Manchester United close in on Carrick’s appointment; Neuer signs Baye…

London [UK], May 16 (ANI): Manchester United are edging closer to appointing former midfielder Michael Carrick as the club’s permanent head coach following positive talks over a proposed two-year contract, according to ESPN. ipl-cricket.in

Carrick, who took charge on an interim basis after the dismissal of Ruben Amorim in January, has emerged as the club’s preferred long-term option after guiding United back into the UEFA Champions League for next season.

The former England international has guided United to 10 wins in 15 matches since assuming charge, restoring stability during a turbulent campaign and earning strong backing from senior figures at Old Trafford.

Carrick’s representatives were in Manchester this week discussing the final structure of a deal that would include the option of a further year.

United have not ruled out confirming the appointment before Sunday’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest, the club’s final home fixture of the season.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Carrick acknowledged that a decision regarding his future was expected soon, though he refrained from providing specific details.

“The future for me is going to be decided pretty soon," Carrick said, as quoted by ESPN.

“We knew that was going to be towards the end of the season, if not the end of the season, so nothing’s changed," he added.

Carrick is also expected to address supporters following Sunday’s match before United conclude their Premier League campaign away to Brighton & Hove Albion on May 24.

Meanwhile, in Germany, Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the Bundesliga champions until June 2027.

The 40-year-old goalkeeper’s previous contract was due to expire this summer, but the club confirmed that Neuer would continue for another season alongside experienced backup goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.

Neuer joined Bayern from Schalke 04 in 2011 and has since made 597 appearances for the Bavarian giants, winning two UEFA Champions League titles and 13 Bundesliga championships.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has recently promoted 22-year-old goalkeeper Jonas Urbig as the club’s long-term successor, with Neuer expected to play an important mentoring role during the transition period.

Bayern secured the Bundesliga title with four games remaining and are scheduled to lift the trophy following Saturday’s home fixture against FC Koln. (ANI)

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IPL 2026માં લખનૌ સુપર જાયન્ટ્સની ટાઇટલ માટેની શોધ અકાળે સમાપ્ત થઈ ગઈ. સતત ત્રીજી સીઝનમાં, ટીમ પ્લેઓફમાં પહોંચવામાં નિષ્ફળ ગઈ. ફરી એકવાર, IPL ઇતિહાસના સૌથી મોંઘા ખેલાડી ઋષભ પંતની કેપ્ટનશીપ હેઠળ, લખનૌ ખરાબ રીતે નિષ્ફળ ગયું. ટાઇટલ રેસમાંથી બહાર હોવા છતાં, લખનૌ ચેન્નાઈ સુપર કિંગ્સને હરાવીને મજબૂત વાપસી કરી રહ્યું છે. જોકે, આ જીતમાં, ટીમે એક ભૂલ કરી જે કેપ્ટન ઋષભ પંતને તેની ટીમને મોંઘી પડી.

LSGની એ ભૂલ પડી મોંઘી

લખનૌના એકાના સ્ટેડિયમ ખાતે રમાયેલી મેચમાં, યજમાન LSG એ ચેન્નાઈને એકતરફી રીતે સાત વિકેટથી કચડી નાખ્યું. લખનૌએ પહેલા CSK ને 187 રનમાં રોકી દીધું, જેમાં ઝડપી બોલર આકાશ સિંહે મુખ્ય ભૂમિકા ભજવી, ત્રણ વિકેટ લીધી. પછી, મિશેલ માર્શના વિસ્ફોટક 90 રનના કારણે, LSG એ 17મી ઓવરમાં લક્ષ્ય હાંસલ કર્યું, સિઝનની તેમની ચોથી જીત નોંધાવી.

પંતને આ ભૂલ માટે સજા મળી

આ જીત ચોક્કસપણે ટીમને થોડી રાહત આપી, પરંતુ કેપ્ટન ઋષભ પંતને હજુ પણ આંચકો લાગ્યો. હકીકતમાં, લખનૌએ પહેલા બોલિંગ કરતા 20 ઓવર પૂર્ણ કરવામાં ઘણો સમય લીધો. લખનૌને બધી 20 ઓવર પૂર્ણ કરવામાં લગભગ બે કલાક લાગ્યા. પરિણામે, ટીમ ધીમી ઓવર-રેટ માટે દોષિત સાબિત થઈ. જોકે, આ સિઝનમાં ટીમની આ પહેલી ભૂલ હોવાથી, આખી ટીમને નહીં, પરંતુ ફક્ત કેપ્ટન ઋષભ પંતને સજા કરવામાં આવી. BCCI એ પંતને ₹1.2 મિલિયનનો દંડ ફટકાર્યો.

BCCI એ આ કેપ્ટનો સામે પણ કાર્યવાહી કરી

જો લખનૌ તેની બાકીની બે મેચમાં આવી ભૂલનું પુનરાવર્તન કરશે, તો કેપ્ટન પંતને ₹2.4 મિલિયનનો દંડ ફટકારવામાં આવશે, જ્યારે ટીમના બાકીના ખેલાડીઓને પણ મેચ ફીમાંથી કપાતપાત્ર રકમ ચૂકવવી પડશે. પંત ધીમી ઓવર-રેટ માટે દંડ ફટકારનાર પ્રથમ કેપ્ટન નથી. તેમના પહેલા પેટ કમિન્સ, અક્ષર પટેલ, અજિંક્ય રહાણે, શ્રેયસ ઐયર અને રુતુરાજ ગાયકવાડ જેવા કેપ્ટનોને પણ આ ભૂલને કારણે દંડ ફટકારવામાં આવ્યો છે.

