25 minute read
Nitish may not be in the race to be PM, but he has rattled BJP
It’s ‘Bharat Todo Yatra’, BJP hits out at Rahul Gandhi
Chennai, Sep 10 (IANS) Hitting out at the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi, the BJP on Saturday said that it was Bharath ‘Todo’ Yatra. BJP spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla stated that Rahul Gandhi had met the controversial Hindu hater priest George Ponniah who had told Rahul that ‘Jesus was real God unlike Shakthi’. Shehzad Poonawalla said, “George Ponniah who met Rahul Gandhi says ‘Jesus is the only God unlike Shakthi and other goddesses. This man was arrested earlier for Hindu hatred. He says that he is wearing shoes because impurities of Bharath Mata must not contaminate.” The BJP spokesperson said, “Bharath Jodo with Bharath Todo icons.” Shehzad Poonawala also shared a video of George Ponniah with Rahul Gandhi in which the priest was saying ‘Jesus is real god unlike Shakthi’. Meanwhile the controversial priest George Ponniah told media persons that he did not insult any religion.
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Buoyed by Bharat Jodo Yatra, Cong says it has rattled BJP-RSS
By Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi
New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) The 3,570km Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra that will pass through 12 states and two union territories, could be a game changer for the Congress, which is in search of an electoral success to revive itself after being confined to two states -- Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The yatra, which is passing through Kerala, is getting good support and the Congress workers are enthusiastic about it. The Congress leaders say the BJP is rattled as it is attacking the yatra. A few days back Rahul Gandhi said, “The BJP has an opinion. RSS has an opinion but, in the Congress Party, this is a journey, this is an attempt at understanding what is going on on the ground in India and an attempt at undoing some of the damage that the BJP and the RSS have done.” The Congress leaders allege that the BJP is spreading canard as it has sensed that it can’t counter the Congress on the issue of inflation and unemployment. Sonia Gandhi too is hopeful about the Congress getting back after this yatra. On the launch day, she said, “This is a landmark occasion for our great party with such a glorious legacy-the Indian National Congress. I am confident that our organisation will be rejuvenated. It is also a transformational moment in Indian politics.” The Congress is saying that it is a battle between the ideologies, which has been going on for ages. “This battle has been going on for a couple thousand years now between two different visions. So, I don’t think this battle is new. There are two different visions of India. There have always been two different visions of India. One vision, which is rigid, controlling and another vision, which is plural, open minded and I think, this battle will continue. We are playing our role in this fight.” Congress has to face seven major elections ahead of the 2024 polls. This year it will be Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, then next year Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. These account for 150 Lok Sabha seats approximately. Rahul Gandhi said they are not fighting a political party anymore, they used to fight a political party and “now, the fight is not between one political party and another political party. Now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition and everybody understands this. Now, this is not an easy fight. This is a difficult fight.”
He said under pressure from agencies many leaders are leaving the party “but the party will fight for a certain idea of India, a certain notion of this country and there are many-many people in the Congress Party and in the opposition, who are convinced of this fact.” The Congress says that “the aim of yatra is to counter polarisation and to connect with the people, listen to the people, understand what they are facing and also communicate to them a few things, communicate the fact that India has changed. The institutional framework of India has been captured and there is an attempt to place one vision on top of this country. This country which has multiple visions, one vision has been enforced.” Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the “country is divided along religious lines, that is very clear. The country is divided along state lines, that is very clear. People do not have employment; people do not have work, that is very clear.” He said, “Two or three big businesses are controlling everything; the third richest man is now in India, who is probably going to become the richest very soon, a close confidante of the leader of the country, that is not harmonious. But there is a massive price rise.”
