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Celtic have officially confirmed that Mexico international Julian Araujo has joined the club on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

The 26-year-old full-back is their first signing of the January transfer window and could make his debut for the club against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon.

Wilfried Nancy has started Anthony Ralston in the right-sided centre-back role in recent weeks, in Alistair Johnston’s continued absence, and Araujo now looks set to compete for that position in the team.

A new centre-forward is also on the agenda for Celtic after it was recently reported that Columbus Crew attacker Diego Rossi is interested in a potential reunion with Nancy at Parkhead.

Celtic eyeing move for MLS attacker

Whilst the Uruguay international may be keen on a move to Glasgow, the Scottish Premiership champions also have their eye on another MLS star.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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According to the Daily Mail, Celtic are looking to bolster Nancy’s squad with additions in several areas of the pitch during the January transfer window.

The report claims that two centre-backs could be brought in because of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s departure, a right-winger is being explored, and they want to sign a new centre-forward.

On the latter position, the outlet reveals that Rossi is just one of two MLS attackers who are on the club’s radar, as they are also interested in Columbus Crew number nine Wessam Abou Ali.

The Daily Mail states that Nancy wants to add more firepower to his squad and has identified his former Columbus Crew marksman, who was signed from Al Ahly for around £6m last summer, as a target.

Why Celtic should sign Abou Ali over Diego Rossi

Rossi is an attractive target for the Hoops on paper because he has already worked with the French boss and scored 40 goals in the 2024 and 2025 campaigns combined, per Sofascore, for Columbus Crew in all competitions.

However, the versatile forward has predominantly played as an attacking midfielder for the MLS side, per Transfermarkt, as he was typically deployed as one of the two 10s behind the starting number nine for Nancy.

In Celtic terms, that means that he would likely be competing with the likes of Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren for a role behind the striker, rather than coming in to be the main man the Hoops currently lack up front.

Celtic’s top 25/26 Premiership scorers

Player

Goals

Benjamin Nygren

8

Daizen Maeda

6

Johnny Kenny

4

Arne Engels

3

Kieran Tierney

3

Stats via WhoScored

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish giants lack a consistent goalscorer in the number nine position who can be relied upon, which is why they should swoop for Abou Ali.

The Palestine international, who was hailed as “clinical” by Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall, is an out-and-out centre-forward who can come in to replace Johnny Kenny up front and offer a reliable goal threat.

Abou Ali scored three goals from 0.75 xG in five appearances in the MLS in the 2025 campaign after his £6m move from Al Ahly, where he really established himself as a consistent goalscorer.

The 26-year-old frontman scored a staggering 38 goals in 60 appearances for the Egyptian side, per Transfermarkt, which included a return of 18 goals in 19 league matches in the 2023/24 campaign.

Shortly before his move to the MLS, Abou Ali scored three goals from 1.17 xG at the Club World Cup in the summer of 2025, per FotMob, scoring a hat-trick against Porto.

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That means that he has scored his last six goals from just 1.92 xG, which speaks to how clinical and efficient he can be in front of goal. Celtic have lacked that this season, as Kenny has only scored four goals from 6.02 xG in the Premiership, per FotMob.

His statistics for Al Ahly and Columbus Crew suggest that he could be the perfect upgrade on Kenny, providing Celtic with a clinical striker, as a much-needed signing for the Scottish giants.

Whilst Rossi could be a good addition to the squad as an attacking midfielder who carries a goal threat, it is a natural number nine that should be their top priority, because of Kenny’s dismal form.

Related A better move than Araujo: Celtic keen on signing international forward

Celtic are reportedly interested in a deal to sign a forward who could be an even better signing than Julian Araujo.

Posts ByDan Emery

Therefore, bringing in a clinical centre-forward, in the prime years of his career, like Abou Ali could be an even better signing for Celtic than Rossi.

