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The MLB season is just about halfway through, and one of the biggest surprises of the year thus far has been Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh emerging as the current home run king.

Raleigh has been a solid power hitter throughout his career, with 30 home runs in 2023 and a career-high 34 dingers last season. But he is far from a name anyone expected to be leading the likes of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the home run race as we neared the All-Star break.

On Friday afternoon, Raleigh made some well-deserved history against the Chicago Cubs that will stand in the record books even if Judge or Ohtani chases him down in the months of baseball to come.

In the top of the first inning, Raleigh went yard for the 28th time this season. The home run not only gave him the solo lead in the home run race once again, but it also tied a record for most home runs by a catcher hit before the All-Star break, matching Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.

With three weeks still to play before this year’s Midsummer Classic, it feels likely that Raleigh will inevitably take the top spot for himself at some point in the coming days.

Congrats to the “Big Dumper” on his magical season so far.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers look to repeat as World Series champions, they are in a similar place to where they were one year ago heading into the final days before the trade deadline. Once again, the Dodgers are in need of help in the bullpen and outfield, and potentially another starter.

Adding pieces ahead of the deadline proved critical for the Dodgers last season on their World Series run. They traded for Tommy Edman, who became the National League Championship Series MVP. They also acquired Jack Flaherty, who by the time the playoffs rolled around, was one of only three starters the team used in the postseason due to all their pitching injuries. And reliever Michael Kopech went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA across seven innings during the postseason.

The Dodgers tried to avoid having any major needs at the deadline this year by addressing them during the offseason with their signings of Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, and Tanner Scott, but injuries have riddled both the rotation and bullpen. Snell, Sasaki, and relievers Scott, Kopech, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol are expected to come back from injury before the postseason, but last season the Dodgers had several pitchers return only to suffer another injury. Given the Dodgers' drastic pitching injury history, depth is crucial heading into the final stretch.

Outfield isn't necessarily a dire need, but with Michael Conforto's inconsistent fielding and several Dodgers' bats slumping this season, it certainly wouldn't hurt to add another outfielder and bat to the lineup.

Before the trade deadline hits, here are four ideal fits the Dodgers could target.

Ryan Helsley – RP, St. Louis Cardinals

Carlo Ancelotti’s time at Everton will always live long in the memory of Toffees fans. The legendary Italian boss was only at Goodison Park for one and a half seasons, but he got his side purring, playing some exceptional football.

In total, Ancelotti took charge of 67 games as Everton boss. He had a positive win rate, too, and was victorious in 31 of those matches, losing 22. His record in Merseyside derbies was excellent, losing once in four clashes, and securing three points at Anfield in his final derby in charge of the club.

Ancelotti also made some important signings during his time as Everton boss.

Ancelotti’s most important Everton signings

There was one signing in particular that Ancelotti made, which turned out to be a very important addition for the Toffees, that of Abdoulaye Doucoure. The Mali international played 34 games under the Italian coach, chipping in with six goals and assists.

It was his contribution after Ancelotti had left the club that was particularly vital for the Toffees. In total, he played 166 games and bagged 21 goals, but the most important strike came on the final day of the 2022/23 campaign.

His goal against Bournemouth ensured Everton avoided relegation. A crucial signing made by Ancelotti.

No doubt the biggest name Everton’s former boss signed during his stint at Goodison Park was James Rodriguez. The iconic Colombian attacking midfielder only spent a single season on Merseyside, but certainly left a huge impact.

He played 26 games under Ancelotti for the club, and started the Premier League season on fire. Rodriguez scored and assisted six goals in his first five games, ending the campaign with six goals and nine assists across all competitions. It was certainly a good deal, given he was signed on a free transfer.

Rodriguez was not the only bargain signing that Ancelotti made at Everton. Another player whom the Toffees signed for an excellent price is a key player at the club today.

The Ancelotti bargain in Everton’s first team

Years on from Ancelotti’s spell at Everton, almost all of the players he signed have now left the Toffees.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Rodriguez now plies his trade in Mexico for Leon, and Doucoure left in the summer to join Saudi side NEOM SC.

The only player that Ancelotti signed who still plies his trade at Everton is actually one of the most exciting young talents in England. Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite joined the club in January 2020, signing from Carlisle United for just £1m.

The centre-back, who was born in Carlisle and represented them at first-team level, only played five times under Ancelotti, initially playing in the Toffees academy. Yet, they have the Italian to thank for bringing the defender to the club, given how good he’s become.

