Cristiano Ronaldo's partner Georgina Rodriguez shared images on her Instagram of the duo on a relaxing beach vacation.
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Ronaldo taking time out on beachGeorgina shares photos on social mediaRonaldo awaiting verdict on ban for Al-NassrWHAT HAPPENED?
The photos shared by the Argentine model showcased the couple relaxing on the beach as the Al-Nassr star awaits the verdict on his potential ban. Rodriguez captioned her post as 'Two days for two' which suggests that the couple planned a getaway to relax after a disappointing week for Ronaldo.
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The five-time Ballon d'Or winner and his partner take care of five children together and have been dating since 2017 when they met at a Gucci store where Georgina had been working at the time. Between the duo's hectic schedule along with the added responsibility of five children, it seems the duo finally took some alone time for themselves.
TwitterDID YOU KNOW?
Ronaldo is currently awaiting the verdict on the length of his ban after he was sent off in the semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup against Al-Hilal. The Portuguese forward saw red for elbowing Ali Al-Bulaihi twice and he could be set for a lengthy period on the sidelines as Al-Nassr look set to go trophyless for a second straight season with Ronaldo.
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Getty/IG:@georginagio WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?
According to reports, Ronaldo is set to be hit with a two-match suspension and will also be made to pay a fine of 20,000 riyals due to his actions, that were described by the match referee as “excessive force”.
Dutch icon Marco van Basten tore into Bernardo Silva following his costly penalty miss in Manchester City's Champions League loss to Real Madrid.
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Real Madrid beat Man City on penaltiesSilva misses poor spot kick in UCL exitVan Basten criticises Portuguese starWHAT HAPPENED?
City were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by the Spanish giants, in a tie that ended 4-4 on aggregate before a shootout was required. Prior to Antonio Rudiger's spot-kick sending Madrid through to the semi-finals, Silva's effort from 12 yards was easily saved by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin – who barely had to move to make the stop. After the match, Netherlands hero Van Basten heavily criticised the Portuguese's penalty attempt.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT MARCO VAN BASTEN SAID
He said on Ziggo Sport: “If you are talking about a poorly taken penalty, then this is a poorly taken penalty. If the goalkeeper chooses a corner, he can still kick it away with his foot. This one was taken especially bad, really special bad. He can mark it, he can wait and see what the goalkeeper does, but he doesn’t do any of that. He shoots it half high, not into the corner and not hard. This couldn’t be worse.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Before this heavyweight clash at the Etihad on Wednesday, Silva spoke of City targeting their second straight treble but Madrid ended that dream by the narrowest of margins. They can still win the Premier League and FA Cup, though, and that is what Pep Guardiola will be urging his team to do.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
City star Silva can redeem himself on Saturday when Guardiola's men take on Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley, followed by a trip to the Amex to face Brighton on Thursday in the Premier League.
Sheffield Wednesday surrendered what could've been a valuable point late on at St Andrew's at the weekend to kickstart some form, 19-year-old Jordan James scoring late on to win the game 2-1 for Birmingham City in what was Wayne Rooney's first win as Blues boss since joining.
The Owls just can't buy a positive result at the moment, winning only one of their 17 games in the second tier to date with a pitiful six points accumulated.
Danny Rohl will have a never-ending headache at the moment trying to work out what line-up could conjure up a desperately needed three points, with table-topping Leicester City licking their lips at the prospect of playing the Owls this mid-week.
Here's what Rohl's starting line-up could look like up against the Foxes on Wednesday…
1 GK – Cameron Dawson
Sheffield-born Cameron Dawson should retain his spot in between the sticks for the Leicester home match, the 6 foot 4 goalkeeper becoming Wednesday's starting 'keeper over the last few contests under Rohl.
Dawson has kept two clean sheets from his last seven games in net, both coming against Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in tasty local affairs at Hillsborough. Could he keep a third against Enzo Maresca's Leicester City?
2 RB – Dominic Iorfa
Deployed by Rohl at both centre-back and right-back this season, Dominic Iorfa stood out in a struggling backline in the latter position up against Birmingham.
Iorfa won eight out of nine ground duels against the Blues as per Sofascore, alongside getting stuck in with seven tackles in an attempt to thwart the Birmingham attackers.
