Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has drawn a striking parallel between India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, emphasising the irreplaceable nature of the fast bowler. Harmison believes that if Bumrah is forced to miss the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy due to injury, it would be akin to a FIFA World Cup without Ronaldo at his peak. Bumrah, who played a pivotal role in India’s Test series against Australia, is struggling with a swelling on his back and is likely to miss the group stage of the Champions Trophy.

However, Harmison insists that India should keep him in the squad until the last possible moment in hopes of his return for the knockout rounds.

Speaking on TalkSport Cricket, Harmison made a compelling case for India’s patience with their premier fast bowler.

“He’s Jasprit Bumrah. For me, you can’t replace Jasprit Bumrah anytime,” Harmison said. “And I mean, I would even go up to the morning of the final to take him that far because he’s Jasprit Bumrah. He’s the best in the world. That would be my take from an Indian point of view.”

The former England pacer likened Bumrah’s potential absence to a football World Cup without one of the greatest forwards of all time.

“It’s like going to a football World Cup without your best striker, Cristiano Ronaldo. Fifteen years ago, you don’t replace Ronaldo until you have to. That’s what I imagine India will do with Bumrah.”

Harmison even joked that India could “carry him around in a sedan chair” throughout the tournament and hope that he is available by the semi-finals or the final.

“It’s a 14-man squad. That’s good enough to get me through the group games. We might get him by the semifinal, more than the semifinal. If he’s not fit, we’ll replace him just in case we have another injury. But he’s Jasprit Bumrah.”

The Champions Trophy is set to begin on February 19, featuring the world’s top eight ODI teams. India will play all their matches in Dubai due to their refusal to travel to Pakistan, which prompted the ICC to approve a hybrid model.

India’s group-stage campaign includes matches against Bangladesh (February 20), Pakistan (February 23), and New Zealand (March 2). If India progresses, the semi-finals will take place on March 4 and 5, with the final set for March 9. Whether Bumrah will be ready by then remains uncertain.

Bumrah was in sensational form during India’s recent five-match Test series in Australia, where he bagged 32 wickets and was named Player of the Series. However, he sat out the final day of the series in Sydney due to his back injury, as Australia claimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Injury woes have plagued the Indian speedster before. Bumrah previously missed almost a year of international cricket, from September 2022 to August 2023, due to a back surgery. Given his recurring fitness concerns, India will be cautious in rushing him back.

Vinicius Junior in action© AFP

2024 is perhaps the first year of football in a long time where it’s hard to pick out one singular standout moment of the year. 2023 saw Manchester City lift the treble, 2022 was Lionel Messi‘s ascent to immortality, 2021 was Italy’s Euro triumph, and before that, we did not have to look past Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to find a standout. But in 2024 – for the first time in years – the standout thing was that there wasn’t a standout moment.

And perhaps the best way to signal the fact that there wasn’t a standout was the fact that neither Messi nor Ronaldo made it into the Top 30 of the Ballon d’Or nominees. The award they couldn’t stop winning at one point had finally moved on for good.

Football in 2024 saw surprises. Perhaps more than we’re used to. Bayern Munich no longer won the Bundesliga, dark horses Spain won the Euros, and a defensive midfielder won the Ballon d’Or. For good heavens, Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup of Nations after sacking their manager mid-tournament!

And what a ride that was. Ivory Coast barely scraped through to the knockouts in an AFCON on home soil. Their manager was sacked midway and the collapse couldn’t look more calamitous. Neither could the comeback look more glorious than it ended up being. ‘The Elephants’ beat everyone in the knockouts, including then-defending champions Senegal, to claim a historic AFCON in their own territory.

What about Bayer Leverkusen? Not only did they dethrone the seemingly undethronable, they went invincible. Zero losses in 34 Bundesliga games. Zero losses in the German Cup. And were it not for a freak Europa League final defeat, it’d be zero losses all season. Xabi Alonso at the wheel, Florian Wirtz in the hole, Leverkusen were the team of the year.

