All posts by h79snht.top

Let’s be clear: Liverpool have not looked that good this season. Four times have Arne Slot’s side had to dig deep in the Premier League and find something within the dying embers to secure all three points.

And yet, Liverpool have only played four matches in the Premier League this season, and have indeed won all four, and have started their title defence flawlessly, the only side to have done so.

Now, domestic action takes a breather, and the Champions League campaign begins. The Reds host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening, kicking off their eight-part group phase.

Defeated by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain last season in the round of 16, Liverpool know they need to start strongly. Even so, their stunning top place finish in the group phase last year still pitted them against PSG, who had been subpar early on.

Liverpool have won every game in the Premier League this season, but they have also lacked their usual fluency and fizz in the final third.

Florian Wirtz joined for £116m in the summer, but the German has left plenty to be desired so far, and the question will be posed as to whether he should be dropped.

Wirtz's start to life at Liverpool

Wirtz, 22, left his German homeland cherished as one of the country’s modern greats. Indeed, journalist Chris Stonadge hailed him as a “generational talent” after playing an instrumental role in Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible championship of 2023/24.

But there’s no denying he’s struggled to get going for Slot’s Liverpool so far, assisting Hugo Ekitike in the Community Shield but blanking across his first four appearances in England’s top flight.

Might Liverpool be ready to place their midfield maestro on the bench? Wirtz, to be sure, has been somewhat below his best since joining the Premier League champions, but he’s still a world-class player and will soon crack the nut.

And anyway, he has demonstrated an incredible level of ability on the continental stage, starring for Leverkusen in the Champions League last season and picking up five Man of the Match awards, more than any other player.

It was his first foray into the competition.

It would be bold for Slot to drop Wirtz ahead of the opening night of the Champions League season, but the Dutch coach could make an even more contentious call by withdrawing one of Liverpool’s most instrumental figures from the starting line-up on Wednesday evening.

Slot could boldly axe Liverpool's talisman

It’s not been the smoothest start to the season for Mohamed Salah, and yet he has scored twice and assisted one goal across four games in the Premier League. This is Salah. This is what he does.

However, Slot is catering to a new system, which carries all the vagaries of fresh faces and how they fit together and how this affects the existing crop on the field. For the 33-year-old Salah, one of Europe’s deadliest attacking players, it has been a late-career learning curve, with the newfound quality at number nine hemming him in on the right flank.

Last year, the Egyptian icon was immense, the leading light who led Liverpool to the Premier League title. Across all competitions, he scored 34 goals and supplied 23 assists. In the Premier League, his 47 goal involvements broke the record for a 38-game season. Sky Sports’ Gary Neville described him as a “superstar”, and who could argue against it?

Most Goal Contributions in PL (24/25)

Player

Goals (assists)

G/A

1 – Mohamed Salah

29 (18)

47

2 – Alexander Isak

23 (6)

29

3 – Bryan Mbeumo

20 (8)

28

4 – Erling Haaland

22 (3)

25

5 – Yoane Wissa

19 (5)

24

5 – Ollie Watkins

16 (8)

24

5 – Cole Palmer

15 (9)

24

Stats via Transfermarkt

And yet, he’s struggling, spending most of his time outside the flow of the match so far. To suggest that he should be dropped would be to accept bewilderment from many, but here it is anyway.

The season is young, and so make what you will of the data below, but with Sofascore recording Salah’s heatmap to have been pulled somewhat closer to the touchline, it’s clear that a new role has been handed to him, a subtle shift.

Salah might benefit from a pause from the action, allowed to enter the fray after the interval and prey on tired legs.

This would not be a regular occurrence, not at all, but with Jeremie Frimpong waiting in the wings and having impressed off the bench against Burnley, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, adding some energy and pace into the game against an Atletico side who will enjoy nothing more than negating the Reds’ attacking threat.

Liverpool might not have hit the ground running this season, but they have claimed 12 points from 12 in the Premier League. Salah has played a big part in achieving that.

The Merseyside derby awaits on Saturday, and though the right winger’s athleticism and fitness are remarkable things, he might benefit from taking to the dugout for this one, still primed to enter the fray and make things happen after the break.

