INDIANAPOLIS – Chart-topping country artist Carly Pearce and Clayton Anderson have been added to a star-studded lineup for the Firestone Legends Day Concert on May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Fan favorites at IMS, Pearce and Anderson will each perform sets one day before the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band will headline the concert, which starts at 3:30 p.m. on the Firestone Stage inside turn four of the IMS oval.

“It’s always great to welcome back Carly Pearce and Clayton Anderson to IMS,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “They have thrilled our fans with their talent and magnetic performances, whether it’s singing the national anthem or performing on our infield concert stages. They will put on a great show, along with Zac Brown Band, during the Firestone Legends Day Concert.”

Born into the bluegrass brawn of Kentucky, Pearce has never known a moment that country music wasn’t her destined path. At the age of 11, she began touring with a local band, at 16 quit high school for a job performing at Dollywood while being homeschooled and learned humility working odd jobs upon moving to Nashville.

Now, she’s defying odds with her No. 1 debut “Every Little Thing,” which steered a chart-topping trifecta on SiriusXM’s “The Highway” that also includes “If My Name Was Whiskey” and “Hide The Wine.”

With the gold-certified title track from her highly acclaimed debut album, “Every Little Thing,” Pearce became the highest-charting solo female debut since July 2015 and one of only three to accomplish the feat in over a decade.

In 2018, Pearce earned her first CMT Music Award Breakthrough Video of the Year for Every Little Thing, as well as a Radio Disney Music Award for The Freshest! – Radio Disney Country Best New Artist.

She has been nominated for 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards Best New Country Artist and ACM Awards New Female Artist of the Year, where she also presented during the live broadcast.

Pearce performed the national anthem before the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard in 2017 and 2018 at IMS. She recently wrapped her co-headline tour with Russell Dickerson and will join Jason Aldean’s Ride All Night Tour this summer.

Southern Indiana native Anderson has released three albums, including his latest record, “Only To Borrow.”

Recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville, this six-song EP was written and produced by Anderson and some of music’s most talented writers, musicians and producers. The album’s first single, “In the Dark,” earned immediate streaming activity online and captured the attention of influential music playlist programmers.

In college, Anderson decided to learn guitar because he thought it would impress the ladies. Next thing he knew, he and his friends were playing local parties and bars.

After he graduated, Anderson won Kenny Chesney’s Next Big Star Competition. It was the boost of confidence he needed to leave his job at a mortgage company and move to Nashville.

Anderson’s first record, “Torn Jeans & Tailgates,” was released in 2011 and climbed to No. 12 on the iTunes Country Chart, situating itself next to household names like Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton.

Anderson has traveled across the country playing backrooms, side stages and honky tonks from Michigan to Florida, each time gaining a few more fans and a better foothold on areas that aren’t traditional country strongholds.

He’s opened for some of country’s biggest stars, including the likes of Shelton, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Darius Rucker and even Mr. Party himself, Jimmy Buffett.

Anderson performed the national anthem before the Red Bull Air Race in 2017 and 2018 at IMS, and his performance during the Firestone Legends Day Concert featuring Keith Urban in 2017 was a hit with fans.

When you think of Brad Marchand, you think of the winger's earned nickname, which President Barack Obama used when the Boston Bruins visited the White House after their 2011 Stanley Cup win.

"Brad Marchand went into the season playing on the fourth line," Obama said. "But the Little Ball of Hate shrugged off the rookie jitters and -- what's up with that nickname, man? -- scored five goals in the last five games of the final series."

You also think of Marchand's relentless chirping. "In [the] 2013 [Final], I remember was were lining up and going back and forth at each other pretty hard," Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane says. "I think it's all over the Stanley Cup DVD. What were we saying? Honestly it was just stupid stuff."

You think of Marchand's six suspensions in seven years, including for slew footing, elbowing, clipping and spearing. You think of last year's playoffs, where Marchand stuck his tongue out and licked not one but two opponents. "When he kissed [Ryan] Callahan," says Chris Kunitz, then with the Lightning. "We all just thought it was awkward, kind of a weird thing to do, in the moment of a physical battle."

But there's more to Marchand than that, and this season, the Bruins -- and Marchand himself -- felt a commitment to showcase his other side.

"He's an unbelievable dad, he's a great husband, a great teammate and an awesome friend," teammate Torey Krug says. "I think this season he's made a conscious effort to display that side of him. People don't always see that. They just see a pro athlete who has a reputation on the ice. Being his friend, you hate seeing some of the messages and some of the things displayed out there, because that's not the whole story."

