India aim to overpower West Indies at home
Rajkot, Oct 3 : After two consecutive away series defeats, India will be desperate to taste victory when they take on an inexperienced West Indies in the first Test of the two-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium, starting here on Thursday.
The Virat Kohli-led team India suffered a disastrous 1-4 defeat at the hands of England after enduring a 1-2 series loss against South Africa earlier this year.
After this home series, India is scheduled to tour Australia and therefore, Kohli and the team management will try their best to shed their shortcomings before the next big series.
On Thursday, as openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have been axed from the squad, young Mumbai batsman Prithvi Shaw is all set to receive his maiden Test cap to open the innings with KL Rahul.
Moreover, after a decent show in first-class cricket, Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal has been included in the Indian side. However, Mayank is likely to be left out on Thursday but might get a chance in the second Test at Hyderabad.
Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant too will feature in the playing eleven as skipper Kohli has hinted that he is against making too many changes in the lower-middle order.
"We have a change at the top of the order. We will give these guys enough space and enough chances to feel comfortable at that position. We want them to be confident of what they are doing," Kohli had said at the pre-match press conference.
"The lower-order is all about contribution, there is no change needed there. Rishabh (Pant) is new but Ashwin and Jadeja have performed in so many games at home they just need to replicate it abroad," he added.
In the bowling department, Kohli is likely stick to three spinners -- Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami will lead the pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have been rested for the short series.
Hanuma Vihari impressed everyone in the last Test against England at The Oval after a fighting 56 on debut. He however, seems not to find a place in the first Test as the team will play with five specialist bowlers.
On the other hand, the Jason Holder-led Caribbean side boasts of some talented cricketers in their squad but lacks the required experience to challenge the No. 1 Test side.
Only five players in the 15-man West Indian squad have played a Test in India. Moreover, another cause of concern for the visitors is Kemar Roach as the pace spearhead will miss the series-opener due to personal reasons.
West Indies had last won a Test series against India in 2002 and it looks difficult for them to beat Kohli's men at their own backyard.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
Windies: Jason Holder (Captain), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Sherman Lewis, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach and Jomel Warrican.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
