All posts by h716a5.icu

Liverpool have reportedly opened talks this week to sign a key reinforcement who Arne Slot loves ahead of Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2026.

Slot urges Liverpool to "remain humble"

Sunday’s 2-0 victory against West Ham United simply cannot be a false dawn for Liverpool or record signing Alexander Isak. After a disastrous run of form, the Reds must make it back-to-back victories by defeating Sunderland this evening.

Anything but three points would only spark further concerns about Slot’s tenure, as reports continue to suggest potential managerial candidates such as Ange Postecoglou.

Ahead of Liverpool’s clash against the Black Cats, Slot told reporters: “The challenge now will be to build on this win. We do not get to believe that a corner has been turned or that a recovery is under way.

“We have to remain humble, work hard and continue to fight. If we do this then maybe we can continue taking the small steps forward that are very much required.

“I would like to welcome Regis Le Bris, his players and staff as well as the supporters and directors of Sunderland to Anfield for tonight’s game. What they have done in the Premier League already this season reflects incredibly well on all at the club having earned promotion back in May.”

FSG could see £75m bid accepted to sign Liverpool their best LW since Mane

Liverpool are in the market for a left-sided winger this winter.

2 ByAngus Sinclair Dec 3, 2025

It’s been the type of run that sparks serious questions about the January transfer window and the need for reinforcements – particularly on the defensive front. As things stand, Liverpool have just two senior centre-backs available, but have been linked with moves for the likes of Castello Lukeba and, of course, Marc Guehi.

Liverpool open talks to sign Marc Guehi

According to TeamTalk, Liverpool have now opened talks to sign Guehi this week in an attempt to get their deal back on track and land their No.1 defensive target ahead of Real Madrid.

The Reds came within hours of signing the Crystal Palace star in the summer, only for the Eagles to pull the plug on the deal at the death. Now, they’re attempting to jump ahead of the chasing pack by making their move as early as the January transfer window.

Those at Anfield are reportedly willing to offer a deal worth around £30m next month, whilst others wait in line to secure Guehi’s signature as a free agent in the summer.

Not even Slot could hide Liverpool’s admiration for Guehi when they missed out on his signature in the summer, telling reporters: “It would be ridiculous if I were to deny we were close to signing him.

“That is so out in the open. These things happen in football. We would have liked to have signed him, of course. If we feel we can strengthen the team, we never hesitate to do so.”

Whether Crystal Palace willingly part with their defender, who was described as a “monster in defence” by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi, remains to be seen, however.

Liverpool star is now very quickly becoming "the next Diaz" at Anfield

Led by Jadeja’s four-for, India reduced South Africa to effectively 63 for 7 with three days to go in the game

Sidharth Monga15-Nov-20252:14

What to make of the Eden Gardens surface?

India started the second day 122 runs behind in the first innings with nine wickets in hand. Less than six dramatic hours of cricket later, they were sensing a win, having reduced South Africa to effectively 63 for 7 in their second innings. Fifteen wickets fell on the day, Shubman Gill retired with a neck spasm, 39 remained the top score in the Test, and 57 the top partnership. This was the lowest top score in the first two innings of a Test in India, and the lowest in any Test since Durban 2010-11 between the same sides.Absolutely nobody predicted the pitch would turn out to be so difficult to bat on. It looked like a normal Indian track, good for batting for first two days, but the top surface began to come off in the second half of the first day. On the second day, it became near unplayable. Even the fast bowlers drew generous help to take 11 of the 26 wickets to fall.The pitch might seem at odds with India’s public utterances after the series loss to New Zealand last year that they want to play on more balanced surfaces, but commentator Dinesh Karthik said on air that it was not watered on the day before the Test, which comes across as unusual.Related