3 CB – Di'Shon Bernard
Di'Shon Bernard could start ahead of Michael Ihiekwe in the line-up for the Foxes home match at Hillsborough, the Manchester United loanee performing well in bursts this season when starting.
Ihiekwe failed to win any of his duels in the contest against the Blues, opening up the opportunity for Bernard to come in instead.
Ihiekwe was even given a 5/10 by Yorkshire Live journalist Ricky Charlesworth in his player ratings, writing that the ex Rotherham United man would be "disappointed" with his display.
The 23-year-old Red Devils loanee was solid in Wednesday's 0-0 draw with Huddersfield at the start of October in contrast, winning 12 of his 14 duels versus the Terriers.
4 CB – Bambo Diaby
The former Barnsley centre-back should start again in defence against Leicester on Wednesday night, battling bravely against the Blues.
Diaby was valiant in his efforts to try and keep the ball out of Dawson's net, blocking three shots at St Andrew's whilst also clearing the ball away three times.
5 LB – Akin Famewo
Akin Famewo will also stay as Rohl's left-back for the Leicester match after an encouraging display against Rooney's men on Saturday.
Wednesday's number 23 was successful in all three of his dribbles against the Blues to propel his team forward, whilst also remaining staunch defensively with seven ground duels won.
6 CDM – George Byers
Wednesday's number eight will be the first name on the team sheet by Rohl for Wednesday's game versus Leicester, Byers scoring the opening goal of the contest at St Andrew's before Birmingham pulled off a comeback.
Byers wasn't just important to the Owls through this contribution alone, however, intercepting the ball twice in his 83-minute spell on the pitch as an energetic presence centrally.
7 CDM – Will Vaulks
Vaulks was solid alongside Byers as the more defensively sound option of the duo, amassing 78 touches of the ball throughout the 90 minutes in an attempt to orchestrate moves out from the back.
Accurate with eight of his 15 long balls on the day, Vaulks will hope he can unlock a stern Foxes defence next match with a cutting pass at Hillsborough.
8 RM – Djeidi Gassama
The second potential change Rohl could look to make is dropping Anthony Musaba for Djeidi Gassama, the ex Paris St Germain winger exciting the away fans packed into St Andrew's with his cameo from off the bench.
Gassama showed his pedigree with four successful dribbles in just 26 minutes, alongside completing two key passes in a spell of the game where Wednesday should have given more to win.
Musaba will be fearing for his starting spot as a result, Wednesday's number 45 failing to register a single shot on goal before being hauled off for the far more impressive Gassama.
9 CAM – Barry Bannan
Bannan was pushed further forward into an attacking midfield role for the trip to Birmingham, the ever-popular Scotsman trying his best as always to unlock opposition defences with trickery and skill.
The diminutive midfielder had four efforts on goal but failed to find the back of the net, whilst one big chance he created was not put away by a misfiring forward line.
Wearing the captain's armband for the Owls, the 33-year-old will hope he can be more impactful against Leicester on Wednesday night in an attacking role.
10 LM – Mallik Wilks
Sheffield Wednesday forward Mallik Wilks.
Frozen out of the first team picture for some time, Mallik Wilks was handed a rare start by his manager up against the Blues.
The ex Hull City winger was substituted off at the 64-minute mark, but impressed in patches against Rooney's Birmingham from down the channels.
Attempting two shots on goal – with one of the efforts blocked by a Birmingham shirt – Wilks will pray he's in from the start again versus Leicester in a bid to open his Championship account for the season against the table-toppers.
