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Venky Mysore reveals why the franchise decided to release Russell before he announced his IPL retirement and took over as KKR’s power coach

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi05-Dec-20258:03

Will KKR go all-out to for Cameron Green?

Was releasing Andre Russell, or ‘Muscle Russell’ as Shah Rukh Khan called him, a last-minute decision? Can you now disclose why you decided to release him?
Venky Mysore: I wish there was no auction every year because this just becomes very nerve-wracking many times, and some things that you don’t want to do, you end up having to do. But no, it wasn’t like a last, last-minute thing, but we were grappling with all combinations, ideas, what to do and all that. Finally, we said, okay, this [release] is what we have to do.But some people missed the fundamental point, which is the [purse] deduction for us was 18 crore, not 12 crore by releasing Dre. So, although his contract value was 12 crore, the deduction from our purse was 18 crore in 2025. A lot of people missed that and said, oh, why would KKR not see value in a person who is at 12 crores? 18 crores, which would be deducted from our purse if we had reattained him, is a lot of money in the context of an auction. That was the trigger.And in mini-auctions, you want to go with as much as you can to have the flexibility to look at options that might come your way. So from that perspective, if it was 12 crore, I think the decision would’ve been very different.If the deduction was 12 crore, would you have retained him?
Mysore: I mean it would have made a huge difference. Although 12 cr is still a lot, but could we get a player of his quality for 12 cr in the auction? It’s very unlikely in a mini auction (if you release him at that price). But releasing 18 cr, from the auction purse, it’s a fair amount of money. Therefore it was not a last-minute decision. It was a last-minute announcement.You are also trying to figure out what the alternatives would be. When you put someone in an auction, you have to go with an assumption you may not be able to get a player back. So if that’s the case, then what are your options? How do you resolve it? What’s your structure? All those discussions happen. So yes, in the days leading up to the retention deadline, we made the call.What was Russell’s reaction?
Mysore: Although we have never had to put him [Russell] in the auction, these discussions happen every time there’s a retention opportunity and it happened even ahead of a mega-auction. Particularly last year because the whole fee structure was very different and very, very punitive. If you retained more than three players, then you were penalised literally because fourth player retention slab was 18 crore, like Dre.So you are trying to do the math and say, can I get this player for 18 crore or less in the auction? We don’t want to obviously let any of our players go. Therefore I had the discussion this time with Dre and said, we may have to do this (release). And he said, “wow, never been in an auction since 2014.” Because before that he was with Delhi [Daredevils]. Then we picked him and since then he’s never been been in an auction. So it’s a strange feeling for both of us. And he’s always a very sensible and sensitive guy, easy to communicate with. Very emotional, but not clinical, like a few players I have dealt with.It hit him after a couple of days after that conversation. He came back to me and said, “oh, I’ve really had a lot of sleepless nights wondering about where all of this could go. I’m so used to the purple and gold, Knight Riders and relationships I have built with the franchise, you and the owners.”We jokingly discussed, and many people know that over the last 11 years that he’s been with us, I’ve probably spoken with Dre more than I’ve spoken with my wife. We sent him to Dallas [to train with local NFL team] twice to help him become more fitter, more stronger. When he was handed the year-long anti-doping ban in 2017, I was very much in touch and sent our physio from TKR – Trinbago Knight Riders – to Jamaica to work with Dre and help him with his fitness and more importantly, just to keep him in the right spirits. It was a tough year for him when a cricketer can’t play. Imagine one year was a very long time, but then right after that was a retention year in 2018.Andre Russell has been a match-winner for KKR – both with bat and ball•BCCIWe didn’t know what form he was in, what fitness level he was in, but we retained him. But he always acknowledges that and always says, “I’ve tears in my eyes because I got a million-dollar contract and retention decision on him.”All that kind of hit him after about 48 hours of the initial conversation on releasing him. Then the auction discussions started in a way, to say, how do we handle it? What happens? And all that.At that point, he had not yet given up on coming to the auction? Your conversation was on him getting released – correct?
Mysore: Exactly. I’ve had a few of these types of conversations over the 15 years I’ve been running the franchise. Very rarely do players feel like they are done. They always feel like, oh yeah, I’ve got cricket left in me – one year, two years, three years…that’s where his [Russell’s] head was also. And he’s probably right, but he also realised by the time 2026 IPL comes around, he’ll be 38. And for someone who’s an allrounder like him, a pace bowler who comes in at death, has to smash, has to run a lot, field like he does, his instincts take over once he is on the field. He’s a natural athlete, but body and age do catch up.But somewhere that conversation [retiring from IPL] did come up as an option and he gave it more thought. For a variety of reasons, it appealed to him and said, yeah, why not? Let’s do this.Was it your suggestion or his?
Mysore: I could see he (Russell) was agonising over it, and, so when I shared this with SRK [Shah Rukh, KKR lead owner], it was actually SRK’s suggestion of offering Russell a coaching role. Because, see, a player is thinking somewhere at the back of his mind, what happens after I hang up my boots? But I don’t think they want to think about it also so much because professional athletes are like that. They believe I’m still good, and Dre still is – he is fantastic and playing other leagues.Yesterday (December 3, in the ILT20 match between Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Sharjah Warriorz) also, he came in and straightaway smashed that six, which are trademark Dre sixes, which hits the sight screen and the ball comes back to the middle of the pitch literally. You start thinking, oh my God! And even with the ball, runs in first ball, clean bowled DK [Dinesh Karthik].It just felt like he was very free in his mind after making the retirement decision. Because the guy took a couple of catches, is sliding and diving and throwing. I sent him a note later, saying “what’s going on here, Dre? How you doing power coach?” I was kidding him. Everybody has started calling him power coach and I think he loves it. We’re very happy. I think he’s very happy. He’s completely accepted it, come to terms with it.Power coach – Russell said it was your idea. He has not coached anywhere, so how did that come about?
