MELBOURNE, Australia -- Daniil Medvedev simply does not lose right now. Not to top-10 opponents. Not to anyone, really. Certainly not to a drained Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semifinals.

Now let's see what happens against Novak Djokovic in Rod Laver Arena.

Medvedev made it to his second Grand Slam final as he pursues his first major championship, overwhelming fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Friday at Melbourne Park to run his winning streak to 20 matches. That includes a dozen victories against members of the top 10.

Asked in an on-court TV interview to explain his success of late, Medvedev replied: "To be honest, I don't have an answer. I was just working hard for it all my life."

Tsitsipas came out flat, looking drained after his epic five-set, four-hour comeback victory over Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

In Sunday's final (7:30 p.m. local time, 3:30 a.m. ET), the No. 4-seeded Medvedev will take on No. 1 Djokovic, who already owns eight Australian Open titles among his 17 Grand Slam trophies as he tries to gain on the men's record of 20 shared by Nadal and Roger Federer.

Djokovic, who won his semifinal against 114th-ranked qualifier Aslan Karatsev on Thursday, is a combined 17-0 in semifinals and finals at Melbourne Park.

"First of all, I like that I don't have a lot of pressure, because he never lost in eight times that he was here in the final. So it's him that has all the pressure, getting [closer] to Roger or Rafa in the Grand Slams," Medvedev said about Djokovic. "So I just hope that I'm going to get out here, show my best tennis. As we see, I can win some big names if I play good. That's the main part. He has, for sure, more experience, but more things to lose than me."

Medvedev was the runner-up to Nadal at the 2019 US Open.

"It's experience. It was my first Grand Slam final against one of the greatest," said Medvedev, a 25-year-old from Russia. "Sunday, I'm going to come against one of the other greatest."

He was terrific against Tsitsipas, a 22-year-old from Greece, getting broken just once and accruing 17 aces among his total 46 winners.

The latter count included a sliding backhand pass down the line to break in the next-to-last game, a shot Medvedev celebrated by raising both arms and waving his hands in a gesture that told the world, "Check me out!"

It took just 75 minutes for Medvedev to grab a two-set lead. He went up 3-1 in the third before Tsitsipas made things interesting, if only briefly, by taking three games in a row, including his only break of the match.

But Medvedev, his baseline defense exquisite, proved too tough.

"He's a player who has unlocked pretty much everything in the game," Tsitsipas said.

Down a set and a break in the second, Tsitsipas sat down at a changeover and chucked an open water bottle, causing a splash on the court that forced ball kids to scramble for towels to wipe up the mess. The petulant scene drew a side-eye from Medvedev.

Early in the third set, Medvedev told chair umpire James Keothavong that Tsitsipas' father, who also coaches him, "is talking way too much" from the stands.

Tsitsipas and Medvedev already have a bit of an uncomfortable history, dating to their first meeting on tour at the 2018 Miami Open. Medvedev won that one -- he started their rivalry with a 5-0 edge, although Tsitsipas claimed the most recent matchup before Friday's -- and it ended with some verbal volleying.

They tried to smooth things over through the media in recent days, including Tsitsipas backtracking from denigrating Medvedev's style of play.

"Might have said in the past that he plays boring, but I don't really think he plays boring," Tsitsipas said this week. "He just plays extremely smart and outplays you."

A pretty good summation of what happened in the semifinal.

Melbourne has a sizable Greek population, and Tsitsipas got a much warmer greeting, replete with flapping blue-and-white flags, when he arrived at the court; Medvedev actually heard some jeers.

Attendance at the stadium was capped at 50% capacity -- about 7,500 -- when fans were allowed to return to the tournament after being barred for five days during a local lockdown due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.

As much as the crowd tried to boost Tsitsipas, he never really got going until that late push that ultimately led nowhere.

"I've proven that I have the level to beat these players. It's not that I haven't," said Tsitsipas, who fell to 0-3 in Grand Slam semifinals, with the other defeats coming against Nadal and Djokovic. "Let's hope for something better next time. I really hope it comes."