Ed Smith said Jofra Archer had not been considered for selection for the Caribbean tour because he is currently ineligible
George Dobell10-Dec-2018When the ECB announced a change in England’s eligibility criteria a few weeks ago, it was assumed by some it had been done so to accommodate Jofra Archer.It’s an understandable theory, too. Archer is one of the most exciting talents in the game and, having impressed in the BBL and IPL, would appear to have the skills – not least the ability to bowl quickly – to strengthen England’s World Cup squad.But, on the strength of Ed Smith’s comments as he named England Test and ODI touring squads for the Caribbean, Archer is not the allrounder making a late charge for inclusion. Instead, on current evidence, it seems Joe Denly make be the more likely to make a late run for a place.Denly is, after all, included in England’s ODI squad for the tour and was named by Smith as “well placed” for inclusion in the three T20 games that follow. He was Player of the Match in his most recent international appearance, a T20 in Colombo, and seems to have pushed ahead of Liam Dawson, for whom he was an injury replacement in the ODI squad in Sri Lanka, in the pecking order.Archer’s main issue is simply that he doesn’t become available until the last minute. Barbados-born but with a UK passport (courtesy of his British father), Archer is currently expected to become eligible for selection somewhere around March 22. By then, England will have completed their Caribbean tour (the final ODI is March 2, the final T20 March 10) and will have no more cricket before they are obliged to name their provisional World Cup squad on April 23.That would mean Archer would have to be selected before he had gained an international cap. And while he would have some time to gain experience – and, just as importantly, for England to gain experience of him – in a five-match ODI series against Pakistan in May before the final squad has to be submitted, Eoin Morgan has previously suggested it would probably be too late to consider him for World Cup selection unless injury intervened.A squad that has built for the tournament for years may well be reluctant to make the mistake of several previous England World Cup campaigns in abandoning their plans at the last moment; even for a player as talented as Archer.There is, perhaps, a caveat to all this. Archer could, in theory, pull out of all or part of his BBL deal with Hobart Hurricanes, which might allow him to spend more time in the UK and therefore accelerate his residency by a few weeks. It may yet prove relevant that England have yet to name their T20 squad for the Caribbean in March.While Smith didn’t rule out the possibility of picking Archer in England’s World Cup squad, he said he had not spoken to him or given any thought to asking him to pull out of his Big Bash contract.”As a selector, what I try to do is try and keep things as simple as I can,” Smith said. “Who is available and, of those available players, which is the strongest squad to give the captain and coach every opportunity to pick the team to win the game. As it stands now, Archer was not available for those tours so was not considered for selection.Joe Denly finished up with a four-wicket haul•AFP”I wouldn’t answer any hypothetical question about who we would or would not consider based on facts we don’t have. I’ve not spoken to Jofra.”I wouldn’t rule anything out. I don’t really believe in ruling things out. If there are other players who become available and we think they’re worthy of consideration then we’ll consider them.”By contrast, Smith spoke in glowing terms of Denly, who retained his place in both the Test and ODI squads for the Caribbean despite not playing a game in either format in Sri Lanka.”Joe has played one game that registers on his historical record since his return to international cricket and in that one game he was man of the match,” Smith said. “That’s what he’s done since his return.”He’s probably doing all the right things. He has had an outstanding spell in his career and matured a little bit later than some cricketers. He played in the last T20 and was man of the match having not played in the one-day side, even though he was part of the squad. You’d have thought he was well placed to be part of that series of T20 games in the Caribbean.”
Crystal Palace are said to be in the mix for a "rapid" Premier League player as manager Roy Hodgson seeks to bolster his options at Selhurst Park.
Palace transfer targets
The Eagles, going by recent reports, look to have two main transfer priorities ahead of January – a new striker and top centre-half. Only a handful of sides, namely Bournemouth, Burnley, Sheffield United and Fulham, have scored less goals than Palace in the top flight so far this season.
Those numbers make for fairly grim reading considering three of those teams look certain to be battling relegation to the Championship come next May.
Palace apparently want a new forward to strengthen their options in the attacking areas and provide a more potent goalscoring threat. Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Konate, who's scored eight goals already this season, has been reported as a potential Palace target this week.
PSG striker Hugo Ekitike is another name to be repeatedly mentioned, while it is also believed that Hodgson's side are after a new centre-back.
Indeed, this comes as star defender Marc Guehi attracts interest from up and down the Premier League, with journalist Dean Jones reporting to TEAMtalk last month that Palace are keen to reinforce their defence and remain one of the division's best at the back.
"Much of Palace’s current success is built around the centre-back partnership of Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi," wrote Jones.
"The Eagles are beginning to identify players for the future in case their key assets are plucked away, however, with Guehi already being watched by Premier League giants. It is believed Palace have an awareness of Japanese international Ko Itakura, as well as [Willian] Pacho of Frankfurt.
"Itakura, 26, plays for Borussia Monchengladbach and has great game-reading and positioning skills that make him an intriguing option for any team build."
Palace fighting Spurs, Rangers and Newcastle for Ben Godfrey
Alongside both Itakura and Pacho, Hodgson's men are eyeing up a move for Everton defender Ben Godfrey, according to 90min this week.
