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Xavi should have won Ballon d’Or: Chelsea manager Mourinho
London: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reckons departing Barcelona captain and midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez deserved to have won the world football player award, the Ballon d’Or, at some point during his career.
The Spaniard, 35, will join Qatar side Al Sadd at the end of the season, bringing the curtains down on a 17-year senior career with Barcelona which has seen him lift 23 trophies, reports mirror.co.uk.
And Chelsea manager Mourinho, who worked with Xavi during his time as Barcelona assistant coach between 1996 and 2000, reserved special praise for the Blaugrana legend.
“I’m completely honest to say that Xavi is one of the world’s best players over the past decade and he deserves to win what he will never have — a Ballon d’Or success,” Mourinho said on Saturday.
Barcelona captain Xavi has the chance to end his time in Catalonia with a second treble success in six seasons.
He will lift his eighth La Liga title against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, before Luis Enrique’s side contests the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals.
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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.