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The former Rajasthan Royals spin bowling coach replaces Sunil Joshi

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2025Former India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule has joined Punjab Kings (PBKS) as their new spin bowling coach ahead of the 2026 IPL season. He replaces Sunil Joshi, who held the role from 2023 to 2025.ESPNcricinfo understands Joshi decided to leave as he is set to take over as spin coach at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.”Sairaj’s deep understanding of the game, particularly his extensive experience in grooming domestic bowlers and managing strategy, will be invaluable to our side,” PBKS CEO Satish Menon said. “His expertise aligns perfectly with our vision of building a strong and cohesive bowling unit for the season ahead.”Bahutule joins a backroom team that has Ricky Ponting as head coach, Brad Haddin as assistant coach, James Hopes as the fast bowling coach, and Trevor Gonsalves as assistant bowling coach.”I’m really excited to join Punjab Kings as a spin bowling coach for the upcoming IPL season,” Bahutule said. “This is a team that plays a different brand of cricket, and I can see the potential is massive. They have a bunch of talented players, and I’m looking forward to working with them to refine their skills and help them reach new heights.”Bahutule was the spin bowling coach at Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2025. He had also been RR’s spin bowling coach from 2018 to 2021 before joining the National Cricket Academy and serving as support staff for India A assignments.Bahutule’s exit from RR follows Dravid’s departure from the franchise as head coach. Dravid has been replaced by Kumar Sangakkara.PBKS finished runners-up in IPL 2025 after finishing top of the points table in the league phase. They lost the final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six runs.

Ben Duckett set for final outing of busy summer before being rested for T20Is

Matt Roller06-Sep-2025

Ben Duckett has been backed to end his international season in style in Southampton on Sunday, keeping his place for the third ODI against South Africa despite England’s decision to rest him for next week’s T20Is.England have made a single change from the team that lost by five runs at Lord’s to go 2-0 down in the three-match series, with Jamie Overton replacing Saqib Mahmood. It means that they will again be relying on Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and potentially Joe Root to share the workload of a fifth bowler, after Bethell and Jacks returned combined figures of 1 for 112 in 10 overs on Thursday.Duckett is one of three England players – along with Harry Brook and Jamie Smith – who has featured in all 14 of their home internationals this season: six Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is. Since the start of the Hundred last month, he has only gone past 20 once in 10 innings and followed his 5 in the first ODI at Headingley with an uncharacteristically scratchy 14 off 33 balls at Lord’s.Related

