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Ruben Dias was fiercely critical of Manchester City's defending in their 2-0 defeat by Tottenham after they conceded an embarrassing second goal.

Defender furious with team-matesGonzalez robbed after Trafford pass'We didn't react best way' – DiasFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

City had made a strong start to the game but were rattled by Brennan Johnson scoring against the run of play. And later in the first half they fell further behind after conceding seconds after being awarded a goal kick.

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Dias gave the ball to 'keeper Trafford from the goal kick and the new signing from Burnley gave it to Nico Gonzalez, who was immediately dispossessed by Pape Matar Sarr in his own penalty area. It led to Joao Palhinha scoring and the Portuguese defender could not believe what happened.

WHAT DIAS SAID

"The second goal is unfortunate, it cannot happen," Dias told . "We chased but there was a lot of things to do better. Not everything was good in our first game and not everything is bad now so we have to get back to work. Spurs are a team who can be very dangerous, they started the game very well. We didn't react the best way in sticking to our game." 

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DID YOU KNOW?

Trafford's error has put renewed focus on City's goalkeeper situation amid Galatasaray's interest in Ederson and the potential for Pep Guardiola's side to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma. Asked why Trafford had started for the second week running after impressing in the 4-0 win over Wolves, Guardiola said: "He made a good first game, James, and I decided to continue. When I take decisions in the first part of the season everyone thinks okay this is the starting line up and these are the players who are going to play, but everybody will play. It was just today I decided that."

Marc Guehi’s farewell video at Crystal Palace has been leaked, with the England international missing out on a transfer to Liverpool.

Reds agreed package for England defenderDeadline passed without deal being doneEagles skipper into final year of his contractFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 25-year-old centre-half saw a £35 million ($47m) switch to Anfield agreed on deadline day. He was poised to undergo a medical and link up with the Premier League champions, but a deal never got done before the deadline passed.

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Oliver Glasner is said to have played a part in that, with the Eagles boss threatening to walk away if he lost another prized asset in a window that had already seen Eberechi Eze sold to London rivals Arsenal. He eventually got his wish.

DID YOU KNOW?

Palace were, however, primed for Guehi’s departure. A video has been released online that features a montage of the defender’s best moments at Selhurst Park – including goals and a historic FA Cup triumph in May 2025. 

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TELL ME MORE

The video in question ends with the Eagles saying “thank you Skip”, but they will get the chance to work with Guehi for the foreseeable future. There is still the chance, though, that he will depart within the next 12 months.

The draw for the Europa League league phase has taken place and delivered tricky ties ahead for Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Celtic and Rangers.

Europa League league phase draw completedForest will face Malmo in repeat of '79 finalVilla draw Feyenoord, Roma to play both Glasgow clubsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Europa League draw has delivered some mouth-watering ties for the British clubs involved in this season's competition. Unai Emery's Nottingham Forest will face Malmo, in a repeat of the victorious 1979 European Cup final. Forest will also play Porto and Real Betis. Elsewhere, Aston Villa have been drawn against Feyenoord, Fenerbahce and Bologna. And Roma will visit Glasgow twice in the league phase after being drawn against Celtic and Rangers. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHO HAVE THE BRITISH TEAMS DRAWN?

ASTON VILLA: Salzburg (H), Feyenoord (A), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (H), Fenerbahce (A), Young Boys (H), Basel (A), Bologna (H) and Go Ahead Eagles (A).

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Porto (H), Real Betis (A), Ferencvaros (H), Braga (A), Midtjylland (H), Sturm Graz (A), Malmo (H) and Utrecht (A).

RANGERS: Roma (H), Porto (A), Braga (H), Ferencvaros (A), Ludogorets (H), Sturm Graz (A), Genk (H) and Brann (A).

CELTIC: Roma (H), Feyenoord (A), Braga (H), Red Star Belgrade (A), Sturm Graz (H), Midtjjylland (A), Utrecht (H) and Bologna (A).

WHO WILL TOP EUROPEAN TEAMS PLAY?

ROMA: Lille (H), Rangers (A), Viktoria Plzen (H), Celtic (A), Midtjylland (H), Nice (A), Stuttgart (H), Panathinaikos (A). 

