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Newcastle United have not been afraid to splash the cash since PIF took over the club just over four years ago. T

hey have well and truly backed Eddie Howe, smashing the club transfer record twice by signing Alexander Isak and his replacement this summer, Nick Woltemade.

The Magpies have added depth in other areas of the pitch too. Out wide, Anthony Gordon and his namesake Anthony Elanga were two notable reinforcements who cost £45m and £55m respectively. At the back, they have signed the likes of Sven Botman and Tino Livramento, building a strong defence for the present and future.

However, it is in midfield where the signings have really felt substantial, with Bruno Guimaraes one of the notable names.

The numbers behind Bruno Guimaraes impact at Newcastle

At 27 years of age, Guimaraes is entering his peak years. The Brazilian joined the Magpies back in January 2022 from Lyon for a fee of £35m. He’s since gone on to rack up 167 appearances for the North East side.

This season, the 39-cap Brazil star has shone in the middle of the park. He has three goals and three assists in 13 games, which included one of each against Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 Premier League win.

In terms of his quality on the ball, one of Guimaraes’ standout traits is his carrying ability. He is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League when it comes to progressing the ball from the middle third to the final third, averaging 0.5 carries into the penalty box per game during 2025/26. That places him in the top 8% of top-flight midfielders.

However, it is not just the quality on the ball Guimaraes brings. He is an excellent leader, having captained the Magpies 12 times out of the 13 games he’s played. That in itself highlights what he brings to Howe’s squad.

As good as Guimaraes is, there is a case to be made that Newcastle have a better midfielder.

Newcastle's best signing of the PIF era

Howe is certainly not short of options in the middle of the park. The Englishman has Guimaraes as one of his first-choice midfielders, but can also pick from Joelinton, summer signing Jacob Ramsey and homegrown star Lewis Miley.

However, the best of the bunch must surely be Sandro Tonali. The Italian has been at Newcastle since the summer of 2023 and has amassed 69 appearances in that famous Black and White striped shirt so far.

Since his return at the start of last season, he has been sensational. The former AC Milan midfielder has become a key man in the centre of the park for Howe, forming a quite brilliant midfield pivot with Guimaraes.

He has certainly become one of the best players in the current Magpies side. In fact, Taylor Payne, host of Newcastle fan podcast On The Tyne, said he is “the best midfield player to ever pull on a black and white shirt.”

It is easy to see why Payne and every other Newcastle fan rate him so highly. The 29-cap Azzurri star is brilliant both in and out of possession. He is a pressing monster, as shown by this clip from last season.

On top of that, he has some standout numbers. This season, has created 1.8 chances per game, showing his impact in the final third. Last term, he averaged 6.1 ball recoveries per 90 minutes.

Tonali, who earns £120k per week at St James’ Park, has been a revelation in midfield for the Magpies. He is a man whom Howe can trust on and off the ball, and is surely one of the most complete midfielders around.

It is easy to see how he has become the best signing since the PIF takeover four years ago. Tonali is certainly a brilliant operator in the middle of the park.

Saved by Woltemade: Newcastle star is looking like 2023 Gordon under Howe

This Newcastle recruit has not hit the ground running in Eddie Howe’s team.

By
Angus Sinclair

Oct 30, 2025

With the second half of the 2025 MLB season set to get underway, teams are assessing their approach for the upcoming trade deadline, weighing out whether it's worth it to get aggressive in hopes of competing for a World Series.

One team that ESPN's MLB insider Jeff Passan reports is expected to be aggressive, rather unusually so, is the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners have enjoyed a strong start to the season, thanks largely to their grade-A pitching staff and the utter dominance of AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, who leads MLB with 38 home runs at the break.

During an appearance on Seattle Sports radio's "Brock & Salk," Passan alluded to one key reason he thinks Seattle will, or at the very least should, take an aggressive approach to trade the deadline.

"I think the Mariners are going to be aggressive. And I think they should be," Passan said. "You don't take years like this from superstars and waste them. Period. And I think the Mariners front office knows that. Like, we can't ever expect a season like this from Cal Raleigh again. It's unreasonable, right? It's not just the numbers. It's the fact that we are talking about Cal Raleigh being up there with Barry Bonds, with Ken Griffey Jr., with Mickey Mantle. These are luminaries in the sport, and he belongs.

