Vaibhav Sooryavanshi presented himself as sort of a “bad boy” in the tri-series match against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at Dambulla last week. The 15-year-old has, until the confrontation with the home team, rarely or not been criticised for misconduct in the field. He has built a reputation for fearless batting and hitting sixes in the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 19 for the Rajasthan Royals. He has turned out to be the show pony of the IPL and the poster boy of Indian cricket in the Twenty20 format. Hence his deportment, nay turning slightly physical, in the first tri-series the ‘A’ teams of Sri Lanka, India and Afghanistan has come as a bit of a surprise. The discerning are disappointed and feel that the authorities should crack the whip sooner than later. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar did not mince words saying that, as a disciplinary measure, Sooryavanshi should have been dropped for the match against Afghanistan ‘A’. The left -hander who helped India win the Under-19 World Cup and was selected for the Men in Blue Twenty 20 Indian team for the tour of Ireland and England and the Asian Games may have to lose 50% of his match fee and skipper Tilak Varma, 30 % of his match fee. The ball is in the BCCI court now! Sooryavanshi has been around for three years and someone in Bihar, Rajasthan Royals or the Indian teams should have told him about the preamble of the game that says that “Cricket is a gentleman’s” game. What his legion of followers in the world look forward to from him is to understand the niceties of the game and behave appropriately, on and off the field. The BCCI should take the lead on this count.

As former British Airways, IAG and IATA chief William Walsh prepares to officially take over as IndiGo CEO on 3 August 2026, he inherits an airline facing growing questions over its international expansion strategy. The carrier has suspended its direct Manchester-Mumbai and Manchester-Delhi services, from August 31 citing rising operating costs and longer flight times caused by continuing international airspace restrictions. IndiGo is also temporarily halting flights to Langkawi, Krabi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Siem Reap until the end of September. Behind the scenes, industry sources say IndiGo is exploring ways to continue its partnership with Norse Atlantic Airways despite plans to return one leased Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The move has fuelled speculation about how quickly the airline can rebuild its long-haul ambitions before its own Airbus A350 fleet arrives. Passengers affected by the Manchester suspensions are being re-accommodated through IndiGo’s Mumbai-Amsterdam and Mumbai-London services, with full refunds available for those unwilling to travel. Attention has now turned to IndiGo’s codeshare arrangement with KLM. If maintained, travellers could still reach Manchester via Amsterdam, preserving an important link between northern England and India. The Manchester routes were launched with considerable fanfare and were viewed as a key step in establishing the IndiGo brand in Europe. Supported by both UK and Indian officials and coinciding with the UK-India Free Trade Agreement, the services were expected to generate tens of millions of pounds in exports, tourism spending and productivity gains while creating hundreds of jobs. With regional business leaders disappointed by the suspensions, the spotlight is now firmly on Walsh. Aviation insiders will be watching closely to see whether one of the industry’s most experienced executives can revive IndiGo’s European ambitions and restore confidence in its long-haul strategy.

Lakshmi Kaul who worked as Senior VP at global development consultancy firm Mott Macdonald has put in her papers and to take over as the CEO of Grin, a media publishing company and think tank.  She is also the contributing editor and Advisory Board member of Global Order. Kaul, a former resident of the UK for over two decades, moved to New Delhi in 2022. Laxmi has had a distinguished career across India and the United Kingdom. She has held many key roles- as political aide to the British Member of Parliament Bob Blackman, she was the Head of the CII in the UK, a board member of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, the Manchester-India Partnership, and the West Midlands-India Partnership. Kaul seeks to vigorously expand Grin’s publishing programme in India with Penguin Random House India and around the world. Kaul will build a curated team not only for Grin’s own expansive publishing programme, but also for books which are a better fit elsewhere, and will craft a strategy where Grin is also able to guide books to other publishers for publication. For the next phase of Grin, Kaul and her team are clear that they take inspiration from uniquely Bharatiya sources — the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust created by Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, and the Gita Press in India. Also well known as a social activist, Kaul will also explore how to translate the books Grin publishes into audio-visual adventures (films, documentaries etc.) for audiences at home and around the world. An ardent music lover, she was the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Festival in the UK in 2016.