Pawar is not PM face, Oppn unity paramount: Praful Patel
\ New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS) After the national council meeting of NCP on Sunday, party general secretary Praful Patel said that Sharad Pawar was not a contender for the prime minister’s post, and the opposition unity was paramount. He said Pawar was going to play an important role to bring many forces together. Patel said, “Sharad Pawar was never and will never be the PM face. He only speaks about the real issues of this country. Some workers of the party expressed their views but Sharad Pawar is not aspiring for the PM post. “We know our limitations and he is not the opposition’s face but will play an important role.” Patel said the NCP was going to play a key role in the upcoming General Elections. But the party’s stand was clear that there was a need for the Opposition to unite. “We were also a part of the UPA government. We don’t have any such issue with the Congress,” he said. Sharad Pawar was re-elected as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President on Saturday unopposed during the party’s national executive meeting. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was in the national capital recently met scores of political leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPI-M Secretary General Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D. Raja and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Nitish Kumar’s purpose of visit was to talk about the opposition unity. He is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi when she returns from abroad. Kumar had also met RJD leader Lalu Prasad and TRS Chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao.A Nitish Kumar officially denied any prime ministerial ambition, but the political commentators feel that the target is PM’s chair. However, the biggest obstacle is the Congress, which is maintaining that being the biggest political formation it’s going to the fulcrum of any alliance.
RJD believes Nitish alone can mount a challenge to Modi in 2024
By Ajay Kumar
Patna, Sep 10 (IANS) After the threeday visit of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to Delhi, his alliance partner in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) believes that he is the most suitable leader for the Prime Minister’s post. Mritunjay Tiwari, the national spokesperson of the RJD, said: “Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) has the longest parliamentary life than any other leader. He is an experienced leader who knows how to govern the country. He has a clean political and socialist image and other leaders are nowhere near to him when we talk about quality leadership.” “The parliamentary life of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is less than Nitish Kumar. Besides, the latter has a socialist image which makes voters comfortable. Narendra Modi on the other hand has done nothing in the last 8 years other than communal politics. Moreover, the central government has many anti people policies which have created anti incumbency against the BJP. The Narendra Modi government has failed on every count including the economy. The prices of commodities are increasing and the income of the people is decreasing. The life of the common people has become hard and such a factor can act against Narendra Modi,” Tiwari said. “As far as the opposition parties are concerned, everyone is in favour of a ‘BJP Mukt Bharat’. The primary objective of every opposition party is to remove the BJP government from the Centre and not who would be the PM candidate of the opposition parties. Nitish Kumar himself has said that he is not the prime ministerial candidate at present. He also said that all opposition parties will sit together to decide the name of the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition parties to challenge Narendra Modi,” Tiwari said. The opposition leaders know well the political style of the BJP. It believes in the character assassination of leaders who are in the opposition. They were with Rahul Gandhi and he was given the name Pappu. The only aim was to defame Rahul Gandhi and demoralize him. Rahul is still standing firm and taking on the BJP in his own style, they said. “For Nitish Kumar, he has not been involved in any scam or has any serious allegation or any baggage of corruption. Hence, it would not be easy for the BJP to target him. Moreover, he is a Hindi heartland leader capable of counter attacking Narendra Modi in his own style. If we remember, Narendra Modi during the 2015 Vidhan Sabha election commented on his DNA. Nitish Kumar immediately responded with Badka Jhutha Party for BJP,” said Chitranjan Gagan, another RJD leader and spokesperson. As far as the RJD is concerned, it has been out of power for 15 years in Bihar. Moreover the party’s national president Lalu Prasad may not have national ambitions as he is ill and suffering from multiple diseases. The second big leader of the RJD is Tejashwi Yadav and he is focusing on Bihar. In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav is out of power. Hence, he is trying to consolidate his position in the state rather than thinking of national politics. His father and a big socialist face Mulayam Singh Yadav is also ill and not in a position to contest elections. Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Benerjee is a possible challenger to the Narendra Modi government but her acceptance in the Hindi heartland is a million dollar question. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal could be another challenger to Narendra Modi but his fate will be decided only after the AAP’s performance in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. If he manages to defeat the BJP in Gujarat, his chances as the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate become brighter. For the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are doing national politics and hence leaders like Ashok Gehlot and Raman Singh are not in the race. For leaders like KCR, MK Stalin and Sharad Power, it would not be easy to challenge Narendra Modi who is a very good speaker in Hindi. “Challenging Narendra Modi in his own style would be one of the key aspects for the opposition parties where Nitish Kumar is far more experienced than anyone else. He is also a supporter of RJD and it means its 79 MLAs and 12 MLCs are also favouring Nitish Kumar who is having 45 MLAs in Bihar and 17 Lok Sabha MPs,” said a RJD leader requested not to be named.
