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Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he once broke the club's “body fat record”, admitting he has always loved food and struggled to stay within strict limits at the elite level. The veteran says Robert Lewandowski jokingly mocked him over his physique, adding to a brutally honest reflection on his fitness, longevity and the pain he's endured throughout his career.

• Szczesny reveals he broke Barca's 'body fat record'

  Szczesny opened up about his physical condition during a wide-ranging interview, where he admitted he once registered Barcelona’s highest-ever body fat percentage. The goalkeeper explained that footballers face strict weight clauses and financial penalties, and despite staying inside the weight limit, his body fat result “broke the record.” He also revealed that Lewandowski once mocked him during a Poland camp, highlighting how teammates used humour to react to his surprising numbers.

  Szczesny further discussed how he has never been the hardest trainer, but has maintained a consistently high level across an 18-year career. His comments come after an extraordinary period that saw him retire at Juventus, then return months later to join Barcelona as an emergency signing during their goalkeeper crisis. Despite this unusual comeback, the 35-year-old remains a key figure for the Spanish champions, continuing to compete at the highest level.

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  Polish goalkeeper admits Lewandowski once mocked him

  Speaking to GQ Poland, Szczesny revealed: “Footballers aren't allowed to gain weight. Their contracts include severe financial penalties. I like to eat, and although I manage to stay within the weight limit, I broke Barcelona's body fat record. Once, ‘Robert Lewandowski,’ mocking me in the Polish national team's dressing room, said: ‘How could Szczesny have had such a career with that body?’”

  “I've never been a player who trained harder than others, but I've managed to maintain the same high level throughout my 18-year career. I may never have been in the top ten, but I've never dropped below eighth either. If I had played at my absolute best, I would have alternated between tens and sixes, but I maintained eights the whole time.”

• Unbearable pain caused his earlier retirement from football

  Szczesny also revealed how his career-long arm injury continues to cause him severe pain, even after multiple surgeries and the insertion of metal plates that were never removed. He explained that the issue sometimes becomes so intense during training that he loses feeling in his hands and cannot even hold a water bottle. The goalkeeper admitted this was one of the reasons why he originally retired, saying he had “had enough of this suffering” before being persuaded back into football by Barcelona’s crisis.

  He described the pain as unpredictable and particularly bad during demanding pre-season workloads, where the discomfort traveled from his wrist to his elbow “as if everything inside my arm is trying to get out.” Despite that, Szczesny still returned to action and played an entire season “for free”, explaining that his Barcelona salary simply covered the fee he owed Juventus for ending his contract early. The veteran ultimately helped the Catalan giants win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, cementing his extraordinary yet unexpected comeback.

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  Szczesny no longer No. 1 but future remains open

  Szczesny remains under contract with Barcelona until 2026; however, this season, he has lost his starting spot to new signing Joan Garcia, somebody he has claimed boasts an enormous talent. The Catalan goalkeeper is currently No. 1 at Barcelona with Szczesny as his backup until Marc-Andre Ter Stegen returns from his injury.

  While it is expected that this could be Szczesny's final season as a professional, the question marks surrounding Ter Stegen's future following his summer fallout with the hierarchy could open the door for the Poland legend to continue on for yet another season.

Amazon Warriors were restricted to just 130, and Tahir and Joseph fought back, but Hosein’s boundaries took TKR home

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2025

The Trinbago Knight Riders players start the celebrations•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/Getty Images

