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Cricket fans always look for an English summer to keep them excited for a period around five months. This season, a major event of the English Summer was the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final that South Africa won, bringing down the mighty Australians at the home of cricket, the Lord’s cricket ground. Kudos to skipper Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Alden Markram the rainbow nation staged a second innings comeback to trounce the Aussies. While the WTC final riveted attention on both teams, another burning topic the cricket fraternity in India is glued onto is the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decision — after consulting the BCCI — to retire the Pataudi Trophy and rename the England-India Test series after Jimmy Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar, both the nation’s outstanding cricketers who dominated the scene for over two decades. The unveiling of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been put off because of the Ahmedabad air crash victims. The trophy will be unveiled a few days before the first day of the first Test at Headingley, Leeds on June 20. A cross section of the cricketing fraternity in India is unhappy with the change, but the argument is that the present generation has seen and taken a thrill at the fantastic displays with the bat and ball by Tendulkar and Anderson and the ECB decision was most appropriate in keeping with the times. Perhaps advised by a few legends of Indian cricket the BCCI, without interfering with the ECB call, has asked if it can name one of the individual awards and continue the legacy of Pataudi-Iftikhar Ali Khan and Mansur Ali Khan, both well known in English and Indian cricket.
The war of words between the Kerala government and Kitex Garments Ltd (KGL) seems to be never ending. The latest flare-up owes its origin to Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to send his Textile Minister S Savitha to Kerala to woo Kitex to AP. Savitha, who visited KGL’s headquarters at Kizhakkambalam near Kochi, was impressed with the facilities and made a formal invitation to managing director Sabu Jacob to set up a unit at Amaravati, the capital of AP. The AP offer to set up a new unit comes at a time when Bangladesh, a major textile manufacturer, is facing a political crisis. KGL is the world’s largest maker of cotton and organic cotton ready-to-wear garments for infants and children between 0 – 24 months. The war of words between the ruling LDF government and KGL, began when Jacob decided to float a political party, Twenty-20 in 2015. The party was successful in bagging the Kizhakkambalam and nearby Panchayats from LDF. Twenty-20 transformed the panchayats into a successful model for any panchayat to emulate – 24-hour water, health facilities including insurance, better schools, roads, including grocery shops offering minimum prices etc. Jacob who presented a Rs 3,500 cr investment proposal at the Ascend Global investment meet organised by Kerala government withdrew the proposal following harassment by the state government through various raids. It was at this juncture that the then Telangana government of K Chandrasekhar Rao rolled out the red carpet. Sabu set up two yarn-to-garments facilities in Hyderabad and Warangal which is expected to generate employment to 50,000 people when fully operational. In fact, the Telangana government showcased the Kitex project as a major achievement at the World Economic Forum, Davos. KGL, part of the diversified Anna Kitex group, is the largest employment generator in Kerala with 11,000 people on its rolls.
The question of whether Aamir Khan’s overexposure could hinder the success of Sitare Zameen Par is a compelling one. Aamir Khan is not only a celebrated filmmaker but also a masterful marketer. His ability to craft and dictate marketing strategies has played a significant role in the success of many films he has produced and starred in, including Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini and more. He has consistently demonstrated an understanding of what resonates with audiences, employing innovative marketing techniques that have included unique promotional stunts and celebrity engagements. However, with Sitare Zameen Par, Aamir’s omnipresence in the media raises concerns. He is currently everywhere — on podcasts, TV interviews, and social media—actively promoting the film by inviting celebrities and influencers to his home for discussions. While this level of visibility can create buzz, it risks becoming counterproductive. The saturation of Aamir Khan in promotional activities may lead audiences to feel overwhelmed, diluting the film’s impact and excitement. Effective marketing should strike a balance between visibility and intrigue. While traditional methods such as social media campaigns, public relations efforts, and billboard advertisements are essential, they should be complemented by innovative strategies that captivate the audience’s imagination. The current promotional approach for Sitare Zameen Par seems to rely heavily on routine visibility without offering a compelling narrative or unique engagement. Aamir Khan has previously employed similar strategies with his son Junaid’s film Loveyapa where he invited notable personalities like Raj Thackeray, Sachin Tendulkar and Salman Khan for special pre-release screenings. However, despite the visibility, the film did not perform well, highlighting that increased exposure does not guarantee success.
Club versus country is an old debate in football in which the club game can at most times seem bigger than inter-country matches except perhaps in the World Cups. There are any number of soccer players who have given up playing the international game because they must satisfy, with their performances, their immediate employers, which are clubs. The Clubs may understand what loyalty to the country means, but they can be mean enough to believe that players owe them loyalty first as they pay their yearly wages and may have been responsible for spotting them and nurturing them. The fine West Indian striker – yes, there are new terms from soccer for batsmen these days — Nicholas Pooran has become an extreme example of loyalty to the club first in his retirement from international cricket at the age of 29. And the very next day he was named captain of the MLC league team MI New York. He has bowed to money in quitting wearing the colours of the West Indies in international cricket to play multiple leagues across the world in which he can make a good living without having to meet availability conditions that countries demand, especially during the peak season from November to March when their teams play a lot of international cricket. Pooran had just struck a six-hitting record in 2024, the year in which he made170 hits beyond the boundary and he had continued that rich form of six-hitting in IPL Season18 too. The fact is money calls and so does an easier life with less fierce expectations to fill when you turn up for a T20 league or Cup game as opposed to turning up in international cricket. Truth to tell, money is thicker than patriotism.
For now, Odisha has missed the opportunity of scripting new history in steel making. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, a JV between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, established in December 2019 after acquiring Essar Steel ambitious plan of setting up 12-MTPA steel plant in Kendrapara, Odisha may not fructify it seems according to knowledgeable sources. Reason: Land acquisition issue. Since March 2021 the Odisha government has been moving at a snail’s pace over land acquisition compared to Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu’s proactive approach. AM/NS India shifted its steel investment to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as it feels very confident in the leadership of the chief minister Naidu who is part of the NDA dispensation. It is learnt that Naidu’s son and IT Minister Nara Lokesh played a pivotal role to persuade Aditya Mittal, Lakshmi Mittal’s son, to move the steel plant to Andhra — with whom he has been engaged since 2018. His constant follow-up with Aditya by guaranteeing him quick land allotment and special status seems to have tilted in Andhra’s favour. Reportedly, AM/NS was forced to take this decision as nothing moved from 2021 between BJD and the current BJP government. AM/NS India is initially establishing 7.3 MTPA steel plant in Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh as part of its plans to set up a state-of-the-art integrated steel plant in Rajayyapeta involving an investment of Rs 147,162 crore (Rs 61,780 crore in phase I and Rs 85,382 crore in phase II). Earlier, Sajjan Jindal group JSW’s electric vehicle also shifted out of Odisha to Maharashtra. It’s about time the Majhi government woke up and smelled the coffee.
The New Indian Express has a whole op Ed by Prabhu Chawla on titled ‘Bollywood flops as the South shines’. Chawla quotes chapter, verse, stats, stars and spectacle as huge budget films are crashing. Even with the most tantalising attractions, big budget films of cult figures and classic heroes are cringing; in some cases even manipulated data on pre-booking and daily takes are cleverly presented to give an impression all is well. Recently, a top hero seeing how his latest much-touted film tottered, took to “rewarding” influencers for good reviews. The disturbing trend has festered for over three years. Khans and the Punjabi machos have not been able to draw sustained crowds, repeat audiences and clever Pan India plans have failed. Even OTT has built a strong resistance. Take Salman’s Sikander with every trick in the trade to showcase Bhai and Rashmika, fiery action, fierce fights and oodles of glamour could not stave off its tepid reception. SRK at least had a medium hit in Jawan. But it is Akshay Kumar who wears the crown for serial flops. Housefull 5 has fallen flat. It would be unfair to single out Bollywood alone; the South too has had its share of cringeworthy flops of Vikram, Suriya and even Kamal Haasan. The super star Rajini has snagged a new formula …sign up a big name from every “film wood” …it’s bound to draw the fans of the star and the sum of the parts would rake in overflows. It’s not the money spent or the overwhelming star cast, sets and show that have made Tamil films like Parking, Ayodhya, Tourist Family and few others succeed at box office. These engaging movies have all developed strong, relatable plots and gripping story telling which the audience identifies.
