The batter posted his List A stats on social media, expressing surprise at his omission

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2024Prithvi Shaw has been left out of Mumbai’s squad for the first three rounds of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy beginning December 21. The announcement was made on Tuesday, two days after Mumbai beat Madhya Pradesh in Bengaluru to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Ajinkya Rahane, who played a key role in the triumph by top-scoring in the tournament, has been rested following a request for a break. Rahane made 469 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 164.56, with five half-centuries, as an opener.Shreyas Iyer continues to remain captain, while Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur feature in a full-strength 17-member squad. Opener Ayush Mhatre, who missed the domestic T20 competition to be part of India’s Under-19 Asia Cup squad, returns to the mix.Shaw’s exclusion comes at a time when questions continue to be raised about his form and fitness. He failed to hit a half-century in nine innings in the SMA Trophy – 197 runs with a highest of 49 against Vidarbha in the quarter-final.Related

• Shreyas: Can't babysit Shaw, needs to get work ethic right

• Shaw goes unsold at IPL auction

• Greg Chappell's support and advice to Shaw

• Mumbai drop Shaw for poor fitness and 'general conduct'

Shaw expressed surprise at his omission by posting his List A stats in an Instagram story. “Tell me god, what more do I have to see…if 65 innings, 3399 runs at an average of 55.7 with a strike rate of 126, I’m not good enough…but I will keep my faith in you and hopefully people believe in me still…cause I will come back for sure. Om Sai Ram.”The spotlight has been on Shaw since he was dropped from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad in October owing to fitness and disciplinary issues. While he received support from Greg Chappell and Kevin Pietersen, Shaw’s fitness standards and “work ethic” – as stated by Iyer – continues to be a concern. In December, Shaw wasn’t picked in an IPL auction for the first time.”He needs to get his work ethics right, and if he does that, the sky is the limit for him,” Iyer said after Mumbai won the SMA Trophy. “We can’t babysit anyone, right? Every professional who is playing at this level, they need to know what they should be doing. And he has also done it in the past; it’s not that he hasn’t. He has to focus, he has to sit back, [and] put a thinking cap on, and then figure out himself. He will get the answer by himself.Baroda, semi-finalists at SMAT, will be without Hardik Pandya for the first few rounds of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as part of his workload management, keeping in mind India’s upcoming schedule that includes six white-ball games at home against England followed by the Champions Trophy. Hardik played seven games for Baroda in the SMA Trophy, where he hit 246 runs at a strike rate of 193.70, with two half-centuries. He also bowled 19 overs in those games for six wickets.

If not the remaining two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests, then Australia’s visit to Sri Lanka will decide who meets South Africa at Lord’s in June 2025

S Rajesh29-Dec-2024

India

For India to be sure of qualifying, they need to win both their remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Then they would finish on 60.53, which would be more than Australia’s 57.02 even if they were to win their upcoming two-Test series 2-0 in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s points ceiling for this cycle is 53.85 – a tally they would end up with if they were to sweep Australia at home.If India win one Test and draw the other, they’ll finish on 57.02; in such a case, they could lose out on the second spot to Australia, who would finish on 58.77 if they were to also win both Tests in Sri Lanka. For India to qualify with 57.02, Australia would need to get no more than 16 points in Sri Lanka (a win and a draw).A win and a defeat in Australia would put India on 55.26, which would leave them pinning their hopes on Sri Lanka beating Australia by at least a 1-0 margin.Two draws would leave India on 53.51. Sri Lanka can go past that with a 2-0 win, while Australia would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to beat it.If India draw a Test and lose the other they would finish on 51.75 and be out of the race; in such a case Australia would finish ahead of India even if they were to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.India still have plenty of work to do in Australia•AFP/Getty Images

Australia

If Australia were to win the Melbourne and Sydney Tests against India, they would be certain of qualifying for the WTC final – in such a case, they would finish on 57.02 even if they were to go on to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.A win and a draw against India would leave them ahead of India even if they were to lose both Tests in Sri Lanka, but then Sri Lanka could go past Australia with a clean sweep.If Australia were to win one and lose one against India, they would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to stay ahead in the race. The same applies if both Tests against India are drawn.If they were to draw one and lose the other against India, they would need two wins in Sri Lanka.Defeat in both Tests against India would push Australia out of contention.Sri Lanka cannot afford any more slips, and still need Border-Gavaskar Trophy results to go their way•Associated Press