Daniil Medvedev has another opportunity to land a first Grand Slam title after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Australian Open final.

Fourth seed Medvedev, 25, will contest his second major final when he meets Novak Djokovic on Sunday (08:30 GMT).

After losing in the 2019 US Open final, Medvedev aims again to become Russia's first male major champion since 2005.

In his way stands top seed Djokovic, who is bidding for a record-extending ninth men's title at Melbourne Park.

Medvedev has won three of their past four meetings but facing the 33-year-old Serb in an Australian Open final - in which he has a 100% winning record - should be a different proposition.

On what he has learned from losing to Rafael Nadal in New York, Medvedev said: "I took a lot of experience. It was my first Grand Slam final against one of the greatest and on Sunday I will face one of the other greatest.

"I don't have a lot of pressure because Novak has never lost here in the final. He has all the pressure to get to Roger Federer and Rafa [in the all-time record of 20 men's titles].

"I hope I will get out there and show my best tennis. As we have seen, I can win against the best names if I play well. He has more experience but more things to lose than me."

More to follow.

Brentford's Ivan Toney has said he believes players are being "used as puppets" in taking a knee and that the gesture allows "people at the top" to rest on the subject.

The Championship side announced in a statement on Feb. 13 that they would no longer take the knee before games started after a lengthy group discussion.

His comments are similar to those made by Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha who said that taking a knee before every game is "degrading" and called for tangible change instead of being used to "tick boxes."

"We have had a long discussion about that; why we are not taking a knee," Toney told Sky Sports. "Everyone has had their say, and everyone agrees [that] we have been taking the knee for however long now and still nothing has changed.

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"We are kind of being used as puppets, in my eyes; take the knee and the people at the top can rest for a while now, which is pretty silly and pretty pointless. Nothing is changing.

Toney, who is the Championship's top scorer with 24 goals, has said the punishments need to be stronger and that education is crucial to the fight against racism.

"The punishments need to be stronger. You're going to do so much and, in a way, you have to get that helping hand, but it doesn't look like it's coming at the moment. So you have to push for that and hopefully things change," he added.

"You have to try and educate people more but the question is, do people want to be educated? That's another topic. You can only do so much, you can only try and help certain people. You can lead a horse to water but you can't force him to drink.

"The club is working extremely hard behind the scenes to try and make the extra impact. I think that's big because the diversity in our team is massive. You have people from different backgrounds and we are all working together towards the same goal. That's key to have really.

"We are focusing on things behind the scenes at the moment. But come Saturday we won't be taking the knee. If we come up with something else to do in future then we know we are going to do that."

Toney reported abuse he received online to police in January and said he agreed with growing calls for social media to require identification to set up an account.

"You should have your identification taken before you sign up to any network like Twitter or Facebook," he added. "People will be in charge of their own actions. If anything goes out there, you know this person has done it, know where to locate them; short and sharp.

"Now someone can say something online, the account will get blocked for a bit, give it 24 hours and they're back online, back at it again. I feel like they're not going to learn. Or within seconds they can just make another account. So it is very easy for people to do something like that.

"People can hide behind a screen. No one is going to do it at a match, in front of you, like throw a banana at a black player or something. They are very happy hiding behind a screen and being comfortable."

Brentford said in their statement that they would continue fight racial inequality "in other ways."

"As a group we are fully behind and proud of Brentford's desire to become the most inclusive club in the country and the drive towards equality under the #BeeTogether banner," the club said.

"We have experienced racist abuse first hand and have also seen some appalling comments made to other players past and present. There is a clear need to continue to push for an end to all discrimination and, as players, we will be part of that at Brentford FC, in football in general and in the wider community."

Santos Laguna defender Felix Torres said he was racially abused by a ball boy during his team's 1-0 defeat at Atletico San Luis in Mexico's Liga MX game on Thursday.

Torres, 24, was sent off late in the game for pushing a ball boy after he allegedly racially abused him.

