Norwich, May 24 (IANS) Norwich City have confirmed that their first-team coach Jack Wilshere has left his role at the club by mutual agreement. The former Arsenal midfielder joined the club’s coaching staff in October 2024, leaving the north London side where he had been head coach of their Under-18s.Following the departure of Johannes Hoff Thorup, Wilshere was then made interim head coach for City’s final two games of the Championship season, which ended in a 0-0 draw against Middlesborough and a 4-2 win over Cardiff City on the final day of the season.The club decided to pull the plug on Thorup’s tenure as head coach, after having appointed the Danish coach in May 2024, after the 1-3 defeat against Millwall this season. The Canaries ended the Championship season in 13th place in the Championship, England’s second division, having won 14, drawn 14, and lost 17 of their 46 games this season.They were 11 points off the play-off spots and will be hoping to add some stability to the side, in hopes of securing their first promotion to the English top flight since their relegation at the end of the 2021-22 season.Sporting director Ben Knapper commented, “Jack made a big impact here in the time he was with us. He built great connections with our players and staff, and we’re all sad to see him move on.“We were all very grateful for him stepping in as our interim head coach for the final two games of the season, but we understand and respect his desire to further explore opportunities elsewhere.“He leaves with our very best wishes, and we’ll follow his progress closely. I’ve no doubt he’ll go on to have a very successful coaching career in the senior game.”Wilshere is said to have enjoyed his time as a head coach and is now pursuing opportunities away from Carrow Road.–IANSaaa/bsk/

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Following the news of his former disciple, Abhimanyu Easwaran getting called up to India’s Test squad for their tour of England, his childhood coach Nirmal Sengupta said he was optimistic about the right-handed batter getting a spot in the playing XI and revealed his students consider Abhimanyu as an idol and example.Abhimanyu shifted to Kolkata at the age of 10, and it was Nirmal’s tutelage that helped him grow and develop, not only as a cricketer but as a person as well. The 29-year-old stayed with his coach in the ‘Donga’ district during his time in Kolkata and often attributed his success to the coach.“Every coach dreams of his student playing for the India team. I too felt great. Abhimanyu got a place in the national team today. He has been practising with me for 10-15 years. I am very optimistic that he will get to play, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s absence, and he will give his best for the national team. He was travelling to England for the India ‘A’ series and called me earlier today to let me know he was selected.”(On his message to his students) The example is right in front of your eyes, how he was groomed to become a player for India at this very ground. For me, the idols were Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly, but for these kids, Abhimanyu Easwaran is their idol,” Nirmal Sengupta told IANS.Easwaran was a member of the Indian team during their 3-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series loss in Australia, but didn’t get to play a single game.He has scored 7674 runs in 101 first-class matches at an average of 48.87, with 27 centuries and 29 half-centuries and a highest score of 233. He has been a regular of the India A team and will captain the side for the two warm-up games against the England Lions, from May 30-June 2 in Canterbury and June 6-9 in Northampton, and one intra-squad match against the senior India Test squad being played from June 13-16 in Beckenham.–IANSaaa/bsk/