Gill hospitalised after suffering neck spasm

From struggle to skill, Harmer demonstrates decade-long evolution

Shubman Gill retires hurt with neck injury

What wasn’t unusual was that the best player on this moving day was Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 27 largely trouble-free runs before his old-fashioned technique of hiding the bat behind the pad got him out lbw to Simon Harmer.Harmer himself showed all the hype was real, that he is now a vastly improved bowler to the one that showed up in India 10 years ago, taking 4 for 30 to keep South Africa in arrears of only 30 after being bowled out for 159 on the first day. Jadeja, though, showed 30 was plenty with an unerring unbroken spell of 13-3-29-4 as South Africa ended the day on 93 for 7.When the day began, and indeed even after the wicketless first hour, it looked like India were setting themselves up for a decisive first-innings lead. KL Rahul, the top-scorer in the match, and India’s new No. 3 Washington Sundar put together the joint-highest partnership of the match. Introduced only in the second hour of the day, Harmer produced immediate results, turning one past Washington’s edge and the next onto the edge.KL Rahul was the top-scorer of the match after the second day•AFP/Getty ImagesAt 75 for 2, India were 84 behind South Africa, still a comfortable position to be in. Gill, whose neck seemed to be in some discomfort in the morning warm-ups, then went into a spasm as soon as he swept Harmer for four.While Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jadeja – 39, 27 and 27 – looked good in their own individual ways, the eventual wicket-taking delivery was always around the corner. Rahul made the mistake of following Keshav Maharaj’s extravagant turn, Jadeja was done in by the natural variation, and Pant fell to extra bounce for Corbin Bosch.Maharaj will be disappointed he went at over four an over, but the combination of Harmer and Marco Jansen made light of India’s batting depth, which generally is the case on such pitches. In Kagiso Rabada’s absence, Jansen’s analysis of 15-4-35-3 kept South Africa alive in the Test. India lost their last four wickets for 36.By the time India started bowling for the second time, with a little over half an hour to tea on day two, it made complete sense to open with spin. Jasprit Bumrah, who got a five-for in the first innings, did open the bowling, and from the end where bowlers had generated uneven bounce, but it wasn’t long before South Africa were facing spin from both ends with little breathing time or space.Kuldeep Yadav took the wicket of Ryan Rickelton with what turned out to be the last ball of the middle session, one that didn’t turn and also had the batter playing back when he should have been forward.Ravindra Jadeja spun a web around South Africa•AFP/Getty ImagesPant, captaining in Gill’s absence, immediately brought on Jadeja, the fingerspinner who could accurately bowl at high pace, on at this end. As it often happens on such difficult pitches, the wicket-taking deliveries don’t look that threatening but the ones around them scramble batters’ brains. And so it looked like Aiden Markram should not have checked his sweep, but he did because this ball from Jadeja stopped on him. Tony de Zorzi reverse-swept the first ball he played but the next one jumped on him, making for an easy bat-pad catch.Wiaan Mulder tested Jadeja’s patience, but Jadeja eventually produced the edge with the big-turning delivery. Tristan Stubbs was worked over with subtle changes in the angle, with Jadeja finally going wide on the crease, angling the ball in, and then turning it away past the edge to take the off stump.Kyle Verreynne copped flak for trying to slog-sweep Axar Patel, but there weren’t many scoring opportunities on that pitch with in-out fields. A similar attacking strategy came off for Jansen for a while as he scored 13 but even he get a feather on a sweep off Kuldeep.The catching of both sides remained sensational with Rahul capping the day off with a low slip catch off a deflection of the keeper Pant. Temba Bavuma defended well and threw in the occasional sweep to end the day unbeaten on 29 off 78, but it seemed he still had a lot to do with the bat to give South Africa a shot at a win.

Bernardo Silva has warned Manchester City stars that they face being "killed", in a sporting sense, if they fail to win trophies in 2025-26. Under Pep Guardiola, the Blues have grown accustomed to collecting major silverware. They missed out on the grandest of prizes last season and are aware that more tough decisions will be made if they come up short again.

Man City trophy hunt: Blues competing on multiple fronts

City did lift the Community Shield ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, but that was as good as it got on the trophy-hunting front. Liverpool ran away with the Premier League title, while Paris Saint-Germain were crowned champions of Europe. Guardiola’s side also came unstuck at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Arsenal’s bright start to the current campaign had many suggesting that City would miss out on a domestic title once again – having won four-in-a-row between 2020 and 2024 – but the odd wobble from the Gunners and a run of three successive top-flight victories for the Blues has lifted them to within two points of rivals from north London.

Positive progress has also been made in the Champions League, while Brentford will soon be faced in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and another FA Cup quest will get underway in January when lining up against League One outfit Exeter.

