New director of football Brian McDermott is relishing the chance to unearth quality players for Hibernian after being appointed to a role that will revolve heavily around recruitment.
The 62-year-old is best known for a managerial career that incorporated two spells at Reading either side of a stint at Leeds, but he was chief scout at the Madejski Stadium for nine years prior to becoming a boss and has worked predominantly in scouting roles since being sacked by the Royals in 2016.
McDermott feels player recruitment is his speciality and believes that will stand him in good stead for a role he learned a lot about while working under the “fantastic” Nick Hammond at Reading.
“I relish that, I love finding players,” he said. “I was head scout at Reading for nine years and I wasn’t looking to become the manager because I loved finding players.
“We found so many really good players, that’s my thing. I did the same at Arsenal (between 2016 and 2020) and really relished that.
“I became the Reading manager by default and did OK and then I ended up at Leeds and whatever, but I think finding players is my thing.
“I get a buzz out of recruitment. I’ve recruited well as a manager and I’ve recruited not so well, and when you don’t recruit well you don’t do so well. It is so important.”
McDermott insists he had not planned on becoming a director of football but he feels the Hibs role – which will require him to work closely with manager Lee Johnson and also revolves around scouting, analysis, sports science and the academy – suited him at this stage in his life.
“I never really make conscious decisions,” said McDermott, who did some scouting for cinch Premiership side Celtic after leaving Arsenal. “This opportunity came along and I thought ‘yeah, that’s something I really want to do’.
“Job titles to me are not important. I like to be involved with people and doing the best I can with people. It’s not about the job title or me or whatever, it’s always about the football club.
“I kind of did this job between 2000 and 2009 but without having the title of director of football. Nick Hammond was the director of football but I involved myself in every part of the football club because I wanted to. I was doing mad hours but I loved it.
“Nick was a fantastic director of football to work under so I know how the role works and it’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Rory McIlroy feels it is a shame that Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia will not someday captain Europe’s Ryder Cup team after they quit the DP World Tour.
The trio stepped aside after being sanctioned for joining rival LIV Golf, thus rendering them ineligible for inclusion when the match against the United States begins in Rome in September.
On Thursday, Westwood spoke out against the European Tour following the controversy, seemingly closing the door on any hope of a return in the future.
And McIlroy said: “I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points score ever in the Ryder Cup and two guys that when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles that they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe.
“For those three guys to not captain Europe one day, it’s a shame. But as the DP World Tour said in their statement, at the end of the day that was their choice and they knew that these were potentially going to be the consequences of those choices and of those actions and here we are.
“Yeah, it’s certainly a shame.”
Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, echoed McIlroy’s sentiments and said he is sad that the three will not be available to represent the side.
Donald, who will lead the Europe team as they seek to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2018, felt sorry that the situation had come to this.
“It’s sad we’ve got to this point but this was always a possibility,” Donald told BBC Sport. “I played with all three and they’ve been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour.
“I have a little more clarity now. I know they’re not an option to play in, or be any part of my team. It is a shame. They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup.
“Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well. They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I’ve got choices to make that are best for me.
“There are generational shifts throughout the history of the Ryder Cup and maybe this is one.
“We certainly have plenty of great players to look at and pick from and I’m certainly excited about how everyone has played this year so far.”
Donald was made captain in 2022 after Henrik Stenson was dismissed for joining in the Saudi-backed LIV tour.
He will be without three of Europe’s most successful performers in the contest, with Westwood having featured as a player a record 11 times and Poulter unbeaten in singles across his seven appearances. Garcia is Europe’s all-time record points scorer.
Donald added: “There’s great momentum with European golf. We’ve already had seven winners in the US [this season] and a bunch of people who haven’t played in the Ryder Cup have played great this year on the DP World Tour, so I’m excited about the make-up of this team.”
Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said he is sad that Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia will be unavailable for the team after they quit the DP World Tour.
The trio stepped aside after being sanctioned for joining rival LIV Golf, thus rendering them ineligible for inclusion when the match against the United States begins in Rome in September.
On Thursday Westwood spoke out against the European Tour following the controversy, seemingly closing the door on any hope of a return in the future.
Donald, who will lead the Europe team as they seek to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2018, said it was a shame that the situation had come to this.