Let’s come to Spain. Before Euro 2024, England were heavyweights. People fancied Germany on home soil. France are always favourites. But one team beat them all. Spain. They didn’t boast the best team, but undeniably played the best football.

Rodri was a metronome. His hype took away the shine from midfield partner Fabian Ruiz who was arguably better. Nico Williams was a tear on the flanks, and his wing partner? Phew. Superlatives fall short when one tries to describe what Lamine Yamal is doing at 17.

It’s hard to live up to the words ‘The Next Messi’. But Lamine Yamal may very well just do it.

He finished 8th in the Ballon d’Or. At 17!

Perhaps the Ballon d’Or, and the fickle nature of individual awards, does not deserve the debate it gets. But it must certainly be discussed to celebrate the best individual players. The sweetest cream of the crop. And in 2024, there were three. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Rodri.

Bellingham flew at Real Madrid, and was decisive whenever the occasion demanded it. El Clasico winner? Check. Champions League in your first season at Real Madrid? Check. Bicycle-kick 95th minute equaliser at the Euros? Check.

His teammate Vinicius was stratospheric. If footballers were superheroes, no one would be feared more than Vinicius in the current scenario. Without a shadow of doubt, the player in world football most capable of turning a game on its head with the click of a finger.

But the golden ball went to Rodri. In a game that typically needs you to have a goal tally to challenge for the big honours, Rodri was crowned for being the ticking heartbeat of Manchester City and Spain. Just look at how worse off his club is, now that he’s injured. Rodri was so good that a people needed to sit up and realize that a defensive midfielder may just be the most important player in the world.

Football in 2024 was uncertain. It was diverse. It had no singular standout. It saw Pep Guardiola lose eight out of 11 games. It saw Kylian Mbappe finally join Real Madrid. It was a call back to the pre-Messi and Ronaldo era. And it’s time we embrace it.

Cristiano Ronaldo watched on from the stands as already-qualified Al Nassr lost for the first time in this year’s Asian Champions League Elite as they were beaten 2-1 in injury time by Qatar’s Al Sadd on Monday. The Portuguese star, 39, was reportedly rested for the fixture in Riyadh given the Saudi club had secured their place in the knockout stages last week, with three rounds of the group phase remaining. Ronaldo scored twice against Al Gharafa, another Qatari side, last time out, and then netted a double again in the Saudi Pro League on Friday. 

However, the Al Nassr captain was omitted from Stefano Pioli’s matchday squad for the visit of Al Sadd.

Ronaldo, who has 15 goals in 18 appearances for his club this season, was spotted at Al Awwal Park sitting alongside his mother Dolores Aveiro and his partner Georgina Rodriguez.

Al Sadd took the lead eight minutes into the second half through Akram Afif, when the reigning AFC Player of the Year raced from the halfway line onto a long ball. 

Afif outpaced defender Mohammed Al Fatil and finishing low past Brazil goalkeeper Bento.

Al Nassr drew level on 80 minutes, once Brazilian youngster Wesley’s low cross was turned into his own goal by Al Sadd defender Romain Saiss. 

However, there would be a huge sting in the tail for Al Nassr, when Afif was tripped inside the hosts’ penalty area and substitute Adam Ounas converted from the spot in the 99th minute.

With the defeat, Al Nassr stay third in the Western Region group stage, while Al Sadd move fourth to also claim a spot in the last 16.

The top eight teams qualify for the knockout stages.

Fellow Saudi side Al Ahli remain top – even if they surrendered their 100 percent record in this year’s tournament – thanks to an Ivan Toney double that secured a 2-2 draw with Iran’s Esteghlal in Jeddah.

The England striker twice equalised for the hosts from the penalty spot, with the first coming deep into first-half injury time and the second converted in the 86th minute. Esteghlal had Mohammed Hossein Eslami sent off five minutes before.

