Tag Futebol

Chelsea have held talks with one of Europe’s brightest young attacking talents and made their plan for him crystal clear, with the Blues getting a response to their serious interest.

Chelsea's plan to sign 'more Estevaos' as Blues target rising stars

BlueCo’s recruitment strategy remains firmly focused on acquiring world football’s brightest prospects before they reach superstar status, with several teenage sensations already lined up to follow in Estevao’s footsteps at Stamford Bridge.

The Brazilian wonderkid’s dazzling performances this season highlight the success of Chelsea’s approach to signing elite young talent with modest salaries.

Estevao chose Chelsea over rumoured interest from Real Madrid, PSG and Barcelona after the club spent three years of scouting, ultimately going for him ahead of Endrick, who’s since endured a torrid time at the Bernabeu by contrast.

The 18-year-old was convinced by Chelsea’s project and the playing opportunities available in London (Sky Sports), with more players like him due in West London very soon.

Chelsea favourites to sign £53m Liverpool target after 'generational' Man United claim

He’s admired up and down the Premier League.

ByEmilio Galantini Dec 2, 2025

Sporting Lisbon winger Geovany Quenda, who’s been called ‘the next Cristiano Ronaldo’ by Portuguese media sources, arrives next summer following a March agreement worth up to £40 million, with the young forward viewed as another potential game-changer.

Joining Quenda will be two 17-year-olds — Kairat Almaty forward Dastan Satpaev and Corinthians left back Denner — with Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha also coming to Cobham next year.

Looking even further ahead, 16-year-old Ecuadorian centre-back Deinner Ordonez is scheduled to arrive from Independiente del Valle in January 2028, so Chelsea are very much planning for the future.

As the Blues plot to secure ‘more Estevaos’, in the words of Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol that is, TEAMtalk now bring news of yet another rising star attracting Chelsea’s attention.

Chelsea hold talks with Austrian starlet Johannes Moser

That man is 17-year-old attacking midfielder Johannes Moser.

The teenager was one of the standout stars at the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar recently, taking home the Golden Boot after a remarkable tournament which saw him bag eight goals during Austria’s route to the final against Portugal.

Moser was also named Runner-Up in the Player of the Tournament Award, taking home the Silver Ball, and he’s already clocked 13 senior appearances for FC Liefering in the Austrian second division.

All signs point towards him being a real one to watch in the coming years, and TT state that he has ’emerged as one of the finest teenage attacking players in mainland Europe’.

According to their information, Chelsea have also held talks with Moser and his representatives in a bid to convince the versatile forward to join them, alongside Man City.

Enzo Maresca’s side went as far as presenting their plan for Moser to develop as a player under the BlueCo umbrella, but TT also report some bad news on that front.

Indeed, at least for now, the Austrian is apparently set to snub both Chelsea and City’s interest in favour of remaining at Liefering, specifically the Red Bull Group, to further his development.

Liefering, who are Red Bull Salzburg’s reserve team, have managed to hold on to Moser thanks to Red Bull making it clear that his pathway into the Salzburg first team is ‘already in place’.

While a move to the Premier League is off the cards for now, the wunderkind’s sky-high potential means we shouldn’t rule out another English swoop in future.

The collective heart of Philadelphia Phillies fans skipped a beat on Tuesday after superstar slugger Bryce Harper took a pitch to the elbow and was forced out of the game against the Atlanta Braves.

Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider had delivered a 95-mph fastball to the plate, but missed his target pretty significantly, connecting with the elbow that Harper has injured in the past and leaving the two-time NL MVP in significant pain.

The pitch left some Phillies fans looking for retaliation—citing one of those oft-talked about unwritten rules of baseball—but manager Rob Thomson didn’t sound interested in settling the score with another fastball.

Thomson was asked directly why there was no retaliation against the Braves while speaking with reporters ahead of Thursday’s double-header, and his response was clear.

“Because it’s not on purpose. Simple as that,” Thomson said. “If I think somebody is throwing at one of our hitters, I don’t know what I’d do, but if it’s a pitch that gets away from a pitcher, which I believe it was, and I think that everybody in that clubhouse thinks it was, that’s baseball. It happens.”

To Thomson’s point, Strider seemed pretty distraught after hitting Harper, and expressed relief when it appeared as though he had escaped without serious injury. Baseball is a contact sport, sometimes things happen.