AdvertisementGettyKill or be killed: Man City expect to win major silverware

Silva, who has been with City since 2017 and has claimed 17 pieces of silverware with the club – including a Treble triumph in 2022-23 – is aware of the need to keep on winning. The Portugal international says exits are inevitable in upcoming transfer windows if the Blues end the current campaign empty-handed.

Silva told when asked if City can restock their trophy cabinet this season: "That’s the aim. It would mean a lot because at this club it’s not acceptable to not win. If you don’t win, the club will make decisions again and it’s normal, it’s part of the business.

"Either you kill or you get killed, and that’s the way it is. That’s good, that’s good. If you want to play for Man City, you need to win. If you don’t win, you don’t deserve to be here. So that pressure, that’s on us, it’s a good one and we take it."

Quizzed on whether City are better prepared to compete for major honours than they were 12 months ago, Silva added: "I think we’re much, much better, you cannot compare. Like, if you said to me last season with no injuries, last season was a very, very good squad, but with all the injuries we had and all the problems that we had, I would say that right now we’re much more prepared to fight for titles, yeah."

Retirement plan: Will Silva become a manager?

Silva is determined to enhance his own CV as he will be out of contract next summer. He is far from being finished, at 31 years of age, but is already giving some thought to what path he will tread when reaching retirement.

Pressed by on whether he will remain in professional football, the 107-cap Portugal international said: "I don’t know if, when I finish my career, I will miss football or not. I think I will. Football brings a load of travel and energy that is difficult. With 20 years, or more with the youth years I gave to football, I will want to spend time with my family. I will want to travel with my wife. I will want to give time to my children.

"I don’t know if I will want to give that time back to football after I finish my career. But without a doubt, if I return it will be as a coach, and I think I will have the ability to do it."

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GettyWorld Cup quest: Silva will compete with Portugal as a free agent

Silva does have vast experience to pass on, having worked under the likes of Guardiola and alongside five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. After chasing down domestic and continental honours with City, his attention will turn next summer – when hitting free agency – to a World Cup title bid with Portugal.

Ahead of a crucial week for Celtic, the last thing the Hoops needed was some disruption.

There was an argument to be made that Martin O’Neill should have remained in charge for the game against Hearts and the League Cup final next week.

The other argument, however, suggested that new manager, Wilfried Nancy, needed to get his feet under the table as soon as possible in a bid to assess the squad ahead of the January transfer window.

Well, his tenure got off to the worst possible start, losing to Hearts 2-1 and surrendering ground on the league leaders.

What made things worse was Nancy’s behaviour on the touchline. We aren’t ones to judge too hard, but the fact that he was clipped moving little magnets around on a whiteboard in the dugout with his team losing sent alarm bells ringing.

Nancy discusses his Celtic tactics

Celtic have traditionally played in a classic 4-3-3 in recent years but the Frenchman tweaked things against the Jambos, starting with Kieran Tierney in a back three, with Sebastian Tounekti and Yang Hyun-jun playing at wing-backs and a four-man box midfield.

Evidently, it did not work and rightfully, Nancy was quizzed about his tactics post-game.

The new Celtic boss said: “To be honest, in the first half we changed the system. I would say in the second half it was the same system. After that, when we wanted to push, it was not the system that we started with.

“So for me this is more about how we can deal when teams are really low. The centre-backs for example, when they had the ball, recognise the moment to play a little bit quicker, recognised the moment to play in between. The intention was here. These are now the nuances that we need to improve.”

Nancy continued: “This is more about how we can connect a little bit more. When we connected, we had opportunities to break them. But second half, we didn’t connect. When we conceded the second goal, we started to put in cross and cross and cross. We needed to combine a little bit more, to attack the box with numbers because they are really good defensively with big tall guys.”

McInnes reveals how Hearts beat Celtic

What should be really concerning for the Bhoys is just how easily Hearts were able to pinpoint the way in which Celtic would play under Nancy.

Usually when a new manager arrives, things are a tad unpredictable for the opposition but that was not the case for Derek McInnes and his side on Sunday.

Speaking at the conclusion of the match, he said: “We have studied the last two or three days, watching a lot of Columbus Crew and what they want to do and expect from their players.