In total, the left-footed defender has played 86 games for the club now, impressing enough to make his England debut at the end of last season. He’s even chipped in with four goals, including a strike against Liverpool.

The 23-year-old is yet to make an appearance this season due to injuries.

Yet, his numbers from last term show just how much of a talent he is. For example, he won an average of 4.3 duels and made 6.8 clearances per 90 minutes.

With all that in mind, it might not be a surprise to learn that the “colossal” defender, as Statman Dave called him, has shot up in value. According to Transfermarkt, he is now worth £43.5m, a testament to his quality and future potential.

He has seen an enormous rise in his value of 4200%, which represents excellent business from Everton under Ancelotti, all those years ago. It also means that, if the Toffees are ever to sell Branthwaite, they are surely in line for a huge windfall.

It certainly seems like, for a fee of just £1m, Branthwaite’s signing has been one of the best pieces of business done by Everton in recent years.

Moyes can ditch Barry & Beto to unleash "special" Everton star in new role

Everton may be able to solve their issues in front of goal with this player

By
Joe Nuttall

Oct 10, 2025

The Red Sox bolstered their starting pitching rotation on Thursday, having agreed to acquire right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo in a trade with the Pirates.

The deal reportedly includes five players in total, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The highlight of the package Boston is sending to Pittsburgh is the Red Sox’s No. 3 prospect and top outfield prospect, Jhostynxon Garcia.

Oviedo, 27, made nine starts for the Pirates in 2025. He registered an ERA of 3.57 and had 42 strikeouts across 40 1/3 innings. Oviedo missed the entire ‘24 campaign and part of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His last full season of work came in 2023, when he made 32 starts and had a 4.31 ERA.

In addition to Oviedo, the Red Sox will also receive left-handed pitcher Tyler Samaniego and catching prospect, 2025 fifth-round pick Adonys Guzman. The Pirates will also acquire another player alongside Garcia.

Garcia, 22, saw his first taste of MLB action in 2025, when he appeared in five games for the Red Sox. He struck out five times in a total of seven at-bats. Across 114 games in the minor leagues last season, he had a .810 OPS with 21 home runs and 75 RBIs.

Oviedo is now the second starting pitcher the Red Sox acquired this offseason. The team traded for Sonny Gray in late November, and now will add Oviedo to the mix, too.

Being a home plate umpire at the major league level isn't the easiest job in the world and mistakes are often made thanks partly to pitchers throwing really nasty stuff these days and, well, the element of human error.

The latter of that was on display during Wednesday's Diamondacks-Rangers game in Arlington when Derek Thomas messed up something that should be easy for home plate umpires to keep track of—the count.

Arizona's Adrian Del Castillo was up in the fifth inning with two runners on. Thomas then rang him up on a called strike, only to quickly realize that was just the second strike of Del Castillo's at-bat. Thomas quickly corrected himself and let everyone know that it wasn't a strikeout.

The announcers had a good laugh over this:

Del Castillo lined the next pitch to right field for a hit and then Thomas redeemed himself by making an easy call at home plate as Ketel Martel was thrown out trying to score.

Still, you have to think Thomas might hear a thing or two from his umpiring buddies over that glaring mistake on what was strike two.

This week, we bring you unforgettable moments from the venue that’s hosted more ODIs than any other

