Connect with us
Thursday,30-July-2026
Breaking News

National News

India still in labour pains, before new growth emerges: Aakash Chopra on team’s transition struggles in Tests

Published

on

New Delhi, Nov 18: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra spoke in depth about India’s transition struggles in the red-ball format and how the Shubman Gill-led side has been trying different permutations and combinations to get a settled long-term XI. He said that while India drawing the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar trophy in England earlier this year was encouraging, the team is still experiencing ‘labour pains before new growth emerges.’

Chopra discussed India’s current transition in Test cricket on JioStar, providing an in-depth analysis as he said, “Transition is always painful, though the England series temporarily hid this harsh reality due to unusual English pitch conditions. While drawing that series felt encouraging, we must acknowledge we’re still in the labour pains before new growth emerges.”

Adding further about the uncertainties in the team’s playing XI, he said, “The number three position remains unsettled – we’ve seen Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, and now Washington Sundar batting there. Dhruv Jurel shows promise but has played only five Tests. Role clarity remains a concern. Is Sundar primarily a batter or bowler when he only delivered one over? We faced similar uncertainty with Nitesh Kumar Reddy recently. Rather than pretending we’re a finished product, we must accept this transition continues and will involve challenging phases before achieving stability.”

India suffered a disappointing 30-run defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded first Test of the two-match series in Kolkata on Sunday, raising questions about the players’ preparation and mindset ahead of a home game. While the pitch and the pitch curator faced criticism after the match ended in the second session of Day 3, head coach Gautam Gambhir clarified that the team received exactly the kind of pitch they had requested.

Chopra further spoke on India’s pitch preparation strategy after their Test defeat, saying, “Our practice sessions should feel like real match conditions. Players like Pant and Jurel needed time on rank turners, and someone like Gill, coming from bouncy Australian pitches, needed that adjustment too.

“Pitch preparation isn’t an exact science, but we still need to ask whether extreme turning tracks are the best way for us to win. When a Test ends in two and a half days, it shows something isn’t balanced. With four spinners compared to their two, why bring the contest down to their level? We’ve seen this happen against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa before. If this becomes our only home strategy, then every batsman will need very different and specific preparation just to cope.”

When the pitch was dubbed difficult to bat on, South African skipper Temba Bavuma put up a terrific knock with the bat and scored a remarkable half-century, which was the turning point in the game as his knock, coupled with the bowlers’ brilliance, helped the visitors go one up in the series.

On the pitch debate through statistical evidence, Chopra noted, “Exceptions define the norm, and Temba Bavuma’s fifty stands as the exception among 38 wickets that fell in this match. If batting were straightforward, multiple players would have scored heavily, not just one batter. While Bavuma’s performance deserves credit, the reality remains that only one person succeeded where others failed. Learning through victory feels rewarding, but learning through defeat creates bigger challenges for team development.”

The second and final Test will be played from November 22 in Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

National News

21-year-old NEET protester discharged from RML Hospital after 10-day critical care

Published

on

New Delhi, July 30: A 21-year-old woman who was injured during the police action at the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest has shown satisfactory clinical recovery and was discharged from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Thursday.

The hospital said the decision to discharge her was taken after taking her stable condition and overall recovery into consideration.

The woman, who had participated in the protest, was brought to RML Hospital in an unconscious state after suffering asphyxia during a stampede-like situation that occurred amid the Parliament march.

Her condition had initially required intensive care and ventilatory support for several days. However, she gradually improved and regained full consciousness and independent mobility nearly ten days after being admitted to the hospital.

In its latest medical update issued on Thursday, RML Hospital said the patient had made a “satisfactory recovery following comprehensive critical care management” after undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.

“On admission, she was resuscitated in the Emergency Department and shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she was managed on ventilatory support. Following sustained clinical improvement, she was successfully weaned off ventilatory support and, after one week in the ICU, was shifted to the Nursing Home ward for further recovery and rehabilitation,” the hospital said.

The hospital further stated that Thursday marked the 10th day of the woman’s hospitalisation and that she had reached a stable condition and was “fully conscious, alert, coherent, and hemodynamically stable” and had resumed a normal oral diet.

RML Hospital also said that she was ambulatory without assistance and had regained the ability to independently perform her regular daily activities, indicating significant improvement from the condition in which she was initially admitted.

“In view of her satisfactory clinical recovery and stable condition, she is being discharged today with appropriate medical advice and follow-up instructions,” the hospital added.

The woman was among the protesters who participated in the July 20 demonstration at Jantar Mantar, which was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) under the banner of ‘Sansad Chalo’.

The protest was held to demand accountability from the government over the NEET paper leaks and other examination-related irregularities, along with action to address concerns raised by students.

The demonstration later turned violent when some miscreants resorted to stone-pelting, following which security personnel used mild force to disperse the demonstrators. The clashes during the protest resulted in several protesters and police personnel sustaining serious injuries.

