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Despite their struggles at times this season, Wolverhampton Wanderers have been fairly consistent in front of goal. They currently sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to goals scored in the Premier League, and their 51 strikes is more than seven clubs.

According to Understat, the Old Gold have massively overachieved in their expected goals tally this term.

The metric currently has Vitor Pereira’s side at 42.83 xG, meaning they have scored 8.17 more goals than they should have. It is also the biggest overachievement on expected goals this season by any Premier League club, and by some distance.

If there is one man who has helped them to overperform so much, it is undoubtedly Mathues Cunha.

Cunha's form this season and his Wolves future

It has been yet another unbelievable campaign for Old Gold talisman Cunha. Their number 10 has been sensational for the second consecutive year, helping to keep them in the Premier League and dragging the club through tough times on the pitch around Christmas.

The 25-year-old, who is an Olympic Gold medalist with Brazil, has bagged 15 goals and managed six assists in 31 Premier League games this season. His 17 goals in all competitions are the club’s most, with Jorgen Strand Larsen the only other player in double figures.

He has put in some excellent performances, including one goal and two assists against Leicester City just weeks ago. However, perhaps his most significant was a goal and an assist against Manchester United in December, in a 2-0 win at Molineux.

However, the Old Gold forward, who has become a star at Molineux over the last two seasons, may not be able to call himself a Wolves player much longer.

A few days ago, Fabrizio Romano reported that ‘talks remain ongoing’ for Manchester United to sign him this summer, who explained ‘deal remains at advanced stages’, which suggests it will be done soon enough.

It does not appear that Cunha will stay at Wolves beyond this season, so they will need to replace his goals. They have recently been linked with someone who could do just that.

Wolves' ideal Cunha replacement

If Cunha does love Molinuex, which does seem likely at this stage, then a shock move for Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth, who has previously played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, could be on the cards for Wolves.

Caught Offside reported earlier this week that he is ‘attracting interest from the Premier League’, with Wolves, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa all linked with a move. The price is not clear at this stage, but he cost the Spaniards £27m last season, so it could well be around the same number.

If the Old Gold are looking for someone to help them forget about losing Cunha, Sorloth could be that guy.

He has been excellent for Atleti in 2024/25, scoring 17 goals and grabbing two assists in 32 appearances. Earlier in the season, Dougie Critchley described him as “sensational”, and it is easy to see why.

The Norwegian made headlines recently for scoring an incredible four goals in 30 minutes in Atleti’s 4-0 La Liga win over Real Sociedad. After just 11 minutes, he already had a hat-trick, in one of the most eye-catching performances of the season.

It is for reasons like that, as to why Sorloth could be the perfect man to step into Cunha’s shoes. There are stats, via FBref, which suggest he can take on the mantle of scoring consistent goals for the Old Gold.

For example, he averages 1.09 goals and 0.55 goals per shot on target per 90 minutes. Comparatively, Cunha averages 0.54 goals and 0.37 goals per shot on target each game.

Earlier, Wolves’ overachievement on expected goals was referenced, and that is certainly something that stands out for Sorloth. He is overachieving on expected goals by 0.28 per game this season, showing that he, too, can help maintain such a record.

There is no doubt about it, Cunha would be a big loss for the Old Gold. However, replacing him with such a clinical player like Sorloth, who can maintain such an impressive goal scoring rate, would be excellent business.

He can help fill the Neto void: Wolves looking to sign "special" £50m star

Wolves have joined a host of clubs in eyeing a move for a Premier League midfielder

By
Ross Kilvington

May 12, 2025

In what would be a statement move in his first few months in the job, Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta has now reportedly made an approach to sign a top Manchester United target.

All eyes on PSG for Arsenal

With the Premier League title race over and Liverpool confirmed as champions, Arsenal have all of their focus on the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday. Heading to France with a 1-0 deficit to overturn courtesy of Ousmane Dembele’s early strike last time out, the Gunners have it all to do.

Bournemouth’s trip to The Emirates this weekend should simply be seen as the chance for Mikel Arteta to rest key men. In a season full of injuries, the Spaniard must take control of the narrative and avoid what would be the most frustrating absences heading into Wednesday.

The Arsenal boss rallied his troops after their disappointing 1-0 defeat against PSG on Tuesday, telling reporters: “It’s half-time. I said exactly the same message after we beat Real Madrid 3-0 [in the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates]. Go to Paris, win the game, and we are through.