ScorecardWest Zone made easy work of a target of 226 against East Zone in Hyderabad, finishing the match within 40 overs to secure the bonus point. Wasim Jaffer began the chase with an aggressive knock, Ajinkya Rahane kept East at bay during the middle overs, before Abhishek Nayar sealed the deal with a 27-ball 49.East, after opting to bat, started steadily with the openers Sourav Ganguly and Arindam Das adding 63 in 14 overs. Ganguly scored five fours in his 30 before falling to a tame pull and the rest of the top order failed to carry on after making starts. At 124 for 4, East were in need of a revival and it was Saurabh Tiwary who led the way with his second consecutive half-century, adding 65 for the fifth wicket with Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Tiwary, known for his aggressive batting, showed a lot of urgency in his 65, hitting four fours and two sixes.East lost their way in the slog overs after Venugopal Rao struck twice to send back Shukla for 25 and then Wriddhiman Saha for 3 with the score reading 198 for 6. There was no late-innings surge from the lower order to boost the total as East settled for a middle-of-the-road target.Jaffer began the chase in earnest, dealing almost entirely in boundaries. His 43-ball 48 contained ten fours and looked set for more before the seamer Shib Paul knocked back his middle stump. Parthiv Patel and Rahane added 57 for the third wicket to help West coast towards the target. When Rahane fell for 60, in the 31st over, West were well ahead of the required rate and an unbeaten stand of 69 for the fifth wicket between Nayar and Venugopal Rao finished things off in a hurry. Nayar smashed seven fours and a six in his knock.East face Central Zone at the same venue on Sunday while West head to Visakhapatnam to face North Zone in three day’s time.

Graeme Smith: “We haven’t adapted as well as we should have. We need a bit of luck as well” © Getty Images

It says much about how South Africa’s World Cup campaign has unravelledthat most of the questions Graeme Smith fielded at the pre-match pressconference concerned an alleged drinking binge hours after the team hadbeen easily beaten by New Zealand. Given England’s own alcohol-relatedwoes earlier in the competition, it was no surprise that someone snidely referred to Tuesday’s encounter as the Drinking World Championship.Whatever the billing, it’s a contest that South Africa simply have to win, and Smith was certain that it would be “a very explosive game”.South Africa lost their group game to Australia, but it was subsequentreverses against Bangladesh and New Zealand that pushed them to the brink of elimination. Losing the toss against New Zealand in Grenada didn’t help but Smith accepted that the team had to shoulder much of the blame.”We haven’t adapted as well as we should have,” he said. “We need a bit of luck as well. We haven’t always got the better end of the wickets, and haven’t played to our potential. But if we win the next three games, we win the World Cup. We haven’t achieved our level in this tournament, which has been disappointing, but we know if we perform, we can turn it all around.”They’ll certainly fancy their chances against a side that they’ve beaten 21 times in 34 matches – 11 defeats – but Smith conceded that England had the advantage of being more familiar with the conditions at the Kensington Oval. “England have played here before, this is our first time here,” he said. “Adaptability will be the key tomorrow. The pace and bounce will suit us but we’ve got to find our feet early.”His assertion that South Africa were the more consistent outfit iscertainly borne out by facts, and the one-day rankings, but all that will count for little in what has effectively become a knockout game. South Africa will ring the changes after the defeat against New Zealand, with both Justin Kemp and Charl Langeveldt coming into the reckoning. Robin Peterson appears set to miss out, as could Ashwell Prince if South Africa decide to play the extra bowler.Smith will be under the spotlight in more ways than one. Back in 2003,Nasser Hussain’s reference to him as Wotzisname provided the incentive for two magnificent double-centuries, and his less-than-shy approach hasn’t always won him admirers. Under his captaincy though, South Africa have gone a long way to ridding themselves of the choker tag.

It’s a long tournament, but we do have drinking rules. If we don’t go over it and push the limits, I have no issues.

“There’ll be a lot of heat and pressure on both sides,” Smith said. “If we win tomorrow, we’ll put a lot of things behind us. But winning tomorrow isn’t winning the World Cup. It’ll be a good start, take us to semis and we’ll take it from there.”Smith identified Kevin Pietersen as the chief threat. “He is one of the best one-day players at the moment,” he said. “He’s a vital cog in their set-up and we have respect for his cricketing ability. We’ll look to knock him over early. We have plans for him as we have for everyone else. We’ve got to be well prepared and we will be well prepared.”The incident in Grenada – It’s alleged that Smith and some of histeam-mates nearly came to blows with hecklers – was brushed aside, though it’s doubtful whether it will stay under the carpet if South Africa exit the competition on Tuesday. “I have no issue with some guys going out and blowing off steam,” Smith said. “It’s a long tournament, but we do have drinking rules. If we don’t go over it and push the limits, I have no issues.”According to Smith, the rules speak of “calming down two days before the game”, and he stressed that there wasn’t a problem within the squad. “We’ve been the quietest team in the World Cup, probably due to where we’ve been based,” he said with a grin, perhaps a reference to England’s antics in St Lucia. “Attacking our guys for one night of relaxation is not the done thing.”The incident has led to some like Kepler Wessels, who led South Africa at the 1992 World Cup, asking for stern action to be taken against theoffenders, but Smith wasn’t about to lose his Monday night’s sleep overthe comments. “It’s hard to find something Kepler doesn’t have an issuewith,” he said with a laugh. “He’s always there when we lose, and he’ssomewhere else when we win.”For the moment, he has far weightier issues on his mind. A month ago,South Africa were atop the one-day rankings and all was well with theworld. But if they slip up at this historic venue tomorrow, as they did so memorably against Walsh and Ambrose in their first post-isolation Test, 18 months of hard work and excellent results will mean almost nothing.”We’ve not played the cricket we are capable of,” Smith said withcharacteristic candour. “We’ve got to look at our cricket and see whywe’ve not played well.” On Tuesday, those last chance saloon headlineswill be appropriate in more ways than one.

