Premier League history was created at Stamford Bridge when the referee refused to send off Bournemouth's David Brooks despite a VAR intervention.
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Chelsea held to 2-2 drawBrooks brought down CucurellaReferee looked at the monitor but did not show red cardFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The controversy unfolded shortly after Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert had equalised in the second half. Marc Cucurella, attempting to initiate a counter-attack for Chelsea, was abruptly brought down by Brooks by his hair. Referee Robert Jones was directed to the pitch-side monitor for a closer look. After a thorough review, Jones determined that the incident constituted reckless play rather than violent conduct and issued a yellow card instead of a red.
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It was a historic moment as it was the first time in the Premier League that a referee turned down a VAR referral for a red card. Moreover, it is the first VAR rejection in this campaign by an on-field official.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
The decision left Chelsea players bewildered as many felt the challenge warranted a more severe punishment. Reece James reflected on the situation after the match and said: "When the referee takes a look at the monitor then it's never a good sign. There are positives to take away from the game but there are negatives as well. It's mixed emotions."
However, the Premier League’s Match Centre offered a swift explanation on social media to clarify the decision:
"VAR recommended an on-field review for a possible red card to Brooks for violent conduct. Upon review, the referee deemed that the challenge on Cucurella was a reckless action and not violent conduct – and issued a yellow card to Brooks."
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Chelsea will now turn their focus to their next Premier League fixture against Wolves on Monday.
Though his batting is yet to come good, the left-arm fingerspinning allounder has picked up four wickets in two T20Is
Deivarayan Muthu04-Sep-2021Rachin Ravindra had fairly a low-key return to the scene of his first Under-19 World Cup from more than five years ago, falling for a golden duck in New Zealand’s drubbing in the first T20I against Bangladesh. Two days later, Ravindra claimed 3 for 22 – his best T20 figures – to stall Bangladesh’s progress after their openers had struck up a 59-run stand.At first, Liton Das unleashed a slog-swept six to unsettle Ravindra, but the left-arm fingerspinner responded by shortening his length, finding some turn and having the batter playing on for 33 off 29 balls. Next ball, he tricked Mushfiqur Rahim to such an extent that a master of these conditions was stumped for a duck. The hat-trick ball was darted into the surface, stopping on it so much that Shakib Al Hasan almost spooned a return catch.Ravindra had success bowling at the death too, sliding one away from Mohammad Naim’s swinging arc and having him dragging a catch to long-on. “Yeah, it was nice,” the up-and-coming allrounder said as he recalled the spell. “I think it was good to be able to break up partnerships a little bit and contribute a bit; ultimately lead to a few poles and a couple of dots. It was good to have those comms, especially Tommy [Latham]; just discussing with them [about] how to go about it and I think that sort of helped me a lot in being able to bounce off those senior guys.”Ravindra said that pushing the ball quicker through the air and bowling into the pitch is his default mode of operation in T20 cricket. The other left-arm fingerspinner, Ajaz Patel, reaped 1 for 7 in his four overs in the first match with a similar bowling style.”That’s usually how I look to bowl in T20s – trying to bowl a little bit back of a length that sticks hard and in these conditions. It works quite well [here] because the odd ball can skid or turn and it’s quite hard to hit down the ground using that pace.”Related
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Adapting to Dhaka’s pitches as a batter though is an entirely different proposition. Ravindra has made only 10 runs in two innings. It had been a similar struggle at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where he managed 58 runs in five innings at strike rate of 54.20.Ravindra understands he needs to do more. “It’ll be nice to bat a little bit longer and hopefully contribute a few more runs towards a win,” he said. “I think it’s about hitting good cricket shots on these sort of wickets. You play good cricket shots, you’re going to get that boundary eventually. You don’t necessarily need to manufacture too much, but seeing the way he [Latham] played to his strengths and hit his sweeps, [it] looks like he was well-prepared.”Despite suffering back-to-back losses and facing a must-win situation so early in the series, Ravindra said the mood in the camp was upbeat and that New Zealand weren’t too far away from clicking in unison.”As I said, the improvement between game one and game two is incredible, maybe on a slightly better surface, but it showed in our batting, especially the way we were able to adapt. I think that’s great signs coming up for our next three games. We can look to take learnings from here and we are still not firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, we can get it right next game and get our combinations right and hopefully [get] a win.”