Mohammad Isam11-May-2020The iconic finishesSharjah shot to the limelight in 1986, when Pakistan needed four to win off one ball, and Javed Miandad swung Chetan Sharma off his hips and into the pages of folklore. For most of the next two decades, India and Pakistan simply couldn’t stop meeting in Sharjah, with Bollywood stars (and even the infamous gangster Dawood Ibrahim) thronging the VIP gallery.In 1995, Hashan Tillakaratne nearly pulled off a Miandad moment of his own, after scoring a valiant hundred that got Sri Lanka to the brink of victory in a record chase of 334 against West Indies. A West Indies victory looked a formality when they reduced Sri Lanka to 103 for 5, but Tillakaratne hadn’t had his say yet.The only tied matches in Sharjah also involved Sri Lanka. On both occasions, it was their match to win before they surrendered the initiative. In 1996, they restricted New Zealand to 169 but struggled in their chase, particularly against Danny Morrison. They looked to have won it when Chaminda Vaas took a single to level the scores, with two wickets and 15 balls remaining, but Sajeewa de Silva shouldered arms to Morrison, fatally, and Tony Greig wondered aloud: “Well, could this be a tie?”Three balls later, it was.Three years later, Sri Lanka gave away the game from an even better position, against Pakistan. Chasing 196, they were 157 for 1 with close to 15 overs remaining. Then Romesh Kaluwitharana was caught behind off Abdul Razzaq, and Sri Lanka collapsed spectacularly. Shoaib Malik removed the set Russell Arnold, before Wasim Akram and Razzaq cleaned up the rest of the line-up.Geniuses at workLara made not one, but two 150-plus scores in Sharjah. Against Pakistan in 1993, his 153 at the top of the order enabled West Indies to chase down 285 with 4.3 overs remaining. His highest ODI score, a brilliant 129-ball 169, also came in Sharjah, in the same match where Tillakaratne scored that hundred in the chase.Wasim Akram picked up 122 ODI wickets in Sharjah, at a remarkable average of 19.50•Getty ImagesThree years later, Sharjah became Sachin Tendulkar’s bastion, as he scored two of his most iconic ODI centuries in back-to-back matches against Australia: the Desert Storm 143 that dragged India into the final, and the 134 on his 25th birthday to seal victory in the the triangular tournament.Tendulkar finished with seven Sharjah hundreds, as did Saeed Anwar, who said before the 1999 World Cup that playing in front of big crowds at this venue had made him a stronger batsman mentally. Four of his seven hundreds came in 1993, and the best of the lot, arguably, was this 131 against West Indies in a chase of 261.Sharjah wasn’t just a batsman’s paradise, though. Wasim Akram took 122 wickets here, at an incredible 19.50, including two hat-tricks in the space of seven months in 1989-90 (As a bonus, this video also includes his two Test-match hat-tricks). There were numerous other match-winning spells, including two wickets in the first over of a tournament final against India in 1999.The everyman’s stadiumBut Sharjah wasn’t just about the big stars. Navjot Singh Sidhu made his maiden ODI hundred here, and took a dubious catch on the boundary – his feet surely touched the rope here – to help the seam-bowling allrounder Sanjeev Sharma pick up five wickets against West Indies. In 1991, Aaqib Javed bagged what were then world-record figures of 7 for 37 against India, including a hat-trick. Muttiah Muralitharan broke Javed’s record nine years later, in Sharjah again.England were also-rans in ODI cricket in the 1990s, but even they tasted success in Sharjah, when Adam Hollioake led an experimental side featuring a number of one-day specialists to victory in a quadrangular tournament also involving India, Pakistan and West Indies. Zimbabwe pulled off three wins in Sharjah against the world champions Sri Lanka in 1997-98, including this one and this one.For more such YouTube playlists, click here.