Despite intense speculation that PM Modi may cut short Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s two years governance, the big news is CM Majhi will continue for the full term. It is learnt that PM Modi is in favour of his continuation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu are expected to visit the state on June 20 to jointly attend a mega state level rally at Mayurbhanj district to celebrate the second anniversary of Odisha government. Yes, CM Majhi’s two years governance was not without blemish — slow implementation of policies, gaps in delivery coordination issues, deteriorating law and order situation, multiple portfolios held by his ministers who were unable to deliver results. Hence, the social media was buzzing that Odisha may see leadership change. However, CM Majhi has proved everybody wrong and disappointed some of the leaders who were eyeing his chair. CM Majhi has already shifted to his refurbished official residence bringing his family with him. PM Modi wants to strengthen CM Majhi’s position through suitable team adjustment. This means, say political observers “expect few ministerial heads to roll for not delivering.” To be fair to CM Majhi, his leadership was not an absolute failure; he opened up Puri Jagannath’s Ratna Bhandar and its four gates premises, introduced the Subhadra Yojana programme and enhanced input assistance to farmers. His biggest concrete achievement has been the elimination of Naxalism in Odisha.

When did Karan Johar discover he is Janus-faced? After producing bling, bauble, bubble, highly commercial cinema that clicked with high voltage entertainment, he now wants to move on from fantasy illusion to folklore psycho horror illusion. Johar leaps into the perfectly crafted, absorbing and thought-provoking world of Malayalam cinema. He may counter your question why this shift? Karan Johar being Karan Johar may respond ‘Yeh zindagi hai ek maya hai’ …illusion. Malayalam cinema aficionados are chomping at the reins, waiting for the now in progress mega project from Dharma Productions …already Mammootty’s Brahmayugam and Pranav Mohanlal’s Dies Irae have raised the excitement for this genre of films …Folklore based battle between Truth and Illusion, normal and preternatural. Odiyan is a film set in 19th century Kerala. A matriarchal family Is threatened, violated by horror filled encounters with an Amanushya shapeshifting, para normal being. Kerala’s tradition and lore are full of such mystical events and ways of worship. It is said that the 4th Veda, Atharva veda deals mainly with paranormal phenomena. This epic spectacle has Karan Johar, Adar Poonawala, Apurva Mehta and Supriya Menon pooling their talent and skills. But wait …who leads the Odiyan illusion? Prithviraj Sukumaran and Manju Warrier are battling it out for supremacy in this script, directed by ace director Samuel Rahul Sadasivam. For those of you wanting more of shape-shifting horror …Werewolves, Japanese Kitsune (mythical forests), Norse God Loki (European) the faceless men in Game of Thrones, Harry Potter wizards and witches, Odiyan: The Age of Illusion is all set for scaring and socking the viewer – spectacularly.

Ever since its defeat in the Tamil Nadu elections, the DMK’s relationship with Congress has turned frosty. As a result, it did not join the INDIA Bloc meeting held on June 8 in the Constitution Club, New Delhi. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has accepted the DMK’s request to have its MPs seated separately from Congress MPs in Parliament following the alliance split. “Three of our allies (Congress, IUML, VCK) are now part of the TVK government led by chief minister Joseph Vijay. It means that they are no longer in the INDIA Bloc. AAP has already left and we are not in that alliance now,” says DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan. He recalls that the Congress was in such a hurry to join the TVK government that they did not even have “the courtesy” to inform us. “At least, the Left Parties informed us…” What has hit the DMK hard is the Congress wishing to contest forthcoming local bodies’ elections along with the TVK. It is learnt that DMK is exploring to form a non-Congress front. What has bothered the DMK is Rahul Gandhi’s issuing a statement asking the southern regional parties to partner with the Congress for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. It seems Sonia Gandhi’s is keen to have DMK in INDIA bloc for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.  Sonia is convinced that Rahul Gandhi will need DMK’s support to become PM in 2029. Does it mean that the Gandhis aren’t convinced that Vijay’s TVK is enough to see the Congress through the Lok Sabha polls in TN? During his address at the INDIA Bloc meeting on June 8, Rahul Gandhi vouched that the DMK would be part of the Bloc. Will be nice to know what CM Vijay thinks about Congress keeping its option open with DMK.