Sri Lanka

The maximum Sri Lanka can finish on is 53.85, if they beat Australia 2-0. For that to be enough for a second-place finish, one of two scenarios have to play out in the remaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests:

• Both Melbourne and Sydney produce draws
• Australia win one of the two home Tests, while the other is drawn

In any other scenario, either Australia or India will finish higher than 53.85 and knock Sri Lanka out.

RCB have lost all three games at home this season while DC are entering the contest as table-toppers

Sruthi Ravindranath28-Feb-2025

Who’s playing

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Delhi Capitals (DC)
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST

What to expect

A big win against Mumbai Indians (MI) was just what DC needed to shake off any tiredness going into the next game. They will be facing a bruised RCB less than 24 hours after their match against MI, but will have a lot to cheer about. Firstly, they are at the top of the table with eight points from six games. Their bowling in the last two games, where they’ve kept their opponents to sub-130 totals, has been quite excellent. They’ve also been among the best fielding units this tournament, with the likes of Annabel Sutherland, Minnu Mani and Jemimah Rodrigues saving a number of runs with their acrobatics on the field.RCB have lost their last three games at their home venue, but the defeat in the game against Gujarat Giants – where they were restricted to 125 for 7 “affected” them the most, captain Smriti Mandhana said after the game. There are several questions for them heading into this clash: is the batting too dependent on Ellyse Perry? Are they missing their spin trio of Asha Sobhana, Sophie Molineux and Shreyanka Patil, who were their key bowlers at the Chinnaswamy last year? Is Mandhana’s subpar form affecting them a bit too much? RCB will want to quickly find answers and give the home crowd something to cheer about for one last time this season before moving to the Lucknow leg.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLL (last three matches, most recent first)
Delhi Capitals WWLMinnu Mani has had an impact despite bowling just 14 overs across five games•BCCI

Team news

RCB made one change in the last game, bringing back legspinner Prema Rawat for left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht. Rawat, however, bowled just one over in the game and conceded 19 runs.Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable XI): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bisht, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Kim Garth, 10 Prema Rawat/ Ekta Bisht, 11 Renuka SinghDC are likely to persist with the winning combination.Delhi Capitals (probable XI): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Sarah Bryce (wk), 7 Jess Jonassen, 8 Niki Prasad, 9 Minnu Mani, 10Titas Sadhu, 11 Shikha Pandey

Players to watch: Minnu Mani and Georgia Wareham

Be it with the ball or as a fielder, Minnu Mani gave it her all in the game against MI. After bowling a quiet 12th over, she dealt Mumbai a double jolt in the 17th, dismissing S Sajana and Amelia Kerr. She came back to remove Sansriti Gupta in the 19th to finish with figures of 3 for 17 from three overs on a sluggish surface. Her flying one-handed stop to her right to save a boundary in the 13th over highlighted why she’s one of the best fielders going around in the circuit. She’s bowled only 14 overs across five matches and has taken five wickets. DC will want to make use of her bowling more, allowing her to bowl her full quota which she’s done only in two games this season.Georgia Wareham has picked up nine wickets so far•BCCI

Georgia Wareham bounced back well after conceding 50 runs in the first match of the season, picking nine wickets in five matches so far. She picked two crucial wickets against Giants, removing Harleen Deol and top-scorer Ashleigh Gardner, although it was a bit too late. She has played at No. 3 for Australia before – even has a half-century playing in the position – and RCB could use her as a floater in the middle order in case of early wickets.

