Irfan Pathan Questions BCCI's Selection Criteria After Ishan-Shreyas Exclusion

by Manisha Das

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan raised questions on Thursday over the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decision to exclude Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from central contracts and pointed out the case of Hardik Pandya, who has been selective in his domestic and international commitments but remains a key figure in the national team.

New Delhi, Feb 29: Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan raised questions on Thursday over the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decision to exclude Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from central contracts and pointed out the case of Hardik Pandya, who has been selective in his domestic and international commitments but remains a key figure in the national team.

The former all-rounder took to X (formerly Twitter) and hoped that Kishan and Iyer would make good comebacks for Team India. He even stated that the criteria should remain the same for everyone when the BCCI included star all-rounder Pandya's name on the contract list.

"They are talented cricketers, both Shreyas and Ishan. Hoping they bounce back and come back stronger. If players like Hardik don't want to play red-ball cricket, should he and others like him participate in white-ball domestic cricket when they aren't on national duty? If this doesn't apply to all, then Indian cricket won't achieve the desired results!" Pathan posted on X.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the contracts for the 2023-24 season. Kishan and Iyer were among the two biggest omissions from the annual player contracts list.
"Please note that Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations," BCCI said in their statement.

The star all-rounder Pandya, who has not played for Men in Blue since suffering an injury in a match against Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match, held on to Grade A contract.

In last year's retainer, Iyer was in Grade B while Kishan was part of Grade C.

The last time Ishan played for India was in the T20I format against Australia in Guwahati, following that he failed to make his place in the first eleven. The 25-year-old was in the T20I squad in South Africa in December 2023 but did not take part in any of the three games.

On the other hand, Iyer was dropped from the India squad for the last three Tests after playing the first two Test of the five-match series against England where he managed to score just 35 runs in the matches played at Hyderabad and Vizag.

Meanwhile, the elite bracket, Grade A+, remains the same for the year with captain Rohit Sharma, veteran batter Virat Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the top earners.

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, speedster Mohammed Shami, and Pandya retained their Grade A contracts, while KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Shubman Gill moved up from Grade B last year.

The top-ranked T20I hitter, Suryakumar Yadav is in Grade B along with rising phenom Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has received his maiden BCCI central contract.

(ANI)

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Same Train Will Continue, Only The Engine Has Changed: Suryakumar Yadav

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Pallekele (Sri Lanka), July 26: India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has asserted that the team will continue to work in the same fashion in the shortest format of cricket even after the departure of the stalwart trio.

India successfully ended their 13-year-long ICC World Cup drought by lifting the coveted T20 title in Barbados last month.

India's T20 World Cup final carried a mixed bag of emotions for the Indian fans. There were tears of joy as India ended their ICC World Cup drought, which lasted for 13 years. There were tears of sorrow as well, with the star trio of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja bidding adieu to the shortest format of cricket.

Even in the absence of the stalwart trio, the T20I set-up consists of the majority of players. Suryakumar believes that the team will continue to function in a similar fashion.

"The same train will continue. Only the engine has changed. The bogies (carriages) are the same. It's now been 10 years since we've been working together, even though I went into a different franchise in 2018, and he also went to another. We used to keep in touch and talk about the game, even if we were on different teams. There have been learnings in the last six years too when I was not with him," Suryakumar said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The T20I series against Sri Lanka will mark the first assignment of the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir. Suryakumar worked with Gambhir during his time in the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.

While talking about his relationship with Gambhir, Suryakumar said, "Our bond is special. We have spoken about the upcoming three T20s, not in great detail, but we know each other fairly well. We can read each other's body language. There are some things he understands, even if I don't say them in words. There's a special bond between a captain and a coach. I'm very excited for this journey."

Suryakumar played under the leadership of Rohit Sharma in the Indian team as well as with the Mumbai Indians. The dynamic batter opened up about the lessons he learned from the seasoned opener and said, "What I've learned from Rohit is that he is always a leader on and off the field, not just as a captain. There's a big difference between the two. A leader stands with his players and guides them about how to play T20s, how to win games, and that's what I've learned from him."

While addressing his own versatile batting style, Suryakumar does not expect that captaincy will prove to be a hurdle in his play style.

"I don't think my batting style will change, as such. There will be pressure, but the pressure is always there; otherwise, there's no fun in playing. I'm going to play the way I've been playing so far. Nothing will change. It's better for me, in fact, because I can tell the team openly what brand of cricket we have to play in T20s going forward. I'll enjoy it more and can probably pass the pressure on to others (laughs) and enjoy my game," Suryakumar stated.

India will play the first T20I of the three-match series Saturday in Pallekele. Shubman Gill will serve as Suryakumar's deputy throughout the series.

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohammed Siraj.

(ANI)

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National Testing Agency Declares Re-Revised Results Of NEET-UG 2024

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

New Delhi, July 26: The National Testing Agency (NTA) Friday declared the re-revised results and ranks of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test NEET (UG) 2024.

As per the re-revised results, a total of 13,15,853 candidates have qualified the NEET-UG 2024 exam. A total of 17 candidates has secured the All India Rank (AIR) 1 as per the NEET UG revised results 2024 while earlier the number was 67.

More than 24 lakh students participated in the NEET-UG 2024 examination which was held at 4,750 different Centres located in 571 cities throughout the country on May 5, 2024, between 2 pm and 5.20 pm. It also included 14 cities outside India.

In an official release, the NTA, said, "The National Testing Agency conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) for more than 24 lakh candidates at 4750 different Centres located in 571 Cities throughout the country including 14 Cities outside India on 05 May 2024 (Sunday) from 02:00 P.M. to 05:20 P.M.(IST).

Also, the re-examination of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) [NEET (UG)] - 2024 was conducted June 23, 2024, for 1563 candidates who had experienced time loss during the originally scheduled examination on May 5, 2024.

The re-revised results came after the Supreme Court on July 23 refused to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Under Graduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination held on May 5, holding that there was no systemic breach in the exam.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that at the present stage, there is an absence of material on record to lead to the conclusion that the result of the exam is vitiated or that there is any systematic breach.

It said the data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak of the NEET-UG question paper, which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the exam.

However, it acknowledged the fact that the leak of the NEET-UG paper took place at Hazaribagh and Patna and said that it is "not in dispute".

The apex court also said that the report submitted by the government shows probe is on and the central agency indicates that material shows 155 students drawn from the exam centres at Hazaribagh and Patna appeared to be the beneficiaries of the fraud. "The probe by the CBI, however, has not attained finality," it added.

The bench also said that directing a fresh NEET-UG exam for the present year would be replete with serious consequences for over 23 lakh students who appeared in this exam.

"Ordering a re-exam will lead to disruption of the academic schedule, causing a cascading effect in the coming years," the bench stated in its order.

The bench also said there is an urgent need to provide certainty and finality to the dispute which has occurred and affected the careers of over 2 million students.

(ANI)

Irfan Pathan Questions BCCI's Selection Criteria After Ishan-Shreyas Exclusion

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