In a bit of good news for the Phillies, Thomson was also able to provide a positive health update on Harper, suggesting that his return to the field shouldn’t take too long, barring set backs.

The back-to-back wickets in the eighth over of Sri Lanka’s innings swung this Asia Cup Super Four match towards Pakistan – this was how Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka, who was the first of the two batters to be dismissed in that passage, saw it.Sri Lanka had been 58 for 3 after 7.1 overs, when Asalanka was caught at deep square-leg off the bowling of Hussain Talat. Next ball, Dasun Shanaka poked at a delivery in the channel and sent a thin edge to the wicketkeeper. Sri Lanka were suddenly five down with more than 60% of the overs remaining. The limped to 133 for 8 in the end.”Although we didn’t get a great start from the openers, at the end of the powerplay we still had 53 runs. We’d lost three wickets, but we were still in a good place, because it’s not easy to score that many in the powerplay,” Asalanka said. “But then myself and Dasun got out off successive deliveries, and that was when the biggest damage was done.Related

• Abrarcadabra – the four-over spell that left Sri Lanka stupefied

• Talat: Middle-order batting the hardest job in T20s

• Nawaz and Talat trump Sri Lanka in nervy chase

“Neither Dasun or I were going for big shots when we got out. I was trying to put the ball into a gap, but ended up top-edging it. Dasun also played a normal shot first up. But we have to take responsibility.”That Sri Lanka managed to have something to bowl at was down to Kamindu Mendis, who hit 50 off 44 balls, with support from Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne.”We lost five wickets in the first half of our innings, and against these kinds of teams it’s really hard to come back from that,” Asalanka said. “Kamindu and the others fought hard, but Wanindu also got out at a bad time, when it had felt like we could get to 150. In the end it was not enough.”Sri Lanka are very nearly out of the tournament now, having suffered two big losses in the Super Four stage. They had strengthened their bowling for this match, dropping Kamil Mishara for Karunaratne. Asalanka identified balancing his team as perhaps the primary problem facing Sri Lanka ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.”We’ve had lots of issues with our combinations, and that’s something we have to get right ahead of the World Cup,” he said. “We tried going with an extra bowler today, but we lost a specialist batsman because of that, and didn’t score the runs we needed. Other times we’ve played an extra batsman and couldn’t defend a score with the ball.”We need to figure out how to consistently score 180 to 200, and also how to use the part-time bowlers – myself, Dasun, Kamindu Mendis – better. Those are things we need to improve in the future.”

The former international captains join the team ahead of the SA20 auction on September 9

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2025

Sourav Ganguly is going to be the new head coach of Pretoria Capitals for the fourth season of SA20, starting on December 26. He will be joined by former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock, who was named the franchise’s assistant coach on Monday.*Ganguly replaces Jonathan Trott in the role, having already acted as the director of cricket for JSW Sports – the parent company of Pretoria Capitals – since last year. Pollock will take over a coaching role after a while, having been a part of the Mumbai Indians coaching staff in the IPL in the early years of the tournament. He also worked with the South Africa team as a consultant briefly.Pretoria Capitals have had an uneven time in the tournament so far: they finished the first season at the top of the table in the group stage, before losing to Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final. In the two seasons since then – in 2023-24 and 2024-25 – they have faced more middling results, finishing in fifth position both times and failing to qualify for the playoffs.Pretoria Capitals will be hoping that their luck turns around with the new appointments. Their first point of focus will be the player auction on September 9, where Capitals will be looking to refresh their squad.This will be Ganguly’s first time as a head coach. For four years, between 2015 and 2019, he was the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. He joined Delhi Capitals as a mentor for the 2019 season, but left the franchise soon after to become the president of the BCCI.In the time since then, his appointment as JSW’s director of cricket last year moved him closer to a coaching role at the helm of one of their franchises, which also include Delhi Capitals in co-ownership with GMR in the IPL and WPL.* 0900 hrs: The story was updated after SA20 issued a release about Pollock’s appointment

Leeds United’s summer transfer window was focused on breaking the recent mould of newly promoted clubs being unable to survive in the Premier League.

On this front, they have made a stellar start, sitting comfortably mid-table, the same number of points away from 20th-place Wolves as they are 1st-place Liverpool. Despite the positive start, survival will still be difficult, and Leeds legend Lucas Radebe has recently spoken about the challenge that the club faces this season.