“It’s sad we’ve got to this point but this was always a possibility,” Donald told BBC Sport. “I played with all three and they’ve been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour.
“I have a little more clarity now. I know they’re not an option to play in, or be any part of my team. It is a shame. They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup.
“Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well. They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I’ve got choices to make that are best for me.
“There are generational shifts throughout the history of the Ryder Cup and maybe this is one.
“We certainly have plenty of great players to look at and pick from and I’m certainly excited about how everyone has played this year so far.”
Donald was made captain in 2022 after Henrik Stenson was dismissed for joining in the Saudi-backed LIV tour.
He will be without three of Europe’s most successful performers in the contest, with Westwood having featured as a player a record 11 times and Poulter unbeaten in singles across his seven appearances. Garcia is Europe’s all-time record points scorer.
Donald added: “There’s great momentum with European golf, we’ve already had seven winners in the US [this season] and a bunch of people who haven’t played in the Ryder Cup have played great this year on the DP World Tour so I’m excited about the make-up of this team.”
Former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas has no thoughts of putting his bike away as he prepares to start his 18th Grand Tour this weekend.
The 36-year-old headlines the Ineos Grenadiers squad alongside 2020 winner Tao Geoghegan Hart for the 106th Giro d’Italia which will get under way in Fossacesia on Saturday.
The 2018 Tour winner described his last set of contract negotiations with Ineos in 2021 as “hard” and, with his existing two-year deal up again at the end of this season, he faces another round of talks if he wants to keep riding. However, staying in the peloton is very much his intention.
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“I’d still like to continue,” Thomas said. “I’m still really enjoying riding my bike. Especially this year when things have been a bit stop-start, you realise how much you still enjoy it and being around the lads.
“Being around the younger lads keeps you young as well and maybe keeps you immature but I still enjoy a coffee ride and I still enjoy a six-hour ride with loads of efforts and I still enjoy racing as well.
“At the moment I’m just focusing on this race and then hopefully we can sort something after this.”
Last season Thomas finished third in the Tour de France after delivering victory in the Tour de Suisse.
But his 2023 season has been interrupted by illness and on Thursday Thomas spoke more about riding to help Geoghegan Hart than he did about pursuing his own ambitions in a race which he has targeted before only to suffer crashes in both 2017 and 2020.
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When he re-signed in 2021, Thomas said he wanted to keep winning for himself, but another contract may require him to accept more of a support role.
Asked how many Grand Tours Thomas might have left in him, Ineos deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth said it was up to the Welshman, but was clear about what that might mean.
“There’s not many that have kept up the same level of intent in their cycling as Geraint has,” Ellingworth said. “He’s 36 coming on 37 so who knows. At the end of the day, age does catch up with you and you can’t avoid that. How many (Grand Tours) he has left in him is totally up to him…
“There’s riding in a Grand Tour and competing in a Grand Tour and it is very different. The thing with Geraint is, if you go to a bike race and you want somebody to help you and be your wingman, bloody hell, I’d sign him up every day. I think he’s got a few left in him if he wants it.”
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Geoghegan Hart is back at the race where he enjoyed his breakout result with victory in the pandemic-hit 2020 edition.
Since then, the 28-year-old Londoner has endured illness and injury setbacks, but delivered a timely confident boost with two stage wins and overall victory at the Tour of the Alps in April, his first general classification win since the Giro.
Although Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic are the clear favourites going into the race, Geoghegan Hart is one to watch.
“I feel like from the back end of last year he’s started to piece it together, get a bit of rhythm and he’s got his mojo back,” Ellingworth said. “He’s really shown now he can be consistent.
“What’s changed for him is he’s gone through a journey. He’s had a lot more experience now, good and bad. Sometimes you’ve got to get your arse kicked to move on and he’s had his arse kicked and he himself has moved on.”
Stephen Robinson highlighted the virtues of Ryan Flynn after the midfielder triggered an extension clause in his contract which sees him remain at St Mirren next season.
The 34-year-old is the Paisley side’s longest-serving first-team player having joined the club in January 2018 when the Buddies were on their way to winning promotion to the cinch Premiership.
Flynn has made 139 appearances for St Mirren – 23 this season – and has taken his first steps into coaching after undertaking his UEFA B Licence.