McInnes continued: “We felt well prepared for that and it meant we needed to fill the middle of the pitch with bodies. Celtic have got a lot of good players in that central area, so we needed to make sure we were nice and solid through that part of it.

“We tried to play in the spaces between the outside centre-back and the winger because it’s quite a big distance at times,” the Hearts boss said.

This was a crucial game for Nancy, not just because it was his first in charge, but because the Edinburgh side moved three points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Worse than Maeda: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who lost the ball 23 times

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy must drop this flop who was even worse than Daizen Maeda against Hearts.

ByDan Emery Dec 8, 2025

Hasaranga, who picked up a hamstring niggle during the second ODI against Pakistan, is not yet ruled out of the tri-series

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2025Legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has been added to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad for the T20I tri-series in Pakistan as cover for allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who has a hamstring injury.Hasaranga has not been ruled out of the series yet. He picked up the hamstring niggle during the second game of the ODI series against Pakistan and subsequently missed the third ODI as Sri Lanka suffered a 3-0 defeat.Related

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Viyaskanth will join the team directly from Qatar, where he was playing for Sri Lanka A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. He has represented Sri Lanka just once in senior cricket, making his debut in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023.Viyaskanth first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Stallions. In that tournament, he also became the first born-and-bred player from Jaffna to appear in an internationally televised game. Viyaskanth was also the second highest wicket-taker in the SLC T20 League in August 2025. Overall, in 59 T20 games, he has taken 67 wickets at 20.98 with an economy of 7.18.Sri Lanka are also missing their regular T20I captain Charith Asalanka for the tri-series. He flew home with an illness and Dasun Shanaka will fill in as captain. Sri Lanka play their first game of the tri-series on November 20 against Zimbabwe. The series starts on November 18 with each team playing the other twice before the final on November 29.

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has lauded Marcus Rashford’s professionalism and attitude after the England forward found himself starting fewer matches following the return of Raphinha to full fitness. Despite a dip in minutes, Flick insists the 28-year-old has been "perfect" behind the scenes, offering a model response to competition within a title-chasing squad.

Flick praises Rashford’s response to reduced role

Rashford has featured regularly since arriving from Manchester United, starting 14 matches in all competitions. However, with Raphinha reclaiming his place on the left flank and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal locking down the right, the loanee has begun just one of Barcelona’s last six games since the October international break. However, rather than disrupting squad harmony, Rashford has shown maturity in accepting his reduced role, which has impressed Flick. 

AdvertisementAFPA dressing room example in a competitive front line

Barcelona’s front three has largely settled into a familiar pattern in Flick’s 4-3-3 system, with Robert Lewandowski flanked by Raphinha and Yamal. Rashford has been used as an impact option, entering at half-time in three of the last five matches, a role that demands patience and focus. However, Flick revealed a private exchange that encapsulated Rashford’s mindset.

"I try to speak to every player when they are not selected, and the last time I checked with him he replied me ‘boss, you don’t have to tell me about your decisions'," Flick said on Rashford. "'The most important thing is the team. We have to win the three points. The rest is not that important’.

"This is the perfect mentality. I am so happy to have him. When he is on the bench, he shows that we have a good and deep squad. What I can say is that he is an absolutely professional player. In the beginning, he had to adapt a little bit, but now he is at his best level."

Rashford rediscovering himself in Catalunya

Rashford’s move to Barcelona came after a difficult period at United, where he fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim and struggled to rediscover consistency. In Catalonia, however, Rashford believes he has found an environment more conducive to expressing himself. Speaking to he described embracing a culture where collective purpose is paramount.

"I've always been, like many people in the world, an admirer of Spanish football," he said. "To play for the biggest club in Spain is a huge honour. I'm looking forward to playing more games here, just doing my best and try to help the team to win. It's a club that demands this. The environment is always pushing us to be the best players we can be so it's perfect to be in a place like this as a player."

Rashford has been candid about the scrutiny he faced in England, where questions were raised about his commitment and focus. In Barcelona, he insists the narrative feels different.

"I don't see anything here as like a pressure," he said. "It's just, I'm here to play football. It's been amazing. I feel welcome, I feel at home. I've just been enjoying every step of the way."

Beyond the pitch, Rashford has taken deliberate steps to integrate into life in Spain. Living away from Manchester for the first time, he has enrolled in Spanish lessons to ease communication with his team-mates.