Division One

Matthew Walker celebrates his century at Lord’s © Getty Images

Lancashire’s depleted attack put in a determined performances to leave their team with a healthy advantage over Durham. Without the services of Dominic Cork, who injured his ankle batting late on the first day, the remaining bowlers produced a concerted effort. Tom Smith again put in a commendable show following his three wickets on Championship debut last week and three more in the C&G Trophy. Here he claimed four important strikes including Dale Benkenstein, who was looking dangerous on 37. Gordon Muchall provided the major obstacles as he also continued fine early-season form by following his 213 against Kent with 102. But he was removed by Glen Chapple, who chipped in with three wickets, leaving Durham trailing by 144 runs.The Rose Bowl continued its reputation of aiding the seamers as Hampshire and Sussex traded blows. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan paceman, claimed 5 for 63 as Sussex established a vital lead of 43. Robin Martin-Jenkins helped out with two wickets during an exceptionally tight spell as he conceded just 19 runs in 14 overs. However, the Hampshire attack struck back as James Bruce continued his encouraging start to the campaign although Chris Adams remains unbeaten and Sussex have a significant advantage of 192.Warwickshire took a firm grip on their clash against Yorkshire by claiming a 100-run lead. All the Warwickshire bowlers chipped in but Heath Streak led the way and set the ball rolling as he removed both openers. However, the key wicket of Darren Lehmann fell to the unheralded figure of Timothy Groenewald, a 22-year-old South African seamer making his Championship debut, who also removed Michael Lumb. Jason Gillespie, whose last innings was his unbeaten 201 against Bangladesh, came in at No. 10 and was left stranded on 6. With a healthy cushion behind them, Warwickshire built confidently with Neil Carter smashing 36 off 27 balls. Nick Knight and Jonathan Trott consolidated and stretched the lead towards 250.Middlesex against Kent at Lord’s. For a full bulletin by Will Luke click here.

Division Two

Essex continued to enjoy a run-fest against Glamorgan following the record-breaking efforts of Ravindar Bopara and Andy Flower on the first day. Flower fell early on, trapped lbw by Simon Jones, but the runs stilled flowed through Ronnie Irani and then Ryan ten doeschate, who brought up Essex’s third ton of the innings off 143 balls. There were some painful figures for the Glamorgan attack, although Ryan Watkins gave them something to smile about. His unbeaten 76 set up the Glamorgan reply after Darren Gough claimed an early scalp.Tim Murtagh and Nayan Doshi claimed three wickets apiece to hand Surrey a 126-run lead over Leicestershire. At 126 for 6, Leicestershire were facing the prospect of the follow-on but John Maunders averted that possibility with a fighting 87. Stuart Broad enjoyed a fine all-round day, firstly confirming the potential of his pace bowler with a maiden five-wicket haul, as Surrey lost their last six wickets for 35, before showing that some of his father’s batting skills had rubbed off with an 83-ball 24. He is certainly one to keep an eye on, but has a huge task to keep Leicestershire in this match when he takes the ball for a second time.In contrast to the run-filled opening day when Somerset racked up 406, today was dominated by the bowlers as Worcestershire slumped for 161. The clatter of wickets continued after Somerset declined to enforce the follow-on and crashed to 97 for 7, although they hold a commanding lead of 342. From 79 for 1, Worcestershire crumbled as Andrew Caddick claimed five. When Somerset batting again Marcus Trescothick suffered his fourth Championship failure in four innings, trapped lbw by Kabir Ali. Zaheer Khan, the Indian pace bowler, scythed through the order with four wickets, but it is probably too late for Worcestershire.