Akeal Hosein took two big wickets to help restrict Guyana Amazon Warriors to 130 and then scored a quick and unbeaten 16 off seven balls in the dying moments of a tense chase to lift Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to their fifth CPL title. Hosein went out to bat when TKR were 116 for 7, needing 15 from 22 balls, and he finished things off in dramatic fashion with a six and four in consecutive balls off Gudakesh Motie to spark off their celebrations.The home fans in Providence were left stunned after their 46-year-old captain Imran Tahir had given them hopes of lifting the trophy with his 3 for 34, which included the wickets of Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell on consecutive deliveries.That it wasn’t a great outing for the batters was evident in Alex Hales scratching his way to 26 off 34 balls in the chase, as he saw six wickets fall while dropping anchor. The highest score by any batter across both innings was Iftikhar Ahmed’s 30 for Amazon Warriors, who required contributions from their middle and lower orders after being 65 for 5 in 12 overs.Once Amazon Warriors opted to bat, Russell struck in the first over by having Quentin Sampson caught for a duck, but Ben McDermott countered soon after. He went for 4, 6, 4 off Hosein to end the fourth over even as Shai Hope took his time at the other end. Saurabh Netravalkar ended the 38-run stand in the last over of the powerplay when McDermott found the fielder at deep midwicket to depart for 28 off 17 balls, which began a collapse of 4 for 24.Hosein bowled Hope for 12 off 19, Usman Tariq cleaned Moeen Ali up for 10, and Hosein got his second by having Shimron Hetmyer find long-on for 4. But Iftikhar, Dwaine Pretorius (25 off 18) and Romario Shepherd (13 off 9) doubled Amazon Warriors’ score in the last eight overs. Netravalkar dismissed both Pretorius and Iftikhar to finish with 3 for 25.Halfway into the third over of TKR’s chase, it looked like the target was too little to challenge Colin Munro, who hammered three fours in a 22-run second over that saw five wides from Shepherd. Pretorius, however, dismissed Munro next over to check TKR’s progress.TKR captain Nicholas Pooran huffed and puffed to 1 off eight balls before finding mid-off, and TKR were 55 for 3 after eight overs, with Darren Bravo being trapped lbw by Tahir. Just 12 runs came off the next three overs without a single boundary as Moeen and Tahir didn’t allow the TKR batters to break free. But Sunil Narine brought TKR back by heaving Motie for two sixes in the 12th over to bring the equation under run a ball.The twists and turns continued when Shamar Joseph had Narine caught at mid-off for 22, and Pollard hit back by launching Tahir for three sixes in the 14th over, to make the equation a lot more comfortable at 22 required off 36.But Tahir gave TKR another scare. He bowled Pollard with a googly and had Russell caught at slip first ball. When Joseph took a return catch off Hales in the 17th over, Amazon Warriors believed a miracle was coming, but Hosein washed away all their hopes with a match-winning cameo.

The Premier League has had some of the greatest managers football has ever seen since it’s creation in 1992. From Sir Alex Ferguson to Arsene Wenger and now Pep Guardiola, the best coaches regularly end up in England’s top flight.

Nowadays, managers don’t have as much time to make an impact, making it more important than ever that they get results quickly, regardless of the style.

All 20 Premier League managers' salaries

But who is the best and worst manager in the Premier League this season? Here is a ranked list of all 20 managers in the division right now.

Premier League managers ranked

Rank

Manager

Club

1

Pep Guardiola

Man City

2

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal

3

Enzo Maresca

Chelsea

4

Unai Emery

Aston Villa

5

Oliver Glasner

Crystal Palace

6

Andoni Iraola

Bournemouth

7

Eddie Howe

Newcastle

8

Regis Le Bris

Sunderland

9

Ruben Amorim

Man United

10

Arne Slot

Liverpool

11

David Moyes

Everton

12

Fabian Hurzeler

Brighton

13

Thomas Frank

Tottenham

14

Marco Silva

Fulham

15

Sean Dyche

Nottingham Forest

16

Nuno Espirito Santo

West Ham

17

Keith Andrews

Brentford

18

Daniel Farke

Leeds

19

Scott Parker

Burnley

20

Rob Edwards

Wolves

21 Rob Edwards Wolves

New Wolves manager Rob Edwards faces a tough task to keep the Old Gold in the Premier League, and his only prior experience of managing in the top flight came with Luton Town.

Edwards failed to keep the Hatters in the division in 2024, losing 24 of his 38 games in charge that season.

20 Scott Parker Burnley

Scott Parker will be looking to buck the trend and keep his newly-promoted Burnley side in the Premier League.

The Clarets boss previously suffered two relegations when in charge of Fulham and averages less than a point per game in the top flight.

19 Daniel Farke Leeds

Another manager who has been relegated from the Premier League on two occasions is Leeds boss Daniel Farke.

He couldn’t keep Norwich City in the top flight, and like Parker, averages less than one point per game in the division.

18 Keith Andrews Brentford

Keith Andrews is in the early stages of his senior managerial career after taking over from Thomas Frank at Brentford.

The Irishman has made a relatively positive start, beating both Liverpool and Man Utd at the Gtech Community Stadium.

