Shubman Gill was just three balls into his innings in the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata when he hurt his neck and had to go off the field. He did not come out to bat as India finished their first innings on 189, taking a lead of 30 runs.”Shubman Gill has a neck spasm and is being monitored by the BCCI medical team,” the BCCI said after the first session.India were 75 for 2 when Gill, facing his third delivery, slog-swept Simon Harmer for four over square leg. As he completed the shot and got up, he looked in discomfort, took off his helmet and rubbed the back of his neck. The physio came out and Gill had to retire hurt.Related
Gill hospitalised after suffering neck spasm
India smell victory after 15-wicket day on a tough Eden Gardens pitch
At the end of the day, Gill, wearing a neck brace, was stretchered out of the dressing room and into the players’ ambulance for scans to Woodlands hospital with the team doctor. Since it’s not an external injury, he may not be allowed to bat at his usual No. 4 if he does not spend the required time in the field during South Africa’s innings.”Gill is a very fit guy, he looks after himself very well, so it’s just unfortunate this morning that he woke up with a stiff neck and that carried him into the day, which was crucial for us,” India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said after the day’s play. “Another sort of partnership with him batting around was going to be needed for us at the time and… just bad timing.”Rishabh Pant replaced Gill at the crease, and India went into lunch at 138 for 4. But the wickets fell in a flurry after the break, with Harmer picking up 4 for 30 and Marco Jansen 3 for 35.Last October, too, Gill had to sit out the Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru because of a stiff neck.
Ahmed Daniyal first defended six runs in the final over of the game before conceding just six runs in the Super Over to set up Pakistan Shaheens’ win
Ashish Pant24-Nov-2025In a dramatic low-scoring thriller that went into a Super Over, fast bowler Ahmed Daniyal kept his composure as Pakistan Shaheens defeated Bangladesh A to lift the Asia Cup Rising Stars title in Doha, Qatar.Daniyal, defending six runs in the 20th, bowled a nerveless over to take the game into a Super Over. He then removed Abdul Gaffar Saqlain with his second ball in the Super Over and then clean bowled Jishan Alam to restrict Bangladesh A to only 6. Saad Masood and Maaz Sadaqat took just four balls to chase down the target and spark celebrations in the Shaheens camp.This, however, was a game which ebbed and flowed all the way through. Sent into bat, Shaheens lost three wickets in the powerplay, and then continued to slip to eventually be bowled out for 125. Bangladesh A started the chase rapidly, but the spin quartet of Arafat Minhas, Saad Masood, Maaz Sadaqat and Sufiyan Muqeem spun a web around the batters to derail the chase.At 53 for 7 in the 13th over, the game looked as good as done, but Rakibul Hasan (24), Saqlain (16) and Ripon Mondol (11) – Bangladesh A’s last three – staged an unlikely comeback. Mondol, however, wasn’t able to repeat his semi-final Super Over heroics in the final as Bangladesh A went down.Bangladesh A couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the game with Shaheens losing Yasir Khan first ball of the match, courtesy a stunning under-arm direct hit from Saqlain running in from mid-on. Mohammad Faiq was cleaned up by SM Meherob, while wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori was bowled by Rakibul as Shaheens slipped to 25 for 3 in the fifth over.Maaz Sadaqat struck two fours and a six in his 23, but when he fell in the seventh over, Shaheens lost their way. Captain Irfan Khan scored a sedate 9 off 22 balls, with only Masood and Minhas providing anything of note on the Shaheens’ scorecard. Mondol bowled a terrific 19th over, picking up three wickets, and the innings ended with a run out as Shaheens were bowled out in 20 overs.In reply, Bangladesh A opener Habibur Rahman Sohan was quick off the blocks, tonking Ubaid Shah for a six over deep midwicket. While Alam was trapped in front of the stumps by Minhas, Habibur kept going as he smashed Masood for a six and two fours in the fourth over. But the bowler had the last laugh when Habibur pulled a long hop straight to square leg, and the Bangladesh A middle order caved in.Minhas trapped Mahidul Islam Ankon lbw before Muqeem’s left-arm wristpin bamboozled Bangladesh A. He got Akbar Ali to chop one back onto his stumps, and then struck twice in two balls, cleaning up Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury with identical wrong’uns. Rakibul went after Masood but Bangladesh A kept losing wickets, with the required rate rising.Then came another twist with Bangladesh A requiring 27 off the last two overs and only Saqlain and Mondol, the last two batters at the crease. Shahid Aziz, bowling the 19th over, missed his yorker three times and the batters smashed him for three sixes to flip the script. Daniyal, however, bowled a terrific last over, mixing his lengths to rescue Shaheens.