Bethell, Root tons, Archer four-for see England hand out record thrashing

Jamie Overton out of Ashes amid 'indefinite break' from red-ball cricket

Overton's shock decision sounds alarm bells for England schedule

England blown to bits-and-pieces as part-timers' bowling strategy backfires

Sam Curran added to England T20I squads as Ben Duckett takes break

He has since spoken to Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, and reached the decision to miss next week’s T20Is, with Sam Curran replacing him in the squad. Marcus Trescothick, one of McCullum’s assistants, said that the call was designed to ensure Duckett is “firing” ahead of a busy winter schedule, which includes the Ashes in Australia followed by a T20 World Cup.”Brendon spoke to him over the last few days, trying to get a gauge of where he’s at,” Trescothick said. “You look at every situation individually and in its own way, looking at the volume of cricket they’ve played and by chatting with them to see how they’re feeling… This is the best [decision] to maximise performances going forward as we head into a big winter.”We need certain players to be firing, and Ben is certainly one of those… We need the boys firing going into November, December, January. That’s an important time. It’s not to say things aren’t important coming up, but sometimes you just have to take your foot off the gas a bit and rejuvenate the mind. Then, you can get back on the horse and crack on.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Duckett’s retention means that Tom Banton, the spare batter in their squad, will not feature in the series barring a late withdrawal. But he has not been released to play for Somerset in their T20 Blast quarter-final against Warwickshire on Saturday night, and will instead stay in Southampton on standby.McCullum took over England’s white-ball teams in January – becoming coach across formats – but has failed to address their slide in 50-over cricket. They have lost eight out of 11 ODIs this year, including all three matches at the Champions Trophy, and sit eighth in the ICC’s rankings after a sustained run of poor results.Eight teams will qualify for the 2027 World Cup automatically via the rankings – with South Africa and Zimbabwe guaranteed spots as Full-Member co-hosts – so England would likely have to slip below both West Indies and Bangladesh to miss out. But the mere notion of having to play in the global qualifier is a source of embarrassment for the 2019 world champions.”We’re in an interesting position where we need to climb those rankings,” Trescothick said. “Longer term, there’s a bigger picture: we need to look at being at the top of those rankings and beyond. We want to go and compete in the biggest competitions and we’ve got to be a team that has grown from where we have been to compete like we did in 2019.”The journey hasn’t been easy, of course not, but I definitely feel we’re improving and moving in the right direction even though the last two results have been disappointing… We’ve made a few changes in recent times since Brendon took over, and we feel like we’re starting to play better cricket generally.”Overton’s inclusion means he will make his first appearance for England since his decision to put his red-ball ambitions on hold took the team’s management by surprise. Rob Key, England’s managing director, said Overton’s decision was “unexpected”, but his selection for the third ODI confirms that he remains part of their white-ball plans.England XI for the third ODI vs South Africa: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid

Minto stars for England with five-for, but Ratan takes 4 for 9 to seal comfortable victory

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Sep-2025Bangladesh U19 292 (Hossan 100, Minto 5-68) beat England U19 205 (Mohammed 75, Ratul 4-9) by 87 runsRizan Hossan’s authoritative century off 101 balls outdid a five-wicket haul from Durham’s James Minto and a sparkling 75 from Isaac Mohammed as Bangladesh Men U19s beat England Men U19s by 87 runs in the first Youth One-Day International at Loughborough.Despite a confident start, a target of 293 proved too much for the hosts, as England dramatically collapsed from 132 for two to 205 all out. Bangladesh’s spinners combined to take eight wickets. Samiun Basir Ratul stood out with outstanding figures of 4.2-0-9-4.Bangladesh openers Zawad Abrar and Rifat Beg made a brisk start, reaching 31 for none after five overs. Abrar’s brace of sixes over fine leg during an expensive opening spell by Minto typified their approach. Progress was halted when Leicestershire’s Alex Green claimed Beg’s wicket with his first ball, which grazed the leg stump and ended the 44-run opening stand.Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim Tamim, who was dropped on four, was next to depart, caught by Kent’s Ben Dawkins off Yorkshire new-ball bowler, Matthew Firbank, for 11. England struck again when Abrar gloved Minto down the legside, at 69 for three in the 13th over the Young Lions appeared to gain a foothold in the game.However, a fourth-wicket partnership worth 148 between Kalam Aleen and Hossan allowed the visitors to regain the initiative.Initially Hossan was the main aggressor, he got to his fifty off 58 balls with a stylish boundary over midwicket. Aleen’s half-century, characterised by strong sweep shots, soon followed off 68 balls, as both batters manipulated the field effectively.The partnership was broken by Minto in the 39th over, who took two wickets in consecutive balls, leaving the score on 217 for five. Firstly, Aleen played across the line and was trapped LBW and then Mohammad Abdullah was the victim of another legside strangle, with captain Thomas Rew completing a regulation catch.England’s impressive death bowling meant that only 66 runs were added in the final 9.2 overs of the innings. The late flurry of wickets included Hossan, dismissed by Nottinghamshire’s Hatton-Lowe, one ball after getting to a deserved century. In the final over, Minto mopped up the innings, bagging two tailend wickets in two balls, the left-armer finishing with five for 68.England’s chase of 293 began badly, as Fahad castled Dawkins, in the first over of the reply. Joe Moores followed in the sixth over for 14, a looping top edge offering Tamim a catch off his own bowling.That brought Will Bennison to the middle, the Yorkshire batter in partnership with Mohammed proceeded to dominate the powerplay, accelerating the score to 129 for two after 15 overs. Isaac’s fifty, off only 34 balls, contained a ramped six along with several conventional boundaries.Bangladesh’s breakthrough came via Shadin Islam’s off-spin, bowling Bennison through the gate for 36 off 32 balls. Soon after, Mohammed’s fine innings of 75 ended with a catch to cover, leaving two new batters at the crease and 151 runs needed off 32.2 overs.Skipper Rew and debutant Jack Nelson maintained the pressure until a critical passage saw Middlesex’s Nelson undone by Ratul. The slow left armer also accounted for Rew as England faltered at 189 for six after 26.2 overs.The situation considerably worsened when Ralphie Albert was needlessly run out. The very next ball, Hatton-Lowe was then caught behind off Shahdin.Ratul closed out the game a few overs later with Firbank’s wicket, a sharp catch of his bowling.Mohammed said: “I really enjoyed it to be fair, I just felt good, I’ve doing a lot of training recently and I feel like a lot of that paid off today. At the end of the day the result didn’t go our way but when Sunday comes hopefully we can put it right.”When I’m batting, I like to stay positive, whatever the scenario is, I’m backing my ability.”Speaking about the Bangladesh spinners claiming eight wickets, he added: “At the start it was quite a fresh ball so it wasn’t doing as much. When the spinners did come back on, I’d just got out before that.”But looking at some of the videos, it looked like it was starting to grip, so if we are playing on the same wicket on Sunday, that could be something to look into.”Mohammed, whose Worcestershire are in the men’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final against Hampshire later this month, to cap a breakthrough season for the batter said: “I’m loving it, and hopefully in the (Metro Bank) final against Hampshire, we can bring home the trophy.”

