Ashwin replaces Anderson as No.1 ranked Test bowler
Dubai(PTI): Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday jumped to the top of the latest ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings, replacing England pacer James Anderson.
Ashwin claimed the top spot after taking six wickets in India's emphatic victory over Australia in the second Test in New Delhi.
Anderson dropped to second place after England's stunning loss to New Zealand in the Wellington Test.
The 36-year-old Ashwin first claimed the top honour among Test bowlers in 2015, and has returned to the top spot on several occasions since then.
Ashwin bagged big wickets in India's win in Dehli, removing Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in the same over of the first innings before returning to pick up Alex Carey for a duck.
The off-spinner was at it again in the second innings, picking up three of the top five while his spin-bowling accomplice Ravindra Jadeja rattled through the rest of the Australia batters from the other end.
Ashwin has an opportunity to extend his latest stay in the No.1 spot in India's remaining two Tests on home soil in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Ashwin is the third No.1 Test bowler in as many weeks, after Anderson replaced Australia captain Pat Cummins at the summit last time around. The trio continue to make up the top three bowlers in the latest rankings.
Anderson is now five rating points behind Ashwin, who remains on 864 points.
Jadeja's 10 wickets in the second Test against Australia also sees him move up the bowling rankings into eighth spot,
Jadeja and Ashwin occupy the top two positions in Test All-Rounder Rankings.
England's Joe Root is the other big mover in the all-rounder rankings, up two spots to eighth.
Root's return to top form in Wellington also sees him leapfrog Travis Head and Babar Azam into third position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Batting Rankings.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith remain first and second respectively among Test batters.
New Zealander Tom Blundell is a new arrival in the top 10, rising four places to seventh after he helped the Black Caps to their famous follow-on victory by one run in the second Test against England.
England young gun Harry Brook continues his meteoric rise up the batting rankings after another superb century, climbing 15 places to draw level with Virat Kohli in 16th.
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Bhojshala complex registered as 'mosque' in old revenue records: Muslim side to MP HC
Indore (PTI): The disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex has historically been registered as a 'mosque' in revenue records and available sources don't clearly mention any Saraswati temple established by then-king Raja Bhoj, the Muslim side has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side calls the 11th-century monument Kamal Maula Mosque. The disputed complex located in Dhar district is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
During the hearing before the HC's Indore bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi on Wednesday, Qazi Moinuddin questioned two PILs filed as intervenors in the Bhojshala case by an organisation named Hindu Front for Justice, one Kuldeep Tiwari and another individual.
Moinuddin claims to be a descendant of Sufi saint Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti and the 'Sajjadanashin' (spiritual head, guru, or successor of a Sufi shrine, khanqah, or religious site).
The PILs state that Bhojshala is actually a Saraswati temple and only Hindus should be granted the right to worship at the disputed complex.
Moinuddin's lawyer, Noor Ahmed Sheikh, claimed in the court that his client's ancestors, who are descendants of Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti, have historically held titles to the complex, and the site was also recorded as a "mosque" in government revenue records.
He contended that those associated with the management of the Kamal Maula Mosque, located within the complex, have been in "continuous and peaceful occupation" of the site for a long time.
Citing Muslim law, Sheikh argued that in the case of religious property, particularly a mosque or its related properties, officials such as the Sajjadanashin and Mutawalli (person entrusted with management, maintenance, and administration of a Waqf), and their descendants, not only have the right to intervene, but also have the right to manage and use such a structure.
Citing provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904, the Muslim side's lawyer said the term "in-charge of the property" is used in this law, which makes it clear that the person or party who has been in charge of a property for a long time has rights over it.
During the hearing, Touseef Warsi, the lawyer representing the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society of Dhar, claimed that Hindu parties in both PILs had made "misleading representations" regarding historical facts before the high court.
He further claimed that available historical sources do not clearly mention the existence of a Saraswati temple established by Raja Bhoj, the legendary king of the Parmar dynasty who ruled Dhar from 1010 to 1055.
The ASI, a central government agency, has adopted three different positions in the lawsuits filed regarding the Bhojshala dispute, changing its answers from time to time, and this situation raises serious questions about judicial scrutiny of the complex, Warsi submitted.
He raised objections regarding the ASI's process of scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex, carried out on the HC order in 2024, and the method of videography and requested the court to examine these objections.
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Thursday.
The HC has been regularly hearing four petitions and one writ appeal since April 6, contesting the religious nature of the monument.
