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Diego Costa out, Juanmi included in Spain squad
Madrid: Spain football team coach Vicente del Bosque has called Malaga striker Juan Miguel Jimenez Lopez, better known as ‘Juanmi’, into his squad for the forthcoming matches against Ukraine and the Netherlands.
Juanmi got the call on Monday after Chelsea striker Diego Costa suffered an Achilles tendon injury during his side’s game against Hull City on Sunday afternoon, as per reports.
Following that game, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said Costa had a long standing problem with his tendon and would probably be unavailable for Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifying game in Seville and next week’s friendly against the Dutch.
The 21-year-old Juanmi has scored seven goals in 24 appearances for Malaga this season and is one of the club’s rising stars after making his first team debut aged just 16 years old.
“It’s not just for me, this call up is recognition for the excellent season my club is having,” he said in the Spanish press after being informed of Del Bosque’s decision.
Most had expected Del Bosque to call Valencia forward Paco Alcacer into his squad, especially as Alcacer has scored twice in his last two matches. He seems to have recaptured the form which earned him a call up at the start of the campaign.
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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.