The Ecuador international cried after the encounter and later revealed the alleged incident.

"What happened today cannot continue to happen," Torres said. "I was sent off for words that hurt too much.

"It's affected me and I'm sad. My teammates are not bothered by the colour of my skin, they like me as I am. They know the person I am and the pain that I'm going through right now."

Santos Laguna captain Matheus Doria called for an investigation to be carried out.

"This can't happen anywhere, please review the video images, there were racist acts," Doria said. "We are all the same, this [racism] is something of the past, it's old. We are here to do our job and those on the outside cannot do this."

Alejandro Irarragorri, president of Grupo Otegi, that owns Santos Laguna, condemned the alleged incident and wrote: "NO TO RACISM, to walk into the changing room and see a player crying because of the insults he has received is terrible."

Atletico San Luis assistant coach Pedro Garcia also expressed his disgust after the game and said: "We come to play, not to discriminate or attack. We don't have that ideology."

The U.S. women's national team beat Canada 1-0 in its opening match of the SheBelieves Cup, but there wasn't much satisfaction with the U.S. performance as manager Vlatko Andonovski said he was "disappointed" with the display.

The U.S. had the better of the play for much of the match, but was still tested by a Canada side missing top players such as striker Christine Sinclair and defender Kadeisha Buchanan. The U.S. prevailed on substitute Rose Lavelle's 79th minute winner, when an attempted clearance fell to her in the box, allowing her to lash the ball home. But Canada had some clear looks at goal as well, with midfielder Janine Beckie twice failing to convert with only goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to beat.

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"When we create 10 opportunities to score and we score one, I'm disappointed because I want us to score more goals," Andonovski said. "And on top of that, if we allow any shots to goal, I'm not going to be happy and I thought that tonight they had a couple of good opportunities to score. We're going to look into it. We're going to look into a little bit deeper why that happened."

Andonovski's sentiments were echoed by U.S. captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who called the performance "sloppy," though she also commended the U.S. for prevailing when not playing its best.

"This team prides itself on being able to find ways to win and sometimes we win pretty and sometimes we went ugly and tonight was one of those nights where we won ugly," she said. "It's important that when things aren't going right, that we're not vibing right, that we can find a way to win and we did that tonight, which is a good sign about this team's mentality."

With Canada clogging the middle, the U.S. repeatedly attacked the flanks, but still found it difficult to break through as the Reds' backline held firm for most of the match. But Andonovski felt his side was lacking in precision rather than in ideas.

"We could have done a better job in the final third," he said. "It was definitely not for lack of creativity, but I would say it was more about lack of execution. We created some good opportunities after a good build up, or we were able to break them down with good creativity, but we were not able to execute on it."

It helped that with the game still tied 0-0 Andonovski was able to employ a triple substitution that would be the envy of any coach in the world, with Lavelle, Alex Morgan and Christen Press all entering the match around the 63rd minute. It paid off as the U.S. was able to crank the pressure up a notch, leading to Lavelle's winner.

"You talk about sometimes not having depth in your team, but this team has depth on depth on depth," Sauerbrunn said. "And it's beyond the 23 that are actually here right now. The player pool in the US is very deep, and so if you can afford to bring players like that off the bench, then you're doing something good."

Andonovski did find some bright spots, especially in terms of his side's defensive performance.

"One of the things that makes me happy from a defensive standpoint, was that they didn't break us down to create the opportunity," he said. "We gave them the ball, they create opportunity. We made a mistake, they create opportunities, so that's the that's the positive thing. But then why do we give the ball away? How all that happened was something that we're gonna have to look into a little bit deeper."

The U.S. and Brazil -- who were 4-1 winners over Argentina earlier in the day -- meet up on Sunday, with the tournament title likely on the line.

Jose Mourinho could be spared until the end of the season, as Tottenham Hotspur ponder his future -- ESPN's Insider Notebook has the latest. PLUS: Why Man United passed on Dayot Upamecano.