Nitish may not be in the race to be PM, but he has rattled BJP
By Ajay Kumar
Patna, Sep 11 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s recent three-day visit to Delhi to unite the opposition parties to contest against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections seems to have had a deep impact on the saffron brigade. Now, the question is whether Nitish Kumar is dreaming of being the main challenger to Narendra Modi in the next general elections. Political experts believe that Nitish Kumar has one of the sharpest brains among the political leaders in the country. He is completely aware of his strengths and weaknesses and hence he is not pitching himself as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the opposition parties. “The BJP’s Bihar unit is dragging his name in the race for opposition PM candidate with the aim of creating differences among other opposition leaders. Nitish Kumar is backed by his fellow political commanders such as JD-U national president Lalan Singh, state ministers Ashok Chaudhary, Vijay Chaudhary, among others, who always say that he has all the abilities to be the next Prime Minister, but he is not in the race,” said Rajnish Singh, a Bihar-based political expert. While interacting with mediapersons in Delhi, Nitish Kumar had denied that he is in the race to be the next Prime Minister. “Our idea is to unite the opposition against the BJP. The opposition parties have enough strength to challenge the BJP and defeat it. I am not in the race to be the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition parties in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he had said. The opposition parties know how the BJP is attempting to corner them, and that may be the reason why they are showing a positive intent towards Nitish Kumar’s initiative to unite the forces opposing the saffron camp. This may have something to do with BJP national President J.P. Nadda claiming in Patna recently to achieve the target of an opposition-free government. The BJP in the recent past had successfully toppled governments in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to assume power. But in Bihar, it was Nitish Kumar who severed ties with the BJP and forged an alliance with the RJD, Congress and Left parties to form a Mahagathbandhan government, much to the dismay of the saffron camp. After severing ties with the BJP, JD-U’s Lalan Singh had said that the BJP has 16 Lok Sabha MPs in Bihar, 17 MPs in West Bengal and 11 MPs in Jharkhand. If Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav manage to reduce the BJP to zero in Bihar, and the same is achieved by Mamata Benerjee in West Bengal and Hemant Soren in Jharkhand, the BJP would automatically come down below the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha, which is possible, Lalan Singh had said. He had also suggested that the opposition leaders should adopt the poll strategy of the BJP to defeat the BJP. The actual idea is to take poll benefits in crunch situations. The BJP has an advantage of double engine government on this count in states where it is in power. Opposition leaders like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Hemant Soren, K. Chandrashekher Rao, Ashok Gahlot, Raman Singh, Naveen Patnaik and M.K. Stalin should look at cashing in on the anti-incumbency factor against eight years of BJP rule at the Centre. If these leaders manage to conduct free and fair elections in their respective states, the BJP may be up against a tough competition. Following Nitish Kumar’s three-day visit to Delhi, the BJP top brass reportedly gave a message to its Bihar unit to attack Nitish Kumar, sources said. Hence, statements were issued by Sushil Kumar Modi, Giriraj Singh, Sanjay Jaiswal, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Tarkishore Prasad, among others, against Nitish Kumar. Sushil Modi said, “Nitish Kumar had humiliated George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav and R.C.P. Singh in the past. He will do the same with Lalan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha. However, Lalan Singh and Kushwaha said sorry to Nitish Kumar and remained in JD-U while the others were removed.” Reacting to Sushil Modi, Lalan Singh said: “No one gets humiliation better than what you are undergoing. Despite all your efforts and statements against Nitish Kumar and JD-U, your party has not given any post to you. Still, our good wishes are with you.”
