Such has been the amount of change in recent seasons that it feels like a lifetime ago that José Mourinho was in the hot seat at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Special One was appointed the club’s manager in November 2019, mere days after the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino, and to say English football was shocked would be an understatement.

However, less than two years later – just before the League Cup final – the legendary coach was sacked, with little to show for his time in N17.

That said, he did make several additions to the team, including one international just sold by the club who has won comparisons to Granit Xhaka and Rodri.

Mourinho's lacklustre Spurs signings

Before we get to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of the other signings made by Mourinho during his time with Spurs, although the unfortunate reality is that most of them didn’t work out.

For example, he was in the dugout when the club spent around £27m on PSV Eindhoven star Steven Bergwijn.

The Dutch winger could, at times, be incredibly exciting to watch and was responsible for one of the best Premier League comebacks in recent seasons, but he ultimately failed to make any real impact in N17.

Fortunately, when he did leave for Ajax in 2022 with a paltry tally of eight goals and eight assists in 83 games for the club, he did so for around £26.4m, almost covering the fee the Lilywhites paid.

Another of the Portuguese manager’s failed additions was Irish right-back Matt Doherty, who joined the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2020 for a fee of around £14.7m.

While the defender impressed for the Old Gold, he could never quite get to grips with life at Spurs.

Over the next two and a half seasons, he registered just eight assists and three goals in 71 games for the club before his contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2023.

With all that said, not every signing made by Mourihno at Spurs was a disaster, with one player at least establishing himself in the team for seasons to come, a player who’s been compared to Xhaka and Rodri this year.

The ex-Spurs ace playing like Rodri and Xhaka

With so many of Mourinho’s additions failing to carve out a place for themselves in the Spurs lineup for any considerable period, it should come as no surprise that the player in question is Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

The Danish international joined the North Londoners from Southampton for around £15m in August 2020, and while he certainly wasn’t the flashiest, or even most popular, of players at the club, he was a regular face in the starting lineup for four years or so.

Across those four campaigns, the “excellent” midfielder, as dubbed by Ange Postecoglou, made 184 appearances for the first team, in which he scored ten goals and provided 16 assists.

However, following Postecoglou’s first campaign as manager, it was decided that the former Saints ace would be sold to Marseille, moving on an initial loan move with an obligation to buy at £17m.

Given the specific way the Australian wants his teams to play, it would be fair to say that this was a move that suited all parties.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.25

0.24

0.20

Progressive Passes Received

1.62

1.68

2.11

Goals per Shot

0.07

0.13

0.13

Expected Assists

0.16

0.19

0.16

Clearances

1.27

1.23

1.31

Blocks

1.14

0.99

1.01

Nevertheless, since joining the French giants, the 29-year-old has been immense and won comparisons to Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga-winning star Xhaka and Ballon d’Or-winning Rodri.

The comparisons stem from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and the Europa League; then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Spaniard is the fourth most similar midfielder to the Dane, while the Swiss international comes in at seventh on the list.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the trio rank closely in both this season for Xhaka and Højbjerg while also including last season for Rodri due to his injury.

When doing this, we can see that all three have similar underlying numbers for important metrics, including but not limited to, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, goals per shot, expected assists, clearances, blocks and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, agreeing to sell Højbjerg in the summer was probably the right decision for everyone, but with the power of hindsight, we can’t help but think his presence in the middle would have helped Spurs pick up a few more points this season.

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ByStephan Georgiou Mar 3, 2025

Philippe Clement is no longer the manager of Glasgow Rangers. Although inevitable, it felt as though the Belgian should have been relieved of his duties months ago, especially after a dismal start to the season at Ibrox.

The Premiership title race was all but over by the time Santa was delivering presents. The 3-0 win over the Parkhead side at the start of the year showed signs of recovery, but in the club’s very next game, they drew 3-3 with Hibs, surrendering a two-goal lead.

The Scottish Cup defeat to Championship side Queen’s Park was the nail in the coffin and, in truth, Clement should have walked after that. Keeping him as manager was prolonging the malaise around Ibrox.

At the time of writing, the Light Blues have lost five and drawn five of their 27 league games thus far. This sort of form will never be good enough to claim the domestic title, especially with how impressive Celtic have been.

It appears that big changes could occur at the club in the coming months, as 49ers Enterprises looks set to complete a takeover of Rangers, which could revitalise the club—both on and off the field.

While it looks like an interim boss will be appointed until the summer, the next permanent manager must be the right one, otherwise the club will forever be going around in circles.

