Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that his side is not looking to take any kind of revenge against Real Madrid in the upcoming Champions League quarterfinal leg one fixture.

The talk about the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid has surrounded around their meeting in 2018 final in Kyiv, which Real Madrid managed to win 3-1. “We are not on a revenge tour here. I don’t believe too much in revenge, but it would be nice to get through, because it would mean we are in the next round My motivation is on the highest level because it’s the Champions League, we play Real Madrid and we want to go to the next round. It has nothing to do with 2018. When we got the draw, of course, I remembered the game because it was the first time we have played each other since,” Goal.com quoted Klopp as saying.

In the 2018 final against Liverpool, Sergio Ramos had a night to remember for Real Madrid and he was the destructor in chief. However, Ramos will miss the fixture against Liverpool this time around due to an injury.

“I said after that 2018 game that if somebody asked me in a press conference a week later or a month later if I would invite Sergio Ramos to my 60th birthday, then I would say no! Meanwhile, I would think about it again. It’s not that he’s not a great footballer but I didn’t like what happened that night. It was a strange night for us, but it’s long ago and I cannot get that feeling, that anger, back,” said Klopp.

“I can only try to prepare my team to show tomorrow how good we are as a football team. It’s a strange season and a difficult season for us, but we want to show how good we are, and if we are better than Real Madrid and can score more goals, then we go to the next round. And if not then Real Madrid will,” he added.

Klopp further said: “Our team is built for these kinds of games, when we face a football-playing side. That’s why we have a chance, absolutely.”

“I heard outside that everybody says Real Madrid is a favourite. Great! No problem at all with that. They are used to the role, and we have no problem with the role of challenger,” he added.

‘We will come back strong. That’s what we are known for,” MS Dhoni had said after Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) final match last season in UAE. Having failed to qualify for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League for the first time, the intent to come back strongly was clearly visible. Despite witnessing a dismal run in the last season, CSK will still enter the 2021 edition of the IPL as one of the favourites, given the franchise’s track record on Indian soil. Not to forget the experience the side has at its disposal.

The team will step into the new season with several changes as Shane Watson retired from all forms of cricket following last year’s IPL while CSK opted not to retain Harbhajan Singh. Despite the absence of these two, CSK still has surfeit experience in the squad. Also, the Dhoni-led team will see the return of Suresh Raina, who had missed the last edition of the tournament. Raina’s return will bolster the team’s batting line-up.

In the mini-auction, held in February, CSK went all out for all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. The franchise bought the player for a whopping Rs 9.25 crore, making him the most expensive uncapped Indian player at the mini-auction. Also, in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, CSK had to add an experienced spinner to the team, and the team ironed that problem out with the addition of Moeen Ali.

The team also has Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur and both of them will be brimming with confidence as they were at their best in last month’s ODI series between India and England. Hence, the duo will look to continue with their recent form, heading into the IPL.

On paper, CSK’s squad looks solid. However, while many players have been in action recently in some or the other tournaments, the stumbling block for the team will be the lack of game time for players like Dhoni, Jadeja, Raina. Dhoni and Raina retired from international cricket last year while Jadeja is returning from an injury setback. Given that these players form the core of the team, Dhoni, Raina and Jadeja finding rhythm as soon as possible will be the key or else it could scupper their plans.

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis has also been a very consistent performer for the side. The batsman was the highest run-getter for CSK last season, amassing 449 from 13 matches. Another South African, Lungi Ngidi, will also give strength to the team with his lethal bowling. The pacer’s stats in the shortest format of the game is quite impressive.

Ngidi has 28 wickets under his belt for South Africa from 16 T20I matches, with the best figures of 4/19. The same dominating performance was on display in the last edition in which he scalped nine wickets from only four matches. However, CSK will be without the service of Josh Hazlewood in the upcoming edition as the Australian pacer pulled out of the tournament earlier this month.

In the mini-auction, the franchise also picked Cheteshwar Pujara, who last played an IPL match in 2014, bringing the batsman on board for Rs 50 lakh. Moreover, Ruturaj Gaikwad earned a lot of praise after his remarkable debut in the last season of the IPL. Gaikwad fell early in the first three outings before scoring 65 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore, 72 against Kolkata Knight Riders and 62 not out against Kings XI Punjab (renamed Punjab Kings) to sign off on a high.

But most importantly, the tournament is back on Indian soil and nothing like watching Dhoni marshal his resources on low and slow turners.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday announced that Russian Open 2021 and Indonesia Masters 2021 Super 100 have been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions and complications.

“The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm two BWF Tour Super 100 tournaments — the Russian Open 2021 and Indonesia Masters 2021 Super 100 – have been cancelled,” BWF said in a statement. “The ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and complications left local organisers no choice but to cancel the tournaments. The respective decisions of the National Badminton Federation of Russia and Badminton Indonesia were made in consultation and agreement with the BWF,” it added.