The Toffees ace has found game time difficult to come by at Goodison Park and is keen to reignite his faltering career. Everton are also open to doing a deal in the winter window, with Palace joining Newcastle, Bournemouth, Burnley, Rangers and Spurs in their admiration for Godfrey.
The 25-year-old was included in Gareth Southgate's provisional squad for Euro 2021, clearly indicating he is a player of great potential when at his very best.
Everton's Ben Godfrey
As well as this, Godfrey has been praised for his physical attributes, namely his speed for a defender.
“Ben Godfrey catches pigeons, simple as," said former Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny on Godfrey when asked who is their fastest player in 2021.
“But when Ben gets going he’s rapid so I don’t know if they have a race or would have a race but yeah, it’s close between them two. Dominic is really quick too but I’d say Ben.”
The centre-back's future appears far away from Everton going by recent developments, and Palace could be a good landing spot for him.
The New Zealander scored 95 and then bagged five wickets in a superb display against Melbourne Stars
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2018New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine produced a stunning all-round display as she became the first player in WBBL to score a half-century and take five wickets in the same match.She only came up five runs short of a century, clubbing 95 off 60 balls for Adelaide Strikers – an innings that included five sixes – adding 131 for the third with Bridget Patterson before falling to the last ball of the penultimate over.That was far from the end of her day, however, as she then cut off a brisk start from Melbourne Stars in their chase by removing the dangerous Lizelle Lee. The five-wicket bag was completed in her final over when Nicola Hancock was caught behind.Devine’s figures of 5 for 41 were the fourth best in the WBBL. Two years ago she scored an unbeaten 103 against the Hurricanes.In 2015 Grace Harris scored 103 off 55 balls opening for Brisbane Heat before taking 4 for 15 in two overs.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are “desperate” to sign one player this summer, with Wrexham’s transfer plans being confirmed.
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Dragons have secured back-to-back promotionsReady to add again in summer windowOn-loan goalkeeper figures prominently on wish listGetty/GOALWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Dragons have wrapped up back-to-back promotions, meaning that they will be playing League One football in 2024-25. Phil Parkinson has plenty of quality at his disposal, but the intention is to bolster the ranks at SToK Racecourse ahead of a completely new challenge in the third tier of English football.
AdvertisementWHAT KER SAID
Executive director Humphrey Ker has told the podcast of the recruitment blueprint, with Wrexham aware that they are no longer a big-spending fish in a small pond: “It’s just the quality of opposition. The jump from National League to League Two is big. The jump from League Two to League One is even bigger, I think. There is also a jump from the bottom half of League One to the top half. There is the danger of a Birmingham or a Huddersfield – big, big clubs with 25,000 or 30,000 crowds that are well resourced, well backed, well backed, well established. Eighteen months ago, to get a player out of a League One club was a huge coup for us. We are going to have to fight for every point we get – I don’t think there are going to be many 6-0s on the cards for us next season. Our approach will be, as it has been every summer and every winter, we will look to improve the squad. We will look to refresh and renew the playing squad. I think there is the core of a great League One team that we have got here and we’ll look to make additions to that.”
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
One of the players that Wrexham are hoping to see in North Wales next season is Arthur Okonkwo, who has starred for the club on loan from Arsenal this term, with Ker adding on efforts at the recent EFL awards show to ensure that rival interest is not allowed to turn the 22-year-old goalkeeper’s head as he prepares to hit free agency: “I went to the EFL awards, we had two players nominated in the EFL League Two Team of the Season in Arthur Okonkwo and Elliot Lee. I had to go and man-mark Arthur because we knew there would be lots of people from other football clubs there and as we’re desperate to retain him this summer, we’ve got to make sure he doesn’t have too much polite chit-chat with people, without me appearing over his shoulder like ‘what are you guys talking about? I’m here too!’”
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WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
Hollywood co-owners Reynolds and McElhenney are expected to make the funds available that will allow Parkinson to dip back into the transfer market, with plenty of movement expected once the playing staff have returned from another promotion-winning trip to Las Vegas.
