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The India captain has been strongly linked with Surrey in recent months with the BCCI keen that key players have the chance to get used to conditions in England

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2018Virat Kohli remains eager for a spell in county cricket ahead of India’s tour of England later this year after it was confirmed last month that the BCCI had granted permission for him to seek a deal.Test success in England remains the one major missing piece to Kohli’s stellar career after he endured a torrid series in 2014 where he made 134 runs in five Tests at 13.40.He was strongly linked with Surrey recently but a deal has not been confirmed. The county are in need of overseas cover, however, having lost Mitchell Marsh to injury. They have signed Dean Elgar for the first two months of the season but a window in June which fits with Kohli’s schedule after the IPL remains a possibility, although that would mean Kohli missing the one-off Test against Afghanistan.”Playing county cricket will help me improve my game,” Kohli told NDTV. “I think it makes things more challenging and more competitive and there are no guarantees whether you are going to do well even if you go in advance.”It’s just about giving yourself more opportunity to get used to the conditions that you are not used to.”Two of India’s senior Test players, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma, are already playing county cricket for Yorkshire and Sussex respectively. Pujara’s first outing, against Essex, was abandoned without a ball bowled at Headingley but Ishant impressed with five wickets against Warwickshire.The BCCI is keen to learn from the experience in South Africa earlier this year when India arrived with barely any preparation. “This time we have been pro-active because post the South Africa experience we felt that exposure was essential for the team,” Vinod Rai, the chairman of the committee of administrators, the body governing the BCCI said.India have one four-day warm-up match, against Essex at Chelmsford, ahead of the five-match Test series which begins on August 1. In 2014 they were 1-0 up after two matches, following victory at Lord’s, but ended up losing the series 3-1.

The England coach accepted that progress “was taking longer than we would have liked” after a sixth defeat in eight Tests

George Dobell at Lord's27-May-20181:52

England outplayed in all three departments – Root

Trevor Bayliss has admitted England were “nowhere near good enough for Test level” in subsiding to a nine-wicket defeat against Pakistan at Lord’s.Bayliss, the England coach, accepted that progress “was taking longer than we would have liked” after England’s sixth defeat in eight Tests (the other two have been drawn) and third defeat in four at Lord’s and questioned whether playing in the County Championship at this time of year provided any benefit for aspiring batsmen.And, while he reiterated his desire to see out his contract as coach in all formats of the game, Bayliss shrugged off the prospect of being sacked from the Test role by saying he was “looking forward to a bit more time gardening” if the axe should fall.He was particularly scathing of England’s batting, accepting that their failures at Lord’s were far from unique and suggesting they needed to take “a good, hard look at themselves.” And he defended Joe Root’s decision not to insert Pakistan on a green, first-day surface by stating that, had England batted better, the tactic might have been justified.”It’s very disappointing,” Bayliss told . “Especially from a batting point of view. It was nowhere near good enough for Test level. Pakistan bowled well but we have to be better.”To be bowled out for 180 and 240 is simply not good enough. Usually when we lose one or two quick wickets, it usually follows with another two or three so that’s something we have sit down – we’ve done it in the past which may make things worse – and continue to work on.”It’s not as though we haven’t talked about that before. They are working hard on it but we keep making the same mistakes. The batters have to have a good hard long look at themselves.”Jos Buttler and Dom Bess showed the approach early on his very important: let the ball come, play it under your eyes, get yourself in and give yourself a chance.”I was 50-50 on the toss decision. Joe really wanted to put the pressure on Pakistan in the fourth innings and we saw even today there were some balls keeping low. We simply didn’t bat well enough. Even though the ball was doing a bit we have to be better and get the match into the fifth day if that’s the decision the captain makes.”Asked whether more players should have been involved in the County Championship ahead of the Tests – Buttler and Ben Stokes joined the squad straight from the IPL – Bayliss questioned the value of the competition as a learning ground. He also stated that England felt they could help Mark Stoneman more with his firm in the nets than allowing him to play a one-day match with Surrey.”Only two guys missed those county matches with IPL,” he said. “When it comes to four-day cricket we have to make the decision if it’s worth playing on those little seaming green-tops where slow medium pacers take all the wickets.”We felt it was better to do some hard work with Stoneman in the nets. The other thing we need is some putting pressure on from the outside and making plenty of runs and that’s not necessarily happening either.”Bayliss also insisted that he and his coaching staff were on the right track and reiterated his desire to see out his contract, which ends in September 2019. But he did make the intriguing suggestion that a new seamer could be drafted into the team if it was concluded they required someone to “bowl fuller more often.””James Anderson and Stuart Broad have 900 Test wickets between them and should know how to bowl on these wickets. From a swing bowler’s point of view, Jimmy’s mode of operation is a bit different to others. He likes to starve the batter of a lot of full balls and when the full one comes they throw their hands at it straightaway. He’s taken 500 Test wickets, it’s a bit hard to say that’s the wrong approach.”If we want someone to bowl fuller more often it means we maybe have to put someone in the term that’s their mode. Those two boys, with 400 and 500 Test wickets, I don’t think they’ve done a lot wrong.”I’ve committed to September 2019 in both forms of the game. If that’s a decision someone higher up makes, then I’m looking forward to a bit more gardening.”Personally I think the things myself and the coaching staff are working on are the right things, it’s taking a little longer than we would have liked and we have to keeper hammering away. I believe it will be the right way and these are the best players we’ve got.”