Mysore: It was almost a spur of the moment thought. We were talking what role he could best do and I said: what are you best known for? It is your ability to come in and finish games with very few balls left and go from ball one. With his bowling as well, he has always been one of these enforcer type of bowlers. Then fielding also, I’ve never seen somebody as athletic as him. I mean now it’s different, but when he was younger, if he was the guy on the boundary line, anyone who hit the ball to him wouldn’t venture to run a two because he used to be so quick and slide and pick up and throw and he was so powerful.The image of him when he walks in itself is like, oh my God, here he comes. There’s going to be some power hitting now. I said to him: “what can you help us, help the team the most with is all your experience and skills. When you bring them together, it’s all about power, every thing that you did.” So I said, “we will call you power coach.”Actually that put a smile on his face, and Dre said, “maan, that sounds really good.” And it’s probably the first of its kind that there’s such a terminology given to someone who can come in and help. So it’s more than coaching, it’s also a lot about communicating with certain types of players who are going to play that role, which Dre was playing so well, and basically talking about his experiences.KKR coaches used to always make him talk, and even when I used to have informal conversations, I used to say: “what do you think? You are sitting in the dugout, 16 runs needed an over and when you walk in, what are you thinking?” He says, “I back myself to get those 15-16 runs an over because I feel like I can clear the boundary at least twice an over, so I’m calculating how many sixes are needed in the remaining balls in the innings.” That is unique how many people can actually do that.Andre Russell finished with 223 sixes in the IPL•Getty ImagesYes, only a few have managed to walk in under pressure and succeed. Dre does that and now you have a Tim David performing similar role, hitting sixes at will.
Mysore: Correct. You can’t teach power, but you can at least help players with the mindset as long as they have the skillset. And then help them with how do you think to work through that.Dre also is a very sensible and a very practical guy because once he agreed to join the coaching staff, he was very quick to say, listen, I’m only going to be like a sponge coming there to absorb everything. He is aware there are highly experienced guys who are in the support staff now: Abhishek [Nayar] has been with us since 2018, [Dwayne] Bravo since 2015 in TKR and mentor since last year in KKR, [Shane] Watson has been head coach in MLC and other places, also assistant coach in IPL, Tim Southee brings amazing experience as a bowling coach. So there is a wealth of experience and knowledge in our support staff. So Dre told me: “I can learn a lot from all of these guys because I’m getting my feet wet, but at the same time, I’ll have a lot to offer wherever I can.”Can Russell play in T20 leagues where Knight Riders don’t have a franchise?
Mysore: We don’t want to restrict somebody from playing or earning more money. As long as it doesn’t conflict with what we are doing he’s perfectly at liberty to play those tournaments. His contract does say he’ll play for us full-time on all the three leagues – CPL, MLC and ILT20 – and he can do other stuff which doesn’t conflict with where we play.What was the reason for overhauling the coaching staff?
Mysore: Why the reset is because we were forced to, no? Last year [after 2024 IPL] our coaching cabinet was cleaned out. [Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate, the KKR mentor and assistant coaches, took over coaching roles with Indian men’s team]. But the learning really for me is, it’s not a perfect science in terms of players who transition into coaching, and whether they can be as good as they were as players.Another learning is: the game is changing so fast that ideally you want coaches who are contemporary cricketers. That’s what we have in Abhishek Nayar, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Tim Southee and now Dre, too. Because they have just been there, done that. In fact, yesterday [December 3 match between ADKR and Warriorz] was a funny moment when Dre was bowling to Southee – my power coach is bowling to my bowling coach and my mentor [Bravo, who is ADKR head coach] is in the dugout. It was a very comical moment.So the point I am making is their touchy-feely stuff around the game will be so strong because they were, [and are still] just playing it. And secondly, what happens is, the way they can relate to the players about what the players go through. So when you’re in team meetings, strategy planning etc. the players also realise when it comes from them, these are people who have just been there, who have done it recently.Andre Russell is one of two allrounders in IPL history to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets•BCCIGoing into the mini-auction with a purse of INR 64.3 crore – enough money to buy whoever you want – do you see KKR in a pole position to build a strong squad?
Mysore: We are never usually the ones to go into the auction with the highest purse. But it just so happened two players [Venkatesh Iyer and Russell] accounted for 41.5 crore. So that is very, very unusual that something like that happens at KKR. So now we are sort of saying, okay, let’s see. But a lot of players have withdrawn from the auction, or not put their names in, which is also interesting.You released Venkatesh Iyer after buying him for 23.5 cr last year. Post the mega-auction, you’d mentioned that you don’t buy a player and release to buy him back cheap, as that’s not how you operate. What changed?
Mysore: As I said at the start of our conversation, auctions create this, call it confusion or whatever, at times. I mean if he had scored 500 runs, he would’ve said, “hey, price tag doesn’t matter at all.” Maybe it did (grins), and it weighed (on Venkatesh). He probably had his worst year by his standards with us since 2021. The thought process that goes through the franchise think-tank at the table is, what would you rather do? And I have as much money as possible and flexibility to engineer that whichever way you want, or just go in there and be at the mercy of whatever. And so last year, in many ways, it was a bit of a learning thing for us; it was purely very, very circumstantial. I mean this is probably the first time we have done something like that: picked a big player at price, that was quite exciting. Now, because of the mini-auction dynamics rather than anything else, we decided to release him.In a recent interview, Rajasthan Royals lead owner Manoj Badale said he enjoys the challenge and unpredictability the mega-auction presents. What is your view on the mega-auction?
