Dravid on Spirit of Cricket row: 'You can't blame somebody for following rules'
Bengaluru, Nov 11: Angelo Mathews' first-of-its-kind timed out dismissal against Bangladesh in a World Cup match has again stirred the debate about Spirit of Cricket' and India head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday said a player should be allowed to follow the rules of the game to the letter, if he wishes so.
The heated deliberations started after Mathews was declared timed out following an appeal of Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan after the Sri Lankan batter could not get ready in time to face his first ball, coming in after the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama.
"Everyone thinks differently. We are all unique creatures and we have our own minds and thoughts. There is no real right and wrong. It's fine to have those differences," said Dravid.
"When someone wants to take the letter of the rule to the last Nth degree, I don't think you can complain about it because, honestly, he's just following the rules as he sees it. You might not do it yourself. But you can't blame somebody for following it."
Turning his attention back to India's final league match against the Netherlands here on Sunday, Dravid said it was all about focusing on the game without worrying about factors such as playing 11 and conditions.
"We've had six days off from the last game. So, the guys are in good shape. At this stage, it's about focusing on getting the guys who you think are going to be playing in the 11 in the best possible space mentally and physically to be able to play that semifinal and hopefully the final if we earn it.
"There are times for larger picture thinking and there are times for narrow focus thinking. In my opinion, now's the time for the narrow focus thinking," he added.
Dravid was not ready to take the Netherlands lightly and lauded them for putting up a spirited show in the tournament.
"We're very impressed with the way they have played in this tournament, the effort that they've gone through to be able to qualify. I certainly know how difficult it is for Associate teams to be able to reach this level and play, having spent some time in Scotland myself in the early part of the 2000.
"It's quite inspiring to see that in spite of the challenges they face they're able to compete at this level. I know they'll be well prepared, a well-coached cricket team. We're looking forward to playing them," Dravid signed off.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