PORTO: Rangers (H), Salzburg (A), Red Star Belgrade (H), Viktoria Plzen (A), Nice (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Malmo (H), Utrecht (A).  

FEYENOORD: Aston Villa (H), Real Betis (A), Celtic (H), Braga (A), Sturm Graz (H), FCSB (A), Panathinaikos (H), Stuttgart (A). 

LILLE: Dinamo (H), Roma (A), PAOK (H), Red Star Belgrade (A), Freiburg (H), Young Boys (A), Brann (H), Celta (A). 

DINAMO: Real Betis (H), Lille (A), Fenerbahce (H), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (A), FCSB (H), Midtjylland (A), Celta (H), Malmo (A). 

REAL BETIS: Feyenoord (H), Dinamo (A), Lyon (H), PAOK (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Ludogorets (A), Utrecht (H), Genk (A).

SALZBURG: Porto (H), Aston Villa (A), Ferencvaros (H), Lyon (A), Basel (H), Freiburg (A), Go Ahead Eagles (H), Bologna (A). 

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

So, we know who the teams will face in the Europa League league phase, but the exact fixture dates and times will be confirmed on Sunday. 

Lorcan Tucker will be the new vice-captain

Mohammad Isam26-Mar-2023Ireland have rested their regular captain Andy Balbirnie for the T20I series against Bangladesh. Paul Stirling, Balbirnie’s deputy, will lead the side, while Lorcan Tucker will be the new vice-captain.”Andrew was due to take a break from the ODI series against Sri Lanka next month to concentrate on preparation for the upcoming Tests and the all-important World Cup Super League series in May,” head coach Heinrich Malan said. “With the Sri Lankan ODI series now being converted to a second Test Match, he will now be rested from this T20I series instead.”We flagged before the tour that there may be an element of player rotation this year due to the anticipated volume of cricket we will be playing. I see it as an essential part of squad and player management that we give our leading players adequate downtime for their physical and mental health. Such rotation also allows us to broaden the talent pool by enabling a wider group of players first team opportunities.”Related

Hathurusingha wants to give Bangladesh's players 'psychological safety'

Ireland come into Bangladesh T20s with plenty of ground to make up

Stirling has previously captained Ireland in six T20Is – all in 2019. Of those six, Ireland won two and lost four.This has been a difficult tour so far for the visitors, who lost the ODI series 2-0, with Bangladesh recording their biggest wins in terms of runs and wickets in those two games. The abandoned second ODI saw the home side notch up their highest ODI total.The T20Is are on March 27, 29 and 31 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. All matches start at 2.00pm local time.

Manchester United could earn a bonus of £100m if they beat Spurs in the Europa League final but will wave goodbye to the funds almost immediately.

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Red Devils up against Tottenham in BilbaoHuge game for both clubs after poor domestic campaignsYet funds will disappear immediately for UnitedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Devils are aiming to earn a poor season in style on Wednesday by beating Spurs to win the Europa League and secure a place in next season's Champions League. Such a situation would earn the winning team a tidy bonus of £100m (€118m/$133m) but United would have to "kiss it goodbye" almost immediately, according to the .

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United are currently on course to lose £100m this financial year, meaning any Europa League jackpot will vanish straightaway. Wall Street analysts are forecasting the club will announce a third-quarter loss of £40m shortly and estimate their current debts sit at an eye-watering £1bn.

DID YOU KNOW?

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously claimed Manchester United could have "gone by bust by Christmas," although those comments have been described as "very disingenuous" by football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

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GOALWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD

Wednesday's Europa League final has been billed as a game that neither Manchester United nor Tottenham can afford to lose. Both teams have endured disastrous Premier League seasons but know victory will provide a trophy and a lucrative place in the 2025-26 Champions League.

Atletico Madrid are set to meet with Chelsea in an effort to speed up talks as they look to sign Renato Veiga this summer.

Atleti keen on VeigaDefender impressed on loan at JuveBlues want to replace with HatoFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea have been splashing the cash once again this season but are looking to combat their purchases with a number of sales – including Veiga's to Atletico Madrid. The Blues are believed to want £40-45million for the young defender, a price Atleti have so far been reluctant to meet. However, the Spanish side have scheduled a new round of talks in an effort to find a breakthrough and get a deal over the line.