Stats that matter

• This season’s top four wicket-takers so far – Jess Jonassen (9 wickets), Renuka Singh (9), Georgia Wareham (9) and Annabel Sutherland (8) – will be part of this match
• Meg Lanning has the most fifty-plus scores in the WPL (eight), going past Ellyse Perry
• Toss has been decisive at the M Chinnaswamy, with chasing teams winning six out of the seven games

Swepson moves to Stars on a three-year deal after 10 years at Heat, including being acting captain for a period last season

Alex Malcolm06-Feb-2025Melbourne Stars have signed Queensland legspinner Mitchell Swepson on a three-year deal on the final day of the BBL’s first player movement window.Swepson, 31, had been Brisbane Heat’s acting captain during the most recent BBL season when Colin Munro was injured, with permanent skipper Usman Khawaja playing just one game for the season. The legspinner played for Heat for 10 years and was a key contributor to their 2023-24 BBL title win but did not have his best season in 2024-25 taking just four wickets in nine games with an economy rate of 8.93.Swepson was not one of the 10 players contracted to Heat prior to the player movement window and Stars have pounced to sign him to a three-year deal on the final day of the window.Related

• Marsh and David set to re-sign as BBL, WBBL contracting embargo ends

• Melbourne Renegades sign Doggett, Jewell set to follow

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“First of all I’d like to thank the Brisbane Heat for all the opportunities they gave me and kickstarting my T20 career,” Swepson said.”I’ll be forever grateful for all of the support they’ve given me and my family over the years.”I’m really excited to sign for the Stars and watching from afar this year, the team took some huge steps forward.”I can’t wait to head to Melbourne and the MCG next summer and get stuck in to working with Stoin [Marcus Stoinis], Peter Moores and the team.”Swepson has played T20I cricket for Australia but has not played international cricket since 2022. Stars only had one specialist spinner among their nine contracted players and were pleased to add some experience to their list.”We’ve been on the lookout for a high performing domestic spinner and Mitch will form an important part of the Stars attack over the next 3 years,” Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch said.”As well as his talent with the ball, Mitch is a very experienced T20 player in Australia, will provide valuable leadership and support to Marcus Stoinis and, at 31, is at the peak of his powers.”Stars were not able to land any other big fish in the player movement window despite trying to lure Tim David and Mitchell Marsh to the franchise. Crouch is set to depart his role in April but coach Peter Moores is set to continue despite being out of contract.Caleb Jewell will now ply his trade for Melbourne Renegades•Getty Images

Elsewhere, Melbourne Renegades confirmed the signing of Hobart Hurricanes title-winning opener Caleb Jewell on the final day of the player movement period. Jewell was contracted to Hurricanes but has been traded to Renegades on a two-year deal.Renegades were the most active club during the player movement window having already signed free agents Jason Behrendorff and Brendan Doggett.A number of high quality players remain uncontracted to BBL clubs including David, Marsh, Matthew Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne and D’Arcy Short among others. It is expected that most of those players will remain at their current clubs but will not be able to be formally re-signed until March as the BBL enters a contracting embargo period.

He also spoke about taking over Rohit’s seat on India’s team bus, and what he’s learning from Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2025Kuldeep Yadav has been “spending a lot of time” with fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja, both on and off the field, picking his brains ahead of India’s five-match Test series in England.Kuldeep has played only one Test in England so far, at Lord’s in 2018. He conceded 44 in nine overs and failed to pick up a wicket in England’s only innings. Since then, however, he has grown into a more rounded bowler, and currently has 56 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 22.16 and a strike rate of 37.3, which is bettered by no spinner in Test history with a cut-off of 50 wickets.Related

• Buttler: Gill's captaincy 'a mix of Kohli and Rohit'