All the action and talking points around England’s IPL contingent after week six

Andrew Miller04-Nov-2020Week six of the IPL, the struggle for play-off places is over, and so is the involvement of most of England’s representatives. Click here for week five’s update. Archer goes grossly under-rewarded after stunning displaysIt’s the World XI at one end, and Ilford 2nds at the other. Graham Gooch’s famous appraisal of Sir Richard Hadlee’s New Zealand has found a modern-day echo in the exploits of Jofra Archer, who has absolutely no right to be propping up the IPL table in the company of his under-performing Rajasthan Royals team-mates. True to this season’s irresistible form, Archer signed off a stellar personal tournament with another incredible week, and in such a tight table, you have to wonder what a modicum of back-up could have done for Rajasthan’s title hopes.ESPNcricinfo LtdInstead, his 20 wickets at 18.25 were exactly half of the 40 claimed by his team’s full stable of quick bowlers, with only the erratic rookie Kartik Tyagi providing any meaningful support with nine at 40.77. As for his economy rate of 6.55 – the best among any of the tournament’s front-line quicks – that figure could have been exponentially lower had Rajasthan bitten the bullet (as they were often tempted) and trusted Archer with a third over in his favoured Powerplay (a phase of the game in which he produced a remarkable 10 wickets and an all-time low economy rate of 4.34). Instead, they chose to hold him back to paper over his team-mates’ shortcomings at the death. In that role, Archer did take a few licks throughout the tournament, but he had his moments too – not least against Kings XI in perhaps his most symbolic moment of the tournament. One ball after being tonked over midwicket by the mighty Chris Gayle, Archer fired in the yorker to bowl the Universe Boss for 99, and received a hand-slap of mutual admiration for his efforts.Morgan thwarted at the last after hitting top formWhen KKR made their captaincy switch midway through the tournament, with Eoin Morgan taking over from Dinesh Karthik, the management might have thought they were signing up for ice-cool tactics in the clutch moments, as befits a man whose leadership credentials have gone through the roof since the World Cup. But as things turned out, Morgan barely got the chance to play any match-up poker, with KKR’s fragile batting conspiring time and again to leave their own bowlers with no place to hide.Instead, he was obliged to lead from the front – or middle, to be more accurate – with a range of cannily paced cameos keeping his team competitive to the bitter end, until Sunrisers’ scalping of the table-topping Mumbai Indians denied them a play-off berth in the final group-stage game. Morgan’s pièce de résistance was his final innings of the campaign, an outstanding 68 not out from 35 balls against Rajasthan, including five fours and six sixes, which dragged his side from a flaky 99 for 5 to a formidable 191 for 7. He saved his most savage blows for his England team-mate Ben Stokes, but showcased that icy temperament in the final over of the innings, as he twice turned down singles off Kartik Tyagi before thumping his final ball clean down the ground for six.Eoin Morgan was at his explosive best•BCCIStokes builds into opener’s role but bowling remains erraticAfter a low-key start to his truncated tournament, Ben Stokes found his range with the bat in the final rounds of Rajasthan’s campaign, with two more feisty onslaughts following his breakthrough century against Mumbai Indians. His 25-ball 50 against Kings XI was a fierce injection of impetus that set up a comprehensive win, but his 18 from 11 against KKR proved to be the alpha and omega of his team’s qualification hopes – while he was in situ, taking the attack to a rampant Pat Cummins, the prospect of a top-four slot was firmly on the cards. As soon as he was gone, those cards collapsed with a familiar flutter, as the team’s inherent instability flooded to the fore once again.3:22

What makes Ben Stokes an unreliable T20 bowler?