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay has a deep devotional side to his colourful persona. Immediately after the NITI Aayog conclave in Delhi, he wended his way to Karnataka’s Kudajatri Hills of the Western Ghats…a serene, incredibly beautiful stretch of the South, dotted with numerous pilgrimage sites. After getting a warm welcome at the Mangaluru airport, Vijay drove straight to the revered 1200 years old Mookambika Temple at the foothills where the Sauparnika river flows past the Goddesses peetam…there are numerous hoary, ancient and venerable tales of this Shakti Peetam…the most alluded is the one of Adi Shankara. It is believed that after intense meditation Goddess Parvati appeared and asked the sage to lead the way but never look back, Shankara couldn’t control his impulse to turn back and make sure She was still there. The Goddess stopped there. Adi Shankara is said to have built the Mookambika temple on that spot. Vijay performed the Shatru Samhara Pooja for vanquishing enemies and attaining ambitions. To this day devotees to this temple remember MGR and his gift of a golden sword to Mookambikai Amman. Vijay gifted a silver sword, after praying here. He has to overcome a formidable phalanx of Shatrus. The 130 km return trip to the Mangaluru airport was memorable for onlookers and fans as Vijay himself drove to the airport. He is surrounded by challenges to his historic win and right to the CM’s chair. Yet, he doesn’t yearn to look back at his unchallenged Superstar spot and lose his hard won victory.

The President of India Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to visit Odisha on June 20,2026 to attend the second anniversary celebrations of BJP government in Odisha. At this critical juncture, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi is in a dilemma as how to control illegal sand mining mafia who are in cahoots with the politicians across all parties. Reportedly, with the local enforcement agency being weak, no action is being taken at the ground level. So far, the Majhi government has failed to plug the illegal brazen extraction of river sand even after running the state for the last two years. Sand theft is nothing new…it also happened during Naveen Patnaik’s tenure. Why it is making news is because illegal sand mining thefts have spiralled exponentially under the BJP which promised a clean governance. The allegations are that it is thriving under the patronage of a state BJP minister. Apart from sand mafia issue affecting Odisha, another important task also remains unfulfilled as yet for Majhi government- – this pertains to Justice MB Shah Commission computation compensation for illegally extracted minerals in Odisha. Earlier the total initial demand was around Rs 19,174 crore from 131 lease holders. As of 2025 significant amounts remain uncovered with figures cited between Rs 2,700 crore and Rs 3,966 crore still pending to be recovered.

A day after rebel Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s claim that 20 party MPs notified Speaker Om Birla of intentions to join the BJP-led NDA, the Trinamool Congress rejected the move questioning whether such communication was ever submitted. Trinamool chief whip Kalyan Banerjee stated the party is unconcerned if leaders opposed to party supremo Mamata Banerjee leave. He argued those publicly criticising leadership should resign from Parliament rather than retain seats won on a Trinamool ticket. Along with party colleague and MP Kirti Azad, Banerjee questioned why the alleged letter remained unreleased after 24 hours. Noting a lack of evidence, it reached the Speaker, he challenged dissidents to produce the signed document. Citing the Tenth Schedule’s anti-defection law, Banerjee explained a breakaway faction requires two-thirds of Trinamool’s parliamentary strength to separate via merger, arguing any split ultimately means merging with the BJP. He suggested dissenters follow former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who resigned after criticising the party. Banerjee alleged rebels refused to resign to retain MP powers, security, and privileges, claiming those meeting BJP’s Bhupender Yadav and Suvendu Adhikari effectively aligned with the BJP. He added that they have replaced Didi with Narendra Modi as their leader. Banerjee further claimed that Yusuf Pathan had informed him of a call from Amit Shah and a planned meeting in Delhi, alleging that Shah was behind efforts to split the party. Azad termed the dissidents’ actions a betrayal, urging those wanting to join the BJP to state it openly. He noted Mamata Banerjee repeatedly supported Ghosh Dastidar politically despite electoral defeats, adding her removal as chief whip stemmed from poor parliamentary attendance. These developments follow an internal crisis led by Ritabrata Banerjee whose faction claims to be the authentic Trinamool in the Assembly.

The NDA government completed its second year on June 9 in its third term. Now it is time for much anticipated Union cabinet reshuffle. A 72-member ministerial team led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising five ministers of state (independent charge), 30 Cabinet ministers, and 36 ministers of state took oath two years ago in June. Given the pronounced austerity pitch by the Prime Minister, it is widely expected that the new look cabinet might be thinner with several ministries aligned for impact and influence. There is parallel talk of unbundling some portfolios in view of their size and unrelated character. This means Railways might be an independent ministry and will likely be manned by a JD(U) leader. Nitish Kumar, who has moved to Delhi, shedding his home state where he served as chief minister for more than two decades, is either himself going to lead or will have a senior trusted aide drive the key transport ministry. Another round of conversations around the new look Cabinet is the pivot from government role to senior party role. This might result in a senior Cabinet minister being given charge of leading the party’s ambition in the south, an area that has so far remained out of the reach of the party on the escalator. But if past is any precedent, NDA under Prime Minister Modi will have a few aces up its sleeve that are beyond the realm of the whispers in the corridors of power.