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Shubman Gill’s stature within India’s leadership group has risen meteorically over the last 12 months. Last July, following his first full-time stint as the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Gill captained India to a 4-1 victory in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.The unexpected elevation of Gill to the vice-captaincy for the Sri Lanka tour was followed by retaining that role for the home series against England and ultimately in the 2025 Champions Trophy triumph. Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the longer format this month, Gill emerged as the primary front-runner for the Test captaincy.The appointment received official confirmation when chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced him as India’s 37th Test captain on Saturday. Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Gill’s mentor, friend, and former teammate from their Ranji Trophy days with Punjab, believes Gill’s appointment as India’s Test captain is a ‘very big thing’.“When you see ahead of such a big tour, a young captain like him is appointed to the role, then it shows they have faith in Shubman and confidence in his leadership abilities. That is why they have given such a huge responsibility on the young shoulders of somebody like Shubman. The Indian team think-tank also believes that he can do that.”“As much as I know of Shubman, he has got a very stable head on his shoulders and will handle these captaincy things very well. We are all very happy. The hard work that he has put in for so many years, the persistence with which he has worked, the setbacks he has faced, all of that is being rewarded. I really hope that he will do well for India in this new role,” said Gurkeerat in an exclusive conversation with IANS on Saturday.While Gurkeerat knew the Test captaincy rumours were intensifying, neither he nor Gill broached the subject in their conversations. Having played alongside Gill in the Gujarat Titans IPL 2022 winning team, Gurkeerat noted how the right-handed batter seemed driven to make a statement in the ongoing season.“He wasn’t that focused on Test captaincy talks happening, as at this point in time, his focus is on the current IPL campaign because that is also a very important tournament right now. Now, when I see him leading GT, I thought he had a point to prove in this IPL.”“Everyone dreams of becoming the India captain, and right now he is leading Gujarat very well. Hopefully, he will do well in the rest of the tournament as well, because the results are right now in front of everyone to see,” he added.Further questioned about their feeling about Gill having a point to prove, Gurkeerat elaborated, “As everybody knows, there is a lot of pressure when you are representing India. Especially in today’s time, when social media has become so much involved, it then puts a lot of pressure on Shubman amongst all youngsters – that everybody is looking forward to him and sees how he will take his career forward.”“The transition that we have seen in him now (from last year to this year) has been great. Like when Shubman came to the team as a youngster, whatever his hard work or his work ethic was at that time, everyone now says that he has a very good work ethic. He has also become more disciplined in his life, and all these things collectively are giving him these good results.”Gurkeerat first met Gill when he was a bright-eyed kid in Mohali, after having relocated from Chak Jaimal Singh Wala village in Punjab’s Fazilka district. His burning ambition was to make a career out of what he loved doing the most – batting. Alongside Gill on this path was his father, Lakhwinder, who made sure the young kid had a strong batting foundation and access to Mohali’s top-notch facilities.Gurkeerat remembers Gill’s quiet and reserved personality, but also his unwavering passion and consistent hard work from the outset. “Every day, day in, and day out – the hard work that he has done and his uncle has put in, he is getting the reward now. When he came to the Punjab setup, immediately did well immediately because in junior cricket because he had a very good base and performed well for the India U19 team.”“He was making big runs in junior cricket, and when he came into the senior team, instantly he started performing. All the seniors in the Punjab team felt amazing that a new boy was doing so well. He scored a hundred in just his second match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2017. Since then, he has been a set batter and whenever he is in a team, he performs well.”Gurkeerat added that Gill’s career advancement has only intensified his dedication towards the game. “His work ethic has been the same, but hard work has not decreased. It has been increasing. Even now, if you talk to anyone from the Gujarat Titans, he is batting for two hours in the nets before every game.”“So, his hunger and passion for the game, as well as performing for India, are just increasing. Now, with the added responsibility of Test captaincy, I am definitely sure he is more focused on the game. In his entire practice session, the main thing is, how much he feels that he can work on either this or that thing, or according to wickets, because nowadays, matches are held on different wickets.”“So, according to that, he thinks which shots I can practice more? He then goes about it in his full-fledged net sessions, 1.5-2 hours of proper batting. Some players bat less, while some just knock it around. But Shubman always loves to bat in a long net session before any game.”Playing in and around Mohali’s PCA Stadium as a youngster spurred Gill’s determination to play for India someday. As India’s newest Test captain, Gill, 25, will face a difficult trial by fire on the England tour starting on June 20.As a leader who’s still developing and is far from perfect article, Gill will be learning the intricacies of Test captaincy on the job, as well as aiming to improve his underwhelming overseas batting record, and deciding if he still wishes to bat at number three.This is a time of both challenge and exhilaration in Indian Test cricket, and Gurkeerat feels Gill’s meteoric rise in the leadership group over the past 12 months would propel him to lead the revamped Test team to great success in the future.“We have seen that the next generation of players are stepping up after the retirement of legends. So, it’s altogether a very young team. I just hope that this generation of players carries Indian Test cricket forward. The passion Shubman has for playing Test cricket, he will take the team to bigger heights, just like the way Virat Kohli did when leading the team.”–IANSnr/bsk/

Manchester, May 24 (IANS) Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim believes that the many number of changes, both on and off the field, that the Red Devils have gone through in the past six months is the reason behind the club’s worst-ever finish in the league.United’s 0-1 loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that they will not be playing any European competition in 2025/26. Amorim believes the result was ‘harsh’ and his team were the better side on the night.”It was really tough, it still is really tough. I think it was harsh for us to lose that game. I think we were the better team, and we created more chances. We suffered a goal near half-time and tried everything in the second half, but it was really hard because, like I said before the match, if you don’t win the final, it’s really harder to deal with that,” said Amorim in his final pre-game conference of the season.The Portuguese head coach replaced Erik Ten Hag as the head coach in December and tried to change United’s style of playing football, with his preferred three-at-the-back performance, which did not prove to be fruitful. Amorim is looking to recover after a long season and will be looking to improve United’s current trajectory in the coming year.”I think these six months were really hard, a lot of changes, not just for me, but for all of the club. We did so many changes inside the club, sometimes it takes like five years or three years to change all the personnel and a lot of things. We changed coaches in the middle of the season, and we changed the way we play.”It was a really tough season. Now it’s the part we need to enjoy, to focus on the future and be positive. We know what to do, I know how I want to play, that is clear. With all the mistakes you guys point to me, I know how I want to play, and that is the exciting moment we can change something,” he added.Ahead of the final game of the season, against Aston Villa on Sunday, Amorim revealed he will be looking to rest players so ‘he does not compromise’ next season with injuries.”No, there are some situations, like Leny. We have to be careful. We had that in the last [home] game before the final, I think it was West Ham, on his foot. We’re going to take care of some situations so as not to compromise next season. The rest, we want to win the game, so we are going to put a squad together,” Amorim said.–IANSaaa/bsk/

Jaipur, May 24 (IANS) Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field first against Punjab Kings in match 66 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.Sediqullah Atal will be making his debut for Delhi Capitals, whereas Karun Nair too is back in the XI. For Punjab Kings, Marcus Stoinis and Josh Inglis make a comeback.Delhi Capitals captain Faf du Plessis said, “We will have a bowl. I think today it is 50-50. Just the make up of the side. We are playing an extra batter. It helps while chasing. It has been very frustrating. We started well. Then went on a roller coaster. We have played enough T20 cricket to understand. We played well in the last game for the first 17 overs. Then lost focus. We are playing for the fifth spot. We had our goals to get into top four.”Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said, “Defintely happy faces. I am not satisfied and content. We want to build momentum from here. Each and every individual is performing for the team. Job half done as of now. Important to stay in the present and seize every possible chance. Inglis and Stoinis come back into the side.”Playing XIs:Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis(c), Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs(w), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh KumarImpact Substitutes: KL Rahul, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurna Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Darshan NalkandePunjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep SinghImpact Substitutes: Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Kyle Jamieson, Xavier Bartlett –IANShs/

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) “Dear cricket, give me one more chance”: On December 10,…

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has called India’s Test squad for the upcoming England tour “strange” but urged fans to show patience as Shubman Gill takes over the red-ball captaincy during what he termed a “massive transition”.India will play five Tests against England starting June 20, marking the beginning of a new era following the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the longest format.“Strange team selection overall. But India go to England with nothing to lose. It’s a team in transition, so we can only wish it the very best & yes, be patient when it comes to returns on investment,” Manjrekar posted on social media.Gill, 25, now becomes India’s fifth-youngest Test captain, joining the elite list of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, and Ravi Shastri. His leadership skills were already on display in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he led Gujarat Titans to the playoffs. His Test captaincy debut, however, comes in the cauldron of English conditions.Joining Gill in the revamped squad are promising left-hander Sai Sudharsan, comeback man Karun Nair, and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who receives his maiden Test call-up. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan welcomed the selections while lamenting the absence of pace spearhead Mohammed Shami due to injury.“Many Congratulations to Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep Singh, Karun Nair for being selected for the ultimate format and the challenging English summer.”However, he added a note of caution about the absence of injured pace spearhead Mohammed Shami, whose skill and experience could have been vital in seaming English conditions. “Congratulations to Shubman Gill… But surely India is going to miss Mohammed Shami’s services in those conditions,” Pathan noted.Gill has received a wave of support from former players like Harbhajan Singh and IPL franchises, including his own Gujarat Titans. Harbhajan Singh tweeted, “Congratulations @ShubmanGill. Good luck in England.”IPL franchises also celebrated Gill’s new role. Royal Challengers Bengaluru tweeted: “Congratulations, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, it’s your time to shine the brightest. Go on, build your legacy!”His own franchise, Gujarat Titans, posted proudly, “Ek naye Test era ka-aarambh! Our Captain, now #TeamIndia’s Test Skipper!”–IANShs/bsk/