Continue Reading

National News

Recruitment scam: ABVP activists lay siege to KPSC headquarters in Bengaluru, detained

Published

on

Bengaluru, July 30: Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday condemning alleged irregularities in recruitment conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), with several protesters being detained by police while attempting to lay siege to the KPSC office.

It can be noted that the KPSC is allegedly facing a major cash-for-jobs and OMR tampering scandal involving the recruitment of 400 Veterinary Officers, featuring leaked question papers, Rs 80 lakh bribes per seat, and the suspension of the KPSC Chairman.

The protest was led by ABVP Bengaluru Organizing Secretary Manikantha Kalasa. It was organized over allegations of large-scale irregularities in the recruitment of Veterinary Officers and Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), which have sparked widespread concern among aspirants and the public.

As the demonstration intensified outside the KPSC office in Bengaluru, police deployed additional personnel to maintain law and order. Barricades were erected on roads leading to the office to prevent protesters from entering the premises.

During the protest, minor scuffles and pushing and bumping were reported between ABVP activists and police personnel as demonstrators attempted to breach the barricades and march towards the KPSC office. Police subsequently detained several protesters to prevent further escalation.

ABVP leaders alleged that repeated irregularities in KPSC recruitments have created anxiety among students and job aspirants across the state and demanded a fair, transparent, and impartial investigation into the alleged scams.

The alleged recruitment irregularities have become a major issue of public debate in Karnataka, with investigations currently underway. Protesters urged the state government to ensure accountability and restore confidence in the recruitment process.

Anticipating further attempts to gherao the KPSC office, police maintained heavy security arrangements in and around the premises. Extensive barricading was put in place from the KPSC office near Vidhana Soudha up to the road leading towards the CID office, restricting public access to the area.

Authorities allowed entry only to KPSC staff members and individuals with essential work at the office.

Meanwhile, candidates selected for the Veterinary Officer posts met Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara in Bengaluru and urged him to complete the recruitment process at the earliest. The candidates maintained that they had secured high marks in the examination and were selected on merit, adding that they were willing to face any investigation.

Several candidates broke down while speaking to reporters and appealed to the government to proceed with their appointments. They stated that if any of the selected candidates are found guilty of wrongdoing during the course of the probe, appropriate action may be taken against them.

The selected candidates further alleged that a large number of employees working on a contractual basis fear losing their jobs if meritorious candidates are appointed and are therefore creating hurdles in the recruitment process.

Continue Reading

Crime

Rs 28 crore, 15 kg gold seized in Bengal Police raid; relative of Tulu Mondal arrested

Published

on

Kolkata, July 30: After almost 24 hours of marathon raids and search operations coupled with interrogation, the Birbhum District Police in West Bengal on Thursday arrested Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu Mondal, an influential stone-quarry owner in the district.

Following the marathon operations that started on Wednesday afternoon, the police recovered huge unaccounted cash and gold from Minar’s residence. The cops brought currency-counting machines from a local bank branch to count the cash seized.

The counting and recounting of the cash recovered was completed on Thursday morning; the total cash seizure had been found to be a little over Rs 28 crore, said a member of the investigating team.

Apart from that, he added, 15 kilograms of gold, whose estimated market value is over Rs 21 crore, have been seized from Minar’s residence.

“The estimated value of the seized cash and gold would be to the tune of around Rs 50 crore,” he added.

On Thursday morning, Minar was formally arrested, and the cops first took him to a local police station. At the same time, the police left his residence with a couple of trunks filled with seized cash and gold.

Minar will be presented to a district court in Suri later in the day, and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody.

Initially, Minar refused to answer repeated queries from the cops about the sources of such huge cash and gold. However, he finally admitted that the money and gold recovered were sourced from a syndicated crime racket, confirmed Birbhum’s district police Superintendent, Bidit Raj Bundesh.

According to police sources, last Tuesday, officials of Mohammad Bazar police station in Birbhum arrested seven dacoits. Based on the information from that dacoits’ group, the investigators found the location of the money and gold ‘mine’ in the house of Minar. Accordingly, the raids and search operations started at Minar’s residence on Wednesday afternoon, which continued till Thursday morning.

It is learnt that Minar was a bus driver in the state-run transport corporation. However, locals said he was involved in a major way with the stone-quarry business of Tulu Mondal, who again was a close confidant of Anubrata Mondal, the former Trinamool Congress district president in Birbhum.

The recovery of such a huge amount of cash and gold from his residence this morning has left his neighbours dumbstruck. In the past, the stone-quarry owner, Tulu Mondal, was accused of illegal stone mining.

Tulu Mondal’s name had also come up in the cattle smuggling case. He was under the watch of the ED in 2022. At that time, the Central investigators raided his house and office. The investigators are trying to find whether the huge cash and gold recovered from Minar Mondal’s residence were actually owned by Tulu Mondal.

Continue Reading

Trending