Chelsea chiefs are keeping a close eye on an upcoming talent and could make a move to bring the forward to Stamford Bridge to ease their goalscoring woes, according to reports.

What's the latest news involving Chelsea?

As per The Evening Standard, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he didn't have much to do with deciding on whether defender Marc Cucurella should've been kept around at Stamford Bridge in the midst of the Spaniard seeing a late move to Manchester United collapse on Deadline Day.

Pochettino stated: "I don’t know because I wasn’t involved in this situation, that was more the sporting director, the [player’s] agent and the club. After, when the transfer window closed, we were talking in my office. We were really clear about how I see and assess him and I listened to his feelings. Of course, it was a difficult time for him after he arrived from Brighton. It was tough, not only for him, but many, many players."

Chelsea make the short travel to face neighbors Fulham on Monday night in the Premier League and will sport their new front-of-shirt sponsor Infinite Athlete for the first time this campaign, after agreeing a deal with the US-based sports technology firm that will net them north of £40 million in 2023/24, as per BBC Sport.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on social media platform X detailing the fortunes of Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos, who is out on loan at Nottingham Forest, stating: "Zero minutes again for Andrey Santos in Nottingham Forest-Brentford — 99 mins spent on the bench. He joined the club on loan from Chelsea in August after more than 10 loan requests over the summer."

Brazil Under-23 international Santos has featured just once on loan at the Tricky Trees, playing the entire 90 minutes in Nottingham Forest's Carabao Cup second round defeat to Burnley in late August, as per Transfermarkt.

Who are Chelsea signing in 2024?

According to Football Insider, Stamford Bridge chiefs are keeping a close eye on Brighton & Hove Albion talent Simon Adingra, and they are said to have been impressed by his strong start to the new campaign.

Adingra has been identified as an 'ideal' solution to Pochettino's lack of cutting edge in attack and the Blues are eyeing a move for the Ivory Coast international to add an extra attacking option to help provide competition to Nicolas Jackson. Todd Boehly and company have made a point of targeting players under the age of 25, and the 21-year-old has been placed on their transfer shortlist.

The Ivorian forward has made seven appearances in all competitions for the Seagulls this term, registering one goal and one assist in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

Arriving from FC Nordsjaelland in 2022, the Right to Dream academy graduate was given heavy praise by Brighton technical director David Weir, who stated: "We’re delighted to welcome Simon to the club. He’s an exciting young player who has had a terrific start to his career in Denmark. He’s a creative offensive player who can play on both sides and is very good in one-on-one situations. He’s a talented young player who we’ve had an eye on for a while, and we’re looking forward to helping him with his development.”

