Gurkeerat Singh Mann announces retirement from international and Indian cricket
Chandigarh, Nov 10: Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who played three ODIs on the 2016 tour of Australia, on Friday announced his retirement from international and Indian cricket.
Besides batting in the middle-order for India, the 33-year-old also bowled 10 overs of off-spin in the ODI series against Australia.
The retirement decision was coming as he was in and out of the Punjab team and played his last of seven IPL seasons in 2020.
"Today marks the end of an incredible cricketing journey for me. It has been an honour and a privilege to represent India," Mann wrote on Instagram.
"My heart is filled with gratitude for the support from my family, friends, coaches and my fellow players. Each one of you played a pivotal role in my career.
"I would also like to thank BCCI and PCA for their constant support, guidance and encouragement I've got throughout my journey. Here's to the next chapter!"
He first attracted attention on the domestic circuit in 2011 when his fiery batting helped Punjab win the CK Nayudu Trophy.
He was also in brilliant form during the Ranji Trophy in 2015-16, when he slammed a double century.
Before making his ODI debut, he earned a call-up to India's Test team for the home series against South Africa but could not make his debut.
He was Punjab's top run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021-22.
In the IPL, he played for Punjab Kings, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was part of the title winning Gujarat Titans squad in 2022 but did not get a game.
In 41 IPL games, he made 511 runs at a strike rate of 121.
More recently, he played one game in Punjab's triumphant campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Having announced his retirement from Indian cricket, Gurkeerat can explore playing in overseas T20 leagues.
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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.