Might there already be a name in the running for the vacant role already?

The latest on Rangers' hunt for a new manager

Naturally, there will be plenty of names thrown about surrounding the manager’s job at Ibrox, with some familiar faces likely to be mentioned by the media.

Eurosport contributor and journalist Luca Chianti has given an update, however, saying on X: “Rangers board will move quickly to appointment new manager with Steven Gerrard preferred by board and in talks, also concurrent discussions with ex Everton manager Sean Dyche.”

Dyche was sacked by Everton a few weeks ago following an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 season which left the Toffees in danger of relegation.

His style of play isn’t something many of the Ibrox faithful would want to see in Glasgow, rather someone who prefers a more attacking philosophy indeed.

Gerrard, on the other hand, could be a solid candidate, regardless of his previous two managerial roles ending in failure.

He lasted less than a year at Aston Villa, while his spell in the Middle East came to an end in January, leaving Saudi outfit Al-Ettifaq after just 18 months in charge.

While not perfect, Gerrard brought Rangers from the doldrums to the summit of Scottish football in just three years. He managed to get the best out of a talented squad of players while performing miracles in Europe, restoring pride to the Gers.

It is no secret that the former Liverpool icon is looked highly upon by the supporters due to the part he played at the club. Could a second spell in Glasgow get the Gers going again? Or is it a step too far?

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers statistics

Gerrard inherited a torrid squad when he took over in May 2018 and, quite naturally, it was going to take time for him to imprint his vision on the team.

The Light Blues failed to win a trophy during his first two seasons, although they reached the League Cup final in 2019, while also securing three wins against Celtic, the most of any manager since Walter Smith.

The 2020/21 campaign was his crowning glory, leading the team to an undefeated Premiership season which saw the club claim their first league title in a decade.

So impressive was this achievement, that even Sir Alex Ferguson hailed it as “magnificent” and it was down to the talents of several players, including Alfredo Morelos.

2021/22

22

12

1.86

2020/21

56

44

2.52

2019/20

54

36

2.17

2018/19

60

32

1.9

In the current Rangers squad, there is a player who has shown a remarkable likeness to the former Gers talisman. Hamza Igamane has a long way to go to match the numbers Morelos notched at Ibrox, but with the right coaching, anything is possible.

How Gerrard could bring the best out of Hamza Igamane

During his time working under Gerrard, Morelos went from a bustling out-and-out centre-forward to one who could drop deep and link up well with others around him despite not sacrificing his predatory instincts inside the penalty area.

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Indeed, Morelos played 158 matches for Gerrard at Rangers. During that time, he scored an impressive tally of 83 goals while grabbing 36 assists.

This works out as a goal every 1.9 games, and it is no wonder they went on to win the league title in 2020/21.

Igamane has certainly been one of the few bright sparks for the Gers this season, despite the poor results. Like Morelos, the Moroccan youngster seems to come alive when the Europa League anthem is played, scoring four goals in the competition from just four starts.

One came against Tottenham Hotspur, while the striker registered a goal every 91 minutes in Europe’s secondary competition.

Morelos is the club-record goalscorer in Europe for Rangers, netting 29 goals in 63 games for the Light Blues. If Igamane remains at the club and pushes on from this solid campaign, he has a chance to potentially break this.

Gerrard would bring the best out in him, that’s for certain. Clement failed to truly showcase a proper style of play during his time in charge, often leaving the main striker isolated in several games.

On the flip side, the Englishman tends to use a 4-3-3 system which brings the best out of a front three. During the 2020/21 season, Morelos was often flanked by Ryan Kent and either Ianis Hagi or Joe Aribo, two players who created chances aplenty for him.

Hagi is still at the club, while Gerrard could utilise the talents of Oscar Cortes, Nedim Bajrami and Ross McCausland similarly.

The board have got to look ahead to the future. The 44-year-old has achieved success in Glasgow before and there is no reason why he couldn’t do so again.

