International
Rashid Khan, Andre Russell, Adam Gilchrist among Maxwell’s top-5 picks in T20 cricket

Top Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has picked Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, West Indies’ destructive batsman Andre Russell, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, legendary Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and express pace bowler Shaun Tait as the top-five players in the shortest format of the game ever, ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to commence later this month in UAE and Oman.
Asked to pick five players who he would have in his T20 World XI, Maxwell went for choices that would cover all aspects on the cricket field and could give a tough time to any five-a-side T20 team in the world.
Considered by many to be the premier spinner in T20 cricket, Rashid Khan was Maxwell’s No.1 pick. The 23-year-old, Rashid has already achieved a number of feats in his career, across all formats of the game, with batters still finding it difficult to pick his variations.
Rashid is somewhat of a veteran in T20 cricket, playing for a number of franchises around the world. He has played 281 matches, picking up a 388 wickets at an average of 17.54 and a strike-rate of 16.60. He has also been a handy batter, scoring 1288 runs. At the international level, Rashid has scalped 95 wickets in 51 matches at an average of 12.63 with a strike-rate of 12.10, with best bowling figures of 5/3.
Maxwell felt he will pose a major threat to the batters during the ICC T20 World Cup, especially with the conditions expected to be conducive to spin bowling.
On West Indian cricketer Andre Russell, Maxwell said that he is “someone who’ll add anything to any T20 side.” Russell has been an integral part of the West Indies T20 set-up. In his T20 career, Russell has played 382 games, scoring 6,405 runs at a strike-rate of 169.66. He has also scalped up 340 wickets with best figures of 5/15.
In the international arena, Russell has played 62 games, scoring 716 runs and scalping 36 wickets. West Indies would hope that he is fit during the T20 World Cup, as they aim for a third title.
Maxwell was also full of praise for the Ben Stokes, who he said was a “fierce competitor”. Having played 148 T20 matches, Stokes has scored 2,865 runs at an average of 24.91 and a strike-rate of 135.07. The all-rounder has also picked 86 wickets at 31.03 apiece.
For England, Stokes has played 34 T20Is, scoring 442 runs and scalping 28 wickets. Maxwell felt, England will feel his absence during the T20 World Cup.
Maxwell, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, also included Adam Gilchrist in his top-5 picks, saying he is a “game-changer in each and every sense of imagination”.
“Unerring with the gloves and smashing with the bat, watching Gilchrist in full flow was a ride will of thrill,” said Maxwell to icc-cricket.com. Though international T20 cricket was in its infancy towards the end of Gilchrist’s career, he still made an impact, scoring 272 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 141.66. In his overall T20 career, Gilchrist played 102 games, scoring 2622 runs at a strike-rate of 140.28 with three centuries.
On the inclusion of Shaun Tait in his top-5 picks, Maxwell said, “Having played against him, I know how quick he was. Even at the back end of his career, he was bowling absolute rockets. I think he’d certainly strike fear into any batter at the other end.”
Despite being beset by injuries, Tait regularly clocked up speeds of over 150 km/h. He played 171 T20 matches in his career picking up 218 wickets at an average of 22.41 apiece.
International
UNSC asks all countries to cooperate in bringing Pahalgam terrorists, backers to justice

United Nations, April 26: The Security Council has “condemned in the strongest terms” the Pahalgam terrorist attack and urged all countries to cooperate in bringing all those involved in the massacre, to justice.
The members of the Security Council “stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard”, Council President Jerome Bonnafont said in a Press statement on Friday.
A front organisation of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskhar-e-Tayiba has owned responsibility for the attack.
The statement issued by France’s Permanent Representative Bonnafont who is the Council president for this month, took a broad view of those involved in the massacre by including the financiers and sponsors.
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”, the statement said.
Pakistan, which is on the Council as an elected member, went along with the other members in endorsing the statement, committing itself – at least on paper – to bringing those involved to justice.
A Press statement expresses the consensus of the Council and carries moral authority, while not being legally binding like a resolution.
The statement also shot down the attempts by some in Pakistan to give terrorist attacks a veneer of justification.
“The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed”, it said.
The Council members “reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”, the statement added.
Earlier, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hinted that a diplomatic effort by him may be afoot.
Asked by a reporter, if Guterres would speak to leaders of India and Pakistan, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that he hoped to have something to share on that later.
Reiterating the condemnation of the terrorist attacks, Dujarric said, “We again urge both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further.”
When a reporter asserted that the possibility that “two nuclear countries” might “go to war” was getting insufficient attention, Dujarric said, “I don’t agree with your comment. We are paying very close attention to the situation between India and Pakistan.”
International
Wagah-Attari border closure leaves several families in limbo

Islamabad, April 25: Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack has forced several citizens from both countries to cut short their visit and rush back home.
On Thursday, after both countries announced closure of border crossing and gave a deadline for citizens to leave for their respective countries, at least 28 Pakistanis nationals returned from India while 105 Indian citizens in Pakistan crossed over into India.
A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing.
“We were on our way to Indore in Madhya Pradesh to attend a wedding. Seven members of our family were excited to join our relatives in India and take part in the celebrations. But upon reaching Wagah, we learned that the border had been sealed. We will spend the night at Dera Sahib in Lahore and head back home tomorrow,” said Akshay Kumar.
Meanwhile, a Sikh family from India, in Pakistan to attend a wedding, decided to leave for India immediately.
“We had come to Pakistan for a wedding. While the ceremony took place, several important rituals remained. Once we heard the border was closed, we decided to return immediately,” said Raminder Singh, an Indian national.
A Hindu family from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province, now residing in New Delhi, was visiting Pakistan for the last two months to meet their relatives. However, they are now unsure about getting permission to return to India.
“There are five of us, including my young son and daughter, uncle and aunt. We all hold Pakistani passports and were granted No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate by India. But uncertainty looms now, said a family member named Indira.
“Families with cross-border ties often bear the brunt of rising tensions between the two neighbours. With tensions between Pakistan and India once again on the rise, human connections across borders are becoming the first casualty,” said Asif Memood, a Lahore-based journalist.
“The closure of the Wagah-Attari border has left many families in limbo, uncertain when they will next reunite with their loved ones,” he added.
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.
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