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KL rahul_Ashwin
Score Is 1-1 In Team India Versus Critics
In returning to peak form and playing crucial innings in the World Cup opener for Team India against Australia, and before that figuring in a long stand with Virat Kohli against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, KL Rahul has bowled his critics over. They had railed against the selectors and Rahul Dravid for reposing blind faith in the batter and part-time white ball wicketkeeper, but he repaid them in spades. His delicate late cutting of balls from the stump line to various parts of point and third man was outstanding just after Team India was down in the dumps having lost three batters for ducks with less runs on the board than wickets. But then critics had leapt into the lead 1-0 by proving right on Ravi Ashwin. They had been blasting the BCCI, selectors, team coach and captain for openly showing their bias against the off spinner for nearly two years since 2021 when they played him in only one Test, which was the first WTC final against New Zealand. Critics certainly scored as the team left out Ashwin from the World Cup squad and sheepishly brought him back only by posturing that Axar Patel was so badly injured as to be out of the World Cup. And they even picked Ashwin for the opening game at Chepauk and he shone with the ball to prove how wrong they have been in discriminating against him.
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Axar Patel's World Cup Woes!
One can only pity Axar Patel for missing his first World Cup bus because of a left quadriceps tear he suffered during the Super 4 round-robin league of the Asia Cup in Colombo. The left-hander was in the thick of action against Bangladesh with his thigh strapped. He was hit a couple of times in his left and right hand which necessitated treatment on the ground. As a result Washington Sundar made it to the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in Colombo. On Thursday (Sep 28), the deadline day to effect changes to the 15-member team for the World Cup announced before, the BCCI got to know from Nitin Patel — the physiotherapist attached to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru — that Axar cannot be in action for three weeks at least and so the selectors chose off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the official squad for the World Cup. Ashwin was always the front-runner, but once he took three wickets against Australia in Indore his selection became inevitable. The reason is that he is more experienced than Sundar who flew to China for the Asian Games and Ashwin flew to Guwahati for the warm-up games. Axar because of his all-round skills was in the original squad announced at Pallekele on September 5. Three weeks later Axar’s World Cup dreams lay shattered. He had played 54 ODIs, scored 481 runs, taken 59 wickets and was viewed as a solid utility player.
Garfield Sobers
The Indian Cricket Team Meets The Truly Great, Sir Garfield Sobers
India’s cricket faithful will miss the Caribbean flavour so joyfully presented by the cricketers of the bygone era in the ICC World Cup in India. Representing the beautiful islands and sporting the maroon cap, the West Indies have been knocked out in the ICC qualifiers in Zimbabwe. While its cricketers would return utterly gutted, the team would be soon engaged in a series across all formats against India, starting with a two-Test series. Meanwhile, the Indian team led by Rohit Sharma, during its preparation at Barbados, had the opportunity to meet one of the true greats of the game, Sir Garfield Sobers. The BCCI posted a video of the meeting between India’s cricketers and the West Indies legends, saying: “In Barbados & in the company of greatness. Team India meets one of the greatest of the game — Sir Garfield Sobers.”  Pleasant times indeed for India’s stars like Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and other team members and the coach Rahul Dravid. All were glad to shake hands with the legend who did everything as a cricketer to excel — batting, bowling, fielding and leading! Now 88, Sobers captured the imagination of the cricket world for twenty years from 1954 to 1974, and the numbers he achieved as a Test cricketer says it all: 93 Tests, 8032 runs, 365 not out as the highest, 26 x 100s and 30 x 50s, 235 wickets and 109 catches. 
