Forward Federico Chiesa insists if he did not relish the challenge of competition posed by Liverpool’s multi-talented squad he would have already left for an easier life.

The Italy international enjoyed his best game since arriving as last summer’s sole signing with a man-of-the-match performance in Tuesday night’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win at home to Championship side Southampton.

He provided assists for British record signing Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, the pair alone costing a combined £200million in a window of significant transfer business which appeared to further restrict Chiesa’s opportunities.

With £100m signing Florian Wirtz also arriving, plus the emergence of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, the future looked bleak and the former Juventus man was linked with a swift return to Serie A.

But Chiesa – who on the day of his signing 13 months ago was captured playing You’ll Never Walk Alone as his private jet flew over Anfield – was not prepared to give up so easily.

“I play for a top club. This is maybe one of the top three in the world. It’s Liverpool – of course they are going to buy top players; of course the competition is high. If I don’t want competition, I go to another team.

“But I want the competition, I want to play here. Competition helps you to become a better player.”

Already this season Chiesa, on £150,000-a-week, has featured for 137 minutes and has one goal. In the previous campaign it took him until the FA Cup third round in January to pass that mark as he struggled for match fitness, managing just 465 minutes in 14 appearances.

“I do feel much better in terms of physical ability and I think I have played more this year than last year combined. I’m happy and I have to continue on this path,” added the 27-year-old, who scored the important late third goal in the 4-2 Premier League win over Bournemouth on the opening day.

“It was really difficult but I don’t think I was at the level the coach wanted me to play. I understood his choices. This year, it is different. I feel better physically and mentally. The coach has seen this and given me more opportunities.

“I’m glad that I have made some contributions in the Premier League. That is what Liverpool want from every player who plays for them. It is what the coach wants.

“If you play for Liverpool, you have to be able to make a difference. I’m very happy for the moment and I have to keep working hard to get more chances in the future.”

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Despite appearances, Chiesa has become something of a cult hero on the Kop with their song about him hugely popular, even if it has created a fevered online debate in relation to the language it uses towards Juventus, considering the Heysel disaster history the two clubs share.

“Since last year I have been feeling I needed to give them something back. These first few appearances this year, I have given them something but I want to keep on doing it,” he said.

“I like the chant, there is nothing wrong with it, but I have to give them more. The support is just amazing.”

Chiesa has even taken being left out of the Champions League squad in order to fulfil UEFA’s quota on overseas players in his stride.

“Of course I was sorry that I am not part of the Champions League squad, as to play in it is every player’s dream. I just said to the coach ‘OK, no problem’. I will keep working hard and I will get my chances in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League. I am a professional player, I play for Liverpool and to do that is amazing.”

Regis Le Bris will be well aware that he will need to utilise his full Sunderland squad this season as the long 38-game marathon that is the Premier League campaign becomes more and more gruelling.

Thankfully, it’s clear looking at the Frenchman’s options that he has significant depth, with new signing Brian Brobbey waiting in the wings, ready to leave a lasting impression, having found his first-team minutes to be reduced so far as Wilson Isidor regularly leads the line instead.

Moreover, with Habib Diarra already out with a serious knock, and now Noah Sadiki looking to be sidelined in the middle of the park, Le Bris will have to use his full squad to patch up these unfortunate injury issues.

Even without a pile of injury concerns to contend with, the ex-Lorient manager will also be prepared to chop and change his starting XIs for freshness reasons, with Luke O’Nien no doubt keen to be in his boss’s first-team plans again, after sadly sliding down the pecking order this summer.

Why O'Nien's minutes have dried up at Sunderland

When heading up to the Premier League, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who was beloved as the 30-year-old warrior.

O’Nien has been on quite the journey with the Black Cats, with a staggering 314 appearances and counting for the Wearside outfit, lifting him from the doldrums of League One to the promised land of English football.

49 of those appearances came just last season as Le Bris and Co dramatically returned to the top-flight via the tricky playoff route, with O’Nien routinely putting his body on the line to ensure more and more second-tier victories were collected, as seen in him winning 3.9 duels per game in the Championship.

Yet, as he alluded to in the clip above, Sunderland have strengthened all across the pitch this summer to try and ensure they were ready for the intense heat of the top division, with the full-blooded number 13 regrettably seeing his first-team minutes completely dry up as a result.