Alex Gidman falls as Hampshire complete victory© Getty Images

Scorecard
Newly promoted Hampshire pulled off a 48-run victory against Gloucestershire early on the fourth morning to get their first season back in the top flight since 2002 off to a flyer. It was a win that had seemed unlikely yesterday, as Gloucestershire were coasting at 129 for 0 at the Rose Bowl, chasing 252 for victory. But after five wickets fell for 26 runs in the final hour last evening, Hampshire were very much in the hunt. They seemed to let the impetus slip, though, when play resumed on Saturday, as Stephen Adshead and Alex Gidman set about taking Gloucestershire in sight of victory. But when Chris Tremlett broke their sixth-wicket stand of 33, the visitors were back in trouble (181 for 6). Shane Warne struck next, taking his innings tally to 3 for 56, before Billy Taylor extracted bounce and movement to remove the last three wickets on a bowler-firendly wicket to end with a six-wicket haul.
Scorecard
The defending champions Warwickshire sealed victory against Glamorgan by an innings and 43 runs on the final morning at Edgbaston. Ashley Giles mopped up the tail with 3 for 85, as Glamorgan lost their last six wickets for 110 runs on a decent batting track. Resuming their second innings 153 runs behind Warwickshire’s towering total of 564 was always going to be a tall order for the visitors to overhaul, and Giles and Heath Streak took early wickets to reduce them to 217 for 6. But the No. 8 Darren Thomas struck a breezy 46 from 65 balls to lift them to 295 for 7, and neither was David Harrison going down without a fight – he added 23 from 37 balls from No. 9. But Glamorgan couldn’t avoid the inevitable and eventually rolled over just before lunch.
Scorecard
Mark Ramprakash struck an impressive 151 as Surrey and Sussex played out a predictable draw at The Oval. Jeremy Batty, Graham Thorpe and Ally Brown all struck half-centuries as the rain-affected match petered out to an inevitable conclusion. Ramprakash (151) and Thorpe (59) had steered Surrey through to lunch without any more upsets after they lost Richard Clinton on the fourth morning. Brown battered his way to an unbeaten 74 from 72 balls, with three sixes, before Surrey declared on 402 for 5.

Scorecard

Simon Jones: back to form with ten wickets in the match © Getty Images

England A finally had something to cheer on their tour of India with a convincing 187-run win against Tamil Nadu at Chennai. Even better news for them, and for Duncan Fletcher, the national coach, was that Simon Jones bowled them to victory with 5 for 31, thus taking 10 wickets in the match.After England A declared at 295 for 9, having adding 44 runs to their overnight total with a lead of 330, Simon Francis set them on the way with the wickets of both openers.The Indian batsmen then stood firm to go to lunch on 90 for 3 as Jones struggled to find his range, but after the break it was a different story. Jones proved too hot to handle as he blew away the middle-lower order in his five-wicket haul, and also boosted his chances of making the full tour of West Indies next month.England A’s next game is in the Duleep Trophy, India’s domestic first-class competition, next week at Jalandhar.

It has all the makings of a classic TV courtroom drama. On one side there is an England batsman represented by the wife of the Prime Minister. On the other, a venerated county cricket club, and the hearing before a panel headed by a distinguished lawyer with his own cricketing credentials.

Crawley- Lord’s date for hearing Photo CricInfo

But it is not fiction, nor is the case being heard in the Royal Courts of Justice. The venue is Lord’s, the date Friday 15th February and the case concerns John Crawley and his claim that he has, in effect, been constructively dismissed by Lancashire. The county refutes that claim and so, for the first time, the ECB Contracts Appeal Panel has been called in to arbitrate.30-year-old Crawley made his debut for Lancashire in 1990 before going up to Cambridge University where he enjoyed an outstanding cricketing stay. Coming from the same school, county and university as Mike Atherton, he was always expected to follow his mentor into the England side, and he did so in 1994. He became Lancashire captain in 1999 but was relieved of the post after the 2001 season, when his form with the bat suffered, and the side narrowly avoided relegation.It was at this point that relations between the player and his county were seen to be more than just strained. Crawley made it plain that he wanted away and issued a statement saying: “As far as I am concerned I am no longer a Lancashire player, and in fact Mike Watkinson has told me not to attend any training sessions involving the playing staff.”Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes countered, telling CricInfo: “There is a conflict between John and the club which we are still trying to iron out. As to the reports that he has been banned from the training ground, they are simply not true.”Claim and counter-claim then followed until Crawley gave official notice to Lancashire that he was invoking the clause in his contract that states: “If the Club shall be guilty of serious or persistent breach of the terms and conditions of this Agreement [i.e. player contract with the club] the Cricketer may, on giving not less than seven days’ written notice to the Club, terminate this Agreement.”Such a procedure requires the Contract Appeals Panel to sit. It was convened by the chairman of the Registration Committee of the ECB, David Kemp, who is sitting on the panel himself along with the representative of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, former Derbyshire batsman and now lawyer Tim O’Gorman, under the chairmanship of another eminent lawyer and cricketer, Francis Neate.Neate is a former captain of Berkshire who enjoyed a career in first-class cricket at Oxford University where he averaged nearly 40 as a right-handed batsman. In 1961 he took a century off Hampshire – one of the counties considered to be a leading contender for Crawley’s signature if he is allowed to leave Lancashire – and finished as the second Englishman in the first-class averages behind Ken Barrington. He became solicitor to the old Test and County Cricket Board, where one of his duties was to produce the constitution of the England and Wales Cricket Board.Since being asked to chair this panel Neate has had to determine its procedures, as the terms only exist in skeleton form and there is no precedent from which he can work. After each side has put its case, the three members of the panel will consider the evidence and decide on the outcome. There is a right of appeal, which somehow seems appropriate in a cricketing matter.Crawley has enlisted a big name to fight his corner. Cherie Booth, QC, is a specialist in employment law and, as wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, should not be unfamiliar with causes that have a red rose as their emblem.