Mysore: We have made our position very, very clear when last year we franchises had a big discussion with IPL around retention and various other significant topics. We said you cannot be punishing franchises who have worked very, very hard to build teams to identify talent, develop them and have had success. And suddenly you are saying that’s it, let’s do a mega auction every three years.After 18-19 years of the league, this shouldn’t be happening. I’m not a fan of the viewpoint around equalising and this surprise element and all that. It doesn’t make any sense, to be honest. It doesn’t help the league, it doesn’t help the whole fan community. I mean this is the reason why the retention rule got created. In the very first auction that I attended, in 2011, there was not supposed to be any retention, but it was introduced because there were some key players that certain franchises didn’t want to release.The original plan was every three years everybody goes into the auction. Not that I disagree with that, I agree with that retention principle, but the principle of it is really that you are rewarding teams for having developed players, built that team, built that franchise, and connected with the fan base and working through it.And imagine you go win a championship and then you get dismantled after that. Or what happens is that the punishment for having good players to retain is so high that you see teams coming in with huge purses to the auction. We all had equal opportunity. And how could that be good for the league, this type of churn? So I’m not in the camp which says auctions are exciting.Venky Mysore on KKR’s coaching overhaul: “Why the reset is because we were forced to, no?”•BCCISo maximum retention for you?
Mysore: There should not be a big auction at all in my opinion. What we recommended was, if you want, you have a mini-auction every year, which means that you have rights to hold onto the player. Of course, that comes with certain questions. Immediately people will say, oh, but what about the players? You pick somebody for 50 lakhs and in that three-year cycle they’ve done exceedingly well. But I said, that will not be the reason for you to have an auction.You should create a different system for that. The system should be that everybody’s spending the same salary cap. You allow the teams to renegotiate salaries if there was going to be a situation like that where you want to reward somebody who’s coming with a 50-lakhs player who has done exceedingly well for you. I mean Venkatesh Iyer was 20 lakhs when we picked him, but he takes us to the final in 2021, almost single-handedly. So then he gets rewarded when the retention thing came in, which is great. As long as you are within the salary cap, you renegotiate your salaries internally.How would you do that?
Mysore: I would be sitting with him and saying, boss, this is what I think we can do. You go to the auction, who knows what your auction price could be? If I’m allowed to do that, and if the player doesn’t agree, then there is a release discussion. Say we got a player at 18 crore at the previous auction, but we want to now negotiate that to 12 crore for the next season. If the player says fine, we can then take the extra money and redistribute the difference with other players who have performed exceedingly well and deserve a higher fee. In theory the auction does that, but what happens there is that the franchise loses its option because somebody else is waiting with more money.You can see how some of our players from the championship year ended up with other franchises at the last mega-auction. So if I’m allowed through this system, where I can renegotiate directly, as long as I stay within my overall salary cap and the subject to the players agreeing, why not?But let’s say the player doesn’t agree. Another franchise could influence him and say you get released. You think that will not happen en masse?
Mysore: Correct, that could happen, but not en masse. And that player actually will realise that if not too many teams are releasing, there may not be big money in the mini auction, right? I mean the players feel they can get more only because there are teams releasing players and coming with lot of money, like us this year. But if this system was implemented, many of the teams will probably work in such a way based on the relationships they have with the players and what the intangibles that the franchise has to offer in terms of the environment, how they are taking care of, and the success and things like that.But the system you are suggesting needs to be transparent and equitable for players.
Mysore: These are all solvable problems. For example, an uncapped Indian player’s fee increases automatically the moment he becomes capped. So there is a system to readjust that anyway already. We just need to apply our minds and solutions can be found.Should the auction purse then be increased accordingly?
Mysore: No. I’ve always maintained this, the player fees expands to meet the salary cap. And then when you look at the highest that somebody gets, everyone is flabbergasted and say, “oh my God, 23 cr, 24 cr!” I told them, “Listen, you go back to any auction, the highest that a player gets is typically 20-25% of the salary cap. If the salary cap 125 crore, they’re getting 25 crore. So don’t be surprised because it’s just the dynamics of competition.” People are all sitting on money and will be raising the paddle based on how much money they have left in their kitty. So raising salary cap is not changing anything. It is just increasing or inflating the player fees and skewing the upper end. So that’s not something that we would advocate at all.But the player will say ‘I am a key stakeholder, too. The IPL and franchises are profiting due to my performance.’ So why should the player not command a good price?
Mysore: Yeah, fair enough. The counter to that is to say, let’s pay for performance then. Let’s make the fixed fee a very low fee and have a performance incentive built in there so a player can say, “Listen, I’m performing and therefore I should get paid.” Fair enough. But by the same token, somebody right now is getting a high fee but the performance is well below par, it’s not like we are cutting the fees, we’re not. So it’s still at a nascent stage in that sense. But the idea is you shouldn’t kill the goose that’s laying the golden egg. Franchise sports has existed around the world for decades. So they’ve all done circles around this subject and come back with plans and ideas on how everything can be structured. So we can borrow a lot of these things so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has heaped praise on head coach Vincent Kompany ahead of their Champions League clash against Arsenal on Wednesday. The English lynchpin is highly impressed with Kompany's coaching standards and has highlighted that the Belgian's "fearless" approach is assisting the players to develop a better understanding of the game.