"And so when you get a season like that, don't waste it. Do everything you can, because once October comes around and once that guy steps in the batter's box, he can do magical things."

As Passan pointed out, a single, well-timed swing of the bat from Raleigh could be the difference between winning games in October and losing them. When you have a player who makes that much of an impact, both as a slugger and as a world-class catcher, it would be a disservice to the fan base not to put forth everything towards winning a title.

The Mariners don't often spend big. They were tame during free agency this offseason, which drew the ire of former Seattle infielder Justin Turner. While they've made some big mid-season splashes in recent years, including acquiring Luis Castillo in 2022 and Randy Arozarena in '24, that type of deal should only set the tone for what the Mariners accomplish at this year's deadline.

This year may well be the Mariners' best shot at a championship, something the franchise has still never achieved in its 48-year existence, and failing to make upgrades at the trade deadline to help achieve that goal would be a significant letdown.

Highest individual score of 2025 competition confirms knockouts spot

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Aug-2025Gloucestershire 343 for 7 (Bracey 186) beat Nottinghamshire 291 (Hameed 80, Haynes 57) by 52 runs Gloucestershire confirmed their qualification for the knockout stages of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, making it six wins from six matches after James Bracey pummelled Notts Outlaws with a magnificent 186, the highest individual score of the 2025 competition to date.The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter – dropped on 58 – numbered six sixes and 20 fours in an exhilarating 150-ball innings and though no other Gloucestershire batter made fifty, with skipper Cameron Bancroft’s 46 the next highest score, the Group A leaders still piled up 343 for 7 in their 50 overs.It was 52 too many for the Outlaws, bowled out for 291 in the 48th over, their qualification chance hanging by the thinnest of threads, if not mathematically dead. Matt Taylor, Jack Taylor and Craig Miles took two wickets each.Rob Lord (2 for 60) was the pick of the home attack but it was with the bat that the Outlaws needed to shine. Skipper Haseeb Hameed made 80 from 88 balls and Jack Haynes continued a good run of form with 57 from 66 but a relatively inexperienced batting line-up needed more from both.Bracey’s score is the second highest in his county’s List A cricket history – bettered only by his own unbeaten 224 against Somerset two years ago. He led partnerships of 121 for the first wicket with Bancroft and 101 with Ollie Price for the second.The left-hander looked sharp from the outset, punishing Lord with a pull for six and three back-to-back fours as Gloucestershire cruised to 50 without loss in 10 overs.After reaching 51 from 51 balls, his one big moment of good fortune came shortly afterwards as Ben Slater put him down at long-off and a breakthrough for the home side did not happen until the 23rd over when Bancroft was taken at mid-off. He and Bracey had shared their second three-figure opening stand of the campaign.Bracey completed his fourth List A hundred, the first of this season, from 98 deliveries, needing only another 30 to turn it into 150. His partnership with Price ended when the latter top-edged to mid-off for 34 but at 256 for 2 with 10 overs left, Gloucestershire had the platform for a substantial score.In the event, the home attack landed a few blows, Lord taking two in two to dismiss Ben Charlesworth and Miles Hammond, James Hayes deflecting Graeme Van Buuren’s drive into the stumps to run out Jack Taylor and having Daaryoush Ahmed caught on the boundary.Bracey was ultimately caught at short fine leg reversing James, who conceded 20 from his last over towards a total that looked daunting enough.An early wicket apiece for Matt Taylor and Josh Shaw did not improve the outlook for Notts as Slater was caught at slip and Ben Martindale chipped to mid-on.It left much responsibility on the shoulders of Haynes and Hameed. Haynes responded with his fifth half-century in seven innings in the competition but was caught behind off the glove attempting to pull Miles, by which time Gloucestershire’s bowlers were applying the squeeze.James was caught on the cover boundary off Ahmed, the right-arm seamer who is the least experienced of this Gloucestershire bowling attack and with the required rate pushing towards 11 an over, Sammy King perished for 21, caught at the second attempt by Ahmed behind square on the leg side off Miles, before van Buuren picked up a well-deserved wicket on his 35th birthday as Hameed miscued to extra cover.Jack Taylor removed Joe Pocklington and Dane Schadendorf (28 off 22), Matt Taylor dismissed Lord (27 from 18) and Price wrapped up the win as Brett Hutton was caught on the long-on boundary.