JackSimmons Photo John Dawson

Lancashire chairman Jack Simmons is adamant that he wants Crawley playing under the red rose of Lancashire next season, and for the duration of the four-year contract that he is not yet halfway through. Crawley, however, claims that there are “irreconcilable differences” between them and is equally adamant he will not play for Lancashire again.Now it is up to the panel to decide, but it is difficult to imagine how the player could be forced to see out the remainder of his contract against his will. Lancashire would no doubt be loath to continue paying someone who was unhappy, not performing and, potentially, having a disruptive presence in the club. And it would be tragic if a player of Crawley’s quality were lost to the game.To add an interesting twist to the tale, Francis Neate’s son, Patrick, has just won the Whitbread Novel of the Year award for his book “Twelve-Bar Blues”. Perhaps this case will ultimately provide enough material to constitute a book in its own right.

Rajasthan wrapped up a 6 wicket win over Uttar Pradesh on the fourthand final day of their encounter at the KL Saini Ground in Jaipur.Starting the day at 81/3 Uttar Pradesh collapsed spectacularly. RizwanShamshad, known for his free strokeplay, was run out after he had made31. This signaled the beginning of the end. No batsman who followedmade more than 20. The wickets were spread out for Rajasthan, withAslam returning the best figures of 4/52.Needing 136 for victory the Rajasthan team suffered a few earlysetbacks, losing openers Nikhil Doru and AS Jain with just 39 on theboard. However the experience of Gagan Khoda and RJ Kanwat was morethan sufficient to take Rajasthan almost all the way. Although leftarm spinner Gyanendra Pandey managed to dismiss Khoda after he hadmade 40, Kanwat remained unbeaten on 59 and in the company of SanjeevSharma saw Rajasthan through to their first victory of this Ranjiseason.

Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has enjoyed an impressive return to Ibrox since taking over as manager earlier this season.

The Dutchman, who represented the club during his playing career, has only lost two games in all competitions and remains in with a chance of securing a treble of trophies – the Premiership, Europa League and the Scottish Cup.

However, whilst his focus will largely be on this season, he may also have an eye on next term and his plans for the summer, including the transfer window.

He may want to add to his squad and could have players in mind about whom he has spoken to Ross Wilson already, with a few transfer links emerging of late.

Morelos 2.0

Football Insider recently reported that the Gers are among the clubs interested in signing Josh Stones from Guiseley, who play in the sixth tier of English football.

Rangers are said to be closely monitoring the forward, with Wigan and Blackburn also keen on the 18-year-old, and Wilson must strike a deal for him as he may duly find the Ibrox club’s new Alfredo Morelos.

The Colombian attacker has been a lethal scorer over the years for the Gers. He has netted 113 goals in 223 matches for the Glasgow giants to date, showing that he has been a reliable striker over a number of seasons.

Meanwhile, Stones has been prolific at youth level and shown signs that he can develop into a player who is able to make a similar impact to Morelos at the top end of the pitch.

For Guiseley’s academy side this season, Stones has found the back of the net 21 times in 13 matches – earning himself a call-up to the England schoolboys side. This suggests that he has been catching the eyes of international scouts, along with those at Rangers and other professional clubs. He has also shown enough to be selected at senior level, with 13 National League North outings at the age of 18.