• A 'top of the table' continental clash

  After humbling Freiburg 6-2 in the Bundesliga last Saturday, Kompany's Bayern are all set to face Premier League heavyweights Arsenal in their fifth Champions League tie on Wednesday evening. The Bavarians have been in sensational form this season, losing just once across all competitions, while maintaining a 15-game winning record at the start of the season, a first for any European club. As they travel to the Emirates Stadium, they will be eager to conjure some magic to emerge as a strong obstacle against Mikel Arteta's army.

  The Gunners have not conceded a goal in the Champions League so far and sit level on points and goal difference with the German giants at the top of the Champions League table. However, Kane believes his side are in the right "mindset" heading into the clash with his former north London derby rivals thanks to the impressive methods of their Belgian coach.

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  Kane impressed with Kompany's approach

  The former Tottenham striker said at a press conference: "The way we play, the way we train, the way he treats the team, the way he goes forward, the way you should behave. These are qualities. He is fearless. We press, stand high, that's the mindset. He gives everyone a lot of self-confidence. Not only me, but also others have improved under him, understand the game better now. I'm impressed." 

  In the 2025-26 season, Arteta and his coaching staff have focused on utilising the set-pieces by turning them into a dangerous goal-scoring threat. As of late October, they had already scored 11 goals from such movements. "Football is developing. Arsenal are very strong at set-pieces. As always, we have prepared, looked at where they are strong and how we can prevent that. We simply have to avoid set pieces. If they do surrender, we have to defend well," opined the Englishman.

• Kompany claims facing Arsenal is the hardest task

  While Arsenal have not won much silverware in recent times, their prosperity under Arteta's mentorship has already stunned opposition teams. For Kompany, Arsenal are a hard nut to crack. He said: "It's probably the hardest task at the moment to play against Arsenal. But we're happy about that, that's why we're here." 

  While the Belgian tactician might be happy to arrive at the Emirates as the table toppers, they are a side who have struggled in set-pieces, and will take on a side adept at such actions. He claimed: "We haven't shown our normal strength in the last few games. That doesn't mean that you're not good, but you have to do better in these situations now. We have analysed this. I don't like to think too much about defence, but how we can play our game. It will be difficult to score our goals. We have to be better defensively at set-pieces, just as we are offensively. At some point, the defenders simply have to head the thing away."

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  Kane's record against Arsenal

  Before shifting base to Munich, Kane was a key player at Tottenham. To date, he has faced the Gunners 21 times, emerging victorious on eight occasions, losing seven, and drawing the remaining six. He notably has 15 goals against Arteta's side and will teammates like Lennart Karl and Michael Olise he will aim to add to that tally on Wednesday.

  "I've won and scored many goals here. Hopefully [on Wednesday] too," he said. "Arsenal has more experience than when we last met. They're harder to break down defensively now. They've improved. This will be a good test for us."

Wolverhampton Wanderers have now registered their interest in signing Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Garcia on loan in the January transfer window, alongside a whole host of rival Premier League clubs.

Fosun would’ve been hoping Rob Edwards could breathe new life into a Wolves side that have massively disappointed so far this season, but the manager was on the receiving end of a defeat in his first match in charge, with Crystal Palace emerging as 2-0 winners at Molineux on Saturday.

Edwards’ side actually looked better from an attacking point of view, recording an xG of 1.79, compared to 1.27 from the Eagles, but they were unable to take their chances, with both Jhon Arias and Ladislav Krejci squandering big opportunities.

Things are looking bleak for the Old Gold, who are still searching for their first win of the Premier League season, and now sit nine points from safety, given that they have the worst attacking and defensive records in the top flight, scoring seven and conceding 27.