Krug went on: "The other part is his natural maturation into a leader in this room. We know the weapon that he is on the ice to win hockey games. He's not doing anything to hurt the team, and that's become something we rely on. We need him to win hockey games, so he can't be doing some crazy things on the ice to hurt the team. He's realized that, and he's done a good job growing up."

Marchand, now 30, balances two worlds. On one side, he is the NHL's biggest troll. On the other, he is an MVP candidate. On Boston's usually dynamite first line, Marchand became the Bruins' first player to reach 100 points since Joe Thornton in 2003. Over the past three seasons, no other left wing -- not even Alex Ovechkin -- has more points than Marchand's 270.

"I think Brad Marchand is one of the most effective guys in the league," says Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, who played with Marchand for Team Canada at the 2016 world championship.

"Everyone sees he has great hands, a great shot, great vision, but a lot of people don't see about his game is how well he takes pucks off the boards, how good he is in traffic, how good he is getting on the right side of guys, taking contact on the right side of them so he can get to the offensive side of it. He understands how to take that contact, and use it to his advantage. That's something he does better than probably than anyone in the league other than [Sidney] Crosby."

After last year's playoffs marred by "Lickgate," with the Department of Player Safety privately and publicly asking him to tone things down, Marchand made a commitment to stay out of trouble. He realized the antics he once thought he needed to survive at the league as a 5-foot-9 winger were no longer necessary. He could thrive without them.

"I've got to cut that s--- out," Marchand said after the Bruins were eliminated by the Lightning last spring. "After having a couple days, kind of looking back on the year and seeing what's happened the last few days with all the media and everything, I think the biggest thing for me now is to really take a pretty hard look in the mirror and realize the actions, some of the things that I'm doing have much bigger consequences. I've always been a pretty easygoing guy and there's not a whole lot that fazes me at all. I think it's kind of gotten to the point where the last thing I ever want to do is bring the embarrassment to my teammates and the organization that it did."

Marchand went the entire 2018-19 regular season without any discipline from the Department of Player Safety.

Boston coach Bruce Cassidy had several talks with Marchand over the season, and continually asked his star winger: How do you want to be remembered? Marchand made it his goal, entering this season, to better manage his emotions.

"I think his reputation should be that of a player who is a game-changer," teammate Charlie McAvoy says. "I mean, he had 100 points this season. That's no small feat. Maybe that's clouded up because of some of his antics his first few years in the league, but he's really cleaned that up this season."

"For sure he's misunderstood," Scheifele says. "If you just watch him on TV, you don't get the full respect, because you see some antic that he does. But if you watch a full game of Brad Marchand, you see some pretty special plays."

If you talk to players around the league, Marchand isn't as much of a pest on the ice as you'd think -- at least not these days.

"I mean, he's always been tough to play against," Kunitz says. "Earlier in his career, he was a bit more chatty. But lately, he's had his play back it up."

Says Kane: "He's not a trash-talker. Even the last couple years I've played him, he hasn't really said much at all; and if anything, he's saying nice things to you. It's surprising. It's a pretty impressive transformation from the way he played to how he plays now."

Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri says if you engage Marchand verbally, he's not going to back down.

"But I don't think he goes out of his way and just starts chirping everybody," Kadri says. "I think it's he's the type of guy that, if he's not engaging physically or verbally on the ice, you just want to leave him alone. Because you don't want to get him too revved up."

Kadri made these comments before he was suspended for the rest of the Leafs' first-round series against the Bruins. In many ways, Kadri is trending on the track Marchand was on a few years ago. Kadri must realize he's too talented a player to let his emotions get the best of him. Or, he can take a page from Marchand's book and find a new outlet to express himself. Although Marchand kept out of trouble on the ice, he was stirring up chatter off it.

Marchand honed his social media presence in 2018-19. When his peers named him both the best and worst trash-talker in the union's annual player poll, Marchand accepted the honor, kindly, with a tweet reminiscent of an award show acceptance speech. "Feeling so honored right now all those years of hard work has paid off!!" he wrote. "Want to thank everyone who has supported me in this journey to best and worst trash talker and all my work colleagues around the NHL couldnt have done it without you!"

He trolled the rival Maple Leafs in March by suggesting Mitch Marner deserves to be paid $12 million per year on his next contract -- which would, of course, strap Toronto financially. The chirp even required a response from Toronto GM Kyle Dubas, who said: "I think it was a master troll job, to say the least. You have to respect that element of it."