“I know Daniel Farke has a hard task with a lot of expectations from last season… If we can just survive this season, then hopefully we will get better as the years go by.”

New midfielders Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach are leading the way so far for league goal involvements, with both of them having registered a goal and an assist. While goals have come from all over the pitch, no one from the squad has yet to establish themselves as the consistent source.

It has now been revealed that Leeds could have brought in a prolific forward as they had the opportunity to re-sign a loanee who played an important role in their Championship promotion.

Leeds turned down opportunity to re-sign Solomon

Manor Solomon spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Leeds from his parent club Tottenham Hotspur. During his time at Elland Road, he registered 22 goal involvements in 39 League appearances, which were instrumental in seeing Farke’s side return to the Premier League.

It has now been revealed that Leeds had the chance to re-sign Solomon for a second consecutive loan spell during the summer transfer window but declined to do so.

This report comes from the BBC’s Adam Pope, who explained the 49ers’ decision.

Okafor, alongside free transfers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, were the main attacking reinforcements Farke received this summer, but given Solomon’s start to the season, the 49ers may be having some regrets about their decision.

Solomon's performances make Leeds rue decision

After Leeds decided not to bring Solomon back, the Israeli forward joined La Liga and Champions League side Villarreal on loan and has had a strong start to the season. For Villarreal and Israel, Solomon has registered two goals and three assists in just a few games for each.

In comparison, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha have three goals between them – at this stage in the season, Solomon is performing better than the three forwards they brought in combined.

Pope cited the injury record of Solomon as a contributing factor behind their choosing Okafor. Since the start of the 22/23 season, Solomon has missed 75 games for club and country through injury, whereas Okafor has only missed 40. The difference is Okafor cost £18 million.

At this point in time, it looks like Leeds made the wrong decision, but if Solomon gets injured or if the three new forwards start to find their feet, then the 49ers may feel vindicated.

Leeds United have continued their strong return to the Premier League after beating Wolves in a 3-1 victory.

While the Whites walked away with all three points, barely any of the stats in the match went in their favour. Wolves had a greater xG of 1.78 to their 0.48 and 16 shots to Leeds’s six. Wolves managed to take the lead in the eighth minute following a defensive error that was capitalised upon by Ladislav Krejci, but it didn’t last long.

The key difference in the match was that when Leeds had an opportunity, they took it, leading to their three first-half goals. Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed in Leeds’ first goal before winning a free kick just outside the Wolves box that was converted by Anton Stach for their second.

The final goal of the match came from Noah Okafor, who scored after Jose Sa’s wayward long throw found Stach. Wolves dominated most of the second half but failed to convert any of their chances.

While the result may turn out to be a crucial three points later in the season, the game had some major downsides for Leeds, particularly in the injury department. In the 83rd minute, Jayden Bogle was forced to come off the pitch with an injury that seemed to cause some concern, but he wasn’t the only player to come away from Molineux with a potential problem.

Okafor also limps off for Leeds vs Wolves

The Athletic’s Beren Cross reported after the game that Leeds boss Daniel Farke said it was too early to fully know the extent of Bogle’s injury. The right-back took the force of a Wolves’ player’s studs and subsequently suffered from swelling. An update is expected in the coming days.

Another concern for Leeds is that Cross spotted goalscorer Okafor “slightly limping” after he was substituted in the 70th minute. The replacement of Okafor for Jack Harrison had initially looked tactical, but reports of limping have led to speculation that his removal could have been more serious.

Okafor suffered a few muscle injuries last season for AC Milan and Napoli during his loan spell. They only ended up causing him to miss nine games throughout the 24/25 season, but for a team like Leeds, who have to fight for every point in order to ensure Premier League survival, any time on the sidelines will be a big loss.

Leeds' injury backup plan

Leeds do have options if Bogle and Okafor are out for prolonged periods. During the match, Frake replaced Okafor with Harrison, who spent Leeds’s two-year stint in the Championship on loan at Everton, ensuring that he stayed playing to a Premier League standard.

The replacement for Bogle is a bit more of a risk and comes in the form of summer arrival, James Justin. Justin was once a hotly touted prospect, but two major injuries have hampered his career.

While at Leicester City, he missed out on almost a year with an ACL injury and a further 205 days with a ruptured Achilles. Overall, since 2020, Justin has missed 547 days and 100 games through injury, making it a massive risk to rely on him for a prolonged period.