Jump to: Man United passed on Upamecano | Alaba to Madrid not certain | Lazio to face relegation over COVID? | Third time lucky for Zidane's son? | Italy seek the next "Chucky" | Rabiot, Ancelotti could reunite

Mourinho awaits Tottenham fate

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants to wait until the end of the season before determining Jose Mourinho's fate as head coach, sources told ESPN.

Speculation in the media in England and Portugal has grown over Mourinho's position as Spurs slumped to ninth in the Premier League table following four defeats in their last five matches.

Sources told ESPN that reports in Portugal claiming it would cost Tottenham around £30 million to sack Mourinho now are "broadly accurate," since he has a contract without a break clause until the summer of 2023, but it is not just the financial situation that is buying the 58-year-old time.

The decision to delay the EFL Cup final from February to April has inadvertently helped Mourinho, given he can continue to deflect criticism by pointing to a Wembley showpiece that offers Spurs a chance to win their first silverware since 2008.

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They face a daunting task against Manchester City, who have won their last 17 games in all competitions; nevertheless Mourinho was hired to win trophies and he is close to delivering in his first full season. There is also sympathy internally for the team's run given three of those defeats came against Liverpool, Chelsea and City while captain Harry Kane was missing with ankle problems.

Mourinho won the Europa League four years ago with Manchester United, securing Champions League qualification in the process after finishing sixth in the League. Sources claim Levy is mindful the same could still be possible for Spurs, but Mourinho will have to deliver results in the short term, starting by progressing against Wolfsberger AC in their round-of-32-tie, and improving domestic results with West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace before the north London derby against Arsenal on March 13.

Sources claim the first-team squad remain behind Mourinho but it was noticeable that he offered an olive branch to Dele Alli and Gareth Bale -- two individuals marginalised in recent months and singled out for criticism -- by claiming "coaches sometimes can make wrong decisions." -- James Olley

Why Solskjaer opted out of Upamecano pursuit

Manchester United did not attempt to rival Bayern Munich's move for Dayot Upamecano because of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's desire to sign a left-footed centre-back, sources told ESPN.

Bayern announced they will sign Upamecano from RB Leipzig at the end of the season after agreeing to pay his €42.5m ($51m) release clause.

Sources told ESPN that the 22-year-old was of interest to United, particularly because of the release clause in his contract, but his representatives had already been informed of Solskjaer's prerequisites before Bayern sealed the deal.

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The United manager is hopeful of signing a centre-back in the summer and believes adding a left-footed defender will add more balance to his team.

Solskjaer's preferred partnership this season has been captain Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, who are both predominantly right-footed. It has meant Maguire has often had to play on the left, after United's only left-footed centre-back Marcos Rojo left the club for Boca Juniors in January.

As well as Maguire and Lindelof, Solskjaer has Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe as his other senior central defenders. If another centre-back comes in, United would be open to offers for Jones and could allow Tuanzebe, 23, to move on loan. -- Rob Dawson

Alaba has Madrid agreement but could take his pick of Liverpool, Chelsea, Atleti

David Alaba's agent, Pini Zahavi has received calls from at least eight clubs in Europe about his player. Alaba, 28, has decided to leave Bayern Munich on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Real Madrid are the front runners. They have a verbal financial agreement with Alaba and Zahavi, sources told ESPN. Los Blancos are keen on the full-back, especially if captain Sergio Ramos, whose contract expires at the end of the campaign, does not renew and moves on.

But Austria international Alaba is listening to other offers and will decide where to go. He could easily reach the same agreement with other teams and then take his pick.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are all after him, as are Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but Chelsea and Liverpool are pushing the hardest regardless of Madrid's confidence in wining the race.

Alaba is in high demand, not just because there won't be a transfer fee to pay, but also because he is at the peak of his talent and is a versatile player with experience as a centre-back, left-back and defensive midfield.