And then there's the back and forth on Twitter, where Marchand and his good friend Krug have playfully ribbed each other, usually over who is shorter.

"It's a sign of times changing," Krug says. "We have a platform on social media where we can give fans a glimpse into the type of people that we are. That we actually do have fun. In our interviews to the media, we're displayed as these robots. We give the same answers over and over. We don't want to give too much insight on what's going on in our locker room. From a team perspective, we do want to keep a lot of things private. But when it comes to our own individual personalities, this is our way to show we're a close-knit group and that we're going to be friends for our entire lives, and that's something Marchy and I have enjoyed."

Krug also enjoys the public chirping because he feels he's providing a service for some NHL players who have felt wronged by his teammate along the way.

"Because of his history, people like seeing a guy like him get chirped," Krug says. "People like to give me a pat on the back -- thanks for doing that."

And now Marchand is entering a new narrative: a guy teammates look up to.

Says 23-year-old rookie Karson Kuhlman: "I always looked up to him, as an undersized guy, and the way he worked his way up. He was a so-called grinder when he got into the league, and now he's scoring 100 points. Obviously he's very emotional. He's done some things that you can look back on [and question]. Does he regret them? I don't know; I've never really talked to him about it. But I can say he's really fun to be around."

Argentine side Union de Santa Fe will use Viagra to combat altitude when they face Independiente del Valle in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito on Wednesday.

The match will take place at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, which lies 2,850 metres above sea level.

Altitude has had an adverse effect on several teams in recent times -- with Argentina losing 6-1 away to Bolivia in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. But Union have prepared ahead, and will use the drug "Sildenafil" -- more commonly known as Viagra.

"There are two reasons high altitude leaves players lacking air," club doctor Santiago Calvo told local radio station Sol 91.5. "On the one side, there is less oxygen.

"For this, we have oxygen tubes to be used before the match, at half-time and after the game. The other side is the pressure from the atmosphere. This increased pressure creates a vasoconstriction; the arteries become smaller around the lungs.

"This decreases the interchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide -- and that is where the Viagra comes in. It widens the blood vessels around the lungs."

Calvo added: "No player is obligated to take [the drug] -- but it is not a banned medication."

Union won the first round first leg 2-0.

The first month and a half of the MLS season is in the books, and as you'd expect, there are some wild disparities in terms of form. LAFC has been on fire. Last year's MLS Cup finalists, champions Atlanta United and the Portland Timbers, not so much.

Some teams have played seven league games already, while others have just five. Minnesota United, the Montreal Impact, and the Portland Timbers have played a combined two home games among them.

Yet looked at another way, seven weeks means that the regular season is 20 percent over already for some teams: in short, long enough for a few performances to catch the eye. That is especially true in the case of the MVP conversation. Here's how the field is faring so far, from front-runner to chasing the pack.

The favorites so far

Star power and prolific production -- what's not to like?

1. Carlos Vela, FW, LAFC

The Mexico international has been humiliating opponents in LAFC's first seven games to the tune of eight goals and five assists. About the only thing he's done wrong is miss a penalty back on April 6 against D.C. United. What's crazy is that by this point, the entire league knows how lethal Vela's left foot is, and opponents still seem powerless to stop it. And last weekend, Vela even managed to score with his right foot.

Perhaps most endearing of all is that Vela hasn't played like a luxury player who just hangs out in the attacking half. In the 5-0 hammering of San Jose, he was seen putting in the work on the defensive end as well, tracking back on the right wing. Yes it's early, but if Vela keeps this up and if LAFC keeps winning, he may just have the MVP award sealed by midseason.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, FW, LA Galaxy

Ibrahimovic predicted he would "break every single record" in MLS this season. As he has so often during his career, he's proving to be a man of his word, scoring at an even more prolific rate than Vela with six goals in just four league games. Aiding the Swede's quest is the fact that the Galaxy look to be a much more organized outfit this season under new manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto, winning five of its first six games.

The only thing that could derail his quest is his health. Ibrahimovic missed two league contests with an Achilles strain, and while he did play a match against Vancouver on artificial turf, his health will be monitored closely.

3. Diego Rossi, FW, LAFC

If not for Vela's stellar play, Rossi would be the one getting the MVP hype, having scored six goals to help spark LAFC's unbeaten start. The Uruguayan will have to content himself with being the second-best player on his team, although his hat trick in the 4-0 demolition of D.C. United did plenty to get garner some attention.

Great teams have more than one attacking option, and Rossi's continued success will prevent opponents from focusing on Vela. Rossi scored 12 goals in his inaugural MLS season, but his start has him poised to exceed that total by some distance.