Harry Kane’s unique talent has been explained by Wes Brown in an exclusive interview with GOAL. The Bayern Munich striker is one of the most fearsome No.9s in world football, with the record books being rewritten in domestic and international competition. Kane is currently waiting to discover who England will face in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

England's GOAT: Kane closing in on more records

He will, fitness permitting, head into that tournament as captain of the Three Lions. Kane is a talismanic presence for his country, with his historic haul of goals being raised to 78 through 112 games. He is also just 14 caps short of beating Peter Shilton’s all-time appearance record.

That bar is expected to be raised in the not too distant future, with many suggesting that Kane should now be considered England’s GOAT. If he were to capture a major trophy with the Three Lions – bringing 60 years of pain to a close – then it would be difficult to argue against that standing being enjoyed.

England will be leaning heavily on their skipper next summer – after seeing him hit eight goals in a faultless qualification campaign – with it seemingly imperative that he is fit and firing when another bid for global glory begins.

AdvertisementTalismanic figure: Could England win without Kane?

Quizzed on whether England could win the World Cup without Kane, ex-Manchester United and Three Lions defender Brown – speaking in association with – told GOAL: “It would be very difficult. Harry Kane has been so good because he knows where to be. It’s the same as [Cristiano] Ronaldo in the sense that ‘we’re not as young now, but’.

“I marked Harry Kane a few times, it was at Sunderland. Honestly, for the majority of the game you think you are absolutely fine. It sounds really weird but you can ask many people: Who would you rather play against, a really fast young guy who is trying to run everywhere, into corners and doing 800 stepovers, or play against Harry Kane? The weird thing is, you might think Harry Kane. But the problem is that Harry Kane will leave with a goal on that day. How? I don’t know, but he will because he’s clever and he knows what to do and where to be. Is he running all over the place? No, I don’t think he has ever done that. When he gets in the box and you take your eye off him for a second, he’s in the right spot and he will score. Sometimes you go home thinking ‘I don’t know how he scored today’. It’s hard to explain. There are players that can do that. You’re like ‘I’m not that tired, I’ve not been running everywhere, he’s done his job when needed, held it up, turned, and all of a sudden he has scored!’

“He’s a player that you definitely need in that squad, 100 per cent. With that experience now, doing it in Germany as well. I’m not saying we won’t score without him, but he 100 per cent starts for me and is captain.”

