trophy – while New Zealand will play almost three times as many matches – to resolve some longstanding problems. With Dhoni almost certain to lead the team into the Champions Trophy, these ODIs present a timely opportunity to sort out the kinks.Take the case of his seemingly unending search for the seam-bowling allrounder. After trying Stuart Binny and Rishi Dhawan with varying degrees of success in recent times, Dhoni seemed to have found in Hardik Pandya a third seamer who could biff the ball in the lower order. But with Pandya’s form tapering off in the IPL, the selectors overlooked him for the Zimbabwe series. Now, despite not stacking up attractive numbers in India A’s tour of Australia, the selectors have reverted to taking a punt on Pandya in recognition of the pressing need for a seam-bowling allrounder, particularly in English conditions for the Champions Trophy.Another factor that would have bothered Dhoni is Suresh Raina’s slipping form since the 2015 World Cup. When Raina was at the top of his game, Dhoni could not only turn to him for middle-order insurance, but also use him as the fifth or sixth bowler. While Raina has been recalled without many runs to show in recent times, should he click, it will offer Dhoni the comfort of returning to a proven success formula.One of the more successful auditions in recent times has been that of Manish Pandey; he has not done much wrong since his hundred in Sydney. He has none of Raina’s bowling abilities, but with his attacking batting and fielding skills, he makes a good case for a middle-order spot. There is also Axar Patel, who is a much improved lower-order striker apart from being a niggardly bowler, as he demonstrated for India A against Australia recently. In Ravindra Jadeja’s absence, he has another opportunity to show why he can mimic the Saurashtra spinner’s role.Crucially for Dhoni, he now has Anil Kumble – who is into his first ODI series as coach – to lean on for tactical advice. With Kumble known to be a keen-eyed strategist, there could be a departure, even if just slightly, from the more gut-driven methods Dhoni had adopted in the past. No matter what Rahane or his team-mates say, India cannot afford to look at this series only for what it is. With bigger stakes looming in the form of the Champions Trophy, selection of personnel cannot be a one-off, and will have to be geared towards a larger and a more concrete game plan.

Sanjay Manjrekar looks ahead to two key aspects for India in the forthcoming Tests against South Africa – Virat Kohli’s leadership style, and Cheteshwar Pujara’s role

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2015Having gone down in the T20 and ODI series, India will be keen to assert their superiority in the Tests. It will be Virat Kohli’s first home series as captain against a team that has built a formidable reputation on the road. Among the batsmen, Cheteshwar Pujara will be keen to build on his triumphant return to the playing XI in the third Test in Sri Lanka, where he made a century. Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar says he will be watching these two aspects closely over the course of the matches‘Kohli willing to change plans if they don’t work’
Sanjay Manjrekar believes India will see a more mature side to Virat Kohli as he grows into the role of a captain. According to Manjrekar, Kohli is patient but also adaptable and willing to change his original plans if they don’t work – a good sign for a leader.2:47

Manjrekar: We will see a more mature Kohli

The challenges facing Pujara

Manjrekar says that Cheteshwar Pujara’s switch to a wider batting stance, as seen on the recent Sri Lanka tour, is a surprising change for a batsman whose style is built on strong defensive technique and mental toughness. Manjrekar examines the positives and negatives of the change and the challenges Pujara will face against South Africa’s attack.2:48

‘Pujara’s change in technique surprising’

White, who has been in the role since February 2012, said it “feels like the right time to step aside”

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2023New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White has announced his decision to step down from the role in August.White, who took over the position in February 2012, is just the fourth chief executive after Chris Doig, Martin Snedden and Justin Vaughan to lead NZC since the adoption of the Hood Report recommendations in 1995.”NZC is in a secure financial position with a solid balance sheet and long-term commercial agreements in place,” he said in a statement. “The BLACKCAPS are strong; women’s cricket is healthy, our high performance programme is producing excellence, and the community game is stable. It feels like the right time to step aside.”During White’s tenure, the New Zealand men’s team won the inaugural World Test Championship and reached the final of the World Cup three times (one T20 and two 50-over World Cups). Under him, New Zealand also took a big step towards pay equality, announcing that their women cricketers will earn the same match fees as the men under a new five-year deal in 2022.”David’s legacy has been immense,” Snedden, now serving as NZC board chair, said. “Our high performance systems have never been stronger, our cricket network has a level of financial security and stability never before experienced, and the future for women and girls has never been brighter.”David’s commercial acumen has driven revenue, enabling increased investment across the organisation. His administrative skills have unearthed unique, bespoke solutions for our high-performance programmes and infrastructure – no better illustrated than in the all-weather, turf-based training facilities now located throughout the country.”White, a former Test cricketer, had also served as chief executive of Auckland Rugby and, before that chief executive of Wellington Rugby before taking up the NZC role.”Under David, cricket in New Zealand has become far more inclusive, especially in regard to women and girls, our tangata whenua, and our Pasifika communities,” Snedden added.”When you think of how he navigated the Covid-19 pandemic, preserving the integrity of the community, domestic and international game, and his strong influence at ICC level, it makes you realise just how lucky we’ve been to have him at the helm.”