After Clement's sacking: Rangers must also get rid of £16k-p/w flop

Rangers look like they are on the cusp of a takeover…

ByRoss Kilvington Feb 23, 2025

“I’ve been guilty of that in my Test career, and that’s something that I’d really like to change”

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-20221:20

Dean Elgar: “The negatives outweigh the positives, it was a pretty weak performance”

Temba Bavuma has conceded that his own lack of Test centuries has contributed to the bigger batting problems facing the South African line-up.Bavuma, who returned to the Test side for the series against Australia after missing the England tour with an elbow injury, has yet to add to the hundred he scored in his seventh Test in January 2016.Since then, he has played 46 Tests, scored 17 half-centuries and has the highest average among South African batters in 2022. But after they lost a fourth successive match, Bavuma admitted those numbers are not good enough.Related

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“The 60s or 70s or I guess they’re good for that moment, but in the bigger scheme of things they don’t change the outcome of the game. I’ve obviously been guilty of that in my Test career, and that’s something that I’d really like to change not just for myself but also for the team,” he said in Melbourne, in the aftermath of South Africa’s innings and 182-run defeat in the second Test.”That’s something that the team needs – two guys to go out there and score big hundreds, and really give the bowlers something to rally behind.”Bavuma has enjoyed three decent starts in the two Tests in Australia, and scored 38 and 29 at the Gabba, and 65 in the second innings at the MCG. Although he shared in some of South Africa’s highest partnerships in both matches – 98 and 42 with Kyle Verreynne and Khaya Zondo respectively in Brisbane, and 63 with Verryenne in Melbourne – Bavuma was not able to push on, as has been the case in several of his previous innings. He put that down to a combination of being left with the lower order and his own mindset, and has made his aim to rectify that in future.”I’m the common denominator there”, Bavuma said of the run-outs of Keshav Maharaj and Khaya Zondo•Getty Images”If I look at my dismissal today [caught while slog sweeping], it was probably a brain fart,” Bavuma said. “If I was batting with a batter, I probably wouldn’t play the shot to be honest with you, with all due respect to KG [Kagiso Rabada] and the guys who came after them. I guess that’s that. That’s probably my biggest challenge: just to keep batting and see how long I can go out there.”Bavuma also accepted responsibility for his role in the run-outs of Zondo and Keshav Maharaj, who he called through for risky runs, and saw those dismissals as a metaphor for South Africa’s overall batting issues.”I was involved in both of them, so I guess I’m the common denominator there,” he said. “It probably just shows a lack of clarity and a bit of indecision between the guys batting out there. I’ll put it to that indecision, lack of clarity and cohesion between the guys batting.”

“The team that wins is the team that adapts better in those [bowler-friendly] conditions. And we simply haven’t done that.”Bavuma on South Africa’s batting failure

Like his captain Dean Elgar, Bavuma pointed to “inexperience” in the Test line-up as one of the reasons for their struggles, but he did not go as far as questioning the structures of the South African system.”I’ve heard those arguments of people looking at our domestic system back home and asking if it really is equipping guys for this level,” he said. “I’m sure the guys in the room – the inexperienced guys – will understand that it’s a big jump. There’s a big difference between franchise cricket and international cricket.”I can’t really sit here and have a go at our system. I’m part of that system as well, so that’s not something I am going to give a brutal answer towards. But the inexperience within the group, that’s really showing up.”He also did not lay the blame for South Africa’s batting failures on bowler-friendly conditions, as has been the case among others in the set-up who have been asked about their string of low scores. South Africa have played in New Zealand, England and Australia this year, and have strung together seven successive innings under 200, which Bavuma said is simply sub-standard.”The talk around the conditions is a matter of stating the obvious,” he said. “The team that wins is the team that adapts better in those conditions. And we simply haven’t done that. It’s a matter of us just not simply adapting. We need to be brutally honest as a batting group – we just haven’t been good enough.”

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Durham 425 for 9 dec (Bedingham 118, Raine 71, Lees 70, Gibbon 4-92) and 96 for 2 lead Worcestershire 366 for 5 dec (Haynes 134, Potts 3-110) by 155 runsJack Haynes produced a career-best knock of 134 to keep all results alive in Worcestershire’s LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash against Durham at Seat Unique Riverside.Haynes’ unbeaten century proved that a strong defence and patience still has a place in a more adventurous era as he defied the Durham attack, reaching three figures from 203 deliveries. The 22-year-old shared a stand of 112 with Gareth Roderick to bring the visitors within 59 runs of Durham’s first-innings total before they declared in an attempt to force the issue in the closing stages of the third day.Joe Leach and Ben Gibbon removed the Durham openers before the close, raising the possibility of a final-day thriller at Chester-le-Street with the home side 155 runs ahead with eight wickets remaining.Jake Libby had a difficult time at the crease on the second day and his problems persisted into the morning session. Matthew Potts, Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin all beat the bat before Coughlin finally found his outside edge, ending his 87-ball stay for 26. Coughlin thought he had two in two but umpire Hassan Adnan was unmoved for a caught behind shout against Brett D’Oliveira.Haynes continued his poised innings after the interval, working his way to a deserved half-century, displaying composure to secure the milestone from his 107th delivery with only two boundaries. D’Oliveira was on his way to joining his team-mate, but Matt Kuhnemann removed the left-hander with a simple return chance after finding a leading edge.Despite the departure of the Worcestershire skipper, Haynes continued to grind down the Durham attack with an impenetrable defence. His knock was one for the purists, blunting the effect of the new ball to further frustrate the home side. He earned his reward by reaching his fourth first-class century, and much like his innings, his celebration was understated with further work to be done to cement Worcestershire’s position.D’Oliveira called his team in after securing their third batting point in a spirited attempt to force a result heading into the final day. Durham lost Michael Jones and Alex Lees cheaply, but David Bedingham and Scott Borthwick stabilised matters to leave the game evenly poised.