આ પણ વાંચો - IPL 2026 :ઈડન ગાર્ડન્સમાં KKR અને GTનો કેવો છે રેકોર્ડ? જાણો કોનું પલડું ભારે

Legendary Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden’s daughter Grace has carved out a successful career for herself in the sports media industry, almost becoming a household name among sports fans, appearing frequently as the presenter for multiple global tournaments, including the Indian Premier League.

Grace is equally active on social media, boasting nearly eight lakh followers on Instagram, often giving fans a glimpse of her off-screen life. However, with more eyeballs comes more scrutiny, but Grace’s way of dealing with haters is by ignoring them and focusing on the positives.

“Working in TV and sport, you naturally understand that people will always have opinions, but I’ve learnt to stay focused on the positives,” Grace, 23, said in a recent interview with Australian website news.com.au

Grace, who also does events across the fashion and entertainment industry, is well aware of how quickly people tend to label someone.

“I try not to focus on labels. My priority has always been the work itself. I have always believed you can be professional, prepared and respectful of the role, while also embracing confidence and personal style,” she said.

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Shardul Thakur clarified that skipper Hardik Pandya`s absence in the last three matches was due to injury, adding that he could return for their next game against Kolkata Knight Riders while dismissing speculation over the star`s future with the franchise. Pandya did not travel to Dharamsala for MI`s six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, where Jasprit Bumrah became the team`s third captain this season after Suryakumar Yadav also missed the game following the birth of his child.

"Hardik is injured, so he couldn`t travel for a couple of games," Thakur said at the post-match media interaction on Thursday. Down with back spasm, Pandya first missed MI`s home game against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4 and then sat out the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur despite travelling with the squad. "He went to Raipur (for the RCB match on May 10), but couldn`t play. He is training in Mumbai now and I expect him to be back in Kolkata and play (at Eden Gardens on May 20). Players like them, we always miss the quality," Thakur added.

Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants were the first two teams to be eliminated from playoff contention this season, with three league games to go. Pandya has endured a disappointing campaign both as captain and player. In eight innings, he has scored 146 runs at an average of 20.85 and a strike rate of 136.44, with a highest score of 40. With the ball, he has managed only four wickets at an average of 61.50 and an economy rate of nearly 11.90 from 20.4 overs. The underwhelming season also fuelled social media speculation, linking Pandya with possible moves to franchises such as Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, but Thakur brushed aside the rumours.

"There are a lot of discussions going on in social media, some are right, some are wrong... but this is also a management decision (of not travelling to Dharamsala)," he said. With Pandya unavailable since the clash against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, Bumrah led the five-time champions for the first time and guided them to only their fourth win of the season. Thakur starred with figures of 4/39, while Tilak Varma anchored the 201-run chase with an unbeaten 75 from 33 balls on a surface that demanded restraint as much as strokeplay.

"I think I have my comfort level with him (Bumrah). We had a lot of discussions rather, and I don`t know much about the other bowlers, but of course he`s never shy of sharing his ideas," Thakur said. Asked to compare MI`s three captains this season, Thakur said each brought a different approach and perspective to leadership. "It`s difficult to rate, because all three of them have different set of ideas, like a particular individual, like you and me also, we would have different set of ideas, and there is no set mantra in cricket that it`s going to give you success.

"Players are the ones who make captain look good, so as players you have to be proactive, you need to read the game situations, put in your effort, and need to keep the team always above you, and give your best. "They bring in a lot of experience, all of them have been match winner for the Indian team, for this franchise also, and you see there would be at least two or three games every season that they would win individually on their individual skills, so that`s the kind of ability which we see.

"And like I have played cricket for quite a few years now, but any youngster seeing them, if they follow them closely, they will see that these guys have amazing ability of winning the game single-handedly, so that motivates the other players, and it also brings in new perspective to their respective games." Thakur also hailed Varma for adapting to the conditions after MI conceded slightly above-par runs.

"I think it was more of a patience game, where they wait for loose deliveries, and then try to convert, it was that kind of a pitch I would say, and yes we ended up giving probably 20 runs more than what we would intend to, but kudos to Tilak, the way he held his nerve, he spent the time in the middle." The all-rounder, who returned after missing three matches, said he was satisfied to contribute in a winning cause despite not being entirely pleased with his execution. "I was happy with my bowling, I wouldn`t say I was too happy with my bowling, and the wickets that I took, four wickets, yes, I am happy with that, but I am happier that I was able to take wickets for the winning cause for the team," he signed off.

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With their remarkable resurgence ruined in Raipur, three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) run the risk of being shut out of IPL-19 when they take on a marauding Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

Wednesday’s defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has pushed KKR to the edge of the precipice, and nothing short of a win will keep them in contention.

That is a most daunting task given that GT arrive with five wins on the trot.

The inability to present a fight against RCB despite putting up a challenging 192 will be a concern for a bowling unit. The absence of an injured Varun Chakravarthy did rob them of the familiar ‘squeeze’ that he and Sunil Narine bring upon opposing batsmen, but the bigger worry will be the disintegration of the unit in spite of debutant Saurabh Dubey setting the tone with a two-run opening over. Chakravarthy bowled at the nets on Friday but the decision will be taken on the morrow.

Kartik Tyagi was asked if he would have preferred to bowl that second over to keep things tight. “Who bowls when is something we discuss and plan. Vaibhav [Arora] is better with the new ball and was thus given the job,” the pacer responded. “Sometimes, things don’t go in our favour.”A wayward Arora conceded 18 runs in the second over and KKR lost the plot from there.

For GT, while Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler present an explosive top-order, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada and Jason Holder have been among the wickets regularly to deny early momentum to the opposition. With the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan to follow, GT have a bowling unit capable of shutting out opponents.

It’s just as well that KKR’s batting runs deep and several key players have found form. KKR opener Finn Allen is back to his best and a great deal will depend on the Kiwi’s performance.