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Soumya Sarkar’s maiden first-class century helped South Zone retain the BCL title after a draw against second-placed East Zone

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2015South Zone retained the Bangladesh Cricket League title after a draw with second-placed East Zone in Chittagong. South Zone finished on 44 points, four ahead of their opponents, with one win and two draws.After they were put in, South Zone were bowled out for 385 in 109.2 overs. The highest contributions came from Shahriar Nafees and Mohammad Mithun who missed out on centuries by four and five runs respectively. Seamer Abul Hasan and left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam took three wickets each.In reply, East Zone were kept to 247 in 83.3 overs, Sohag Gazi picking up 4 for 62 and Al-Amin Hossain claiming 3 for 45. South Zone took a lead of 138 runs, gaining seven first-innings points as opposed to East Zone’s five which effectively sealed the BCL title.Anamul Haque (70) began well in the second innings but when he fell as the fourth wicket in the 35th over, Soumya Sarkar and Mosaddek Hossain batted East Zone out and safeguarded their first-innings advantage.The pair scored centuries with Sarkar getting to his maiden first-class ton while Mosaddek’s 119 earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.East Zone were set an improbable target of 543 on the final day and the match petered out to a tame draw.Central Zone beat North Zone by 80 runs in a low-scoring game at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.Central Zone had taken a two-run lead courtesy Mahmudullah’s 113 after they chose to bat. Their total of 289 wasn’t threatening, but Shuvagata Hom took 5 for 78 to keep North Zone to 287.Offspinner Mahmudul Hasan then took 4 for 53 to help restrict Central Zone to 200 runs in 83.1 overs, which meant North Zone needed 203 to secure their first win of the tournament.Hom was again among the wickets, taking 4 for 35. Seamer Mohammad Shahid and left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain picked up three wickets as well and North Zone were bowled out for 122 runs in 40.4 overs on the final day.

The New Zealand line-up stumbled again, but scrambled to a nervous three-wicket win and leveled the series with the help of a crucial fifth-wicket stand between Sophie Devine and Katie Perkins

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore01-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:39

Important for top order to click – Thirush Kamini

The New Zealand line-up stumbled again but scrambled to a nervous three-wicket win with the help of a fifth-wicket stand between Sophie Devine and Katie Perkins to level the series 1-1 in Bangalore. Chasing 164 after bowling India out again, New Zealand were 68 for 4, and then 132 for 7, before allrounder Leigh Kasperek played another unbeaten knock, only to take them through this time.New Zealand’s bowling led the way again, after India opted to bat, with another disciplined performance from Lea Tahuhu, Kasperek and three wickets from captain Suzie Bates. Had it not been for Thirush Kamini’s 61, India would have put up an even smaller total. New Zealand’s chase began smoothly when Rachel Priest and Amy Satterthwaite almost took them to 50, but it soon went off track. The India spinners did trouble them, picking up four of the seven wickets, but New Zealand survived all of that, and a lethal final spell fraught with yorkers from Jhulan Goswami to come back in the series.Satterthwaite joined Priest after Bates went for a leg-side heave and missed completely. The top order hardly scored early on as they were 13 for 1 after five overs, with ten of them coming in extras. While Satterthwaite continued to defend, Priest showed her intent with two smashing fours in the eighth over. However, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, in her first over, struck twice in successive deliveries to have Priest caught at cover and Maddie Green lbw first ball, to dent the chase.Satterthwaite blocked the other end, and just when Devine had eased some nerves with a six, a direct hit from Mithali Raj resulted in Satterthwaite’s run out, to push them on the back foot again. Perkins and Devine then tackled several bowling changes with nudges, jabs and drives to settle in. India also paid the price of dropping Perkins on 20 in the 31st over with Ekta Bisht putting down an easy catch at mid-on.Bisht got rid of Perkins two overs later but the batsman had already scored 30, with three fours. New Zealand needed another 47 and Devine would have taken them through but some quick work from R Kalpana had her stumped, off Bisht again in her next over. Raj now resorted to her best bowler – Goswami – who deceived Kate Broadmore with a cutter to bring the equation to 32 required with three wickets in hand.Anna Peterson finally allayed all fears of Kasperek being left stranded again. As she was dropped by Kalpana three balls later, she made sure Kasperek, who never looked like playing only her second ODI, didn’t have to look elsewhere. In the 42nd over she unleashed a cover drive, a lofted-heave for six and a four to third man to collect 14 from Sneh Rana’s over to get the required runs to six, that virtually ended the chase.India’s top order fared much better today, led by left-handed opener Kamini, who came in for Veda Krishnamurthy. But middle and lower-order woes continued as they struggled to put on substantial partnerships. Despite 11 boundaries from Kamini, India were all out for the fourth time in a row batting first. Later, it was only Harmanpreet Kaur’s 31 that hauled them past 150.Kamini was not as comfortable initially, unable to rotate the strike. She gave two chances off Tahuhu in the fifth over, when one fell short of slips and the other went through Devine at second slip. Both of them fetched her fours, and probably some confidence.She got brief support from Raj after offspinner Kasperek accounted for Mandhana and Bates’ move of welcoming her counterpart with a short leg, short cover and slip eventually worked as she trapped her lbw for 13. But Kamini had settled in by now, looking at ease against the spinners. After two fours off Broadmore, she unsettled left-arm spinner Morna Nielsen with two fours in an over and a six over over wide long-on later on.Bates’ offcutters aimed at the stumps and Satterthwaite’s accurate line outside off then stalled the flow of runs; conceding only 14 runs in seven overs before Kamini brought up her second ODI fifty. But the innings never recovered when she suffered cramps and walked off after the 32nd over, with the score on 95 for 3. She did come back in the 42nd over, only to be caught behind after facing four more balls.Only Harmanpreet’s innings held the tail together briefly. She started cautiously, only to switch gears in the Powerplay. And once wickets started falling, she collected singles and scored 14 runs off her last 10 balls before being dismissed by Devine. Kasperek fearlessly tossed the ball up and was rewarded with Shikha Pandey’s wicket while Tahuhu trapped Poonam Raut and Goswami with offcutters. Once Harmanpreet was caught at cover in the 46th over, India could add only 13 more with Gayakwad’s run out ending the innings on 163.

