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Brazil coach Tite tight-lipped on Coutinho selection
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 28 (IANS) Brazil football team coach Tite has not ruled out handing Philippe Coutinho a starting berth in Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Ecuador despite the midfielder’s lack of recent playing time.
The 25-year-old has missed Liverpool’s first three English Premier League (EPL) matches of the season after he submitted a transfer request amid interest from Barcelona, reports Xinhua news agency.
“We are going to choose the best team we have at our disposal,” Tite told reporters on Sunday when asked whether Coutinho would play against Ecuador.
Brazil, who have already qualified for next year’s World Cup in Russia, lead the South American zone qualifying standings with 33 points from 14 matches.
Thursday’s match in Porto Alegre will be followed by another qualifier against Colombia in Barranquilla five days later.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.