NEW DELHI: Shakib Al Hasan has once again expressed his desire to return to Bangladesh, but insisted that he needs assurance of “normal security” before doing so.

The former Bangladesh captain, who has not returned home since May 2024, opened up about the legal and political issues surrounding him in a detailed interview.

Shakib’s situation changed dramatically after the Awami League government was dethroned on August 5 last year. The veteran all-rounder, who served as a Member of Parliament for the party, was later named in an FIR linked to an alleged murder case despite not being in the country at the time.

He subsequently continued playing international cricket, featuring in Test matches against Pakistan and India, with the Kanpur Test against India becoming his last international appearance.

Speaking about his return in an interview with Bangladeshi media outlet bdnews24.com, Shakib said, “I have complete hope. I will return. I hope I can return soon. I will return, go to court, fight the cases. There is no problem. But they have to ensure my security.”

Clarifying what he meant by security, he added, “I am not saying security means roads have to be closed for me or four police cars have to be in front of me. But there is such a thing as normal security — that I will not be harassed until the legal process is completed.”

Shakib also addressed allegations related to stock market manipulation, ACC investigations and cheque-bounce cases. Dismissing speculation around the accusations, he questioned why no evidence had emerged despite investigations continuing for nearly two years.

“My bank account has been frozen, so I cannot do that. Why is my bank account frozen? Maybe they felt it needed to be frozen for the sake of investigation. But that investigation has now been going on for a year and a half. They have found nothing so far,” he said.

The cricketer maintained that if authorities find proof against him, he is willing to face trial. “If guilt is proved, take action. If nothing is found in the investigation, give clearance, release me,” he stated.

Despite his confidence in the legal process, Shakib admitted uncertainty over the situation. “Nothing feels abnormal anymore,” he remarked while acknowledging fears of possible arrest if he returns home.

Tottenham looked like a team destined to secure Premier League survival after they beat a dire Aston Villa 2-1 to move out of the bottom three.

Spurs put in their best performance of the season to claim three crucial points at Villa Park, thanks to first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison.

They look a different side under Roberto De Zerbi, registering back-to-back league victories for the first time since August, and are now favourites to beat the drop.

The north London club leapfrogged West Ham in the table and with a home game to come against Leeds, after the Hammers host Arsenal, their position could be even rosier next week.

The way they pressed and won back possession all over the pitch was reminiscent of De Zerbi’s Brighton, giving every indication Spurs will be a top flight team next season.

They were fortunate to come up against a Villa side who produced their worst display of the season, with their attention clearly on Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest.

Indeed, Villa were so bad they scored in the sixth minute of time added on with their only effort on target, with Emiliano Buendia heading home.

Unai Emery’s men still have their league business to look after, though, and missed the chance to all but seal a Champions League spot for next season.

Tottenham came into the game buoyed by West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday and they will have been further enthused when they saw a Villa side featuring seven changes from their midweek loss to Forest in Europe.

They were the better team from the off and had a great chance to open the scoring inside two minutes.

Gallagher pressed well and forced Villa into a mistake playing out from the back, with the ball finding Richarlison 12 yards out, but his shot was blocked.

A deserved lead came in the 12th minute as Gallagher scored his first goal for the club.

A long throw was headed out to the on-loan Atletico Madrid midfielder, who slammed a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner.

Spurs were within inches of making it 2-0 five minutes later. Paulinha shot from distance and his low 20-yard shot was heading into the bottom corner until Emiliano Martinez tipped it onto the post.

Villa were abject and were again reliant on their Argentinian goalkeeper to keep the deficit at one as he palmed Randal Kolo Muani’s far-post effort over the crossbar.

However, from the resulting 25th minute corner, Spurs doubled their advantage.

Tel’s cross was begging to be converted and Richarlison obliged, nodding into an empty net after Martinez went walkabout.

Spurs were in dreamland and deserved every bit of their success.

They were quicker, stronger and smarter than their opponents, who looked like their hearts were not in it.