Getty Images

Special precautions: England need Kane to be fit & firing

Another former England star, Kane’s ex-Tottenham team-mate Fraizer Campbell, recently told GOAL when the same question was put to him: “It’s a difficult one. You have got [Ollie] Watkins, who is a quality player but he’s not in the same bracket as Harry Kane yet. It would be an issue.

“We have got a lot of good, technical 10s who could potentially play higher up the pitch like a false nine. [Marcus] Rashford has played No.9 before and he’s doing well this season. It would be a big miss for us, but we would have to cope somehow. Maybe come the start of next year we just wrap him in cotton wool and tell him not to play too much for Bayern!”

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GettyWorld Cup draw: England to discover group stage opponents

That may be the best solution, with Kane having surged beyond 100 goals for Bayern this season – on the back of breaking his trophy duck in Germany last term when becoming a Bundesliga title winner.

He is now chasing down more medals with club and country and England will discover their 2026 World Cup group stage opponents when the draw takes place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

On a slow Delhi pitch, the West Indies bowling was disciplined without being penetrative

Sidharth Monga10-Oct-20252:11

Aakash Chopra: Jaiswal’s range of batting tempo is ‘remarkable’

Yashasvi Jaiswal consolidated his stature among best current Test batters with his seventh hundred, and B Sai Sudharsan moved closer to answering India’s call for a No. 3 with a near-flawless 87 as they piled on 318 for 2 after their captain Shubman Gill won his first toss in seven attempts.On a typically slow Feroz Shah Kotla track, the West Indies bowling was disciplined – no extras through the day – without being penetrative in the first and final sessions; in the middle session, they lost all accuracy as India plundered 126 runs without a wicket.Jaiswal just reacted purely to what was bowled at him. He was watchful for the first hour, then cashed in on some loose bowling, and then tightened up again as West Indies found their bearings in the final session. At one point, when Jaiswal was on 93, the fast bowlers had served him six half-volley boundaries, four short-ball boundaries, and one off just fuller than good length. Against good-length balls, Jaiswal didn’t try to score boundaries.Jaiswal is now level with Graeme Smith for most centuries as an opener under the age of 24. Among all India batters, only Sachin Tendulkar scored more hundreds before his 24th birthday. Of course, for the fifth time out of his seven centuries, Jaiswal went past 150. Only Don Bradman had more scores of 150 or more before turning 24.The other 23-year-old, Sudharsan, would have desperately wanted to get his count going. Chosen to play Test cricket with a first-class average under 40, he must feel under a little pressure as the No. 3 in a country full of batting talent. He came out to join Jaiswal early on after Jomel Warrican spun one alarmingly past the bat of KL Rahul. Sudharsan added 197 for the second wicket with Jaiswal, played his first false shot on 58 and was dropped, and got out to only his third false shot in a 165-ball innings: again a Warrican delivery that turned alarmingly.Sai Sudharsan was afforded a relatively easy start•AFP/Getty ImagesHowever, these were possibly the only threatening deliveries all day. Absent that, West Indies needed continued discipline to test India at a venue where they haven’t lost in 38 years. There was enough of it from the three seamers in the first hour: 12 overs, 29 runs, openers kept honest. Once the openers had sussed the conditions and the bowling out, though, runs started to flow more easily.Out of character, Rahul lofted the left-arm spin of Khary Pierre over long-on in only the second over of spin on offer. When he looked to do the same to Warrican, the more established left-arm spinner beat him in the air and then the ball turned 8.4 degrees to have him stumped for 38 off 54.Jaiswal, who missed out in the first match, likes to hit sixes more than Rahul, but stayed away from aerial hits in this innings. A nudge here, a flick there, and he went into lunch having accelerated from 10 off 35 to 40 off 78.Sudharsan was given a gentle welcome with a full toss on the pads, which he put away for four, but no generosity measures up to the start of the second session. Jayden Seales began with two short and wide balls, which Jaiswal put away for fours. You would hope Seales wasn’t bowling for the cut shot, which has got Jaiswal out five times in his career, because it is also a shot that is extremely productive for him. In the same over, Seales also bowled a half-volley for four.Sudharsan joined the party from the other end. Roston Chase started the middle session with a delivery similar to the one that got Sudharsan lbw in the first Test, but Sudharsan played the punch as opposed to the pull for four.0:57