17 Nuno Espirito Santo West Ham

Nuno Espirito Santo has had some brilliant moments in the Premier League, taking both Wolves and Nottingham Forest into the Europa League.

However, the Portuguese boss has also had a failed stint at Tottenham and is now struggling to get the best out of his West Ham squad.

16 Sean Dyche Nottingham Forest

Back in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest, Sean Dyche has plenty of experience in the top flight following previous stints with Burnley and Everton.

He did a solid job at both, even taking the Clarets into the Europa League back in 2018. His football may not be the most attractive, but Dyche gets the job done more often than not and will be looking to do just that with Nottingham Forest.

15 Marco Silva Fulham

An experienced Premier League manager after stints with Hull City, Watford and Everton, Marco Silva has enjoyed the majority of his success in England with Fulham.

He’s managed more games at Craven Cottage than what he did with the three aforementioned clubs combined, helping make Fulham an established top flight side.

14 Thomas Frank Tottenham

After doing a brilliant job at Brentford where he took the Bees to the Premier League and comfortably kept them in the top flight, Thomas Frank took the leap to join Tottenham in 2025.

Results early on were positive for the Dane, who has continued his flexible and adaptable approach in north London, but the Lilywhites’ home form is major cause for concern.

13 Fabian Hurzeler Brighton

The youngest ever permanent manager in Premier League history, Brighton’s move for Fabian Hurzeler has paid off so far.

The German’s possession-based style and attacking philosophy has seen the Seagulls record some impressive wins at the Amex Stadium, and he could be the one to take the club back into European competition.

12

Benfica and Norway international footballer Andreas Schjelderup has admitted on social media that he expects to be convicted for sharing an illegal video involving minors, an offence that occurred two years ago. The 21-year-old Norwegian revealed in an Instagram post that he made a "stupid mistake" when he was 19.

Norway international facing prosecution

Schjelderup has explained that he forwarded the video to a friend without fully realising its contents, and deleted it immediately after being informed of its illegal nature. He has also confirmed that Danish police contacted him earlier this year regarding the incident and he has cooperated fully. Benfica president Rui Costa has expressed the club's support for Schjelderup, noting his remorse. The news broke shortly after Schjelderup was named in Norway's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

AdvertisementAFPBenfica player offers explanation

In a lengthy social media statement, Schjelderup said: "Hello, everyone. I want to be honest with you about a stupid mistake I did around two years ago. At the time, I was 19 years old, and now I have to face the consequences of this mistake. I take full responsibility for what happened and what I've done, but it is important to me that you know the context of the episode. I was living in Denmark at the time. I received a short video and forwarded it to my friend a few seconds later, without thinking clearly.

"We have always sent memes to each other, like many teenagers do. When I received this video and forwarded it, as we usually do, without thinking that this one was different. I only saw the first few seconds and not what the video developed into. My friend, after having seen it a few seconds later, reminded me directly that it was, of course, illegal to send, so I deleted it immediately. In the moment, I unfortunately didn't think about the consequences and how it could be illegal to share. I should have realised the seriousness of sending it, but I didn't at the time."

Schjelderup expecting suspended sentence

Schjelderup continued: "My only explanation is that I was really shocked over seeing, what appeared to be two young men, in an old quality video and sent it to a friend without thinking. My intention was never to spread anything or to harm those involved. It was a stupid mistake one-time mistake that I deeply regret. When the Danish police contacted me this year about what happened, I told them the truth and I have cooperated throughout the entire process. I was charged for this offence which I probably will be convicted for in the near future and most likely receive a suspended sentence.

"There are no excuses from my side. What I did in Denmark at that time was illegal and not okay. I will take full responsibility for it, and I hope my mistake can mean others don't make the same mistake after hearing or reading about my story."

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Getty ImagesApology for actions

Schjelderup added: "I would like to apologise first and foremost to those affected by the video. Then, to my friends, family, employers, country, and all the fans I have disappointed. Right now, I wish I could go back in time and change my mistake. I have never done anything illegal before, or been involved with the police, so I have been in shock for a long time while this has been going on.

"But here we are. I screwed up and I am ready to face the consequences. The offence I will be convicted for, does not reflect on who I am as a person and what I stand for. I am truly sorry for my mistake and embarrassed to be in this situation. Everyone who knows me, also knows what I stand for, so I understand this will be a shock for many people. I also know, this will be an unneeded disturbance to the national team of Norway before some of the most important games in our history. My intention was to share this after the games to avoid that, but unfortunately, that is not possible anymore.

