Connect with us
Sunday,01-February-2026
Breaking News

National

Time is ripe for Ravichandran Ashwin to make first appearance of series: Dinesh Karthik

Published

on

Ravichandran-Ashwin

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik believes that the time is ripe for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to make his first appearance of the ongoing Test series at The Oval. Ashwin’s last outing at The Oval came in July while playing for Surrey in the County Championship. He had 1/99 and 6/27 in the match against Somerset.

“I believe the time is ripe for Ravichandran Ashwin to make his first appearance of the series. Traditionally, The Oval has thrown up some of the flattest pitches in England, and it has been no different this season. Three of Surrey’s five matches at home in the County Championship have ended indecisively, and ten hundreds have been registered in those games,” wrote Karthik in his column for The Telegraph on Wednesday.

“If I was Virat Kohli, I’d like to bring a new dimension into play in this crucial Test. As Ashwin has shown in his storied career, he hasn’t necessarily relied on assistance from the surface to make an impact,” added Karthik.

The 36-year-old explained the advantage Ashwin will bring if he plays in the fourth Test on Thursday.

“England have two left-handers in their top three and three in the top seven. The off-spinner’s record against lefties is second to none, and he is more than handy against the right-handers, who he tests with the knuckle ball and the floater that he has mastered through hours of diligent practice away from the harsh spotlight of the international game.

“In Australia, Ashwin got excellent drift with the Kookaburra ball, getting it to curl away from the right-hander in the air and break back on pitching. That’s how he had Steve Smith caught at leg-slip in the second Test in Melbourne. He is equally comfortable switching to around the stumps and getting the ball to go away with the angle, a trick that netted him the prized scalps of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia’s two best batsmen.”

Karthik also talked about Ashwin’s speciality with the ball and how Kohli can use him with the new ball.

“One of Ashwin’s specialties is that he lets the ball hang in the air; because he has big fingers, he imparts a lot of revs, which makes him particularly venomous whilst bowling to the lefties.”

Karthik added that Ravindra Jadeja needs to contribute more with the ball and that Ashwin is capable of chipping in with the bat.

National

Market volatility over Greenland issue to continue due to ‘few sticking points’: Report

Published

on

New Delhi, Jan 24 : Investors are likely to remain on edge over the proposed US framework on Greenland, and near-term volatility related to this issue can continue, a report has said.

The report from Bank of Baroda said that market participants are awaiting more details that could determine whether negotiations succeed or unravel.

“Going ahead, investors are likely to await more details of the deal, as there are a few sticking points which can derail the negotiations. Hence, some volatility can be expected,” the report said.

Several analysts expect the arrangement to resemble an update of the existing security agreement between the US and Denmark, which was signed in 1951, the report noted.

Further negotiations will follow in due course which will cover areas such as US military presence in Greenland, as well as use of its mineral resources and sovereignty, said Aditi Gupta, Economist, Bank of Baroda.

US President Donald Trump has framed Washington’s interest in Greenland as driven by national security concerns, but the island’s largely unexplored mineral wealth including oil, gas and rare earth elements is of interest to US, the report said.

“The announcement of a framework deal between the US and NATO has helped to soothe investors’ nerves, however the details of the deal are still fuzzy,” it added.

Geo-political tensions escalated and markets went into turmoil after the US President intensified rhetoric to annex Greenland and threatened economic measures against European countries that oppose US plans. In response, several European nations, including France, Germany, Sweden amongst others increased military deployment in Greenland, further escalating tensions.

Trump had announced a 10 per cent additional tariff on goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands and Finland from February 1, 2026. The rate was expected to increase to 25 per cent by June 1, 2026.

Later, he backed off from his threat of imposing tariffs on European countries along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

Continue Reading

Crime

Two Held With ₹68 Lakh Cash Near India-Myanmar Border In Mizoram; Heroin Worth ₹78 Lakh Seized

Published

on

Aizawl: Two persons were arrested with Rs 68 lakh in cash near the India-Myanmar border in east Mizoram’s Champhai district, officials said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, the Assam Rifles intercepted a vehicle at Zote village on August 11, they said.

Upon thorough checking, Rs 60 lakh in cash was recovered from two persons in the vehicle.

The duo, identified as Joseph Lalthansanga and Vanlalruati, could not state any proper reason why they were carrying such a huge amount of cash. They were subsequently handed over to the police for legal action, officials said.

In another operation, the Assam Rifles recovered 94.6 gram of heroin, worth Rs 78 lakh, from the village on Wednesday.

The drugs were handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department, officials said.

Continue Reading

National

India’s AI Tech Spending Projected To Reach Rs. 92 Thousand Crore By 2028: Report

Published

on

India’s AI technology spending is projected to grow at an annualised rate of 38 per cent from 2023 to reach $10.4 billion (approximately Rs. 92 thousand crore) in 2028, a report said on Thursday.

Around 40 per cent of organisations in India have already implemented agentic AI, and close to 50 per cent are planning to use the technology within the next 12 months, IDC InfoBrief and UiPath said in a joint report.

In 2025, AI investments are focused on building the foundational infrastructure required to power transformative, high-value use cases.

According to the report, the adoption is surging, fueled by a tech-savvy workforce, expanding digital infrastructure, and government-backed initiatives.

Organisations’ spending on enterprise automation, multilingual AI models, and agentic deployments is driving this momentum further.

The benefits are already visible, as 80 per cent of Indian companies say agentic AI boosts productivity, while 73 per cent say it improves decision-making, the report said.

According to the report, agentic AI is gaining strong traction across the manufacturing, retail and wholesale, healthcare, and life sciences industries, which heavily rely on data and repetitive decision-making cycles.

“Agentic automation is rapidly redefining business operations across India. While enterprises in this region are embracing the full potential of AI agents to streamline workflows and autonomously execute complex business processes, trust and security remain barriers to widespread implementation,” said DebDeep Sengupta, Area Vice President, South Asia, UiPath.

Our agentic automation platform directly addresses these challenges, breaking down barriers to enterprise AI adoption by enhancing security and compliance, improving accuracy and reliability for agentic outcomes, Sengupta added.

About 69 per cent of Indian organisations are using agentic AI to enhance productivity, 59 per cent to drive personalised customer engagement, while 57 per cent apply it to risk and fraud detection, highlighting how agentic AI is being applied across front and back-office functions, the report highlighted.

“Becoming an AI-fueled business is no longer an option in today’s unpredictable climate. For many organisations, it’s fast becoming a strategic necessity,” said Deepika Giri, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Across the region, organisations are embracing agentic AI and agentic automation at scale, Giri added.

Continue Reading

Trending