Working hard off the ball, Adingra has also excelled in comparison to his positional peers in Europe's top five leagues in the field of interceptions, averaging around 1.19 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days, putting him in the 99th percentile for this metric, according to FBRef, showing he works hard pressing from the front.

Chelsea are getting a reputation as a hub for young talent and Adingra would add plenty of distinguishable qualities to Pochettino's forward line.

Sheffield United fans left Monday's Premier League game against Arsenal early after seeing the Gunners make a blistering start.

Arsenal score four in 25 minutesSheffield United fans head for the exitsGunners aiming to maintain title pushGettyWHAT HAPPENED

Arsenal raced into a five-goal lead by half-time against Sheffield United in a rampant showing at Bramall Lane. The Gunners were 3-0 up after just 15 minutes, thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and an own goal from Jayden Bogle, leading home fans to head for the exits in their droves. Kai Havertz and Declan Rice were also on the scoresheet in the opening 45 minutes.

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Arsenal were heavy favourites to take all three points against Sheffield United after enjoying emphatic wins over Newcastle, Burnley and West Ham in recent weeks. Victory will see the Gunners maintain their Premier League title push, while their goal difference will also get a healthy boost from their trip to the Blades.

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William Saliba completed more passes (80) than Sheffield United (74) in the first half

South Africa crumbled around Theunis de Bruyn in pursuit of 490

The Report by Firdose Moonda22-Jul-2018
Angelo Mathews chops through point•AFPSouth Africa dragged the second Test into a fourth day with their best batting performance of the series against a sloppy and frustrated Sri Lankan attack. The hosts squandered four clear chances and had three unsuccessful reviews (all on umpire’s call which allowed Sri Lanka to retain their reviews) which could have seen them well into South Africa’s lower order. Instead, they gave the home crowd reason to return on Monday, when Sri Lanka will go in search of the remaining five wickets.Theunis de Bruyn gave the best account of himself as a international cricketer in his short career and remained unbeaten on 45. He also featured in South Africa’s highest partnership in the match, 57 runs for the second wicket with Dean Elgar, who made his top score of the series – a dogged 37.Elgar’s innings was incident-filled and he was let off three times, with Dilruwan Perera tainting his 36th birthday by being the culprit on each occasion. First, Dilruwan dropped a catch when Elgar top-edged a sweep off Rangana Herath in the third over. Dilruwan, running from square leg, settled under the ball but could not hold on to it. Then, Dilruwan overstepped after bowling Elgar on 6. Elgar had swept against the slider and missed. Dilruwan didn’t get his front foot back and bowled two more no-balls, one in the third session which had Elgar caught behind on 23. Elgar had left the field but was called back and added 14 runs to his score before Dilruwan finally had him out lbw, going back to the arm ball.In between, Mathews dropped Markram at slip, off Rangana Herath. Herath only had to wait until his next over to trap Markram lbw. The opener missed an attempted sweep and gave Sri Lanka their first inroad.But Sri Lanka and Dilruwan had more to rue when two reviews didn’t go their way, which could have dismissed de Bruyn before he settled. Though de Bruyn swept confidently from the start of his innings, his defences looked suspect. Dilruwan beat his outside edge and reviewed for lbw off two consecutive deliveries. Both times the deliveries pitched in line and struck de Bruyn on the back foot with the impact in line with the stumps but both times Umpire Rod Tucker’s on-field decision was not out. Both times ball-tracking showed umpires call on off stump, giving de Bruyn second and third chances to make a name for himself. And he took them. He is only five runs away from his first Test fifty and he has showed the kind of patience his seniors have lacked.Hashim Amla’s lean year showed no signs of stopping. Sri Lanka reviewed an lbw appeal against him when Akila caught him on the pad as he looked to sweep but the batsman had shuffled across enough to get outside the line. He was on 4 at the time, and added only two runs before being bowled by Herath. Faf du Plessis became the only South African batsman to cross 100 runs in the series when he added seven runs to the 98 he had scored in his three previous innings. His innings, however, ended when was caught at slip off an Akila wrong’un.With his next ball, Akila had nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj out lbw, also with a googly, but he could not complete the hat-trick. Temba Bavuma was unintimidated by a close-in field and a topspinner and went on to produce a sprightly knock that he will want to build on. That’s all South Africa’s middle and lower order can aim for, in the face of a mammoth target.Earlier, Sri Lanka batted until an hour into the lunch session and declared with a lead of 489 runs. Dimuth Karunaratne took his personal tally in the two-Test series to 356 runs and fell 15 runs short of a second century. After hours of concentration, he chased a Lungi Ngidi length ball and edged it to Quinton de Kock. He shared a 63-run stand with Angelo Mathews, who returned to form with his first score over fifty since December 2017. Mathews also put on 64 with Roshen Silva to frustrate a wearing South African attack.By the time the second new ball was due, South Africa were using Maharaj on one end and rotating part-timers at the other to spare the frontline quicks from the drudgery. Kagiso Rabada and Ngidi bowled eight and nine overs respectively, while Dale Steyn carried the heaviest workload, with 11 overs. Steyn went wicketless, though, which means he will have to wait until the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at home to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker. Steyn drew level with Pollock on 421 wickets in this match.But the bowling honours belonged to Maharaj, who sent down 81.1 overs in three days and finished with 12 for 283. Sri Lanka’s batsmen, Mathews in particular, took Maharaj on, often with success but eventually gave South Africa’s sole specialist spinner some reward.Mathews eventually chased a length ball that carried to du Plessis at knee height. Sri Lanka faced 11 more balls before calling time on their innings, giving themselves the runs and the time to bowl South Africa and claim a series win.