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Should Chelsea manage to offload Veiga for a reasonable price, it would open the door for them to sign Jorrel Hato from Ajax. The Blues have opened talks with the Dutch club, who value their defender at £60m.

DID YOU KNOW?

Veiga spent the second half of the 2025-26 campaign on loan at Juventus, where he made 13 Serie A appearances. He only joined Chelsea a year ago but is already set to be moved up with the Premier League side aiming higher.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR VEIGA?

Veiga may have to wait a little while longer to get his move away from London, as Atleti continue to drive Chelsea's price down. Their interest comes after failing to lure Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero to the club, with Spurs refusing to enter negotiations over a deal.

Bowlers from both sides put up a big show at a traditionally high-scoring venue, but the class and experience of Kohli and Karthik sealed the deal in the end

Ashish Pant25-Mar-20241:46

Rapid fire review: A 10/10 innings from Virat Kohli

A Virat Kohli masterclass in a tricky chase at a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. A last-over thriller. An RCB win.Everything that Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans would have wanted from their team’s first home game of the season, they got it. In spades. But, it didn’t come without a scare.For the longest time, Kohli – the king of the chase – had things under control. Chasing 177, he had the crowd dancing to his tune as he smashed the Punjab Kings bowlers all around the park for a 49-ball 77.Till he didn’t.Harpreet Brar’s frugal spell of 2 for 13 after Kagiso Rabada’s two-wicket burst in the powerplay had RCB in a bind. The crowd was silenced. Were RCB going to become the first team this IPL to lose a home game?Enter finisher Dinesh Karthik.His bio says he is 38. He is! But you wouldn’t believe that seeing him move around the crease, and up and down the pitch. With RCB requiring 47 off 22, Karthik walked in and smoked an unbeaten 28 off ten balls, with three fours and two sixes, to take RCB over the line with four balls to spare.Virat Kohli did the early scoring in RCB’s chase and ended with a 49-ball 77•BCCIA Kohli special for the Chinnaswamy to rememberBut, it so nearly wasn’t.Striding out to bat with a vociferous crowd behind him, Kohli took strike. Sam Curran got the ball to tail away from him first ball. It took a thick edge and went to short third. The next ball, Curran went closer, inviting a drive. Kohli took the bait and got a thick edge but the ball went too fast for Bairstow to react at first slip and burst through his hands. That was just the luck Kohli needed. He drove Curran through the covers next ball, then clipped him past short fine-leg, before creaming a half-volley through the covers to make it 16 runs off the first over.Rabada then came on but Kohli was in no mood to show any respect, haring down the track and slamming him over cover. Kohli then took on Arshdeep Singh, thumping him for three fours in an over to race to 33 off 15 balls, the most runs he has scored in the first 15 balls ever in a T20 innings. Eight fours in his first 15 balls. Kohli was away, RCB were away.Harpreet Brar bowled brilliantly, keeping RCB quiet and picking up wickets at the same time•Associated PressRCB slow down, courtesy Brar and RabadaRabada got among the wickets first. He accounted for Faf du Plessis – the third time in three IPL innings – and then had Cameron Green edging behind with Jitesh Sharma taking a good low catch.The real squeeze, though, was applied by Harpreet Brar and he did it with his length.Four overs, 13 runs, two wickets and that’s while Kohli was on a rampage.Sixteen of the 24 balls Brar bowled were on a length. From quite high up. He kept the speed on the quicker side, and more importantly, didn’t give the batters a chance to get under the ball. Both his wickets came off balls bowled at a length.Rajat Patidar, frustrated at not getting anything away, went back to a flatter delivery looking for a hoick to the leg side, but missed and looked back to see his stumps in a mess. Glenn Maxwell then tried to open the off side up but was undone by an arm ball, and could only get an under-edge back on to his stumps. Brar did not concede a single boundary in his four-over spell. In fact, he only went for one double. The rest of it was all singles.Dinesh Karthik lived up to his billing as a cool finisher•BCCIThe scare and the finishKohli, meanwhile, reached his 100th 50-plus score in T20 cricket. But the required rate was soaring. He got two fours away off Harshal but fell soon after with his slash reaching only as far as deep third. Anuj Rawat fell two balls later and the equation suddenly seemed to be going out of hand for RCB.Karthik, though, found an ally in Mahipal Lomror, the impact sub. Lomror clipped Curran past short fine-leg for four first ball and then slammed Arshdeep for a six and four next over. Karthik took over after that as Harshal Patel leaked 13 off the penultimate over. With ten to win in the final over, Karthik brought out the scoop first ball against Arshdeep for six. A wide followed, before Karthik aced the chase with a hit over the bowler’s head.The Chinnaswamy went delirious, and so did the RCB changeroom.But there were big performances in the first half of the match too.1:29

