Indian ODI squad to leave for Australia in two batches on October 15
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian ODI squad will depart for Australia in two separate batches on October 15 from the national capital with logistics and ticket availability determining the final travel schedule.
India will play a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I affair Down Under.
According to sources in the BCCI, one group of players will leave in the morning while the second batch is likely to fly out later in the evening, depending on the availability of business class tickets for the long-haul flight.
Former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, along with newly appointed vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, are expected to join the rest of the Test squad members in New Delhi ahead of the team’s departure.
“Virat and Rohit will touch down in the capital either on the day of departure or a day prior,” a source in the know told PTI.
The team is scheduled to fly to Perth, where the first ODI against Australia will be played on October 19.
If the ongoing domestic or international assignments conclude earlier than expected, players featuring in the ODI squad could be given a short break to visit their respective homes before regrouping in Delhi.
India are set to face West Indies in the second and final Test here from October 10-14.
In a significant development, Shubman Gill has been named captain of the ODI side, taking over from Rohit Sharma. Despite mounting speculation regarding their long-term ODI futures, both Rohit and Kohli are believed to have expressed their desire to continue until the 2027 ODI World Cup, even though India will play relatively few 50-over games in the lead-up to the marquee event.
Meanwhile, head coach Gautam Gambhir has invited the entire squad for a team dinner at his residence here in Rajinder Nagar, a gesture aimed at fostering camaraderie before the side embarks on the overseas tour.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