A devotee of Lord Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita, Panvel girl Maithili Patil perished in the Ahmedabad plane tragedy but her memory lingers since an undamaged idol of the deity and a copy of the Hindu holy book have been recovered from the debris. Maithili’s father confirmed that she was a Krishna bhakt and endorsed the possibility that both may have belonged to her. Images of both have gone viral on social media, kicking off a fierce backlash from the so-called rationalism proponents, who hate the word ‘miracle,’ used in the news stories while reporting the recovery of the sacred scripture and the Lord’s idol. Soon after the crash, a man was seen flipping the pages of the Gita, showing it to the people at the crash site, who were filming the wreckage. The visuals showed that there was only some minor damage visible on the holy book’s cover but the printed text and images on the pages inside were intact. The critics, on the other hand, lament that rather than giving importance to the horrific incident, ‘such’ details were highlighted. The recovery of the Gita and idol are listed as miracles along with the survivor Ramesh Vishwas Kumar and Bhoomi Chauhan, who missed the flight by a mere 10 minutes. Amid the devastation, this intact scripture stands as a powerful symbol of hope and faith, many have said in their social media posts.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s 57th birthday on June 14 has generated many news stories, one of which has been discussed with relish. It is about the present age of various prominent leaders. Expectedly, Sharad Pawar tops the list at 84. He has been taunted on this count repeatedly. Pawar’s nephew Ajit is 65. He stands apart in Indian politics since he has become deputy CM a record number of times. “Who do you prefer, me or an octogenarian leader,” Ajit has been asking people while toiling to expand the base of the NCP faction under him. Veteran Sharad Pawar’s nemesis in the state is Prithviraj Chavan, the last Congress Maharashtra CM. Chavan is junior to Pawar by just five years at 79. A confidant of then PM Manmohan Singh, Chavan was appointed CM of the state to regain Congress party’s credibility. He only reduced it by attacking Pawar indirectly. Another deputy CM Eknath Shinde is 61. An autorickshaw driver in Thane once upon a time, he rose to the top post and surprised all by handling it adroitly. The other interesting nugget is that both, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and state CM Devendra Fadnavis are 54. While Rahul has not handled any administrative assignment, Fadnavis is steering the state in his third term in office. Finally, the speculation about the coming together of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray continues ad nauseam. They are 64 and 57 respectively. On the occasion of Raj’s birthday, it receives traction afresh.
In a move reflecting deeper shifts within the Trinamool Congress’ internal power dynamics, national general secretary of the party and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, it seems, voluntarily opted out of being featured on posters for the TMC’s Annual Martyr’s Day Rally to be held on July 21. This decision underscores Didi’s continued projection as the sole face of the party amid ongoing debates over leadership prominence. According to party veteran Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Abhishek has conveyed the decision to exclude his image from the posters. Sudip further clarified that the posters for the programme, provided by Abhishek’s office on a pen drive, contained only Didi’s image. The absence of Abhishek’s image in posters in the past had sparked off debates. In the November 2023 Netaji Indoor rally, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh publicly questioned nephew’s omission. The controversy resurfaced in early 2024 and now in 2025 over the party’s New Year calendar, which featured both leaders but with Abhishek’s photo noticeably larger, prompting the leadership to recall it. February’s rally this year also showed only Mamata’s image. Incidentally, Mamata has repeatedly asserted in party meetings that she is the final authority in both government and organisation, even declaring that she will continue leading the party for the next 10 years. Significantly, Sudip also highlighted the importance of this year’s rally, which is being viewed as a precursor to the 2026 Assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s presence at the Yogi government event on June 15 is considered significant, say UP watchers. The presence of Shah at the Lucknow event to distribute appointment letters to the newly recruited 60,244 police constables is more than a symbolic value. When CM Yogi Adityanath met Shah in Delhi on June 9, the pictures of the meeting went viral, becoming a hot topic of discussion in political circles. Although it was officially termed a ‘courtesy visit’, sources said that Yogi called on Shah to extend an invitation to be the chief guest at the ceremony for the distribution of letters to police constables recruited recently. It must be pointed out that there were a lot of misgivings between the two leaders after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had not gone exactly the way the BJP had planned. For a party that had won 71 seats out of 80 seats from UP in 2014 when PM Modi first entered the national scene and 62 in 2019, it was quite tough when it crashed to 33 in 2024. Apparently, it was differences in perception about choice of candidates between Shah and Yogi that had affected the outcome. Now, a year later, it looks like both the leaders were being directed by PM Modi to bury the hatchet. The result was there for all to see in Lucknow. Shah was seen showering praise on Yogi Govt for improving law and order in the state. He said after the BJP government was formed in the state in 2017 and Yogi Adityanath became the CM, Uttar Pradesh Police had moved towards achieving new heights. That is because the Yogi government had recruited 2.15 lakh police personnel in the last eight years.
A deliriously joyful England, if not quite all of the United Kingdom, is preparing for its greatest night out on Sunday after its football team made it to the Euro final. They are talking of a knighthood for manager Gareth Southgate and he could be called “Sir” even if England can’t get past the Italian wall. Harry Kane, who scored the winning goal against Denmark off a penalty kick rebound, and Raheem Sterling, to whose talent Southgate stayed loyal enough to keep him in the starting lineup, are quite the flavour of the season. Even so, it was a questionable penalty award, which stayed despite a second look on VAR after Sterling seemed to go down too readily in the Danish penalty box that made the difference. England is accustomed to celebrating beyond questionable refereeing decision, including most of all the disputed goal in the 1966 World Cup final when no one is till today sure if the ball actually passed into the net beyond the goal line. The penalty against Denmark was spoiled by one spectator in the stands shining a laser pen at the face of Danish goal keeper Kasper Schmeichel. As a home final at Wembley nears voices are rising against football jingoism, unleashed at full throttle after months of tight lockdown rules, as booing of the Italian national anthem is feared.
Relocating the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to the petro-dollar venues in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14, has come as a blow to the BCCI members who were bullish on hosting money-spinning matches. The host associations receive good money per match; for example the Vidarbha Cricket Association received Rs 14 crore for hosting the ICC World Cup in 2011 and Rs 12 crore for hosting the Women’s World Twenty20 in 2016. The BCCI had shortlisted Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Dharamshala, Lucknow, Kolkata Ahmedabad and Mumbai for one of ICC’s signature events in October-November. There were reports that the BCCI would eventually whittle down the venues to three, all in West Zone, but with the threat of the third wave of the COVID-19 looming, the BCCI shifted the event to the offshore venues. The Mumbai Cricket Association which received Rs10 crore for hosting 10 IPL-14 matches, Pune and Ahmedabad would have probably lost considerable money for not getting the opportunity to host the World T20 matches, but the former BCCI Secretary, and long-time Secretary of Saurashra Cricket Association, Niranjan Shah said that the BCCI has been up to date releasing “on account” money till the 2020 fiscal. “We do not know about the bifurcation (IPL and BCCI media rights share),” said Shah. The BCCI has disbursed Rs 50 crore, for two fiscals, to majority of its members.
Woken up at dawn on September 5 by the unusual clatter around his block at the Olympic Village in Munich in 1972, India’s expert runner in the half-mile, metric mile and over 5000 metres was terrified and scared by the goings-on at the block across, where the Israeli contingent was put up. It was on September 6 though that the famous Eddie Sequeira from Sanata Cruz, Mumbai came to know that the Palestinian ‘Black September’ group had invaded the Olympic Village, killed two Israeli delegates, and held nine more as hostages, all of them later killed around midnight at a nearby airport. The carnage sent shock waves across the world. “I was terrified and scared by what I saw on September 5. They were in red track suit, black bags, mask and hood. Myself and Sriram Singh were occupying a room in a ground floor block. And the Israel team was across our Block, about 100 metres away. At 4.21 am or thereabout, there was a lot of noise, and I saw people running away. I awoke Sriram immediately. It was not very dark, but a light morning. We made sure our door latch was on. Later in the morning we were told that the events for the day have been cancelled. The fright was there in my mind, but I managed to clock my personal best in the 5000 m run.”