Sheffield Wednesday are slowly looking like they have finally started to turn a corner; however, an injury update regarding one of their key men at Hillsborough has now come to light…
Sheffield Wednesday form…
Last weekend, Sheffield Wednesday finally got their act together to secure a first victory in five Championship matches under Danny Rohl, with goals from Bailey Cadamarteri, Marvin Johnson and Josh Windass securing an impressive 3-1 scoreline over Blackburn Rovers at Hillsborough.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Rohl indicated his belief that the Owls are going in the right direction under his stewardship, saying:
"My team fought until the end, they believe in what we are doing and I am so happy to take the points.
"We scored three goals today, in the past we spoke about how we could score. We are going in the right direction. I have spoken about bringing our xG higher and higher, it is a good step forward and after this game it is great to see."
Coupled with a draw against Leicester City in their previous home match, Sheffield Wednesday finally look to be generating some positive momentum; nevertheless, the South Yorkshire side are still rooted to the bottom of the league standings and find themselves 10 points adrift of Huddersfield Town in 21st point, leaving a mountain to climb if the Owls have designs on spectacularly avoiding the drop this term.
Taking a result against Stoke City on Saturday could be another important step to boosting their chances of a miraculous escape from relegation; however, an injury update has now emerged regarding one of their key men ahead of the match.
Dominic Iorfa injury update…
As shared by reliable Owls reporter Joe Crann, Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl has given an update on the status of defender Dominic Iorfa, who is undergoing scans for a muscle problem sustained against Blackburn Rovers and looks a doubt for the weekend.
Rohl stated: "We have to look, but it looks not so good – we’ll see in the next days some scans, and then we’ll see what we can do and when he is available again. At the moment, though, it’s difficult to say – and it’ll be hard for him to play this weekend."
Dominic Iorfa in action for Sheffield Wednesday.
Labelled "brilliant" by club captain Barry Bannan, Iorfa has been ever present for the Owls this term, making 17 assists across all competitions and contributing a solitary assist into the bargain (Iorfa statistics – Transfermarkt).
In a difficult campaign for his current employers, the former England Under-21 international has also been a domineering presence in the air, winning around 2.2 duels per match in the English second-tier (Iorfa statistics – WhoScored).
Despite this, news of his potential absence this weekend may come as a huge blow to Sheffield Wednesday as they eye a chance to go three games unbeaten for the first time this campaign.
Tim Weah and Juventus totally shut down Christian Pulisic and the rest of Milan's attack in a scoreless draw in Serie A's USMNT derby.
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Pulisic shut down by aggressive Juve defendingWeah shines in matchup vs the dangerous LeaoDraw keeps Milan in driving seat for second spotGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Weah, Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah took to the field against one another for the second time this season in Serie A's de-facto U.S. men's national team derby. The first match ended in a narrow Juve win back in October but there was nothing that could split the two sides here.
The hosts had the better of the chances to win the contest and struck the post twice in the 50th minute. At the other end, Milan struggled, with the hosts defending magnificently out wide to keep the Rossoneri at bay.
Ultimately, neither side broke through, with Serie A's second and third-best teams settling for a 0-0 draw.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The match will have no impact on the Serie A title race, with Inter having already secured the Scudetto. Milan and Juve are left playing for the runners-up spot, although the latter's hold on third place is becoming more tenuous.
With the draw, Milan maintain a five-point lead over Juve in third, with just four Serie A games left to play. Massimiliano Allegri's side only have a three-point advantage over Bologna, meanwhile, with them facing Udinese on Sunday where they'll have the chance to wipe out the deficit.
Getty ImagesUSMNT IMPACT
This particular match still feels like a huge one for American soccer fans. It's one that has shown how far the sport has come in many ways, with four USMNT stars playing for two Italian giants on the biggest stage. Just a decade ago, this would have felt impossible.
Indeed, three of the four USMNT stars were named in the starting XIs. For Juve, the lone representative was Weah, who was ultimately replaced by McKennie in the 71st minute. Prior to that, though, Weah was fantastic, locking down Rafael Leao with one of his best performances of the season.
On the Milan side, Pulisic was relatively quiet, amassing just 33 touches, the second-fewest of any outfield player who started the game. He did have some decent moments but was largely shut down by the Juve defense.
Musah was also in the starting XI, and was lined up at right-back by Stefano Pioli, a new position for the former Valencia star. By and large, he justified his coach's faith, tucking inside for most of the match as a pseudo-midfielder.
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GettyGOAL'S RATINGS
Christian Pulisic (5/10):
Juventus made it clear from the start: they wouldn't let Pulisic or Leao beat them. The USMNT winger was totally marked out of the match, aside from one or two half-chances he fashioned.