Indian F2 racer Jehan Daruvala makes F2 podium return at Monza
Monza (Italy), Sep 11 (IANS) Indian racer Jehan Daruvala has returned to the podium with a third-place finish in the Formula 2 Sprint race at Italy’s historic Monza race track. The 23-year-old, who started fifth on the grid on Saturday evening, crossed the line seven seconds behind winner Juri Vips and runner-up Frederik Vesti. “It feels good to be back,” said Jehan, after taking his seventh top-3 finish of the season. “It’s been a tough few weeks before this. I feel alive again and it feels nice to be back at the front.” Jehan’s podium, his fifth at Monza, was founded on a lightning start. The Red Bull-backed driver went wheel-to-wheel with Logan Sargeant right off the line, with the pair going side-by-side in a heart-stopping battle all the way through the first chicane and the long, high-speed Curva Grande. Jehan, on the inside, defended doggedly going into the second chicane to come out ahead. A brief safety car followed, and while Jehan held his position at the restart, Sargeant slipstreamed past him soon after. The Prema Racing driver, however, fought back, getting past the American racer and setting his sights on fellow Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa. He made short work of Iwasa to move up to third and comfortably held on to the final podium spot to the end of the race. “We had the pace once again to fight at the front and we showed what we could do,” Jehan added. “We’re starting in a similar position for tomorrow and we can draw a lot of encouragement from the result today to aim for another strong finish tomorrow (Sunday).” Jehan now heads into Sunday’s main ‘Feature’ race for which he will start sixth. The Indian has a strong record around the hallowed racetrack, and took his second Formula 2 win there last year. With his Prema Racing team back on form for their home race, Jehan has his sights set on making it two podiums from two races this weekend.
Smith, bowlers shine as Australia complete 3-0 sweep of New Zealand; give Finch winning send-off
Cairns, Sep 11 (IANS) Steve Smith smashed his 12th ODI hundred while the bowlers starred as Australia completed a 3-0 sweep of New Zealand for the ChappellHadlee Trophy with a thrilling 25-run win in the third and final match of the series at Cairns on Sunday. There was no fairy-tale finish with the bat for captain Aaron Finch, playing in his final ODI match. But he was able to sign off from a 50-over career with a victory, thanks to Smith’s 105, with 52 from Marnus Labuschagne and 42 not out from Alex Carey giving him ample support as Australia made 267/5. Then, Australia’s bowlers, led by Mitchell Starc’s 3/60, put in a collective, spirited effort to thwart a challenge from New Zealand’s middle-order and bowl out the visitors for 242. The 25-run win takes Australia to the second spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League points table with 120 points. They are now five points behind England, who sit on top of the standings with 125 points. Pushed into batting first, Finch’s stay at the crease in his final ODI match lasted only 13 balls, with Tim Southee shattering his stumps. The Australia captain walked off the field to resounding applause from the crowd. Finch’s ODI retirement, owing to a poor run of form in the format, has left Australia with enough time to find his replacement at the top as well as a skipper to lead them in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next year in India. However, Finch will be leading Australia in the Men’s T20 World Cup at home next month where they will be entering the competition as defending champions. Australia managed to recover after
they lost their openers, Finch and Josh Inglis, in the Powerplay. Smith and Labuschagne stepped up with a 118-run stand for the third wicket. While Labuschagne fell soon after bringing his fifty in 75 balls for 52, Smith converted it into a hundred, his first in ODI cricket in almost two years, coming off 127 balls. Some late fireworks from Carey and Cameron Green (25 not out off 12 balls) propelled Australia to 267/5, with the last 20 overs bringing 161 runs. In reply, New Zealand’s innings failed to take off. After the opening stand was broken for 49 with Devon Conway caught at backward point, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Captain Kane Williamson’s lean run continued when he made 27 runs off 56 balls, finding just one boundary before being run out in a terrible mix-up. At 112/5, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner kept the Black Caps in the game in the face of climbing the required run rate. But it was a case of so close yet so far as Neesham, Phillips and Santner were caught out in the deep, giving Finch a winning end of his ODI career as none of New Zealand’s batters got a fifty in their innings. Brief scores: Australia 267/5 in 50 overs (Steve Smith 105, Marnus Labuschagne 52; Trent Boult 2/25, Mitchell Santner 1/52) beat New Zealand 242 all out in 49.5 overs (Glenn Phillips 47, James Neesham 36; Mitchell Starc 3/60, Cameron Green 2/25) by 25 runs