Both Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete have ended up walking into Le Bris’ side to form a solid, top-flight-ready, defensive unit, leading to only six goals being surrendered in league action so far.

O’Nien has simply become a bench option; consequently, with the 30-year-old now potentially on borrowed time as a regular at Sunderland, considering his contract is set to expire in 2027.

He isn’t the only member of Le Bris’ camp fearful for their short-term future, however.

Sunderland "leader" is now on borrowed time under Le Bris

Sadiki sustaining an ankle injury on international duty with DR Congo will be unwelcome news for Le Bris to wrestle with, considering the 20-year-old has been one of the Premier League newcomers’ star performers in the infancy of this new season, away from the likes of Granit Xhaka, Mukiele and Alderete.

That could well be a lifeline for Dan Neil’s waning Stadium of Light career, though, with the no-nonsense 23-year-old another victim – like O’Nien – of wholesale changes on the pitch this summer.

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Neil was once seen in the same breath as the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham on Wearside, with the homegrown product going on to become a certain starter after rising up the academy ranks.

He would even go on to be named as Sunderland’s captain in 2024, with Sunderland U21s star Harrison Jones also hailing him as a “proper leader” for helping him to remain calm on a rare outing in the senior side.

Yet, despite playing 48 games last season for Le Bris’ eventual promotion winners and being so highly regarded by his peers, he has just a paltry minute of Premier League action next to his name this campaign.

Neil might well be eyeing up the exit door; therefore, with Sunderland left even more up in the air as to what to do with their South Shields-born battler, considering his current contract runs out next June.

With a fierce effort up his sleeve like that strike against Middlesbrough last season, Neil might well come in shortly and show Le Bris what he’s been missing out on if he’s seen as a like-for-like stand-in for the tenacious Sadiki.

But, if he fails to pick up the pieces, it does feel as if his Black Cats playing days could have run their natural course, with Sunderland then either looking to cash in on January, or just having to accept their role as disappointed witnesses to him walking away this summer for nothing.

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خاض لاعبو الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، فقرة بدنية قوية تحت إشراف الجهاز الفني للأبيض، خلال مران اليوم الثلاثاء، الذي أقيم على ملعب قصر الإمارات استعدادًا لمواجهة بيراميدز في نصف نهائي بطولة السوبر المصري.

وركز الجهاز الفني خلال الفقرة على رفع الحمل البدني في إطار البرنامج الموضوع للاعبين لتجهيزهم للقاء بيراميدز المقبل.

كما خصص الجهاز الفني مجموعة من الفقرات الفنية والخططية للاعبين، خلال التدريبات الجماعية.

طالع|خاص | السبب الحقيقي وراء إيقاف قيد الزمالك

وحرص الجهاز الفني للفريق بقيادة أحمد عبد الرؤوف على تنفيذ العديد من الجمل الفنية خلال المران، وتصحيح بعض الأخطاء التي ظهرت خلال الفترة الأخيرة.

ويترأس بعثة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك في الإمارات، المهندس هشام نصر نائب رئيس النادي.

ويستعد فريق الزمالك لمواجهة نظيره بيراميدز، يوم الخميس المقبل على ستاد آل نهيان في أبوظبي في نصف نهائي بطولة كأس السوبر المصري.

وجاءت قائمة الزمالك لبطولة السوبر كالتالي:

حراسة المرمى : محمد صبحي – محمد عواد – مهدي سليمان.

خط الدفاع : عمر جابر – بارون أوشينج – محمود حمدي “الونش” – حسام عبد المجيد – محمد إسماعيل – صلاح مصدق  – أحمد فتوح – محمود بنتايج.

خط الوسط : أحمد ربيع – محمد شحاتة – محمود جهاد – سيف جعفر – أحمد عبد الرحيم “إيشو” – عبد الله السعيد – أحمد حمدي – ناصر ماهر – عبد الحميد معالي – أحمد شريف – شيكو بانزا – خوان بيزيرا.

خط الهجوم : عدي الدباغ – سيف الجزيري – عمرو ناصر.