In the 1982 European Cup final Aston Villa proudly triumphed over Bayern Munich. Sadly, they were not ready for the next 40-odd years.
The Villans have rarely dined at Europe’s top table since that famous night but they are back and poetically, they’re beating Bayern again.
Wednesday night’s win encapsulated what’s so special about football, what’s so special about the Champions League. We’ve hopefully waved farewell to any Super League nonsense – a competition that would have deprived a club like Villa of this famous evening.
Unai Emery’s men were brilliant. Pau Torres was a pillar at the back, Emi Martinez proved why he’s one of the game’s best and Jhon Duran, oh Jhon Duran, you’re a little bit special, aren’t you?
You’re just going to lob one of football’s best-ever goalkeepers? Of course, you are. It was stunning, it was effortless, it was oh-so excellent.
Jhon Duran
So, Villa have two wins from two in the Champions League, this is all a bit easy, isn’t it? It raised a colossal smile and roar from Prince William and no doubt from another famous fan Tom Hanks. Somewhere, former club captain Jack Grealish will have been delighted too. Imagine if they had him in their ranks last night.
Well, as it happens, they may well have just discovered their next Grealish.
Aston Villa's new Jack Grealish
A boyhood Villlan, the England international decided to leave for pastures new in a record-breaking deal back in 2021.
He was leaving behind the club of his dreams – of course it was going to be emotional – but few could blame him for exiting when Manchester City came calling. Few could blame Christian Purslow and Co for not accepting a mega ÂŁ100m fee either.
At the time, he became the most expensive player in British football, a record that has since been broken by Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo.
Have City got bang for their buck? Arguably not. Having scored 32 goals and registered 41 assists in 213 outings for Villa, he has since found the back of the net just 14 times in 133 games for City. That’s around ÂŁ7m for every single goal he’s scored.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
2020/21
27
7
10
2019/20
41
10
8
2018/19
35
6
8
2017/18
34
3
8
2016/17
34
5
5
2015/16
21
1
1
2014/15
24
0
3
That said, he’s still a marvellous player and entertained many at Villa throughout the early stages of his career.
To receive such a massive fee for an academy player was no doubt a proud moment, and they may well get a similar fee for a certain Duran, who is just going from strength to strength under Emery’s tutelage.
Jhon Duran's impact this season
The man is a monster, there’s not much else to say really. Shall we wrap this article up now?
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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
We jest, of course, but the Colombian forward is beginning to show this season the very reason clubs like Chelsea were interested in signing him over the summer.
We have seen flashes of his brilliance over the last year or so but eyebrows were raised when a player with just five Premier League goals to his name was linked with Stamford Bridge.
Well, in the early stages of the new campaign he’s already nearly matched that tally, scoring four top-flight goals in just six games and 157 minutes of action.
He is the ultimate super sub and just can’t stop scoring, having found the net twice more – once in the Carabao Cup – and now against Bayern in the Champions League.
It’s the quality he’s showing, however, that makes him such a hot commodity. The goals he’s scoring aren’t simple. The stonking finish from range against Everton nearly took the net off and his strike against Bayern oozed quality.
Running onto the ball from Pau Torres he took one look – he didn’t even need a touch to set himself – before sending the ball over Neuer. Bedlam. Utter bedlam. Villa Park has arguably never been noisier.
It perhaps feels unnecessary after such a big game to discuss where he could end up next but the future is undoubtedly bright for Duran. As analyst Ben Mattinson remarked at full-time, this is a potential ÂŁ85m player in waiting.
It’s not quite the levels of Grealish but like the Birmingham-born playmaker, he is going to generate quite a sizeable fee for Villa, that there is no doubt.
100% ground duels: 9/10 Aston Villa star was as key as Duran & Martinez
Aston Villa managed to pull off a fantastic Champions League win by toppling Bayern Munich 1-0.
Swiftly turning their attention towards 2025 after an underwhelming summer transfer window, Newcastle United and Paul Mitchell are now reportedly keeping tabs on one target who has already found the back of the net at St James’ Park.
Newcastle transfer news
There’s no doubt that the Magpies could do with a successful January transfer window following such a disastrous summer – what Eddie Howe needs is a transfer window to match the quality that his side has shown so far this season. The former Bournemouth boss has guided his side to within two points of the top four after just seven games in a run that has seen them suffer just the one defeat despite not playing their best stuff.