“That’s what we have to do. We saw two teams that are very aggressive, intense, not a lot of margins. Their keeper made two saves that normally are goals and those are the margins you have in these games.”

Mega Kiwior upgrade: Arsenal initiate talks for "superb" £34m monster

The experienced international could be just what Arsenal need.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

May 2, 2025

After frustration in the title race, Arsenal will be desperate to avoid even more heartbreak on the European stage. There’s no doubt that winning the Champions League would have a major impact on Arteta’s project on and off the pitch too, especially when chasing summer transfer targets.

Berta makes Arsenal approach to sign Trincao

Instantly ruffling a few feathers, Berta has reportedly set his sights on a top Manchester United target. According to Record in Portugal, Berta has now made an approach to sign Francisco Trincao from Sporting CP this summer and has already had scouts in place to take note of his impressive campaign.

The winger, who is represented by the same agency as United stars Manuel Ugarte and Leny Yoro, has been reborn in Portugal following a failed spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now, four years on from leaving the Premier League and failing to make his loan move permanent, Trincao could be back with a vengeance courtesy of Arsenal.

By signing the winger, Arsenal would also solve a major problem of theirs by welcoming an added creative spark and someone who would provide instant backup for Bukayo Saka.

Described as “terrific” by U23 scout Antonio Mango in 2022, Trinaco has only reached new levels ever since and his eye for an assist is particularly impressive. As Martin Odegaard’s numbers continue to fall too, it’s the type of passing ability that Arteta arguably needs at his disposal more than ever at Arsenal.

One Rangers player is on course to leave Ibrox over the coming months having recently been described as “fragile”.

Rangers manager rumours as 49ers agree takeover deal in principle

It is promising to be a busy few months off the pitch in Glasgow, with the 49ers Enterprises agreeing a deal in principle to take charge at Ibrox. Sky Sports reported last month that talks have been ongoing for a while now and there is ‘growing confidence on all sides that it will be completed ahead of the new season’.

The 49ers will have to get straight to work as well and look ready to do so as there have been claims they are ready to back a new manager in the transfer market with a £20m+ transfer budget.

Related Rangers: 49ers may sell Ibrox star for £20m as big club make serious move

They could make a 700% profit.

Posts ByCharlie Smith Apr 15, 2025

Barry Ferguson is the current interim Rangers boss and has been impressing at times, defeating Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce in the Europa League across two legs, while also winning at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership.

Ferguson is thought to be keen on the idea of taking the Rangers manager job on a permanent basis, however, other names have been mentioned as potential targets.

Former Southampton manager Russell Martin has been linked with a move to Scotland, as has Liam Rosenior who is currently in charge of Strasbourg in France.

Rangers progressing to the semi-finals of the Europa League will only strengthen Ferguson’s case to land the job on a full-time basis, however, whoever is in charge could lose a plethora of current Gers players in the summer.

Forward Hamza Igamane is wanted by Marseille, who have made serious moves for the Morocco international. Rangers want £20m for the attacker, however, one player who could leave for free is defender Leon Balogun.

Leon Balogun on course to leave Rangers for free

According to Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, Rangers are set to axe Balogun from the Ibrox books this summer.

The 36-year-old, on £8,000-a-week which equates to £416,000-a-year in Glasgow, is out of contract at the end of the campaign and O’Rourke says it is unlikely he will be offered a new deal.

Balogun returned to Rangers back in 2023, a year after leaving for QPR. Since moving back to Glasgow, he has made a further 44 appearances for the club, taking his overall tally to three figures.

Talking about Balogun recently, Derek Ferguson, brother of Barry, advised Rangers to move the defender on this summer, calling him “fragile”.

Balogun’s career Rangers stats

Games

109

Goals

3

Yellow cards

12

Red cards

3

Trophies

3

“I think he’ll be off. He’s done terrifically well since coming back in, but he’s 36 and injury-prone. He’s a good player, but is he someone Rangers should be looking to tie down? No. He’s done well across two spells, but no, it’s time for Leon to look elsewhere. Rangers will need to look for a younger version of Balogun – a player with pace, power and good in the air. Leon is just too fragile.”