Max Dowman made Arsenal history in their Carabao Cup clash with fellow Premier League side Brighton. Mikel Arteta made wholesale changes for their meeting with the Seagulls as the Gunners look to secure their place in the next round of the competition as the likes of Kepa, Ben White and Piero Hincapie come into the side. However, it's Dowman's inclusion that will go down in the record books.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Dowman a history-maker

  Dowman already wrote his name into the club's lore back in August when he became the second-youngest player to make an appearance for both Arsenal and in the Premier League having come off the bench in a 5-0 win over Leeds. Team-mate Ethan Nwaneri is the youngest-ever player to make a Premier League appearance after he featured off the bench against Brentford at 15 years and 181 days in 2022, and in the process became the first player under the age of 16 to make a top-flight appearance.

  However, at 15 years and 302 days, Dowman is the youngest-ever Arsenal player to start a game for the club having been included from the outset against Brighton. Dowman is one of a number of changes made by Arteta after Sunday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. The Gunners suffered a fair few fitness concerns against the Eagles after William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori were all withdrawn at various points.

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• 'We really have to manage his load'

  Arteta has previously hinted that Dowman would feature against Brighton, but also gave his views on how best to manager the teenager's workload. "I am calm over it because what we have decided for him for the first few months is happening," Arteta told .

  "When we have to give him games, whether it is in the youth cup, with the under-23s or with us, he has that. He has a lot of exposure in training with us too. We really have to manage his load."

  What has impressed Arteta about Dowman has been how he has performed in training, adding: "He is 15 years old and still growing. There are a lot of things we have to make sure are under control so he develops in the way he can do.

  "He will play minutes with us, for sure. When he has the chance to do that he needs to take it. If we looked at his passport every day, we would never play him – simple as that. But when you look at what he does in training, you have to play him. If not, you are blind, or I'm blind.

  "So it is finding a balance and an understanding – especially with the load, the things that are changing in his life, and make sure he can cope with that. So far, he has done that."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  'He genuinely loves it here. He is a huge Arsenal supporter'

  On Dowman's future, Arteta suggested that the history maker will sign his first professional contract when he turns 17 next year, adding: "That's what we all want and I think what he wants as well.

  "But the feeling that I have is that he genuinely loves it here. He is a huge Arsenal supporter and his family are really happy with the way things are developing around him as well. Hopefully, he will be with us for many years."

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• Dowman not the only Hale End academy star starting

  Dowman isn't the only Hale End academy star to start for Arsenal against Brighton on Wednesday. Nwaneri features from the off for the Gunners, while Myles Lewis-Skelly also makes a what is a rare start for the north London side this season.

  The 19-year-old was a regular feature at left-back for Arsenal last term but has found Premier League playing time hard to come by having lost his starting spot to Calafiori. Indeed, all six of Lewis-Skelly's league appearances have come from the bench, with the England international featuring prominently in cup competitions. Wednesday's meeting with Brighton marks Lewis-Skelly's fourth competitive start this season, and his second in the Carabao Cup.

MatériaMais Notícias

Sou Mano do Mano. Foi assim que muitos torcedores do Corinthians comemoraram o retorno do técnico Mano Menezes, contratado pelo Timão para substituir Vanderlei Luxemburgo na reta final de 2023.

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+ Renove o seu estoque de camisas do Timão com o cupom LANCEFUT 10% OFF

A brincadeira utilizada pela torcida nas redes sociais remete a uma campanha lançada pelo Corinthians em 2008, durante a primeira passagem de Mano Menezes pelo clube alvinegro.

Valorizado pela ótima campanha na Série B do Brasileirão, o treinador ganhou uma campanha de marketing com a camisa: “Sou Mano do Mano”.

A ideia do presidente Andrés Sanchez e de Luis Paulo Rosenberg, vice-presidente de marketing do Timão na época, era evitar o interesse de outros clubes em Mano Menezes, além de convencer o treinador a ficar no clube para 2009, quando o Corinthians voltaria a figurar na elite do futebol brasileiro.

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A ação do marketing corintiano funcionou, já que Mano Menezes ficou no Timão até 2010 e conquistou o Paulistão e Copa do Brasil, em 2009. A primeira passagem do treinador pelo clube se encerrou em julho de 2010, quando ele aceitou o convite da CBF para ser o técnico da Seleção Brasileira.