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Of course, that run won’t stand in the way of Newcastle’s frustration after their 0-0 draw against Everton last time out, in which Anthony Gordon saw his penalty saved by former teammate Jordan Pickford, much to the delight of the Toffees support.
With the international break handing those at St James’ Park a couple of weeks to ponder such frustration, sporting director Mitchell has seemingly turned his attention towards the transfer window.
According to GiveMeSport, Mitchell is now monitoring Antoine Semenyo ahead of a potential move for Newcastle in the winter window or next summer. The Bournemouth winger has enjoyed an excellent start to the season for the Cherries, picking up where he left off last time out to become the star of the show once again.
Newcastle are well aware of his quality too, given that he scored in a 2-2 draw against the Magpies last season, as Bournemouth escaped St James’ Park with a well-earned point thanks to their winger. With Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur also reportedly interested in Semenyo, however, Newcastle and Mitchell will have to act fast in pursuit of his signature.
"Strong" Semenyo is a player on the rise
Much like Dominic Solanke did before leaving for Spurs in the summer, Semenyo is quickly making a name for himself on the South Coast and may well earn a big move as a result. So far this season, he’s arguably stolen more headlines than ever, having scored three goals and assisted another in just seven Premier League games as a player who only looks likely to get more and more clinical.
Wheeling away in celebration at St James’ Park last season, if Newcastle fans aren’t aware of Semenyo’s quality just yet, then a winter move should certainly give them a better look.
Full of praise for his £50,000-a-week winger, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola told reporters, via the Bournemouth Echo, earlier this season: “Past season, I remember that normally he started from the bench or he played 60, 65 minutes and you could see that he was starting to decline, it’s normal a little bit.
“Now he’s staying there, he’s finishing strong, the games. I think he’s one of the ones also who has played a lot of minutes with the national team and I hope he can keep this level.”
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies has been ruled out with a hamstring injury as he edges closer to signing a contract extension.
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Davies picked up an injury against FeyenoordHas a strain on his left hamstring Expected to be out for a couple of weeksFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
According to Davies has been ruled out for four to six weeks following a hamstring injury sustained during the team’s 3-0 loss to Feyenoord in the Champions League. The Canadian international limped off in first-half added time after receiving on-field treatment, with Raphael Guerreiro stepping in to replace him. Bayern confirmed the severity of Davies’ injury in a press release on Thursday and further updated his recovery timeline on Friday.
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Bayern put out a statement on Davies' injury which read: "Alphonso Davies sustained a muscle strain in his left hamstring in the Champions League match at Feyenoord (0-3) on Wednesday night. This was confirmed by a scan carried out by the FC Bayern medical staff. The 24-year-old will be absent for the German record champions for the time being."
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This isn’t the first time Davies has dealt with muscle issues this season. In December, he missed two matches due to a torn muscle fibre. Despite these setbacks, the 23-year-old has been a vital player under manager Vincent Kompany, starting 23 matches and appearing as a substitute twice, contributing one goal and three assists.
Amid his injury concerns, Davies is also in the middle of contract extension talks with Bayern. The left-back’s current deal is set to expire in June, but reports suggest both parties are nearing an agreement. This would be a significant boost for Bayern, as Real Madrid are waiting on the wings to lure the defender to the Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent.
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While his absence is a blow for Bayern, it comes at a time when the club is also managing injuries to other key players, including Joao Palhinha and reserve goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Additionally, right-back Konrad Laimer will miss the upcoming match against Freiburg due to suspension.