Irfan Karim’s 54-ball 74 led Kenya to a convincing seven-wicket win against Canada in Edinburgh

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Irfan Karim struck six fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 74•Getty ImagesIrfan Karim’s 54-ball 74 led Kenya to a convincing seven-wicket win against Canada in Edinburgh. An unbeaten 94 run fourth-wicket stand between Karim and Morris Ouma helped Kenya romp home in a 144-run chase with nine balls to spare.After being inserted to bat, Ruvindu Gunasekara and Rizwan Cheema got Canada off to a sedate start – 15 were scored off the first four overs. However, the pair attacked the last two overs of the Powerplay, smashing 38 to lift the score to 53 in six overs. Three sixes were hit in the eighth over as well as Canada looked set for a dominating total. James Ngoche broke the stand in the 10th over, dismissing Cheema for 35 and also got the wicket of Gunasekara(51) in his next over, slowing Canada down. From the 15th over, Canada scored a boundary in each over save the last, but could add only 45 runs in the last six overs, eventually ending at 143 for 5. Nelson Odhiambo picked up 2 for 22, his wickets of Navneet Dhaliwal and Hiral Patel coming off successive deliveries in the 19th over.In the chase, Narendra Kalyan and Karim provided a solid start – 35 in 29 balls, which included two fours each in the third and fourth overs – before Kalyan was caught off Jeremy Gordon for 19. Kenya lost two more wickets in the space of three runs as the match evened out at 52 for 3 in the eighth over. However, Karim and Ouma’s partnership consolidated for Kenya and at the mid-way point in the chase, Kenya required 84. Seventeen were scored in the 13th over as the pair took control of the chase. They hit boundaries regularly and kept the required run-rate in check, and a four and a six in the 15th and 16th over effectively sealed the game, before Ouma wrapped it up with successive fours. Jeremy Gordon picked up two wickets.