Kylian Mbappe’s feud with Paris Saint-Germain has exploded into one of football’s most expensive courtroom battles, with the Real Madrid star now demanding more than €260 million in compensation. PSG have countered with an even bigger €440m claim, as both sides accuse each other of breaches of contract, bad faith and unfair treatment in a case now before a Paris labour court.

• Mbappe escalates compensation claim against PSG

  French superstar Mbappe’s long-running contract dispute with Paris Saint-Germain has reached a dramatic new phase, with the forward now demanding over €260m (£229m/$301m) in compensation as the case moves through the Paris labour court. According to a recent report by the Real Madrid striker, who did not attend Monday’s hearing, has massively increased his initial claim of €55m (£48m/$64m), arguing that PSG “owe him that money because his fixed-term contract should be reclassified as a permanent one.”

  This reclassification, his lawyers say, would entitle him to full compensation for unfair dismissal, unpaid wages, bonuses and severance, in addition to substantial damages. His legal team stated: “Kylian Mbappe is not asking for anything beyond what the law provides; he is simply seeking the enforcement of his legal rights, as any employee would.”

  Mbappe’s complaint also alleges moral harassment, undeclared work and breaches of PSG’s duty of good faith, pointing to his sidelining in 2023 after he informed the club he would not extend his contract. The forward was excluded from a pre-season tour and forced to train with fringe players, a practice described in France as “lofting.”

  The case stems from the breakdown of relations following Mbappe’s refusal to activate the optional extension in his 2022 contract, a decision that left PSG facing the prospect of losing a €300m (£264m/$347m) asset for free, and ultimately did.

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• AFP
  

  PSG’s accusations of loss of revenue and reputational damage

  PSG have responded with a colossal counter-claim of €440m (£387m/$510m), arguing that Mbappe’s departure on a free transfer inflicted severe financial and reputational harm. The club insists he acted in bad faith throughout the final year of his contract, with PSG saying in a statement: “The club has presented evidence demonstrating that the player acted disloyally by concealing his decision not to extend his contract for almost eleven months, between July 2022 and June 2023, thus depriving the club of any possibility of arranging a transfer.”

  PSG further argue that Mbappe reneged on what they describe as a verbal agreement to forgo certain bonuses in exchange for being reintegrated into the squad during the 2023-24 season. Their statement adds: “The player challenged an agreement reached with the club in August 2023, which provided for a reduction in his remuneration should he decide to leave freely, in order to preserve the club’s financial stability following the exceptional investment made.”

  The French champions also categorically denied allegations of psychological pressure or mistreatment, which Mbappe has been claiming. PSG emphasise that Mbappe still played over 94% of official matches that season, reinforcing that all “sporting decisions were made by a coach who is now a Champions League winner.”

• Mbappe’s camp challenges PSG allegations and recounts isolation period

  The French captain’s legal team has firmly rejected PSG’s narrative, insisting that the club never provided proof of any agreement to waive bonuses. The player maintains that he was subject to “moral harassment,” pointing to his exclusion from pre-season tours and enforced training away from the first-team squad. His camp argues this treatment created a “hostile working environment” and breached the club’s obligations under the French labour code.

  His lawyers highlight that Mbappe’s sidelining began shortly after he informed PSG he would not extend his contract, claiming this amounted to a clear attempt to pressure him into renewing. They repeated that PSG have “never produced any evidence” of a verbal pact on bonuses or salary reductions.

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• AFP
  

  Court ruling could reshape contract disputes across European football

  The star forward, who left PSG having scored a club-record 256 goals in 308 games, believes that the club’s actions were motivated by frustration over his decision to depart for free. His team insists PSG used public pressure tactics to shape the narrative around his exit, a claim the club vehemently denies.

