Anil Kumble named head coach of Kings XI Punjab
New Delhi: Former India skipper Anil Kumble has been appointed as the head coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). According to ESPNcricinfo, Kumble has been put in charge of "all cricket-related affairs" of the team and will be making a presentation to the team management regarding his plans on October 19.
KXIP co-owner Mohit Burman said Kumble will also take a call on Ravichandran Ashwin's future with the team on the same day. Ashwin, who captained the side in the past two seasons, is expected to be traded to Delhi Capitals ahead of the next season.
Kumble, who had a brief stint with the Indian men's team as head coach between 2016 and 2017, is currently the only Indian coach in the IPL. For the 48-year-old, Kings XI will be the third IPL team that he will be involved with, having featured as a player and later captain with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008.
He had also joined Mumbai Indians in 2013 as a mentor before quitting in 2015. He then joined the Indian team as the chief coach but it ended acrimoniously in 2017 after his relationship with skipper Virat Kohli became "untenable".
Kumble is the fifth coach to join the Punjab franchise in the last five editions.
Earlier, Sanjay Bangar (2014-2016), Virender Sehwag (2017), Brad Hodge (2018) and Mike Hesson (2019) had served as head coach of the team, which finishing at the bottom in 2015 and 2016, before signing off at fifth, seventh and sixth in the last three seasons.
Kings XI had reached the semifinals in 2008 and finished second-best after losing in the final to Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 edition.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