His experience and success in two Champions Leagues, nine Bundesliga titles, and six German Cup wins makes him a rare player to get as a free agent. -- Julien Laurens

Relegation option if Lazio guilty of COVID-19 test tampering

Lazio have been referred to the Federal Court in Italy for allegedly tampering with coronavirus tests and the Serie A giants face a sliding scale of punishments if found guilty, with anything from a points deduction to relegation to Serie B.

President Claudio Lotito and club doctors Ivo Pulcini and Fabio Rodia stand accused by prosecutors of having failed to properly report positive cases to the appropriate health authorities and not enforcing the mandatory 10-day isolation period for an asymptomatic player who was later involved in a league match. The player's identity has not been made public and the Italian FA has deferred the matter to the Italian courts.

"We trust in sporting justice, which will be expressed in the appropriate offices, so that the correct reconstruction of the facts is re-established and total non-involvement with the contested accusations is recognised," Lazio spokesman Roberto Rao said.

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The investigation was opened on Nov. 3 when tests were seized following a training ground inspection. Lotito stands accused of having "failed to enforce, or failed to monitor compliance with, the rules on health checks and the necessary communications to the competent local health authorities."

The Biancocelesti, who had points deducted in the Calciopoli scandal of 2006 which saw Juventus relegated from Serie A for attempting to influence match officials, could also face the drop if found guilty. Given the global effects of the pandemic, pressure would be on the Italian authorities to issue strong action if Lazio are found guilty of tampering.

Calciopoli isn't the only example of big teams being punished with relegation for their crimes. AC Milan were also forced to drop down a division for match-fixing in 1980. -- Andrew Cesare Richardson

Third time lucky for Zidane's son at Real?

Real Madrid's injury crisis meant that Zinedine Zidane's son Theo -- a tall, elegant midfielder like his dad -- was called up to train with the first team this week. The 18-year-old will be hoping to succeed where older brothers Enzo and Luca failed, and stake a claim for a place in the senior squad. Their careers haven't exactly taken off since making their Madrid debuts in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Enzo, who scored in his only appearance, a 6-1 Copa del Rey win against Cultural Leonesa at the Bernabeu, is without a club at the age of 25. He was released by Almeria in October, after unsuccessful spells in Portugal and Switzerland.

Goalkeeper Luca, 22, conceded four goals in his two games for Madrid, against Villarreal and Huesca. He has fared better than Enzo, and is now back-up keeper for Rayo Vallecano in Spain's second division.

Theo, who has made two appearances for Madrid's B-team Castilla, has long been rated by club insiders as the most talented of the four Zidane boys. Youngest Elyaz is a defender with the Under-16s, and his playing style is the most reminiscent of his father. -- Alex Kirkland

Italy's search for another 'Chucky'

Former Mexican footballer Sergio Lugo has been hired by agency Nicoletti & Partners to uncover the new Hirving "Chucky" Lozano for Italian football.

Lozano joined Napoli from PSV Eindhoven at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign and after a difficult start to life in Serie A which even saw him kicked out of training for a lack of effort, the Mexico forward has grown to become an influential member of Gennaro Gattuso's side. Sources told ESPN how Lozano has developed into one of the club's leaders inside the dressing room.

Lugo spent 10 years as Victor Manuel Vucetich's assistant at Chivas and it is at his former club where interest in unearthing the best talent in Mexican football lies.

"An Italian company invited me to look for players who could move to Europe and they have asked me for two players from Chivas," Luga told ESPN Deportes. "They want players with certain characteristics who can be successful in Europe and this is thanks to 'Chucky' Lozano.

"This kid has surprised people in Italy as he showed himself to be a top player. He is well thought of there -- more than in Mexico.

"When this company contacted me, they asked 'Could there be more in Mexico, players with similar profiles to 'Chucky?' And I told them: 'Yes, of course.'"