Sheffield Wednesday have been dealt an injury blow to one of their first-team players, with a reliable journalist revealing that he's set to undergo a spell on the sidelines in the Championship.

What's the latest injury news at Sheffield Wednesday?

In South Yorkshire, Barry Bannan and Josh Windass both missed the 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town last weekend, whilst Momo Diaby has been spotted without his protective boot on but won’t be featuring anytime soon because he is still not registered to compete (The Star).

During Saturday’s stalemate at Hillsborough, there was a further notable absence from the matchday squad, with caretaker manager Neil Thompson claiming that one star hadn’t been risked because he is carrying a bit of a knock, and that was Juan Delgado.

The Owls’ right-winger put pen to paper this summer from Pacos Ferreira, but he’s already impressed during his 12 appearances to date having been a regular feature of Xisco Munoz’s line-up before the former manager was relieved of his duties, having won zero matches in the second-tier this season (Transfermarkt – Delgado statistics).

The Chile international had received a call-up to represent his nation in their upcoming fixtures against Peru and Venezuela, but in a statement released by the Chilean FA, the 30-year-old has had to withdraw from the camp and return to England.

Juan Delgado injury update

Taking to X, The Star's Joe Crann shared an injury update on Juan Delgado and revealed that Sheffield Wednesday's attacker has already completed a procedure on his hip, whilst admitting that his absence timescale is unknown, hinting that it could be a while.

He wrote: "Some surprise news from over in Chile… After Juan Delgado missed #SWFC's game against Huddersfield Town it's been confirmed that he's undergone hip surgery. No idea how long it'll take him to recover."

How good is Juan Delgado?

According to journalist Josh Bunting, Delgado is one of the few players who have really “stood out” for Sheffield Wednesday so far this season thanks to his rapid pace, therefore, the fact that he could be set for a spell on the sidelines will come as a huge blow to Thompson and the new boss set to take over.

The Santiago native has posted 61 final third involvements (39 goals and 22 assists) since the start of his career, including having already found the back of the net once for the blue and white stripes, and even if the end product isn’t always there, he poses a constant threat.

Dejphon Chansiri’s £3k-per-week earner (Sheffield Wednesday salaries), has recorded 25 crosses and ten shots so far this season, both of which are the joint second-highest total throughout the squad, the former being equal with Callum Paterson and the latter with Lee Gregory (FBRef – Sheffield Wednesday statistics).