"All my team-mates welcomed me well and I also felt very good in the city," he added. "It’s the first time I’ve lived away from Manchester, but I’m already starting to feel at home. I want to learn more Spanish and I’m trying."

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(C)Getty ImagesFuture decisions on the horizon

Barcelona hold an option to make Rashford’s move permanent for €30 million (£26m/$35m) at the end of the 2025-26 season, a clause that could become increasingly relevant if his positive influence continues. In October, Rashford openly stated his desire to extend his stay, hinting at a long-term future in Blaugrana colours. While his role has evolved from being a regular starter to a rotational player, his impact and professionalism have not gone unnoticed. Flick’s side sit four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. As they prepare to host Osasuna on Saturday, the emphasis remains on collective momentum rather than individual status and Rashford’s acceptance of that principle has only strengthened Flick’s hand.

Los Angeles Dodgers longtime ace Clayton Kershaw made history on Wednesday night in a six-inning outing against the Chicago White Sox, becoming just the 20th pitcher to record 3,000 career strikeouts. Kershaw's family, including his wife Ellen and four children, were on hand at Dodger Stadium to witness the incredible feat—and their reactions didn't disappoint.

Facing White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra in the top of the sixth inning, Kershaw, on a 1-2 count, delivered a slider for a strikeout looking—and the historic achievement. Up in the stands, his wife Ellen raised one arm in the air and burst into tears as his children jumped up and down in excitement.

Then, in what was likely his favorite part of the night, Kershaw shared a sweet moment with his family in the clubhouse after the Dodgers' walk-off win capped off the memorable night.

Kershaw is just the fourth left-hander to accumulate 3,000 career strikeouts, and one of just three active pitchers, including Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, to achieve the feat.

Shohei Ohtani's greatness is unparalleled. His incredible three-homer, 10-strikeout night Friday has never been seen before and crosses boundaries into one of the most dominant performances ever, no matter the sport.

As the Dodgers completed the sweep on the Brewers in the National League Championship Series Friday, onlookers tried to grapple with the history they just witnessed. That includes star shortstop Mookie Betts, who had a legendary comparison for his teammate who continues to find new ways to amaze us all.

"I said it multiple times, we're like the Bulls and he's Michael Jordan," Betts said via MLB Network as the Dodgers celebrated their second World Series appearance in a row Friday. "Whenever he goes, we're all going to go. You saw it today and I'm just happy he's on our team."

Looping in Jordan, who led the Bulls to six NBA titles and was named Finals MVP in each championship, puts you up with the greatest of all time. While it's extremely high praise, it's warranted for Ohtani, who's dominance over the past few seasons already has him in GOAT conversations.

His leadoff home run Friday in L.A.'s 5-1 win traveled 446 feet and made him the first pitcher to hit a leadoff homer in MLB history. If that wasn't enough, his second home run of the night went even further, traveling 469 feet up and out of Dodger Stadium. Even his teammates couldn't believe it. He sent one more ball over the fence—this one went to center field—and by the end of the night, Ohtani was the first player to ever hit three homers and throw 10 strikeouts in the same game.

Just take it all in:

We're witnessing greatness and everyone knows it. Ohtani has some time before he can meet or even top Jordan's six championships, but his massive performance moved the Dodgers just four wins away from back-to-back World Series wins.

For the first time in 24 years, baseball fans in Seattle have experienced the taste of a postseason victory at home.

The Mariners defeated the Tigers 3–2 in Game 2 of the ALDS on Sunday night, evening up the series 1-1. The victory marked the first time in almost a quarter of a century that the Mariners won a playoff game at their home stadium.

As a result, it was an emotional scene at T-Mobile Park, as fans in Seattle soaked in the feeling of an October win. The Fox broadcast captured the scenes in the Pacific Northwest to perfection, showcasing some excited fans as they finally experienced the long-awaited moment.

One fan was captured on the broadcast tearing up and exchanging a wholesome embrace with a loved one.

The last time the Mariners won a home playoff game was October 15, 2001, when they defeated Cleveland 3–1. That season, they advanced to the ALCS but were ultimately defeated by the Yankees in a five-game series.