As for Stokes’ bowling, it remains curiously impotent in this format, given what a game-changing influence he tends to be in Test and 50-over cricket. His one telling outing came against Kings, as he scalped the dangermen KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran for his only wickets of the campaign. Two days later, he was left wondering once again why Kolkata’s got it in for him – and why he ever consents to bowl at the death anymore – as Morgan and Pat Cummins combined to pump 24 runs from his third, and Rajasthan’s 19th, over of their campaign-crippling loss.Sam Curran coasts to the end of eye-catching campaignAn unremarkable week by his elevated standards, but a quietly impressive one all the same. Having gone from being a lone spark in a misfiring engine, Sam Curran reverted to being a useful cog in a belatedly revved-up machine, as CSK finished their tournament on a relative high with three wins in a row once their elimination had been confirmed. This week, he didn’t take a wicket or bowl his full allocation of overs in either match, but Curran served up his total of five overs at a meagre cost of 36, and was also at the crease to help settle a tense chase against KKR – even though it was his not-out partner, Ravi Jadeja, who did the heavy lifting with three sixes and a four in the final eight balls of the game. But either way, after being pigeon-holed as a Test cricketer in his early England outings, Curran will travel to South Africa later this month with his white-ball credentials higher than they’ve ever been. And if CSK have any sense, he’ll be at the heart of their rebuilding efforts when the next IPL rolls around in barely six months’ time.Bairstow benched after flat-lining form Jonny B Gone. After his barnstorming 97 against Kings in week 3, it seemed that Jonny Bairstow was primed for mid-tournament lift-off. Instead, he’s paid the price for mustering barely that many again in his next five games, culminating in a 20-ball 19 against the same opponents two weeks later, when his ill-timed sweep in a well-set run-chase exposed a flaky middle-order and precipitated an appalling collapse. It was all the evidence that Sunrisers needed to hurry Kane Williamson back off the bench, and Bairstow’s fate was more permanently sealed when Wriddhiman Saha latched onto his opportunity at the top of the order, first with a blistering 85 from 47 against the previously high-flying Delhi Capitals, and then as David Warner’s foil against Mumbai, as Sunrisers’ brand-new bromance was sealed in an unbeaten 151-run opening stand, and a ten-wicket play-off-securing victory.Jordan proves his value after sticky start to campaignIt wasn’t to be in the end for Chris Jordan, or for Kings XI, whose remarkable late-season revival came so close to propelling them into the play-offs. After losing six of their first seven contests (including one Super Over and a two-run defeat), Kings were briefly installed as the tournament’s form team with a run of five wins in a row, only for that illusion to be shattered in consecutive thumpings by Rajasthan and CSK. Nevertheless, from his somewhat abject beginnings, Jordan finished his own campaign very much in credit, nailing his yorkers and trusting his variations even as other seamers of his ilk were reverting to the basics. His two economical wickets against KKR set up the last of Kings’ victories, while his third-ball removal of a hitherto rampant Stokes gave them a flicker of belief before the wheels came off. All told, Jordan claimed nine wickets at 33.77 in as many matches, but given that he went wicketless in his first three games while leaking his runs at nearly two a ball, his back-end record (average 18.77, economy 8.24) was far more to write home about.Chris Jordan in his delivery stride•BCCIButtler runs out of rope with qualification on the line Jos Buttler’s final week of IPL action epitomised the frailties at the heart of Rajasthan’s faltering campaign. His form was as good as it’s been all tournament long, but his role – reappraised from opener to finisher after a succession of middle-order mishaps in the early rounds – was very much after the Lord Mayor’s Show, for better and for worse. Against Kings, there could be no complaints about his impact as he rocked up in the 15th over and duly sealed a vital win with an unbeaten 22 from 11 balls; but against KKR, Rajasthan were 32 for 4 before he’d faced his first delivery, and 37 for 5 only moments after he’d laced the lethal Cummins for a first-ball drive through the covers. Even with his back to the wall, Buttler managed to rack up 35 from 22 before being forced into one boundary swipe too many. But then again, had he converted more of those sorts of scores from the top of the order, with contests begging to be seized in the early rounds, Buttler and his Rajasthan team-mates wouldn’t have been left eating the scraps at the bottom of the table.Banton, Curran, Moeen sit on the fringesTom Banton is set to swap six weeks on the fringes at KKR to a further three weeks as an England reserve in South Africa – which isn’t quite the career progression he signed up for this winter. But Tom Curran, included in both ODI and T20I squads, will be hoping to show that his hard yakka on the UAE’s variation-killing surfaces can reap better rewards on the more seam-friendly decks of Cape Town and Paarl. As for Moeen Ali, he – like Bairstow – is set to remain at the IPL for a few days longer than the rest of the England squad, but his chances of being involved in the play-offs are considerably skinnier.

How RCB, Sunrisers, Mumbai and KKR stack up ahead of the auction

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2021

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Main Talking Point:
Royal Challengers Bangalore have offloaded three big-ticket overseas signings: Chris Morris, Moeen Ali and Aaron Finch. Morris came with a price tag of INR 10 crores. The franchise revealed in a video after his signing that they were ready to shell out more. Now, he finds himself out after one season where he picked up 11 wickets in nine matches at a more-than-acceptable economy of 6.63, due to his history of injuries and lack of cricket since IPL 2020.Moeen played all of three matches last season, while Shivam Dube, among their Indian players to be let go, couldn’t quite make an impact down the order with the bat, and was sparingly used with the ball. The franchise has filled in the allrounders’ void by securing Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams through trades from Delhi Capitals.ESPNcricinfo LtdHarshal was one of the best seam-bowling allrounders in India’s domestic circuit across formats in 2019-20 and is a much improved bowler to the one who represented the Royal Challengers from 2012-17, having increased his pace and developed the potential to become a finisher.Meanwhile, Australia’s white-ball captain Finch will be searching for a ninth IPL team after being released. Finch didn’t have a great run with the bat in IPL 2020, tallying just one half-century in 12 innings, and lost his place towards the end of the group phase. His poor run for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL season – 169 runs in 11 innings without a half-century – may have not helped his cause.What they need:
A strong Indian middle-order batsman who can tonk the ball, and one back-up seamer to strengthen a strong bowling line-up consisting of Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Sams and Harshal.Balance purse: INR 35.90 crore, the second biggest purse after Kings XI PunjabWhat they said:
Morris did really well for us, but the thing is he had injuries. He missed a bit of cricket [during the IPL] and hasn’t played since then, so there’s a bit of a risk for us there [with the INR 10 crore purse]. Finch was a great addition from a leadership perspective, whether he played or not, but we decided to go a slightly different way. Josh Phillipe gives us that top order cover.”
Mike Hesson, RCB’s Director of Cricket