Despite Daniel Farke’s Leeds United coasting to many a victory in the Championship as of late, the Whites head into their big promotion clash tonight with Sunderland not perched at the summit of the difficult division.

Instead, Sheffield United are currently sat there admiring the view from top spot, having picked up a mammoth 22 wins themselves in league action, as Chris Wilder’s men eye up an instant glorious return back to the Premier League.

Looking back at their business before a ball was kicked gives you some insight as to how the top-flight’s basement club from the 2023/24 season have managed to bounce back so successfully, rather than being stuck inside that bleak pit.

United's best summer business

Back in the summer, before splashing £10m on new striker Tom Cannon, the South Yorkshire outfit went about their business in a rather shrewd manner.

Indeed, seven of United’s purchases before the hectic second-tier season got underway were either free transfers or loan signings, with both Callum O’Hare and Tyrese Campbell entering the building strokes of genius as EFL experienced heads.

The pair have amassed eight goals between them, surrounded by the likes of fellow attacking talent in the form of Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who has six league strikes all on his own.

Away from bodies entering the building, the Blades also did a fantastic job in keeping some of the standout personnel from their Premier League journey, with Anel Ahmedhodzic an absolute brute at the back dropping down a level.

Helping himself to 12 clean sheets, he has made the Blades an extremely tough team to break down, with the man behind him in-between the sticks another sterling purchase that did cost United a fee, but has already made that amount look worthwhile.

Michael Cooper's soaring value

A brand new goalkeeper was arguably a must for Wilder and Co when dropping back down to the unforgiving second tier, having leaked a horrendous 104 goals in the top flight.

That’s where former Plymouth Argyle shot-stopper Michael Cooper has come to the rescue, with the 25-year-old now going down as a top £2m find from Devon.

Having made a name for himself at his boyhood employers with 55 clean sheets picked up from 161 appearances, the promotion-chasing Blades gambled on Cooper to be their Championship-ready ‘keeper and that decision has more than paid off with stunning saves such as this penalty stop back in November becoming commonplace.

Across 31 contests in South Yorkshire to date, Cooper has only shipped 21 strikes, with only two goals surrendered all of February so far as his high-flying team hunt down more and more pivotal victories.

Subsequently, his value has shot up and has justified United paying a fee to land the former League One Golden Glove winner, knowing full well that his continued excellence could be the difference-maker between automatic promotion being clinched and a playoff spot having to be regretfully accepted.

At the time of writing, Wilder’s assured number one in goal now has a bumped up value that stands at £5.8m – as per Transfermarkt – with the Exeter-born ‘keeper now wanting the prize of being a Premier League calibre shot-stopper to come his way.

Cooper’s league numbers (24/25)
Stat	Cooper
Games played	31
Goals conceded	21
Saves made	78
Goals prevented	+6.00
Clean sheets	17
Stats by Sofascore

That is a percentage increase of 190% in just a few months, with Wilder even labelling his standout 25-year-old as “class” earlier in the season, which is hard to argue against when looking up at his gleaming second-tier numbers.

Away from Cooper being put under the microscope, the experienced Blades boss will know a full team effort will get this confident group over the line, with this potentially being his third promotion achievement situated in the Bramall Lane dug-out.

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Manchester United are now ready to make a summer bid to sign a Real Madrid player who wants to leave, according to a recent report.

Man Utd eye defensive reinforcements

The Red Devils are looking to put their FA Cup elimination behind them as they travel to Spain to face Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Europa League. This represents United’s last chance of picking up silverware this season, and Ruben Amorim will be eager for his side to come away from Spain in a healthy position ahead of the second leg.