Finally, Delgado is a versatile operator having been deployed in an outstanding nine different positions over the grass since the start of his career, including everywhere across the frontline, three roles in the midfield and two in the defence, so the sooner he returns, the better.

Thomas Muller has joked that he and Harry Kane are both "Brazilian-style players" who indulge in "jogo bonito" at Bayern Munich.

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Muller and Kane forming superb partnershipBayern progressed in Champions LeagueKane scored twice and Muller onceWHAT HAPPENED?

Muller and Kane were both on the scoresheet as Bayern beat Lazio 3-0 to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, with the England international netting a brace. And the Germany international believes the pair are very much on the same wavelength, having posted a message on Instagram labelling Kane as "unstoppable".

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Speaking after their win over Lazio, Muller told reporter Arthur Quezada: "We are two Brazilian style players. It's always jogo bonito."

Told that Kane had levelled Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League goalscorer stakes, Muller replied: "He should keep going!"

Kane jumped in with: "There's a long way to go."

And Muller replied: "Come on Harry, we need more, more, more!"

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Bayern have been in poor form domestically and have only won two of their last five league games. However, their comeback against Lazio – they were 1-0 down from the first leg – could spark a potential upturn in their fortunes.

The USMNT U23 squad for their March friendlies against France and Guinea has been revealed, with Cade Cowell and Gianluca Busio leading the way.

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USMNT U23 squad announcedPrimary group for Paris OlympicsCowell & McGuire highlight attackWHAT HAPPENED?

U.S. Soccer shared news that they brought in 22 players for the camp: two goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders and seven forwards. Only 10 of the 22 selected have played a role in all three USMNT U23 training roster since head coach Marko Mitrovic started preparing his team for the summer games, with defenders Maximilian Dietz, Nathan Harriel, Bryan Reynolds, John Tolkin and Jonathan Tomkinson, midfielders Gianluca Busio, Jack McGlynn and Tanner Tessmann plus forwards Esmir Bajraktarevic and Johan Gomez all making the cut again.

Meanwhile, USMNT first-team capped players like Cowell, Busio and Duncan McGuire are now with this group again, and are likely locked in for roles at the Paris Games. Of the 22 selected, 15 have seen senior caps, with Busio's 13 leading the way.

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U23 goalkeeper Patrick Schulte has been a standout performer for the Columbus Crew over the past 12 months, and now has Premier League side Arsenal scouting him ahead of what is being touted as a breakout year for him. However, Chelsea loanee Gaga Slonina will be competing for minutes in net, with neither prepared to take the bench.

Meanwhile, fellow MLS standouts Diego Luna, Bajraktarevic and McGlynn will all be looking to push for a roster spot this summer as well.

The squad will have to be trimmed down ahead of a final decision this summer by Mitrovic and U.S. Soccer, while they will also have to determine if any of their U23 senior players like Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Johnny Cardoso or Ricardo Pepi will want to feature, too.

DID YOU KNOW?

For the Olympic Games, men's soccer rosters are limited to 18-persons, with it being a near strict U23 policy. However, teams are allowed to have four alternates, meaning squad sizes of 22 will be called up. Additionally, mens teams are allowed to call in three overage players above 23-years-old to bolster their roster and add a sense of leadership to what will be a relatively young squad.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR THE U23 USMNT?

The squad has two upcoming friendlies during the international window starting next week, with the marquee matchup coming on March 25. They'll clash with France, who will be led by Thierry Henry on the touchline. Three days prior, they'll take on Guinea.

TalkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist has said that Ange Postecoglou is regularly selecting a "very frustrating" Tottenham Hotspur player.

Tottenham fixtures and results

Spurs' climb under their popular new manager has continued after the international break with a 2-0 win over Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday. Goals from Son Heung-min and summer signing James Maddison gifted Postecoglou his seventh win from nine Premier League, and they're now gearing up for another London clash against Crystal Palace this Friday.