He joins the likes of Greg Kiltie, Marcus Fraser, Mark O’Hara, Trevor Carson and Richard Taylor in extending their contracts in recent months and St Mirren manager Robinson is delighted.
He told the club’s official website: “Ryan brings vast experience and quality to the club.
“He’s shown he can still go into the team and do well in numerous positions.
“As a squad player, he’s fantastic, and as an experienced professional, he’s exactly what we need at the football club.
“He’ll get involved in a little bit of the coaching in the first team as well and I want him to be a part of what we are doing.
“It’s vital to have experienced players. They dictate the tempo of training, the gym work and the attitude around the place.
“The older boys in the squad are the ones who do a bit for me in terms of helping manage the players and it’s important he stayed given his quality and what he offers on the pitch as well.”
Chris Gunter will join the Wales staff as a national team development coach after announcing his retirement from playing at the end of the season.
Gunter was part of Rob Page’s coaching team for European Championship qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia in March, and his new part-time role will provide support for young Wales players as they transition into senior football.
The 33-year-old will take up the role following AFC Wimbledon’s final game of the Sky Bet League Two season at Grimsby on Monday.
“After taking some time for consideration, I’m announcing my retirement from professional football at the end of the season,” Gunter wrote on social media.
“I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed to have enjoyed the highs and lows of the past 17/18 years.
“Over 700 games have brought many challenges and opportunities which through all of it I’ve always given my absolute all.
“I feel ready and excited for the next chapter of my career. I’m hugely thankful to the FAW, and Rob Page especially.
“Having completed my coaching badges, I will begin my new role from the summer.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to work alongside Rob and the staff.”
Gunter won 109 caps for Wales, a figure surpassed only in the men’s game by Gareth Bale’s 111 appearances.
He became the first Wales men’s player to win a century of caps in March 2021.
Newport-born Gunter made over 600 appearances at club level for Cardiff, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Reading, Charlton and AFC Wimbledon.
Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui has warned his players they are in the middle of a “war” as they attempt to ease themselves clear of the scrap for Premier League survival.
Lopetegui’s men sit seven points above the drop zone ahead of Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa, in which victory could be enough to assure them of a place in next season’s top flight.
However, last weekend’s 6-0 drubbing by unlikely Champions League contenders Brighton left them shell-shocked, and their Spanish manager knows there could be a lot of hard work still to be done.
Lopetegui told a press conference: “We need points to achieve our aim. We had this need the last match and Saturday too, in the same way a challenge.
“It’s about the will to win because this is our aim and we have to achieve our aim. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be long, and we have to be ready in the good and bad moments.
“We are in the middle of the battle. We are in the middle of the war, like a lot of teams. That’s why we have to put out 100 per cent energy in the next match. This is football so we have to be ready until the end.
“Saturday we have a challenge and I’m sure the fans are going to understand the importance of the match, we are going to need this help, this environment, this energy in the bad moments. I am sure the fans are going to help a lot in the next match.”
Wolves had eased their fears with wins over Chelsea, Brentford and Crystal Palace either side of defeat at Leicester, but a traumatic day at the AMEX Stadium prompted concerted soul-searching during the days which followed.
Lopetegui said: “We were not happy, of course, but it sometimes happens. We analysed inside with the players and we have to be ready for the next challenge full of energy, full of confidence, because we are fighting for a big aim, a very hard aim, with a lot of teams involved.
“We are going to be there until the end, so we have to be ready for the next match.”
Lopetegui will make a late decision on defender Nelson Semedo, who limped off at Brighton with a knee injury which has forced him to miss two days’ training this week.
Owen Coyle urged his Queen’s Park side to grasp their chance to reach the top flight with a cinch Championship shoot-out win over Dundee on Friday night.
The Glasgow side, who are ground sharing with Stenhousemuir while Lesser Hampden is being revamped, are two points behind the Tayside outfit at the top of the table with the title and an automatic place in the cinch Premiership up for grabs in the final fixture.
In what promises to be one of the most exciting finales to the Championship campaign as nine teams still have something to play for, Queen’s Park, Scotland’s oldest senior club, are looking for a remarkable third successive promotion.