It represented a second successive Champions League Elite match in which Toney has scored twice following his double last week against Asian champions Al Ain.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal thrashed Poland 5-1 thanks to a rampant second-half display on Friday to reach the Nations League quarter-finals, while already-qualified Spain beat Denmark. Roberto Martinez’s Portugal wrapped up top spot in Group A1 with a game to spare, securing their place in the next round in March. France, Germany and Italy are also already through to the last eight. Poland were the better side early on but failed to take their chances in Porto and the home side made them pay, netting four times in the last 20 minutes.

“We couldn’t impose ourselves on the game in the first half,” said Portugal goalscorer Rafael Leao.

“(Coach) Roberto Martinez’s approach in the locker room was important; it was the key to changing the pressure at half-time.” 

Ronaldo volleyed over from close range shortly before the interval, as Portugal failed to register a shot on target in the first half.

Dominik Marczuk almost broke the deadlock in the 58th minute, but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa produced a brilliant fingertip save to deny him.

The hosts broke from the resulting corner to score less than 60 seconds later, as Leao powered forward before finding Nuno Mendes, then continuing his run to meet the Paris Saint-Germain full-back’s cross with a powerful header.

Portugal were awarded a penalty when Diogo Dalot’s strike flicked off Jakub Kiwior’s hand at point-blank range and was saved by Marcin Bulka.

Ronaldo stepped up to dink home a ‘Panenka’ spot-kick.

That goal ended any hopes Poland had of staging a comeback and Fernandes added a third for Portugal with 10 minutes left, crashing the ball in off the crossbar from just outside the box.

Pedro Neto also got on the scoresheet, collecting Ronaldo’s pass and rifling past Bulka at his near post.

There was still time for Ronaldo to double his tally and move onto 135 international goals, acrobatically volleying home Vitinha‘s cross from close range in the 87th minute.

Marczuk drilled in a consolation for Poland, but they can no longer qualify for the knock-out stages and will be relegated if they lose to Scotland next week.

In the other match in the group, Scotland gave their hopes of avoiding the drop a massive boost as John McGinn scored a late winner in a 1-0 victory over 10-man Croatia.

Petar Sucic was sent off in the first half, but Croatia almost hung on for the point they needed to qualify with Portugal, only for McGinn to strike in the 86th minute.

Spain roll on

European champions Spain stayed unbeaten in Group A4 with a 2-1 win over Denmark in Copenhagen.  

Luis de la Fuente’s visitors started strongly and went close to a 13th-minute opener when the in-form Ayoze Perez rattled the crossbar.

Spain took an early lead after Denmark carelessly gave the ball away on the edge of their own box.

Perez played in Mikel Oyarzabal who took an excellent first touch and slipped the ball past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and in at the near post.

Villarreal forward Perez, who only made his international debut in June, doubled Spain’s advantage with a low, left-footed finish into the bottom corner after being picked out by Dani Olmo.

Gustav Isaksen pulled one back for Denmark late on, pouncing on a terrible mix-up between Fabian Ruiz and ‘keeper David Raya.

“A very, very happy night for me (with a goal and an assist), but the most important thing is going through top of the group,” Perez told uefa.com.

The other game in Group A4 saw Switzerland relegated by Aleksa Terzic’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Serbia.

Romania’s Group C2 game against Kosovo in Bucharest was suspended in injury time and then abandoned with the game goalless after the visiting players walked off the pitch following chants of “Serbia” from the home fans.

“The UEFA Nations League match between Romania and Kosovo has been abandoned. UEFA will communicate further information in due course,” said governing body UEFA on its website.

In League D, San Marino kept their hopes of an unlikely promotion alive as Nicola Nanni scored an injury-time penalty to grab a 1-1 draw with Gibraltar.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty miss cost Al-Nassr King’s Cup progression© X (Twitter)

Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Portugal beat Poland 3-1 for their third straight Nations League win on Saturday, while European champions Spain put an end to Denmark’s perfect start in the competition. Bernardo Silva volleyed Portugal ahead in the 26th minute in Warsaw as Bruno Fernandes cleverly nodded a cross from Ruben Neves back towards the Manchester City midfielder. Ronaldo then found himself in the right place at the right time to turn in the rebound for Portugal’s second after Rafael Leao’s shot came back off the post following a brilliant surging run by the AC Milan winger.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo has now struck in all three games of this Nations League campaign for Portugal, taking his record men’s international goals tally to 133.