Akash Chopra: WI bowlers were ‘much better’ and ‘a bit more disciplined’

West Indies were all over the place. There was a boundary ball almost every over of the first hour after lunch. Sudharsan got another full toss outside leg, then a half-volley for four to bring up his second Test fifty. In between, he played excellent punches off the back foot, something that would prove to be his downfall eventually.Seales ended the session as he began, getting cut for four, but came back immediately after tea to bowl a spell of 4-0-6-0 with the reversing ball. Nine overs at the start of the final session brought 24 runs, but West Indies needed someone to keep that pressure up. Pierre, though, offered five easy singles in one over immediately.Against the run of play, Warrican trapped Sudharsan lbw with a ball that turned 6.4 degrees. As with Rahul, though, the main job was done in the air. Bowled flat, but still full, it caught Sudharsan back when he should have been forward. Because it turned more than it had usually done, it gave Sudharsan no time to recover from the misjudgement of length.Jaiswal and Gill took India to stumps without any further loss. They were largely watchful except for two aerial sweeps from Gill. They even saw through a 44-ball period without a boundary, which ended with a full toss. Before going into stumps, the ever-hungry Jaiswal took another go at the buffet before packing up, scoring 17 in overs 87 and 88 to end up on 173 off 253.

Arsenal are looking to establish themselves as the dominant force in English football and could now be set to accelerate their pursuit of a star who has an intriguing link with a key member of their squad.

Mikel Arteta is into his sixth year at the Gunners and will hope his side can seize the opportunity that lies ahead in the Premier League title race, given they have managed to amass a four-point lead at this point.

Ultimately, their frustrating draw away to Sunderland before the international break will be a source of inconvenience. However, no team is going to win every match across a whole campaign, so they will put it behind them ahead of stiff tests against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Looking at their central priorities, lifting the Premier League title has to be the main focus. Nevertheless, Pete O’Rourke confirmed on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast that Arteta could be set to engage in talks over a contract extension later next year.

He said: “Yeah, I think for certain it’s something that they will get to, as you said, it’s probably not the priority right now. Arteta’s contract will take care of itself. I’ve got no doubts about that. Arteta’s happy at Arsenal. Arsenal are obviously very happy with him.

“I think for Arteta himself probably his focus and priority right now is on success for Arsenal this season. I’m sure later in 2026, I’m sure there’ll be talks held between Arteta and Arsenal to see if they can sort out his future and extend his stay at the Emirates as well.”

Planning for the future is also firmly part of his remit at the Emirates, and he could now be set to complete a surprising deal for a star who has a familiar family name.

Arsenal could seal Quinten Timber free transfer

According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal are plotting a move for Feyenoord midfielder Quinten Timber, who is set to see his contract expire in Rotterdam come the summer of 2026.

Of course, he is the brother of Gunners fan favourite Jurrien, and this could hand them an edge in the race given their obvious tie to the player.

Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and West Ham United are also alert to his situation as he represents a lucrative option to strengthen ahead of next season without having to pay a transfer fee.

On the flipside, Dortmund may be willing to bid for the Utrecht-born midfielder in January, in case Feyenoord opt to take what they can get for his services rather than allow his deal to run down.

Scoring twice and laying on a solitary assist in 14 matches this campaign, 24-year-old Timber has been on the Gunners’ radar for an extended period of time, something that won’t come as a surprise due to his brother’s presence in North London.

Now, they could complete a rare scenario where twins are on board at the same club. However, Dortmund are deemed to be leading the race at this point.

Arsenal are also eyeing an explosive winger to compete with Noni Madueke

Celtic have closed the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on a potentially pivotal Sunday.