Green struck his maiden first-class century to back-up Jennings’ work at the start of the innings

ECB Reporters Network29-Jun-2025

Lancashire 367 (Green 121, Jennings 106, Chappell 4-73) vs Derbyshire Landmark centuries from Keaton Jennings and Chris Green revived Lancashire on the first day of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.Jennings passed 12,000 first-class runs on his way to 106 while Green celebrated his maiden red ball hundred as Lancashire recovered from 132 for 6 to 367 all out.The pair shared a seventh wicket stand of 106 in 28 overs with Jennings scoring his 33rd first-class century before falling to Zak Chappell who took 4 for 73.Green was crucially dropped on nine but played a controlled attacking innings to score 121 which contained 20 fours and a six to turn the day in Lancashire’s favour.With Jimmy Anderson leading Lancashire and Wayne Madsen skippering the hosts, it was the first time in a Derbyshire game since 1974 that both captains were over 40.There was certainly a vintage feel to the cricket after Anderson chose to bat on a grassy pitch with the visitors made to work for every run against testing seam bowling.Derbyshire’s discipline was rewarded in the fourth over of a hot and humid morning when Luke Wells was drawn into driving at Ben Aitchison and was caught low down at first slip.Such was the accuracy of the bowling that it was not until the 11th over that Josh Bohannon cut Blair Tickner for the first boundary and although he dispatched the next ball through mid-wicket for four, he then fell to Aitchison.Bohannon got a good ball that straightened to take the edge but poor shot selection accounted for the wickets of Ashton Turner and Matty Hurst as Lancashire slipped to 44 for 4.It was just as well for the visitors that Jennngs was displaying good judgement, batting out of his crease to counter any movement, and at lunch was well set on 41.Michael Jones had also established a platform but in the third over of the afternoon, he glanced Tickner only for Brooke Guest to take a superb diving catch.When George Balderson edged Anuj Dal to second slip, Lancashire were in trouble at 132 for 6 and may not have recovered had Mitch Wagstaff not dropped Green on nine at mid-wicket.Derbyshire were left to regret that as Green pulled Tickner for six to reach his maiden first-class 50 for Lancashire from 80 balls.Jennings completed his century in the next over and at tea, the outlook for Lancashire was far rosier at 238 for 6.The stand was broken four balls into the evening session when Chappell brought one back to bowl Jennings but Lancashire’s resistance was far from over.Green drove handsomely through the offside and with Jack Blatherwick lending more than capable support to pass his previous best score of 35, the 300 came up before the second new ball accounted for Blatherwick.Green was dropped again on 98, a return catch to Dal, but thoroughly deserved a hundred that transformed his team;s fortunes.

Charlie Allison made it back-to-back centuries as he steered Essex into a commanding position on the first day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Hampshire at Chelmsford.Before his 140 against Surrey last month, Allison’s highest first-class score was 28. But the 20-year-old right-hander followed up his Oval heroics with 101 when the Championship resumed after its break for the Vitality Blast.He was the senior partner in a 107-run seventh-wicket stand with Simon Harmer, 16 years older, that carried Essex towards 292 for 8 at the close after they chose to bat. He also put on 66 for the fifth wicket with Matt Critchley, whose 71 came from 104 balls and included nine fours and a six.Kyle Abbott took his season’s tally to 35 wickets with three Essex scalps, but Hampshire let slip their morning advantage as a blustery, overcast day gave way to bright evening sunshine.Initially, it looked as if Essex’s travails of late – one win across both formats this summer – were being lain bare on a green wicket that gave encouragement to Hampshire’s seam attack. By midday Essex had lost three of their top four. Paul Walter mistimed a flick off his legs low to a diving square leg, Dean Elgar was beaten for pace by James Fuller and Jordan Cox ducked into a short ball from Eddie Jack and spliced the ball high to third slip.The premature departures did not preclude Essex handing county caps to the latter pair during the lunch interval. Former captain Graham Gooch handed one to Elgar while Cox received his from Jason Gallian, previously his cricket master at Felsted School, now chairman of the cricket committee.Back in the middle, Critchley was putting behind him his struggles with the bat in the Vitality Blast. He contributed 38 of the 53-run fourth-wicket stand with Tom Westley that included a six over long leg off Liam Dawson and a well-timed sweep for four, also off the England white-ball spinner.Westley was more circumspect, though the four fours in his 77-ball 28 were venomous in their execution and included one from his first ball through midwicket off Abbott and an imperious pull against Fuller. However, he departed lbw to one from Abbott that might otherwise have just clipped the top of the stumps.Under gathering grey clouds, Critchley reached his half-century from 84 balls amid a flurry of boundaries, the milestone four pulled through midwicket off Felix Organ. Another time he went in tiptoes to late-cut Jack to the third-man rope.Allison kept pace with Critchley and he launched Dawson effortlessly over extra cover for a six that brought up the fifty partnership in 13 overs. Later he hit another straight over the same bowler’s head. However, the stand was worth 66 when the wily Dawson had Critchley playing over a shorter-pitched delivery that looked as if it might have missed leg stump.Abbott had figures of 3 for 12 from 13 overs when he had Michael Pepper edging to the wicketkeeper. But that just brought together Allison and Harmer for a patient partnership that steadied Essex and ultimately gave them a measure of control.Harmer brought up the hundred partnership in 33 overs when he swatted Jack to the midwicket boundary. But with Allison on 99, he turned the ball to square leg, the pair hesitated and Harmer sacrificed his wicket as Jack’s throw went to the bowler’s end.Allison duly reached his century from 188 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, but one run later he dragged on to Organ and was bowled off the last ball of the day.