Australia Women’s captain Meg Lanning said after her side’s eight-wicket loss in the Women’s World T20 final that other teams were catching up and even going past them

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2016Australia Women’s captain Meg Lanning said after her side’s eight-wicket loss in the Women’s World T20 final that other teams were catching up and even going past them. Australia had posted a competitive 148 for 5 after opting to bat but witnessed a solid opening stand of 120 from West Indies, before the match was sealed with three balls to spare. It was the first time a team apart from Australia, England and New Zealand won a global tournament in women’s cricket.”We’ve spoken about it a lot, that everyone is sort of catching up and going past, I guess,” Lanning said. “We need to keep improving to make sure we stay on top. We did that [this tournament], I think, but we weren’t good enough today to beat the West Indies. It just did not go our way today.”There’s no easy games in women’s cricket any more. If you’re not on, not 100%, you’re not going to win. We certainly found that out at this tournament.”Australia coach Matthew Mott felt that they fell a little short of the target that would have taken them to their fourth straight World T20 title. Australia were set for a big score when they were 92 for 2 after 12 overs but scored only 17 runs in the last three overs, as Deandra Dottin conceded only one run in the final over.”We knew we were in for a big fight today and halfway through our batting innings I thought we’d really put our foot on it,” Mott said. “But we missed a couple of opportunities to bury the game and other teams will knock you over in that case. “I thought the Windies batted exceptionally well tonight.”Lanning also admitted that they “needed 160-plus” to set things up for a win. Mott further said that there were still positives to be taken out of the tournament”As you saw in the back end of our innings even when we were out of the game, we didn’t give up, and I think that’s part of the culture in this team and I think it’s exciting,” Mott said. “We didn’t get over the line tonight but we put ourselves in a position to win and in the end it’s a line ball, they can come down to a couple of key moments and we didn’t quite win them tonight.””It has been a tough, long road but if we won today I think we would have said what an amazing preparation we had. No excuses, I think we put our best foot forward, we were just a little bit shy of the mark today but the spirit that’s been shown in this group over the last few weeks in particular is something we’re really proud of.”I know this group is going to be really strong for a long time and it’s great that other teams are challenging Australia. Any team could win it out of this tournament and the West Indies turning over a good side like New Zealand in the semi is a great example.”Lanning also heaped praise on West Indies opener Hayley Matthews, who struck a 45-ball 66 to set up her side’s win.”She’s very talented, she had a good series against us,” she said. “It was not a surprise, she played exceptionally well.”

Peter Siddle has retained his Cricket Australia contract for 2016-17 despite the likelihood that he will be sidelined for a lengthy period of the year due to stress fractures in his back

Brydon Coverdale01-Apr-2016Peter Siddle has retained his Cricket Australia contract for 2016-17 despite the likelihood that he will be sidelined for a lengthy period of the year due to stress fractures in his back. The renewal of his contract is an encouraging sign for Siddle, whose international future appeared cloudy after the diagnosis in February following the Test tour of New Zealand.Stress fractures of the back are not uncommon among fast bowlers but are often suffered by younger men still making their way in the game. At 31, Siddle will need not only to recover well and return through the Sheffield Shield, but also fight off more youthful challengers if he is to add to his 61 Test caps.The 20-man contract list for 2016-17 was fairly predictable, with the only six players missing from the group announced last March being the team’s retirees: Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers. Coming in from outside last year’s initial group are Siddle, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns, Adam Voges, Peter Nevill, John Hastings, Nathan Coulter-Nile.However, all seven of those men played enough matches for Australia during the current 2015-16 period to have already been upgraded to Cricket Australia contracts. The only others who played enough to be upgraded during the 2015-16 year but missed out on 2016-17 deals were Matthew Wade and Scott Boland, who played exclusively in the shorter formats.Wade remains Australia’s preferred one-day international gloveman and has been named in the ODI squad for a tri-series in the West Indies in June, but Nevill was used in the World T20 in India. Others who missed out on contracts include Jackson Bird and Steve O’Keefe, both of whom played Test cricket during the past few months, as well as short-form players Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson.”The Australian team is set to embark on another busy year of international cricket and we believe the players chosen in this group are those that are right in contention to represent the country over the next 12 months,” national selector Rod Marsh said.”There is a lot of talent within this group and we have confidence that the players chosen can be successful in all three forms of the game, against a range of opposition, in a variety of conditions.”Following a number of high-profile retirements, we believe this group of players gives us a healthy blend of youth and experience to represent Australia at the highest level, allowing us the best chance of maintaining our number-one rankings in Test and ODI cricket, as well as improving our performances in the T20 format.”Australia’s next Test series is in Sri Lanka following the West Indies one-day tri-series, and then in the home summer they host South Africa and Pakistan for Test matches. A Test tour of India follows in the new year. Players from outside the contract list can be upgraded to CA deals if they earn 12 upgrade points throughout the year on a basis of five points per Test appearance, two per ODI and one per T20 international.Contract list George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Adam Voges, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