Only once has a Women’s World Cup game seen more runs than the 661 that India and Australia put up on Sunday

Deep Gadhia12-Oct-20253:54

Review: Healy was Australia’s bedrock

331 – The target Australia chased down against India in the Women’s World Cup 2025 on Sunday. This is the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history, going past Sri Lanka’s chase of 302 against South Africa at Potchefstroom in 2024.142 – Alyssa Healy’s score, which is the third-highest by a captain in the World Cup after Belinda Clark’s 227* in 1997 and Meg Lanning’s 152* in 2017. This was Healy’s first century leading Australia in ODIs.Healy’s 142 is also the second-highest score against India in ODIs, and the highest in World Cups.Related

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661 – Runs aggregated by both teams in Visakhapatnam, the second-highest for a World Cup game, bettered only by the 678 that England and South Africa made in Bristol 2017.82 for 0 – Australia’s score in the first powerplay, the highest they have scored in the first 10 overs of an ODI (where ball-by-ball data is available). It is also the second-highest in World Cups after New Zealand hit 84 for 1 against Pakistan in Taunton in 2017.ESPNcricinfo Ltd330 – India’s score in the first innings, which is their highest in the World Cup, going past 318 for 7 against West Indies in Hamilton in 2022.It was also the first instance of a team scoring over 300 against Australia in World Cups. There have only been two scores of 300 or more against the defending champions, with India scoring both of them in consecutive ODIs, in Delhi last month and in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.5022 – Smriti Mandhana’s ODI run tally. She became the second Indian, after Mithali Raj, and the fifth batter overall to breach the 5000-run mark in ODIs. She completed the milestone in 112 innings, making her the fastest of the five. West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (129 innings) was the previous fastest.1062 – Mandhana’s ODI run tally in 2025. She became the first batter to score 1000-plus runs in ODIs in a calendar year. Mandhana had gone past Belinda Clark’s mark of 970 runs in 1997 in the previous match against South Africa and was 18 away from the milestone when she started bating against Australia. She made 80 off 66 on Sunday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – consecutive fifty-plus scores for Mandhana against Australia in ODI cricket. She has aggregated 485 runs in these last five innings, including three hundreds and two fifties. Mandhana also has five fifty-plus scores against West Indies between 2017-2024, making her the only batter to do this against multiple opponents.155 – Runs that Mandhana and Pratika Rawal put on together, making it the highest opening partnership against Australia in ODIs. This was the fourth century stand for the first wicket for India in World Cups, the first since Mandhana and Punam Raut’s 144-run stand against England in the 2017 edition.5 for 40 – Birthday girl Annabel Sutherland’s figures. She registered her maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket on the day she turned 24. She also became the first woman to pick up a five-for on her birthday.

With both KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the second Test, the hosts have to make some big selection decisions

Alagappan Muthu29-Jan-202411:42

Newsroom: How do India replace Jadeja and Rahul?

On the back of a loss to start the series, India have lost their best batter from the Hyderabad Test and one of their biggest match-winners at home to injury. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out of the second Test in Visakhapatnam which starts on Friday and India face a bit of a challenge in balancing their XI, starting with…Who is the new No. 4?Shreyas Iyer, probably. He did not cover himself in glory in the second innings – but then again none of the Indian batters did. When the loss became a possibility, the pressure seemed to get to them and the aggression that they showed that threw England spinners off their lengths in the first innings vanished. India will need someone in the top four who can do that and Iyer is as good an option as they’ve got right now. Because all of a sudden, after Rohit Sharma at the top, the experience that India can call on in their batting line-up has fallen into a crater.Who replaces JadejaKuldeep Yadav is the frontrunner. He has three five-fors in eight Tests. He has been in fine form in limited-overs cricket, displaying the very trait that is essential in the longer format – accuracy. That along with the X-factor of his wristspin made him a tempting option even in Hyderabad but India went with Axar Patel because they wanted the batting depth. Now with Jadeja out, their hand has been forced.Related