Farke will be hoping that neither injury is a major one and that they’ll both be back fit soon. However, if they’re not, they do have options, but they may consider rotating a makeshift right back with Justin to keep him fit.

Arne Slot, lauded as a tactical genius. And rightly so. The Liverpool coach’s smart-witted approach saw him lift the Premier League title in his first year last season, head and shoulders above his rivals.

But there’s no denying Liverpool look tactically imbalanced this year, and there are wrinkles to be ironed out. The Dutchman sprung a tactical surprise against Crystal Palace, but it didn’t work out and the Reds were ragdolled throughout a bleak first half at Selhurst Park.

They rallied, and Federico Chiesa’s late goal off the bench looked to have sealed a point. Maybe all three. Liverpool pushed and pushed and they huffed and puffed, but their late-hour charm ran out as Eddie Nketiah struck at the eleventh hour to hand the champions their first league loss of the term.

There’s a lot to unpick, but let’s dilute it down to just a few talking points here. Right-back has been a hot topic on Merseyside this summer, and Conor Bradley flattered to deceive on his return to the starting line-up.

Bradley's performance vs Palace

Bradley filled big boots this summer, with Trent Alexander-Arnold up and leaving for Real Madrid. The Northern Irish right-back has dazzled in the Premier League before, but suffered with injuries for much of Slot’s debut term.

Aged 22, Bradley has started Liverpool’s past two Premier League matches, and while he did a decent job against the in-form Jack Grealish in the Merseyside derby, he endured a game to forget against Oliver Glasner’s Eagles, hooked at half-time.

Lacking any semblance of clarity or creativity on the ball, Bradley failed with three of four attempted dribbles and lost possession 12 times, also losing four of his seven contested ground duels, as recorded by Sofascore.

However, with Ibrahima Konate producing another sloppy performance, laden with errors, Bradley was always going to be up against it.

And, moreover, Mohamed Salah was anonymous once again.

Slot should have axed Salah

Salah, 33, has been Liverpool’s all-inspiring superstar for so many years, and he ran roughshod over Premier League defences all through the 2024/25 campaign en route to the title.

He has posted three goals and three assists across the opening weeks of the season, but has also lacked much of his usual swagger and gusto, and that has not been more apparent than against Palace on Saturday afternoon.

The right winger missed a big chance and created two chances, but his moments of real joy were few and far between, losing all five of his ground duels, and this is not an outlier, with the metrics across the term, when collated against last year’s data, highlighting his regression.

Matches (starts)

38 (38)

6 (6)

Goals

29

2

Assists

18

2

Touches*

49.1

43.2

Shots (on target)*

3.4 (1.6)

1.7 (0.8)

Accurate passes*

22.4 (74%)

21.0 (75%)

Key passes*

2.4

1.3

Dribbles*

1.5

0.2

Ball recoveries*

2.7

3.3

Tackles*

0.6

0.0

Duels won*

3.3

1.7

We are still early in the season, but the underlying data is telling. Salah has fallen off a proverbial cliff in regard to his application and effectiveness.

Now playing a role with a greater emphasis on hugging the touchline and maintaining space for the reformed number nine squad, the veteran is toiling.

And Chiesa’s resurgence in red continues. The Italy international has now posted two goals and two assists apiece across all competitions since the summer, and he looks a different beast indeed, with observers anticipating a return to one-time elite form.

Analyst Josh Williams remarked that the 27-year-old “should’ve started today”, and that’s an accurate assessment. Liverpool risk become stagnant and predictable, reliant on late goals, and Chiesa’s form denotes his applicability for a starting berth in the Premier League going forward.

The Liverpool Echo branded him with a 4/10 match rating and wrote that Salah ‘struggled with the basics’ and provided non-existent defensive cover for Bradley, who had a poor game but was sandwiched between two of Liverpool’s biggest problems: Salah and Konate.

Salah is a Liverpool great, and he will continue to play a talismanic role for the club across the season. However, there’s no denying he has looked off the pace for much of the campaign so far.

He has played every minute in the Premier League since the opening whistle against Bournemouth in August, and his performances haven’t warranted that mark.

Chiesa convsersely, has looked very bright indeed, and yet the £150k-per-week ace continues to serve a peripheral role.

Now worth more than Guehi: Liverpool lost "superstar” for less than Quansah

Liverpool must regret parting ways with this iconic Jurgen Klopp talent.