WTC
The ICC WTC Title -- The Chips Are Down For India
The chips are down for India in the ICC WTC final against Australia at `The Oval’ in London. After six sessions, Australia has its foot at the door to win the Test championship for the first time. The same venue had delivered a famous first away victory for India in England in 1971 when the Ajit Wadekar-led Indian team outwitted the home team led by the shrewd Ray Illingworth. Then, Wadekar deployed the likes of the cunning left-arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi, the accurate S Venkataraghavan and the sleight of hand of right-arm leg-spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar to bring down England. Some 52 years later, India opted for a pace-centric attack ignoring the claims of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (132 wickets in two ICC WTC cycles).  With the impending defeat — with three days of play remaining — the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and opener Mathew Hayden, have pointed out a significant flaw in the Indian team selection that one cannot pick a bowling attack for the first day’s play. Having opted for Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur, Sharma had no option but to field upon winning the toss. The pacers had a rewarding outing on the second day, dismissing seven Australians for 142, but by then, the horse had already bolted – Australia had made 327 for three on Day 1, thereby ending the probability of a real showdown.
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Ravi Ashwin Back In Action As Kohli-Shastri Experiment Era Ends
Ravichandran Ashwin has a lot to say within his circle. He can be vociferous at team meetings because he loves to discuss things and dissect ideas. But he is best when he lets the cricket ball do the talking. Which is what he did in the first T20i when he starred with the white ball in a match-changing over taking out New Zealander’s Mark Chapman and getting the dangerous Glenn Philips to scotch the visitors’ hopes of a 170-plus total that could have challenged Team India. What Ashwin’s deeds with the ball have done since he was reluctantly brought into the side as an afterthought in the T20 World Cup after India had been virtually eliminated was to expose the prejudiced view of Virat Kohli towards off spin in general and against its leading proponent Ashwin in particular. Having decided that wrist spin was the answer to counter the big hitters in T20 cricket, the Kohli-Shastri duo had dumped Ashwin four years ago from white ball cricket and then simply refused to admit they could have been wrong even after the novelty of wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav had worn off. It is a tribute to Ashwin that he never gave up on honing his white ball skills. It is his good fortune that Team India is making a fresh start with a new captain and coach.
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India Won All Five T20 Matches Ashwin Played Against Pakistan: Will He Play On Oct 24?
The million-dollar question, as a legion of excited Indian fans await coming Sunday’s (October 24) ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup match against Pakistan at the Dubai international stadium is: whether off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will make the playing XI cut. The injury to off-spinner all-rounder Washington Sundar may have paved the way for Ashwin’s recall for white ball internationals after a little over four years, but his place in the playing XI is not guaranteed. India captain Virat Kohli has given sufficient hints of fielding Ashwin in the crucial match against Pakistan that always raises the noise levels in the two countries across the Wagah and among the diaspora in the UK, USA, the antipodes and generally across the world. Going by his past record between 2012 and 2016, Ashwin has played five Twenty20 matches against the archrival, bowled reasonably well and won all five. Of these five, three were in Twenty20 World cup matches in 2012 in Colombo, 2014 in Mirpur and 2016 in Kolkata. The talk of the town here in Dubai is that Kohli has the mystery spinner in Varun Chakravarthy and left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja to look at, before he mulls over Ashwin who played in the warm-up matches against England and Australia. Recently, Kohli also gave a thumbs up to the sidelined spinner in white ball cricket for five years.
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Cracking Ravichandran Ashwin’s Rebellion Code
It may be easy to understand what Ravichandran Ashwin is saying but it is not easy to appreciate him. He thinks differently, speaks his mind and is not afraid to face the consequences. They wouldn’t give him leadership roles in teams he plays in and the few who have tried have backed away quickly because he can say truths in everyone’s face. When the issue cropped up over a run stolen off a deflection from batsman Rishabh Pant’s pad in IPL, Ashwin was bound to take a stand. What he said also makes sense because the laws of cricket support him. But sportsmanship dictates have largely been followed – like warning a non-striker when he is attempting to steal ground by leaving his crease before the ball is bowled and in declining overthrows when the throw hits a batsman and deflects. Ashwin would rather go by the rule book and there is nothing in them that prohibits ‘Mankad’ run outs and overthrows off deflections. In fact, as pointed out, England won the 2019 World Cup because of the ball deflecting off the stumps to the boundary. Ashwin believes it is unfair to point to him as the rebel who ratted on Virat Kohli’s leadership style to BCCI bigwigs. Many have apparently done it as well, but none has the guts to stand up for their views like Ashwin.

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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.