  This legal confrontation has quickly become one of the largest and most complex player-club disputes European football has ever seen, and the combined claims push the potential financial outcome of a figure unprecedented in football labour cases.

  The tribunal is expected to deliver a decision on December 16, though the case may drag on through appeals. 

Three talking points from India’s selection for the Women’s World Cup

Shashank Kishore19-Aug-20252:54

‘We have an eye on Shafali, want her to have a long career’

With less than a month-and-a-half remaining before they begin their quest to win their first Women’s World Cup, co-hosts India have named a squad without major surprises. Even so, these three talking points are worth deeper analysis.

Why was Shafali left out?

By leaving out Shafali Verma, the selectors have opted for consistency over X-factor.Pratika Rawal, who made her debut after India left Shafali out of their ODI squad last year, has scored 703 runs at an average of 54.07 and a strike rate of 87.43 in 14 innings. She has formed a prolific combination with Smriti Mandhana at the top of the order: they’ve already put on four century partnerships and six half-century stands, and average a remarkable 77.57 together – no pair of India batters, with a cut-off of 1000 partnership runs, has done better.India clearly wanted continuity at the top, and Shafali, who hasn’t played ODIs since October 2024, needed a rich run of form to barge the door down. She certainly did her bit. She scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31 in the domestic one-dayers for Haryana in December 2024, including a top score of 197 off 115 balls against Bengal. She followed that up with a sensational WPL 2025 for Delhi Capitals; she was the fourth-highest run-getter overall, and the most prolific Indian batter, with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.Even so, Shafali missed out on the tri-series in Sri Lanka in June and the ODIs in England in July. She impressed during the T20I series in England, with scores of 47, 31 and 75 in the last three games, but her form on the recent India A tour of Australia – scores of 52, 4, and 36 in three one-dayers, and 41, 3, and 3 in the T20s that preceded them – may have not made a compelling enough case for the selectors to pick her to open ahead of Rawal. Another factor that works in Rawal’s favour is that she can bowl, something Shafali doesn’t offer more regularly.The selectors could have picked Shafali as back-up opener, but they went with the more versatile option in Yastika Bhatia, who offers wicketkeeping cover in addition to her top-order batting.The one aspect India could miss out on in Shafali’s absence is a dash of aggression in the powerplay. Rawal is more accumulator than dynamo, and this has put the onus on Mandhana to be the enforcer early on.The WPL has helped fast-track Shree Charani into her maiden ODI World Cup•Getty Images

The WPL stamp on India’s World Cup squad

The 2025 edition is India’s first ODI World Cup since the advent of the WPL, and the tournament’s impact is already evident. Kranti Goud has only played only four ODIs, and N Shree Charani just eight. Neither had even played in the WPL before the 2025 season.Having punted on both players on the back of positive feedback from their franchises, the selectors were proved right when Charani emerged as Player of the Series in India’s 3-2 T20I win over England last month, picking up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.46, and standing out for her control, fearlessness and ability to hold her own under pressure.Similarly, it only took eight WPL games for Goud to impress the selectors with her ability to hustle batters at a bristling 115kph or thereabouts and bowl a mean yorker. With Renuka Singh injured, they backed Goud for the ODIs in England, and she responded with a fiery, match-winning 6 for 52 in the decider at Chester-le-Street.The WPL canvas extends beyond Charani and Goud. Amanjot Kaur made a strong case for an international comeback as a back-up allrounder through her performances for WPL champs Mumbai Indians – a blockbuster 3 for 22 and 34 not out off 27 balls in a thrilling win over defending champs Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the prelude to her summer.3:52

Nayar: India went for Rawal’s solidity over Shafali’s flamboyance

Once it emerged that Pooja Vastrakar’s long-term injury absence was likely to extend through the World Cup, India backed Amanjot to be a second seamer in a predominantly spin-heavy attack, and she impressed with both bat and ball during the England T20Is.A back injury in England during the ODIs forced the team management to tread cautiously, resting her from the ODI series against Australia that precedes the World Cup. They are giving Amanjot every chance to be fit for the World Cup warm-ups, leading into the tournament opener on September 30.Similarly, Arundhati Reddy, with the experience of just nine ODIs, has made the World Cup squad on the sheer weight of her WPL performances. In the 2024 season, she was one of Meg Lanning’s go-to bowlers, evident in the sheer number of overs she bowled – 29.2, the second-most for Delhi Capitals. She carried that form into 2025, and has become an excellent swing bowler who offers handy lower-order hitting that gives the team batting cushion.

