India will have to wait for another three World Cups if they don't win it this time: Ravi Shastri
New Delhi, Nov 12: India will probably have to wait for another three World Cups to have a shot at the title if they are not able to extend their dominant run in the ongoing edition, reckons Ravi Shastri.
Speaking to Club Prairie Fire podcast, Shastri said a majority of the squad members are at their peak, providing India the best chance to end their ICC title drought.
Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan were also part of the podcast.
"This country is going mad. The last time they won it was 12 years ago. They have an opportunity to do it again. The way they are playing, this is probably their best chance," said the former India head coach.
"If they miss out this time, they would probably have to wait another three World Cups for even thinking of trying to win it. The pool of players are such the 7-8 players are at their peak.
"This could well be their last World Cup. The way they are playing, given the conditions, they have got the team to win it."
The Indian bowling attack has demolished batters thus far in the competition. The pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj has made the ball talk the most while the spin combine of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav has been relentless in the middle overs.
Shastri feels the current lot of bowlers is the best India have ever had.
"It is extraordinary and it has taken time, it has not happened overnight. They have been playing with each (of them) for four to five years. Siraj joined the party three years ago.
"They know the kind of areas to hit on a consistent basis. They know it is not important to look flashy when you bowl. It is more about consistency and getting the ball in the right areas.
"In this World Cup, they have bowled hardly any short balls. if there is a short ball, it is used as a surprise weapon. 90 per cent of the time they have been targeting the stumps like you must do in India hitting those three-quarters lengths.
"Because of their seam positions, they are getting the ball to nip around and that is causing a lot of problems. It is the best attack in 50 years ever since white-ball cricket started," he added.
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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.