• Gambhir flies back home from England due to family emergency

• 'There's some quality energy' as India take on India A behind closed doors

• 'Very grateful and fortunate' – Karun Nair on second chance

• Morkel 'blown away' by Bumrah's rhythm

Jadeja’s all-round value makes him the frontrunner to be India’s first-choice spinner on this tour, but Kuldeep is likely to come into the picture if conditions allow them to pick a second spinner. Kuldeep’s left-arm wristspin was instrumental in India’s comeback from 1-0 down to beat England 4-1 at home in early 2024 – he picked up 19 wickets in four Tests at an average of 20.15.”Playing alongside Jadeja is such a great honour for me,” Kuldeep said. “Obviously, Jadeja and [R] Ashwin have been brilliant over the last few years. When I made my debut in India, they helped me a lot. And even now, we have been having a lot of chat about how to bowl to certain batters, given the way the England batters are batting at the moment.”I’m actually spending a lot of time with him, not only on the field, but also outside as well. So it has actually helped me a lot in terms of tactics and the field placements, and he has given some tips as well.”In the team bus, Kuldeep has been sitting next to Jadeja, taking over a seat previously occupied by Rohit Sharma, now retired from Test cricket. When asked about it, Kuldeep laughed.”I can never take Rohit ‘s place,” he said. “It’s just that I’m spending a lot of time with Jaddu bhai. It’s obviously very important for me as a spinner, because Ash [Ashwin, also retired] isn’t there, and I’ve learned a lot from Ash , and now that he isn’t there, [I’m looking to learn from] whichever senior player is there.”Kuldeep on Gill: ‘As a leader, he’s very motivated and he’s been playing an active role in lifting the team’•Gareth Copley/Getty

India are currently playing an intra-squad match in Beckenham. Sunday is the third day and, with the sun out, Kuldeep expects the pitch to start taking turn. With England transitioning away from green seamers, over recent years, towards flatter pitches that suit their ultra-aggressive style of batting, there is a chance spin could play a role in the five Tests should the matches last longer.”It seems like there will be good wickets for spinners,” Kuldeep said. “The wicket for the practice match was good for batting. There was some light moisture on the first day, and the seamers got some help, but as the game went on, I felt there was some bounce for the spinners, and while I didn’t get much turn during my first spell on the first day, it’s day three today and I’ll get to know how the wicket is now when I get to bowl, but whatever practice sessions I’ve had so far, the ball has been turning a bit. It’ll be really nice if it remains this way during the [Test] matches too.”If the conditions are warm, as they have been over the last three-four days, and if the wickets are like this, spinners can get help. I don’t worry that much about conditions, but yes, it feels good to bowl if you get a slightly helpful wicket.”When asked what the players looked to achieve from an intra-squad match, Kuldeep said: “We’ve played a lot of T20 in the last four-five months, so volume is very important, and all the bowlers are instructed to bowl as many overs [in practice as they would in a match]: the fast bowlers will bowl at least 15 to 20 overs so they can build up fully for the Test match, and it’s the same for the spinners – the more they bowl, the better it will be.”In the wake of Rohit’s retirement, India have handed the Test captaincy to Shubman Gill. Kuldeep felt Gill was “fully ready to lead” the side.”Shubman knows how to lead a team,” Kuldeep said. “He has worked under the seniors in the last couple of years. In the last one year, you’d have seen him in a lot of discussions with Rohit – not only in Tests but even in ODIs. I’m sure he has learned a lot, but as a leader, from what I have seen so far, he’s very motivated and he’s been playing an active role in lifting the team.”I have seen over the last three-four sessions that Shubman has the same qualities that I’ve seen in our previous leadership groups. He’s fully ready to lead us.”

India U19s set home side target of 350 in 63 overs but unable to force victory in final session