4. Wayne Rooney, FW, D.C. United

Rooney's performances in the second half of 2018 were MVP-worthy, and he would have made a stronger run at the award had he been in D.C. for the whole campaign. This season, he's been almost as good -- his red card against LAFC notwithstanding -- with the former England captain delivering four goals and three assists. Oddly, Rooney's MVP credentials were burnished during his one-game suspension, a 0-0 tie with the Montreal Impact in which D.C.'s attack struggled mightily without him.

Rooney has been spared much of the travel wear and tear so far, which could reduce his impact on the MVP race: last weekend's match in Colorado marked the first time he's played a match multiple time zones away from Audi Field. How Rooney recovers from such travels will bear watching down the line.

5. Nicolas Lodeiro, MF, Seattle Sounders

LAFC's brilliant start has overshadowed another unbeaten team out west, and while Jordan Morris attracted some of the early accolades for the impressive Sounders, Lodeiro continues to be the player that makes their attack go, with two goals and four assists. Lodeiro has also shown a knack for the spectacular, with his volley while drifting backwards providing the game's only goal in the 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake back on April 6.

Seattle has had to deal with injuries to Raul Ruidiaz and Will Bruin, but Lodeiro is the one player the Sounders can't afford to lose.

6. "Jozandro Altijuelo," MF/FW, Toronto FC

If it was possible to fuse Alejandro Pozuelo and Jozy Altidore, you would have a fantastic player. But this entry is more about just how special both performers, along with their almost telepathic connection, have been for Toronto FC this season. Pozuelo has shredded the idea that newcomers to MLS need time to adapt, scoring twice and assisting on four goals in just three matches. Every single one of his assists has set up an Altidore goal, helping the U.S. international move up to five on the season.

Altidore's return after an injury-hit 2018 has helped TFC in other ways as well in terms of his holdup and link play. If Toronto continues its bright start to the season, picking between Pozuelo and Altidore for MVP will be difficult indeed.

On the bubble

The rest of the field is full of question marks but also players who deserve recognition for simply being at the top of their game.

7. Zack Steffen, GK, Columbus Crew

Let's get one item out of the way. Steffen isn't winning this award. Just one goalkeeper, Kansas City's Tony Meola in 2000, has ever been voted league MVP. Only one other keeper -- Colorado Rapids Joe Cannon in 2004 -- has so much as been a finalist. Then there's the fact that as soon as the Gold Cup is over in July, Steffen is headed to Manchester City, although he's likely to then be loaned out.

All that said, Steffen has been delivering an MVP-caliber season. His save percentage is a ridiculous 91.3 percent. The league record for keepers with more than 20 appearances in a season is Matt Reis, with 81.4 percent for the New England Revolution in 2009. There have been quality stops in there as well. Just ask Atlanta United.

It will be fascinating to see how Columbus fares when Steffen leaves.

8. Alberth Elis, MF, Houston Dynamo

It's a sign of the Dynamo's strength as a team that there are many candidates who could be put forward. Memo Rodriguez got some early publicity with four goals, and Mauro Manotas remains one of the more dangerous forwards in MLS after his breakout 2018 campaign, but Elis continues to be the Dynamo's most award-worthy attacking option. His strength, power and persistence in the final third make him borderline unplayable at times, including last weekend's win over the San Jose Earthquakes.

The only question against his MVP candidacy: Will he stick around for the long term? There was plenty of transfer chatter surrounding Elis in preseason,and that could heat up again this summer.

9. Johnny Russell, MF, Sporting Kansas City

The MVP award hasn't been kind to wingers either. While both Landon Donovan and Mike Magee logged heavy minutes out wide in their respective MVP seasons in 2009 and 2013, they spent considerable time as forwards in those campaigns as well. The rest of the winners (aside from the aforementioned Meola) were primarily forwards and attacking midfielders. That said, Russell has been so important to the SKC attack that if he continues his hot start to the season (four goals and two assists), he may yet get some consideration.

10. Josef Martinez, FW, Atlanta United

Martinez is on this list for what he did in 2018 and what he hasn't done in 2019. Last year's MVP has just one goal in five games, and he's been starved of the ball in the opposition penalty area, with just 3.6 touches/game in the box compared to 4.46 a year ago. He hasn't been hitting the target with the same regularity either, with just 40 percent of his attempts on frame compared to 61.6 percent in 2018.