Breetzke and Fortuin bring out the big runs in a not-very-competitive round of Pool D games
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2021Fortuin finds a new home, and some form Clyde Fortuin was part of the 2014 South Africa Under-19 side that won the World Cup, but unlike Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram, he has not found his way into the senior side just yet. In fact, Fortuin had not even found a domestic team to call his own and bounced around between Western Province and Northern Cape before settling in the Boland for the coming summer.Related
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In his first match for the Rocks, Fortuin reeled out what will end up being one of the innings of the tournament, the second century after Zubayr Hamza’s, and a knock that ensured Boland posted a match-winning total against the Warriors. After losing the Malan brothers with the score on 40 in the fifth over, Fortuin built a 118-run stand with Christiaan Jonker to take Boland to 183 for 5. He recorded a duck in his second match but finished with 151 from three hits to lie third on the batting charts.Warriors lose, and then hit up 243! After a 17-run defeat in their tournament opener, the Warriors line-up was merciless against second division side Limpopo and piled on the competition’s highest-score to date: 243. Wihan Lubbe and Matthew Breetzke scored half-centuries each, and for Breetzke, it was his second successive half-century of the tournament, and he shared in a 129-run opening stand before JJ Smuts’ 26-ball 52 and Diego Rosier’s 15-ball 31 propelled them over 200. Limpopo used eight bowlers and only Malcolm Nofal conceded at less than ten runs an over.No win for Limpopo If that 120-run reversal wasn’t bad enough, Limpopo ended with a winless season as they went down to Boland by 32 runs in their next game.After two losses from two games, they were up against high-fliers Boland. Pieter Malan won the toss, scored just 13 – the Malans, together, totalled 14 – but with Fortuin hitting a quick 47, they had 141 for 8 on the board. It was a bowling effort to be fairly proud of for Limpopo. Don Radebe, the 24-year-old medium-pacer, and the pacy Sithembile Langa picked up five wickets between them and, really, 142 was as good a target as they could have hoped for.But it’s a team that hasn’t managed to put up big runs often enough – the 96-run stand between Morne Venter and Juandre Scheepers in their first outing was a bit of an outlier – and it was more of the same as a platform of 54 (in eight-and-a-half overs) for the opening wicket was frittered away by the rest of the batters and Limpopo limped to 109 for 8. Shaun von Berg, the veteran legspinner, ended with 3 for 17 and a Player-of-the-Match award.Hit-and-miss Border They won their first fixture, against Limpopo, and then went down to Boland – the table-toppers despite a fair fight in their second game, but then put up quite a show, even though it was in a losing cause, against Warriors in the last game of the round.Warriors have the batting, and they opted to bat first, and Breetzke hit an imperious 46-ball 80, and Tristan Stubbs chipped in with 46 off 22 balls from No. 5 to give them an imposing 228 for 5.That’s usually enough to win big, and when Border went from 73 for 2 at the halfway mark of the chase to 82 for 5 just another over-and-a-half in, the chase looked dead in the water. But Border have been impressive in patches, and the last eight-and-a-half overs of their innings was one of those patches, this one courtesy captain Jerry Nqolo and Clayton Bosch, who hit 58* and 64* respectively in double-quick time to, well, not quite give Border a chance, but enough to take them past 200. Not bad, all considered.That was true of Thomas Kaber in the first half too when, in the face of quite an onslaught, the left-arm spinner returned 2 for 30. In a match worth 435 runs, his effort was deemed the best of the lot.
Assistant coach McDonald says 4-1 loss in Bangladesh is fresh in the mind but hopes experience will put them in good stead
Alex Malcolm02-Nov-2021Australia are expecting a trial by spin against Bangladesh despite their top-order collapse to England’s seamers on Saturday night in Dubai.Australia’s semi-final hopes hang in the balance after their net run-rate took a hammering courtesy of the England loss, and the irony of their tournament hinging on defeating Bangladesh and West Indies was not lost on assistant coach Andrew McDonald.The recent 4-1 series defeat to Bangladesh remains fresh in the mind of the Australians although they are confident some more experienced personnel will hold them in good stead on Thursday, given five of Australia’s seven specialist batters at the World Cup did not tour Bangladesh recently.Related
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“We’re going to get a little bit of a trial by spin, which has been a great challenge over the last sort of 12-18 months,” McDonald said. “But, we feel as though with Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell coming back into that [team], along with Aaron Finch, David Warner, we’ve probably got some more capable players in terms of the ability to play spin than what we had on the last tour. It’s not to say that those guys on the last tour weren’t going to develop into great players of spin, but they were early on in their journey. And that was the first time that they’ve been exposed to such conditions. And it’s not uncommon for people to fail on their first tour to the subcontinent. That’s what happened to us, but we feel as though we’ve got better capabilities within this team. But it’s literally going to be a similar trial by spin in my opinion.”Nasum Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan took 15 wickets between them in the recent series, but Bangladesh have lost Shakib for the remainder of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. The conditions in Dubai are also not going to be anything like the sticky spinning tracks