Piotr Zielinski cut the deficit for Poland but Jan Bednarek‘s own goal sealed victory for Portugal, the lone remaining team in League A with a 100 percent record, and they could secure a place in the quarter-finals next week.

“We worked very hard the last few days, preparing various solutions for this game, and we were able to show it on the pitch. I am really satisfied because we controlled this game,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez. 

“We played great as a team.”

Portugal have a maximum nine points in Group A1, three ahead of Croatia who beat Scotland 2-1 to condemn their opponents to a third successive defeat in the section.

Ryan Christie’s first half-goal gave Scotland a shock lead in Zagreb, but Igor Matanovic equalised before the interval and Andrej Kramaric bagged the winner midway through the second half.

Che Adams thought he had salvaged a stoppage-time equaliser but VAR disallowed his effort for offside, with Scotland winless in nine competitive outings — the longest run in their history.

Zubimendi wins it for Spain

Spain needed a 79th-minute effort from Martin Zubimendi to shrug off Denmark 1-0 in Murcia as captain Alvaro Morata showed off the European Championship trophy to fans before kick-off.

The hosts were without Rodri and Dani Carvajal, both sidelined by long-term injuries, with first-choice goalkeeper Unai Simon still recovering from wrist surgery. Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and Robin Le Normand had also been ruled out.

But Luis de la Fuente’s team grabbed the only goal when Zubimendi’s low drive from just outside the area squirmed past Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who had earlier denied Lamine Yamal and Alvaro Morata.

“I’m very happy with the goal, but above all in such a close game in which we had to open the scoring,” said Real Sociedad midfielder Zubimendi.

“He doesn’t score many but he’s starting to so I hope he continues like this,” said De la Fuente. “He’s one of the best players in the world in his position.”

Spain moved up to seven points, one above Denmark, with Serbia picking up their first win after beating Switzerland 2-0 in Leskovac.

Serbia led through Nico Elvedi‘s own goal in first-half stoppage time and Aleksandar Mitrovic doubled the advantage before Predrag Rajkovic saved a penalty from Swiss striker Breel Embolo.

Both games in Group C3 finished goalless as Bulgaria were held at home by Luxembourg and Northern Ireland drew against Belarus on neutral ground in Hungary.

Romania eased to a 3-0 win away to Cyprus in Group C2, while Kosovo beat Lithuania 2-1.

Rafael Nadal, who announced his retirement at the age of 38 on Thursday, was not only the “king of clay” but also reigned on every other tennis surface as he accumulated 22 Grand Slam titles. Nadal’s even-keeled and humble demeanour, on and off the court, endeared him to fans. While his defining quality was a grim ability to tough out marathon wins, he clearly enjoyed playing and competing and showed humility in victory and poise in defeat. As the tennis great prepares to draw curtains to his illustrious career, one of the greatest footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo also wrote a heartwarming post on Nadal’s retirement.

“Rafa, what an incredible career you have had! Your dedication, passion, and incredible talent have inspired millions around the world. It has been an honour to witness your journey and be able to call you a friend. Congratulations on an amazing career! Enjoy your retirement!,” Ronaldo wrote.

In an emotional post announcing his retirement, Ronaldo said: “The important legacy is that all the people I have met during these 20 years have a good human memory of me. At the end of the day, the personal issue, education, respect and the affection you can treat people with comes before the professional issue, because that is what remains.”

Nadal was born on the island of Mallorca in June 1986. His father Sebastian was a businessman, his mother Ana gave up working to raise her children.

Nadal turned professional at 14 and made his Wimbledon debut in 2003 at 17. At 18, Nadal was part of the Spanish team that won the Davis Cup, playing, and winning, one singles match in the final.