They haven’t always brought success, but West Ham United has had some incredible players represent them over the years.
For example, while it was short and sweet, Dimitri Payet’s time in the Premier League was incredible.
The Frenchman could do things with a ball that most players could only dream of, and it was easy to see glimpses of the sensational Paolo Di Canio in him.
The Italian was a livewire, but one of the most technically gifted players to don the famous claret and blue. Nuno Espírito Santo has a player with shades of him in his game, but said player is becoming an issue and should probably be sold at the end of the season.
Di Canio's West Ham career
West Ham signed Di Canio from Sheffield Wednesday in January 1999, and right from the off, there was controversy.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Fans and pundits alike questioned the club’s decision to spend £1.5m on a player with a reputation as a troublemaker and, at the time, serving an 11-match ban for pushing a referee.
However, then-manager Harry Redknapp brushed aside any criticism of the move, telling the press that he was a player who “can do things with the ball that people can only dream of.”
The veteran coach would be quickly proven correct in this assessment, as he ended that campaign with five goal involvements in just 13 appearances for the Hammers and was named OPTA player of the season.
Moreover, just over a year later, he scored that famous strike against Wimbledon that was rightly later named the Premier League’s goal of the decade.
This ability to do anything he wanted with the ball, and his old-school passionate approach, quickly made him a fan favourite at Upton Park, and his decision to stop the game when Everton keeper Paul Gerrard was injured in December 2000, despite having a clear goalscoring opportunity, earned him fans across the Premier League.
However, as gifted and entertaining as the Italian was, his habit of causing problems never went away, and in 2003 he had a public falling out with then-manager Glenn Roeder, which saw him dropped from the team for some time.
At the end of the 02/03 season, despite making it clear he wanted to remain, West Ham refused to offer Di Canio another contract, a decision many attribute to his dispute with the manager.
In all, the Rome-born star was a truly sensational footballer, but his temperament eventually saw the club get rid of him, and the same thing might now need to happen with someone in Nuno’s squad.
Nuno's new Di Canio he should sell
There are a few West Ham players who should be sold in January, or at the end of the season, such as Niclas Füllkrug, Mads Hermansen and probably Max Kilman.
However, the only player who should be moved on who can even remotely be compared to Di Canio is Lucas Paqueta.
Now, before addressing the reasons the club should cash in on him, what makes the Brazilian similar to the Italian?
Well, first and foremost, he too, is capable of making something out of nothing, or as former coach Mark Warburton put it last year, he “sees things that you just don’t see. You look at the pass for the winning goal in the European final.”
That ability was on show again in the game against Newcastle United this season, when he smashed the ball into the net from some distance out.
Moreover, as Warburton puts it, the former Lyon ace is a “mercurial” talent in the sense that he can glide past opposition defenders if he wants, or pass them out of the game when on song.
With that said, then, why on earth should the club sell him?
Well, the first reason is that, like Di Canio at his worst, he can have a bad temperament.
This was on full show against Liverpool at the weekend, when he received a second yellow card for dissent, which is a truly petulant reason to be sent off.
The second reason he should be moved on is that while he can be an exceptional player on his day, he also isn’t irreplaceable.
For example, he has scored only four goals this season, three of which have come in the Premier League, and last season he ended the campaign with a paltry tally of five goals in 36 games.
Paqueta’s recent form
Seaon
24/25
25/26
Appearances
36
13
Minutes
2536′
1135′
Goals
5
4
Assists
0
0
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Ultimately, Paqueta is a great player, but with his contract running out in less than two years, his slightly underwhelming output and the fact that he can do things as silly as be sent off for dissent, West Ham may be wise to move him on at the end of the season.
West Ham set for 'big decision' over selling 'most talented player' with Nuno 'fuming'