Lozano, whose injury during Napoli's 1-0 win over Juventus last weekend could rule him out for a number of weeks, has nearly triple the amount of goals this term than last season, and in fewer games. He scored five in 34 matches across all competitions in 2019-20 as Napoli won the Coppa Italia but has already 13 goals in 32 games this campaign. -- Andrew Cesare Richardson

Ancelotti keen on Rabiot at Everton

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti played a huge part in the development of a young Adrien Rabiot from their time together at Paris Saint-Germain, and the two could be reunited next season at Goodison Park, sources told ESPN. Ancelotti is keen to strengthen his midfield and Rabiot's profile is what he is looking for as an upgrade on Andre Gomes.

Rabiot, 25, can play anywhere across midfield but is a great box-to-box player with qualities that could suit the Premier League's more physical nature. It is not clear yet if Juventus would let the French midfielder leave in the summer.

This season has been difficult for him under Andrea Pirlo with some under-par performances, while he was red carded during the 2-2 draw at Roma.

Ancelotti managed Rabiot at PSG when he was just 17. He promoted him to the first team squad in the summer 2012 and gave him his debut in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League in the first half of the 2012-2013 season.

The Italian was a big influence in Rabiot's career, even advising him to go on loan to Toulouse in January 2013 to continue his progression. They have stayed in touch since and could work well together again next season. -- Julien Laurens

Virat Kohli felt like the "loneliest guy in the world" when he went through a stretch of five Tests on the England tour in 2014 without a half-century. He made this revelation in a chat with Mark Nicholas on his Not Just Cricket podcast.

"It's not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you won't be able to score runs and I think all batsmen have felt that at some stage that you are not in control of anything at all," Kohli said about his mental state at the time.

"You just don't understand how to get over it. That was a phase when I literally couldn't do anything to overturn things. I felt like I was the loneliest guy in the world."

Kohli, who described that tour as the lowest point in his career, remembers feeling alone despite having established himself as a key member of the Test side by then. In hindsight, he looks back at that phase as one where he needed professional help but didn't seek it.

"Personally, for me that was a revelation that you could feel that lonely even though you a part of a big group," he said. "Won't say I didn't have people who I could speak to but not having a professional to speak to who could understand what I am going through completely, I think is a huge factor.

"I think I would like to see it change. Someone whom you can go to at any stage, have a conversation around and say 'Listen this is what I am feeling, I am finding it hard to even go to sleep, I feel like I don't want to wake up in the morning. I have no confidence in myself, what do I do?'

"Lot of people suffer with that feeling for longer periods of time, it carries on for months, it carries on for a whole cricket season, people are not able to get out of it. I strongly feel the need for professional help [to be] there to be very honest."

This is something Kohli touched upon earlier too, in a chat with Kevin Pietersen, when he said he wanted India's young cricketers to not commit the same mistakes as he did, in not seeking help.

"All the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view, I wanted to get runs," he had told Pietersen in an Instagram live. "I could never think of what the team wants me to do in this situation. I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I'm going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all. It just ate me up. I just kept going into a downward spiral and I just couldn't get out of it. Horrible."

Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore was the only team that traveled to the IPL in UAE last year with a psychologist. At the time, he had underlined the importance of having someone in the setup to help players deal with the rigours of being in a biosecure bubble for three months.

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was straightforward and open about a number of aspects surrounding the IPL and his new role as Rajasthan Royals' Director of Cricket. It wasn't until he was asked about plotting and planning against his good friend Mahela Jayawardene, the Mumbai Indians head coach, that he finally broke into a chuckle. The two, who were part of many big moments in Sri Lankan cricket history, are now at the helm of two IPL winning sides but won't get to work with top talent from their country in this year's edition.

Lasith Malinga's decision to retire and Royal Challengers Bangalore's decision to release Isuru Udana ahead of the auction has meant no Sri Lankan player will be part of the league for the first time in its history. For the record, Udana, Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera all went unsold, while rookie Jaffna leg-spinner Vijayakanth Vilasanti, who impressed in the inaugural Lanka Premier League, made it among the 298 players that were shortlisted to go under the hammer.

While the non-selection itself may be down to a number of factors, like auction dynamics and player availability, Jayawardene expressed disappointment at the lack of fast bowling options in Sri Lanka, the one variety that was in much demand.