For 99% of Salah’s Liverpool career, dropping him on a big occasion has felt incomprehensible. Maybe it still does. But the 33-year-old veteran finds a new wealth of attacking talent to ease his burden, and his opening performances this term have left a lot to be desired, even with his trademark prolificness still intact.

Atletico will employ a rigid defensive structure, and they will seek to neutralise Salah and cut off that lane of creativity from the right.

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And, after all, Salah would still be ready for a big role throughout the second half, and given Liverpool’s current predilection for late goals, would a fresh Egyptian King in the closing stages not be a good thing, should Slot’s side need a goal?

Related The new Rooney: Liverpool already sold Salah's heir in "world-class" talent

Liverpool have so much attacking quality but might come to regret selling this star.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Sep 13, 2025

Head coach wants his side to challenge the Championship’s frontrunners after 10-year absence

Alan Gardner28-Mar-2025

Sussex’s base at Hove may be one of the more tranquil destinations on the county circuit. But when the club make their return to Division One of the Championship after a ten-year absence next month, opponents should not arrive expecting a ride on the teacups.That is the message coming from the 2024 Division Two champions, with head coach, Paul Farbrace, saying Sussex will go into the new season “aiming to win” the title. If that proves beyond them, Farbace is targeting a finish of fourth or higher, with the goal of being in the top two the following summer.All this is part of a five-year plan Farbrace drew up when appointed to succeed Ian Salisbury in the winter of 2022-2023. Sussex, who lifted the County Championship as recently as 2007, were at the time languishing in the second tier, having won just three first-class matches in the previous three seasons – but Farbrace immediately set about scotching talk of incremental progress, declaring that the club should be challenging for promotion and a place at T20 Finals Day.Related

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Although Sussex finished that season in third, those lofty twin goals were eventually realised a year later – John Simpson (a Farbrace signing) captaining them to the Division Two title with a 20-point gap on Yorkshire, while Tymal Mills oversaw a run to the last four of the Blast. It proved swift vindication for Farbrace’s belief that the players could walk his talk.”I deliberately tried to change the language [around the club],” Farbrace tells ESPNcricinfo during Sussex’s pre-season media day at Hove. “At the time, people were saying to me, it’s a tough job, because, you know, they’ve only won one game [per season] in three years. But actually, we’ve got a group of players, they were crying out for someone to say, ‘Right, this is where we going. Come on, let’s roll our sleeves up. Let’s have fun doing it.'”I think there’s a real feelgood [factor], and everyone’s realising now that we don’t have to be a team that just talks about, ‘What’s our relevance in county cricket?’ Let’s show people our relevance. Let’s punch above our weight. All right, some of the clubs have got bigger and better budgets than we have, but it’s not about that. It’s about having the right people in the right places, whether that’s on the field or off the field, and have a bit of fun doing what you’re doing. You spend a lot of time at cricket, practicing, playing, working at the game. You want to enjoy it as well. But you enjoy it so much more when you’re winning.”It was not all smooth sailing from the outset, with ill discipline undermining their promotion push in 2023 – Sussex were docked 12 points after a bad-tempered late-season win over Leicestershire – and rumours that not everyone agreed with Farbrace’s approach. Ali Orr, one of the club’s brightest batting talents, was allowed to leave for Hampshire, prompting Chris Adams and Ian Gould, two Sussex stalwarts, to step down from advisory roles. George Garton, another homegrown talent, also found himself surplus to requirements.Upending the deckchairs at a tight-knit club like Sussex could have been risky but Farbrace believes it was important to “give the place a shake” after several seasons in which cost-cutting and a reliance on the academy had limited ambition. He also says he has tempered his approach accordingly as the team has developed.”I had to do that,” he says. “I think that was part of my role when I first came in. I’d like to think I’m doing things differently to what I did in the first year. The first year, I was very bullish, I didn’t really ask too many questions. I told people what we were doing, let’s get on board and make sure you’re with me. That was something that I spent a lot of time doing, making sure people understood what we were trying to do and why we were trying to do it. And, yeah, I did ruffle a few feathers, I think I had to.Sussex won promotion with a game to spare in 2024•Getty Images

