Sports
Huge turnout expected from Australia for Warne–Murali Trophy
by Rex Clementine
A sea of Australian fans are expected to descend upon Galle for the much-anticipated Warne–Murali Trophy, set to kick off later this month. With Australia – the world’s top-ranked Test side – locking horns with sixth-ranked Sri Lanka, cricket enthusiasts are gearing up for a spectacle, with both Tests scheduled at the picturesque Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced yesterday that tickets will go on sale soon, and fans can purchase them via the official SLC website. For those who prefer the old-school way, tickets will also be available at the gates starting January 27, with prices ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 12,500.
SLC had previously thrown open the gates for Test matches free of charge, hoping to breathe new life into the longest format of the game. However, an SLC insider revealed that the decision to sell tickets this time is due to the expected influx of Australian supporters. Sri Lanka’s allure as a top-tier tourist destination, the demand has skyrocketed.
Over the years, former Aussie cricketers like Merv Hughes and Geoff Marsh have played a pivotal role in bringing tour groups to Sri Lanka. However, Australian fans have yet to embrace Sri Lanka with the same fervour as England’s legendary Barmy Army, who travel in droves.
The 2001 series between Sri Lanka and England was a watershed moment, drawing over 5,000 British fans. At the time, the British High Commission in Colombo requested a meeting with SLC officials, raising eyebrows as it came during the peak of Sri Lanka’s civil conflict. To everyone’s surprise, security wasn’t their primary concern – it was the availability of sufficient toilet facilities for the traveling fans! SLC responded promptly by installing mobile toilets across all venues, ensuring the series was a roaring success and providing a much-needed boost to the nation’s tourism industry.
It remains to be seen whether the upcoming Aussie tour can recreate that magic, but hopes are high.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan squad has returned to their training base in Galle, sharpening their skills for the showdown. The Australian team, currently fine-tuning their preparations in Abu Dhabi, is expected to arrive later this week.
Despite Australia having already punched their ticket to the World Test Championship final, the series is far from a dead rubber. Sri Lanka’s Head Coach, Sanath Jayasuriya, has made his intentions clear – he wants to bring the Warne–Murali Trophy back home. Australia regained the coveted prize in 2019 and held onto it despite the 2022 series ending in a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
Sri Lanka is expected to announce their squad in the coming days. A series win against the reigning world champions would propel them to the fifth spot in the ICC Test rankings, giving the team and their fans plenty to cheer about.
Two ODIs will follow the Test series. Both one-dayers will be played at RPS.
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool.
The 32-year-old’s previous deal was scheduled to run out in the summer and there had been doubts he would stay with the Reds following comments from him during the season and speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
However, he is staying and will have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for the club in 393 appearances.
“Of course I’m very excited – we have a great team now,” said Salah.
“Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
“I have played eight years here, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here.”
Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, including 27 in the Premier League as the Reds chase a 20th top-flight title. Liverpool are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games remaining.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup with the Reds.
He was one of three key Liverpool players who will be out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
[BBC]
MS Dhoni will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the remainder of IPL 2025 after Rutraj Gaikwad was ruled out of the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development on the eve of the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday. It is a significant blow to CSK, who have made a bad start to their campaign by losing four of their first five matches. They are currently ninth in the points table, above only Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Gaikwad suffered the injury during CSK’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on March 30. He was struck on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande and missing the ball in the second over of CSK’s unsuccessful chase, but continued batting and scored 63 in that game. He played two more games after that and made 5 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Chennai on April 5 and 1 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on April 8. After five games, he was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer with 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61; he was CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2024.
“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” Fleming said in Chennai. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
“So we’re disappointed, and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”
Dhoni, 43, had led CSK from 2008 until 2024, when he handed the captaincy to Gaikwad. He had also handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, but took back the leadership some way into the season after the team went through a bad run of results. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK have won five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.
“He [Dhoni] had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can,” Fleming said. “So that was never a doubt. We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”
After their home game against KKR on today, CSK play two away games against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 and Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 20.
[Cricinfo]
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Western and Uva provinces and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the afternoon or night.
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