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay15-Jul-2025
A thrilling Under-19 Test match between England and India at Beckenham ended in draw, after England reached 270 for 7 at stumps on the final day.India set England a target of 350 to win from 63 overs, after making 248 in the second innings: Vihaan Malhotra hit 63 and a there was a late charge by RS Ambrish, who made 53, while Archie Vaughan took 6 for 84 after bowling unchanged from the City End.After losing three early wickets Hamza Shaikh and Ben Mayes gave England hope of a win with a stand of 119. Mayes went for 51, but Shaikh made 112 before he was run out. When Thomas Rew went for 50 India scented blood, but Ralphie Albert and Jack Home batted out 11.5 overs to secure the draw.India began the final day with a lead of 229 and seven wickets remaining, with Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu the not out batters on 34 and nought respectively. The former took just 15 minutes reach his half-century with a cover driven four off Vaughan, but he was caught behind by Rew trying to fend off Alex Green and a downpour then caused a 30-minute delay.When play resumed Rew took two more catches before lunch. Green strangled Kundu down the leg side for 11 and Rahul Kumar tried to hook James Minto and gloved him behind, also for 11.Vaughan bowled Mohamed Enaan for 5 and got his fifth when Rocky Flintoff caught Henin Patel for a four-ball duck, grabbing a top-edged sweep one-handed at the second attempt, leaving India on 209 for 8 at lunch.Deepesh Devendran was Vaughan’s next victim, caught behind for 4, but Ambrish went on the attack, taking 12 from one Vaughan over and reaching his 50 after a misfield before he was run out by Mayes.It looked evenly poised, but India made early inroads. Perhaps exhausted by his marathon bowling spell, Vaughan was out for just 3, caught behind off Devendran. Jaydn Denly attempted to hook Ambrish and was caught on the boundary by Vaibhav Suryavanshi for 19, while Flintoff tried to drive Singh and was caught by Chavda at long-on for 11.Yet Mayes was on 7 when Devendran missed a difficult chance to catch him one-handed off and by tea England were 83 for 3 and at that point the chase was still on.Shaikh brought up his 50 with a six driven back over Singh’s head, but England had a major let off when both batters ended up at the keepers end and India threw at the wrong set of stumps, allowing Mayes to scramble back to safety. He reached 50 with an elegant swept two but slashed at Ambrish and was caught behind. Any thoughts that the teams might shake hands were banished when Rew came in and immediately went on the attack.When Shaikh scrambled a single from Devendran to reach his century England looked favourites, but two run-outs tilted the game back in India’s favour. Singh got Shaikh and Ayush Mhatre got Ekansh Singh for 1, both chasing suicidal seconds, before Rew holed out to Malhotra and was caught by Kumar. However, Albert and Home survived with few serious alarms.

Remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage turns game after Joe Root’s 76 put Trent Rockets in control

ECB Media21-Aug-2025Oval Invincibles 173 for 4 (Cox 58*, Curran 54) beat Trent Rockets 171 for 7 (Root 76) by six wicketsA remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage from Sam Curran and Jordan Cox turned the game on its head and drove Oval Invincibles towards a crucial win against table-topping rivals Trent Rockets in The Hundred.Chasing 171 to win, the Invincibles were just beginning to feel the pressure at 70 for 2 with 102 needed for victory from just 40 balls – ten legal balls, one strategic timeout and six sixes later they’d sailed to 121 for 1, with just 51 more required from the last 30.It was a scarcely believable spell of sustained hitting, from Curran in the main, that thrilled the Kia Oval crowd and more or less broke the back of a chase that leaves the home side sitting pretty at the top of the table with two games to go.Cox would end unbeaten on 58, to maintain his fantastic form, and for Curran it was 54 and the acclaim of his home crowd.Before the Curran and Cox show it was another England man who looked set to define the day, Joe Root showing all his usual brilliance to compile a 41-ball 76 in Rockets’ imposing total.Only Root made timing look easy, up to the point the game swung back to the hosts, although South African George Linde did give the fans some crowd-catching practice to preview the later entertainment with an eight-ball 25.It was a vital win for Invincibles in their pursuit of the crucial first place, a finish that would secure passage straight through to the final as they look to win their third title on the bounce.Meerkat Match Hero Sam Curran said: “When the strategic timeout happened, I was on seven off 12 or something like that, so the panic was in! I think the break came at the right time just to have a little sip of water and kind of restart again.”But it was a huge game and a huge win. We looked at the table before this game, and with two sides on 16 points we’re really pleased to get the points tonight.”I think it was 107 off 40 balls, and we knew in T20 or 100-ball cricket, you’re looking at hitting three or four sixes, and then before you know it we got six, seven, eight, and you’re like, ‘Wow, we’re nearly at 70 off 35 balls’.”It’s such a lovely place to bat and the crowd felt electric. It was almost like a game in India where every ball is cheered, it was like – how cool is this?”The schedule’s been pretty intense and that does help when you’re winning. You keep that momentum and you keep coming to the game, turning up to the stadium, full crowd, really high in confidence – but it can go the other way as well. We know we want to come top, but we’ve got two more games left, one away, one at home – and I think it is a big advantage, if you do come top.”