"And to everyone: Please do not watch or spread videos with harmful or offensive content. It is illegal. I want to apologise again and hope that you will forgive me. And I will do anything in my power to make things right again."

The last year or so has been pretty depressing for West Ham United, but the squad does have some real talent in it.

Summer signings Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa could develop into regular starters; Lucas Paqueta’s quality is undeniable, and El Hadji Malick Diouf looks like one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.

However, the crown jewel in Nuno Espírito Santo’s current side is undoubtedly Jarrod Bowen, who continues to be a difference-maker for the Hammers.

Yet, there is another player in the squad who could, under the new management, develop into a Bowen-style star for West Ham.

Bowen's West Ham rise

When West Ham signed Bowen from Hull City in January 2020, there was some excitement over the move, as there is for most attacking additions, but it didn’t feel like it was going to be a particularly important signing at the time.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

That opinion wasn’t really changed by the end of that season either, as while he didn’t do poorly, a return of one goal and four assists in 13 games wasn’t much to write home about.

Things started to pick up slightly the following season, as the promising winger produced 14 goal involvements in 40 games, but it was over the next two years that he began to establish himself as one of the best in the league.

For example, the 28-year-old ended the 21/22 season with a tally of 31 goal involvements and his first England cap, and then 22/23 delivered his defining moment as a Hammer.

That moment, of course, was the Conference League winning goal against Fiorentina, which not only brought the club their first European trophy but also cemented his legacy as a legend.

Since then, the former Hull gem has continued to perform and, as things stand, has made 246 appearances for the club, totalling 19611 minutes, in which he’s scored 77 goals and provided 52 assists.

That works out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.90 games, or every 152.02 minutes.

Appearances

246

Starts

221

Minutes

19611′

Goals

77

Assists

52

Goal Involvements per Match

0.52

Minutes per Goal Involvement

152.02′

Points per Game

1.45

So, if Nuno can help develop another of West Ham’s attackers into a Bowen-type player this season, the club could end up having a memorable campaign.

The West Ham star who could become a Bowen-type player

Unfortunately, with West Ham’s attack not being particularly threatening at the moment, there is only really one player who could be developed into a Bowen-type star: Crysencio Summerville.

Now, the first thing to say is that no, the former Leeds United star is not as good a player as the Englishman, and is unlikely to become so in the next couple of seasons.

However, that does not mean he cannot become a player in his mould, or in other words, a winger who can provide a genuine threat from out wide, be that through goals, assists or their overall play.

Fortunately, the Dutchman is already starting to show positive signs this season, so getting that bit more out of him, like he did with his wingers at Nottingham Forest, shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Nuno.

For example, while the 23-year-old was fairly anonymous away to Arsenal last weekend, he was brilliant away to Everton the week before.

In fact, the “unstoppable” Rotterdam-born dynamo, as dubbed by Statman Dave, was so good that he was named the Man of the Match, despite not scoring the equalising goal.

In his 77 minutes of action, he completed three of his five dribbles, more than anyone else on the night, won five of eight ground duels, amassed a combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.67, took 55 touches, played one key pass and won two fouls.

Finally, while the right-footed game-changer hasn’t been much of a goal threat in East London, he has it in his locker, as in his final campaign with Leeds, he racked up a tally of 21 goals and ten assists in 41 games.

Ultimately, Summerville is obviously not as good a player as Bowen and likely won’t be, but with more coaching, he could easily become someone West Ham can rely on in a similar way.

West Ham ace who's "pure joy to watch" could become Nuno's new Gibbs-White

The international star could be the secret to helping Nuno get more out of West Ham this season.