Sunrisers Hyderabad

ESPNcricinfo LtdMain talking point:
Fabian Allen and Billy Stanlake were the two big names released by Sunrisers Hyderabad. They also let go of Sanjay Yadav, B Sandeep and Prithvi Raj. None of the five released players got a game last season.The fact that captain David Warner, Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson/Jonny Bairstow are automatic picks in the XI makes it difficult for other overseas players to break through. Last year, Allen was contesting with Mohammed Nabi for the allrounder’s spot but once Bhuvneshwar got injured, they found the best balance with Jason Holder in the side.Holder was drafted as an injury replacement for Mitchell Marsh, and the Sunrisers decided to retain both. They also showed faith in their young brigade, comprising Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma and Virat Singh.Balance purse: INR 10.75 croreWhat they need:
If all their players are available, the Sunrisers have most bases covered. What they are missing is an experienced, Indian middle-order batsman.What they said:
“The thing is the Sunrisers can play only four overseas players and they would want to play five ideally. They have to make a choice between Bairstow and Kane Williamson every day. So I don’t think they need any more overseas players.”

Mumbai Indians

ESPNcricinfo LtdMain talking point:
Mumbai Indians all but emptied their overseas fast-bowling contingent by releasing Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson and Mitchell McClenaghan. Earlier this month, Lasith Malinga also informed the team management about his decision to retire from franchise cricket.Sherfane Rutherford, Prince Balwant Rai and Digvijay Deshmukh were the others with whom Mumbai parted ways.While McClenaghan might have been let go because he doesn’t fit into the franchise’s long-term plans, Coulter-Nile and Pattinson’s removals come as a surprise since both of them were impressive as third seamers to Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Pattinson picked up 11 wickets from ten games at an economy of 9.04 while Coulter-Nile bagged five from seven at 7.92. Both could contribute with bat as well.Balance purse: INR 15.35 croreWhat they need:
With Bumrah, Boult and Dhawal Kulkarni being the only fast bowlers with international experience in the squad, expect Mumbai to go big on pacers, especially the overseas kind, and fast-bowling allrounders. They may also try to rope in a legspinner as back-up for Rahul Chahar.What they said:
“Lasith Malinga has been at the core of Mumbai Indians for 12 years. We respect his decision, even though I would have liked to him to be part of our bowling attack for another five years. Malinga is an MI legend. We will miss the Wankhede chant for him.”
Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani

Kolkata Knight Riders

ESPNcricinfo Ltd Main Talking point:
Despite two poor IPL seasons, the two-time champions have retained left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav. Dinesh Karthik, who quit as captain after seven games in IPL 2020, has been retained as well, along with Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins and the 2018 Under-19 World Cup trio of Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi.Their core squad remains untouched, and the players released – Tom Banton, Chris Green, Ali Khan, Harry Gurney, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik and Siddhesh Lad – have never really been starters. The list of low-profile player releases, though, means that their available budget – the second-lowest among all teams – is roughly 20% of what Kings XI Punjab have. Balance purse: INR 10.85 crore What they need:
A capped Indian fast bowler will be high on their priority since they have none. They also need a back-up wicketkeeper for Karthik with Banton and Naik released. What they said:
“I was enjoying the rumours that were floating around, rather than the reality. Challenging taking some calls because you’re shooting in the dark about the location of IPL 2021 – India or the UAE. Our think tank felt we have a balanced squad. Over the years, we’ve had small squads and go into mini-auctions looking to do small fine-tuning. We don’t need too many significant changes. Eoin Morgan will have a full season.”In our set-up, we don’t put players back into auctions to try and buy them back cheaper. Auction dynamics are demand-and-supply, and particularly in mini-auctions there’s no logic when pricing goes. Price tag as we are concerned doesn’t matter at all. First four years, Russell was at an INR 60 lac contract, so these things balance each other out. Was more a matter of squad composition and balance. We forget about the money honestly.”
KKR CEO Venky Mysore By Sreshth Shah

Where teams stand

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shoaib Akhtar, Lisa Sthalekar, Tabraiz Shamsi and others weigh in on the contentious episode

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2021

Record breaking inning. Simply Outstanding @FakharZamanLive. What about this cheeky giggle from Quinton tells you ? #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/5HD0sLYTk1

— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) April 4, 2021