Cricketers are now no less prima donnas than Hollywood stars, Olympic legends and Wimbledon warriors. Fame comes, often with a price. Dinesh Karthik on his first test commentary outing for Sky Sports at the 3 ODI between Sri Lanka and England was on a high…he even had his own desi cheerleaders, led by brother and company rooting for him. Karthik in an effervescent spell of commentary said, “Often batsmen don’t like their own bats, they like others (bats)…a neighbour’s wife always feels better.” In a conference hall, this scandalous sexist comment would have met with…pin drop silence. On a cricket ground, especially a test match, such an infamous remark took time to sink in. Women’s Groups condemned Karthik’s motor mouth remark. He apologised later, admitting that he got a lot of stick from his mom and wife. Remember Dean Jones? His contract with 10 Sport was terminated instantly after he made that other dishonourable comment about South African player Hashim Amla and his full bearded appearance. “The terrorist got another wicket”. In these days of super cricket technology, when TV cameras capture every nuance of the game, we really don’t need commentators to interpret the excitement of the game. But they certainly add value by analysing various nuances. And then comes along a Dinesh Karthik, foot in the mouth addict. Representing India also means being a gentleman.
Pusarla Sindhu, the long-limbed Indian shuttle-cock champion has been the cynosure of all eyes in the last five years. She sprang a big surprise winning the women’s singles silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, followed it up with a silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and the gold at the World Championship in Basel. She is expected to bring home a medal from the Olympics at Tokyo set to start on July 23. Soon to turn 26, Sindhu, has a wholehearted supporter in former nine-time national champion Aparna Popat who is not really bothered with Sindhu not winning other BWF tournaments: “Sindhu does well in the big ones, the World Championships, Super Series Finals, and the multi game events like the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth. No one talks about Djokovic. Nadal, Federer, winning ATP titles now, only the grand slams like the Australian, French, Wimbledon and the US. Why can’t Sindhu be seen that way? You introduce her as the World Champion and Olympic silver medallist. Who is asking for more? That’s all. It’s not that she needs to make money from other tournaments to make a living. She has got everything sorted. Winning the big ones is like a lottery, you win one big title and you get 20X. This has been her strategy, and it has worked.”
Kane Williamson has been the nice guy of world cricket, a far cry from an adventurer of the Sir Edmund Hillary type, the death-defying New Zealander who became the first to climb the summit of Mount Everest some 68 years ago. But last week Williamson, the most genteel of cricketers of modern times, won cricket’s Mount Everest — the ICC World Test Championship, outsmarting India at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, England. Williamson, 30, marshalled his potent set of speed merchants to win the rain-marred final. It’s Williamson’s team that has largely provided the real import to the ‘gentleman’s game’ that cricket is known for. Williamson has been in the vanguard of New Zealand’s pursuit of a first ICC prize for many years, but after a few heart-breaking losses in two finals in recent times, Williamson eventually got his hands on an ICC prize. After Williamson figured in the ICC Test team of the decade, the late Martin Crowe, a legend, said: “We are seeing the dawn of probably our (New Zealand) greatest ever batsman.” Williamson is the second highest run-getter for New Zealand with 7,230 runs; he topped the New Zealand batting in the WTC cycle with 10 matches, 918 runs, 251 highest, 61.20 average, 3 x 100s and 2 x 50s. For nearly 14 years, the right-hander has been a batsman beyond compare for New Zealand, also known as the All Blacks
From being a high-profile Minister of State for Home Affairs for five years under Rajnath Singh from 2014, the 49-year-old, Kiren Rijiju was given the pleasant task of steering India’s sports programme, the Tokyo Olympics in particular. He held his own at the hustings of the 2019 Lok Sabha election from West Arunachal constituency, and became a giant killer, defeating two-time Chief Minister, Nabam Tuki by a huge margin of 1,67,132 votes. As a BJP candidate, he had won the 2014 election by 41,738 votes. The shift, as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), by replacing Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a silver medalist in the Double Trap shooting competition in Athens 2004, saw Rijiju become proactive in almost every aspect of running the ministry with assistance from the Sports Authority of India. Rijiju was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handpicked man for the job that covers the entire gamut of sports in the country, including selection of sportspersons for the Arjuna, Khel Ratna, Dronacharya, Dhyan Chand, Tenzing Norgay, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad awards and the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. For a little over two years, Rijiju has been a livewire, and in the vanguard of assisting athletes for the Tokyo Olympics. He has supported the official broadcaster of the Summer Olympics, Sony Pictures Sports Network’s Hum Honge Kamyaab campaign for India’s athletes.
He refused to bowl at Virat Kohli in the Royal Challengers nets though the RCB captain was instrumental in signing up the giant from Auckland for the IPL. Kyle Jamieson did the star turn for New Zealand in the rain-hit WTC Final at Southampton, picking up his Bangalore skipper’s wicket with one that came back. Cricket may have already found the new Joel Garner as the 6 ft 8 in fast bowler claims a unique record of a fifth five-wicket haul in only his eighth Test for a tally of 44 wickets at an average of just 14.13. No bowler since the 1890s has taken more at a lesser average. Bowling to a fuller length, up by 44% after an opening day in which he tried to do too much, did the trick as Jamieson dominated the Test while presiding over the destruction of the reputed Indian batting. Like Garner, the Kiwi gives nothing away, no loose balls as freebies for the batsmen. During the IPL, Jamieson put two new Dukes balls in his kit bag to practise with them as the England tour was to come up immediately after IPL. What we have now is a gentle giant capable of bowling out Test batsmen with his consistency of line and length.
Athletes and officials who like to tipple will be allowed to consume their favourite alcohol, but strictly within the confines of their rooms at the Olympic Village spread over 44 hectares in Tokyo. The local organising committee of the Summer Olympics 2020, postponed exactly by a calendar year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, had actually mulled over banning consumption of alcohol in the Athletes Village in order to enforce the “No, No” rules generally put in place in Japan. Now the habitual among the 18000 athletes and officials, can look forward to enjoying a drink or two. However condoms will not be available. It’s from the Summer Games in Seoul in 1988, that condoms were distributed at the Olympic Village, but as a forced shift from a 32-year-old custom, the athletes and officials will get the contraceptives when they depart Tokyo. The Olympic Village consists of 3800 condominiums and 21 residential quarters. The “Playbook” which details the rules to be followed by all delegates and athletes during the Games has counselled participants to avoid being close to people. Any violation of the rules will risk getting ejected from the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) believes that the majority of the people involved with the Games would have received both jabs of the vaccine by July 23, 2021, the first day of the Games.
There is a tiny flaw in Virat Kohli’s captaincy record. Teams playing under him have not won a single ICC trophy. One of the modern greats with the bat and at captaincy, the cricketer would dearly love to set the record straight. Not only because his record pales in front of his mentor Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sterling captaincy record. Dhoni won all the ICC trophies on offer — World Cup (50 overs), Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup besides the IPL three times and the Champion’s League Trophy twice for Chennai Super Kings. Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore is yet to taste success. An Indian captain led India to top of the Test ladder of merit as early as 2008-09 while Kohli kept it up there for 44 months from October 2016 right up to June 2021 when New Zealand moved up to No. 1 after beating England. Firmly in the saddle in all three formats since 2017, Kohli would be hoping that the World Test Championship, being played from June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton in England would become his first ICC and most prized Cup ever. India faces a very professional and committed New Zealand side under Kane Williamson. Still, given the strengths and skills Team India possess, they have a great chance to win the WCT and Kohli knows he must make it happen in England.
On a balmy Thursday on June 17 in England’s South-West coastal town of Bristol, the brightest star of Indian women’s cricket, Shafali Verma cocked a snook at India’s women selectors for not selecting her for the home limited-over series against South Africa. Shafali uncorked her typical bold and stylish brand of cricket that lit up the second day’s play of the one-off Test against England. Not accustomed to red-ball cricket, Shafali, 17 years and 141 days when she took guard, and one of the fortunate Test debutants sparkled with a knock of 96, hitting 13 fours and two sixes. The young right-hander fell in a moment of unbridled ambition to bring her century with a big shot. The Rohtak-born has been a whiff of fresh air playing electrifying knocks. She has not only breathed life into women’s cricket in India, but now has also campaigned straightaway for resumption of Test cricket across the world. It was a fallacy on the part of the women selectors to brand her as a Twenty20 specialist, when India’s women cricketers were pleading for continuous competitive cricket at domestic and international levels. Shafali took the centre stage at Bristol, raising a record first-wicket stand of 163 for India with left-hander Smriti Mandhana. It was India’s fourth century plus stand for the first wicket, and the world’s joint seventh highest in 889 Tests.