Yash Dayal was ‘absolutely phenomenal’ in powerplay – McClenaghan

Yash Dayal puts the brakes on in the powerplayBefore Monday, Yash Dayal had played only one game at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in his T20 career. That was last season against RCB when he was with Gujarat Titans. He didn’t have the best of times finishing with 1 for 39 off his four overs.But on the day, or night, Dayal was on the money.He bowled three overs in the powerplay and went for just ten runs, conceding only one four.Mohammed Siraj was picked up for a four first ball of the innings, and then conceded two more against Jonny Bairstow, but he had the last laugh. Bairstow took a swipe at a length ball, only to get a top-edge that ballooned straight up.Dayal kept things tight at the other end, even if he didn’t get wickets.It was that Test-match length that did the job for him. He kept the ball short of a good length 12 out of 18 times in the first six overs, and went for just four runs with those. There was not a lot of swing on offer, but he made sure to keep the ball as close to the batter, and found just a hint of movement, not giving room to the batters to swing. The Kings batters could only manage 40 for 1 in the first six overs.1:07

‘Punjab Kings’ tactics an absolute disaster’

RCB chip away with the ballNone of the Kings batters were able to convert their starts into anything substantial. Shikhar Dhawan scored 45 but took 37 balls for it. Prabhsimran Singh got 25, Jitesh 27, Liam Livingstone 17. And that hurt them as RCB kept chipping away.Maxwell picked up two wickets in the middle over, while Siraj also got two and it seemed Kings would fall well short of a par score, which is quite high at the venue. But Shashank Singh clobbered Alzarri Joseph for two sixes and a four in the last over to take Kings to a respectable total, even if it seemed a bit below par at the halfway stage. And that’s how it turned out to be.

After a string of low scores, Jones’ new mindset saw her score match-winning 92 not out against New Zealand

Valkerie Baynes01-Apr-2024Amy Jones really wanted to be there at the end and, fortunately for England, she was.After a string of single-figure scores, Jones re-evaluated her mental approach to batting and the result was an unbeaten 92 which led England to victory over New Zealand in the opening match of their ODI series in Wellington. This was when the tourists had collapsed to 79 for 6.”A tricky situation talk out into, and over the last week, to be honest, I’ve had some good reflections on areas that I want to improve in terms of being there at the end,” Jones said. “It’s something that I feel like I’ve fallen short at over a period of time. So I just put a bit of thought into it, really, a bit of work around my mental game. For that to pay off today, it ranked quite highly, I’d say.”Related

Beaumont 81 sets up win as England go 2-0 up

Jones and Dean flip the script as England win from 79 for 6

England were 58 for 5 when Jones walked to the middle and, when Amelia Kerr bowled Danni Wyatt for just 16 it looked like New Zealand could well defend a modest total of 207 after Kate Cross, Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean had combined to bowl the hosts out inside 49 overs.But Jones and Dean shared a record 130-run partnership – the highest for the seventh wicket in women’s ODIs – to see their side to victory with Dean not out on 42. Without run-rate pressure, the fact that the pair was able to accumulate without taking risks was key to their success and, incidentally, formed the crux of Jones’ new mindset after scores of 2, 9, 6 and 6 not out in her previous four innings as England beat New Zealand 4-1 on the T20I leg of the tour.”Firstly, it was just recognising where my mind was going in those past situations and there’s definitely an element of feeling like I needed to force a boundary and get ahead of the rate,” Jones said. “So with those reflections, realising that I don’t need to do that, I play at my best when I’m reacting to the ball, so that doesn’t change depending on the situation. Today me and Deano especially, we were just constantly saying, ‘One ball at a time,’ and just reacting, just kept in the moment, which was good. I thought we played with freedom and did what we set out to.”Amy Jones and Charlie Dean stitched an unbroken 130-run stand to lift England•Getty ImagesAmelia Kerr – standing in as New Zealand captain for Sophie Devine, who is recovering from a quad strain she suffered during the fourth T20I – praised the England duo.”We knew we had to take wickets to win and we did that and then Amy Jones and Charlie Dean had a great partnership and we couldn’t find a way to break it,” Amelia Kerr said. “We’ve got to look at ways how we can break that moving forward, but also you have to say ‘well played’ to them. I thought they were outstanding. Charlie Dean did her role and supported Amy Jones and Amy Jones showed her class and got a big score and it just shows when someone bats through and bats deep, that often wins teams games. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anyone today do that for us.”The fight was outstanding. To have them four down and six down for not many I thought gave us a real sniff and we were probably one wicket away from winning that game. Good international teams bat deep and they know how to build partnerships and they absorb pressure and they formed that partnership and unfortunately, we couldn’t find the breakthrough. I thought they played really well. But definitely up top, the character of the fight and the energy was outstanding to get quality players out early and give us a real chance.”