Having released 11 members and splurged on local players, Delhi Daredevils will have to be judicious and make the most of the few big names they have if they are to make their first play-offs in four editions

Arun Venugopal07-Apr-20164:42

Jayawardene: Daredevils’ pace line-up looks a little weak

2015 formAfter managing only single-digit points in the preceding two years, Delhi Daredevils finished with 11 , but still finished second last. Their campaign was a zig-zag pattern of wins and losses, and consequently never found momentum. Despite their inconsistency, they cobbled together five wins, only two fewer than the third-placed team, in what was one of Daredevils’ better seasons in recent memory.Big PictureThink of any top IPL franchise and you instantly have a spectacular reel of associative images unspooling in your mind. But think Delhi Daredevils and you struggle to zoom in on any iconic player or memorable match-play that you can identify with the team. Unfortunately for Daredevils, their most enduring identity has been the lack of one. Year after year they have modified teams and team kits; even their theme song is beyond recognition. Arbitrary selection, muddled auction strategy and unstable leadership – they have had five different full-time captains since 2008 – have hurt the franchise. To call them underachievers would be to miss the point, for expectations of them have diminished considerably over the last three years. So what have they done to get things back on track?Delhi Daredevils squad

Zaheer Khan (captain), Quinton de Kock , Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Agarwal, Sanju Samson, JP Duminy, Karun Nair, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Pawan Negi, Amit Mishra, Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Billings, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Akhil Herwadkar, Imran Tahir, Mahipal Lomror, Chama Milind, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rishabh Pant, Pratyush Singh, Pawan Suyal, Jayant Yadav

Daredevils started afresh once again by removing Gary Kirsten as head coach and releasing 11 players. They then took what seemed like bizarre decisions at the auction table, steadfastly ignoring the big names and splurging money on relatively less-heralded players like Pawan Negi (INR 8.5 crore), Sanju Samson (4.2 crore) and Karun Nair (4 crore). Daredevils defended the move by calling it a conscious, “strategic shift” towards youngsters, who they felt were hungrier than established stars.Their biggest coup, however, was signing a stellar backroom crew. That the Daredevils squad appears to be modelled on the Rajasthan Royals template – Chris Morris, Samson and Nair are direct imports – is no coincidence. With Rahul Dravid as mentor, Paddy Upton as head coach and Zubin Bharucha as technical director – all formerly with Royals – their strategy of research-backed acquisition of young, lesser-known talent has been replicated. It remains to be seen how effective the strategy is, though, because Royals qualified for the playoffs only twice – in 2013 and 2015 – after their victory in 2008. Dravid’s successful coaching stints with India A and India U-19 has helped him track the progress of many promising youngsters, and three members of the side that made the final of the Under-19 World Cup – Rishabh Pant (1.9 crore), Mahipal Lomror and Khaleel Ahmed – figure in the Daredevils roster.Burning questionDaredevils were among the more formidable sides in the first few years of the IPL, even making the semi-finals in the first two editions, before their performances began to taper off. They last qualified for the playoffs in 2012, so finishing in the top four will be their priority before gunning for gold. How Daredevils ensure consistency and stability in selection while managing a large squad of 24 players will be critical to their success.The go-to menIn Zaheer Khan, Daredevils have a captain who successfully mentored bowling groups during his 14-year career as India’s strike bowler. As assured as his expertise is in formulating bowling plans and setting fields, the main challenge for Zaheer, 37, would be to operate at optimum levels, both as bowler and captain, for a month and a half.While JP Duminy’s experience in the middle order will be invaluable, Daredevils will look to Shreyas Iyer, who triggered the team’s youth-first push in the first place, Sanju Samson, and the in-form Quinton de Kock to set the game up at the top of the order.Bargain buyHaving made five of the 13 most expensive purchases at the 2016 auction, Daredevils have not got too many players cheap. However, in retrospect, they might have got a good deal by acquiring the services of Carlos Brathwaite for INR 4.2 crore. Who knows what bids he would have attracted had the auction happened after his six-hitting fest in the World T20 final?AvailabilityAustralia fast bowler Joel Paris has been ruled out due to a shin injury. The rest are available for the duration of the tournament.CoachesRahul Dravid (mentor), Paddy Upton (head coach), Zubin Bharucha (technical director), Sridharan Sriram and Praveen Amre (batting coaches)Quote”We wanted young, fearless cricketers who we could work on. We have got Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, and it’s an advantage that they have all worked with Rahul Dravid, who knows the Indian boys very well. We are looking forward to changing the fortunes of Delhi with the help of the new coaching staff and some talented youngsters.”.