The fashionable world of Parisians, also accustomed to a ‘Bon Appetit’ of the Rafael Nadal variety of tennis on the red shale at the Roland Garros, recently got to taste caviar on toast of one for the books kind, so imposingly dished out by a Serbian champion. Down and out virtually, Novak Djokovic summoned his physical and mental reserves, picked up the pieces to play havoc on the mind of the far from pretender for the crown, Stefanos Tsitsipas and eventually downed the terrific 22-year-old Greek with a blonde mane and Adidas bandana. The final bout lasted four hours and 11 minutes as the versatile tennis artist, who has won 1,102 singles matches on the ATP tour, proceeded to win his 19th Grand Slam singles title and come within whistling distance of Nadal and Roger Federer’s 20 each. The Serbian, 34, had stopped the successful run of the southpaw Nadal in the semi-finals, who had proved to be a one-man Spanish Armada, winning the title in Paris, a baker’s dozen times between 2005 and 2020 and lifted the 14kg Musketeers Cup Trophy. Nadal did not win in Paris in 2009, 2015 and 2016, when the Serbian clinched his first clay Grand Slam. Trailing by two sets (6-7, 2-6), Djokovic smothered the Greek 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, firing a mere five aces to his opponent’s 14. The 187cm tall Djokovic who began his professional career in 2003, has won 305 matches on clay, 520 on hard courts, 104 on grass, 140 in indoor courts and 33 Davis Cup singles matches. Leading to the French Open, Djokovic had lost three Clay court matches at Monte Carlo, Belgrade and Rome this year but was unstoppable in Paris. He is in line for a sweep of the calendar year Grand Slam wins and be hailed as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).
In Joe Root’s words, it’s been a week of “ugly truths” for the England cricket team when the raging tweet storm has not spared James ‘Jimmy’ Anderson either. The fast bowler was all set to become the Test cricketer with the most appearance (162) for England beating Alastair Cook’s record when an old tweet he had sent out on fellow fast bowler Stuart Broad which said he “looked like a 15-year-old lesbian” bobbed up. While Anderson’s single contentious tweet is also under the scanner, it is a series of tweets by Oliie Robinson that is the eye of the storm. Over a 12-month period, they made references to Gary Speed’s suicide, the disappearance of young English girl Madeleine McCann in Europe, the N-word, derogatory messages about Muslims, people with disabilities and women. The fast bowling all-rounder seems to have been quite a fiery character when he sent those tweets in 2012 and 2013. The storm might take the sheen off the marathon man Anderson’s achievement in being a fast bowler who is passing all the batsmen and wicket-keeper batsmen who used to be the ones with the most Test caps for England, beginning with Hobbs, Woolley and Hammond through Cowdrey, Gooch and Stewart down to Cook who retired recently. Anderson needs four wickets to pass Anil Kumble on the all-time Test bowlers’ list and six wickets to make it 1,000 first class wickets.
The Prince of Najafgarh — Virender Sehwag — was a natural and glorious hitter of the cricket ball. He smashed two Test triple centuries at Multan and Chepauk. His legion of followers would have hardly imagined that the high-spirited opening batsman who went leather hunting from the word go would have gone out of the way to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to refine his ways of aggression in the scene of action. But eight summers after he bid adieu to international cricket, the dashing batsman of the new millennium has announced that he would deploy the novel AI to teach how to play the game through the app “CRICURU” that he and former India player and assistant coach, Sanjay Bangar, have founded for the benefit of budding cricketers. He took the centre stage for near about one-and-a-half decades from 1999, clouted 243 x 6s and 2398 x4s and entertained the paying spectators, but all this he did by watching Sachin Tendulkar bat and learning from his personal coach that had the human touch. Now, he believes human coaching simulated into a machine can thrash out glitches in batting and bowling. At the launch of the AI enabled app CRICURU, Sehwag revealed that not many, who pointed out his lack of footwork, had answers, that was eventually told to him by Sunil Gavaskar, ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Srikkanth. Sehwag’s experimental learning will be imparted by top guns of cricket.
“When you play Test cricket, you don’t give the Englishmen an inch. Play it tough, all the way. Grind them into the dust,” declared Sir Don Bradman, the colossal performer against England with 5,028 runs at 89.79 in 37 Tests. No cricketer has surpassed the record for 73 years. The Indian team led by Virat Kohli can only be inspired by cricket’s all-time Don’s matter-of-fact words in order to put it across Joe Root’s England in the Test series to be played in August-September at Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Headingley, The Oval and Old Trafford. On the previous two tours to England in 2014 and 2018, India was trounced 3-1 and 4-1. The cause of the mismatched results was the lack of wherewithal to lift the batting average well above 23.95 in 2014 and 23.91 in 2018, when Kohli’s average was a fraction lower than 60! India’s bowling unit worked wonders in 2018, taking 82 wickets at 29.82 as against 59 at 43.25 in 2014. Statistics are part and parcel of cricket, more so in the bilateral series played in flannels. And achievements in England get a premium value. Familiar with the fickle weather, England has been a tough nut to crack. It has won 223 Tests and lost 123 of the 528 it has played at home since the one-off first Test against Australia at The Oval in 1880. England’s winning percentage of 54.84 against India at home (played 62, won 34, lost 7, drew 21) is the highest against a traditional opponent for close to six decades. England though has a 100% record at home against Bangladesh and Ireland and 75% win against Zimbabwe. So, India’s task is cut out; just try and put into action the Don’s message to the hilt to upset England apple cart.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has come a long way from once being described as nothing more than a “post office” by a former England batsman and renowned Match Referee, Raman Subba Row. The England-born with Indian ancestors, Row, who liked to prove he has Andhra blood in him by biting a green chilly at Mumbai’s Samrat Restaurant, was instrumental in recommending to the ICC that the Match Referee has the last word on the outcome at the toss and confirm which of the captains had called it correctly (Heads or Tails). It was during Row’s time in the 1990s that several regulatory measures were put in place, notably the Players’ Code of Conduct. But more significantly, the ICC took women’s cricket under its wing. Three years ago, in 2018, the ICC under the leadership of Nagpur-based lawyer, Shashank Manohar, took a trailblazing call to bring in Indra Nooyi (Ex-Chairperson and CEO of Pepsico and presently on the Board of Amazon) as the first independent female director. Three years later, Greg Barclay, the Auckland-based commercial lawyer who succeeded Manohar, has founded the innovative 100% Cricket Future Leaders programme designed to support emerging female talent in cricket. Sharda Ugra (mentor); and Vijaylaxmi Narasimhan and Harini Rana (mentees) are the Indians involved in the six-month programme meant to empower women. Others driving the programme are former Australian cricket icon Belinda Clark, and the ICC’s Claire Furlong and Ketaki Golatkar. Lauding the ICC initiative, former India captain and ICC Women’s Committee member for 13 years, Shubhangi Kulkarni said: “As of now, we have hardly any women in leadership roles and in decision making positions in cricket. This programme will give them a foundation to develop their skills in administration, officiating, broadcasting, journalism and other aspects of cricket organisations.”
A champion in his own right for over three decades in the cricketing media world, Sunil Gavaskar is all set to travel to England for the ICC World Test Championship final at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, from June 18. Celebrated as one of the best opening batsmen in the annals of Test cricket, Gavaskar will be the only Indian voice for the official broadcaster at the WTC final. Prior to starting his duties in England, the legendary opener, also known as the Little Master, has to endure the bio-bubble life that has been in place across the world for sports events. From September 2020, though, Gavaskar has beautifully adjusted to the hotel quarantine in the UAE, Australia and in India. Hinting a philosophical note about the unprecedented times of these days, Gavaskar said: “I am in Mumbai and God willing, should travel to the UK by next weekend. There is nothing much to do in quarantine as you are confined to your room. Catch up on sleep, read and watch some series on TV. In the bio-bubble, you can go out, like to the match and even to the hotel gym or restaurant, since these are open only for the others with you in the bio-bubble, and not to outsiders. So, the bubble is a lot easier as there’s interaction with others. As for the number of tests (RT-PCR for detecting Covid infection), yes, I could be approaching a century there, but not too sure. Trust all well. Stay safe and healthy,” signed off, Gavaskar, an NRI UAE resident. For half a century, Gavaskar has been in the vanguard of Indian cricket, as an opening batsman and commentator. His Pune-based friend Raju Metha said: “He must have completed 100 Test matches as a commentator long time ago.”
