Me and Rohit don't decide contracts, we only select playing XI: Dravid on Iyer, Kishan omission
Dharamsala, Mar 9: The future of out of favour cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan has been debated loudly after BCCI omitting them from the central contract list, but India head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday refused to close the door on them.
Kishan has not played any cricket after skipping the two-Test series against South Africa but he has been preparing for IPL along with Mumbai Indians' teammate Hardik Pandya at a private centre in Baroda.
Despite BCCI's stern directive to play domestic matches, Shreyas opted out of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy quarterfinal citing back spasms.
But he played in the semifinal against Tamil Nadu and is scheduled to appear in the final against Vidarbha from Sunday.
"They are always in the mix. Nobody is out of picture. Everyone who's playing domestic cricket is in the mix. It's just a question of, hopefully, them getting back and fit, playing cricket, and forcing the selectors to pick them again."
However Dravid steered cleared when the sensitive issue of central contract cropped up.
"I don't decide contracts, right? Contracts are decided by the selectors and the board. I don't even know what is the criteria (for inclusion). Me and Rohit select the (playing) 11. We have never discussed whether somebody has a contract or not. I don't even know what the list of the contracted players is," said Dravid in the post-match press-conference.
After India bagged the five-match series against England 4-1, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced a 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' for players appearing in more red-ball cricket for the country.
Dravid hoped that the players would look at it as a reward for their hard work rather than another source to earn money.
"I really hope money is not going to be the incentive to play Test cricket. It's just the hard work and how tough Test cricket can be is being recognised.
"So, I wouldn't see it as an incentive to make people play Test cricket, I hope not. But it is nice that the BCCI is recognizing it. I think it is a reward, not an incentive," said the former Indian skipper.
He then proceeded to cite the example of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to validate his point.
"It takes a special person to do what Ashwin has done (rejoining the team after a personal emergency), to play 100 Tests, you go through a lot. We don't celebrate 100 T20Is in the same way, do we?
"It's only when you get here that you realise that sometimes it's quite tough, but it is extremely satisfying (to play Tests). If they are well supported and well documented, I am sure there will be a lot of people still wanting to play Test cricket," said Dravid.
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Capgemini employee killed, three injured in gas cylinder blast at Bengaluru PG
Bengaluru: A 23-year-old Capgemini employee was killed and three others were injured after a commercial gas cylinder exploded at a paying guest accommodation in Bengaluru’s Kundalahalli on Monday evening, police said.
According to a report published by NDTV, the incident occurred around 6.15 pm at the Seven Hills Sai Co-Living PG, a seven-storey building with 43 rooms. The explosion took place on the ground floor of the building.
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"There was some smoke on the ground floor. The victim and two others, who were on the terrace, came down to check what had happened. It is believed that the blast occurred at that time, killing Aravind. Among the injured, two are employees of private companies, and one works as a helper at the PG," NDTV quoted K Parashurama, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield) as saying.
Aravind, a native of Ballari district in Karnataka, was working as a senior analyst with Capgemini. Among the injured are 28-year-old Venkatesh from Kurnool, 23-year-old Vishal Verma from Uttarakhand, and 25-year-old CV Goel, a woman from Uttarakhand. Two of the injured are employees of private firms, while one works as a helper at the PG.
As per the report, as soon as fire and smoke were detected, an emergency response was initiated. Fire and police teams rushed to the spot and contained the situation. All the injured were shifted to Brookefield Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the explosion. We are examining the building for violations. We have already noticed that there was no setback provided during construction, and we are verifying whether other rules were also defied, Parashurama added.
The PG building is owned by a person named Vishnu from Andhra Pradesh and is locally managed by a woman identified as Roja. Further investigation is underway, police said.
