The murmurs are growing louder in Indian cricket circles and look unlikely to die down any time soon.
Those watching from the outside would assume it has something to do with the ongoing assignment of the national team under a new leadership. But they would be wrong.
While the Indian Test team, under the captaincy of the recently appointed Shubman Gill, is preparing for the second Test against the West Indies in Delhi, which begins on Friday, the entire mental bandwidth of the public is being consumed by discussions about the future of two all-time greats and a contest that takes place later this month.
The highly successful Rohit Sharma was unceremoniously removed as India’s ODI captain, with Gill brought in for the tour of Australia that includes three ODIs and five T20s.
By all accounts, preparations are under way to replace Rohit and fellow white-ball great Virat Kohli in time for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
Indian cricket fans are divided over how the transition phase has been handled this year, with many deeming it unnecessarily harsh and abrupt.
And just like that, the focus has shifted completely from the task at hand – a Test against West Indies, a chance for a home series sweep and crucial WTC points.
The Caribbean side were never expected to beat the Indian team, even though the latter have lost a lot of their aura at home following the shocking Test whitewash by New Zealand last year.
That setback against the Kiwis set off a chain of events that has consumed the international careers and aspirations of many senior players in the team. The spotlight continues to shine on that episode, resulting in a discernible lack of focus on the current assignment.
The first Test between India and West Indies was played at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. That venue struggles to fill the stands even if 50,000 turn up. As was expected, the venue looked completely barren for the two and a half days that the match lasted as India completed an innings win.
For context, last week a one-day contest between India A and Australia A in the northern Indian city of Kanpur attracted a crowd of 25,000.
Many years back, when Kohli was the all-powerful leader of Indian cricket, he had proposed an Australia-style system where five or six traditional venues in India be made permanent hosts for Test matches and all limited overs games shared among other centres.
That idea made perfect sense because certain venues in the country showed a visibly greater affinity to the game long before the IPL was a thing.
Having fans turn up at the ground regardless of the opposition or format is a privilege only the England team enjoys. And Australia to an extent. Everyone else needs to put in a real effort to make sure matches are not played with empty seats in the background.
The second Test will be played in Delhi, which has traditionally seen decent crowds for all international matches. Plus, it is the festive season. Hopefully, the crowd situation will not be as dire as it was in Ahmedabad.
But there is a larger issue here. Test cricket in general is fighting for clear structure and support from the system. Outside the ‘big’ teams of England, Australia, India and possibly South Africa, Tests are not finding many takers among stakeholders because it is too expensive to run a red-ball structure.
Many questions posed to the West Indies contingent during the India tour centred around finances and the state of affairs in the Caribbean. That’s never a good sign.
There are also talks about a possible tier system that would allow the ‘top’ teams to capitalise on lucrative bilateral series and do away with mismatched contests against sides who seem unable to take the match into the fifth day.
If West Indies manage to genuinely challenge India in the second Test, and the crowds turn up in good numbers, those uncomfortable discussions about the five-day format can be postponed to another day. If not, then the winds of change will eventually blow through.
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
Results
4pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Dirt); 1,400m
Winner: Solar Shower; William Lee (jockey); Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
4.35pm: Handicap; Dh165,000 (D); 2,000m
Winner: Thaaqib; Antonio Fresu; Erwan Charpy.
5.10pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Turf); 1,800m
Winner: Bila Shak; Adrie de Vries; Fawzi Nass
5.45pm: Handicap; Dh175,000 (D); 1,200m
Winner: Beachcomber Bay; Richard Mullen; Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,800m
Winner: Muzdawaj; Jim Crowley; Musabah Al Muhairi
6.55pm: Handicap; Dh185,000 (D); 1,600m
Winner: Mazeed; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,200m
Winner: Riflescope; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar.
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
