Mahela Jayawardene returns to Mumbai Indians as head coach
Mumbai, Oct 13: The five-time Indian Premier League winners Mumbai Indians on Sunday announced roping in former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene as their head coach with a major overhaul on the horizon with a mega auction to follow.
Jayawardene has had a similar role with the franchise from 2017-2022 and oversaw their title-winning campaigns in 2017, 2019 and 2020-21.
Jayawardene replaces former South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher who had a two-year stint as MI’s head coach in 2023 and 2024.
Mumbai Indians qualified for the knockouts in the 2023 edition but endured a poor run this year, finishing last with only four wins in 14 matches.
“My journey within the MI family has always been one of evolution. In 2017, the focus was on bringing together a talented group of individuals to play the best cricket ever and we did very well,” Jayawardene said in a release issued by the franchise.
“Now to return, at the same moment in history, where we look ahead at the future and the opportunity to further strengthen the love of MI, build on the vision of the owners, and continue to add to the history of Mumbai Indians, is an exciting challenge I am looking forward to,” he added.
Jayawardene became MI’s global head of cricket and saw the expansion of the franchise’s other teams. He worked with the coaching staff as MI (WPL), MI NY (MLC) and MIW (ILT20) won a trophy each.
"With our global teams having found their footing within their ecosystems, the opportunity to bring him back to MI arose," said team owner Akash Ambani.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