The Hoops demolished Kilmarnock 4-0 at Parkhead, with Johnny Kenny breaking the deadlock, Kieran Tierney adding a second shortly after half time, before Daizen Maeda and then Arne Engels from the penalty spot added a little gloss to the scoreline late on.

With Hearts held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee United over at Tynecastle, the Hoops go into the international break now just seven points adrift of the leaders, also with a game in hand.

For Martin O’Neill, since returning to the Parkhead dugout after two decades away, he has enjoyed back-to-back 4-0 Premiership wins, as well as dumping Rangers out of the League Cup semi-finals at Hampden; the less said about Thursday’s Europa League clash with Midtjylland the better!

In this victory, for however long the 73-year-old remains in caretaker charge, he learned that one Celtic player in particular can be counted on.

Will O'Neill still be at Celtic after the break?

After Sunday’s comfortable victory, O’Neill confirmed “I genuinely don’t know” if he will still be in charge for their next fixture, adding that if the board do appoint a permanent manager during the international break that it’ll “be absolutely fine by me”.

When Celtic do return to action later this month, they’ll travel to St Mirren before facing Feyenoord in Rotterdam in a repeat of the 1970 European Cup Final, but who will be in charge of those matches?

Well, could it be Wilfried Nancy?

He is currently the favourite to land the job, reportedly one of the club’s top targets alongside Kieran McKenna, and a move to Glasgow may have edged a little bit closer this weekend, after Nancy’s Columbus Crew were dumped out the MLS play-offs by rivals FC Cincinnati on Saturday, meaning their season is now over, which could expedite any appointment, if he is indeed who they want.

Irrespective of who is sat in the away dugout in Paisley in a fortnight, they surely can’t help but be impressed by the performance of one Celtic player in particular this weekend.

Celtic star enjoys his finest day of the season vs Kilmarnock

The Celtic medical staff may need to paraphrase Police Chief Brody from Jaws: we’re going to need a bigger treatment room!

The Hoops are already without Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Jota and Kelechi Ịheanachọ, before Hampden hero Callum Osmand​​​​​​​ suffered a long-term injury in Herning on Thursday, while Marcelo Saracchi was then stretchered off in the first half against Kilmarnock.

This obviously is not ideal, but does of course present opportunities for others and, in the absence of Carter-Vickers, his compatriot Auston Trusty has really impressed.

The American centre-back put in an excellent display against Rangers in last weekend’s semi-final victory, but was possibly even more eye-catching this Sunday, with the statistics supporting this assertion.

Accurate passes

98

1st

Passing accuracy %

96%

3rd

Accurate long balls

9

2nd

Dribbles success %

100%

1st

Defensive actions

9

5th

Clearances

7

3rd

Interceptions

1

6th

Duels won

9

1st

Aerial duels won

6

1st

Touches

117

1st

SofaScore rating

8.4

3rd

As the table documents, the centre-half put in a colossal defensive display on Sunday, ranked first for duels as well as accurate passes and touches.

Meantime, when only Celtic players are considered, nobody accumulated more defensive actions, clearances or interceptions.

Glasgow World documented that he ‘continued his rich vein of form’, while noting that the 27-year-old appears to be the perfect man to fill a rather large Carter-Vickers-shaped void at the back.

The defender, who was named man of the match, was also labelled “composed, dominant and aggressive”, having been “immense​​​​​​​” since Carter-Vickers suffered a long-term achilles injury against Sturm Graz.

As recognition of his form, Trusty has been recalled to the United States squad for their friendlies against Paraguay in Pennsylvania and then Uruguay in Florida next week.

Trusty has not played a single minute for the USMNT since November last year, but could well change that as Mauricio Pochettino continues to experiment ahead of the World Cup.

Back at club level, Celtic will need Trusty to remain fit, available and in form because, frankly, they don’t have any other options and, if a new manager is appointed in the next fortnight, he has really staked a claim to remain a key figure. This was undoubtedly his finest day of the campaign to date.

The new Rodgers: Celtic make "incredible" manager their new No.1 target

Celtic could be looking to appoint another Brendan Rodgers-type figure.

ByRobbie Walls Nov 9, 2025

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