As such, if the Wanderers are to stand any chance of avoiding the drop, they may need to make major improvements at both ends of the pitch in the upcoming transfer window, and they have now made an approach for a new centre-forward.

Wolves make approach to sign Gonzalo Garcia on loan

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, in a report for Football Insider, Wolves are one of a number of clubs in the race for Real Madrid forward Garcia this January, although it remains to be seen whether they will be willing to sanction a departure.

The Spanish side are concerned about a lack of attacking depth, which means they may not be willing to let the 21-year-old leave, despite several English sides queuing up to get a deal done, with O’Rourke saying: “If Real Madrid are willing to loan him out, I’m sure it’s more than just Leeds will be interested in him. I believe Brighton, Villa and Wolves have all registered interest.

“A lot will depend on Real Madrid. If there’s any injuries to their forwards then it might mean there’s no chance that Garcia goes out and loan.”

Hailed as a “goal machine” in the media, the youngster clearly has a lot of potential, having starred for Madrid at the Club World Cup in the summer, bagging four goals and an assist in six outings out in the USA.

Wolves are in dire need of a fresh injection of quality in attack, having failed to score in four out of their last five Premier League games, with Jorgen Strand Larsen failing to impress, finding the back of the net just once in 10 top-flight outings.

As such, a move for Garcia would make sense, but it will be strange if the Real Madrid ace is willing to move to a club in huge danger of relegation, given that there is likely to be plenty of other options on the table.

Wolves prioritising move for ex-Man City target as Edwards' first signing

Wolves now prioritising move for ex-Man City target as Edwards' first signing

The Midlands side are ready to back their new manager.

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 22, 2025

Stats highlights from India’s thrilling victory against England at The Oval

Sampath Bandarupalli04-Aug-2025

Mohammed Siraj was named Player of the Match•Associated Press

6 – India’s margin of victory in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, is their narrowest in Tests in terms of runs. The previous record was 13 runs while defending 107 against Australia in Mumbai in 2004.The six-run margin is also the joint-third-narrowest defeat for England in Tests.332 – England’s score at the fall of their fifth wicket in their chase of 374. Only once before has a team scored so many runs for their first five partnerships and still lost. England were 346 for 5 in a 463-run chase against Australia at the MCG in 1977, but lost by 45 runs.Related

• Siraj the star as India square series with epic six-run victory

• Brendon McCullum: 'We know we've got room to improve'

• The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

• 'Devastating' – Brook expresses regret after dismissal triggers England's Oval collapse

• How Woakes defied injury to front up in England's hour of need

2 – Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are the second India pair to take four or more wickets in both innings of a Test. Bishan Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna did it against Australia in Delhi in 1969.Siraj and Prasidh’s performance at The Oval was the 15th instance of two bowlers taking four-fors in both innings for a team, and the first since Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann for England against India in Mumbai in 2012-13.23 – Wickets for Siraj in the series against England, the joint-highest for an India bowler in a Test series in England, level with Jasprit Bumrah’s 23 wickets in 2021-22.Harry Brook walks back after making his maiden fourth-innings hundred•Getty Images195 – The partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook is the second-highest in the fourth innings of a Test to end in a defeat. The highest is 204, between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant against England in 2018, also at The Oval.Root and Brook are only the seventh pair to score hundreds in the fourth innings of a Test and end on the losing side. Rahul and Pant in 2018 were the last of the previous six.4 – Consecutive Test series that England have failed to win against India. Their previous series win against India came in 2018, when they won 4-1 at home. England’s longest streak without a series win against India is five, between 1996 and 2011.1-10 – India’s win-loss record in the fifth and sixth matches of an away Test series. Before the six-run win at The Oval, India had lost ten of 17 such matches, while seven ended in draws. At home, India have a 7-4 record in 27 such Tests.

When the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched Roki Sasaki on joining their franchise, they had an ace up their collective sleeve: toilets.

On Wednesday, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten recalled how the franchise lured Sasaki, partly because of fancy new toilets installed in the team's clubhouse.

Kasten recalled that when the Dodgers were recruiting Sasaki, they were also deep into planning for modernizing their clubhouse. The plan had begun the year before when they were attempting to recruit Shohei Ohtani. Near the end of recruitment, Sasaki asked if the team planned to have fancy Japanese toilets installed.

"I said, 'Well, why do you ask? Is that important?' And he said, 'Oh, yeah, that's really important,'" Kasten said. "And I said, 'Oh yeah, then we're having them in there.' And so overnight we changed our plans, and now the entire locker room has these fancy Japanese toilets."

If only the Padres and Blue Jays had known about Sasaki's love of fancy toilets.

When the Dodgers landed the 23-year-old righty, he was almost universally considered the best pitching prospect in the world. Unfortunately for L.A., he has missed most of the season due to shoulder issues. When he has been on the mound, Sasaki has disappointed, going 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts against 22 walks in 34 1/3 innings.

But hey, at least the whole team gets to use those fancy toilets.

Arne Slot reportedly pulled out of receiving an award in Manchester following Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. The Dutchman was supposed to accept the Football Writers’ Association Northern manager of the year accolade on Sunday after guiding the Reds to the Premier League title in the 2024-25 season. But a sixth loss in seven games may have put off Slot from attending the event.