The BCCI has convened a special general body meeting on May 22 in Mumbai to elect its new president after Shashank Manohar stepped down earlier this week

Nagraj Gollapudi14-May-2016The BCCI has convened a special general body meeting on May 22 in Mumbai to elect its new president after Shashank Manohar stepped down earlier this week. According to various office-bearers ESPNcricinfo spoke with, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has emerged as a favourite to replace Manohar.According to the rules, for Thakur to be elected one of the six member associations from the east zone will have to propose the board secretary’s name. If there is more than one nomination, then an election will be held. Thakur has the backing of powerful east zone members including Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura and the National Cricket Club. Thakur reportedly has been calling members around the country to state his interest in the president’s post. The last date for filing nominations is May 21.Thakur will have to resign as BCCI secretary to contest for the president’s post. The newly elected president will then choose the new board secretary, according to BCCI members.Manohar stepped down on May 10 to contest for the post of ICC chairman, to which he was elected unopposed two days later. According to the ICC’s rules, the chairman has to be independent and cannot have a position with the respective home board. Manohar had been elected BCCI president in October 2015 – his second term – after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The five-time champions of Europe have become synonymous with terrible transfers in recent years – Goal picks out their biggest flops

Liverpool are one of the most successful clubs in world football yet the five-time champions of Europe have not won the English title since 1990.

There are several reasons for their infamous league drought but there is no doubt that the Reds' often disastrous dealings in the transfer market have played a massive part.

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Indeed, whereas once Liverpool were renowned for shrewdly strengthening title-winning sides, now the Merseysiders are synonymous with flops and failures.

Below, Goal goes through the 15 worst signings that the Reds have ever made…

Getty ImagesPEGGUY ARPHEXAD | From Leicester | Free | 2000

The life of a reserve goalkeeper isn't easy. It's difficult to make an impact. However, even taking that into account, Pegguy Arphexad's time at Anfield was dreadfully underwhelming. Signed on a free transfer in 2000, on the back of one impressive outing against the Reds for Leicester, Arphexad managed just two Premier League appearances in three years on Merseyside.

His contribution was best summed up by Jamie Carragher's wonderfully sarcastic response to the news that his fellow pundit Gary Neville was quitting his job to take charge at Valencia.

"Gutted!" the former Reds centre-half tweeted. "This reminds me of when Pegguy Arphexad left for Coventry."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesIAGO ASPAS | From Celta | £7m | 2013

Iago Aspas reasons: "In football, you can’t live forever in the past." Unfortunately for him, though, his name has been written into Liverpool folklore for taking the worst corner in the club's history.

That shocking set-piece against Chelsea at Anfield – which saw him pass the ball straight to Willian while the Reds were pushing for a last-gasp equaliser that would have kept their Premier League title destiny in their own hands – will always be the Reds' fans abiding memory of the Spaniard.

It was his last ever touch in a Liverpool jersey, with Aspas – who failed to even net once in the Premier League – joining Sevilla on loan just months later before eventually returning to Celta.

Getty ImagesALBERTO AQUILANI | From Roma | £17m | 2009

In 2008, Rafael Benitez thought it would be a good idea to sell Xabi Alonso and replace him with Gareth Barry. It wasn't. But at least it didn't happen. However, Liverpool's horrified fans would have settled for Barry, given Alberto Aquilani turned up at Anfield the following year after Alonso had departed for Real Madrid.

The injury-prone Italian was plagued by injuries and made just 18 Premier League appearances before joining Fiorentina in 2012. "Maybe I should have stayed,” Aquilani later mused, “but I wanted to come back to Italy for family reasons."

Liverpool were happy to see him go, though, as underlined by the fact that they let him join Fiorentina for nothing.

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Getty ImagesMARIO BALOTELLI | From AC Milan | £16m | 2014

No other deal better typifies Liverpool's incompetence in the transfer market than Mario Balotelli's move to Anfield in 2015.

Having reached the end of the transfer window without having acquired a world-class striker, manager Brendan Rodgers told captain Steven Gerrard at Melwood one day: "I'm basically left with no option but to have a bit of a gamble… The gamble is Mario Balotelli."