India’s complaint over gestures made by Farhan and Rauf will be heard on Friday

Shashank Kishore25-Sep-2025Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, has been told to refrain from making comments that could be construed as political following an ICC hearing conducted by match referee Richie Richardson on Thursday in Dubai. It’s not yet clear if Suryakumar faces any other sanctions.An official hearing was necessary because the Pakistan team management had filed a complaint alleging that Suryakumar made political remarks following India’s Asia Cup group-stage win over Pakistan on September 14, which the PCB’s top brass had pointed out at a press conference in Lahore last week.Related

• Suryakumar found guilty of breaching code of conduct; verdict on Rauf and Farhan awaited

• The Pakcroft drama: everything, everywhere, all at once

• BCCI lodges complaint with ICC against Farhan and Rauf

ESPNcricinfo understands Suryakumar’s use of the term “Operation Sindoor” – a term coined by the Indian government during the military skirmish between the two countries that followed the Pahalgam terror attacks in April – was one of the PCB’s points of objection.Suryakumar had used the term at the post-match press conference following that September 14 match, while dedicating the win to the victims of the terror attacks as well as India’s armed forces.That match also caused another controversy, with Pakistan lodging a “formal protest” against match referee Andy Pycroft because he had “requested the captains not to shake hands during the toss”. At the time, the PCB had demanded Pycroft to be taken off the roster for their matches, which the ICC rejected.That incident threatened to snowball into something bigger when Pakistan didn’t arrive on time for their match against UAE. They eventually relented after Pycroft apologised for the “miscommunication” over the handshake incident.Meanwhile, India’s complaint to the ICC over gestures made by Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf during their Super Fours clash will be heard on Friday since Pakistan were involved in a match on Thursday evening against Bangladesh.The gestures were made on the field during a tense game where the two sets of players exchanged words multiple times.At a press conference ahead of Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Farhan had been asked about his machine-gun celebration after reaching his half-century against India. “That celebration was just a moment at that time,” he had said. “I do not do a lot of celebrations after scoring fifty. But, it suddenly came to my mind that let’s do a celebration today. I did that. I don’t know how people will take it. I don’t care about that.”

Yes, Premier League football is back, and Fantasy Football managers have been tinkering with their teams in the hopes that they’ll find the right combination to beat their rivals in their respective mini-leagues.

With one of the most unpredictable starts to the Premier League campaign, many have already decided to use their wildcards and jump on the mainstream bandwagons while keeping some of the big hitters.

However, the reason we love the beautiful game of football so much is because it is rarely straight-forward, and these now more expensive players following their price rises may not perform to your desire.

So it’s almost as important as ever to look for a differential and find a future bandwagon, not only to beat your opponent(s), but to also increase your team value over time ahead of your second wildcard.

Here are three Fantasy Football Differentials that could be the hipster pick you sorely needed…

Bakary Sako

A Crystal Palace player against the current league leaders Manchester City? This must be an insane pick!

Not as much as it sounds. Bakary Sako (5.5) already has two goals and one assist in two games, accumulating 13 points against champions Chelsea the previous gameweek.

Jose Mourinho’s men are in a bit of a rut yes, but Crystal Palace are not sitting second in the Premier League for no reason and will be extremely confident after their last result, and could pull a shock victory at Selhurst Park this weekend. If they do, it is likely Sako will be involved once again.

Even if the Eagles fail to beat the mighty Citizens, Palace’s fixtures becomes much kinder with Tottenham (away), Watford (away), West Brom (home), and West Ham United (home) coming up in the next four… giving the 2.5% owned Chelsea-killing midfielder a great chance to shine.

Salomon Rondon

With the transfer fiasco surrounding Saido Berahino’s failed switch to Tottenham Hotspur, many have forgotten that the Baggies broke their transfer record to bring in Salomon Rondon (7.0) during the summer.

And the striker seems to already be settling into the English top flight, with his strength and finishing ability up front showcased with a goal and an assist in his last two starts.

With Southampton visiting the Hawthornes this weekend, Rondon has every chance to break a back-line that lost five goals in their first two games. Their two clean sheets came against Watford and 10-man Norwich respectively, so there is not much to brag about the Saints defence.