No doubt, much of this is down to the team getting used to new manager Frank de Boer's way of doing things, and there is still time for Martinez to rebound. But with the Dutchman's more conservative style of play, it's not a given that things will really change for Martinez over the course of the season.

Big picture

For a change, Mumbai Indians have started strongly and the Delhi franchise finds itself at the top half of the points table- no.2 to be precise. There's actually nothing but net run-rate separating Delhi Capitals and Mumbai.

Capitals have won three on the trot on the road, but have won just one out of three games at the Feroz Shah Kotla so far. That solitary win was down to Kagiso Rabada's scorching yorkers in a Super Over last month. However, they now have a great chance to score some points at home. The Delhi franchise has won six out of nine IPL games against Mumbai at Kotla.

Both sides have been prolific with the ball at the death, Capitals more so with Rabada bowling nearly 50 % of his overs in this phase. All told, the South African quick has bowled 15 overs in the death, claiming 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.6. But, there are some concerns in the batting line-up. Colin Ingram's return to South Africa on paternity leave has left Capitals scrambling for a finisher. The other Colin - Munro - flickered briefly at No. 3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday and the onus is now on the bowling allrounders Chris Morris, Axar Patel and Keemo Paul to crank up the tempo with the bat.

Mumbai have a top finisher in Hardik Pandya, who has taken his six-hitting to an all-new level in IPL 2019, but his elder brother Krunal has struggled - both with ball and bat - this season.

In the news

It remains to be seen if new-dad Ingram has rejoined the Delhi squad. If the South African continues to be unavailable Munro will get another game. Meanwhile, Karnataka left-arm spinner J Suchith has stepped in as replacement for the injured Harshal Patel

Previous meeting

Rishabh Pant clubbed 78 off 27 balls - 70 of those runs came in boundaries - to give the rebranded Capitals their opening win.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Colin Munro, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant Sharma

Mumbai Indians: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Jason Behrendoff, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Strategy punt

• Shikhar Dhawan has cracked Jasprit Bumrah for 69 runs off 46 balls without being dismissed in T20 cricket. So, it makes sense for Mumbai to hand the new ball to Jason Behrendoff and Lasith Malinga, and hold back Bumrah for Pant. Bumrah has dismissed Pant three times in six IPL innings while conceding only 26 runs off 24 balls. No other bowler has dismissed Pant as many times as Bumrah has in the IPL.

• Capitals should try to make sure Chris Morris gets a crack at Kieron Pollard. Their head-to-head reads 23 runs off 22 balls plus one wicket.

Stats that matter

• In a way, Pant's patchy form at home has mirrored Capitals' patchy form at home. At Kotla this season, Pant has managed only 41 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 117.1 as opposed to 204 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 174.4 on the road.

• Watch out for Malinga's offcutter. He has picked up four of his seven wickets this season with that variation.

• Mumbai have a win percentage of 30 at Kotla - their lowest at an away venue in the IPL.

• Rohit Sharma needs 12 runs to become only the third Indian after Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli to 8000 runs in T20 cricket.

Toss Chennai Super Kings opted to bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad

For the first time since 2010, Chennai Super Kings are being captained by someone other than MS Dhoni, who took part in a pre-match football warm-up ahead of the game but was rested from this match after pulling up with back spasms in Super Kings' last game.

Suresh Raina took up the leadership role in his absence, and Sam Billings will keep wickets for Super Kings, who came into this game on a winning streak, but with a couple of injury worries in their ranks. Harbhajan Singh, suffering from a stiff neck, did not travel to Kolkata for their last game, though Dhoni's absence could be the trickier proposition for them. Mitchell Santner also missed out today, with Karn Sharma replacing him.

David Warner had put Sunrisers Hyderabad's stunning collapse in their last game down to a lack of experience in the batting order, and to that end, Sunrisers have brought back the experienced head of Yusuf Pathan to their middle order. There was no space for Abhishek Sharma, with left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem also returning to the playing XI.

Stuck at the lower end of the points table after a string of defeats, Sunrisers will hope the changes will spark a change in their fortunes against a team they don't have a particularly good record against, having lost the last eight games they have played against Super Kings.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Shahbaz Nadeem, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran Tahir

Dimuth Karunaratne has been named captain of Sri Lanka's World Cup side, meaning Lasith Malinga has been ousted as leader.

Although Karunaratne has not played an ODI since the 2015 World Cup, his leadership during the upset Test series win in South Africa had tipped him as a left-field captaincy choice for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka's subsequent 5-0 defeat in the ODIs to South Africa sealed the fate of Malinga's captaincy, before Karunaratne's good performances with the bat in the recent Super Four domestic tournament provided some indication that he was a viable choice as a one-day opener. Although fears about Karunaratne's batting centred around whether he could score runs quickly enough, he mustered a strike-rate of over 90, as he made 165 runs at an average of 55 through the course of that tournament.