ByAngus Sinclair Sep 26, 2025

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Kagiso Rabada’s transgression took place during the SA20

Firdose Moonda03-May-2025

Kagiso Rabada has admitted to testing positive for recreational drug use and serving a provisional suspension, which led to his departure from IPL 2025 on April 3. At the time, Rabada’s team Gujarat Titans said he had returned home to deal with a “significant personal matter,” and did not indicate if or when he would return to India.”ESPNcricinfo understands that Rabada’s transgression took place during the SA20 in January-February this year. He represented MI Cape Town in that tournament. While the exact length of his sanction has not been confirmed, he has since traveled back to India and his return to play is imminent. Rabada has not played a match since March 29.Related

Rabada sorry about drug use but 'won't be Mr-I-Apologise too much'

WTC final-bound South Africa players to miss IPL 2025 playoffs

SA hope Rabada puts ban behind him as WTC final beckons

Kagiso Rabada returns home from IPL 2025 for personal reasons

In statement issued by Rabada through the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), Rabada apologised for his actions and recommitted himself to the game.”As has been reported, I recently returned to South Africa from participating in the IPL for personal reasons,” Rabada said in his statement. “This was due to my returning an adverse analytical finding for the use of a recreational drug.”I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down. I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me. It goes beyond my personal aspirations.”I am serving a provisional suspension and I am looking forward to returning to the game I love playing.”I couldn’t have gone through this alone. I’d like to thank my agent, CSA, and Gujarat Titans for their support. I’d also like to thank SACA and my legal team for their guidance and counsel. Most importantly I’d like to thank my friends and family for their understanding and love.”Moving forward, this moment will not define me. I will keep doing what I have always done, continuously working hard and playing with passion and devotion to my craft.”SACA have declined to answer questions relating to the matter while the South African Agency for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) is expected to release a statement early next week explaining the situation. SAIDS is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which means that any sanction SAIDS oversees would need to be ratified by WADA.In the last four years, there has only been one instance of an athlete receiving a one-month ban from SAIDS: powerlifter Matt Bekker, who was banned in April 2021 for testing positive for THC, which is found in cannabis. In November last year, New Zealand cricketer Doug Bracewell was effectively banned for a month for cocaine use – a sanction that was reduced from three months after Bracewell satisfactorily completed a treatment program. ESPNcricinfo has established that Rabada’s case is expected to be similar.There are no concerns from sources close to CSA over Rabada missing any more cricket, including the World Test Championship final against Australia in June.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is a doubtful starter for their home game against Delhi Captals (DC) at Chepauk on Saturday. MS Dhoni is likely to take over captaincy if Gaikwad doesn’t recover in time.Gaikwad had suffered a blow on his unprotected elbow against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati last Sunday after stepping out to Tushar Deshpande and missing the ball in the second over in CSK’s unsuccessful chase of 183.”Yeah, we’re hoping he [Gaikwad] is going to try and have a bat today for training,” Mike Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, said at his press conference on the eve of the match against DC. “And, yeah, it [elbow] is still a little bit sore, but it’s improving every day. So, we’re very hopeful that he’ll be fine for tomorrow.Related

• Upbeat Delhi Capitals aim for a hat-trick as CSK fret over Gaikwad injury

• CSK face a tricky situation with Dhoni the batter

• Rayudu: Chepauk's Dhoni fixation can be 'quite daunting' for others

• 'Quick timing, great hands' – Hayden on Dhoni's wicketkeeping

“I don’t think we’ve actually thought about that [captaincy] too much. Well, I haven’t thought about it too much. I’m sure Stephen Fleming [CSK head coach] and Rutu have thought about that. But we’ve got some young guy coming through. He’s behind the stumps. Maybe he can do a good job. I’m not sure. He’s got a bit of experience in the role, so maybe he could do it. But I’m not exactly sure, to be honest.”After being struck on the forearm last weekend, Gaikwad received some treatment on the field and continued to bat, scoring his second half-century in three matches this season. On Friday, Gaikwad only had a light workout for about ten minutes, taking throwdowns outside the nets. If he isn’t available to play, CSK will have to find a new top-order batter as well.Devon Conway, who was among the first group of batters to bat the nets on Friday, might be frontrunner to come in for Gaikwad and perhaps open with Rahul Tripathi, with Rachin Ravindra dropping down to No. 3. That may force CSK to leave out Jamie Overton and bring in an Indian fast bowler in Anshul Kamboj.Dhoni, 43, is functioning at reduced capacity, with Fleming saying his knees don’t allow him to bat too long. He has been CSK captain since their inception in 2008, barring the two years they were suspended and a few matches in 2022 when they tried handing over the reins to Ravindra Jadeja and it didn’t work out. Dhoni last led the team in the IPL final in 2023. CSK won that game, adding a fifth IPL title to their collection. But when the new season began, they had appointed Gaikwad as captain. CSK finished fifth in 2024, and missed the playoffs on net run rate.Andhra’s Shaik Rasheed, Tamil Nadu’s C Andre Siddarth and Delhi’s Vansh Bedi are the reserve Indian batters in the CSK squad, but all three are uncapped in the IPL.Mumbai teenager Ayush Mhatre, who recently broke Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record for the youngest batter to hit a 150-plus score in List A cricket, has joined CSK’s camp as a support player. It is understood that Mhatre’s presence in the camp is unrelated to Gaikwad’s injury or any other potential injury concerns.