Renuka Singh’s return

Sayali Satghare. Saima Thakor. Titas Sadhu. Kashvee Gautam. India have handed opportunities to a number of seamers over the past year, but none of them has been able to nail down a spot. This is why the selectors waited on Renuka Singh, who had been injured and out of action since the WPL. They worked on her fitness in sync with the Centre of Excellence, who prepped her with a steady diet of practice matches following a lengthy rehab. She now has the three ODIs against Australia to help her gain rhythm and match time in the run-up to the World Cup.

Bouchier, Kemp top-score with 31 before Davies, Tyson defend below-par target of 102

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Sep-2025Freya Davies and Bex Tyson starred with the ball as leaders Hampshire defended a total of 101 to win by four runs in a game reduced to 17 overs-a-side by rain at Chelmsford.Davies returned figures of 2 for 15 and Tyson 2-20 in a heroic fielding effort by the visitors which meant Essex fell short of a target of 102, finishing 97 for 6, Sophie Munro top-scoring with an unbeaten 28.Earlier, Maia Bouchier and Freya Kemp both made 31 before the visitors crumbled from 59 for 1 to what looked an under par 101 for 7, Esmae MacGregor was the pick of the home attack with 2 for 17.It was no surprise Grace Scrivens chose to bowl first when play finally began at 3:30pm, MacGregor soon backing up her captain’s decision by castling Rhianna Southby, but ecstasy turned to agony for the Scottish seamer in her next over when Bouchier struck a glorious straight six.At the other end Kemp reverse lapped Abtaha Maqsood for three before dispatching Munro to the fence twice in three balls. The stand reached 49 before MacGregor switched ends to have Bouchier caught at mid-off as part of a wicket maiden to signal the start of the collapse.Kemp cracked Scrivens square for four only to fall later in the same over trying to cut one too close to her before Maqsood accounted for Abi Norgrove. Eva Gray and Jo Gardner combined brilliantly to run out Nancy Harman and the slump continued as Naomi Dattani holed out in the deep.Skipper Georgia Adams, dropped on one by Scrivens struggled to find any fluency in the death overs as the visitors closed on 101 for 7.Essex stumbled out the blocks with Scrivens chewing up 12 balls for two before skying Daisy Gibb to Bouchier at mid-on. Jo Gardner, promoted to open produced a solitary boundary as the rate climbed above 7.Pressure told as Gardner lofted Adams to Bouchier at deep mid-on and Jodie Grewcock perished to an even better grab by Dattani out on the fence from the bowling of Tyson.Gray’s promotion up the order came to nothing as she perished trying to clear the ropes and as Hampshire continued to apply the squeeze, Sophia Smale’s attempts to get creative floundered as she too holed out attempting an ambitious switch-hit.Flo Miller, dropped on 10 scored the first boundary in 61 balls and Munro caught the mood with two in one over from Mary Taylor leaving 27 needed from the final three overs.Dattani was similarly carted to the fence, but Davies returned to trap Miller lbw and though Munro kept things interesting 14 from the last over proved too many.

Leeds United are hoping to convince Raheem Sterling to move to Elland Road in the January transfer window, with a move now in the works.

With Wilfried Gnonto’s future up in the air ahead of the upcoming transfer window, the Whites are looking to bring in a new forward, and the need to bolster their attacking options has been exacerbated by the slow start the likes of Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have made.

The summer signings have scored just two goals between them from open play in the Premier League this season, with Daniel Farke’s side the joint-second lowest scorers in the top flight, having found the back of the net just 10 times in their opening 11 games.

Chance creation in general has also been an issue for the 2024-25 Championship winners, most recently recording an xG of just 0.69 in the 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which suggests they may need to bring in a new attacker capable of picking out the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha in dangerous areas.