Villa did not improve after the break either and failed to test Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky until late on, when Buendia headed home Matty Cash’s cross.

But this was to be Tottenham’s night as they made a big move towards securing survival.

PA

Inter Milan won their third Serie A title in six seasons on Sunday thanks to a 2-0 victory over Parma that ignited the celebrations at a jubilant San Siro and across the city. Marcus Thuram’s side-footed finish just before half-time set Inter on their way before Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s second-half goal put the Scudetto beyond doubt. With three matches left, Inter have a 12-point lead over reigning champions Napoli and 15 more points than third-placed AC Milan.

The San Siro was a sea of blue and black and thousands of fans also gathered in front of Milan’s Duomo cathedral to celebrate their team’s 21st Italian title.

Inter have successfully overcome the traumatic end to last season under the calm guidance of coach Cristian Chivu, who was almost a novice at this level when he took over last summer.

Less than a year after losing the 2025 title race by a point and collapsing to a 5-0 humiliation by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, Inter are back at the top.

“Today, we are all happy, but we must not forget all the work accomplished, because it was very difficult to start again after the end of last season when we lost in all the competitions we could win,” Inter captain Lautaro Martinez said.

Chivu’s rejuvenating effect

Inter owe this success largely to Chivu, the club’s former player and a surprise appointment in June to replace Simone Inzaghi, who won six trophies and reached two Champions League finals in four seasons but left for a lucrative deal in Saudi Arabia.

With small steps and few new signings, Chivu has breathed new life into the side.

Inter can complete the third league and cup double in their history if they beat Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on May 13 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

Juventus missed a chance to exploit AC Milan’s earlier slip and take third place in Serie A as they drew 1-1 at home with relegated Verona.

The Turin giants did, however, climb three points clear of Como in the chase for the fourth Champions league qualifying spot.

AC Milan had relinquished their last, slim, hope of catching Inter at the top as they subsided 2-0 at mid-table Sassuolo.

Milan endured a nightmare afternoon in Reggio Emilia, crashing to a fourth defeat in their last seven matches.

Juventus remained two points behind Milan after struggling to breach determined defending from Verona, who were relegated on Friday.

While Juve dominated possession they handed their visitors the opener when Domagoj Bradaric pounced on a poor pass and slid in a low cross that Kieron Bowie scuffed home.

It was one of Verona’s only two shots on target. Bowie drilled a long-range shot straight at Michele de Grigorio in the Juventus goal in the last five minutes.

Juventus, meanwhile, bombarded the visitors’ goal, taking 23 shots, six of them on target. 

Dusan Vlahovic levelled after 61 minutes with a free kick from 25 metres.

In Sassoulo, it took just five minutes for Sassuolo to take the lead through Domenico Berardi. 

Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan side played with 10 for most of the match after English defender Fikayo Tomori was sent off in the 24th minute.

Frenchman Armand Lauriente doubled Sassuolo’s lead in the 47th minute and a furious Allegri made a string of changes to no avail.

“I understand our fans’ frustration; we all want to secure Champions League qualification as soon as possible,” Allegri told broadcaster DAZN. 

“In these difficult times, we must keep our heads held high. We have three matches left to play, and with two wins, we’ll be in the Champions League.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Manchester United secured qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League after a thrilling 3-2 victory over rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo scored the winning goal late in the match, just three days after signing a new five-year contract with United.

The Red Devils made a strong start and went 2-0 ahead before half-time through goals from Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.

Liverpool fought back quickly after the break as Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo scored to level the match at 2-2.

But United found the winner in the closing stages after Liverpool failed to clear a cross from Luke Shaw. The ball dropped kindly for Mainoo, who fired a first-time shot into the bottom corner to send the Old Trafford crowd into celebration.

The victory confirmed United’s return to Europe’s top club competition after missing out for the past two seasons.

It also gave United their first Premier League double over Liverpool since the 2015/16 season.

The result further strengthened the position of interim manager Michael Carrick, who has impressed since taking charge of the team.