One of the most intelligent cricketers to ever twirl the ball in the air with a zillion variations, Ravichandran Ashwin is just emerging from the shadows after taking a break from IPL because of illness affecting a number of family members. The quick-witted spinner is always ready with a handy retort on social media but this time he took up the cause of children in getting into the heart of the issue of sexual harassment of schoolgirls by a teacher in a reputed school. As an alumnus of the school, Ashwin had an extra reason to join the issue after several people had commented on the unseemly goings-on in school, rightly calling for action to put an end to such episodes. In quarantine ahead of the England tour, Ashwin seems to have a bit of time to keep his spinning fingers busy on the mobile keyboard. But, to his credit, he has not taken those who trolled him seriously after they went at him viciously, even finding imaginary reasons why he quit IPL mid-season, saying he did so because he was annoyed with skipper Pant over his refusing a DRS review call the spinner seemed bent upon. Willing to back himself to do his own thing, Ashwin was not scared by the nasty reactions to his “Mankading” Buttler. The spin master knows he cannot always have the last laugh but is always willing to battle to make his point.
Several reasons have been bandied about the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) being loath to rework the five-Test series and enable the BCCI to fit in the interrupted IPL-14, and make good the balance revenue of Rs 2,500 crore. A view that’s going around is that the five Test matches have been sold out and the home broadcaster is in all preparedness as per the itinerary charted in the Future Tour Programme (FTP) agreed by the two cricket boards. According to a BCCI official who in the past has been part of informal conversations on scheduling matters, England’s Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), which is a member of Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), would not have liked any force to disrupt the original schedule. The series against India starts at Trent Bridge on August 4, the second Test at Lord’s on August 12, with a gap of three days, and the third Test at Leeds on August 25, with an extended gap of eight days. The fourth and fifth Test matches at The Oval starts on September 2 and 10, with a gap of three days each in between. “The long break during a four or five Test series is done to keep the players fit and fresh. There has been instances in India, of visiting teams being given a holiday in Goa in between a Test series,” the official said. England is set to play two Tests against New Zealand, starting on June 2 and 10. Then India and New Zealand will feature in the World Test Championship final at Southampton from June 18. Then the ECB will flaunt the pioneering ‘The Hundred ball’ bash from July 21 to August 21, leaving the BCCI to look for a window after the Test series in England to complete the IPL-14.
Equestrian sport, patronised by the Royals, Maharajahs and the blue-blooded, has suffered aplenty in the Mumbai megalopolis because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown. The three main sport for the warm-blooded animals — show jumping and dressage, both medal sport at the Summer Olympics and polo — and run by the nearly eight-decade old Amateur Rider’s Club (ARC) at the Mahalaxmi Race Course — has been missing at the separate riding arenas within the premises of the Royal Western India Turf Club. Moreover, imparting riding lessons to beginners upwards have also come to a standstill, leaving the large membership of the ARC most disappointed and left them forlorn. Founded in 1942, the ARC is one of the oldest and largest private civilian horse-riding clubs in India. As of now, the ARC houses 150 warm blooded animals under the care of 125 odd syces, grooms or stable boys. The ARC made it known on May 18, that because of the cyclone, the 150 horses experienced extreme anxiety due to heavy winds and rains. A spokesperson of the ARC said: “The owners of the thoroughbreds have been unable to see their horses and are worried about their pets. The ARC has ensured that the horses’ routine daily health and hygiene regime is not disturbed. Arrangements for veterinary services on call and a compounder on the premises to tend to the horses’ needs has been made available. Members are video calling their grooms just to see their beloved pets and get some relief seeing the majestic creatures.” The ARC hosted the Polo season in January 2021 with all SOPs in place but had to cancel the Regional and Mumbai Equestrian Leagues due to the COVID second wave.
The postponed Games of the Summer Olympiad in Tokyo 2020 has become a celebration of the 125th year of the Olympic Movement. Under pressure to postpone/ cancel the Olympics from July 23 to August 9, because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headed by West German Thomas Bach — a gold medal winner in a fencing team event at the 1976 Montreal Olympics — and of which India’s Nita Ambani is one among the 103 powerful members — confirmed on May 13 that it would go ahead with the Summer Games. The IOC reasoned that only one positive case was reported from the 12 test events and also support from WHO for the countermeasures that will be implemented at the Games. The IOC also cited the series of “Playbooks” that outlines the rules to be followed by athletes and others during the Games. Doubts have been raised by athletes who point at the national emergency extended by the Japanese Government. Moreover less than 3% of Japan has been vaccinated so far and nearly 60% of Japan want the Olympics and Paralympics to be cancelled. At the virtual IOC press conference on May 13, an anti-Olympics protestor gate-crashed and raised banners with messages, “No Olympics in Tokyo” and “No Olympics anywhere.” Mailing a response to shortpost.in, Canadian Rob Koehler, the former Deputy Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency for 17 years plus and Director General of ‘Global Athlete’ — of which more than one thousand athletes are members — expressed misgivings about the “Playbooks” saying: “Athletes are essential workers for the Games, unpaid workers, and they deserve the most robust Covid-19 protocols possible. Protocols that will protect the athletes and Japanese population. The IOC’s Tokyo 2020 Playbook abundantly falls short.”
Mithali Raj has been a champion batter in ODI cricket and the face of Indian women’s cricket for over two decades. Well into her 39th year, the diminutive right-hander has been in ODI cricket for 21-plus years, having made her debut on June 26, 1999 and making it memorable with an unbeaten 114 against Ireland at Milton Keynes. Currently she is at top of the heap with a world record 7,098 runs in 214 matches. While the doughty batter’s ODI record will be difficult to go down, Mithali, who has played 10 Tests from 2002 to 2014 and scored 663 runs at 51, would find it tough to surpass Sandhya Agarwal’s high aggregate of 1,110 runs in 13 Tests at 50.45, which is an Indian women’s record. India is scheduled to play a one-off Test against England in the harbour town of Bristol from June 16 and it would be beyond Mithali’s capacity to cover the 447 run gap. With a majority of the ICC full members focussed on white-ball cricket to popularise the game, the multi-day Test cricket is seldom featured except for the one-off Ashes Test between the women teams of England and Australia. The Indian women have played 36 Tests, won five, lost 6 and drew 25. Three of the five wins came in the last three — two against England at Taunton in 2006 and at Wormsley in 2014, and against South Africa at Mysore, also in 2014. Mithali carved out a 214 at Taunton in her first Test appearance in England and has scored 402 runs in four Test matches there. She is 38 runs short of Shubhangi Kulkarni’s 700. “Sandhya was a solid batter whereas Mithali is a solid and stylish batter,” said Shubhangi.
A boxing globe trotter and a frequent traveler to the quadrennial Summer Olympics, Kishen Narsi has decided to give the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be held in July-August, a miss. His daughter and son who live abroad have prevailed upon him to stay with his wife Ruby in Mumbai saying it’s best for him to do some homework! A Mumbai kutchi who trained himself as paper-weight class boxer in the 1960s, Narsi went to Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 as a referee-judge/ Jury member; and to Montreal 1976, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 as a spectator. The boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics by the Western countries prevented him from accepting the invitation to Russia. Narsi was also a referee-judge at the Asian Games at Bangkok 1978, New Delhi 1982, Seoul 1986, Beijing 1990, Hiroshima 1994 and Bangkok 1998 and Jury member at Guangzhou 2010. He has officiated at various world events in Armenia, Venezuela, Casablanca, Mongolia, Macau, Tashkent, Victoria, Mexico, Chicago, Doha, Canberra, Hamburg and Poland since 1970. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the Olympics in Japan which is considering extending the national emergency to tackle the Covid pandemic, but Narsi who is one of the experienced boxing officials in the world has taken a firm decision not to go. “Look, the Olympics will not be the same. On off days, I see other sports live. This time you will be stuck in the room. You cannot mingle because of restrictions,” said Narsi without a hint of disappointment. He has not responded to the accreditation form sent to him by the Tokyo Olympics Boxing Task Force.
Dr Ali Bacher, former Cricket South Africa boss, is concerned with the pandemic situation in India. Seeing visuals at his Johannesburg home on CNN has saddened him. He is happy that the BCCI has suspended the IPL Season 14 after a few more players tested positive to Covid-19. “The BCCI could have held the IPL 2021 in abeyance because of the grim Covid situation across India. Can you imagine the outcry if one of the players, umpires, coaches and administrators had died of the virus? That could have happened and could still happen if the IPL had run its full course. How can you continue playing in New Delhi, one of the venues for the IPL, where people are dying like flies out there. The fact is players have been affected now and the BCCI and IPL have been compelled to suspend it. I watch IPL matches when South African players are involved. On the positive side, I had seen some extraordinary cricket and cricketers in the league,” Dr Bacher said after being informed of the BCCI decision. Dr Bacher — he holds a degree in medicine — is hailed as captain of the South African team that trounced Australia in 1970 and administrator extraordinaire who presided over the Rainbow Nation’s return to mainstream cricket in the early 1990s — after a 20-year ban from international cricket for two decades because of the country’s apartheid policy. He is also widely applauded for managing the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. “We won all four Tests decisively. Some cricket experts believe that team was probably the strongest team South Africa has ever had. In that team were greats like Graeme and Peter Pollock, Barry Richards and Mike Procter,” said Dr Bacher.
The famous cricket brain may have fired back to life a little slowly but its functions are intact. A diving MS Dhoni spilling a catch might have brought the first signs that age is not just a number when it comes to alacrity on the cricket field. But wisdom is still a much needed commodity as we saw in many instances as CSK are up and running again and leading the IPL table this time. The first audible signs of Dhoni’s intellect came when he told Jadeja to let it rip as a replaced ball would be dry and would turn. Having been just hit for six and taking a ball the umpires gave from the “used” box, Jadeja got one to turn and bowled a batsman. Soon, advice not to worry about getting hit and let the ball spin helped the all-rounder again as Dhoni told him to keep his spirits up and Jadeja at once foxed Glenn Maxwell to bowl him. Asked as to how CSK was firing on all cylinders again after the UAE flop show last season, Dhoni said there were a lot of factors and explained a few about how the lockdown without cricket had affected them last time and how CSK were better prepared for this edition of IPL. There is just no substitute for Captain Cool’s cerebral presence on the cricket field.
Amit Mishra is a smart tweaker who has been prominent in the IPL. He is on the brink of dislodging Sri Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga from the IPL bowling leaderboard. Mishra, aged 38 and with 166 wickets in 156 matches, is a mere five scalps from becoming the highest wicket taker in the league. He is also set to play his 100th match for the Delhi franchise. Malinga has a tally of 170 wickets, all for Mumbai Indians (MI). Mishra — who has turned out for Deccan Chargers and the Sunrisers together in 55 matches — has had a decent run for Delhi Capitals this season, dismissing six batsmen in four matches at a miserly 18.17. After an unproductive outing against Chennai in the opening match at the Wankhede, Mishra played a match-winning role, bamboozling MI at Chepauk in the good old nalla Madras city. Mishra has figured in 71 winning matches in the league in which 48 cricketers have bowled leg spin. As of now, he, among leg spinners, is followed by Piyush Chawla (156 wickets in 164 matches) and Yuzvendra Chahal (124 wickets in 105 matches). Mishra’s best was in 2013 when he took 21 wickets at 18.76. For a leg-spinner, his economy rate is an impressive 7.35 and his best effort has been the 5 for 17 against Deccan Chargers at the Kotla in the inaugural season in 2008. Mishra has so far missed 37 matches together for the three franchises.
There is a ‘Hundred’ revolution sweeping cricket. No more batsman or batswoman – they are all batters now. With a new format popping up, promoters wanted the game to be truly gender neutral and so it is bowler and batter now. But they had to stop their reform of cricket’s complex vocabulary there and had to retain ‘wickets’. They abandoned thoughts of making it ‘outs’ after a public backlash over the proposed changes. And so, mercifully, it will still be 70 for four wickets and so on although the fall of a wicket will be described as an ‘out’ on the glitzy screens broadcasting the new game from the UK. Cricket purists may have had a bit of a say in saving the soul of the game. Their wish may be fulfilled when the T20 format – now considered a somewhat more traditional form of cricket as it has been around at least for a couple of decades – will be recommended for the Olympics. The thought that the new-fangled ‘Hundred’ might be the format for the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028 was scotched. The ICC will propose to the IOC that T20 be the format for cricket’s Olympics debut and the traditionalists can heave a sigh of relief.
Virat Kohli doesn’t want any gremlin to botch up India’s campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup this winter in India. He declared during the India-England home series that he will open the inning for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL Season 14. He is again getting used to facing the new ball, finding the rhythm that has resulted in four wins on the trot for the franchise that cost United Spirits $111.6 million 13 years ago. On a personal note, Kohli, who has reached a number of pinnacles in his career, became the first to touch the IPL-6,000-run mark in his 188th innings at the Wankhede Stadium against the Jaipur side on April 22. Nothing less than the title will make Kohli happy, but one could see him continue with the opener’s role and get battle-hard for the World Cup. There is nothing new about India’s best batsman across all formats hitting the straps, as an opening batsman in the VIVO-sponsored league — regarded by one and all as the world’s most popular. Just for the record, he has scored 2,488 runs (average 47.85) as an opener, 208 shy of his #3 high of 2,696 (average 36.93). In a way, KL Rahul — he did not get going in four Twenty20 internationals against England at Ahmedabad — forced it on Kohli to open the innings with the other giant of white-ball cricket, Rohit Sharma. In the last brush with England at Ahmedabad, Sharma made 64 and Kohli an unconquered 80 as India went on to clinch the series. Any doubt now that he will not open with Sharma in the Twenty20 World Cup?
The continued success of Glenn Maxwell in Royal Challengers Bangalore colours is a big lesson in man management. Playing for his fourth IPL team, the expensive batting all-rounder got back his match-winning mojo only now under the leadership of Team India and RCB skipper Virat Kohli and the team management that have given the Aussie the mental space he needed to find his old form. As colleague AB de Villiers, the biggest 360 degree batting star of IPL, pointed out: “It’s about feeling backed and he feels that here, with Virat, myself and all the coaching staff, all his teammates back him. He knows he has extraordinary talent but for that to blossom he knows he must be happy, and I think he is just in a happy space at the moment.” To do well at sport, they speak of “good headspace” and that is what the enigmatic Aussie, bought for Rs 14.5 crore, seems to be in as he cracked his highest score since 2014. As the show pony in three previous IPL teams, he may have been put under enormous pressure. In RCB, where he is only the third musketeer after Kohli and ABD, Maxwell is flourishing
Rishabh Pant is learning the ropes of captaincy at Delhi Capitals in the IPL season 14 that began on April 9. The dashing left-hander, who has changed the template of batting across all formats of the game, got the leadership role at the misfortune of Shreyas Iyer, who hurt his left shoulder in the India-England ODI series in Pune and subsequently underwent surgery. After Pant’s appointment as captain, co-owner of the franchise Parth Jindal said: “Delhi Capitals plays passionate cricket, and Rishabh Pant embodies that best.” Pant has played 72 matches for the Delhi franchise in the old and new avatar of Daredevils and Capitals, but as captain four times this season. Barring a 32-ball 51 against Rajasthan Royals, he has not exactly set the league on fire, but he has led the team to victory in three of the four matches. “As a wicket-keeper, I keep on reading the game,” says Pant. “With seniors around and Ricky Ponting (Head Coach) around, it’s going great for me (as captain). We are not focusing on outside things like Covid. The BCCI is doing well to give us a good bubble and travelling arrangements. I also don’t think too much about individual match ups (facing Jasprit Bumrah against Mumbai Indians). Every day is a new day in cricket. One has to look at scenarios and not match ups, I guess.” Pant amassed 684 runs in 2018, his best in six seasons. He has to be in good nick right through, touch the 2018 form, if the Capitals have to win the title the first time in 14 seasons.
Guaranteeing tax exemption for the ICC events has been a long thorn in the BCCI’s flesh since 2016. Five years ago, the West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite pulled off a title-winning Herculean effort, clouting four sixes off Ben Stokes in the last over of the Twenty20 World Cup final at the Eden Gardens. Brathwaite’s big hits won the title for the Windies, but the BCCI lost $23.75 million because it did not furnish tax exemption to the ICC. As a consequence, Star India, as per law of the land, withheld 10% of the money it owed to the ICC, for the services it rendered. And the ICC adjusted the sizeable sum from the money it had to disburse to the BCCI. Five years later, in 2021, the BCCI looks at a potential drop in receipts between $50 and $60 million (Rs 375-450 crore) in the event of it not being able to guarantee tax exemption for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in India in October-November. The drop in receipts could rise to Rs 1,000-crore plus, if the script continues for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 awarded to the BCCI. The BCCI’s tax exemption woes began in 2017 when the Finance Ministry — under Arun Jaitley — put a “no exemption” remark on the file!
The former Indian skipper Mahendra ‘Mahi’ Singh Dhoni has been the most successful brand in the Indian market. And, he has been handled and managed quite well by none other than his childhood friend and former cricketer Arun Pandey. Pandey, who used to chuck ball at the nets to Mahi, runs a brand management firm, Rhiti Group. He was the go-to man, if anybody wanted to sign up Mahi for ads or events. He was also the producer of the biopic, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. Now, it is learnt that Pandey won’t be managing brand Dhoni anymore. Dhoni’s wife Sakshi has stepped into his shoes. As far as Sakshi’s credentials are concerned, she is the managing director of the Mumbai-based production house, Dhoni Entertainment, that’s into producing films and web series. The documentary web series, titled Roar of The Lion essaying the comeback of the Chennai Super Kings to lift the 2018 Indian Premier League starring MS Dhoni in the lead role was well received. It has entered into a JV with Black White Orange Brands to create Captain 7 an animated fiction show based on Dhoni in a never-seen-before avatar. Close observers feel that the husband-wife team can work wonders for the business as she is extremely confident while Mahi is cool as cucumber. Good luck to Mahi and company!
Three-time Olympian (Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988), India captain and the gold medal winner at Moscow, MM Somaya is pleased as punch at the Indian team’s back-to-back wins against Rio Olympic gold medal winner, Argentina, in the FIH ProLeague in Buenos Aires. Somaya, who can articulate on hockey, retired as an Executive Director with oil major BPCL in 2017 after a 30-year service. He resides at Sportsfield, Worli in Mumbai and has spent the last year travelling to Coorg, Goa, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar to present the Sportstar Aces Award to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “India is certainly a medal prospect at the Tokyo Olympics in July–August. I saw both matches against Argentina. India played an all-round game. Earlier, one or two players would carry the burden or would be in focus. But this is a team wherein all 18 are good. There is strength across the field which the opposition finds difficult to contain. The team’s fitness levels are very high. And they are playing professional and correct hockey. Goalkeeping is critical in hockey and PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak are giving us the confidence,” says Somaya who keeps himself fit by walking 6 km a day.
Prithvi Shaw went after the bowlers to notch a super strike rate of 11.37 runs an over in the IPL-14 rough night skirmish against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on April 10. Not long ago, the poster boy of Mumbai schools’ cricket, Shaw was used to scattering the ball at Mumbai’s Azad and Cross maidans. Nothing in attitude though has changed, even when turning out for Mumbai or in the IPL. His go-for-broke knock of a 38-ball 72 gave a rousing start to Parth Jindal’s baby in the league, which is the Delhi Capitals. Shaw’s international career, which got a roaring start against the West Indies in Rajkot in October 2018 (he smashed a 154-ball 134) has hit the wall a few times. The news on the grapevine is that his technique is inadequate to deal with top pacemen, and that’s why he was exposed in the Adelaide horror Test in which India was shot out for 36. Prithvi made 0 and 4 and was dropped like a hot potato a week before Christmas. His Test average with one century in Rajkot and scores of 70 and 54 is still good at 42.37, but Shaw will have to go through the real hard yards to win the national selectors’ nod again.
It is a heady combination – money and fame. If you don’t know how to handle it smartly, then it could destroy your personal and professional life. The latest news wafting from the dressing room is that the marriage of a leading cricketer from north India is on the rocks. According to insiders, this flamboyant cricketer, known for his brilliant batting and fielding skills, was having a torrid affair and his wife caught him red-handed. Incensed by his philandering behaviour, she has decided to walk out of the marriage with her kids in tow. The divorce threat seems to have brought the cricketer to his senses, and he has gone on all fours asking his wife to give him another chance. Apparently, she is in no mood to relent, say people close to the cricketer. Earlier, we saw paceman Mohammed Shammi facing bouncers after bouncers from his wife Hasin Jahan – and that furious spell could have hurt his career too. They are still not divorced reportedly, and for the moment Shammi must be secretly swooning over his wife’s Instagram pictures that are breaking the internet, especially the one in aquamarine blue saree where she is sporting a chutki bhar sindoor. Her rhapsody – “Sabar ki ungli pakad kar ham itna chale ke raste hairan reh gaye – has indeed left us all ‘hairan’ (pleasantly stunned actually). Well, we are keeping fingers crossed, leaving both the marriages in the hands of God.
While the BCCI-IPL, that gets off the ground today in Chennai — with an anticipated revenue in excess of Rs 4,000 crore — has been the talking point leading to the ‘D’ day, because it’s going to be played amid the vortex of the COVID-19, the cricketing community in Telangana is anxious to know its fate at the BCCI’s seventh Apex Council meeting (April 16) that will consider the Telangana’s application for associate membership. The Telangana Cricket Association’s (TCA) case is being pursued by Telangana Lok Sabha MPs, including Kishan Reddy, Deputy Minister to Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister. The TCA has applied for membership following the Supreme Court order, and the order of the Bombay High Court directing the BCCI to hear the TCA application before April 30, 2021. The irony of it all is that Telangana appears as Full Member in the BCCI constitution on its website. And Puducherry doesn’t appear as one. Experts hold that the BCCI, steered by its Secretary Jay Shah should take steps to update its constitution on the BCCI website. It should and not go by the Ostrich like attitude of people inimical to the progress of associations which have a greater passion for the game and are doing a lot in their region.
Recently, N Sankar, Chairman of the Chennai-headquartered Sanmar Group, demonstrated his affection to cricketers who represented the company-owned club, mainly the famous Jolly Rovers. Sankar, who turned 75 last November, reached out to former Club cricketers Najam Hussain and KR Rajagopal. After blogger Sampath Prabhu wrote that Hussain (played 23 Ranji Trophy matches for Madras and 18 for Mysore between 1961-70) was in financial need, Sankar, the good Samaritan, provided substantial monetary assistance to the troubled former cricketer. Afterwards, Sankar arranged for utility services assistance to Rajagopal (played 20 Ranji Trophy matches for Mysore and 22 for Mysore between 1961-70) living at his home in Banashankari in South Bengaluru. Both Hussain and Rajagopal are 80 years old, who have rendered yeoman service to their Club and States. The US-educated Sankar has been a great patron of sports, in particular, cricket, and was President of the TNCA. His family’s decision to promote cricket, especially the running of the Jolly Rovers in the 1960s, changed the ecosystem of the sport in Madras. Sankar was a talented tennis player, but after being affected by polio, he won doubles tournaments with cousin N Srinivasan (MD, India Cements), who became the President of TNCA, BCCI and Chairman of the ICC.
Five-time IPL winner, Mumbai Indians’ (MI) contribution to the development of Indian cricket has been immense. The Ambani-family owned franchise has been an enabler in spotting talent for the national selectors. A unique fast bowler, whose running to the crease was described “neither here, nor there” by Danny Morrison, Jasprit Bumrah is a fine example of MI’s objective to invest and reap rewards. Spotted by MI talent scout, John Wright, during the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 in Indore in March 2013, Bumrah has become India’s leading strike bowler taking 83 wickets in 19 Tests, 108 wickets in 67 ODIs and 59 wickets in 50 Twenty20. These are phenomenal numbers. And the credit goes to the Gujarat coaches, Vijay Patel and Hitesh Majumdar, and the MI coaching team, for nurturing Bumrah whose natural action has remained intact. Recently the workload management policy saw him being rested on and off. Bumrah, who recently got married to Star Sports anchor, Sanjana Ganesan — has taken 543 wickets for Gujarat right from the time the likes of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Jay Shah have been the GCA office bearers and Parthiv Patel, the team’s captain. Bumrah’s IPL bag is a collection of 109 wickets at 23.73 from 92 matches. He is set to return to competitive cricket soon!
Prakash Adhav, 54, received copious accolades from the England captain, Jos Buttler, and the Man of the Series, Jonathan Bairstow, for preparing three pitches that delivered 1,892 runs in six ODI innings at the MCA international Stadium at Gahunje, Pune. Indian captain, Virat Kohli, also had good words to say about the pitch after winning the series 2-1 on Sunday, March 28. Adhav is the West Zone representative in the BCCI Elite Panel of curators. He is a BSC Agriculture from the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, and he has been maintaining flowers and landscaping at the Cricket Club of India for over 20 years now. “Prakash is a good curator,” said Prof Ratnakar Shetty, former GM, Game Development of BCCI. Adhav, with assistance from local curator, Ramesh Borde and the MCA ground staff, scarified the pitches, kept 6-mm grass, watered it, and used the medium and heavy roller straight, diagonally and cross-wise to prepare a batting beauty. The match officials were delighted and so also the England coach, Chris Silverwood, who appreciated his work and said: “It’s a good pitch for ODIs.” Adhav was a neutral and additional curator before being inducted into the BCCI elite panel.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) international stadium, beneath the Ghoradeshwar Hill at Gahunje village in the outskirts of Pune, hosted three high-scoring ODI matches between India and the 2019 ICC World Cup winner England on March 23, 26, and 28. Some of the biggest hitters like Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow, Jason Roy, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, featured in these matches. But the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the State Government, prevented the spectators from thronging one of the modern venues in India. The MCA officials were disappointed that the local faithful could not be present for the high-profile matches, culminating into the 50th match. The MCA has hosted 38 IPL matches, much of it featuring the Sahara-owned Pune Warriors, Sanjeev Goenka-owned Rising Pune Supergiant, CSK and Kings XI Punjab. The MCA has also hosted seven ODIs, three Twenty20 internationals and two Test matches. After the new stadium was constructed by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the MCA hosted the first Twenty20 match between India and England in December 2012. The MCA Secretary, Riyaz Bagban said: “With paying spectators the revenue from gate receipts would have been Rs 15 crore for three matches, but the MCA has earned around Rs 10 crore by way of in-stadia advertising.”
Star Sports Kannada is going places! Thanks to its policy of promoting sports, and in particular cricket across the country and among the Indian diaspora scattered all over the world, Star Sports has been able to capture the niche audience in different languages, notably, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. This is apart from the two main language broadcasts in English and Hindi. The ongoing England tour is being broadcast in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. For the Kannada language, the broadcaster has a pool of commentators in Gundappa Viswanath, Venkatesh Prasad, Bharath Chipli, Srinivasa Murthy. B Akhil, GK Anil Kumar and Vijay Bharadwaj. Venkatesh Prasad was a skilful operator of the new and old ball, having outsmarted many a top batsman in the world. He says, “Kannada commentary is more like a cricket conversation between friends. We bring the nuances of the game from different perspectives in a simple colloquial language and with very minimal bookish words. It is casual, it is fun and highly informative, meant for viewers aged from 8 to 80. Kannada commentary is Nimminda haagu nimmagagi.”
Shishir Hattangadi, a successful opening batsman for Bombay from 1981 to 1992, cracked brave front foot drives off good Australian speedsters Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid and scored 63 in a rare skirmish against international class bowlers at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior in September 1986. He was unlucky not to have played for India with 3,722 runs from 60 first-class matches and with 10 hundreds and 21 fifties. A keen student of the game, Hattangadi, who can be likened to a Bhadralok being born in Kolkata, and also familiar with khem cho world of Gujarat, is perhaps the first first-class player-turned-CEO of the Baroda Cricket Association. He was Director, Cricket with Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. “A lot of it is common even as CEO. It’s policy making, HR and P&L. It’s also creating a strategy to build the Baroda brand. Now you are learning a lot other than cricket. I talk to the coaches and captains of different teams. It’s given me the learning of adaptability. The challenging part is adapting to the elected members,” said Hattangadi, who cut his teeth in the game at St Mary’s School and RA Podar College, Mumbai.
After the fourth scrap against England on March 18 at the NaMo stadium in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav talked about butterflies — in the stomach of course. All this after going after England fast bowlers, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in his first outing with the bat. He had dumped Archer over the square leg picket of the first ball he faced, and former England captain Michael Atherton likened the shot to West Indian Gordon Greenidge like; rocking on his right leg to play the horizontal bat shot. Atherton’s colleague in The Times, UK, Simon Wilde, described the first ball pull shot as Calypso-like. Yadav is 30, has played for Mumbai in the BCCI tournaments for 12 years. After the early promise, he appeared to have lost focus, but suddenly his adrenaline soared to positive levels, seen as he was in thundering form in IPL Season-2018 (512 runs), IPL-2019 (424 runs) and IPL-2020 (480 runs). He was picked in the India Twenty20 squad based on the runs he amassed in the IPL and he was in cracking form in his first hit in the national colours. “The passion for the game has kept me going. I knew my chance would come. And when it came, I grabbed it with both hands,” said Yadav.
A top class left arm spinner who bagged 109 Test and ODI wickets from 1976 to 1993, Diana Edulji is glad that the Women In Blue are in action in a white-ball series against South Africa at Lucknow. She retired from Western Railway five years ago but has been the torch bearer for women’s cricket right through after bidding adieu to the game. She was the only female member of the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators to oversee the BCCI functioning and she went out of her way to improve the women’s lot. They get almost all benefits now, including an annual contract and enhanced match fee etc. After India’s 1-3 loss, with one more ODI match to go, she wondered why Jhulan Goswami did not play the fourth match (March 14). “Jhulan was taking wickets and her absence was a big blow to the Indian team. The South African team has improved a lot. Our bowling has not clicked at all. We cannot go into a match with one seamer. But I am glad they have started playing international cricket as a preparation for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. They had not played for 15 months,” said Diana.
Sachin Tendulkar, aka, master blaster of the Indian team has been somewhat subdued in the preliminary rounds of the Unacademy Road Safety World Series Twenty20 for retired cricketers at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. Opening the India Legends innings with the Prince of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin struck form against Bangladesh Legends and West Indies Legends, but in these matches Sehwag was in swashbuckling form scoring 80 off 35 balls against Bangladesh and 74 off 57 balls against the West Indies. According to Debashish Dutta, an itinerant cricket correspondent for Bengali Daily Aajkaal, and who is manager of the India Legends, the competition has been stiff and most of the legends are in great nick. He is hoping for Tendulkar to get into the battering ram mood soon. The Legends team of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, England, Australia, and South Africa have been locking horns in the Chhattisgarh capital. The final is scheduled for March 21. “We are following all bio-secure restrictions at the Mayfair Lake Resort and at the match venue and follow the ICC guidelines. The Australian Kookaburra balls, each costing Rs 15,000 is used,” said Dutta before boarding the team bus with Tendulkar.
Sandeep Patil, the ’81 Adelaide Hero when he thrashed Dennis Lillee, Len Pascoe and Rodney Hogg to make 174, and the 83 World Cup star, has been busy these days with the canvas, brush and acrylic.. After completing his stint as Chairman of the BCCI selection committee in 2016, Patil, now 64, chose to reside with wife Deepa at their Lavasa Villa and learn to play the guitar. Says the crowd puller of the 1980s and 1990s: “I like to play tunes, from Mackenna’s Gold, Godfather, James Bond films, Clint Eastwood and also Hindi songs, sab, sab, sab.” And he also got back to painting. “I am in a very happy stage of my life now. The Covid-19 gave me the chance to go back to my old hobby. I have drawn 200 paintings on 11x 16 inches canvas with acrylic. I draw on all subjects, but I need a reference. It’s a brilliant hobby. The advantage in acrylic is you make a mistake, and it can be corrected. I have used water colours also. I am an amateur and I am enjoying it,” revealed Patil who has been a player, captain, coach, selector and what not. Patil’s paintings have been applauded by his 1983 World Cup teammates in the Whatsapp Group ‘For Ever Champs’ created by Sunil Gavaskar.
Ravichandran Ashwin completed the 400 plus wicket mark in the recently concluded four Test series against England. A back-related issue kept him out of the fourth Test against Australia at the ‘Gabba’, Brisbane. But he played all four Tests against England and his 32-wicket haul at a modicum average of 14.72 in the series took his overall tally to 409 in 78 Tests. This is a whistling distance away from Harbhajan Singh’s 417 from 103 Tests, Kapil Dev’s 434 (131 Tests) and Anil Kumble’s 619 (132 Tests). Ishant Sharma has 303 scalps from 101 Tests and Zaheer Khan 311 from 92 matches. The easily excitable off-spinner from Chennai has evolved over the last decade, dismissing 84 openers (1/2), 42 Number #3 or one drop batsmen, 37 #4, 34 #5 and 49 #7 for a grand tally of 246, which says that he’s been successful against proper batsmen. The lower order numbers are: 28 (#7), 28 (#8), 36 (#9), 31 (#10) and 40 (#11, or last man, or tailender) for a total of 163. He averages 5.77 per batting position. His strike rate is 52.60 and he has conceded so far at 2.82 runs an over, which is the lowest among the 300 wicket plus wicket takers for India in Test. Howzat!
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.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.