Only selected by 0.9% of managers, Rondon may be the striker to make West Brom fans forget who Berahino ever was.

Scott Sinclair

Welcome back Scott!

After being promoted with Swansea City back in the 2011-2012 season, Scott Sinclair (4.9) was the pick of the bunch in the Welsh club, finishing the campaign with eight goals and five assists with penalties in his locker.

But then Manchester City came calling, and the youngster disappeared into the wilderness and was destined to be a forgotten name.

However, he finally left moneybags City for the Villans and against Sunderland the last gameweek scored two goals in a man-of-the-match performance.

And we believe it isn’t a one-off, as the English starlet already has two hattricks this season in a friendly and in the League Cup, so he is definitely wearing his shooting boots at the moment.

Leicester City vs. Aston Villa is also a fixture that looks like there will be goals, and Sinclair could very well be amongst them.

Whilst the English top-flight is undoubtedly brimming with top draw talent from all angles in the modern era, picking out one individual star above all his current counter-parts in the Premier League remains a task seemingly easier said than done.

From the likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva at Manchester City, Eden Hazard and co. down at Stamford Bridge, or maybe even Coutinho at Liverpool or Wayne Rooney at Manchester United – the Premier League is filled with high profile names both well worth and equally undeserving of their lofty reputations.

There is nonetheless one man that stands out as arguably the greatest talent currently operating among the ever competitive EPL however. Although German World Cup winner, Mesut Ozil, is clearly another one of the best players we’ve seen in England over the last couple of years or so – Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez potentially has to go down as the best of the best.

[ffc-gal cat=”arsenal” no=”5″]

So then, does the Chilean international really represent the most effective player in the Premier League at the moment, or has the current sensation surrounding the Gunners star been blown slightly out of proportion to say the very least?

Well, if the former Barcelona and Udinese attacker’s stats are to prove anything to go by this season, Sanchez could certainly be deserving of such a powerful claim. The quick-footed 26-year-old currently tops the Arsenal goal-scoring charts this season with seven well taken finishes in all competitions. He has also amounted an impressive three assists so far in 2015/16, despite facing a lengthy fitness hangover brought about by the Copa America Cup over the summer.

The signs therefore seem promising for the attacker so far this season, and maybe that’s because Sanchez simply has everything present within his overall game to make it as a resounding success among the English top-flight. In being blessed with the ability to marry his sheer technical skill with a never-say-die attitude throughout the entire 90 minutes – the current Chilean international truly remains a special talent to behold.

Whereas the likes of Mesut Ozil often face criticism for failing to match the high intensity energy output the Premier League often demands with every passing match, Arsenal’s latest no. 17 nevertheless seems to thrive within such a testing atmosphere. The ex-Nou Camp star is always looking to grab possession off his teammates and create something sublime in the final third. As the front-man usually achieves such a notion with impressive consistency though, no one can really discredit Sanchez at this truly influential stage in his career.

Arsene Wenger has therefore done himself proud in managing to bring such a player to the Emirates. Arriving at the club for a fee crazily close to the same amount Manchester United eventually saw fit to pay for Luke Shaw in the very same summer, could it even be said that £35million represents somewhat of a bargain for someone of Alexis Sanchez’ undoubted talents? Maybe not…

The player nonetheless remains deserving of his admirable reputation with the 2015/16 campaign now fully underway. The likes of Yaya Toure and Eden Hazard prove way too inconsistent to be worthy of the title, Coutinho still has a long way to go to truly make it at the highest level – and as for Manchester United’s once untouchable figure of Wayne Rooney – well, maybe the least said about his undoubted downturn in form, the better…

Perhaps if Luis Suarez were still operating on these shores – or Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero could prove himself fitter throughout the course of an entire season – Sanchez may not viably go down as the best player in the Premier League. Yet as things currently stand for the Chilean international and clear Emirates favourite, life couldn’t be going much better for the South American attacker with all things considered.

Alexis Sanchez therefore arguably remains the best all-rounder currently plying his trade among the English top-flight, as Arsenal look to claim victory over Everton this weekend.

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