It's going to take time to bridge the gap: BCCI Prez on India's T20 team without Rohit, Virat
Bridgetown (PTI): BCCI President Roger Binny says it will take another two-three years for the Indian T20 team to "come into its own" again given the void that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's international retirement from the format will create.
Rohit, 37, and Virat, 35, called it quits from T20Is after playing pivotal roles in India's second world triumph in the format here. The 2007 champions defeated South Africa by seven runs in a high-voltage summit clash on Saturday to end their painful 11-year wait for an ICC trophy.
"There is so much talent in the IPL. Lot of cricketers are coming through but it is going to take some time to bridge the gap (after retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from T20Is)," Binny said in a media interaction after the final.
"They have contributed so much. It's going to take time. We will probably see in the next two-three years, the team coming back into it's own without them," he added.
Rohit leaves T20Is with 4231 runs from 159 matches, having made five hundreds and 32 fifties.
In 125 T20I matches, Kohli scored 4188 runs at an average of 48.69 with 122 being his highest. That was his only T20 century - coming against Afghanistan in September 2022.
Both will continue to be active in the IPL and the ODI and Test formats internationally.
Binny, who was a part of the 1983 ODI World Cup title win, said that maiden World Cup elevated India from underdogs to contenders and it has not changed thanks to the large talent pool.
"In 1983, we went as underdogs. But after that, that tag was taken off us. Whenever we go into World Cup, people expect India to win. No one is taking us lightly anymore," he said.
The just-concluded mega-event marks the end of head coach Rahul Dravid's tenure. Speculation is rife that former opener Gautam Gambhir will take over from him but Binny chose to keep mum on the matter.
"Nothing concrete has come yet. Gautam Gambhir has a lot of experience. He has worked with teams. He played Test matches, ODIs, T20s. Let's see," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Narayana Guru's philosophy counters majoritarianism amid social divisions, says Siddaramaiah
Varkala (Kerala) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said saint and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru's philosophy remains a powerful answer to rising majoritarianism and social divisions in an India that boasts of economic progress even as unity weakens.
Speaking at the 93rd Sivagiri Pilgrim Conclave at Sivagiri Math, founded by Guru here, Siddaramaiah, the chief guest at the function, lamented that today's India faces a paradox where "we boast of economic growth, digital expansion and global influence, and yet social solidarity is weakening, and hatred is being normalised".
He said caste has not disappeared, but it has just changed its grammar.
Noting that communalism no longer speaks openly of hierarchy, it speaks the language of identity, fear, and majoritarian pride, Siddaramaiah said Guru foresaw this danger.
"He understood that when religion is separated from compassion and ethics, it becomes a tool of domination," Siddaramaiah said.
"Guru's philosophy directly counters religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism without equality and identity politics without justice. His message reminds us that nation-building without social justice is merely state-building, not democracy," he said.
The Karnataka chief minister said it was no coincidence that after meeting Guru, Mahatma Gandhi sharpened his stance against untouchability, took a stand in favour of a simple life, and refused to attend weddings if they were not inter-caste.
He said that Rabindranath Tagore's idea of the "universal man" was inspired by the works of Guru.
He also shaped the ethical universe of Tagore, who acknowledged that dividing human beings in the name of religion is the greatest injustice, the CM said.
"Thus, Guru stands at the ideological crossroads of modern India by bridging spirituality, rationalism, humanism and social justice," Siddaramaiah said. The conclave was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to Siddramaiah, Guru's influence was not confined to Kerala.
"His historic dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 altered the intellectual course of the freedom movement. It made Gandhiji confront a fundamental truth that “Caste is not cultural diversity, it is institutionalised injustice," he said.
Using the mango tree analogy, Guru revealed that though leaves differ, their essence is the same, making Mahatma Gandhi realise that caste and religion, not diversity, are the world's deepest social problems, the Karnataka CM said. Siddaramaiah also spoke about Guru's impact on Karnataka.
ALSO READ: Congress and NCP (SP) to contest separately in Nagpur civic polls
"Though geographically rooted in Kerala, Guru's influence crossed linguistic and state boundaries, shaping reform movements along the Karnataka coast, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and parts of Malnad," he said.
He said the Billava, Elava, Ediga, Mogaveera, and other backward communities of coastal Karnataka drew inspiration from Guru's call for dignity, education, and organisation.
"His message strengthened anti-caste assertion and self-respect movements in the region. This is one of the main reasons for strong resistance to attempts by communal forces to divide the people in the region," he said.
The chief minister said Basavanna's Kayaka (dignified labour) finds a direct echo in Narayana Guru's insistence on economic self-reliance alongside spiritual growth.
"Basavanna democratised devotion through Vachanas, Narayana Guru democratized divinity itself, asserting that human beings' exclusions are not graded by birth, but equal by existence. Both transformed religion from a tool of exclusion into a language of social justice," he said.
Siddaramaiah opined that the Sivagiri Pilgrimage cannot remain a yearly ritual.
"It must become a continuous social movement," the chief minister said and called upon religious leaders to speak against hatred, scholars to take Guru's philosophy into classrooms, youth to challenge injustice, not inherit silence and political institutions to align governance with ethical values," he said.
Concluding his address, Siddaramaiah called for an India rooted in dignity, dialogue and equal humanity, saying this was the democratic vision shared by Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi and the Sivagiri movement.