“I had quite a few spats with people during that first year. But I definitely think it was the right thing to do. And then subsequently, last year, I’ve been a lot more inclusive, a lot more open, I’ve asked a lot more people’s thoughts and views, and I’m hopefully starting to sit back a little bit more. It’s now a case of saying, we’ve got the right captains, we’ve got the right coaches, we’ve got the right support staff. The pitches are playing brilliantly. Now I can sit back a little bit and just keep nudging people in the right direction and make sure we keep that momentum going, and not feel as I’ve got to be at the front of it. It wasn’t about me, per se – it was just about someone just giving the place a bit of a shake. Saying, ‘Come on. Let’s compete. Let’s have some fun taking people on.’ And if it doesn’t work, I take full responsibility.”He admits, however, that things might have turned out differently had Sussex not sneaked their way to a two-wicket win over eventual Division Two-winners, Durham, in his first game in charge. “I’ll always be indebted to Oli Carter for the innings that he played to get us over the line against Durham. Because beating a strong Durham team here, in that first game, everyone started thinking: actually, maybe that idiot knows what he’s doing.”Faith in the group that Farbrace has assembled means there have been few changes at Sussex over the winter, with rookie contracts for George Thomas, the former England U19 batter released by Somerset, Nantes Oosthuizen and ACE academy graduate Troy Henry the only additions. Simpson will again lead the red-ball side after a stunning first summer down on the south coast in which he averaged 74.81 with the bat – and he has counselled his players that they will “need to be better for longer” in Division One as they seek to avoid a battle for survival.For the first time in four seasons, there is no Cheteshwar Pujara to act as batting bulwark – but Australian Daniel Hughes is back for a full campaign after impressing last year. West Indies quick Jayden Seales also returns to lead the attack alongside Ollie Robinson during the first block of Championship games. Robinson, who is expected to be fit after hernia surgery, opted not to speak to the media, presumably in anticipation of his bowling doing the talking as he aims to nudge the selectors more than a year on from his last England cap.And while incipient plans to nurture Jofra Archer’s Test comeback via a few appearances in the opening rounds of the Championship season were shelved after he was a late entrant in the IPL mega-auction, Sussex could still benefit from his services later in the summer. Could Archer tune up for involvement in the Ashes by firing Sussex’s Division One challenge? Down Hove way recently, stranger things have happened.

MatériaMais Notícias

Segundo maior artilheiro estrangeiro da história do São Paulo, com 57 gols marcados, Jonathan Calleri está muito próximo de se tornar também um dos dez principais goleadores do Campeonato Brasileiro nascidos fora do país. Ao marcar duas vezes contra o Santos, na goleada por 4 a 1 neste fim de semana, o argentino chegou a 32 tentos anotados em quatro edições de Série A disputadas.

O camisa 9 do Morumbi agora é o 13º no ranking de artilheiros estrangeiros do Brasileirão, tendo deixado para trás o ex-lateral paraguaio Arce, ex-Palmeiras e Grêmio, e o atacante argentino Herrera, ex-Corinthians, Botafogo e Vasco. Calleri está a apenas dois gols de entrar no top 10, igualando com o boliviano Marcelo Moreno, ex-Cruzeiro, e seu compatriota Doval, que brilhou pela dupla Fla-Flu nos anos 70.

O atacante terá a chance de entrar neste seleto grupo no próximo sábado, quando o Tricolor voltar a campo pelo Brasileirão enfrentando o Cuiabá, às 18h30, na Arena Pantanal. Com 25 pontos, o São ocupa neste momento a 4ª colocação no campeonato.