• Liverpool's woes continue

  Liverpool's thumping at the hands of Forest on Saturday saw them drop to 11th in the Premier League as their hopes of retaining their title all but ended. Despite this latest setback, former Feyenoord boss Slot struck a defiant tone, saying that his side will turn their results around. 

  When asked if his players are low on confidence, he said: "I don't feel this, or I don't see this. After we go 1-0, we struggled. I tried to pump them up and give them the information to start the second half well. Immediately, they go 2-0 up. The players kept trying, I can't blame them for that. They blocked every shot we had. The solution is not that far away. We created chances in every and it's not as if we give away 10 chances. That will not go on forever but we have to look at ourselves and what we can do better when we concede a goal. Two games in a row, we haven't scored."

  He did add, however, that his charges were in low spirits following another defeat. 

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  Slot misses awards show

  According to The Athletic, Slot had been due to collect the award in person but pulled out on the morning of the awards' dinner. Instead, Liverpool sent club ambassador and former player Gary McAllister to collect the prize on the 47-year-old's behalf. The Scot reportedly apologised for Slot's absence and said the Dutchman was "extremely proud" to have won this award.

  Incidentally, Slot appears to be shouldering the blame for Liverpool's wretched run of results. 

  He told reporters on Saturday: "It is my responsibility, whether we win or lose. But what I also see is a team keeping on trying until the end and the fans as well by the way, who stayed to the end to support the players. Lately, it’s almost constantly that we miss our chances and the ones we concede go in. That will not continue throughout the whole season. But we need that moment of energy of scoring a goal when playing well and going 1-0 up. The opposite thing happened as Forest got a big energy boost from scoring. I see a lot of things where in a normal situation the result would have been different but we’re now in a difficult situation."

• Van Dijk defends Slot amid criticism

  While there is a growing section of Liverpool fans pointing the finger of blame at Slot, especially after spending more than £400 million on transfers this summer, captain Virgil van Dijk believes his team-mates are "letting the manager and ourselves down". The "angry" centre-back has now called on his side to get themselves out of this "mess".

  "You should be angry and the main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility," he said. "It’s not easy during difficult times but we have to do it if we want to get out of this. We’re definitely letting the manager down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. At the moment it is a mess – that’s just a fact. As the champions we can’t be in the situation we are in right now. What are we going to do about it? We’re going to try to turn it around and that’s the mentality everyone should have."

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  What comes next for Liverpool?

  Liverpool have a chance to bounce back from this drubbing when they entertain PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday. They then host lowly West Ham on Sunday in the Premier League, before taking on promoted sides Sunderland and Leeds United in early December.

The Australia captain could be in doubt, having missed two matches with a calf strain

S Sudarshanan29-Oct-20254:35

Krishnamurthy: ‘X-factor Shafali can put India ahead’

Big picture – How will Shafali-Mandhana bat?

The stakes couldn’t be higher.Australia are here with a clean slate. They have been pushed back multiple times during this World Cup, and they’ve found a way back each time. Two of their batters, Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner, have scored two centuries each. Two of their bowlers, Annabel Sutherland and Alana King, have taken more than ten wickets each. And apart from everything else that makes them such intimidating opponents, Australia have not lost an ODI knockout game since they lost to India in the the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup.Related

• How to beat Australia in three easy steps (step 1 – invent a miracle)

• Tactics board: Mandhana's level-up, Sutherland's steady hand

• Shafali tunes up for Australia, a day after destiny's call

• What will Harmanpreet vs Australia bring us this time?

India are riding a wave of emotion. They recovered from a three-game losing streak to sneak into the semi-finals. In their last full game, played at the same venue, they posted their record World Cup total. No team has pushed Australia harder than India in recent times. And they are now two wins away from doing what no India women’s team has ever done.Their key player Smriti Mandhana has scored 105, 58, 117, 125 and 80 in her last five ODIs against Australia. But she’ll start from 0 again, and this time she’ll have an adjustment to make, with her usual opening partner Pratika Rawal, with whom she added a record 212 against New Zealand, ruled out of the World Cup. Mandhana is all set to open with Shafali Verma, and the new combination could have an effect on how she bats.In ODIs involving Shafali, Mandhana averages 51.83 and strikes at 85.55. When these two opened together, Shafali was usually the early aggressor. Mandhana took on that role when Shafali went out of the side, however, as her numbers in matches involving Rawal suggest: an average of 62.65, a strike rate of 108.75. How will the new (old) opening combination bat on Thursday?For Australia, there is a fair bit of intrigue around Healy’s availability. A minor calf strain sidelined her ahead of the game against England, and she missed two matches subsequently. Australia would not want to be reminded of the T20 World Cup semi-final from last year; Healy missed the clash and South Africa romped to an eight-wicket win.The second semi-final, for which the cheapest tickets were priced at INR 150 (as opposed to INR 100 for the Guwahati semi-final), is a sell-out. You can expect all of Navi Mumbai to cram itself into the DY Patil Stadium. They could get to witness an epic.Shafali Verma waits for her turn at the nets•ICC/Getty Images