Jadeja and Rahul ruled out of second Test against England

Bumrah reprimanded for physical contact with Pope during Hyderabad Test

India slide to fifth on WTC table after defeat to England in Hyderabad

India fall short in the Hyderabad sweep-stakes

India have called up two other spinners to the squad as well – Saurabh Kumar, a veteran from domestic cricket and an ever-present in the India A squad, and Washington Sundar, a decent left-hand batter which helps when you’re playing an opposition with two left-arm spinners, one of whom has just made history.The trouble with replacing Jadeja is that he is among their best bowlers and their best batters in the recent past. Kuldeep and Saurabh will give India reliability in one discipline – at least in terms of trusting them to bowl a ton of overs – but not in the other. Washington is the other way around. He has almost as many fifties as he has wickets in Tests.Rajat Patidar vs Sarfaraz KhanPatidar would be the front-runner considering he was already in the squad as Virat Kohli’s replacement, but is there place for Sarfaraz as well in the XI? India need batting depth and those two have been on the fringes of selection for a while.Patidar is known for his big-match temperament. And Sarfaraz, who was due in Bengal to play for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy but is now another step closer to making his long-awaited international debut, tends to score lots of runs quickly. One of them is almost certain to make it to the XI in Visakhapatnam, but if India choose to replace Jadeja with Kuldeep then they might consider picking both Patidar and Sarfaraz to shore up the batting.Playing both of them, though, will mean India have to drop the fifth bowler and go with a four-man attack. Mohammed Siraj bowled only four of the 64.3 overs in the first innings and seven of 102.1 in the second, so will India borrow from England’s playbook and pick just the one fast bowler?

How Jadeja’s season has (not) shaped up with bat, ball and in the field, even as his team’s hopes of defending their title hang by a thread

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Apr-2022Ravindra Jadeja’s Chennai Super Kings kicked off their title defence against Shreyas Iyer’s Kolkata Knight Riders•BCCIMatch 1, vs KKR, March 26
KKR won by six wickets
In his debut match as captain, Jadeja laboured to an unbeaten 26 off 28 balls (strike rate 92.8). His lone boundary was a six off Andre Russell on the last ball of the innings. His 70-run partnership with MS Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings to 131 from being five down for 61 in the 11th over. During his stay at the crease, the batters at the other end scored 54 off 46 (strike rate 117.4). Though Jadeja could not take a wicket, he conceded only 25 runs in the four overs he bowled.Lucknow Super Giants’ Evin Lewis and Ayush Badoni sealed Chennai Super Kings’ fate in a high-scorer•BCCIMatch 2, vs Super Giants, March 31
Super Giants won by six wickets
Scored 17 off nine balls with three fours towards the end of Super Kings’ innings, as they piled up a big total of 210. Went wicketless again, and his two overs cost 21 runs as Lucknow Super Giants chased down the target with three balls to spare.Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu combined to send back Punjab Kings’ Liam Livingstone, but he had already done enough damage to Super Kings•BCCIMatch 3, vs Kings, April 3
Kings won by 54 runs
Got his first wicket of the season when he dismissed Liam Livingstone (via an attempted cut off a faster one that was caught at short-third man), who scored a 32-ball 60 to lead his side to 180. Bagged a 3-ball duck, chopping on off Arshdeep Singh in the sixth over, as Super Kings quickly fell out of contention in the chase.Abhishek Sharma, who drove Sunrisers Hyderabad’s chase with 75 off 50, got a life via a Jadeja drop•BCCIMatch 4, vs Sunrisers, April 9
Sunrisers won by eight wickets
Hit two fours and a six in his 15-ball 23, giving his team a strong finish – and a total of 154 to defend. Super Kings had added 37 runs in the last three overs against a quality Sunrisers death-bowling line-up. Went wicketless for the third time in four games, giving away 21 runs in the three overs bowled. Dropped Abhishek Sharma – who was on 63 off 39 at the time – off Dwayne Bravo in the 14th over when Sunrisers needed 48 off 37 balls.Maheesh Theekshana, who took a four-for to derail Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase, finally gave Jadeja and his team reasons to smile•BCCIMatch 5, vs RCB, April 12
Super Kings won by 23 runs
Was out for a first-ball duck, trying to add quick runs at the end after Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube got them past the 200-run mark. Took three wickets – including Glenn Maxwell, bowled by an arm ball that rushed him – for 39 runs, as Super Kings tasted success for the first time this season.David Miller dished out a dose of heartbreak to Jadeja and his team, timing a tricky chase to perfection•BCCIMatch 6, vs Titans, April 17
Titans won by three wickets
Scored 22 off 12 balls towards the end to lift Super Kings to 169. He struck successive sixes off Lockie Ferguson in the final over of the innings. His three overs went for 25 runs and got the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, caught at deep square leg. Titans were in trouble in the chase, needing 83 off 42, before David Miller and Rashid Khan teed off to take them home.Ravindra Jadeja had a day to forget against Mumbai Indians, but his team came out on top•BCCIMatch 7, vs Mumbai, April 21
Super Kings won by three wickets
His four overs cost 30 runs, and he failed to pick up a wicket. Dropped two catches, both off Mitchell Santner – Dewald Brevis in the second over, and Hrithik Shokeen in the 12th. Scored three runs off eight balls and got out in the 16th over, with his side needing 50 runs off 26 balls. MS Dhoni, with help from Dwaine Pretorius, eventually got the job done.Dhoni and Jadeja could not get Super Kings over the line in a chase of 188 against Kings•BCCIMatch 8, vs Kings, April 25
Kings won by 11 runs
Bowled only two overs – for 18 runs – as Kings had two well-set left-handers in Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa batting through the middle overs. Finished unbeaten on 21 off 16 balls in the unsuccessful chase. He had scored only seven runs off his first ten balls and was 14 off 14 balls by the end of the 19th over, with the team needing 27 from the last six balls. He hit a six in the 20th over, but by then the equation was out of reach.