ESTRANGEIROS COM MAIS GOLS NA HISTÓRIA DO BRASILEIRO

1º – Petkovic – sérvio – 83 gols
2º – Guerrero – Peruano – 56 gols
3º – Arrascaeta – uruguaio – 49 gols
4º – Aristizábal – colombiano – 48 gols
5º – Cano – argentino – 44 gols
6º – D’Alessandro – argentino – 41 gols
7º – Barcos – argentino – 38 gols
8º – Rodolfo Fischer – argentino – 36 gols
Conca – argentino – 36 gols
10º – Marcelo Moreno – boliviano – 34 gols
Doval – argentino – 34 gols
12º – Pedro Rocha – uruguaio – 33 gols
13º – Calleri – argentino – 32 gols
14º – Arce – paraguaio – 31 gols
15º – Herrera – argentino – 30 gols

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تحدث الإعلامي أحمد شوبير عن الجدل الدائر في الأيام الأخيرة حول إمكانية انتقال مدافع الزمالك حسام عبد المجيد إلى النادي الأهلي، داعيًا جماهير الأندية المصرية إلى التحلي بالهدوء، والتعامل مع مثل هذه القضايا بعقلانية واحترافية دون ممارسة ضغوط على مجالس الإدارات أو اللاعبين.

وقال شوبير في تصريحات عبر برنامجه الإذاعي صباح اليوم الاثنين: “يا جماعة، يا جماهيرنا الجميلة ويا رواد مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي المحترمين، من حقك أن تُعبّر عن وجهة نظرك، ولكن دون أن تمارس ضغطًا على مجالس الإدارات أو على الأشخاص”.

وتابع: “يعني مثلًا، لو كان الزمالك باع زيزو أو تركه يرحل مجانًا، أو لو طالب زيزو بالحصول على مستحقاته، كانت الأمور ستكون أفضل بكثير”.

طالع أيضًا | بيراميدز يحسم الجدل بشأن انتقال رمضان صبحي إلى الزمالك مقابل حسام عبد المجيد

وأشار: “والآن نسمع بعض الآراء حول حسام عبد المجيد، لكن حتى لو انتقل إلى الأهلي مع أنني أؤكد أنه لن ينتقل، ولا توجد مفاوضات بينه وبين الأهلي حتى لحظة حديثي فلا يجب أن تكون هناك أزمة”.

وأضاف شوبير: “يا أخي، إذا أراد اللاعب الرحيل فليذهب، والنادي سيستفيد، نحن في منظومة احترافية”.

وشدد: “اللاعب محمد إسماعيل عندما شارك، قدّم أداءً رائعًا وكان مفاجأة للجميع، ولدينا أيضًا الونش، وصلاح مصدق الذي قدّم أداءً مميزًا وساهم سابقًا في فوز الزمالك على الأهلي”.

واختتم: “لذلك يا جماعة، علينا أن نُغيّر قليلًا من طريقتنا وأسلوبنا في التفكير والتعامل مع مثل هذه المواقف”.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been gifted a double-injury boost before their crunch Premier League clash with Man City on Sunday.

Arsenal prepare to host Man City in vital Premier League face-off

For the second time in three top flight games, Arteta’s side face off against fellow title contenders in what is set to be yet another potentially season-defining afternoon.

It is still very early days, but given the sheer investment in Liverpool’s squad and City’s own ambitions to become champions of England once again, the race for Premier League glory will come down to very tight margins.

Arsenal vs Man City – tale of the Premier League season so far

Man United 0-1 Arsenal

Wolves 0-4 Man City

Arsenal 5-0 Leeds United

Man City 0-2 Tottenham

Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal

Brighton 2-1 Man City

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Man City 3-0 Man United

The head-to-heads between City, Liverpool, Arsenal or even Chelsea could be vital in determining who will be crowned at the end of 2025/2026, and nothing but a win against Pep Guardiola’s side will satisfy supporters as Arteta seeks to end the Gunners’ two-decade-long wait for a title.

The Citizens are on a very mixed run of form, having lost 50 per cent of their Premier League matches already, while Arsenal were handed their first defeat of the campaign against Liverpool just prior to the international break.

Arsenal, partly owing to Cristhian Mosquera’s exceptional displays in place of William Saliba, have conceded just one goal in all competitions this season, so City superstar Erling Haaland is set for a tough afternoon at the Emirates Stadium.

In terms of team news, City will be without Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Mateo Kovacic — who are all absent with long-term injuries — with John Stones and Rayan Ait-Nouri also doubts for the trip to north London.