"I think we still have the representation, so we're happy (joking about him and Sangakkara being in the IPL)," Jayawardene said in jest. "But yeah, a bit disappointed. I'm sure a few of the guys were on the radar, but I think it's a tough place because you're looking at 20-odd slots for the overseas players and majority of the slots were for those fast bowlers and all-rounders, which I think Sri Lanka lacks a little bit of that.

"But I'm sure the younger generation will come through and till then, it is disheartening but that is what it is. IPL is a place where you try and get the best players in world cricket to come and play. And it's a good message for the Sri Lankan players to lift their game up, get competitive, so they could be part of the IPL on their merit."

Sangakkara, meanwhile, had a slightly different take. He underlined the unpredictability of Sri Lanka Cricket's tour programme as one of the reasons for a number of Sri Lankan players not being in demand. As things stand, Sri Lanka are due to host Bangladesh for a Test series, which is part of the World Test Championship, next month, which means a potential clash with some portion of the tournament for those picked.

Other external factors like quarantine periods would've potentially hampered plans for franchises. That said, in any case, the participation of Sri Lankans in the IPL has dwindled over the years. In 2019, for instance, Udana was the only player in the league after Malinga chose to skip for personal reasons.

"I think there were some fantastic players in that tournament (LPL) and in Sri Lanka, but the crucial thing here is the unpredictability of SLC's tour programme, where it's hard to predict how long players can be available," Sangakkara said. "If they have to leave at some point during the IPL season, it kind of adds a bit of volatility that franchises want to shy away from. That's why you see lack of Sri Lankan players this IPL, definitely not because they don't have the capability."

Ten days ago, a brutal loss to the Detroit Pistons forced the Brooklyn Nets to refocus. Since then, the Nets have been a riding a wave of wins, the latest a 109-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Brooklyn has taken a step toward solving its defensive puzzle and is in the midst of a five-game win streak.

"That [Detroit loss] was a low for us, and it did provoke some conversations and kind of a rededication to what we're trying to do," Nets coach Steve Nash said. "I'm proud of the way they responded since then, obviously we've taken care of business."

The Nets' 122-111 loss to Detroit on Feb. 9 was ugly. But after allowing the Pistons to shoot 56% from the field in that game -- the highest field goal percentage they've allowed in a game this season -- Brooklyn has tightened up defensively. The Nets' five consecutive wins mark their longest win streak of the season.

"It's about time we turn the corner defensively," Irving said with a smile. "No team is gonna win anything in this league if they don't get stops. It's about time. And we heard them loud and clear in the last few games."

In the 13 games the Nets played in from January 16 to Feb. 9, the Nets contested 85.5% of shots in the paint, according to Second Spectrum tracking. That ranked 28th in the NBA. Against the Pistons on Feb. 9, Brooklyn contested just 78.6% of shots in the paint, their second-worst shooting percentage in any game since acquiring star guard James Harden in a mid-January trade.

But since Feb. 10, the Nets are contesting 91.1% of shots in the paint -- the sixth-highest rate in the NBA.

"I think after our game against Detroit, obviously it was a game in which we struggled really badly on the defensive end and it was sort of, not a breaking point, but it just happened pretty repeatedly up to that point," Joe Harris said. "I think after that game just the level of focus, the attention to detail and the intensity on the defensive end has really ramped up."

Brooklyn has kept opponents to under 100 points three times since the Harden trade, and two of those instances have come in their past five games -- including against the Lakers. On the other side of the ball, Brooklyn shot 18-of-39 from 3-point range Thursday and is now shooting a league-high 42% from beyond the arc since Harden joined the team.

Irving finished with 16 points against the Lakers. Harris added 21 points, and James Harden had 23 points and 11 assists.

"It is scary out there when other teams are doing their best to stay in the game defensively and we continue to compound more offensive execution," Irving said.

He added: "We know that this doesn't happen often where you get a great collection of guys together that have been prominent guys in their roles on their respective teams and you've got guys coming off the bench that are starters for other teams."