****

The big dip in Jadeja’s batting form
Overall this season, Jadeja has scored 112 runs, averaging 22.4 at a strike rate of 121.7; in the last two IPL seasons he had scored 459 runs at an average of 57.3 and a strike rate of 157.7.Related

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Dhoni returns as Super Kings captain after Jadeja steps down

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In the middle overs (7-16), his strike rate this season has fallen to 63.1, from 93.2 in 2020 and 2021.At the death (17-20), too, his strike rate has come down from 204.8, but is still healthy at 172.5.His bowling numbers haven’t changed as much. In the previous two seasons he picked up 19 wickets at 34.9, and an economy rate of 7.7; this season, he has five wickets at 42.6 and an economy rate of 8.1.

The Braves have signed former Padres closer Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million contract, the team announced on Thursday. News of the deal was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

As part of the contract, Suarez will be donating 1% of his salary to the Atlanta Braves Foundation. Suarez will make $13 million next season and $16 million in the following two seasons.

Suarez became a free agent after the season when he opted out of the final two years of his deal with the Padres. Last season, Suarez compiled a 2.97 ERA in 70 appearances, with 40 saves in 69 and two-thirds innings pitched. He became the primary closer for the Padres in 2024, and saved 36 games that season. His 40 saves a year ago were a career-high.

He surpassed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting during his knock against India in the fourth Test

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Jul-202513,409 Runs scored by Joe Root in Test cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) has scored more in this format. Root moved up three places during his century against India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. He surpassed Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Ricky Ponting (13,378).ESPNcricinfo Ltd38 Hundreds for Root in Test cricket. Only three batters – Tendulkar (51), Kallis (45) and Ponting (41) – have more in Test cricket, while Kumar Sangakkara also has 38.Root now has 104 fifty-plus scores in Tests, surpassing Ponting and Kallis’ tally of 103. Again, only Tendulkar, with 119, have more.12 Test hundreds for Root against India, the most by any batter, going ahead of Steven Smith’s 11. Only Don Bradman (19 against England) and Sunil Gavaskar (13 against West Indies) have more Test hundreds against a particular opponent.Nine of Root’s 12 hundreds against India have come in England, the most by any batter against an opponent at home, going past Bradman’s eight against England.23 Test hundreds for Root in England, the joint-most for any batter in a country. Ponting in Australia, Kallis in South Africa and Mahela Jayawardene in Sri Lanka also have 23 each.Root has scored 7195 runs in Tests in England, the third-most by any batter in a country, behind only Ponting (7578 in Australia) and Tendulkar (7216 in India).ESPNcricinfo Ltd1128 Test runs scored by Root at Old Trafford. He is the first batter to aggregate 1000 Test runs at this venue. Old Trafford is the second venue where Root has scored 1000-plus Test runs; he has 2166 at Lord’s.588 Runs Root scored in Tests against Ravindra Jadeja so far, across 37 innings for nine dismissals. These are the most runs any batter scored in Test cricket against a bowler. He went past Steven Smith, who has 577 runs against Stuart Broad across 49 innings and was dismissed 11 times.

Things took an unexpected turn at a recent Coldplay concert thanks to their version of the Kiss Cam and now the internet is doing what the internet does. The viral story continues to twist and turn as people gawk into other's private lives. Heck, even the social media managers from the Seattle Mariners have gotten involved, capitalizing on Cal Raleigh Awareness Week.

So perhaps it wasn't surprising to see anchors Randy Scott and Gary Striewski get in on the moment during Friday's show.

Talk about an awkward way to start the Kiss It Goodbye segment. Or really the perfect way.