Under Carrick, United have now recorded victories against Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

The match was also notable for the absence of former United manager Alex Ferguson, who reportedly left the stadium in an ambulance as a precaution after feeling unwell.

Tamil Nadu’s Baranica Elangovan bettered her own pole vault national record by clearing 4.23m on the second day of the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition at the Indoor Athletics Centre of Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.Elangovan had set the previous national mark of 4.22m in March this year during the maiden National Indoor Athletics Meet at the same venue. On Sunday, after two failed attempts, she improved the record by 0.01m. She later attempted 4.30m but failed to clear the bar in all three attempts, admitting she was drained by then.Speaking after the event, both Elangovan and her coach Milber Russell expressed satisfaction with the performance, especially since they were not expecting such a result.“I didn’t prepare with any set expectations. I simply focused on improving my technique and accepted whatever performance came. As long as it came from sticking to my basics, I was happy with it,” said Elangovan, who has already cleared the 4.10m Asian Games qualification mark three times this year.Russell is now looking ahead to the upcoming Federation Cup in Ranchi. “She has already crossed the qualification mark, so now we are focusing on national competitions and making small technical changes. That showed clearly today with a good jump, so we are happy and confident going forward to the Asian Games,” he said.Besides Asiad, Russell is also eyeing the Busan International Pole Vault Competition, where Elangovan has been selected to compete. However, he is not keen on pushing her to chase the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 4.45m. “We are not pushing too hard because pole vault is a very tough event and excessive pressure can lead to serious injuries,” the coach added.Nitika Akare of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala’s Blessy Kunjumon finished second and third respectively, both clearing 3.90m.In other events, Thowfeeq N of NCOE Trivandrum won the men’s heptathlon gold with 5,350 points, while Tamil Nadu’s Kirthik Vasan S claimed the men’s U20 heptathlon title. Odisha’s Purnima Hembram topped the women’s pentathlon with 3,835 points, while Uttarakhand’s Jaskiran Kaur won the U20 pentathlon gold with 3,272 points. NR in 4x100m mixed relay: Even though none of the Indian relay teams impressed on the second day of World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, the 4x100m mixed relay team broke the national record by clocking 41.35s.After dropping the baton in their Round I race on Saturday, the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS made amends in Round II on Sunday, finishing sixth without error.However, they missed out on qualification for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing, with only the top two teams securing direct berths.It was disappointment for both the men’s and women’s 4x100m teams, who dropped the baton in their respective races. The women’s team finished last with a time of 53.90s, while the men’s team was disqualified for passing the baton outside the takeover zone.Meanwhile, the men’s 4x400m team failed to finish after Amoj Jacob, running the second leg, suffered a cramp. The mixed 4x400m relay team also finished last, clocking 3:19.40s.

One of baseball’s oddest situations led to a controversial out call at first base in Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets.

Mets star outfielder Juan Soto grounded a ball to first base when Nolan Schanuel, and the fielder had the ball stuck in the webbing of his glove — the oddity in question.

Schanuel was trying to turn a double play, but after realizing he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, he decided to try to get Soto at first base to ensure an out.

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Juan Soto of the New York Mets reacts after hitting an RBI single during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field in New York City on March 26, 2026. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

However, Soto was booking it down the first base line, and Schanuel was forced to flip the glove, ball still in the webbing, to pitcher Jack Kochanowicz covering the bag. It was a very close play, but the umpire signaled that Soto was out despite the madness that transpired across just a few seconds in the top of the third inning.

But while Soto believed he was safe in general, the Mets bench was screaming toward the field that Kochanowicz never fully secured Schanuel’s glove, bobbling it as Soto crossed first base.

No one would’ve blamed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza for challenging the call on the field, but he told umpires to keep going — an interesting move considering what happened just the game prior on Saturday night.

Mendoza was criticized for not challenging a call in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Angels, which may have seen a different result considering a decisive run was scored by Los Angeles.