Form guide

Australia WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India WLLLW

In the spotlight – Phoebe Litchfield and Deepti Sharma

Phoebe Litchfield loves playing India. She has one century and four fifties in just eight ODI innings against them, and averages 63.50. She has a wide range of sweeps that could potentially upset the rhythm of India’s spinners. After a pair of low scores against England and South Africa, Litchfield may feel she is due some runs too.Deepti Sharma has been India’s leading wicket-taker at this World Cup with 15 at 22.46. There will be a lot of focus on her during this game, because she has a fine record against Australia’s middle-order batters. She has dismissed Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner twice each in ODIs, while going at less than a run a ball against both, Ellyse Perry three times, and Tahlia McGrath five times in nine innings. Only Perry and Annabel Sutherland from the current side have managed to hit Deepti for a six in ODIs.

Team news – Australia sweat on Healy’s availability

While Healy batted and kept wicket during Tuesday’s training session, she opted out of optional training on Wednesday, with Georgia Voll batting in partnership with Litchfield. Head coach Shelley Nitschke said Australia would give Healy “as much time as she needs” and will take a call on her participation on Thursday. That aside, expect Sophie Molineux to come back into the spin attack for Georgia Wareham, who played against South Africa but did not get a chance to bowl.Australia (probable): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Beth Mooney, 6 Ashleigh Gardner, 7 Tahlia McGrath, 8 Sophie Molineux, 9 Alana King, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Megan Schutt.Shafali is likely to swap straight into India’s XI in Rawal’s place at the top of the order. Richa Ghosh, who was rested against Bangladesh after injuring her finger during the match against New Zealand, did not look in any discomfort during her keeping drills and batted a fair bit on Tuesday. Sneh Rana and Kranti Gaud, both of whom were also rested against Bangladesh, could come back into the XI.India (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Kranti Gaud, 10 N Shree Charani, 11 Renuka Singh.2:15

Australia coach Nitschke: Not underdogs, but also not favourites’

Pitch and conditions

The game will be played on the pitch on which Sri Lanka played Bangladesh. That track was devoid of grass and had a bright brown look to it. It is expected to be a high-scoring game. There has been rain in Navi Mumbai in the lead-up to the match, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a yellow alert for Wednesday and Thursday, but the forecast for matchday has cleared up somewhat. The match will go into a reserve day should it not finish on Thursday.

Stats and trivia

• Mandhana and Shafali have opened together 25 times in ODIs, adding 893 runs at an average of 37.20 and a run rate of 5.38. Mandhana and Rawal, who have opened together 23 times, are India’s most successful opening pair in ODIs, having put on 1799 runs at 78.21 and 6.06.
• Alana King’s average of 34.63 and economy rate of 5.93 against India are her worst by a distance against any opposition in ODIs. Mandhana (160.00), Harleen Deol (116.66), Harmanpreet Kaur (114.58), Jemimah Rodrigues (113.23) and Deepti Sharma (105.40) have 100-plus strike rates against the legspinner.
• Australia are on a 15-match winning streak in ODI World Cups. They had also won 15 in a row across the 1997 and 2000 editions.
• Megan Schutt is one wicket away from becoming the leading wicket-taker for Australia in ODI World Cups. She has 39 now, on par with Lyn Fullston

Quotes

“Ash [Gardner] has been unbelievable. We all know what she’s capable of with the bat, but to take her game to the next level, and do that in a World Cup, has been fantastic. She’s someone who is very diligent in everything she does; she’s a hard worker. When she’s at her best, it’s about making sure that she’s enjoying the game and enjoying the environment and she’s getting in the contest.”
“I was playing domestic cricket and was in good touch. [Semi-finals] are not something new for me because I’ve played many semi-finals before. It’s just a matter of keeping my mind clear and giving myself confidence. I’ve been in such situations earlier, so it’s nothing new. I’ll keep telling myself to stay calm and believe in myself. So absolutely, I’ll do well, 200%.”

The Milwaukee Brewers mounted an incredible comeback over the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon, overcoming a 5-0 deficit with a walk-off 7-6 win.

It was rookie outfielder Isaac Collins who capped things off in the end, blasting a 363-foot home run to right field and clinching the Brew Crew's MLB-leading ninth straight victory.

As the 28-year-old's eighth blast of the season went soaring out of American Family Field, cameras were able to capture his teammates' reaction in the dugout—resulting in an awesome behind-the-scenes video.

Check it out here:

They were justifiably stoked.

With the win, the Brewers remain in full control of the National League's top spot in the standings, sitting five games ahead of both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They'll ride their win streak into Pittsburgh on Monday to take on the Pirates for a 7:40 p.m. ET first pitch.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe will be chewing on his pencil over the November international break as he works toward solutions that are so badly needed.

Fortunes have gone somewhat askew at St. James’ Park this season, with the club’s away form laying waste to Howe’s hopes of progress after a testing summer transfer window.

But it may be that the ramifications of that Alexander Isak-dominated summer are still being felt. However, tactically, things aren’t right, and the wider struggle of the summer market has led to the current issues which must be overcome if the Magpies hope to make it another positive campaign.