Australia faced in Bangladesh.Australia learned plenty of lessons from the England loss, not least of which was how to navigate batting first in Dubai given the success of teams that have won the toss and sent the opposition in. But McDonald believes the toss will not have as big an impact on Australia’s next two matches as both are day games.”At the moment, we are seeing some difficulties with teams batting first, and that is an ongoing discussion internally, how we would approach that given another opportunity with it with a night game at Dubai,” McDonald said. “But at the moment, our focus is clearly on Bangladesh, 2 pm start. And then once we get through that one, it’s another 2 pm start down at Abu Dhabi against the West Indies. So the relevance of that conversation at the moment is probably just parked, but it’s going on in the background.”The major debate in the Australia camp is around team selection and structure. Australia opted for seven batters and four bowlers in their first two matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka and secured two wins. They opted for six batters and five bowlers against England, citing Ashton Agar’s ability to match-up to England’s top order as the reason to drop allrounder Mitch Marsh after Glenn Maxwell was taken for 16 in his solitary powerplay over against Sri Lanka. Marcus Stoinis also bowled three overs for 35, but Australia still won the game easily with Aaron Finch able to deploy Mitchell Starc’s overs with more flexibility due to the use of the allrounders.Australia lost wickets in the powerplay against England and were exposed, with Maxwell forced to bat against the new ball. The game was all but over when Australia slumped to 4 for 21. How Australia structures their side against Bangladesh remains a work in progress, but Marsh’s recent good form against them in Bangladesh will no doubt bring him back into calculations.”We’ve got a lot to work through,” McDonald said. “We’ll be picking the best team based on conditions and the opposition.”Two spinners have served us well in the past. Clearly, seven batters were chosen in the first couple of games and Ashton was unlucky not to be a part of those teams. We went in favour of the three quicks and the one spinner with Glenn Maxwell to do the second spinning duty.”So all those things we take into consideration, whoever misses out is always going to be unlucky, and it’s always going to create discussions and debates as to what our best team is. And that’s probably a reflection on the depth that we have, and hopefully, we can navigate our way through the next couple of games, pick the right teams, and only hindsight will tell us whether they’re right or wrong.”
Jenni Hermoso's brother has told a court the Spain star was "pressured into downplaying" a kiss from Luis Rubiales at the 2023 World Cup.
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Rubiales standing trial in Spain for World Cup kissAccused of sexual assault and coercionCould be jailed if found guiltyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Former RFEF president Rubiales is standing trial in Spain after being accused of sexual assault and coercion after grabbing and kissing Hermoso after Spain beat England in the final of the Women's World Cup in 2023. Hermoso said afterwards the kiss was not consensual and added she was then pressured to downplay Rubiales' actions. The World Cup winner's brother Rafael has now testified at the trial and told the court what Hermoso said to him after the incident.
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As reported by , he told the court: "She came to us half-crying and told us that they were pressuring her to take a stance downplaying the kiss."
Rafael added that then-national team manager Jorge Vilda, who is also on trial for coercion, spoke to him on the flight home. He said: "We were talking about soccer and the achievement of the team and suddenly he mentioned the kiss. He said that the president wanted me to talk to Jenni to ask her to record the video together downplaying the kiss, because that would be the best thing for everyone."
He also said that he felt Vilda had threatened his sister about not helping and that he had told the Spain boss: "I was not going to try to convince her to do something that I also don't agree with."
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Hermoso has already appeared as a witness at the trial, revealing the death threats she received after the kiss and how the saga "stained one of the happiest days of her life". Rubiales denies all the charges against him and is still yet to testify.
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The trial is set to continue and is expected to last 10 days in total. The prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a half-year jail term for Rubiales as well as a €50,000 (£41,000) fine for damages and a ban from working as a sports official.
When it rains it pours is definitely the sombre expression to sum up the sorry state of affairs at Wolverhampton Wanderers currently, as Gary O’Neil’s men battled with Manchester City well last time out, only to end the tight contest with nothing to show for their determined efforts.
A late John Stones goal for Pep Guardiola’s visitors would swing the Premier League contest in City’s favour by two goals to one, with the winner initially ruled out for offside before being controversially overturned to the dismay of the home masses packed into Molineux.
O’Neil will have bought himself more time with this promising display you imagine, with the Wolves boss under increasing pressure to turn around the fortunes of the basement club, as the likes of Matheus Cunha try to continue to shine for the former AFC Bournemouth boss during bleak times in the West Midlands.
Cunha's form this season
The Brazilian has been a source of positivity for Wolves fans to latch onto long before this campaign, with the entertaining 25-year-old enjoying his best time as an Old Gold player last season.