Warwickshire ended their first innings on 415 after their last three wickets added a further 43 runs

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jun-2025Sussex 278 for 3 (Hughes 151, Coles 56*) trail Warwickshire 415 (Yates 93, Hain 87, Barnard 66, Crocombe 3-82) by 137 runsDaniel Hughes made a season’s best 151 before departing to the last ball of the second day as Sussex made a strong response to Warwickshire’s 415 in the Rothesay County Championship.The 36-year-old Australian left-hander was lbw to off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli off the penultimate delivery of the last over as Sussex reached 278 for 3.Hughes had shared an opening partnership of 98 with Tom Haines and then added 142 with James Coles as the combination of a flat pitch, a Kookaburra ball doing little off the straight and the pitiless Hove heat made it a tough day for Warwickshire’s attack.Rocchiccioli toiled away manfully, bowling unchanged for two sessions apart from a solitary over, from the sea end to pick up all three Sussex wickets for 94 from 35 overs.Both Hughes and Coles’ scoring options were limited after tea when Warwickshire skipper Alex Davies employed as many as eight leg-side fielders as he rotated his seamers while Rocchiccioli wheeled away at the other end. It looked like being a fruitless session for the Bears until Rocchiccioli, armed with the new ball, skidded a quicker delivery onto Hughes’ pads for a belated but deserved reward. Hughes’ 151 came off 260 deliveries with 26 fours.Hughes had only previously passed fifty three times this season, although 60 against Durham last week hinted at a return to form. Here, the majority of his boundaries came through his strong areas between extra cover and mid-off. It was an impressive physical effort too, given the scorching temperatures.Warwickshire wicketkeeper Kai Smith was convinced Haines had edged a ball from Rocchiccioli in his fourth over but the umpire was unmoved and in his next over Haines lofted Rocchiccioli for six, necessitating a ball change. It did the trick as Rocchiccioli got enough grip to knock back Haines’ off stump and end an opening stand of 98 in 22 overs.Rocchiccioli had a second wicket in the 32nd over when the out of form Tom Clark, who’d faced 28 balls for his five, was held low down at slip pushing forward by Tom Latham. Clark made 140 when the teams met at Edgbaston in April but his last 11 Championship innings have yielded a meagre 79 runs.Sussex scored 140 in the afternoon session with Hughes reaching his tenth first-class hundred by taking two boundaries in three balls off Ethan Bamber.The runs dried up after tea, though, as Warwickshire went on the defensive and Rocchiccioli plugged away trying to force a mistake. Even Coles, who likes to get on with it, was becalmed for long spells as 78 were scored in the final session. Coles was still there at the close, though, having passed fifty for the fifth time this season just before stumps.Earlier, Warwickshire’s last three wickets added a further 43 runs in just under an hour.Ollie Robinson struck in the second over of the day when he found Smith’s inside edge and Gurinder Sandhu also claimed his third wicket of the innings when he had Chris Rushworth caught behind. Jack Carson trapped Bamber in front with a ball which kept a shade low to end the innings.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Whit Merrifield blasted the current state of pitching in MLB after he was in the head by a pitch during the bottom of the seventh inning of Tuesday's win over the Colorado Rockies.