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Apart from the Europa League, United have nothing else to play for, so it is no surprise to see plans being drawn up ahead of the summer transfer window. There are several areas that Amorim will be keen to address, with the defensive structure of his team appearing to be high up on the agenda. That is because, according to reports from Spain, United now want to sign Nayef Aguerd from West Ham United in the summer but face competition from Sociedad, who also want to sign him after a successful loan spell there.

In another move to strengthen their defensive structure, United are preparing an offer worth £67 million to sign defensive midfielder Marc Casado from FC Barcelona. The La Liga giants are not looking to sell the midfielder, but their ongoing financial concerns mean they could be tempted into a sale for the right price.

Man Utd ready to offer £33m to sign Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin

But it could be argued that it hasn’t been United’s defence that has let them down; it has been their goalkeeper, Andre Onana, who has made costly mistakes. Therefore, a new goalkeeper could be on their list of priorities this summer, and according to a report from Spain, Man United are ready to offer 40 million euros (£33 million) to sign Andriy Lunin, who is ready to leave Real Madrid.

The report states that United see signing Lunin as an opportunity to strengthen their goalkeeper department. Despite him being under contract until 2030, Lunin being second choice behind Thibaut Courtois means he will consider a move away from the Bernabeu. The Red Devils are keen to persuade the European champions into a sale by offering more than his market value.

The Premier League side do have Altay Bayindir in their ranks, but the Turkey international has missed the last few weeks through injury and has struggled to nail down a regular starting spot. Meanwhile, Onana started the season off very strong, but in recent months has made some costly mistakes, and it appears Amorim could be losing patience with him with reports suggesting the board regret signing him.

Apps

3

Goals conceded

4

Goals conceded per game

1.3

Saves made

4

Saves per game

1.3 (50%)

Goals prevented

-1.23

Clean sheets

2

Lunin, who helped Real Madrid secure the Champions League last season, has been with the Spanish giants since 2018. But it was only last season that he played regular football while Courtois was injured. Therefore, an opportunity to move to the Premier League and become a number one could be too tempting to turn down, and United could have a good chance of signing a proven goalkeeper.

Liverpool are now preparing a club record offer to sign a new forward for Arne Slot as they look to solidify their spot at the top of European football, according to a fresh report.

Liverpool set for busy summer

After back to back quiet transfer windows, Liverpool are set to be incredibly busy this summer. The contract situations of Virgil van Dijk, Mohammed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold all hang over their head, with the trio all key parts of this season’s success but set to walk away for nothing at the end of the campaign as things stand.

There are other issues to sort too; Andy Robertson’s form has dipped severely this season, and a new left back will certainly be on the agenda for the Premier League leaders, with Milos Kerkez strongly linked with a move to Anfield.

Further forward, there is plenty to do in attack. Federico Chiesa arrived in the summer but has spent much of the campaign on the injury table, while Darwin Nunez has struggled for any consistency this year and it has been suggested that Liverpool are ready to cut ties with him this summer after a third frustrating season on Merseyside.

There are also concerns over Diogo Jota, who like Chiesa has struggled for fitness, with injuries restricting him to just seven starts this season in the Premier League.

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With that in mind, there is likely to be major change in attack at Anfield, and now they could be set to break the bank to secure their future no.9.

Liverpool now preparing astronomical offer

According to a shock report from Spain, Liverpool have now turned their attentions to long-time Arsenal target Alexander Isak, and are even preparing an offer to try and tempt Newcastle into selling.

Behind Mo Salah, Isak has been the form player in the Premier League this season, and has found the net 17 times already, more than Nunez and Luis Diaz combined.

Darwin Nunez

Alexander Isak

Appearances

19

23

Goals

4

17

Assists

2

5

Minutes per goal contribution

140

86

His form has seen him praised by all sides, with Michael Owen hailing him as a top striker: “He is top class in every way. He oozes class. He is seriously good and Newcastle have done well to get him, develop him and feed him.”

The Swede still has three years left to run on his £120,000 a week deal on Tyneside and they will be desperate for him to stay, but he continues to be linked with a move away from the Magpies.

Now, the report claims that Liverpool are the latest to show an interest, and it is added that the Reds are “already working on a record-breaking offer” which would see them offer €130m (£108m) for the 25-year-old, a sum that would be their highest ever fee were a move to go through.