His immense goalscoring record at youth level suggests that he is a natural predator like Morelos, whilst the teenage menace has also been dubbed as a “big striker”, and the current Gers forward falls into that category. Whilst the 25-year-old is not a towering 6 foot 5 target man, he is physically big and able to use his strength to hold off opponents in and around the penalty box, with Stones potentially sharing this quality.

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This is why Wilson must swoop in to secure a deal for the Guiseley teenager. Whilst it is a gamble in terms of whether or not Stones will fulfill his potential, his impressive statistics suggest that it is worth a shot, as the Gers could be about to find their new Morelos to carry the goalscoring burden in the future.

AND in other news, 80% duels lost: Rangers dud who gave the ball away every 2.8 touches flopped for Van Bronckhorst…

	Looking to the skies: India need their high-profile openers to score some runs © Getty Images

It’s a face-off that both India and Sri Lanka could have avoided, but they have only themselves to blame for turning their final encounter of the CB Series into a virtual semi-final for one and knockout for the other. Despite holding the edge on at least one occasion against Australia, both teams would envy Ricky Ponting’s men letting their hair down at tomorrow’s Allan Border medal presentation while they get into a dogfight at the Bellerive Oval.Such has been the nature of this series so far that, apart from Australia, no team has consistently capitalised on the weaknesses of the opponents. In the three previous games between the two teams, India and Sri Lanka have one victory each while their first encounter of the series, in Brisbane, was abandoned due to rain. Sri Lanka stand on the precipice and to pull themselves back they need to defeat India and then repeat that result against Australia on Friday. India, meanwhile, will seal their berth in the final if they win on Tuesday.”We wouldn’t like to wait for the result on February 29,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni said. “We would like to seal the match against Sri Lanka and not leave it to the last game between Australia and Sri Lanka. This game is very important for us.” The Indian captain has already alerted his troops about the task, terming Sri Lanka “very tricky” opponents.Sri Lanka have the advantage of having played at this venue twice this season. They lost a Test here in November and then Tasmania slapped a seven-wicket defeat on them in the practice game ahead of the tri-series. “The Test-match wicket was much harder compared to the practice match that was played on a different one, but we have a fair idea of the wicket. It depends on the conditions, which can be overcast here sometimes, so we’ll wait and see,” Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, said after a net session.The conditions played a huge role in the last one-day match at the ground, when Tasmania won a closely fought encounter on Saturday to lift the Ford Ranger Cup by one wicket after rain interruptions converted Victoria’s original target of 158 to 131 in 31 overs. The forecast for Tuesday is mostly sunny with temperatures in the range of 20°C. The wicket at the Bellerive Oval is likely to offer significant sideways movement, which could be a key factor for both captains when they sit down to choose their final XIs.Dhoni already has a couple of issues to tackle, one of which is the failure of his opening pair, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. One option could be to push Robin Uthappa, who scored a 46-ball 51 down the order on Sunday against Australia, ahead of Sehwag. Dhoni doesn’t want to disturb an in-form Gautam Gambhir’s fine run at No.3 but felt he had enough options to choose from.The other matter is that of fatigue. Players like Dhoni and Ishant Sharma have been playing non-stop from the start of the Test series and India’s inability to qualify for the finals means these two have had no time to rest. “It’s tough on guys like Ishant and Gautam, but we have some time to recover and we need them,” was Dhoni’s response to whether a 36-hour break was enough for the team to bounce back after yesterday’s game against Australia.Without any indication of the combination he will opt for, Jayawardene’s focus was on tomorrow and not too far down the road. “We have to win both the games. If we get our batting sorted out, we have a very good chance,” he said. “We need to concentrate first on getting the victory on Tuesday.”Both teams have their share of top-order batting concerns and there’s an outside chance, given the Hobart conditions, that they both go in with five bowlers. If Munaf Patel recovers from a bout of food poisoning suffered on Saturday he might just sneak into the Indian XI. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have dropped Farveez Maharoof and Chanaka Welegedara. Tillakaratne Dilashan is likely to continue in the middle order, with one out of Upul Tharanga and Dilruwan Perera opening with Sanath Jayasuriya. Depending on the conditions, they will choose from Chamara Kapugedera and Nuwan Kulasekara for the last spot in the XI.Teams
India: (likely) 1 Robin Uthappa, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Sreesanth, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Munaf Patel.Sri Lanka: (from) Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Dilruwan Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ishara Amerasinghe, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga.