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The third term consecutive BJP government in Haryana proactively introduced seven laws before the state legislature’s winter session, even as Congress’ failed CM aspirant Bhupinder Singh Hooda declined handing over the leader of opposition (LoP) post to another party colleague. Before the session began intensive in-fighting broke out for the LoP post with Hooda deferring the appointment though Congress has legitimate claim with 37 MLAs to hold the post. Holding Haryana’s state legislature to ransom Hooda said the LoP would be decided only after the results of the Maharashtra state assemblies are declared on November 23. His stand of “If it ain’t me, it won’t be anyone else,” has already set the ball rolling with a majority Congress MLAs seeking fresh political pastures with strong indications of en masse defections to the BJP, says senior BJP leader Mahendra Jain. “Not only in Haryana, but also in Maharashtra, mass defections are likely from the Congress party and the Sharad Pawar/Uddhav Thackeray led political formations respectively post November 23, 2024. There will be a big political Khela in the two states,” Jain predicts. Ironically, after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress party was unable to secure the LoP status for Rahul Gandhi in India’s parliament have elected only 44 MPs back then while Hooda’s obstinacy does not allow the party to legitimately designate Harayana’s LoP despite commanding required numbers for the same. The BJP is exploiting the situation to engineer a Congress breakup in Haryana while ensuring the same in Maharashtra at the expense of the UBT and Sharad Pawar’s NCP in a repeat performance.
In a solemn ceremony, Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 11, succeeding Justice DY Chandrachud, who retired on November 10, 2024. The oath was administered by President Droupadi Murmu during a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The event was attended by key figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and former CJI Chandrachud. Justice Khanna’s appointment follows the recommendation of Justice Chandrachud, who had recommended him as his successor on October 17. Justice Khanna’s tenure as CJI will last until May 13, 2025. Despite his short tenure, Justice Khanna has opted not to move into the official CJI Bungalow at 5, Krishna Menon Marg. Following the swearing-in, Justice Khanna proceeded to the Supreme Court to preside over the day’s proceedings, hearing 47 cases alongside his colleague, Justice Sanjay Kumar. In his parting address Justice Chandrachud expressed a deep sense of satisfaction with his service, stating, “I won’t be able to deliver justice from tomorrow, but I’m content.” Justice Chandrachud, like other former Chief Justices, will enjoy several post-retirement benefits which have recently been enhanced to include round-the-clock security at their residence, along with a personal security guard available 24/7 for five years post-retirement. He will also get six months of rent-free Type-VII accommodation in Delhi, similar to facilities provided to Union Ministers. Lifetime entitlements include domestic help and a chauffeur, ensuring that their household needs are met and they lead a comfortable life.
In a significant political development, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has placed her trust in former cabinet minister and senior Left Front leader Abdus Sattar by appointing him as the chief advisor to her government on minority affairs. Sattar, an influential figure of CPI(M) who served as the Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education under the Left Front government. He has been tasked with addressing ongoing disputes related to Wakf properties and will advise the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education on initiatives for minority welfare. Interestingly, Sattar quit the Left Front way back in 2011 by joining the Congress before aligning with the TMC. This appointment, sources suggest, highlights TMC’s strategy to strengthen its appeal among the state’s educated minority communities. With the BJP’s growing influence in West Bengal and traditional opposition forces such as the Left and Congress losing traction, Sattar is seen as a critical asset for Banerjee’s administration, given his progressive reputation and deep organizational skills. A TMC leader pointed out that Sattar will complement prominent TMC leaders like Firhad Hakim and Siddiqullah Chowdhury. Interestingly, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said that Didi’s appointment of Sattar reflects an acknowledgment of the developmental work undertaken during the Left Front regime and is also a rebuttal to TMC’s earlier narrative that the Left did nothing for minorities.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray have started singing the same tune. They keep on telling the media, “I am not hankering for Maharashtra’s chief ministership.” Over the past few days, the three leaders have been interviewed by leading dailies and news channels. Each has been repeatedly asked about his prospects to be the next CM. In response, each has reiterated that a decision about this issue will be taken after the assembly election results on 23 November. The issue had become a hot topic soon after the Lok Sabha election when Uddhav Sena’s spokesman Sanjay Raut publicly suggested to Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to project his leader as the next CM. The move was immediately scuttled since veteran leader Sharad Pawar of NCP and state Congress president Nana Patole rejected it. Now that the polls are away in just four days, the issue has been resurrected. Shinde has predicted that the ruling Mahayuti will win around 160 seats in the 288-member house. Fadnavis has been consistently saying that the issue will be decided by Shinde, BJP’s Central leaders and another deputy CM, Ajit Pawar. This stance of the three top leaders in Maharashtra is interpreted as a precaution to ensure that the boat is not rocked at the opportune time.
He has been very vocal on sanatan dharma and has been taking potshots at BJP and Hindu religion. But ever since Udhayanidhi Stalin was appointed deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu he seems to have toned down his anti-sanatan stand. Of course, he has shown his aggressive side by insisting on wearing a T shirt with DMK logo on it at every public appearances, a practice that has irked opposition to the extent of filing legal action. This defiance is yet to be resolved. But there is evidence that he is mellowing down, a visible change from his aggressive defiance. Recently, Udhayanidhi was tasked with completing a full audit and stock taking of the DMK government’s welfare schemes and doles obviously aimed at the 2026 Assembly elections. To get a first hand report Udhayanidhi visited several constituencies, met the local party workers and government officials. But when he visited Thoothukudi with Minister for Fisheries Anita Radhakrishnan and Social Welfare minister Gita Jiwan in tow, the powerful and bespoke Kalaignar family’s Kanimozhi( MP for that constituency ) was missing from the scene. The media was quick to pounce on this glaring absence. Udhayanidhi was quick to reassure the media that this stock taking move and audit had been undertaken at the request of the chief minister and that his foster aunt was travelling abroad. He also took pains to reassure the media that he would revisit Thoothukudi in a few weeks with Kanimozhi. There was a time when Udhayanidhi would have flared up at even an indirect reference to Kanimozhi’s relevance. Times are changing
The absence of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and other senior NCP leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally at Chhatrapati Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai on November 14 strengthened speculation that NCP could possibly be an unreliable link in Mahayuti. This notwithstanding the fact that the deputy CM had attended a Modi rally in Pune barely two days earlier. Ajit Pawar’s party is a crucial partner in the ruling alliance, alongside Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the BJP. But then NCP candidates Sana Malik, Nawab Malik, and Zeeshan Siddique were also notably absent from the event, which featured leaders from the Shinde Sena and the Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Ramdas Athawale. While the rally was meant to highlight the coalition’s solidarity, reports suggest that NCP leaders are upset over the BJP’s batenge toh katenge campaign. BJP sources said despite Ajit Pawar’s unease with the BJP’s aggressive Hindutva agenda, it is likely that he will stay on the side “which benefits him”. That is he could walk to any side which will make him the CM or as Nawab Malik told Times Now “Ajit Pawar will be king maker”. BJP sources said UP CM Yogi who coined the slogan has been much in demand among party candidates. “We have been forced to cancel meetings of top leaders to accommodate Yogiji”, said a party manager. As for contrary assertions by Ashok Chavan and Pankaja Munde on batenge toh katenge, these are being viewed more as a desire to project themselves than pose any serious ideological counter to the main party discourse.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has raised apprehensions about his future moves, once again. Over the past few days, Ajit has betrayed his ambivalence about the way campaigning is proceeding in Maharashtra. While this is being commented upon, his absence at the final rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on November 14 has been noted with concern within the ruling Mahayuti. Neither Ajit nor any of his NCP’s candidates turned up for the PM’s rally organised by chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the BJP. As Ajit failed to appear on the dais, the media attention has focussed on his possible calculations after the assembly poll results are out on 23 November. Already, he has rubbed Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis the wrong way by objecting to UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s slogan batenge toh katenge. Ajit had observed that such slogans will not work in Maharashtra, whose culture was different from that of UP. Ajit’s insistence on fielding former minister Nawab Malik from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency in Mumbai despite the BJP’s open objections had created some strain within the Mahayuti. Now, Malik has told the saffron formation that Ajit’s NCP will not be a part of the next government if Yuti’s campaign strategy is not changed. Ajit’s another confidant, Dilip Walse Patil had said a few days ago that some fresh combination can occur after the election. Ajit has not refuted neither statement. Hence, he is under close observation by the other two partners of Mahayuti.
The kerfuffle following Ricky Ponting’s straight–from–the–shoulder observation of Virat Kohli’s form was unnecessary. In the course of an International Cricket Council (ICC) conducted interview before the five-Test series between India and Australia in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the former Australian captain said that Kohli has scored only two Test centuries in the last five years (186 against Australia in Ahmedabad in March 2023 and 121 against the West Indies in Port of Spain in July 2023). In these circumstances, he wondered if any other player would have been picked for the national side. While Kohli — described by Ponting as one of the greats in the same interview — himself did not respond to Ponting’s appraisal of his form, a seemingly annoyed India head coach Gautam Gambhir virtually questioned Ponting saying: “What does Ricky Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? He should be talking about Australia.’’ Gambhir’s retort was churlish. The media seeks the opinions of former greats as a build-up to events and in this case Ponting was interviewed by none other than the ICC because of the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ponting has gone to the extent of saying that the series between India and Australia — from the backend of his career – has always been a high-stakes affair, not far from the relevance of the Ashes. Ponting has played 560 matches for Australia across formats, scored 27483 runs with 71 x 100s and 146 x 50s and led Australia in 77 Tests. He is also a World Cup-winning captain. To question his credentials is downright absurd.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath packed a lot of wit and humour while taking potshots at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge who had mocked Hindu sadhus straying into politics and occupying high offices “in saffron robes”. Yogi reminded Kharge that he may have forgotten some crucial parts while recollecting his family’s sacrifices “for votes”. Yogi alleged Kharge purposely glossed over the tragic death of “his mother and sister” in an attack by Razakars as he feared losing Muslim votes. Addressing a rally in Achalpur in Vidarbha, the UP leader said, “I am a Yogi, and for me, the nation comes first, while for Mallikarjun Kharge, appeasement politics comes first.” He was responding to Kharge’s comments on the “batenge toh katenge” remark. He recounted Kharge’s childhood tragedy during the political unrest in Hyderabad during India’s independence. Kharge was born in the Bidar region of erstwhile Hyderabad state, ruled by the Nizams. The Razakars were a paramilitary force that operated in the princely state with a primary objective to maintain the rule of the Muslim Nizams of Hyderabad and prevent the accession of Hyderabad to India. Incidentally, at the very rally where Kharge was pouring scorn on Yogi’s saffron attire, the Congress chief was trying to generate some sympathy for himself by talking about how he had narrowly escaped the wrath of razakars. He didn’t name the razakars; he merely said how his father was relieved that his only son had been “saved”. “Even our house was burnt. I don’t want to talk about those who attacked us.”
India’s Test team – thrashed 3-0 by New Zealand – will look upon the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia with trepidation rather than hope. After the 2-0 win against Bangladesh, the Rohit Sharma-led team seemed to have reached the doorstep of the ICC World Test Championship final. But in a matter of 10 playing days from October 16 to November 3, all the hype around a third consecutive WTC final turned into slough of despond because drawing a blank from the available 36 points from three Tests against New Zealand meant winning four of the five Tests in Australia to qualify for the WTC final. India could be disappointed when the fourth Test begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day (December 26). Of course, putting it across the Pat Cummins-led Australian side will drive the Indian team that competed hard to bring down the home side in the two previous series of 2018-19 and 2020-21. Preparing “designer turners’’ in Pune and Mumbai did not help the home team in any way as New Zealand’s two left-arm spinners, Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel, sent the home team packing, capturing 13 wickets in Pune and 11 wickets in Mumbai. The five pitches in Australia will not afford copious turns to the slow men, but Cummins will deploy the smart off-spinner Nathan Lyon – he has taken 60 of his 259 wickets at home in 15 Tests against India — to the full. India has to muster all its wits, hour by hour, session by session, and day by day, deliver with the bat, ball, and field well in each Test match to make the series riveting.
Virat Kohli’s team could do well to spend some time with Yajurvindra Singh in order to pick up hard, but useful lessons on leg-trap fielding and catching. Also, known as ‘Sunny’, Yajurvindra belonged to the royal family of Bilkha in Junagadh, and he played for Saurashtra and Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. In the corporate world, he worked for Mahindra & Mahindra, Wisden India and Tata Consultancy Services. But Yajurvindra’s claim to global fame happened on his Test debut against England at Bengaluru. Positioned in the leg trap (forward and backward short leg) he snapped up seven catches (5 in the first innings and 2 in the second innings) and created a world record in January 1977. The leg trap came into the picture in the recent series against Australia and England and most fielders were found wanting. Yajurvindra who watched both the series said: “What is happening is both the players who are standing in the trap, they don’t regularly field there. Even at silly point. If you have not fielded there right through your career, suddenly you cannot develop skills that are required to field there. Remember it’s a scary position. One can get hit on the head and killed there instantly.”
Harmanpreet Kaur is all set to play her 100th one-day international at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium on March 7. The match will be against the Rainbow Nation, South Africa. The pandemic has delayed this memorable milestone in her ODI career that began in Bowral in a Women’s World Cup match against Pakistan in March 7, 2009. The 31-year old girl from Punjab will become the 44th woman cricketer in the world and the fifth Indian — the others being Mithali Raj (209 matches), Jhulan Goswami (182), Anjum Chopra (127) and Anjali Sharma (119) — to achieve this feat. While Harmanpreet is excited about the important event in her career, Head Coach of the Indian Women’s team W V Raman told shortpost.in: “It’s a momentous occasion for any cricketer. It is also a milestone or reward for all the hard work and performances over a period of time. The thing about Harman is that she has been an impact player who has played some blinders in major tournaments. Like Sehwag did, she redefined batting in the Indian women’s circuit with her ability to dominate attacks. As a captain she has been great with the girls with whom she shares her experiences. All her positivity has made the other girls fearless. She is a top person to have in any team.”
Popularly known as “Murgers”, the Dubai-based Brian Murgatroyd has been with the touring England side from the second Test in Chennai. The 53-year-old British national has been with cricket boards of Australia and England as media officer of their respective teams. He has also served the International Cricket Council for a number of years. “This is my second stint with the England cricket team. I think the final Test of the India-England series in Ahmedabad is the 199th I have attended in a working capacity in 31 years,” said Murgatroyd who, when in Mumbai, likes to have a good fill of Sitafal ice cream (Custard Apple) at Rustomji’s on Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate. Murgatroyd has been a broadcaster, writer and media manager of England and also Australia in the era of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. He has also written six books. “It’s been a wonderful experience, making friends in the sport that have endured and given me memories that will last for the rest of my life.” For the BCCI and Indian cricket teams, the media work is being carried out efficiently by Moulin Parikh and Anand Subramanian.
Aapdo Axar Patel is the talk of the town. Gujaratis across the State, so much used to the cricketing exploits of the Rajkot-based Cheteshwar Pujara, and Jamnagar-based Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah (he is very much an Amdavadi), are rejoicing at the success of the six footer from Nadiad playing havoc in the England batting ranks. So far Axar has 18 scalps in the ongoing Test series against England. He is keen to add a many more to the kitty in the last Test at Motera. It’s a complete Patel thing in Axar’s make-up. He may be operating under the watchful eyes of India team Head Coach, Ravi Shastri, a left arm spinner himself, but “Aapdo Axar” picked up the art of left of spin from Sanjay Patel, Amrish Patel and Swapnil Patel, all associated with Kheda Cricket Academy in Nadiad, famous for giving India its first Deputy PM, Vallabhai Patel. Sanjay and Amrish must get credit for urging Axar to give up left arm pace and become an artful dodger embracing left arm spin. “He had a faulty landing of his right foot when bowling pace, but everything was fine when he bowled spin. He agreed to become a spinner when he was a junior,” Sanjay and Amrish told this correspondent while visiting Axar’s residence in Nadiad.
There are hundreds of BCCI accredited scorers who look forward to every season, not just to follow their passion of keeping ball-by-ball records of matches, but also to make some extra money. The BCCI pays Rs 10,000 per day. The experienced scorers are assigned 50 days in a season. Jignesh R Bhatt, who is employed with the State Bank of India in Ahmedabad, has two years of service left, but the 58-year-old is mulling over to resign. “I have lost Rs 5 to 6 lakh in the last two years and I want to fully dedicate myself to scoring. And so I may resign from my Bank job. Even the BCCI doesn’t engage persons who have reached the age of superannuation. I must have done 350 days of scoring but I had to take privilege leave,” says Bhatt. “The Bank gives special leave to umpires, referees, players, selectors and mangers, but the circular doesn’t mention scorers and hence I have not received the benefit,” adds Bhatt, the scorer in the Press Box for the India- England Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. This is Bhatt’s 27th year in cricket scoring; he had received Rs 60 as match fee for the India-Australia Under-19 match in 1993.
The cricket media was taken around the swanky Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera on Tuesday (Feb 23) with Anil Patel, a former Ranji Trophy player of Gujarat, and currently Jt. Secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association, showing the salient features of the new facility including the media lounge and the Press Box positioned in the line of fine leg or long off to a right hander. A former manager of the Indian team, Patel gave all credit to BCCI Secretary and former GCA Joint Secretary Jay Shah for the development of the new stadium. “He paid attention to the nitty-gritty. He had seen many cricket grounds and its facilities and formed his own idea of the facilities that would come up at the 63 acre area. Even his father and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken a lot of interest. He spent five hours here on Sunday (Feb 21). He voted in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation election’s and came to Motera. Whenever he was in Ahmedabad, he would make it a point to spend time at the stadium and see the progress of its development,” said Patel. The GCA will soon develop two more grounds at the campus. “We will develop these two so that the BCCI tournaments can be played there. The Gujarat State Tourism is going to make the Sardar Patel Stadium a tourist attraction,” said Patel.
There are people in the cricket fraternity who feel that the strapping 1.93 metre tall fast bowler Ishant Sharma did not keep up his early promise and deliver the goods right through his career that began on May 25, 2007 against Bangladesh in Mirpur. But the talented seamer had really worked hard, upping his game to become a top gun from 2018. One of the eight cricketers with surname Sharma to play Test cricket, he is now looking forward to notch his 100th Test match in Test cricket – a rare feat that only another home grown speedster Kapil Dev Nikhanj has achieved. The third Test against England at Motera from February 24 will be his 100th Test. The 32-year old, Sharma – described uncharitably by Sanjay Manjrekar as support bowler to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami — missed the tour of Australia due to an abdominal muscle tear he sustained in the early part of the IPL13 in the UAE. He was playing for the Parth Jindal-owned Delhi Capitals. He missed the four-Test series in Australia that India won 2-1. Sharma’s career figures are: 99 Tests, 3,070 overs, 18,420 balls, 9,731 runs conceded, 302 wickets at 32.22 and from calendar year 2018 onwards his figures are: 20 Tests, 539 overs, 1,470 runs conceded, 7,666 wickets at 19.34. Superb!
Morris said “give me Rs. 75 lakh”, but the Rajasthan Royals replied “we will pay you Rs.16.25 crore”. Out of the 70 matches he has turned out for Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils and Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers, Bangalore in the IPL, South Africa’s Chris Morris has batted only on 44 occasions. He has remained not out 21 times to score 551 runs. He has 80 wickets under his belt, 45 of which has contributed to winning matches. Most selection committees in cricket would not consider these numbers a great shake, but the Royals from Jaipur bought him at the small auction in Chennai for Rs. 16.25 crore (a little over $ 2.24 million). The Royals itself paid a low $ 60 million to win the invitation to tender and own the Jaipur team. After a moderate performance in the league in which he made his debut in 2013, the Royals targeted Morris who is closer to his 34th birthday. In the UAE leg of the league last year he made just 34 runs in five innings and picked up 11 wickets for the Capitals at 19.09. All things considered Morris himself put his minimum worth at Rs. 75 lakh. But the Rajasthan Royals chose to pay him princely sum! As a wag said Morris may a travelled to the Cape of Good Hope on Thursday.
Just like intrigue surrounds a toss that sets the tone for a cricket match, the pink-ball day-night Test matches also stirs the imagination of the legion of followers of the game. That’s because the ball is supposed to wobble around the time the sun goes down and the lights are turned on. As a consequence even the most technically equipped batsmen come a cropper! All eyes — after the Indians turned the second Test match on its head in Chennai — are on the third Test at Motera, the rustic looking locality not far from the hustle and bustle of Ahmedabad city. A Test match is going to be played at the venue named after Sardar Patel, after eight years from February 24. Everyone has sung paeans about the modern ground that can seat about 1.10 lakh people and where one of the early VIP visitor was former USA President Donald Trump. What’s of interest to the cricket aficionado and India and England would be the behaviour of the 22 yard pitch for the Test match, the result of which will pave the way for the second finalist for the ICC World Test Championship to be played in London in June. There is the pitch of red soil and black soil. The popular choice will be red.
Rohit Sharma holds a unique record in Test match cricket. He is the nearest to Sir Don Bradman, regarded as the greatest batsman of all time. The Australian run-machine who wielded his bat with gay abandon for two decades from 1928 to 1948 scored 6996 runs in 52 Test matches for a phenomenal average of 99.94. The great `Don’ played 37 Test matches against England, and five each against India, West Indies and South Africa. He played 33 Test matches at home, amassed 4322 runs for an average of 98.23, which is fractionally lower than his career average. It is here that India’s Rohit Sharma comes second best for those who have played 10 Tests and more. The stylish Mumbai right hander is elegance personified when he gets going; he had an aggregate of 1343 runs at 79 and innings for home Test matches before his sneak attack against the England seamers and spinners alike in the second Test at Chepauk, Chennai. The first Test failure at the same venue hurt him; he hit back with a vengeance in the first innings of the second Test with a splendid 161; he scattered 18 hits to the fence and clobbered two over the line. This stroke filled knock took his home average to over 80. Remarkable indeed!
England captain Joe Root, tops the GOAT (Greatest player of all time against spin) rankings in the annals of cricket at the Old Blighty. Decorated with the Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2020, Root’s scores of 228 and 186 against Sri Lanka at Galle came against the spinners on a dry and breaking pitch. England hopped into Chennai for two Test matches that were supposed to be a litmus test against the Indian tweakers. As it transpired in the first Test, Root (218 and 40) ruled the roost on a feathered of a pitch on which the home team deployed a seasoned campaigner Ravichandran Ashwin, and two tyros Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar. Demonstrating his consummate skill, powers of concentration and nimble footwork, Root has amassed 784 runs in his last six innings. He has turned out to be the master of all he purveyed, tallying as much as 842 runs in 14 Test innings on Indian soil at a remarkable average of 64.77. In other Asian countries Root has amassed 655 runs in 10 Test innings at 65.50 in Sri Lanka, 287 in five Test innings against Pakistan in the UAE. No wonder then that Root heads the GOAT index in English cricket!
India is in a plight in the first Test in Chennai owing to the absence of slow left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in its ranks. Jadeja is still recuperating from a dislocated left thumb after he took a nasty blow there in the third Test against Australia in Sydney. Jadeja in combination with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are the second most successful spin pair for India taking 166 wickets in 73 innings at an average of 24.41. They have taken 28 wickets in four innings at the Chepauk at 25.07. Further more Jadeja had dismissed England captain Joe Root five times; he had outwitted Root in both innings of the 2016 Chennai Test for 88 and 6. India suffered in Jadeja’s absence and Root exhibited a masterclass innings of 218 before falling to left arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. Ashwin has dismissed Root three times. In all 13 Indian bowlers have dismissed Root, but clearly Jadeja was missed by Ashwin and India. They complement each other so well. In Jadeja’s absence Root had the last laugh taking heavy toll of the Indians. The England captain, playing his 100th Test, is one of the best players of spin in the world today.
It’s been one hell of a run of routine COVID 19 tests international cricket teams have had to take and enter bio-secure bubble life in order to play a Test, ODI or Twenty20 match. All this began from the England-West Indies series in the 2020 English summer. Not only the players, but people involved in the conduct of an international match, or even for that matter the IPL in UAE and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 held by the BCCI recently, have had to go through this short procedure called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Ajit Agarkar, the former India seamer, revealed that he has gone through close to 40 PCR tests starting from the pre-boarding flight to Abu Dhabi for the 13th IPL in the United Arab Emirates last year. Agarkar was part of the Star TV Network commentary team in the Emirates. Agarkar, like all others who were part of the IPL, took regular PCR tests in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was also part of the Sony Pictures Network for the India- Australia series. And now he is holed up in his hotel room in Chennai for five days, all part of the bio secure bubble requirement, before the start of the first Test against England set to start on Friday, February 5. “I can leave my room only on Friday,” he said.
The full tour of England — starting with the first Test at the Chepauk in Chennai on February 5 — is expected to augment the BCCI’s revenue for 2020-21 fiscal by around Rs. 900 crore. The BCCI’s broadcaster, Star TV Network would pay around Rs. 60 crore for each of the 12 matches (Four Test matches, five Twenty20 matches and three ODIs). That’s a whopping Rs. 720 crore. The BCCI will also receive money for the title and team sponsorship from Paytm and BYJU’s and also from others sponsors like Dream11, Ambuja Cement and Hyundai. The BCCI thus will a make neat package around Rs. 900 crore. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai, and the next two in Ahmedabad which will also play host to five Twenty20 matches. From Ahmedabad, the teams will travel to Pune for three one-day internationals. Though the COVID 19 pandemic forced the BCCI to relocate the 13th IPL to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it earned over Rs 4000 crore, a big part of it coming from Star TV network. The happiest in the BCCI are its members who are likely to get a big share of the revenue generated in 2020-21.
The fast bowlers hunt in pairs. And nobody does it better than the English new ball pair – James Anderson and Stuart Broad – who have taken 746 wickets in 96 Tests. Though they made their England debut at different times, it was against India at the Mohali (Punjab) Test of December 2008 that they became the new ball pair for the first time under Captain Kevin Pietersen. Individually, Anderson has taken 600 wickets and Broad 517. Anderson and Broad have not been successful on the benign Indian pitches. Anderson has toured India for four Test series since 2005-06 and has taken 26 wickets at 33.46 in 10 Tests while Broad, who has toured India from the 2008-09 series, has a paltry collection of 10 wickets from six Tests at an expensive 53.90. England which will play 17 Tests in 2021 has decided to rotate its players in order to preserve them. Anderson did not play the first Test of the recent series against Sri Lanka at Galle and Broad did not play the second Test at Galle. Will the Joe Root led team play this super pair in the first Test at Chepauk, Chennai from February 5?
When one reminisces about Test matches played at the ‘Gabba’ in Brisbane, the good old faithful always picks the first ever Tied Test between the redoubtable Australians led by the brilliant Richie Benaud and the great super star of the yesteryear in Frank Worrell in the 1960-61 series. The followers of the noble game still remember the smart seventh ball run out fashioned by square leg fielder Joe Solomon of Ian Meckiff that gave a remarkable finish to the thrilling match and a spectacular start to the five-Test rubber. Australia won the series 2-1, but Worrell’s team won the hearts of the Australian fans who gave them a ticker tape send off. That was sixty years ago. In all, 63 Test matches have been played at the Gabba; Australia has won 40, lost 9, drawn 13 and Tied one. The home team had won 24 in a row and drew seven from December 1989, having lost to the West Indies in November 1988. India dented Australia’s unconquered, 32-year record at the Gabba and much of the credit goes to the young guns of the Indian cricket very well marshalled by the calm and unruffled Ajinkya Rahane. But for those Australians who loved watching cricket, the 1960 Tied Test remains a memorable one. Interestingly, Bobby Simpson featured in the 1960 Test as a player and in the 1986 Tied Test against India in Chennai as a coach.
Time was when India’s cricketers in flannels did not make the big splash overseas, especially in England, Australia and the West Indies. They were far from crowd pullers, they just filled in the domestic home international season’s calendar. India has been playing Test cricket since the inaugural one at London’s Lord Cricket Ground in 1932. India led by Col. CK Nayudu lost the one-off Test to the Douglas Jardine led England side by 158 runs. Fast bowlers Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh made a terrific impression bagging wickets and Captain Nayudu also, scoring 40 in the first innings. But it was not until 1971 that the great cricketing nation with a legion of followers created history by winning Test series for the first time in the West Indies and England. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar who was part of the Indian team led by Ajit Wadekar in 1971 said that India’s 2-1 triumph against Australia January 2021 would match the 1971 feat and even surpass it because of the circumstances — pandemic caused quarantine, team depleted by absence of Virat Kohli and injury to many players. The important aspect of this 4-test Border-Gavaskar series was that the Cricket Australia (CA) converted the tour involving Twenty20, ODI and Test series into the $300 million event, earning revenues from its broadcasters Foxtel and Channel 7. The CA has sent a thank you note to the BCCI.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.