‘I had only one goal that is to win trophies,’ says Abhishek on his impact-first approach

New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar will be back racing after recovering from the wrist injury that kept him out of the previous three rounds, the F1 team confirmed on Tuesday.

The Frenchman suffered the wrist injury during the summer shutdown in August and was out for the weekends in Zandvoort, Monza and the new Madring circuit. In his absence, sister team Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson replaced him in the RB22 to partner four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Lawson will now return to the Racing Bulls, where he was replaced by reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda over the past three rounds. Tsunoda will now return to reserve duties.

“Oracle Red Bull Racing is delighted to welcome Isack back this weekend,” Red Bull said in a statement.

“Having made a successful recovery from his wrist injury, Isack will return to action at the Baku City Circuit on Thursday.

“The team would like to sincerely thank Liam for his professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races. Stepping in under challenging circumstances, he delivered some impressive performances and made a valuable contribution to the team. We wish him all the best as he returns to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls,” the Milton Keynes-based team added.

Lawson impressed during his promotion at Red Bull. He finished seventh in the Dutch GP, when home favourite Verstappen crashed out in what was the final Dutch GP in the foreseeable future in the sport. Lawson, the New Zealander, was 14th at the Italian GP; however, he took sixth place at the Spanish GP the following week.

The Azerbaijan GP is scheduled for Saturday, unlike the usual Sunday races in F1. The two practice sessions will take place on Thursday, followed by the final practice on Friday and the qualifying before Saturday’s main event.

–IANS

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Magheramason, Aug 4 (IANS) Just one week into his appointment as head coach of Ireland, Gary Wilson has made it clear what his ambitions are, namely securing qualification for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The player who previously served as Ireland’s wicketkeeper-batter and took over as head coach from Heinrich Malan in June hopes that his team will earn a spot in the 14-team tournament which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Ireland have taken part in the men’s 50-over World Cup on only three occasions, Wilson being present at their two most recent appearances in 2011 and 2015.

This week Ireland’s campaign to qualify gets under way as they take on Afghanistan in a five-match ODI series which starts on Wednesday—this being their first 50-over internationals in over a year.

The series will provide important preparation for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, in which the four teams who finish at the top of the 10-team tournament will secure their places in the 2027 World Cup.

Wilson stated that the whole arrangement is designed with that objective in mind.

“We’re laser-focused on 50-over cricket right now for that reason,” Wilson told BBC Sport. “I’ve been lucky enough to be part of two and they are amazing experiences.”

The 39-year-old looked back on Ireland’s progress over the past 20 years, citing several landmark achievements, before challenging his players to write new chapters in that journey.

“Irish cricket is really in its infancy in many ways and there’s been a lot of firsts within the last 20 years,” he said. “We’ve had Ed Joyce as the first player to play for England, we’ve had the first World Cup in 2007, we’ve had the first Test win, why can’t we go on and do something huge at a World Cup? If you’d said 30 or 40 years ago where the Irish rugby team would be now, you’d have got laughed at.

“Whether it’s in our lifetime or not, one day we will do something amazing. A challenge I’ve put to this group is to create their own firsts. I think if we just stay focused, there’s something big very close.”

With a crucial ODI cycle now underway, Wilson hopes Ireland can translate that belief into results and earn another shot on cricket’s biggest stage in 2027.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Australia head coach Andrew McDonald maintained complete confidence in Usman Khawaja despite the veteran opener being axed from the playing XI for the third Ashes Test, calling him the “important part of the group.”

Khawaja, who missed the second Test victory in Brisbane due to back spasms, was unable to open in Australia’s first innings after spending a lengthy period off the field with a back injury during England’s batting in the series opener in Perth.

Although Khawaja stated he was ‘100 per cent fit’ and ready to take part in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, he expressed his desire to don the whites and compete for Australia despite his difficulties with both health and form.

But the veteran opener, who has thus far featured in just a solitary innings of the ongoing Ashes series against England due to back spasms, was axed from the Playing XI for the Adelaide Test.

“He has had one back injury in his whole career. I think it’s an overreaction to correlate that to the age of the athlete. He prepares well; his Shield numbers are incredibly good comparative to everyone else – I think he’s the leading runs average for the last three or four years,” McDonald said on SEN Mornings.

“Every time he drops back to that level, he dominates. If that’s a determinant of who is the next best, or who is next in line in Australian cricket, then he is at the top of the pecking order there.

“He’s incredibly valued within this group. We’ve got three Test matches to go in this series – if he plays this one, fantastic, he gets that opportunity. If he doesn’t, he is still a part of this group and important. We always say, we’re going to need a squad to get there. I can’t speak highly enough for what Usman has done over the last few years for us,” he added.

Khawaja turns 39 on Thursday, and his career now hangs by a thread, but McDonald remains steadfast in his belief that age is not a factor for him, the selectors, or for the opener.

“I think everyone’s getting infused around the same age and putting an end date,” he said. “It feels as though people want to hear an end date from him or from us – we are not that team. We are not going to put end dates on things.

“Everyone pushes it back into the David Warner space – Davey was clever in the fact that he was going game by game at a certain stage, and he was aware of that – he put his own end date on that, which was incredibly motivating for him.

“He put the target out there, and that was a personal decision for him. I think Uz has been on the record saying he is going Test by Test; he just loves playing Test match cricket and wants to continue to play,” he said.

–IANS

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