Guardiola will also make a late fitness call on Rodri, as the 29-year-old hasn’t started three big games of this magnitude in a row since before his season-ending ACL injury last season.

Arsenal gifted double-injury boost before Man City after Mikel Arteta update

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta has now shared team news out of Arsenal.

Despite head-injury worries surrounding both Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres, following their win over Athletic Bilbao midweek, Arteta has now confirmed that the duo are fine and available to play on Sunday in a four-word update.

Elsewhere, Arteta also confirmed that Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are subject to late fitness tests, which will determine whether the trio can also feature against Guardiola’s men.

When asked if Saliba could start his first game back from injury, relegating the in-form Mosquera to Arsenal’s bench, says the Frenchman is “really pushing” to be given the nod against City.

Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are still out with long-term problems, with some reports previously suggesting that the latter may not be back until 2026.

If White, Odegaard and Saka are indeed past fit, Arsenal will have a near-fully fit squad to take on City, but the confirmed presence of Merino and Gyokeres undoubtedly comes as a major boost.

MatériaMais Notícias

O dilema em torno da situação de Tiquinho Soares fez com que o Botafogo se mobilizasse nos últimos dias para encontrar soluções no seu setor ofensivo. De acordo com o “ge”, o Alvinegro sondou a situação de Islam Slimani.

No entanto, o fato do exame detectar que o camisa 9 sofreu uma lesão no ligamento colateral do joelho esquerdo e ficará longe dos gramados por cinco semanas fez com que a negociação pelo argelino não prosseguisse.

+ Copo Stanley a partir de R$120,00. Bebida gelada nos 90′ de jogo do Líder!

Em vez de depositar as fichas no atacante que recentemente deixou o Anderlecht, da Bélgica, o Alvinegro tende a apostar nos jogadores que atualmente estão no elenco. Jovens como Janderson, Matheus Nascimento e o recém-contratado Valentín Adamo receberão chances nos próximos dias.

O Botafogo encara o Guaraní, do Paraguai, nesta quarta-feira (9), pelas oitavas de final da Sul-Americana, no primeiro desafio sem Tiquinho.

تعرض أحد لاعبي الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، للإصابة خلال مباراة ديكاداها الجارية الآن في بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية.

ويلتقي الزمالك مع الفريق الصومالي، ضمن منافسات إياب دور الـ32 من بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية الإفريقية على ملعب استاد السلام.

طالع.. تشكيل الزمالك لمواجهة ديكاداها الصومالي في الكونفدرالية.. الجزيري يقود الهجوم

أصيب أحمد شريف لاعب الزمالك قبل نهاية الشوط الأول من عمر المباراة حيث نزل الجهاز الطبي لعلاجه لكنه لم يستكمل اللقاء.

وحل خوان بيزيرا لاعب الزمالك بدلًا من أحمد شريف بعد مغادرة الملعب.

وتشير النتيجة إلى تقدم الزمالك، بهدف نظيف سجله سيف الدين الجزيري، في الدقيقة 39 من عمر اللقاء عن طريق ركلة جزاء.

وكان الزمالك قد حقق الفوز في لقاء الذهاب على ديكاداها الصومالي، بسداسية نظيفة، يوم السبت الماضي، على ملعب القاهرة الدولي. لحظة إصابة أحمد شريف

Parag made 95 before getting out in the 18th over as RR fell short in another tense chase

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-20251:44

Katey Martin on how Parag took down KKR bowlers

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag has taken responsibility for not finishing off the chase against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and said the team was facing the consequences of not being clinical enough in IPL 2025.Chasing 207 at Eden Gardens, RR were reduced to 71 for 5 in the eighth over. Parag led the fightback by making 95 off 45 deliveries but fell to Harshit Rana in the 18th over after they failed to hit a boundary for 16 deliveries – a period when they also lost Shimron Hetmyer. Eventually, RR fell one run short of KKR’s total despite scoring 20 in a thrilling final over.”I was just too sad about getting myself out,” Parag said after making his highest T20 score. “I was planning to stay till the last two overs, we couldn’t get much of the 16th and the 17th, hence I went after [the bowling] in the 18th over. But then probably a miscalculation from my side, I should have finished it.”Related