BWF on Saturday informed that it will stage its 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually in May. A proposal from Badminton Indonesia and Badminton Maldives, seconded by Badminton Asia, to amend the laws of badminton relating to the scoring system will be discussed in the BWF AGM on May 22.

The proposal is to change the scoring system from best of three games of 21 points to best of five games of 11 points.

Defending his rotation policy amid the congested fixture list, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that players are human beings, not machines. The manager even went on to say that “UEFA and FIFA killed the players”.

Guardiola opted to make six changes to his starting XI as the club took one step further in their bid to claim the Premier League title by defeating Leicester City 2-0 on Saturday. Sitting at the top of the Premier League table, Manchester City currently has 74 points from 31 games. “They are human beings, they are not machines. I know the players, some of them are upset all the time because they want to play every day but this is not possible. To compete in all competitions in this year without spectators, in the shortest competition ever, (if) you don’t rotate you don’t compete in all competitions and you will not be in the position we are in now,” Goal.com quoted Guardiola as saying.

“Of course they could play, they have an incredible mentality but they need rest. UEFA and FIFA killed the players because it’s too much. We haven’t had one midweek off since we started, not even one,” he added.

Guardiola further stated that it is “impossible” for players to be ready every day to compete.

The boys from Punjab will walk into the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League with a new name. Formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, the franchise decided to rechristen themselves as Punjab Kings. But the biggest question on the mind of the fans would be whether a change in name can change the team’s fortune in the cash-rich league.

Having made it to the final only once in 2014, the team would definitely look to change the fortunes under an in-form skipper – KL Rahul. While the team looks well-balanced on paper, it is time to convert potential into performance. Led by an astute Rahul and coached by Anil Kumble, the side has a great mix of foreign and Indian talents. But the execution has been an issue and even last season, while the team put on some quality performances, consistency was an issue.

Coming to the batting firepower, international stars like Chris Gayle, Rahul, Nicholas Pooran and Dawid Malan are enough to turn the match at any given point. While Mayank Agarwal might not have set the international stage on fire as yet, he has been one of the vital cogs of the Punjab batting line-up and provides quite a solid start at the top with skipper Rahul.

The homegrown talent is no less impressive with Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda and Mandeep Singh looking to pitch-in when the big boys have an off day.

Moving on to the all-rounders, while the side released Glenn Maxwell, Fabian Allen and Moises Henriques are the foreign options available and there is enough back-up with Jalaj Saxena and Utkarsh Singh in the squad.

The pace-bowling attack has a classy look to it with Mohammad Shami leading the pack in the company of Chris Jordan, Jhye Richardson, Arshdeep Singh and Riley Meredith. The spin-attack will be headed by U19 World Cup star Ravi Bishnoi while Murugan Ashwin and Saurabh Kumar are also in the squad to extend their support.

While many lashed out at Quinton de Kock for his role in the controversial run-out of Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman in the second ODI on Sunday, South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi on Monday defended the wicket-keeper.

Zaman’s valiant 193-run knock was ended off the first ball of the final over as a direct hit from Aiden Markram from long-off caught him short of his crease. The run-out triggered a debate as wicket-keeper de Kock appeared to gesture that the throw from Markram might be going to the non-striker’s end. Looking at this gesture, Zaman slowed down as he thought the throw would not be coming at his end, but Markram’s throw took him by surprise.

Shamsi said de Kock was asking the fielder to back up at the non-striker’s end. The spinner also pointed out Zaman’s fault as the batsman had turned around to see the ball instead of completing the run.

“Just 2 clarify. QDK was NOT speaking 2 or pointing at the batsman,he was asking a fielder to back up at the non strikers end,” Shamsi tweeted.

“Not Quinnys fault the batman turned around 2 see instead of completing the run safely which he should have done. Stop the hate n Leave QDK alone,” he added.

After the incident, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) took to Twitter to explain the law, saying it is up to the umpire to decide whether the act of the fielder to distract the batter was willful or not.

“Law 41.5.1 states: “It is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball,” MCC tweeted.

In another tweet, it said: “The Law is clear, with the offence being an ATTEMPT to deceive, rather than the batsman actually being deceived. It’s up to the umpires to decide if there was such an attempt. If so, then it’s Not out, 5 Penalty runs + the 2 they ran, and batsmen choose who faces next ball.”

Zaman had also said that de Kock made no mistake and it was only his fault that he was found short of the crease. “The fault was mine as I was too busy looking out for Haris Rauf at the other end as I felt he’d started off a little late from his crease, so I thought he was in trouble. The rest is up to the match referee, but I don’t think it’s Quinton’s fault,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Zaman as saying.