Suzie Bates will lead the side in Sophie Devine’s absence while Amelia Kerr will miss the series because of the WPL

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2025New Zealand have picked a young uncapped trio of Emma McLeod, batter Izzy Sharp, and left-arm seamer Bree Illing for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. The squad of 16 also sees the return of Georgia Plimmer after recovering from a bone stress reaction in her hip which had sidelined her since November.Hayley Jensen, meanwhile, makes a comeback since last playing for New Zealand two years ago, after a successful domestic season.The experienced Suzie Bates will lead the side in the absence of full-time ODI captain Sophie Devine, who is on a well-being break and her T20I successor is yet to be named. Amelia Kerr will also miss the series as she is in India representing Mumbai Indians at the WPL.The uncapped trio has come through the New Zealand Under-19 squads, with McLeod, 18, having just played her second Under-19 T20 World Cup, and Sharp, 20, the captain from the first tournament that was played two years ago. McLeod was picked after she tallied 300 runs for Central Districts in the ongoing domestic one-day competition, where she averages nearly 43 with two half-centuries.Illing, also 21, has been a regular wicket-taker for Auckland in the same competition, and is third on the charts with 19 wickets at 21.10 apiece. Illing was among the stars for Auckland in the T20 Super Smash before that, finishing with an impressive economy rate of just 5.44 along with eight wickets. She had also been picked for New Zealand A last year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”Emma, Bree and Izzy have been identified by Major Association and NZC coaches as players who have the desired competencies and skillsets to be effective in international cricket,” head coach Ben Sawyer said. “Emma’s been in good form in the HBJ Shield and her ability to hit through the off-side and run well between the wickets is really valuable.”Izzy impressed us with how she attacks spin, which is something that will come in handy this series.”The way Bree attacks the stumps and swings the ball back into the right-hander is really important in the international game.”Plimmer returns after last playing the ODI series in India in November, that followed immediately after New Zealand’s T20 World Cup victory in Dubai. Wicketkeeper-batter Polly Inglis receives her second call-up after being picked for the India tour although she’s yet to make her international debut. Otago’s Bella James is also in line to make her T20I debut, having made her ODI debut against Australia in December when Plimmer and Lea Tahuhu had missed out with injuries.Tahuhu (hamstring) and Rosemary Mair (elbow) are still battling injuries and Molly Penfold had been recently sidelined for at least three months because of a knee injury. While Mair is expected to be fit for the Sri Lanka T20Is starting March 14, Tahuhu is expected to make it in time for the Australia T20Is from March 21.Sawyer further said the games will be good to gain experience against spin keeping in mind the ODI World Cup in India in October this year.”Sri Lanka’s a tough opposition with a number of world-class spinners,” he said.”We will try different combinations this series, and I’m looking forward to seeing players adapt to different roles. It’s an opportunity to test batters in different positions, and try different bowlers opening up and at the death.”The ODI squad will get together on March 2 in Napier following the HBJ Shield final on Saturday. The ODI series begins on March 4 in Napier before moving to Nelson for two more games on March 7 and 9. The T20Is will be played on March 14 and 16 in Christchurch and on March 18 in Dunedin.New Zealand Women ODI and T20I squads for Sri LankaSuzie Bates (capt), Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing (ODIs only), Polly Inglis (ODIs only), Bella James, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair (T20Is only), Emma McLeod, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe (ODIs only), Izzy Sharp (T20Is only)