KKR survive last-ball thriller to stay alive in top four race

Riyan Parag becomes first batter in IPL to hit six sixes off successive balls

Parag hit six consecutive sixes, five of which came in a 32-run over from Moeen Ali, becoming the first player to do so in the IPL.”It’s a ground where sixes are hit. The ground is very, very fast. So I knew I had my boundaries if I just stood in there,” he said. “The wicket was a little tricky. It was stopping, it was turning, but I just had to pick my battles and I thought I did that pretty well until the last over which I got out.”With just three wins in 12 matches, RR are eighth on the points table and are out of contention for the playoffs. It could have been different had they been able to clinch several closes finishes: they lost to Delhi Capitals in a Super Over, lost to Lucknow Super Giants by two runs, couldn’t chase 18 off 12 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and then came so close against KKR.”It’s just how the game is. You’ve got to be clinical, you’ve got to be perfect every single day you step out on the field and we weren’t,” Parag said. “So the consequences are here.”1:24

Rayudu: Royals should have persisted with spin against Russell

Royals’ batting coach: ‘We didn’t click as a group’RR batting coach Vikram Rathour pointed out that Parag’s dismissal was the turning point in the match. “If he was in there, I am sure he would have finished it off,” Rathour said at the press conference.”Mostly, all the batters have scored runs. They are in good form, batting well in the nets. But it hasn’t been happening collectively. Similarly, in bowling, we have seen some really good spells individually. But as a group, maybe we haven’t clicked,” he said. “That is one thing that we have missed.”There is no issue with the quality. We have really good quality in our batting. We were not able to close the game and finish it.”I am sure that in the next couple of seasons, we will be a really good batting group and a really good team to compete against.”RR’s decision to retain Hetmyer while letting go of Jos Buttler has come under the spotlight in RR’s disappointing season, with Buttler playing a starring role for his new franchise Gujarat Titans and Hetmyer going through a rough patch of form.Hetmyer scored 29 on Sunday, but has failed to go past 15 in five innings and has just 216 runs from 11 knocks this season. But Rathour backed the team management’s decision to hold on to the West Indies batter, whose retention cost them INR 11 crore in the auction.”I won’t say it was a mistake. Obviously, you could have retained only six. The management is pretty happy with the six that we have retained,” Rathour said. “Hetty is supposed to be that finisher. Unfortunately, he has had that kind of a season.”He is a superb player. He has done that [finisher’s role] in the past, he’s done well in international cricket, league cricket or franchise cricket. This year, he hasn’t been able to finish the games. That was his role. People are allowed to have those kinds of seasons. I have worked enough in cricket to know that really good players also go through lean phases.”Unfortunately, Hetty had a poor season this year, which will happen once in a while. If he had a good season and we are sure that he is going to improve, I don’t think we have any issue with the finishers then.”

Panchal finished as Gujarat’s second-highest run-scorer in first-class cricket

Shashank Kishore26-May-2025

Priyank Panchal, a Ranji Trophy winner with Gujarat, has called time on a professional career that spanned over 17 years.The 35-year-old finishes as Gujarat’s second-highest run-getter in first-class cricket, 19 short of Parthiv Patel’s tally of 7011 runs. The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season was his last, in which he made two centuries. The 148 he made against Kerala in the semi-final turned out to be his last innings.Panchal finishes with 23 centuries, the most by a Gujarat player, during the course of his first-class career that spanned 127 matches in which he made 8856 runs in all. He also featured in 97 List A games and 59 T20s.”Playing for India was the ultimate dream, but I realised that chance may have bypassed me,” Panchal told ESPNcricinfo. “Once that clarity was there, it didn’t make sense carrying on.”I could’ve played for another season or two, but what would I achieve doing that? It wasn’t a sudden call, I’d been thinking about it for a while and felt this was a good time to officially announce.”Having broken through in 2007-08, Panchal played a significant role, along with Parthiv, in transforming Gujarat from a middling team to champions across formats. He eaves with the distinction of being part of the winning squads of all domestic tournaments – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (2014-15), Vijay Hazare Trophy (2015-16) and Ranji Trophy (2016-17).