2 ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 10, 2025

India’s captain and coach confident that squad has enough fast-bowling depth to compensate for Bumrah missing some games

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-20252:30

Gambhir: ‘Enough quality in squad to replace Bumrah’

India have not yet decided which Tests in the upcoming five-match series in England Jasprit Bumrah will play, but captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir were confident the depth of their pace attack would make up for his likely absence.”We haven’t taken that call, which three games is he going to play,” Gambhir said during India’s pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. “We are going to have a discussion with him and depending on the series as well. A lot will depend on the results of the series, where the series is heading. That is something which I am sure he is very well aware of as well and that is important.”When announcing India’s Test squad last month, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Bumrah had been advised by medical staff not to risk playing several consecutive Tests as part of his workload management. The precautionary measure came after Bumrah suffered a stress reaction in the back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January and only returned to action after Mumbai Indians’ first four games in IPL 2025.India’s 18-man Test squad includes Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh as the other specialist fast bowlers, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur the seam-bowling allrounders.Related

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“I think we have picked enough bowlers and we have enough pace battery and a lot of fast bowlers are in a great space to be able to win us Test matches from any situation or any position,” Gill said. “Obviously when you have someone like Jasprit Bumrah, depending on how many matches he would play, whenever he would come back and play the match for us, it would be a great sight for us. But I think we have a great mix of bowlers and a great set of bowlers who can get the job for the team done.Gambhir said: “I have said it before during the Champions Trophy [which Bumrah missed and India won] as well, it will give someone the opportunity to put his hand up and we have got enough talent there. I know that he is quality but we have got enough quality apart from him as well in the squad.”The series is India’s first since the retirements of Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Virat Kohli from Test cricket, and Mohammed Shami is also missing from the squad.The five Tests against England will be India’s first in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. They play the first Test at Headingley (from June 20), the second at Edgbaston (from July 2), the third at Lord’s (from July 10), the fourth at Old Trafford (from July 23), and the final at The Oval (from July 31).They begin the tour with a four-day match against India A at Beckenham on the outskirts of London between June 13 and 16.

For a free-flowing team that confidently strolled to the Championship title last season, Daniel Farke’s Leeds United have unfortunately misplaced their shooting boots in the Premier League so far.

Indeed, the entertaining Whites fired home a devastating 95 strikes in total last campaign, as 100 points were also tallied up.

Now, from their opening three games up a division, they have just a paltry single goal to shout about, with a mixed bag of four points next to their name.

Farke will just be praying it’s early-season nerves holding his wasteful team back, with lots more expected of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as he acclimatises to his new environment at Elland Road, after becoming synonymous with ex-employers Everton.

Calvert-Lewin's early Leeds struggles

After lining up for the Toffees 273 times across nine seasons, Calvert-Lewin walked away from Merseyside this summer for a fresh opportunity in West Yorkshire.

Everton did try to tempt the ex-Sheffield United striker to stay with a new, extended deal, but Farke and Co proved to be a more enticing next step, as the 11-time England international now attempts to recapture his best form in front of goal after an injury-ravaged few campaigns at Goodison Park.

Leeds will hope they can move past these recurring niggles and reawaken a clinical monster, with journalist Patrick Boyland once labelling the attacker as “outstanding” when he was scoring goals for fun at the Toffees.

In total, an impressive 71 goals would come Calvert-Lewin’s way at Everton, with 16 of those coming during just one Premier League season.

Yet, the early signs at the moment suggest that the Sheffield-born forward is bereft of confidence in front of goal, having endured a nightmare day at the office against Sheffield Wednesday recently.

Staring down the barrel of an embarrassing exit in the EFL Cup to Sheffield Wednesday, Farke would throw on Calvert-Lewin for the final 30 minutes of action, hopeful that he could be the difference-maker on his debut run-out.

Instead, he depressingly fluffed his lines whenever the pressure was ramped up, with four big chances spurned, before he also missed a penalty kick to hand the Owls a shock Cup win.

Farke could well feel it’s necessary to keep Calvert-Lewin on his toes now, knowing he’s still a little rusty, with a rising starlet perhaps pushed up for more first-team chances.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

The Leeds prospect who could compete with Calvert-Lewin

Farke was the manager at the Elland Road helm who brought Archie Gray into the senior spotlight.

Gray would then go on to be a £40m sale to Tottenham Hotspur after seriously impressing throughout Leeds’ promotion-near miss.

Amazingly, the majority of his family members will be hoping for a similar rise for brother Harry Gray, who has already made waves in the first team picture.

With promotion all but wrapped up last season, the former Norwich City boss threw the 16-year-old sensation into the first-team mix, with a memorable eight-minute cameo handed to him against Stoke City in April.

It wasn’t just purely sentiment that gifted Gray a chance to strut his stuff with the likes of Manor Solomon and the other promotion heroes, however, with the teenager already tipped to have an immensely bright future in the game by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Indeed, he boldly stated that he is “one of England’s best prospects in his generation” after briefly lining up against the Potters.