‘Over the last week, to be honest, I’ve had some good reflections on areas that I want to improve in terms of being there at the end.’

Now 1-0 down in the three-match series ahead of Thursday’s second game in Hamilton and having seen how it worked for England, Amelia Kerr indicated her side would discuss building partnerships as a way of turning their fortunes around. Suzie Bates and Bernadine Bezuidenhout shared an opening stand worth 90 but a middle-order collapse of 4 for 20 proved costly for the White Ferns.”We didn’t get a big enough partnership with the bat, so that’s a big one for us,” Amelia Kerr said. “We’ve got to be pretty happy with our effort with the ball, especially up top, maybe in the middle, obviously that one wicket, but yeah, I think it’s just partnerships with the bat is key. They showed what you can do when you get yourself in.”Cross was hugely impressive for England, bowling a tight six-over spell to begin with and claiming 2 for 24, including the wickets of Georgia Plimmer and, crucially, Amelia Kerr. That was after playing only a Test in India in December and one match for England A against New Zealand A last week since September.Jones said: “It’s one of Crossy’s strengths, she knows what she’s good at and she can repeat it over and over and she’s been very consistent for us for a number of years now. So to see her come in and I’m sure she would’ve been feeling some nerves, having not played in a while, but we couldn’t tell and the way that she was bowling was right up there with her best.”

England name Udal and Loudon in squad for Pakistan tour

Andrew Miller19-Sep-2005

Shaun Udal: back in favour after 11 years on the England sidelines © Getty Images
England have taken so many leaves out of Australia’s book in recent years that they have plagiarised the entire volume, but the latest copycat act in their bid for world domination is one that will raise a few eyebrows. The stand-out member of the 17-man squad to tour Pakistan, which was unveiled at Lord’s this morning, is a 36-year-old spinner and Hampshire captain whose zenith arguably came in the mid-1990s.Shane Warne has spent the best part of the summer demonstrating that age should be no barrier when you are unequivocally the best man for the job, but as David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, tacitly suggested, Shaun Udal’s recall to the England squad, owes more to the shortcomings of others than to his own irresistible form. Eleven long years after he sunk without trace on England’s Ashes campaign of 1994-95, Udal’s figures of 36 wickets in ten first-class matches this season is worthy, but hardly world-beating.To be damned with such faint praise has long been the lot of the English spinner. Nasser Hussain’s favourite moan, in the latter years of his tenure, was that his attack suffered from a lack of “mystery” when compared with the wiles of Warne and his contemporaries from the subcontinent. And following the Ashes defeat at Lord’s in July, Ashley Giles hit back at his innumerable critics after being singled out as the scapegoat by an exasperated media. Giles has “done a job” for England ever since his breakthrough tour in Pakistan five years ago. Now the search is on for his support act.Having used just 12 players during the most gruelling two months of their professional lives, England will now be taking 17 players (not to mention the coaching and support staff) on a three-Test tour that spans little more than five weeks. If that smacks of overkill, then perhaps that is precisely the point. For the first time in a generation, England know what their first-choice XI should be. The next task is to identify a pool of reserves that can cement England’s position at the top of the Test tree. And for that purpose, the selectors are willing to cast their net as wide as possible.Aside from the 12 who played this summer (plus England’s perpetual understudy, James Anderson) the squad is completed by four debutants – Udal, Chris Tremlett, Matt Prior and Alex Loudon – which tells its own story. Tremlett was a shoo-in, having been named as 12th man for the first four Ashes Tests, while Prior has been waiting in the wings as Geraint Jones’s understudy since the start of the season, when he overhauled Chris Read as the best of the rest. Loudon’s emergence, on the other hand, has been rather more meteoric.Until last season, Loudon was plying his trade as a decent batsman and part-time offspinner for Kent, but one quick transfer to Warwickshire later, and he has emerged at the forefront of the next generation of English spinners. His pedigree as an England cricketer-in-waiting is impressive – in his time he has been captain of both England Under-15s and Under-19s – but like Udal, he could never have imagined that such a modest county haul (26 wickets at 41.00) would land him such a plum reward. The fact that he has a fledgling doosra in his armoury is probably sufficient reason in itself to send him on the trip.It is unlikely to be a glamorous winter, however, for the lot of the English reserve spinner is often an unrewarding one. Never mind Udal’s own experiences in 1994-95, the list of near-misses for this winter’s trip reads like a Who’s Who of the county treadmill. Graeme Swann (South Africa 1999-2000), Richard Dawson (India and Australia 2001-03) and Gareth Batty (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa 2003-05) were all considered but cast aside, with Graveney unusually frank about their shortcomings: “Regrettably their performances during the summer have probably been disappointing for them,” he told reporters at Lord’s.The lot of the spare-part seamer is hardly any better. Liam Plunkett’s inclusion in the one-day squad is a tacit admission that both Kabir Ali and Jon Lewis have fallen short of the required standards, destined to join a pile of rejects that includes Richard Johnson, James Kirtley, Martin Saggers and Alex Wharf. As Australia have shown this summer, it is one thing to have a world-beating first eleven, but it is quite another to have a squad sufficiently flexible to cover all eventualities.

Yuvraj Singh suffers the consequences of being shuffled around in the test batting order

Dileep Premachandran20-Jul-2005

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As far as falls from grace go, Yuvraj Singh’s has been steep enough towarrant a parachute. After a magnificent century at Lahore, albeit in alosing cause, the Indian team management were impressed enough to considerhim indispensable. When Sourav Ganguly returned for the Rawalpindi Test aweek later, Aakash Chopra made way, despite having been part of fourhundred-run partnerships with Virender Sehwag in the eight Tests wherethey opened together.At the time, Yuvraj was supposed to slot in as an opening batsman, butafter India knocked Pakistan over after tea on the opening day, it wasParthiv Patel who strode out to face the wrath of Shoaib Akhtar andMohammad Sami. The logic then was that the in-form Yuvraj was too preciousto be sacrificed at the top, and Ganguly even went so far as to say that hedeserved to play in his natural habitat: the middle order.Six months on, Yuvraj did poorly in the opening Test against Australia atBangalore, but he was hardly alone in that regard. And after a solitaryfailure as opener in Chennai, he finds himself surplus to requirements,with Chopra, who was axed for Chennai, curiously back in the fold. If Yuvraj isconfused, you could scarcely blame him. Considered a better bet at the topof the order than Chopra just ten days ago, he’s now not good enough for amiddle-order slot, even with Ganguly missing.Mohammad Kaif’s gritty 64 in Chennai won him the vote, which doesn’t saymuch about the team’s philosophy of keeping faith in its players. Afterall, if Patel – whose keeping continues to be wretched – can be persistedwith, then why not Yuvraj, who has hardly had enough opportunities to belabelled a failure?The only plausible reason for his dramatic demotion lies off the field. IfYuvraj is indeed guilty of being seduced by the trappings of fame, thefault lies partly with the management. Sporting greatness is only possiblewithin the framework of a benevolent dictatorship, as Douglas Jardine andSir Alex Ferguson could tell you.If, and there is no concrete proof for this, Yuvraj is indeed a big-timeCharlie – as Ferguson famously referred to one of his axed stars – heshould have been made to walk the straight and narrow months ago. Indiancricket can’t afford a profligate approach to young talent, what withTest-class performers so thin on the ground.