Boss Coyle, on their official Twitter account, said: “We are full of excitement. Looking forward to an unbelievable night. A chance to be champions of the Championship.
“Given the journey we have been on, to be given the opportunity to take Queen’s Park into the Premiership, I think at the start of the season we would have done somersaults for that opportunity.
“If someone said in the last game of the season you would be at your home from home with the chance to win the game and go into the Premiership as champions, of course we would have grasped that.
“What we have to do is deliver on that and that needs a big performance, one that we are more than capable of.
“I am pretty sure the lads are as excited as I am about the game.”
Coyle concedes that having to win the game against Dundee makes the task straightforward.
The former Burnley, Bolton and Ross County manager said: “We know we have to win. Obviously Dundee are at the top of the league at the moment.
“They know they can afford a draw and be champions.
“That itself probably sets you in a quandary while we know we have to win the game so that is our mind-set, to go and win the game against a good side, good players, big squad, a Premiership club, as we know.
“But what we have to do is show that we want to be that Premiership club and we have 90/95 minutes to do that.
“We need to be at our best. We have shown that when we are at our best we win games.
“We have won more games than any other team in this league up to this point because we play to win games. That is why the game on Friday suits us.
“We go all out to win games, we commit players forward and look to have that creativity that we have been known for to create the chances to ultimately scores goals because we will have to score to win the game.”
Promotion play-off spots are still to be confirmed with two points between third-placed Partick Thistle and Morton in sixth spot.
Thistle, who are two points behind Queen’s Park, travel to Raith Rovers, the only club with nothing to play for in terms of either going up or going down.
Scottish Cup finalists Inverness host Ayr United and Morton travel to second-bottom Cove Rangers who have the chance to move out of the relegation play-off spot.
Bottom side Hamilton, who are one point behind Cove, take on Arbroath at Gayfield knowing they need to get at least a point to avoid automatic relegation.
Amad Diallo will return to Manchester United this summer on a mission to catch the eye of manager Erik ten Hag.
The 20-year-old midfielder, a £19million signing from Atalanta in January 2021, has been one of the stars of Sunderland’s Sky Bet Championship campaign having endured a less than successful spell at Rangers during the second half of last season.
United’s loan manager Les Parry was on Wearside on Wednesday and Black Cats head coach Tony Mowbray, who admitted he wished the loan arrangement had been for two years, now expects the Ivory Coast international to get a chance to prove himself in pre-season.
Mowbray said: “I think Manchester United are happy, but I think the next step is for them to take him on pre-season to America. That’s what I think is going to happen. Then they’ll see how he gets on.
“They know what they’ve got, they bought him, but I think when the new manager came in, it was right on the cusp of whether they were going to keep him or not. He liked some of the stuff, but then he maybe wasn’t sure about other things.
“I’m sure he’s been watching Amad’s clips from games, just as I watch all of our players who are out on loan, and seeing what he can do.
“But he’ll need to see him on a daily basis and feel what he brings. I’m sure everyone will have an opinion on whether he’s good enough or not good enough for Manchester United, but the reality is that the manager needs to watch him, see and feel him in a game, and see what he brings.”
Amad has made 39 appearances for Sunderland and scored 12 goals heading into Monday’s trip to Preston, in which victory could yet propel the club into the play-offs at the end of their first campaign back in the second tier.
Leicester boss Dean Smith hopes Jamie Vardy can fire his side to Premier League safety after the veteran’s recent revival.
Vardy has scored in the last two games to help move the Foxes out of the bottom three having previously gone 19 games without a goal.
Smith, who is on a short-term SOS mission at the King Power Stadium to keep Leicester up, says the 36-year-old is “firing” ahead of the crunch run-in.
“People will have seen in his last few performances the hunger and desire he has got, the work rate, the fact his legs are still there and his brains are definitely still there,” Smith said ahead of Monday’s trip to Fulham.
“We are really pleased that he is back scoring goals for us. He has got his first away goal at Leeds and his first home one on Monday (against Everton), we are really pleased he is in a good place at the moment.
“He knows as well as anyone as a striker with his record he will be judged on goals. He probably hasn’t had the pitch time to earn the goals or chances but he has created a penalty for us against Wolves. He has come on and scored against Leeds and scored a goal on Monday.
