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Dhoni concedes CSK were ‘a batter light’; impressed with Pathirana and Choudhary

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 Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded at the conclusion of the team’s campaign in IPL 2022 that the defending champions were “a batter light”, adding that Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana and 25-year-old quick Mukesh Choudhary were the finds of the season for the four-time champions.

CSK dished out another below-par performance against Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium in their last league game on Friday, losing by five wickets despite all-rounder Moeen Ali (93 off 57 balls) giving them a fairy-tale start and the platform to aim for a 200-plus score. In the end, some inept batting by the middle and lower order saw the side manage just 150/6 in 20 overs.

Dhoni agreed that CSK should have a slightly deeper batting line-up.

“What we need to realise is we’re playing a batter light. Once we lost those quick wickets, Moeen had to change his momentum. I feel if one of the batters had batted with him, he could have continued his momentum. It gives liberty for the batsmen coming in to play their shots or play whatever their game is.

“I feel the role and responsibility got slightly swapped when we lost those wickets and that made it really difficult. So a batter light with the last four not really known for their batting. If we had gone hard and lost another wicket there, we wouldn’t have got anything that we would look to defend.

“I would say we were 10-15 runs short. But of course you need to bowl well after that. If their (RR) openers get going and if they get too many in the first six, then 180 also is not enough. Depending on whatever the par score is, the start is important, the first six overs especially on wickets that are really nice. So I feel definitely 15 runs short,” said Dhoni.

Expressing confidence in the young quick bowlers, the skipper said that whenever they’d got the opportunity, they had tried to maximise the gains.

“Whatever games they have got, they have learned a lot from it. One of the biggest examples is Mukesh (Choudhary). He has played all the games but what is impressive is to see from the first game till the last game how he has improved, how he can bowl at the death. Still, yes, what he will do is go back and learn out of the outings he has got. That’s what we really want from players. Once they have got that experience, what is important, next year once they turn up for IPL is that they shouldn’t start from scratch again.

“It’s important to remember in their mind what really happened in IPL, what strengths they developed, what are the thinking when you are under pressure. That is what is needed from the youngsters and most of them have made the most of whatever chance they have got.

“Other than that, our Malinga (Matheesha Pathirana), he’s really good. It’s difficult to pick him and I feel he will definitely contribute next year for us in a big way.”

Dhoni rued the fact that the players did well in patches, while in a tournament like the IPL, the entire team needs to fire.

“We have done well in patches but what is important is to keep doing well as a team. One of the ways is one of the individuals keeps doing well in every game and others contribute. But I feel the crucial thing is whenever you get an opportunity, once you are in, make sure you make the most of it whether you are a bowler or a batter and keep learning. It’s not a one-year tournament. You keep coming back year after year. So once you keep learning and once you’re matured, that’s when you capitalise and be a big IPL player for the next 10-12 years. That’s what is really needed from youngsters.”

International

Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”

India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.

Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.

Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.

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International

Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

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Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.

According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.

More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.

The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.

In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.

Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.

In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.

However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.

The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.

Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.

Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.

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Maharashtra

ICC, BCCI, ECB and CA to bankroll plan to support Afghan women cricketers: Report

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Mumbai, April 16: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plans to support the exiled female cricketers from Afghanistan will be bankrolled via contributions by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Australia (CA), a report claimed on Wednesday.

The initiative to assist Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers, which will include coaching and mentorship, “will be constituted through a dedicated fund,” and it will be fully funded by the ICC and the three boards.

An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the fund will not include any contribution from the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ACB will continue to receive its full amount from the ICC.

The ICC has recently announced that it will put in place a plan to support women cricketers exiled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country and banned the participation of females in sports and disbanded the teams.

“Last year, the prospect of ring-fencing an amount for women’s cricket from the ACB’s portion of the ICC’s revenue distributions was discussed but that plan did not come to fruition. The ACB is the only Full Member board that does not field a women’s team, and is not able to because of the severe restrictions on women’s rights after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report claimed.

The report also said, the ICC’s latest plan to engage with Afghanistan’s female cricketers neither amounts to official recognition nor does it clear the path for Afghanistan to field a women’s team, as such a team can only be ratified by the ACB. Instead, the ICC hopes to work with Afghanistan’s female cricketers to provide them with both access to the game and funding for further education.

“The ICC does not select a team for Afghanistan. Rather, we are committed to addressing the complexities of the issue and finding a solution that fits within the ICC’s legal and constitutional framework,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The report also confirmed that the ICC’s initiative will not be limited to the 19 Afghan cricketers resident in Australia but, “the plan is to include all displaced Afghan women cricketers regardless of their location.”

The ICC has so far not clarified on what will the Afghanistan women cricketers in exile do after getting coaching and mentorship from this fund.

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