Gray’s numbers at Leeds
Season	Games	Goals
25/26	3	4
24/25	8	3
23/24	11	8
Sourced by Transfermarkt

The table above proves that Mattinson’s words aren’t just hyperbole either, with the 16-year-old already up to seven goals from ten games for the U21s at Premier League 2 level, away from collecting a lethal 15 strikes overall at youth level.

Calvert-Lewin could only dream of being in such a rich vein of goalscoring form himself, with a weak three strikes next to his name in the main Premier League last season.

Of course, just for his experience alone, Leeds will continue to try and get a tune out of their new marksman.

But, in the long run, do not rule out Gray making strides in the senior picture, having also been previously branded an “unbelievable” talent by former Leeds favourite Dominic Matteo.

Leeds now want international star who ripped Real Madrid defender to shreds

The Whites have sat up and taken notice of his performance.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Sep 8, 2025

Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain, suffered a heart attack during a Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match in Savar, following which he underwent emergency angioplasty.Doctors said that Tamim Iqbal had regained consciousness and spoken to a family member following the emergency surgery on Monday. Tamim will remain in the coronary care unit (CCU) for the next 48 hours as doctors will monitor his recovery from the heart surgery.Tamim was leading Mohammedan Sporting Club against Shinepukur Cricket Club but fielded for just one over of the game’s first innings. After feeling discomfort in his chest, Tamim left the field and went to the KPJ Specialised Hospital and Nursing Home (formerly Fazilatunnesa Hospital) nearby to see doctors.”He was in good spirits during the toss,” Montu Dutta, the BKSP chief cricket coach, told reporters in the afternoon. “When he felt sick, he left the field and went to the hospital. The doctors there did not want to let him leave at the time, but Tamim left anyway.”As he returned to the ground a family member had made arrangements for an air ambulance to take Tamim to Dhaka. But Tamim was unable to do so as his condition worsened, to the extent that the Mohammedan team physio had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him. He was then rushed back to the KPJ hospital as doctors at the ground felt lifting him on the air ambulance was out of the question.He arrived at the hospital in critical condition, according to doctors, and tests revealed a blockage in his arteries. An hour after the surgery was completed, the hospital held a short press briefing where it confirmed that Tamim had come to the hospital twice on Monday, the second time having suffered a heart attack. Cardiologist Dr. Moniruzzaman Maruf performed Tamim’s surgery, the hospital said.”He returned to us in a critical condition,” said Dr Rajib Hasan, of the KPJ Hospital. “We can call it a heart attack, and we subsequently did an angiogram and angioplasty to remove the blockage. The medical procedure has gone smoothly. He is currently under observation. The swift coordination between the medical staff at BKSP and the hospital ensured Tamim was treated quickly.”BCB’s chief physician Dr Debashis Chowdhury confirmed later that Tamim had regained consciousness. “Tamim Iqbal has regained consciousness. His vital signs are improving so we also hope that his overall health will also get better in the next 24 hours. The hospital has briefed you that they have put a ring in one of his arteries. The other arteries are healthy.”BCB cancelled their scheduled directors’ meeting soon after they heard of Tamim’s situation. President Faruque Ahmed rushed to the hospital alongside chief executive Nizamuddin Ahmed and director Akram Khan, Tamim’s uncle.”We are very thankful to all the medics and specialists for their swift actions in this critical situation,” BCB president Faruque Ahmed said in a statement*. “The outpouring of concern for Tamim reflects how much he is loved and appreciated by the nation.”The Chief Advisor’s Office, The Ministry of Youth & Sports, and the National Sports Council have been in constant touch with us and are receiving regular updates on Tamim’s condition.”The BCB is closely monitoring his health and continues to remain in contact with the hospital’s medical team. The board is committed to providing every support and assistance to ensure Tamim’s swift recovery.”Later in the afternoon, Tamim’s Mohammedan team-mates Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam visited him. A large number of reporters, camerapersons were at the hospital reception, apart from many fans and on-lookers.Having confirmed his international retirement in January this year, Tamim has continued to play domestic cricket. He led the Fortune Barishal franchise to a second successive BPL title last month. He had already struck two centuries in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, having now led Mohammedan to six wins in eight outings.GMT 1314 The report was updated with BCB president Faruque Ahmed’s statement.