Diu, May 24 (IANS) Odisha Women picked up their first gold of the competition after a tough fight from Gujarat while Kerala men were too good for Goa in the beach soccer competitions of the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2025.Played under lights side by side at the beautiful Ghoghla Beach in Diu in front of hundreds of loud spectators, both the matches in the men’s and women’s categories proved to be worthy of being finals.However, the contests on Friday evening kicked off in a contrasting manner.Odisha women looked to run away with two early goals against Gujarat women who appeared to have the support of local spectators, the large part of the crowd which also was dancing to the Garba and Bollywood tunes in the company of Pearls – dolphins — mascots for the Games.Kerala and Goa, on the other hand, were slogging it out in the men’s final. It was competitive, to say the least. Kerala looked a slightly better team in initial exchanges but as the match wore on, they grandly stamped their authority.After the first period ended at 2-1 in their favour, Kerala upped the ante in the next and in the blink of an eye ran away to a 10-3 lead to put it beyond their Goan rivals.Kerala went on to win the contest 12-4 to clinch the gold. Muhseer T. and Rohith Yesudas scored four and three goals each, respectively.On the other arena, just when Odisha women looked on their way to a comfortable win, Gujarat, against all expectations, staged an extraordinary comeback.In the third and final period, with Gujarat trailing 3-0, Shaikh Naaz breathed a lot of life into the match by scoring a brace in less than a minute and making it 3-2. Bhumisha Dravid then had a great chance to make it 3-3 in the dying moments of the match but to the disappointment of the large part of the crowd, she couldn’t finish it.In the end, Odisha were still leading 3-2, and thus they sealed the gold medal. They had put together the squad under coach Gitanjali Khuntia only a couple of weeks before the Khelo India Beach Games 2025.Captain Jasoda Munda, who led her troops with great aplomb with two goals, was ecstatic after guiding Odisha to their first gold of the 2025 Khelo India Beach Games.”It’s a moment of great pride for us to win our first gold here. In the match, we started well but then the opponents figured out our positions and marked us very well. It was a close affair,” said Jasoda.Kerala coach Aji Raj was also thrilled for his team. “Leading up to the Beach Games, we practiced only five days. This bunch has been playing together since 2021, so there is a lot of understanding between them. Last month, they won the National Championship in Delhi. It was a great effort from the boys, they all played like a team,” he said.Results:MenGold: Kerala, Silver: Goa, Bronze: Lakshadweep and MaharashtraWomenGold: Odisha, Silver: Gujarat, Bronze: Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.–IANSbsk/

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Ahead of selecting India’s 18-member squad for the five-match tour of England, one of the biggest question marks was whether Mohammed Shami will be available for the trip starting on June 20.On Saturday, chief selector Ajit Agarkar cleared the air by stating that Shami is not fit for the series, leaving a big void in India’s fast bowling scheme of things in England. Shami’s last Test was the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June 2023, but he hasn’t had a chance to play Tests again.Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed at the BCCI HQ that Shami’s fitness issues and inability to be fit for Test match bowling workload meant he missed out on the England tour selection. Agarkar, though, didn’t specify the nature of Shami’s recent fitness setback, which in turn has prevented him from bowling for a longer time.“He’s been trying to get fit for the series, of course, but I think he’s had a little bit of a setback over the last week or so, and he’s got some MRIs done. I don’t think he was going to be able to play five Tests, and at the moment, I don’t think his workload is where it needs to be. So it’s just the medical guys who have told us that he’s been ruled out of this series.”“Unfortunately, we were hoping that he’s available for some part of the series at least, but if he’s not fit at the moment, it’s very difficult to keep waiting. So, it’s rather planned with the guys who are fit and available. It’s unfortunate – a bowler like him – you always want to try and pick, but at the moment he’s not fit to be picked,” he said.After undergoing ankle surgery to solve a long-standing Achilles issue in February 2024, Shami was on track to recover and be available for the home series against New Zealand. But a right knee swelling, despite making a comeback to the game via the Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, meant that Shami was ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.Though Shami was back to playing T20Is and ODIs against England at home earlier this year before featuring in India’s victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign, where he took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh, the veteran pacer was far from his convincing best for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025 – seen from him picking only six wickets at an average of 56.16 and economy rate of 11.23 in nine matches.Sources have told IANS that the BCCI medical team was in Lucknow on May 22 to assess the bowling fitness of Shami and Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of SRH’s game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 23. While the assessment of Nitish, who has recently been given a go-ahead with the ball by SRH, was positive, it wasn’t the same for Shami.“Shami was asked to increase his bowling load and play at least one India A game, but it didn’t happen as the medical team found that his fitness levels are not up to the mark to play consistently on a tough and long tour in England. Hence, he didn’t find a place in the squad,” added the sources.Shami had been part of India’s last three Test tours of England in 2014, 2018 and 2021, respectively. In 14 Tests in England, Shami picked 42 wickets at an average of 40.50. His best-ever showing on a tour of England was in 2018 when he picked up 16 wickets in five games.With left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh picked for the England series, fitness issues and insufficient bowling load have meant that Shami’s future in the Indian Test team is now on a sticky wicket.–IANSnr/bsk/