How Leeds are hoping to convince Raheem Sterling to move to Elland Road this January

According to a report from SportsBoom, Leeds are preparing a move for Chelsea outcast Sterling ahead of the January transfer window, with Enzo Maresca making it clear the 30-year-old doesn’t have a future at Stamford Bridge.

The Whites are set to battle Crystal Palace for the forward’s signature, but they are hoping the prospect of receiving regular first-team football will convince the Englishman to move to Elland Road.

The Blues are willing to pay part of the winger’s wages in order to get him off the books, given that he is yet to make a Premier League appearance this season, having become part of Maresca’s ‘bomb squad’.

It would be a risk for the 49ers to sign the former Manchester City man, given that he may be very rusty after spending such a long time on the sidelines, but his previous exploits in the Premier League suggest it could be worth launching an ambitious move.

The Kingston-born winger has a whopping 123 Premier League goals to his name, having been a major part of Guardiola’s all-conquering Man City side, with perhaps his best years coming from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

The £325k-a-week Chelsea man has also been described as “absolutely outstanding” by Paul Merson during his time with the Blues, suggesting he could still have more to give in the Premier League.

Leeds certainly need a spark from somewhere, having struggled to create chances as of late, and Sterling could be a fantastic signing if he is able to rediscover his best form.

Raheem Sterling has been named as one of the best wingers in Premier League history

20 Best Wingers in Premier League History

Where does Mohamed Salah rank in the greatest Premier League wide men?

By
Charlie Smith

May 23, 2025

One of the greats of Indian cricket played the game his own way and left lasting memories

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Aug-2025January 2019. Earlier that month, Cheteshwar Pujara had been the toast of the nation, scoring centuries in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney as India won a Test series in Australia for the very first time. Now he was the villain of all of Karnataka, or at least the few hundred despondent diehards at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium who watched him seal their team’s fate with an unbeaten fourth-innings hundred that steered Saurashtra into the final of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy.The bulk of Pujara’s innings came against the backdrop of chants from these diehards. “Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!” Once in each innings, he had been reprieved by the umpire when he seemed to have edged behind. Both times, he stood his ground and batted on.If you watched this match, you may have remembered it when you read Pujara’s retirement announcement on Sunday. One word in particular.”As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars; and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team,” he wrote on his social media feeds. “Little did I know then that this game would give me so much – invaluable opportunities, experiences, purpose, love, and above all a chance to represent my state and this great nation.”Related

• Stats – India were at their best when Pujara was in the middle

• The off-field partnership: what makes the Pujaras tick

• Pujara retires from all Indian cricket

• 'Always put his mind, body and soul for the country' – colleagues react to Pujara's retirement