Yunus Musah (6/10):
An interesting decision from Pioli, who used Musah as a right-back. He didn't play the role as you'd traditionally expect, instead tucking in as an extra midfield body. With Sergino Dest out of action, could the USMNT replicate this tactic?
Tim Weah (8/10):
A fantastic outing from a player who isn't known for his defending. Facing arguably Serie A's best winger in Leao, Weah kept him quiet while also pushing Milan's defense back. A huge performance from the USMNT star.
Weston McKennie (6/10):
Had one big chance late on with a header as he looked to change the game in his 20 minutes on the field.
Selectors claimed they picked Sabbir Rahman for the New Zealand ODI series because the captain specifically asked for him
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2019Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has refuted chief selector Minhajl Abedin’s claim that he had asked for Sabbir Rahman to be part of the ODI series in New Zealand starting February 13.Sabbir was suspended for six months in September 2018 but the BCB reduced that sentence so that he can be part of the squad. When the squad was named two days ago, Abedin said, “Let me make one thing clear, he is totally the captain’s choice”.However, on Thursday, Mashrafe told that he only “suggested” Sabbir’s name because he wanted Mahmudullah to bat higher up the order and was in need of a good No. 7. “[Mahmudullah] Riyad definitely does this job quite well but should we be playing him at No 7 for so long? Isn’t it unfair on him to be batting so low? He doesn’t complain but as a captain I have to understand everyone. We have Shakib and Mushfiqur at No 4 and 5, so we should at least have Riyad batting at No 6.”I want a 15-ball 25 or a 20-ball 35 from my No 7. Imagine who he will be facing at the World Cup – Starc, Cummins, Bumrah, Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Rabada, Steyn, Woakes, Stokes, Boult, Southee, Hasan Ali or Amir. Give me one batsman who can play shots with power or improvise against these bowlers. I think Sabbir has the ability. We don’t have any batsman doing this in the BPL even, and we have all seen how others have done in this position recently. I am not saying that he has proved himself but Sabbir’s strike-rate at No. 7 and his batting style tells me that he has the ability. In theory, he has the most ability among those who have batted in this position.”Since his ODI debut, Sabbir has a strike-rate of 99.41, which is the highest among all Bangladesh batsmen who have batted at least five times between Nos. 6 and 8.Mashrafe also reiterated that he didn’t strongarm the selectors into making any decisions. “Do I have the authority to place a demand?” he said. “Am I part of the selection committee? I gave my opinion when they asked for it. There was cricketing logic behind my opinion. It is up to the selectors if they want to pick someone in the side. They possibly thought that my logic was good enough. We would see a different side had they not agreed with my logic. I never asked them to pick Sabbir. I only gave logic behind my opinion.”The coach and selectors had picked 14 out of the 15 players. They wanted my opinion about the 15th member. They placed several options in front of me, asking me who would be better to pick among Imrul [Kayes], Mosaddek [Hossain], [Abu Hider] Rony, [Nazmul Islam] Apu or Sabbir [Rahman].”Soumya and Liton were there to open with Tamim. Nayeem [Islam] is there for spin cover for Shakib and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. We didn’t need the extra spinner. I have Mustafizur, Rubel and Saifuddin in the pace department. If it was a 16-member squad, I could have kept another pacer.”I had Sabbir and Mosaddek as choices for No 6 or 7. Mosaddek hadn’t done that well in the BPL till Wednesday, and whether he is right for the No. 7 role is something that even the media has questioned a number of times. Was there an option other than Sabbir?Mashrafe did add, however, that if Sabbir doesn’t mend his ways after getting suspended twice in 2018 for beating up one fan and abusing another on Facebook, it could spell the end of his career. “What could be more example-setting than the board suspending a cricketer like Shakib [in the past]? Still Sabbir did wrong things and got banned. You can’t do much when a player fails to understand.”He got an opportunity this time but that doesn’t mean he got it all. If he cannot manage himself, then he has a dark future.”Sabbir, meanwhile, termed the recall as a “second life”, and said he will try to focus on batting in his own way. “When I will play the first game, it will be my second debut. I will try to do better from here. I will try to bring back the old Sabbir. If I fail, I will keep faith in myself and do what the team management tells me to do.”