Neymar not in after birthday party
Paris: Neymar has been left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s squad for their Ligue 1 game against Nantes just two days after he threw a party to celebrate his birthday.
The Brazilian star, who turns 28 on February 5, hosted an all-white themed party at a Parisian nightclub on Sunday to mark the occasion. Among the invited guests were team-mates Marco Verratti, Edinson Cavani and Leandro Paredes, while his sister Nadine and father were also spotted arriving at the Palais de Tokyo venue.
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel admitted the party was “not the best way” to prepare for their upcoming fixture against Nantes on Tuesday, but dismissed suggestions he would leave Neymar out due to the timing of the party.
The winger picked up a knock in the 5-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday, which could explain his
Auckland: Playing the Black Caps has significantly boosted the standings of India’s Twenty20 stars.
The leading runscorer in India’s
5-0 series win over New Zealand, KL Rahul, now sits second on the ICC rankings of the world’s best Twenty20 batsmen.
Rahul tallied 224 runs at an average of 56 – and with a healthy strike-rate of 145 – and now sits behind only Pakistan’s Babar Azam in the rankings after being sixth prior to the series. India have three batsmen in the top 10 – Rohit Sharma moved up three places to 10th with 140 runs at 46.66 while skipper Virat Kohli stayed at ninth despite making just 105 runs from four knocks.
Opener Colin Munro was New Zealand’s most prolific batsman with 178 runs at 35.6 and remains at fourth spot in the rankings.
Outstanding paceman Jasprit Bumrah is now on the cusp of the top 10 Twenty20 bowlers after starring in India’s clean sweep.
Bumrah took six wickets at 21.50 while conceding just 6.45 runs per over to climb 26 places to 11th spot. Yuzvendra Chahal climbed 10 places to 30th while Shardul Thakur’s eight wickets in the series - the most by any bowler – lifted him 34 places to 57th.
Black Caps left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner stays in third place in the bowling rankings. He took three wickets at 56, with an economy rate of 8.4.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the first two ODIs against India as he continues to battle an inflamed AC joint in his left shoulder.
The injury occurred while fielding in the third T20 International in Hamilton last Wednesday and prevented him playing the final two matches of the series.