• Pujara's best in Test cricket

State and nation. Pujara belonged equally to both. He played nearly as many first-class matches for his state team (90) as he did Test matches (103), and more than half his Saurashtra games (58) came after his international debut. And this is before we count white-ball cricket, of which he only had a fleeting international taste. Pujara’s father Arvind and uncle Bipin played for Saurashtra too, 43 times between them.Australia’s scourge, Karnataka’s cheater. The competitor in Pujara may have enjoyed both roles equally.In being as much of Saurashtra as of India, Pujara was almost unique for an Indian cricketer of his generation. This, of course, was a matter largely of circumstance. He was a red-ball cricketer of the highest rank, and a red-ball cricketer almost to the exclusion of anything else. The gaps this left in his international schedule allowed him to build a significant body of work in domestic cricket.And as he did this, he became a reminder of a bygone age when batters dreamed of scoring 100 first-class hundreds. For Geoffrey Boycott, getting to that landmark – in an Ashes Test, no less, and in front of his home crowd – was “the most magical moment of my life”.ESPNcricinfo LtdPujara, the most Boycottian batter of his age, didn’t get quite as far, but he went two-thirds of the way, scoring 66, ten of them during a productive late-career county stint at Sussex. In the span of his career, only one batter, Alastair Cook (68), made more first-class hundreds. It’s a momentous achievement, and one, appropriately enough, entirely out of step with the zeitgeist.But as out of step as he may have seemed, Pujara was a formidable cricketer who at his peak ranked just below the four great Test batters of his age. Quite a peak it was too; at the end of that 2018-19 Australia tour, he averaged 51.18 and had scored 18 hundreds in 68 TestsHis numbers declined in the pandemic and post-pandemic years, but he was hardly alone in suffering that fate, with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane going through similarly prolonged slumps as India played Test match after Test match, home and away, in treacherous batting conditions.And all of that, and perhaps the effects of age on his game, have left many of us with a somewhat diminished image of Pujara the batter. In the tributes from team-mates and former players that have flowed since his retirement announcement, the most frequently used word, by far, is “grit”, and the most frequently evoked image is of the body blows he took during his 211-ball, fourth-innings 56 in the Gabba fairytale of 2021.Cheteshwar Pujara cops a blow from Josh Hazlewood•AFPPujara had plenty of grit, of course, but you need a whole lot more than that to play 103 Test matches. You need those magic, uncoachable qualities that are commonly clubbed together under the banner of talent.One common definition of batting talent prizes the ability to hit a wide range of attacking shots, with bonus points for hitting good balls and/or in unusual directions. Pujara’s gifts didn’t lean in this direction, but he nonetheless gave a sense that he was born to bat.”Every great batsman,” CLR James suggested in his chapter on George Headley in , “is a special organism.” Whether Pujara was a great batter is a debate for elsewhere, but he was undoubtedly a special organism, a batter who could go on and on and score prodigious quantities of runs. In October 2008, for instance, he scored 386 and 309 for Saurashtra’s Under-22s, and in November he followed up with a 302* in the Ranji Trophy.This appetite for runs was well-known long before Pujara played for India, so while it was remarkable that he scored six hundreds – two of them doubles – in his first 16 Tests, with his average hovering in the 60s, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. It takes an uncommonly good eye and technique to be able to score like that, and also the mind of a special organism, capable of an uncommon level of focus. In the first half of his career, Pujara often seemed to bat in a state of trance-like absorption that was palpable to the viewer.He would start watchfully, even glacially, and you’d wonder if his low, choking grip was inhibiting his power and range of strokes, but if he batted long enough he would flick a switch and start hitting shots to all parts, leaping off his toes to cut the fast bowlers without needing width, sashaying out of his crease to drive spinners inside-out or whip them outside-in.ESPNcricinfo LtdThis way of batting came with a remarkably high ceiling, of course, but also a high floor. He often looked in control even when he wasn’t making a lot of runs, as in England in 2014, and by the end of that 2018-19 Australia tour, he had faced at least 50 balls in 73 of his 114 Test innings, and carried on to the 100-ball mark and beyond on 42 occasions.The limits of Pujara’s game only really became evident on extreme pitches, particularly against bowling attacks of uncommon depth, where the proverbial ball with the batter’s name on it was always around the corner. India just happened to play a lot of their cricket on those kinds of pitches, against those kinds of attacks, during the second half of his career. Other batters may have tried to bat differently; Pujara’s faith in his way never wavered.And while this meant he stopped scoring hundreds – he only made one in his last 35 Tests – he still made significant contributions to India’s results: two half-centuries spanning 381 balls in the 2021 SCG draw, that aforementioned 56 at the Gabba, a 206-ball 45 in a slow-burning, match-turning century stand with Rahane at Lord’s in 2021, and a second-innings 61 at The Oval in the same series.None of this was enough to ward off time, of course, and the surge of batting talent pounding at India’s door. But let’s put the job Pujara did in perspective. Since his last Test match, the six batters India have tried at No. 3 have collectively averaged 31.95 across 24 Tests. A fading Pujara, over his last 24 Tests, averaged 31.51.The end came with a second defeat in a second World Test Championship final in 2023, but it wasn’t really the end. The Pujara of Saurashtra, Sussex and West Zone would score a further 2057 first-class runs, at an average of 51.42, with seven hundreds. A fitting finish, on Pujara’s own terms, leaving you wondering if he couldn’t have gone on just a little longer.