Indian cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy to get engaged, proposal photos go viral
Bengaluru, Sep 12 (IANS) Indian women’s cricket team batter Veda Krishnamurthy is set to enter a new phase of life. Her family sources confirmed that her engagement ceremony will be held in Bengaluru on September 18. Veda Krishnamurthy will get engaged to upcoming cricketer Arjun Hoysala. Both Arjun and Veda have shared the photos of their special moments on social media and the images have gone viral. Veda Krishnamurthy has been going through a rough patch after losing her mother and sister to Covid-19. She is presently not in the Indian team and working her ways to get back into the side. The photo of Arjun kneeling before Veda Krishnamurthy and proposing to her has gone viral. Arjun has captioned the photo “And she said ‘yes’”. The couple has also shared photos of them at a picturesque location in Karnataka. Arjun, a left-handed batter, has played for Karnataka in Ranji Trophy. He had also played for various franchises in the Karnataka Premier League. Veda Krishnamurthy, an all-rounder who is a member of the Karnataka women’s cricket team, has played 48 ODIs and 76 T20Is. She was part of the Indian team in the ODI World Cup in 2017 and the T20 World Cup in 2020.
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Bengaluru, Sep 11 (IANS) Australia beat defending champions China 81-55 in the final of the FIBA U-18 Women’s Asian Championship here on Sunday. In their first appearance in the tournament’s final, Australia shot 47.9% from the field and outperformed China 56-26 in rebounds. Isla Juffermans led Australia with a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds. Dallas Loughridge and Nyadiew Puoch helped with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Juffermans scored eight points to move Australia ahead 22-14 by the end of the first quarter. Wang Jing scored five straight points to help China pull the game back 21-26 early in the second quarter, but Juffermans continued her scoring output by contributing eight of Australia’s 10 points to open the period. Australia made the most of late 3-pointers from Sophie Burrows and Tess Heal to establish a 44-30 advantage at halftime. China’s efforts to increase the game tempo after the interval failed to come to fruition, as they could not keep the Australian paint duo of Puoch and Juffermans at bay. Australia expanded their lead to 20 points after Puoch’s layup and looked well on their way to the title with a 17-point margin in hand going into the final frame. China went scoreless in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, and Australia held firm to win the match. China never led during the game. Wang Jing was the only Chinese player to reach double figures with 16 points. Earlier on Sunday, Japan got past Chinese Taipei 77-45 to take the bronze. South Korea were placed fifth in the final standings with New Zealand sixth and Indonesia seventh. The Indian girls ended eighth and last in Division 1 after finishing fourth in Group A which also included Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Asia Cup 2022: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 23 runs in final to win title
Dubai, Sep 11 (IANS) Sri Lanka produced a clinical all-round performance to beat Pakistan by 23 runs in the final to win the Asia Cup 2022 title at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Sunday. This is Sri Lanka’s sixth Asia Cup title. After losing their opening game against Afghanistan, they beat Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and then again Pakistan to clinch the 2022 Asia Cup. An impressive fighting fifty by Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71 not out off 45) and an attacking knock by Wanindu Hasaranga (36 off 21) propelled Sri Lanka to 170/6 in 20 overs. Apart from Rajapaksa and Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva (28 off 21) and Chamika Karunaratne (14 not out off 14) also played vital knocks for Sri Lanka, during their stay at the crease. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf (3/29) was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name while Iftikhar Ahmed (1/21), Shadab Khan (1/28) and Naseem Shah (1/40) were the other wicket-takers. Chasing a challenging total, Mohammad Rizwan hit a decent half-century (55 off 49) and along with Iftikhar Ahmed (32 off 31) to keep Pakistan alive in the game before getting out. However, there weren’t many contributions from other batters as Pakistan were bowled out for 147 in 20 overs, losing by 23 runs. Pramod Madushan (4/34) and Wanindu Hasaranga (3/27) were the highest-wicket takers for Sri Lanka while Chamika Karunaratne (2/33) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/25) also chipped in with a crucial wicket. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 170/6 in 20 overs (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 71 not out, Wanindu Hasaranga 36; Haris Rauf 3/29) beat Pakistan (Mohammad Rizwan 55, Iftikhar Ahmed 32; Pramod Madushan 4/34, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/27) by 23 overs
Arshdeep should find a regular mention in the list of Indian fast bowlers
By Anjum Chopra
The first match of the Asia Cup in the UAE, Afghanistan decimated Sri Lanka. That was a loud announcement made by the Afghanistan team, indicating the team’s growth, development and potential. The next day, I was asked to pick my favourites for the tournament -- the teams likely to be in the final and the players to watch out for. The Asia Cup has always been a keenly-contested tournament. Irrespective of the format (T20 or 50 over), no nation has shown breakaway domination since the tournament’s inception. It is like a prelude to the biggest event -- the World Cup. This edition of the Asia Cup too saw players come in with a reputation of being hopefuls or the ones to look out for in the future. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghanistan wicket-keeper and opening batter, has impressed with every outing in international cricket. Coming from the system of domestic cricket and being a member of the 2018 Afghanistan Under-19 World Cup team, he was drafted into the squad by Gujarat Titians for IPL 2022. His stroke-play provided that explosive start against Sri Lanka even when they were chasing a low total. With a strike rate of 163, he is in the fast lane for Afghanistan. His team-mate Fazalhaq Farooqi may not have had the perfect finish to this tournament (Naseem Shah hit him for two sixes) but he started impressively with his left-arm swing bowling. His three wickets dented the Sri Lankan batting order. Sri Lanka made a massive turnaround after that opening game against Afghanistan. Not many, including myself, thought they will pose a threat, until they chased Bangladesh out, getting to 184 in the last over. The rest is history. Pathum Nissanka with 173 runs (115 strike rate) and Dilshan Madushanka (six wickets) have stood counted with their respective efforts for Sri Lanka. For Pakistan, churning out quality fast bowlers is a standard. Naseem Shah with the bat and ball has stamped his arrival in the shortest format too for Pakistan. He has won matches both with the bat and ball in his debut series. For Bangladesh, Afif Hossain made an impression with the bat. His 39 off 22 balls against Sri Lanka bolstered the score for Bangladesh in a must-win game. Announced as vice-captain to fellow left-hander Shakib Al Hasan, he is one of the future stars for Bangladesh along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Arshdeep Singh, the tall left-arm seamer from India has experienced quite a bit in his short international career. From a member of the India Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2018 to bowling economical spells for his IPL franchise, Arshdeep has made rapid progress to become a mainstay in the Indian bowling line-up. In the list of Indian fast bowlers, Arshdeep should find a regular mention. Every team goes through the phase of rebuilding. It takes time, especially when the batch of players call time on their international career. It’s never easy to fill the void immediately. That is why the bench strength becomes a strong base for teams to excel consistently. The shortest format is played at a very level footing by all teams. Sri Lanka, who were possibly the least favourites to win the Asia Cup, eventually walked away with the honours. They defeated Pakistan not once but twice in three days after overpowering India. The Asia Cup in future will continue to throw up opportunities for upcoming players to stake their claim and be counted. For now, Congratulations Sri Lanka!