Maybe you got a big laugh out of this. Maybe there was absolutely no reaction. But hey, they tried something. And on the slowest sports week of the year, that's just what's going to happen.

Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play the 2027 World Cup? Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar feels it’s too early to take any calls about that event, but he has made it clear Rohit and Kohli will not be “on trial” during India’s three-match ODI series against Australia, which begins in Perth on Sunday.”Look they [Rohit and Kohli] are part of the squad at the moment for Australia,” Agarkar said during on Friday. “In two years’ time, we don’t know what the situation is going to be. So why just them two? It could be some other younger players [who might miss out on the tournament].”Related

• Shami: If I can play Ranji Trophy, I can play 50-overs

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• Axar: 'It's perfect that Rohit and Virat are here to help with the transition'

Rohit and Kohli are now ODI-only players for India, having retired from Tests and T20Is. Rohit, ahead of this Australia tour, also lost the ODI captaincy, with the baton passing on to Shubman Gill. With both senior players now in their mid-to-late 30s, and with little chance for match practice between ODI series, there is a sense that their presence in the ODI team could depend on churning out performances in every series they play.”That would be a bit silly, isn’t it, when one averages over 50 and the other averages close to 50?” Agarkar said, when this was put to him. “You are not going to put them on trial in every game. But 2027 is a long way away, both of them play one format […] they haven’t had a lot of cricket [in recent months]. Once they start playing, then you assess as you go forward.”They are not on trial, they’ve achieved all they had to achieve, not just winning trophies but runs [as well], so it’s not that if both of them don’t get runs in this series that will be the reason they won’t be there, or if they get three hundreds, [that will be] the reason they play 2027.”It’s still a long way away, we’ll see how the team shapes up, but we have some ideas, and as we go along we’ll probably have a better idea of where the team is progressing.”Rohit and Kohli retired from T20Is after helping India lift the T20 World Cup in 2024, and called time on their Test careers after the 2024-25 tour of Australia. The Test retirements came in the weeks leading up to India’s tour of England, which began in June 2025, and Agarkar said both Rohit and Kohli had wanted to make way for younger players at the start of a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The selectors, he said, were keen to have their experience in England, where Gill led the Test team for the first time. A young India team drew the five-Test series 2-2.”Both [Rohit and Kohli] have been stalwarts of Indian cricket. They felt it was a new WTC cycle, and whatever people might think or not think, that is the reality,” Agarkar said. “Both were very aware, perhaps they may not have gone [on] for those two years as Test players for the WTC cycle.”And look, England was a series where we would have loved some experience, frankly, and the performance was incredible even though we didn’t win, under a young captain, which would have always been difficult. We would have liked some experience, but they had made their decision, and once you have played for as long as they have and they are sure about what decision they want to make, to walk away from a particular format, you’ve got to respect that.”Agarkar on Shami: ‘Our domestic season has just started, and we’ll see if he’s fit enough’•PTI

On Shami: ‘My phone is always on’

The selection for the Australia tour ruffled at least one player’s feathers. Mohammed Shami, who hasn’t played for India since the Champions Trophy in March, wasn’t picked on fitness grounds; the fast bowler, who is currently playing for Bengal against Uttarakhand in the first round of the Ranji Trophy, disputed the idea that he wasn’t fit. “If I can play four-dayers [Ranji Trophy], I can also play 50-overs cricket.” Asked about this, Agarkar said the domestic season had only just begun, and that the selectors would keep an eye on Shami’s fitness as the Ranji Trophy progresses.”If he says that to me, I’ll probably answer that,” Agarkar said. “I’m not quite sure what he said on social media. Maybe if I read that, I might give him a call, but my phone is always on for most players, and I’ve had multiple chats with him over the last few months.”Look, he’s been an incredible performer for India. If he’s said something, maybe that’s a conversation for me to have with him or him to have with me, but [if he was fully fit] he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately he wasn’t, and our domestic season has just started, and we’ll see if he’s fit enough, and we’ll see where it goes, because this is the first round of Ranji games that’s going on. We’ll find out in a couple more games if he’s fit.”Look, with his quality, if he’s bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like a Shami? But what we found in the last six-eight months to a year, even leading up to the Australia tour, which we were desperate to have him on, unfortunately his fitness wasn’t there. If he does keep fit over the next few months, who knows, the story might be different. But at this point, as far as I know, he wasn’t fit enough for that England tour.”