Merrifield, facing Rockies relief pitcher Jeff Criswell, took a 94 MPH fastball directly off of the back of his helmet, causing him to fall to the ground, where he remained for a few moments. Merrifield yelled at Criswell before he exited the game and headed toward Atlanta's dugout.

Speaking to reporters after the game, the nine-year MLB veteran angrily took exception to pitchers' propensity to throw "up and in" in the current age of pitch velocity.

"It's just ridiculous," Merrifield said. "Where the game is at right now, it's just ridiculous. … The way pitchers are throwing now, there's no remorse or regard for throwing up and in. Guys are throwing hard as they can and they don't care where the ball goes."

"It's bulls—. You can't hit a guy anymore back. There's no fear that, 'Oh if I hit this guy, then our guy is going to get hit.' That's not the game anymore. Pitchers don't have to hit anymore, so they don't have to stand in the box."

As MLB has embraced technology and data, the average fastball velocity has skyrocketed. In 2008, the average big league fastball was clocked at 91.9 MPH. Now? Heaters flew in at an average speed of 94.2 MPH in 2023, according to .

And pitchers seem to have less control over these increasingly-speedy offerings than ever. Of the top 15 seasons in MLB history in terms of hit by pitch rates, tracked since 1884, seven of them have occurred in the last seven campaigns (2018 to 2024).

Merrifield, who mentioned numerous teammates and MLB stars who have missed time after getting hit, feels something has to change before things become even more dangerous.

"It's just ridiculous and it has to be fixed or God forbid, something terrible is going to happen. If this hits me in a different spot — it's just pathetic."

"It's frankly pathetic some of the pitchers we're running out there that don't know where the ball is going at the major-league level. And it's got to be fixed."

Merrifield, one of three hitters on MLB's Competition Committee since 2022, said he plans to address this issue during a meeting Wednesday.

KCL will mark Samson’s first competitive appearance since the conclusion of IPL 2025

Shashank Kishore05-Jul-2025Sanju Samson’s controversial omission from last season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy has had no impact on his standing within the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) or the state’s cricketing circles. On Saturday, the India and Rajasthan Royals batter reaffirmed his popularity by becoming the most expensive signing at the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) auction. He was picked up by Kochi Blue Tigers for a record INR 26.60 lakh.This will mark Samson’s first competitive appearance since the conclusion of IPL 2025, where he played nine matches for Rajasthan Royals. The team endured a disappointing campaign, finishing ninth with just four wins and ten losses. Samson missed a significant portion of the season’s middle phase due to a side strain.The KCL will also mark Samson’s first appearance under the KCA’s ambit since his omission from the Vijay Hazare squad. At the time, Samson had been left out for not attending a preparatory camp in the lead-up to the tournament. While the KCA stated they wanted to set a precedent, the India batter claimed he had written to the association seeking permission to miss the camp.Named brand ambassador of the league, Samson had missed the inaugural edition of the KCL to prioritise international commitments. He was subsequently given a break, and his name was withdrawn from the auctions. Since then, Samson has strengthened his position as a regular T20I opener for India, most notably hitting three centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa.Vishnu Vinod, the wicketkeeper-batter who was part of Mumbai Indians, was the second-costliest pick at INR 13.8 lakh, while allrounder Jalaj Saxena was picked for INR 12.6 lakh.The inaugural edition of the KCL was sharply in focus during the IPL this year after teenage left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur was signed by Mumbai Indians for INR 30 lakh after impressing in the trials. He was also taken to South Africa, where he served as a net bowler for MI Cape Town.Signed for INR 3.75 lakh during the inaugural edition, Puthur was retained by Alleppey Ripples for the second edition. This will be his first competitive outing since being injured midway through IPL 2025, where he picked up six wicket in five matches for MI.