The captain's reaction? "Uh-oh."

Gerrard's concern was justified, with Balotelli scoring one Premier League goal for the Reds before being loaned to AC Milan and then sold to Nice.

Mourinho has a history of falling out with high-profile players at clubs he has managed with his on-again, off-again rift with Pogba resurfacing

Jose Mourinho as a manager and as a person is as abrasive as they get in the world of football, with his trophy-winning legacy at  the likes of Chelsea, Inter and Porto inseparable from the often sensational and spectacular ways in which he has fallen out with others

That personality has played against him in the past, like when the Special One was forced out of Real Madrid several clashes with key members of the squad.

Mourinho is also known for his infamous third season 'implosions', in which his time at a club goes pear-shaped after his second year.

Along the way, he has fallen in and out with players in instances that have become high-profile, from accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of having too large an ego and dismissing young talents Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne.

Goal has rounded up Mourinho's past bust-ups with his own players from past to present, bringing you all you need to know.

GettyPaul Pogba – Manchester United

Despite having the summer of a lifetime and lifting the World Cup with France, Pogba's start to the Premier League season wasn't as smooth sailing – clashing several times with his manager.

Pogba's form for France hadn't been the same for Man United, with the midfielder dropping cryptic messages in the press about the uncertainty over his future and hints about Mourinho's unruly treatment of the player.

The relationship between the two took yet another rocky turn after Mourinho gave a team talk stating that Pogba would never again captain the side following the French international's criticism over the coach not adopting enough of an attacking style on the pitch.

AdvertisementGettyMohamed Salah – Chelsea

The Egyptian superstar is one of a few "the one who got away" stories involving Mourinho, after the two worked together at Chelsea but failed to really hit it off.

Salah made just 13 Premier League appearances for Chelsea the course of almost two seasons and was considered a 'flop', with the Portuguese failing to figure out a way to deploy the forward effectively.

But now, of course, the Egyptian has made his way to Anfield, illuminating the Premier League with his breakout debut season that saw him score 46 goals in all competition, breaking numerous records in the process – as well as Mourinho's heart.

GettyRomelu Lukaku – Chelsea

Mourinho has never had a great record in developing young talent, and didn't give much of a chance to the then 19-year-old Lukaku at Chelsea, who eventually moved to Everton.

There was never a rift between the two during their time at Stamford Bridge, however, and Lukaku's clearly proven his worth to the manager after Mourinho shelled out  £75m to purchase the forward from Everton for Manchester United in 2017.

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GettyKevin De Bruyne – Chelsea

Kevin De Bruyne is another Mourinho success story during their time at Chelsea, with the Belgian midfielder being so frustrated at not being given ample playing time that he transferred to Wolfsburg.

After three years in the Bundesliga, the midfielder returned to the Premier League to join Manchester City, where he has emerged as one of the most pivotal members of the title-winning team under Pep Guardiola.

GOAL looks at some players who could commence their international career with the Black Stars next month 

After beating Nigeria to a World Cup ticket in March, Ghana are set to return to action for what will be two games in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and two friendly matches.

First on the agenda will be matches against Madagascar and the Central African Republic in a bid to make next year's Afcon finals in Cote d'Ivoire. 

A game against Japan in the 2022 Kirin Cup will follow, after which the Black Stars face either Chile or Japan based on the outcome of the first cup fixture. 

GOAL highlights five players who could feature in the June international assignments ahead of an anticipated imminent official squad announcement. 

GettyimagesMohammed Salisu

The Southampton defender has turned down multiple Ghana invitations since 2019 but after holding recent meetings with new Black Stars boss Otto Addo and football association president Kurt Okraku, the 23-year-old is tipped to be called up for June's round of internationals. 

AdvertisementGettyimagesAntoine Semenyo

The Bristol City striker was expected to link up with Ghana for the first time for March's tie against Nigeria but was forced to miss the opportunity due to injury. He is expected to be named in Ghana's squad for the first time for the upcoming games.  

GettyimagesLeeroy Owusu

The Willem II right-back reportedly missed the chance of a first Ghana call-up for the Nigeria duels due to a delay in the processing of his nationality documentation. It will not be surprising to see him in Ghana's squad in the next selection announcement.

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GettyimagesTariq Lamptey

According to reports, the Brighton and Hove Albion defender has sealed a switch from England to Ghana and should that be the case, he is likely to receive his first Black Stars call-up this month.