Of course, Newcastle will be doing everything that they can to convince Isak to remain on Tyneside, but with interest mounting, a failure to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the current campaign could open the door to his potential exit.

The women’s league is now expected to function as a separate entity, with a different name and identity to the men’s PSL

Umar Farooq17-Jan-2023

The women’s league will not be held alongside the PSL•PCB

The Pakistan women’s T20 league, meant to run alongside the PSL next month, will not go ahead as planned. The new PCB management committee, headed by Najam Sethi, decided to shelve the league, with the aim of holding it in September. The new league – which will bear a different name – will be a standalone tournament with four teams.The idea to launch the women’s T20 league was initiated by previous chairman Ramiz Raja and the league was meant to run side by side with PSL games in Rawalpindi. Ramiz was also a big proponent of launching the leagues at the youth level and intended to commercialise women’s cricket by having a franchise-based league. The dates of the women’s PSL directly clashing with the inaugural edition of the women’s IPL – scheduled for March 2023 – was also less than ideal for commercial reasons.Related

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With the change in PCB’s leadership, it was agreed in the PSL governing council meeting that the women’s league was unfeasible at this time of year. The PCB will, however, continue to explore avenues for the league. There were discussions around having some exhibition games during the men’s PSL as a test case, though this idea was also shelved.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB administration was reluctant to adopt this idea citing a lack of resources. Instead, they wanted to invest more on the infrastructure to expand the pool of players across the country. But later with deliberation, it was agreed to have a separate tournament from the men’s PSL and across two venues.One of the major challenges the PCB will face is the formation of teams with adequate competitive players from the local pool. There are a handful of players on the Pakistan women’s circuit, with approximately 30-35 cricketers at the senior level. The domestic circuit for Pakistan women’s cricket has two tournaments: three teams each playing the National T20 and ODI Challenge Cups. There is a big crop of cricketers picked up from trials ahead of the ongoing Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, but the batch is still fairly young and in their developmental stages.At the time the league was announced, Pakistan had 12 centrally contracted women’s players, increasing the number by eight last year. Pakistan would still need a further 28 local players for the league, meaning they will need to dig deep among their reserves for local talent. Lahore Qalandars have also expanded its Player Development Programme to include women cricketers, in a bid to expand the playing base in Pakistan. They have a batch of over 20 girls already under development at their high-performance centre and could conceivably become a feeder to the league.Sethi had earlier scrapped the Pakistan Junior League (PJL), another of his predecessor Ramiz’s projects. It incurred significant losses in its first year which had rendered its future uncertain even more with the change of administration. A financial report revealed the PJL was run at a cost of approximately PKR 997 million, while the PCB got a return of only PKR 190 million for it.For the women’s league, Ramiz’s idea was to capitalise the PSL’s production company and leverage their existence during the PSL to cover women’s PSL, with the intention of saving a significant chunk of logistics and production costs. All PSL franchises had objected to using their money to cover another tournament without any rebate or cost-sharing. The new management is understood to be open to public tenders to build the league from scratch to make it a separate entity. PSL franchises have also expressed their interest to own the respective teams in the league.

It is understood that the fast bowler initiated the request for release with the Indian team management

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2023Fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat will be available to captain Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal starting on February 16 in Kolkata, after he was released from the India squad for the second Test against Australia starting on February 17.It is understood that Unadkat was keen to play the Ranji Trophy final and initiated the request with the Indian team management before the selectors approved his release.Saurashtra qualified for the Ranji Trophy final on Sunday by beating Karnataka by four wickets in the semi-final in Bengaluru. Bengal won the other semi-final against Madhya Pradesh by 306 runs.Unadkat’s availability is a boost to Saurashtra’s prospects in the final, as they aim for their second title after winning their first in the 2019-20 season. Though he has played just three matches this Ranji Trophy season, Unadkat led the side in all those fixtures and took 17 wickets at an average of 13.64.His best performance came in the group match against Delhi, when he took a hat-trick in the first over of the match on his way to career-best innings figures of 8 for 39. He also scored 70 in that game. Unadkat did not play any of the knockouts for Saurashtra, who were led by Arpit Vasavada in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.After making his Test comeback in Bangladesh in December last year following a gap of 12 years, Unadkat was part of India’s Test squad for the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He did not feature in the XI in the first Test of the series in Nagpur, which India won by an innings and 132 runs inside three days. The second Test will be played in Delhi between February 17 and 21, and India are expected to field an unchanged bowling attack comprising R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.