UConn Huskies women's basketball star Azzi Fudd is having herself an excellent couple of days. Last week, she announced her new podcast , co-produced with Steph Curry's Unanimous Media.

And on Monday, the Arlington, Virginia, native threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals' game vs. the Cincinnati Reds.

Fudd rolled up to the mound in a custom Nats jersey, and showed off her athleticism with a pretty decent—albeit seemingly short—throw.

Check that out below:

Although she was a projected first-round pick, Fudd opted against the 2025 WNBA Draft for another year at UConn, where she'll have one last chance to study under the tutelage of Geno Auriemma.

Still, she'll have access to the WNBA and its spoils via her recently confirmed girlfriend Paige Bueckers, currently in her rookie year with the Dallas Wings.

So it's the best of both worlds for everyone. And we can't wait to see what this DMV native does next season.

Argentine football has been shaken by a major disciplinary ruling after Estudiantes de La Plata refused to perform a guard of honour for Angel Di Maria’s Rosario Central. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) responded with sweeping sanctions, including a six-month suspension for club president Juan Sebastian Veron and bans for all 11 players involved, intensifying tensions around a controversial title awarded to Rosario.

• Estudiantes' controversial protest lands club in trouble

  The fallout from Estudiantes' dramatic protest last weekend has escalated into one of the most polarising episodes in recent Argentine football. The controversy began when the AFA unexpectedly awarded Rosario Central a title for having the most points in the 2025 calendar year, a decision that many clubs believed was merely a symbolic “recognition,” not an actual championship.

  But when AFA president Chiqui Tapia presented a physical trophy to Rosario captain Di Maria, discontent erupted. Estudiantes became the only club to publicly reject the legitimacy of the title, and their response on the pitch sent shockwaves through the league. As Rosario’s players walked out expecting a traditional guard of honour, Estudiantes players turned their backs in unison in protest.

  The gesture has since transformed into a debate, exposing growing frustration with the AFA’s leadership and the perception that Tapia has been using the national team’s recent success, and his proximity to Lionel Messi, to expand his influence over domestic competitions.

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  Heavy sanctions and Veron at the centre

  After days of internal debate, the AFA delivered one of the harshest ruling in recent years. All 11 Estudiantes starters from the match received two-game suspensions, to be enforced in 2026. Captain Santiago Nunez was given an additional punishment: a three-month ban from wearing the armband.

  But the most severe blow was dealt to club president Sebastian Veron. The AFA suspended him from all sporting activity for six months, declaring him the mastermind behind the protest.

  The official ruling stated: “The president himself acknowledges having given the order that led to the behaviour being judged here… revealing that it was not an improvised or isolated gesture but a directive issued by the highest institutional authority of the club.”

• The politics behind the protest

  Beyond the immediate sanctions, the incident has exposed deeper fractures within Argentine football. Many clubs felt blindsided by the AFA’s decision to present the trophy to Rosario Central. They claim they agreed only to a “recognition” and not an official championship title.

  Reports indicate that Tapia’s handling of the matter sparked widespread frustration, with club officials privately complaining that the process was orchestrated without transparency. Estudiantes, however, was the only club willing to publicly challenge the decision.

  Their protest was symbolic but loaded. Historically, the guard of honour is a tradition rooted in respect, voluntarily performed for league champions who secure a title early. By rejecting it, Estudiantes sent a strong message. The AFA’s stern response only intensified the debate, raising questions about authority, protocol, and the growing political dimensions of Argentine football administration.

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  Estudiantes stand firm as the fallout continues

  In the aftermath, Estudiantes issued a strong statement backing Veron, Nunez and the entire squad. The club announced it is “thoroughly analysing the sanction” and may pursue an appeal, arguing that the penalties reflect a punitive, politically motivated response rather than a fair administrative judgment.

  Public reaction has been divided. Some believe Estudiantes crossed a line by politicising a matchday tradition. Others see the club’s stance as a principled challenge to an AFA presidency accused of consolidating power and reshaping competitions without wider consensus.

  As of now, the sanctions stand and so does the fracture they exposed. And with Veron sidelined for six months, the standoff between Estudiantes and the AFA is far from over.