Nadal won his first major title at his first French Open, two days after turning 19. He won his last, a 14th Roland Garros title, 17 years later.

As a youngster, he played in tank tops that showed off his bulging arms and kept his hair in place with bandanas.

Nadal amassed titles despite playing in an era which also boasted Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, tennis’s dominant “big three” for more a decade.

His scrappy baseline style contrasted with the elegance of Federer and the all-round game of Djokovic.

Federer faced Nadal in 14 Grand Slam finals winning only four, the Swiss player ending his career with 20 majors, two less than the Spaniard.

Al Nassr struggled in Cristiano Ronaldo‘s absence on Monday, when the Saudi club kicked off the revamped Asian Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Al Shorta in Iraq. Al Nassr captain Ronaldo did not travel with the squad for the match in Baghdad, with the club issuing a statement a day before stating that the Portuguese superstar had been diagnosed with a viral infection. Al Nassr, who were knocked out of last season’s Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Al Ain, were given a dream start in the Iraqi capital, when full-back Sultan Al Ghannam met Otavio’s astute, first-time pass on 14 minutes to finish low past Al Shorta goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.

However, the hosts drew level 10 minutes later.

A mix-up at the back between new signings Salem Al Najdi and former RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan allowed Al Shorta forward Mohammed Dawood to steal in and send a superb effort high past Bento in the Al Nassr goal.

Meanwhile, fellow Saudi side Al Ahli eked to a 1-0 victory at home to Iran’s Persepolis in Jeddah, with new recruit Ivan Toney making his Asian football debut.

Ivory Coast international Franck Kessie set the home side on their way in the second minute, rifling home from Riyad Mahrez‘s assist.

Persepolis were awarded a penalty four minutes before half-time, when Merih Demiral was deemed to have committed a foul inside the area, however the decision was overturned following a VAR review.

In the second half, Toney won Al Ahli a spot-kick of their own — he was felled by rival defender Hossein Kanani — only for Mahrez’s penalty to be saved well by Persepolis goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz.

England international Toney, a high-profile signing late last month from Premier League club Brentford, missed a golden opportunity to open his account five minutes from time, but dragged his shot wide.

He had made his debut for Al Ahli last Friday.

Elsewhere, Al Ain began their title defence with a 1-1 draw at home to Qatar’s Al Sadd.

Akram Afif, 2019 Asian Football of the Year and player of the tournament at the Asian Cup earlier this year, opened the scoring at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on the hour.

But Al Ain earned a point 10 minutes from time, through Argentine Matias Palacios.

In Monday’s other match, Iran’s Esteghlal saw off Qatari side Al Gharafa 3-0.

The new format features 24 teams — 12 from West Asia and 12 from East Asia.

With each club playing four matches at home and four away, the top eight in each side of the draw progress to the knockout stages early next year.

One of the greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, hit a historic milestone on social media, becoming the first individual ever to hit a cumulative figure of 1 billion followers. Ronaldo‘s popularity across social media platforms has grown further thanks to his newly launched Instagram channel. On Thursday, the 39-year-old, who plays club football in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, announced that he has reached 1 billion followers across his social media accounts, a number not matched by any individual in history. Ronaldo’s YouTube account, the latest addition to his social media presence, breached the 50 million mark inside one week, shattering multiple records en route.

On Instagram, Ronaldo has more than 639 million followers, which holds the biggest chunk of his 1 billion followers on social media platforms. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man also has 170.5 million followers on Facebook and 113 million on X.

The Portuguese football icon shared an emotional note on social media as he breached the 1 billion mark on the internet.

“We’ve made history – 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond.

From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together. You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve.

Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life. The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together,” Ronaldo wrote on social media.

We’ve made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond.

From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1… pic.twitter.com/kZKo803rJo

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 12, 2024

A handful of followers also exist on smaller followings on Chinese platforms Weibo and Kuaishou.