There have been some suggestions that they could even be title contenders, with Postecoglou officially enjoying the best ever start of any new manager in Premier League history. It's also their best start to a campaign since the 1960/1961 season, where they went on to win a domestic double. Journalist Alex Howell, writing for the BBC this week, most perfectly summed up the joy around Spurs:

"It is unbelievable to think that Tottenham ended last season with an interim manager, without European football to look forward to and then lost their talisman in the summer," wrote Howell.

"The feeling around the club is one of positivity and excitement with the way the team is playing. Ange Postecoglou has led his side to the top of the Premier League after nine games and they are currently undefeated. Under previous manager Antonio Conte, supporters were frustrated with their 'safety first' style of football. There is none of that under Postecoglou, with free-flowing football played by an attacking, fearless team."

The likes of Maddison and Son stand out as two of Postecoglou's key performers over their meteoric, early-season rise; while both Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr have become star regulars after being largely shunned by Conte.

Richarlison update

Other brilliant performers in the squad, like Destiny Udogie, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dejan Kulusevski have been praised for their efforts in a Lilywhites jersey. However, Richarlison, who has featured in every single league game for Spurs so far this season, still continues to divide opinion.

The Brazilian has contributed well in parts, most notably winning the game against Sheffield United with his goal and assist in the dying minutes of added time. Overall, he's bagged a goal and assist in the top flight, with journalist Paul Brown also tipping him for a big role this season.

"I think he will have a big part to play this season because, with no Kane there, there will be opportunities for the forwards," said Brown to GiveMeSport.

“He can play in more than one role. He could find a niche playing slightly to the left of a centre forward, whether Son or somebody else."

Key passing

Defensive contribution

(via WhoScored)

talkSPORT pundit McCoist, though, believes he is a "very frustrating" player at times, and we don't see his "extreme talent" enough.

“I just think he can be a very frustrating player, I really do," said the Rangers legend (as transcribed by The Boot Room).

“As you say there’s nobody doubting there’s a player in there with extreme talent. I just don’t think we see it enough.”

Foreign nationals ejected from domestic T20 for “using their mobiles in a suspicious manner”

Madushka Balasuriya27-Aug-2018A group of foreign nationals were ejected from an ongoing SLC T20 League fixture, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed, after “suspicious individuals” were reported to the board’s Anti-Corruption Unit. Though no approaches are believed to have been made to players, SLC has since taken steps to tighten anti-corruption measures at match venues and team hotels.”Sri Lanka Cricket has also notified the team managers and the players taking part in the tournament to inform SLC, immediately, of any approach by those suspicious individuals,” a SLC release said. “In the meantime, the Anti-Corruption Unit of the SLC has already taken steps to refresh the players on the Anti-Corruption Code of Sri Lanka Cricket.”While SLC was unable to confirm the exact numbers or nationalities of the individuals in question, it is understood that they were from the subcontinent. The suspicious use of mobile phones is what is believed to have led the tournament director flagging the individuals to SLC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, who then asked police to eject those under suspicion.”There were a few – we think Indian nationals – at the ground, who had been using their mobiles in a suspicious manner. Immediately we brought them to the notice of the police, who proceeded to eject them from the stadium,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo.While it is unclear what exactly constitutes using mobiles “in a suspicious manner”, it is understood that officials have been told to keep a look out for excessive use of mobiles, while de Silva noted that officials are particularly vigilant in the case of foreign nationals.”When there are foreign – South Asian – spectators at the matches you’re always a bit more suspicious,” he explained. “And during domestic matches, when matches are not being broadcast terrestrially, we’re especially cautious. We don’t know for sure if they were match-fixers, we were only suspicious and we didn’t want to take any chances.”While these games are not being broadcast terrestrially, they are on local cable and are being streamed on YouTube, which means they are accessible to a global audience. That global availability would make the tournament more attractive to bookies.Also, de Silva said the number of spectators at the ground for the game during which people were ejected stood around 600. Given the number is usually significantly smaller at domestic games in Sri Lanka, this too could have piqued the interest – and subsequently the suspicion – of officials.The SLC T20 League features four teams representing Galle, Colombo, Dambulla and Kandy, and is set to conclude on September 9 in Colombo.