“He is in a good vein of form at the moment, which is what we need with only four games to go.
“I don’t think we have had to rebuild his confidence, we have had to play more to his strengths. We know he is an intelligent player with his runs, but he needs the ball to go into the right areas with his runs.
“We have to have a supply line to him and he has to make the runs as well.”
Leicester could have Ricardo Pereira back after a hamstring injury, while there is also good news over Kelechi Iheancho (groin) and Jonny Evans (virus).
“Ricky Pereira has been training with us, he has only been doing part of the session,” Smith said.
“He will be training with us on Saturday and Sunday so that will be a boost to the squad to have him.
“Ricky is due to train with us on Saturday. He part trained yesterday and if he came through Saturday, I am sure he would put himself forward for selection on Monday.
“Kels has responded to the treatment so won’t be back for Monday, but we may get him back for the last two games which we weren’t hopeful of when he first sustained the injury.
“Jonny is back training. He has trained the last couple of days and trained really well, so it is nice to get that experienced head around.
“Even just to have him on the training ground, there is so much the other lads can pick up from him with his knowledge and his experience. It’s great to have him back.”
Everton manager Sean Dyche has given his backing to Michael Keane amid criticism of the defender’s performances.
Keane, 30, has displaced Conor Coady to become a regular again in Everton’s back four since Dyche – his former manager at Burnley – arrived at Goodison Park, but fans have not necessarily been happy with the result as the relegation-battling Toffees have shipped 20 goals in the 10 games Keane has started.
But Dyche said he retains full faith in a player capped 12 times by England.
“I have faith in all the players,” he said. “I can only pick 11 so I have faith in all of them. At the end of the day, it’s the ups and downs of a footballer, the ups and downs of teams, the ups and down of careers – it all goes into the melting pot.
“These are things the players have to work through, how to handle the goods, bads and indifferents.
“A lot of noise grew in the Newcastle game (a 4-1 defeat on April 27). I thought (Keane) was our best player until the second goal – that’s how it can change very quickly.
“He is a very good player amongst many good players here. Sorting the best 11 at any time, form related at any time, that’s the key to it.”
Coady, a loan signing from Wolves last summer, was a regular alongside James Tarkowski in the first half of the season, but has not featured since February 25, while fellow defender Yerry Mina is available again after injury but has not played since January.
“All the players need to keep doing what they are doing until we pick them, you can only pick 11,” Dyche said. “I make that clear to the players, you can question it and I am happy to speak about it, but you can only pick 11 players.
“Everyone has to stay fit, sharp and committed to the cause and that is what we are looking to do for when the team has to change or does change.”
Monday’s draw left Everton still 19th in the table, albeit only one point behind the three teams above them.
On another night they might have comfortably won at the King Power Stadium having taken 23 shots at goal, but they were equally indebted to Jordan Pickford saving James Maddison’s penalty late in the first half to avoid going 3-1 down.
Dyche said the performance gave his side confidence and reason to believe in what they were doing, saying “it reaffirms to them that we are on the right track”.
But with a trip to Europe-chasing Brighton on Monday to be followed by the visit of reigning champions and title favourites Manchester City, Everton cannot afford to play so openly.
“There’s a risk and reward,” Dyche said. “Defending correctly, attacking correctly, you have to find a balance somewhere. Some games just pan out like that.
“Palace (a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on April 22) was the complete opposite, that was a slow, methodical game.
“Maybe the intensity of it, the feel of it, the fact it was a big game, sometimes that can bring an openness to a game and sometimes it stays tight but you can’t define a game until it starts and you see it in front of your eyes.
“You want to control performances but Leicester wanted to win the game and we wanted to win the game. You have to balance it, I think we did that but we didn’t get the result we were looking for.”
Former boss Javier Gracia says he and his children will be cheering Leeds on from Spain as they watch Saturday’s game at Manchester City on television.
Gracia has returned home to Malaga after being sacked on Wednesday, just 10 weeks and 11 Premier League games after succeeding Jesse Marsch as head coach.
Director of football Victor Orta departed Elland Road by mutual consent on the same day.
In a desperate late bid to retain top-flight status, Leeds have appointed Sam Allardyce with just four fixtures remaining.
