Rishabh Pant's terrible luck with injuries continued as India's wicketkeeper batter was forced to retire hurt on the first day of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The left-handed batter had suffered a finger injury while keeping during England's 22-run win in the third Test at Lord's. He was replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps for large parts of that match, while still managing to bat.
Pant was declared fit for the fourth Test but picked up another injury, this time while batting on Wednesday.
Pant, looking well set on 37 from 48 balls in challenging conditions, was hurt as he attempted an audacious reverse sweep off a yorker-length delivery from seamer Chris Woakes after tea.
England appealed for lbw but a review revealed wicketkeeper Pant had got an inside edge. But, more worryingly for India, the ball deflected on to his right boot.
Pant received on-field treatment and television pictures showed severe swelling on his right leg. A hobbling Pant limped into a buggy before being driven off the field.
India were 212-3, with Pant having helped Sai Sudharsan add 72 for the fourth wicket after the pair came together with the tourists faltering at 140-3.
After Pant's unfortunate exit, the well-set Sudharsan also returned to the pavilion as Ben Stokes got him out on the leg side for the third time in the series.
The left-hander was caught by Brydon Carse pulling the England captain, ending his fighting innings of 61 that came off 151 balls.
Pant's injury, however, will be the main concern for the Indian team. While they have the option of getting Jurel to keep wickets, Pant's ability to bat will be the issue as batting with a foot injury is extremely difficult.
Earlier, spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first Test wicket in eight years after making his England comeback.
Dawson was recalled for the Test after Shoaib Bashir was ruled out with a broken finger. He bowled admirably in a strong second session which saw England take three wickets.
In his first Test since 2017, Dawson forced an edge from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) that was caught low by slip fielder Harry Brook.
The visitors lost the toss on an overcast day in Manchester and were put into bat, but the opening partnership of KL Rahul and Jaiswal kept England at bay, reaching 78-0 at lunch.
Rahul (46) was caught by Zak Crawley off Woakes early after lunch for 94-1.
And there were more cheers around the stadium when Jaiswal's innings was ended by Dawson to put India at 120-2.
Shubman Gill, the top run scorer so far in the series, had only 12 on the board before getting out in an all-too familiar fashion – trapped leg before wicket by Stokes, leaving India on 140-3.
Sudharsan, who replaced Karun Nair, played and missed early on before finding his groove. He found an able ally in Pant and looked like taking India to safety on a pitch that offered extravagant help to seamers all day.
However, Pant's injury kept India in check. All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja were batting on 19 each when umpires called early stumps due to poor light.
India battled their way to 264-4 in 83 overs. The visitors are effectively five down.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