Fans are hoping this year will be different. Seattle is one of five MLB teams to never win a World Series, and it's clear that the team's supporters are ready for the drought to snap.

Game 3 is slated for Tuesday, Oct. 7 from Comerica Park in Detroit. The series could potentially return to Seattle for a Game 5, if necessary.

Sunil Gavaskar recounts hugs, tax exemptions and is pretty sure he cost Chauhan two centuries

Sunil Gavaskar16-Aug-20201:18

Chetan Chauhan: Gavaskar’s longtime opening partner

” [come here and give me a hug], after all we are in the mandatory overs of life,” was the usual greeting of my opening partner Chetan Chauhan whenever we met over the last two or three years. The meetings were invariably at his beloved Feroze Shah Kotla ground, where he was in charge of the pitch preparation. As we hugged, I would say to him, “No, no. We must have another century partnership,” and he would laugh and say, “Arre baba, you are the century maker, not me.” Never in my wildest nightmares could I believe that his words about being in the mandatory overs of life would come true so soon. It’s so hard to believe that his laughter and cheerful banter won’t be there the next time I go to Delhi.Talking of centuries, I firmly believe that I was responsible for him missing out on two occasions, both in Australia in the 1980-81 series down under. In the second Test in Adelaide he was on 97 when my teammates pulled me out of my chair in front of the TV and dragged me to the players balcony, saying I must get there to cheer my partner. I was a bit superstitious about watching from the players enclosure as then the batsman would get out. So I would always watch on the dressing room TV. Once the landmark was reached, then I would rush to the players balcony and join in the cheers.A magazine page about the tenth century stand for the first wicket between Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan, achieved against New Zealand in Christchurch during the 1980-81 series•Clayton Murzello Magazine CollectionHowever, here I was in the Adelaide balcony when Dennis Lille came in to bowl and – would you believe – Chetan was caught behind first ball. I was livid and told the players off for having got me to the balcony but that wasn’t going to change what had happened. A few years later, I didn’t make the same mistake when Mohammad Azharuddin was approaching his third consecutive hundred in Kanpur, and as soon as he got to the coveted mark, I was out of the change room and applauding him from next to the sightscreen. Some of my friends in the media, who had the knives out for me then, made a big story of my so-called absence. Amazingly, they had had nothing to say about the absence of some when a year earlier I got my 29th century to be level with Sir Don Bradman in Delhi.The second occasion that I believe I was responsible for Chetan missing a hundred, was when I lost my head after being abused by the Australians as I was leaving the pitch after a terrible decision. Trying to drag Chetan off the field with me must have disrupted his concentration and he was again out short of a century a little later.There’s one thing that few players of my generation and the one immediately after don’t know – his contribution in getting tax exemptions for them. Both of us first met up with the late Shri R Venkataraman, who was the Finance minister of the country then, and requested him to consider a tax exemption for fees received for playing for India. I must add that it wasn’t just for cricket but for all sportspersons who played for India. We explained how, when we were junior cricketers, we had to spend a lot of money on equipment, travel, coaches, etc. when we had no income at all.

“Chetan always said that if we are asked what was our best contribution to Indian cricket, we should say that it was getting [tax] exemptions for the cricketing fraternity”

Shri Venkatramanji was most considerate and in a notification, he passed a ruling that gave us 75% standard deduction for a Test match fee, then an exemption on 50% of the tour fees which we received before leaving for a tour. The cherry on the cake though was the total exemption on the one-day match fees of INR 750 which we received those days. Mind you, we barely played a game or two of one-day internationals then. That notification was in place till about 1998, by which time the number of one-day internationals had increased dramatically as also as the fees which were around INR 1 lakh or so. So around the mid-90s, players were getting about INR 25 lakhs or more free of tax. Even after my retirement, I would give a copy of the notification to the newcomers in the Indian team for them to give to their accountants.Chetan always said that if we are asked what was our best contribution to Indian cricket, we should say that it was getting the exemptions for the cricketing fraternity. His desire to help others manifested in him joining politics, and right till the end he was a giver, not a taker.He had a wicked sense of humour too. His favourite song as we walked out to face some of the most hostile bowlers in the game was [smile little boy, smile]. That was his way of easing the nerves while confronting challenges.Now that my partner is no more how can I ? May your soul have everlasting peace, partner.