International
No Indian in ICC’s team for T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s Babar named captain

After their dismal show, no Indian cricketer was on Monday named in the official 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup team of the tournament with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam leading the star-studded side.
The Virat Kohli-led India started the T20 World Cup in UAE with the favourites tag but they were knocked out of the tournament after the ordinary performance in the Super 12 phase.
India’s much-trumpeted batters, as well as bowlers, flopped in back-to-back crucial matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. The Indian cricketers had great outings in the last three clashes against Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia but it wasn’t enough to help them feature in the ICC’s team of the tournament.
Based on their performances, stars from champions Australia, runners-up New Zealand, semi-finalists England and Pakistan as well as Sri Lanka and South Africa feature in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup team of the tournament.
Opening batter David Warner, leg-spinner Adam Zampa and seamer Josh Hazlewood all make the cut after helping steer Australia to its first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title.
Warner had a power-packed set of performances and scored a total of 289 runs — the second most of the tournament — at a healthy average of 48.16, playing a major role in Australia winning their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup crown.
On the other hand, Zampa picked 13 victims from seven matches — including a memorable five-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the Super 12s while his teammate Hazlewood followed in his footsteps with a total haul of 11 wickets as the skillful right-armer proved a crucial weapon in guiding Justin Langer’s team to its maiden tournament title.
There are also spots for England ace Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper, Pakistan’s Babar Azam as captain, New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult and Sri Lanka star Wanindu Hasaranga — the tournament’s leading wicket-taker — in the line-up.
England star Buttler was in blistering form throughout the event, scoring just 20 runs fewer than Warner at a brilliant average of almost 90. He cracked a perfectly-paced century against Sri Lanka — off just 67 balls – when his team needed him most, while his brutal knock of 71 not out against Australia helped fire England to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against the eventual champions.
Captaining the side at No 3 is Pakistan skipper Babar, who was the only batter to break the 300-run barrier in the competition, scoring 303 runs with an impressive average of 60.60.
His 68 not out against old rivals India powered Pakistan to a memorable 10-wicket victory, while three further half-centuries in the Super 12 stage helped book his team’s slot in the semi-final against Australia. And while they were unable to battle past Aaron Finch’s outfit in the semi-final, Babar helped himself to 39 runs to finish his campaign in a typically consistent fashion.
Left-armer Boult took three-fers against both India and Afghanistan while grabbing both of his team’s wickets in the final helped him finish the tournament with 13 wickets at an average of 13.30.
Completing the middle order is another Sri Lankan in the form of Hasaranga, who stands tall as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with a stunning 16 from his eight matches.
The skillful leg-spinner bagged a brilliant hat-trick against South Africa as he dismissed Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, and Dwaine Pretorius – across two separate spells – to etch his name into ICC Men’s T20 World Cup folklore. And a further three wickets against England, bolstered by two against Australia, saw him emerge as the most prolific bowler of the tournament and firmly deserving of his place in the Team of the tournament.
The side was pulled together by a selection panel featuring commentators, former international players, and journalists.
“As with any team selection there will be varying opinions, and robust discussion on the final composition of the squad. The panel respects that, and we encourage the strong debate that will ensue. This team was incredibly difficult to select over such a highly competitive tournament. Selections were based predominantly on the Super 12 onward to the final,” said convenor Ian Bishop about the team.
The team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 (in batting order) is:
David Warner (Australia) – 289 runs at 48.16
Jos Buttler (wk) (England) – 269 runs at 89.66, five dismissals
Babar Azam (Captain, Pakistan) – 303 runs at 60.60
Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) – 231 runs at 46.20
Aiden Markram (South Africa) – 162 runs at 54.00
Moeen Ali (England) – 92 runs at a strike rate of 131.42, seven wickets at 11
Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) – 16 wickets at 9.75
Adam Zampa (Australia) – 13 wickets at 12.07
Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 11 wickets at 15.90
Trent Boult (New Zealand) – 13 wickets at 13.30
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – nine wickets at 11.55
12th: Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) – seven wickets at 24.14
International
Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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

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.
International
Houthis say 123 civilians in Yemen killed in one month of US airstrikes

Sanaa, April 15: A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement.
The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others.
The health authorities’ previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223.
The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023.
“A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province” in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing “the ongoing US aggression” has not crippled the group’s military capabilities.
The statement affirmed the group’s support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue “until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.”
The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.
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