The news will be a substantial blow to Malinga, whose commitment to his position as captain saw him play a domestic match in Kandy, only 14 hours after finishing an IPL match in Mumbai, earlier this month. Although Malinga had led Sri Lanka to a World T20 trophy in 2014, his one-day captaincy has produced abysmal results - the team losing each of the nine ODIs they have played under his leadership.

Malinga was also understood to have had a poor relationship with several key players. Earlier this year, Thisara Perera asked Sri Lanka Cricket to intervene after he and Malinga's wife had become embroiled in a Facebook squabble.

The third major option for the captaincy may in fact have been the selectors' first choice: Angelo Mathews, who has been Sri Lanka's ODI captain in two separate stints before. But he is understood to have ruled himself out. His most recent stint at the helm was cut short when he was ousted following Sri Lanka's Asia Cup exit it September. Mathews' relationship with coach Chandika Hathurusingha had become incredibly strained following the player's axing last year.

Sri Lanka are yet to name their World Cup squad, but the selectors' final meeting is expected to take place on Thursday, with the squad likely to be announced over the following 24 hours.

Although Karunaratne has not been part of a Sri Lanka ODI squad for years, he is now clearly assured a place. Both Malinga and Mathews are also almost certain to be named.

India coach Ravi Shastri said he would have preferred a 16-member World Cup squad instead of the mandated 15 and urged those who missed out to "not lose heart".

India announced a 15-strong squad for the tournament starting May 30 in England, and the omissions of batsman Ambati Rayudu and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant had triggered widespread debate.

Shastri steered clear of it, though. "I don't get involved in selection. If we have any opinion, we let the captain know," he was quoted as saying by the Sport360 website in Dubai.

"When you only have 15 to pick, there is bound to be someone or the other who misses out, which is very unfortunate. I would have preferred 16 players. We had mentioned to the ICC that in a tournament that long, 16 players makes sense. But the diktat was 15."

Shastri said those who missed the final 15 should continue to look ahead as opportunity could knock anytime. "They shouldn't lose heart. It's a funny game. There could be injuries," he said. "So you never know when you could be called up."

Rayudu and Pant, as well as paceman Navdeep Saini, have already been named on standby in case any of the original 15 get injured.

When pressed on Vijay Shankar's selection for the No. 4 slot months after captain Virat Kohli had declared Rayudu as the front-runner for the position, Shastri said the spot remained a flexible one. "Total flexibility depending on conditions, opposition. I would say the top three but after that you can be very flexible," he said.

Shastri also brushed aside criticism that India seemed to be too reliant on Kohli to carry them through. "If you look at the last five years, the way the Indian team has performed, they have always been in the top two or three. To be in top two or three for five years in a row, No1 in Tests, again top three in T20 cricket you can't depend on one player.

"You have that kind of consistent record, you need a bunch of players performing all the time. Due credit to the team."

Speaking in general about the World Cup, Shastri gave the favourites' tag to England. "England have been the most consistent team over the last two years," he said. "They have multi-dimensional players. They have depth in bowling and batting. And they are playing at home. So they would start as favourites.

"But there are so many teams that can beat any team on a given day. In a tournament like the World Cup, you have got to be on top of your game every game."

The Chicago Bears and the Oakland Raiders will play the first NFL game at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 6, the league announced Wednesday.

The Bears-Raiders matchup will be the first of four regular-season games played in London this season, including two at the newly constructed home of English Premier League power Tottenham Hotspur.

The 62,062-seat stadium in North London also will host an NFC South matchup the following week, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the rival Carolina Panthers on Oct. 13.

The other two London games will be played at Wembley Stadium. The first will be on Oct. 27 between the reigning NFC champion Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by an AFC South showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans on Nov. 3.

The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team that has yet to play in the U.K.

All five International Games on the 2019 schedule! ????@NFLUK @nflmx pic.twitter.com/wT61ywioRH

— NFL (@NFL) April 17, 2019

The NFL also announced Wednesday that the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City as part of the league's International Series, which began in 2007.

It will be the first game in Mexico City for both teams.

Last November, the NFL moved the Chiefs' game against the Rams from Mexico City to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum because of poor field conditions at Estadio Azteca.

The NFL will release the rest of its 2019 schedule on Wednesday night.