LISTEN: Full script of Episode 97 of Spodcast where we discuss Premier League matches, IPL Player Auction and more

The IPL player auction for the 2019 season will be held on 18th December, and 1000 cricketers have registered their names for the 70 slots available. Of the 1000, 200 are capped players, 800 are uncapped players and some even from associate nations have registered for the auction. Of the 800 uncapped players, 746 are Indian. A Firstpost report noted that cricketers from nine Indian states have registered with the IPL for the first time - north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Mizoram as well as states like Bihar and Puducherry. South Africa has the most number of overseas players registering for IPL 2019, with 59 players. The franchises have to submit their shortlists of players by 5 pm on 10th December. On Monday, the list of players up for auction will be finalized. A couple of football updates now. First, the ISL. Bengaluru FC continued their unbeaten run in this season of the Indian Super League after they drew 1-1 against an aggressive NorthEast United in Guwahati on Wednesday. Like many other matches this season, the first half was fiercely contested as both sides defended hard. NorthEast had some chances to score early on but they were thwarted more than once by Bengaluru goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The two teams tried to dominate the midfield, but NorthEast had two shots on target while Bengaluru had just one. NorthEast finally broke through in the 64th minute. Bartholomew Ogbeche played a ball to the left when Federico Gallego was left in a lot of space, and Gallego burst past Bengaluru’s defence to kick the ball into the goal. The ball deflected off goalie Gurpreet to give NorthEast the lead. They had another good chance two minutes later when Gurpreet was yellow carded for fouling Ogbeche. But Ogbeche’s kick was blocked by Bengaluru’s defence. NorthEast seemed to have all but won the match until some last minute drama. Bengaluru’s Bhutanese striker Chencho Gyeltshen kicked a Sunil Chettri header into NorthEast’s goal in the 90th minute to level the score, ensuring that Bengaluru remain unbeaten this season, and stay four points ahead of NorthEast at the top of the points table. Premier League news now. Liverpool are now just two points behind leaders Manchester City after a thrilling 3-1 win over Burnley. Liverpool struggled to get any rhythm going in the first half. To make matters worse, goalie Alisson Becker had a less than impressive second half as he conceded a goal to give Burnley the lead. But Liverpool equalized soon, and then took a 2-1 lead. The first goal was scored by James Milner, who also provided the ball to Firmino who scored goal number two. Xherdan Shaqiri scored the third in the 91st minute to seal the win for Liverpool. Meanwhile, it was a case of lopsided fortunes as Arsenal’s unbeaten run extended to 20 games in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United who have gone winless for four games now. Shkodran Mustafi and Marcos Rojo scored for Arsenal while Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard scored for Manchester United. Manchester United are in eighth place in the points table while Arsenal are in fourth place along with Chelsea. USA Gymnastics announced yesterday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection. The governing body for American gymnastics is grappling with the fallout of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal. Earlier this year, former US team doctor Larry Nassar was jailed for life after it came to light that he had abused more than 250 athletes, including several stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. USA Gymnastics was accused of covering up Nassar’s crimes. Announcing that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to settle lawsuits brought by Nassar’s victims, the body said, “This filing will enable USA Gymnastics to continue to support its athletes, to fully operate and meet its responsibilities to the entire membership and to expeditiously resolve the claims made by the survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar.” Kathryn Carson, a chairperson of the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors, added, “We owe it to the survivors to resolve, fully and finally, claims based on the horrific acts of the past and, through this process, seek to expedite resolution and help them move forward.” John Manly, an attorney who represents many survivors of Nassar’s crimes, claimed, “…bankruptcy is not a method for resolving claims more quickly. It is a delay tactic designed to stop survivors from getting information through depositions and document requests. It is a cynical extension of USAG’s campaign to hide their participation in the Nassar scandal from Congress, the media and the public.”