Gracia told The Athletic he will be watching the former England boss’s first game in charge at the Etihad Stadium.
“I will be with my children, who will have their Leeds jerseys on and chanting ‘Up the Whites’,” Gracia said.
The 53-year-old said he had been informed of Leeds’ decision on Monday – his birthday – via a phone call from chairman Andrea Radrizzani.
“It was a call to explain the situation. It was all handled correctly by the club. I have to accept the decision from the club’s owner and that’s it,” Gracia said.
“I can honestly say my time at Leeds has been an enriching experience, and the human qualities of Victor Orta have been an authentic pleasure to be around.
“It was one of the places in my career where they have made me feel good and comfortable in myself.
“It’s been a very intense period. It hurt me a lot to lose my job, but I have to say Victor’s exit is just as difficult for me, if not more.”
Gracia had collected 10 points from his first six games in charge before a second-half collapse in a 5-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace sent them on a vicious downward spiral.
A 6-1 loss to Liverpool at Elland Road followed in their next match, while in five defeats from their last seven matches in April they conceded 23 goals, a top-flight record for a calendar month.
Leeds fans will point to their side’s collapse against Palace as the beginning of the end for Gracia.
“It was incredible to me that we went in at half-time drawing,” he said. “We were balanced in our play. Then the situation that followed was hard to understand. The second half was very tough to take.”
The former Watford boss cited injuries to players Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Max Wober as key factors in Leeds’ loss of form and that being on the wrong end of “fine margins” also contributed.
“I had the feeling that the players felt a little like a boxer who had been hit, who is down for a few moments and wants to get up but he is not able to,” he added.
“A player can enter subconsciously into the vicious circle from which they cannot escape.
“And we did not have that moment go our way with the fine margins. In the last minute against Leicester, Patrick (Bamford) had a chance just wide and Marc Roca came close to scoring a winner.”
Inverness manager Billy Dodds has argued the traditional Scottish Cup final kick-off time should not be moved to suit anyone else.
Both Caley Thistle and Celtic expressed major disappointment after it was announced their Hampden meeting on June 3 would kick off at 5.30pm in a break with a long-standing convention.
The evening kick-off for the game, which will be shown live on the BBC and Viaplay, appears to have been moved so as not to clash with the Manchester derby FA Cup final, which kicks off at 3pm and will be screened in Scotland by both the BBC and STV.
Celtic criticised a lack of consultation after the Scottish Football Association made the announcement and Dodds feels the situation is unfair.
In a clip shown by BBC Scotland, the former Rangers striker said: “Any time I have been involved in Scottish Cup finals as a player and a coach, you can’t beat three o’clock on a Saturday for your showpiece but suddenly it’s gone to 5.30 which is a shame for our game up here because, for me, others are getting looked after better.
“It’s not ideal. I don’t think we should ever move our showpiece final to suit anybody.
“I can only imagine it’s for TV rights or something and we don’t want to clash.
“It’s not ideal for me but I’m just glad we’re there. I would rather, like everybody else, 3pm on Saturday should be your showpiece final.”
From a players’ perspective, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was not too concerned but expressed sympathy with Inverness fans, the majority of whom are set to spend their post-match Saturday night out on buses.
O’Riley said: “I don’t mind. I suppose because it’s a bit later we get to sleep a bit more, so that’s one positive.
“It’s another game, a different time of day and if you win it you win a trophy, that’s the main thing.”
Asked about the possible problems Inverness fans could have in getting back home after the game, he said: “I didn’t really think about that but I’m sure that’s quite brutal, but they can probably make the most of a night out in Glasgow if they chose to.”
Explosive West Indies batsman Johnson Charles has been called up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the remaining matches of the 2023 IPL season.
In what will be his first stint in the IPL, the 34-year-old Charles joins KKR as a replacement for Litton Das, who departs to represent Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series against Ireland from May 9-14. He was contracted by KKR at a cost of USD$60,000.
Charles returned to the West Indies set up in October 2022 after a six-year absence from the team. In March 2023, he exploded scoring a 39-ball ton against South Africa and is expected to provide some stability to the KKR line-up that has struggled this season. KKR with only three wins from their nine matches so far this season are currently eighth in the 10-team league.
He will team up with former West Indies players Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in the KKR line-up
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