First Indian Hajj pilgrims team reaches Madina
KCF volunteers extend warm welcome to pilgrims
Madina, Saudi Arabia, July 15: The first team of Hajjis from India reached King Abdul Azeez Airport of Munnavar in Madina on Saturday. The Hajj Volunteers Core (HVC) volunteers of Karnataka Cultural Foundation (KCF) welcomed the Hajjis by serving water and dates. Later, they helped the Hajjis to shift their luggage to their accommodations.
Indian Consulate General Noor Rehman Sheik who visited the accommodation place inspected the facilities provided to them. He directed the authorities to take immediate action if the Hajjis face any problems during their stay.
Total 3000 Hajjis from New Delhi, Gaya, Guwahati, Lucknow and Srinagar reached Madina in five flights. KCF HVC Madina unit president Tajuddin Sullia, convener Razaq Santosh Nagar, Farooq Naimi, Zabbar Uppinangadi, Razaq Baitadka, Ashraf Sakhafi Nooji, Aboobakar Uddabettu, Iqbal Kuppepadavu, Hyder Uddabettu and others were present.
Report: Hakim Bolar
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