Where PIF have gone wrong in the transfer window

Newcastle have fallen by the wayside, but it’s hardly too late for them to pick themselves back up. But there’s no question that PIF have to learn from their recent transfer struggles, with those brilliant windows of Howe’s early reign something of a distant memory.

In 2024, Newcastle failed to sign a right-sided forward, a glaring gap in the squad. That has now been amended through the £55m addition of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, but Elanga has blanked across 16 matches for the club, and with concerns over his form, questions must be raised over the extensive scouting that led to his signature being obtained.

Interestingly, Nick Woltemade’s fine form at centre-forward has eased the Isak blow, and before the season, that would have been viewed as the biggest issue. Newcastle’s attacking problems stretch more toward the creative side, with Anthony Gordon joining Elanga in having failed to register a goal contribution in the Premier League this season.

For a team whose 97 big chances created were bettered only by Liverpool in 2023/24, this is a real concern. This year, United have only created 14 from 11 matches, placing them 12th for that statistic. Gordon and Elanga must be doing a lot more, with the recruitment having felt they had hit the jackpot when shaping this wide duo.

While Newcastle have added exciting talents to their ranks this summer, Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey among those with plenty of scope for growth, this is frankly an ageing squad and one whose freshen-up needs to go a lot further.

Tactical issues this season have been suggestive of this, and considering the company Newcastle are keeping in regard to the average age of their starting 11, it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that younger profiles are needed for balance and continuity.

The need for depth and quality on the defensive flanks is alarming. Kieran Trippier at right-back is 35 years old and out of contract at the end of the season, and Tino Livramento has been unfit at times and deployed as a makeshift left-back at others.

This is largely because of Lewis Hall’s own unavailability this season. But with the 22-year-old drawing strength and fitness once again, we are turned toward the situation of one of Howe’s mainstays.

The Newcastle star now on borrowed time

Newcastle comprise players of myriads shapes and sizes and skills. Some are renowned as being among the best in the world, but some are of a shrewder nature, like Dan Burn, who returned home from Brighton for around £12m at the start of the manager’s reign and has since become one of his mainstays.

After all, it is only the skipper, Bruno Guimaraes, who has featured more prominently for Howe’s Newcastle than him.

The 32-year-old has done more than endear himself to the Toon fanbase since arriving, but he’s getting on a bit and has been guilty of some suspect performances at left-back this season.

Naturally a central defender, Burn ranks against Premier League full-backs this term among the bottom 6% for shot-creating actions, the bottom 29% for progressive passes and the bottom 4% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.

In the first five matches of the season, he was in the centre. Six appearances since have seen the England international deployed as a left-back, and this is inhibiting Newcastle’s flow and overarching connectivity.

Quite simply, Burn is not a natural left-back, even though he has played ample football in the moonlit role. He is a centre-back. 6 foot 6 and cool and composed.

Hall is far more dynamic and energetic in his role, and this will not only widen and add a dimension to Newcastle’s backline, but it could revive the likes of Gordon up ahead.

The boy from Blyth has been a revelation at Newcastle, and, pound for pound, “one of Newcastle’s best signings” since Howe arrived, as has been said by reporter Andy Sixsmith. A small fee and an immortalising contribution at Wembley last season have made sure of that.

But Howe will be putting a spoke in his own wheel if he continues to persist with Burn on the flank, limiting his side’s progression and mobility and dynamism at the back.

With this in mind, the modern legend might find himself slipping into his obscurity over the coming months, and perhaps that will lead to a departure to make way for this new chapter on Tyneside.

Newcastle must regret signing £100k-per-week flop who's cost £3.2m per game

Newcastle United must already rue signing this expensive flop, who is draining them dry.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 13, 2025

Mustafizur Rahman and Mahedi Hasan picked up five wickets between them in eight overs

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2025Dasun Shanaka clobbered 64 not out off 37 balls to propel Sri Lanka through the middle and death overs, after their openers had provided a rapid 44-run opening stand.In between those batters, however, Bangladesh imposed themselves, mainly through Mustafizur Rahman and Mahedi Hasan, who took five wickets between them, and were also economical. Mustafizur was especially impressive, taking 3 for 20. His last over – the 19th of the innings – cost Sri Lanka three wickets, but they could only scramble five runs off it. Mustafizur had also had Shanaka dropped off his bowling on 38 off 27, in the 17th over.Related

• Tait confident Mustafizur Rahman will do better against Sri Lanka

• Bereaved Dunith Wellalage rejoins SL squad in Dubai

Shanaka’s was not the only catch Bangladesh missed. Mustafizur himself had failed to attack a dying chance at fine leg (he likely could have got there), to reprieve Kusal Perera on 11. Charith Asalanka was also put down by Towhid Hridoy at deep point, on 16. Both those batters made five further runs. Asalanka was also dropped a second time by Hridoy, but was run out off that same delivery, attempting a second.Sri Lanka will feel their total competitive, on a Dubai track known to be tough for batters. Bangladesh are unlikely to be fazed by its heft either, however.