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New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza returns to the dugout after a pitching change during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York City on April 29, 2026. (Heather Khalifa/Getty Images)

As Jo Adell lined a hit to right-center field in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, Mets right fielder Austin Slater threw a seed to Bo Bichette at third base, and he tagged out Jorge Soler to end the inning. But even more important, Bichette’s tag on Soler was placed before the run scored for the Angels on the replay.

But Mendoza never challenged the call, and it ultimately hurt his team in the end.

“[The replay room] missed it,” Mendoza told reporters after the game when asked about not challenging. “We called, and he missed it. [Replay analyst] Harrison [Friedland] is one of the best at his job, and, you know, obviously it ends up being a big play when you lose by one run.

“I also think we had chances, and we didn’t cash in.”

Luckily for the Mets, this failure to challenge didn’t hurt them in the end, defeating the Angels, 5-1, to get to 12-22 on the season.

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel runs to second base in the first inning against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., on May 2, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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It’s been a rough start to the 2026 campaign for New York, a team many expected to vie for a playoff spot. Instead, they have endured a 12-game losing streak recently and are now fighting to get back to at least .500.

The Mets need some things on the diamond to go their way, but failure to challenge reviewable plays like these is a way they could get momentum tipping in their favor.

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As the New York Yankees continued to roll to start the season, owning the best record in the American League after an 11-3 win on Sunday over the Baltimore Orioles, they had a big decision to make by the end of the day.

What should be done with shortstop Anthony Volpe, a polarizing figure among the fan base whose rehab assignment ended?

While Volpe was rehabbing from left shoulder surgery, Jose Caballero, who was acquired by the Yankees last season, has been doing more than just playing a serviceable shortstop. He’s been coming up in clutch positions as well as being a smooth glove at one of the most important positions on the diamond.

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Anthony Volpe of the Somerset Patriots fields during a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., on May 1, 2026. (Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto)

As a result, the Yankees made the decision to have Volpe not re-join the team, but rather option the 25-year-old to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

“Caballero is playing the heck out of the position and playing really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said prior to the Yankees’ win on Sunday, per ESPN. “That complicates it.”

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Caballero has been the Yankees’ primary shortstop across 34 games this season, and has done well with the regular at-bats, which usually come toward the bottom of the lineup. He is slashing .259/.306/.405 with a .711 OPS, four homers and 12 RBIs thus far.

Meanwhile, Volpe went 11-for-44 (.250) during his 13 rehab games in the minor leagues, which mostly came with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.

Volpe ended up getting shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, which came after the Yankees were eliminated from the MLB postseason by the Toronto Blue Jays, the team that won the American League pennant.

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe throws the ball to first base for an out during the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

But the injury was one that bothered Volpe throughout the season. He received a cortisone shot in the shoulder during the All-Star break, and then once more on Sept. 10 after an aggravation of the injury.

Volpe went on to hit .212/.272/.391 with a .663 OPS across 153 games for New York, belting 19 homers and notching a career-high 72 RBIs. However, fans had problems with Volpe’s lack of consistency at shortstop, tallying 19 errors, which was third-most among big league players at the position.

Volpe was the Yankees’ first-round pick of the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft, and after finding fast success in the minor leagues, he debuted in 2023 as the team’s starting shortstop out of spring training.

After hitting 21 home runs, despite hitting just .209 with a .283 on-base percentage, the Yankees liked what they saw from their 22-year-old shortstop who was also named a Gold Glover that season.

Anthony Volpe of the Somerset Patriots enters the field during a Minor League Baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., on May 1, 2026. (Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto)

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This isn’t to say Volpe is going to spend the 2026 season outright in the minors, but the Yankees are not going to be switching things up as they remain hot.

In the meantime, Volpe will use his Triple-A at-bats and reps at shortstop to get right for when the Yankees eventually get him back in the bigs.

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Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards believe Benjamin Sesko’s goal against Liverpool should not have stood after it brushed his fingers, saying under the laws of the game it should have been a handball.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool

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