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Identifying the Northeast as a powerhouse of sports talent, the Central Government, through the Sports Ministry, will start massive talent identification and promotion schemes, including organising annual multi-discipline sports competitions to help strengthen the sports ecosystem of the region.Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said that the central government is fully committed to strengthening the sports ecosystem in the region through multiple initiatives, including hosting Khelo India Northeast Games in one of the 8 Northeast states every year. These states include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.The Union Sports Minister announced this while addressing a large gathering during the Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday.Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said people knew Northeast as the region of India’s first sunrise but in the 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, the Northeast is taking strong strides towards development. He said that Northeast is continuously contributing towards the development of ‘Naya Bharat’.With the target of hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and the Summer Olympics in 2036, the Sports Minister said that a country as vast as India is a perfect place for organising international competitions throughout the year.Elaborating on this he said that currently, India is experiencing three seasons – monsoon in Southern India, snowfall in areas in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, and summer heat in Western India. According to him, India was the best choice for ‘Play in India’ like the ‘Make in India’ initiative by PM Modi.“The way the Northeast is undergoing transformation, the sports goods industry and sports ecosystem are developing, the day is not far when the world will converge in the Northeast to play. Today, India’s best athletes are coming from the Northeast. They are representing India in top international competitions and taking Indian sports forward.”In line with the Khelo India Youth Games and University Games, we will be staging the Khelo India Northeast Games here every year, which will not only help us scout talent and harness potential but also provide a platform to showcase our traditional games as well,” Dr Mandaviya said.Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said the sports infrastructure in the Northeast has increased exponentially, with 86 projects currently in use. Under the Khelo India scheme, Rs 439 crore was sanctioned in 2021 for 64 sports infrastructure projects across the Northeast region. These include synthetic turfs, multipurpose halls, swimming pools, and hostels.The Sports Minister said the region is home to 152 Khelo India Centres (KICs), which are training more than 8000 athletes, and 8 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs) that are paving the way for a robust grassroots ecosystem. As of now, three National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) in Guwahati, Itanagar, and Imphal are providing world-class training to 600 athletes.Giving an example of Khelo India’s flagship scheme for women, the Sports Minister said that around 13,000 girls from the Northeast competed in the ASMITA League across various disciplines last year. This was enough proof of how the region is gradually becoming a good nursery of talent that will provide a strong bench strength for the national team later, the Ministry informed in a release on Saturday.Dr. Mandaviya also informed that the Government will be starting a massive talent identification drive across the sub-continent where anyone can shoot a video of a player’s performance and send it to the Sports Ministry by uploading it on the National Sports Repository System (NSRS) portal.SAI will send talent scouts to the location of the event, and after assessing the performance of the athlete will induct him in either the Khelo India Centre or NCOE, depending on their potential.The Northeast region hosted the Khelo India University Games Ashtalakshmi in 2023. It was a landmark moment showcasing Northeast’s capability to host large-scale national events in disciplines like athletics, football, boxing, and archery.–IANSbsk/