Cunha would help himself to a mightily impressive 14 goals and eight assists across the course of 36 games, cementing his reputation as a firm fan’s favourite in the process, which has only increased this season as Wolves find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League pile.
He has three goals from eight Premier League games so far, with the Old Gold even more reliant on the firepower of their South American ace, knowing the likes of Pedro Neto are no longer present.
Regardless of Cunha reaffirming his importance to the cause, his wage isn’t the heftiest in O’Neil’s camp by any means, with the former Atletico Madrid man earning a reasonable ÂŁ60k-per-week pay packet currently, according to reports.
Cunha
In contrast, this ex-Wolves ace is absolutely swimming in cash in his new location, after lining up alongside the Brazilian during the start of his playing days in England.
The player now earning way more than Cunha
When on the books of Wolves still in the top division, midfield star Ruben Neves would only pocket ÂŁ50k-per-week, with that salary actually coming in as being less than Cunha’s.
Now, however, the Portuguese midfielder has won himself a gigantic pay increase playing for Al-Hilal out in Saudi Arabia, with the former Wolves number eight now on an outrageous ÂŁ277k-per-week salary.
Player
Wage per week
Wage per year
1. Neymar
ÂŁ1.6m
ÂŁ83.3m
2. Kalidou Koulibaly
ÂŁ555k
ÂŁ28m
3. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
ÂŁ400k
ÂŁ20m
4. Aleksandar Mitrovic
ÂŁ400k
ÂŁ20m
5. Malcom
ÂŁ288k
ÂŁ14.9m
Amazingly, that steep wage doesn’t see Neves even enter into the top five highest earners bracket at the Middle East outfit, with Neymar taking home a mind-boggling ÂŁ83.3m per year when scanning the table above.
Still, Neves’ extortionate pay packet for Al-Hilal means he takes home ÂŁ217k more per week than Cunha does battling it out for the Old Gold, but nobody back at Molineux would accuse their former midfield star of throwing in the towel prematurely to chase down these riches.
Long before a lavish move to Riyadh was even on the cards, the midfielder would score screamers like this one against Derby County on a regular basis for his ex-employers, with Neves even playing for Wolves in the Championship before their triumphant return to Premier League in 2018.
It wasn’t quite the same bumper ÂŁ277k-per-week wage for him back then – with Neves pocketing a far more modest ÂŁ30k-per-week – but his former club won’t bother themselves too much thinking about his lavish salary for Al-Hilal, as more pressing relegation concerns are surely on their mind.
Wolves have a dream Kilman replacement in "quality" star who's out on loan
The ACB CEO said Azizullah Fazli’s term was always intended to be temporary
Umar Farooq11-Nov-2021Afghanistan allrounder Mirwais Ashraf has been appointed as acting chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). The order was issued earlier this week by Hasan Akhund, patron-in-chief of the ACB and the acting prime minister of the country, and awaits a ratification by the ACB board, which is expected to be just a formality.The change at the top is the second in four months after Azizullah Fazli was earlier named new ACB chairman replacing Farhan Yusufzai, who left the country after the Taliban took over. No proper reason has been given by the ACB about the latest change, but it has been learnt that Fazli’s appointment was always intended to be a temporary one.ESPNcricinfo understands that the country’s government intends to revamp the working structure of the board. “The government is trying to bring in more competent people with expertise in technical aspects of the game – commercial, business and marketing,” a former director of the ACB told ESPNcricinfo. “If Afghanistan can produce world-class players with this broken system back home, then imagine what they can do with a competent board.”Mirwais, a 33-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler who played representative cricket as recently as in October 2020, was among the initial lot of players who helped cricket in Afghanistan rise to the top table. He made his international debut in 2009 and last played in 2016, featuring in 46 ODIs and 25 T20Is.Fazli had served a ten-month term as ACB chairman following the resignation of Atif Mashal – replaced by Yusufzai after Afghanistan’s bottom-place finish at the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. He was among the early group of players who established the game in the country. He had also served as the ACB’s vice-chairman and advisor in the past, and has been involved in running the country’s domestic and regional set-ups. “But when it comes to the ICC, he was a quiet person who kept his head down,” said the former director.Afghanistan, one of the teams that qualified directly for the Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup, were eliminated at the group stage after losing to Pakistan, India, and New Zealand, while winning against Scotland and Namibia.