Ranji Trophy: Kohli named in 22-member provisional squad for Delhi's next game
New Delhi(PTI): Star batter Virat Kohli has been named in Delhi's 22-member provisional squad for their next Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra in Rajkot but doubts remain about his participation after it came to light that he is nursing a niggle.
It is learnt that Kohli has intimated the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) top brass that he has a neck niggle that he sustained in Sydney during the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia.
He was treated by the physio there and as of now, there is no clarity on availability for the Ranji match starting January 23.
Whether he will play or just fly down to Rajkot for a couple of days' training will be clear only after he details his position to DDCA president Rohan Jaitley.
Kohli had last played a red-ball game for Delhi back in 2012 against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. A year after that, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar played his last Ranji Trophy match against Haryana at Lahli.
Talismanic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will feature in a Ranji Trophy game after nearly seven years although it has been learnt that he has declined captaincy, which means Ayush Badoni will continue in the role.
"Rishabh felt the existing captain (Badoni) should continue to lead the side. He feels that since he is not available consistently, one shouldn't tinker with leadership," a member of the DDCA apex council told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"When he was offered captaincy, he said that he is very happy to play under Badoni. We have picked 22 players including five U-23, who would fly to Bhilai for their CK Nayudu U-23 match against Chattisgarh, starting January 25," he added.
The BCCI has made it mandatory for all centrally-contracted cricketers to play domestic cricket unless there is some compelling reason to skip the assignment.
The Board has warned that non-compliance would invite sanctions, including deductions from central contract retainer and ban on playing in the Indian Premier League.
Among the big names already confirmed for upcoming Ranji game is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who will turn up for Mumbai, and Shubman Gill who will represent Punjab in the next round.
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Mule bank accounts frozen in crackdown on cyber fraudsters in Karnataka, 68 held
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka State Cyber Command has arrested 68 people as part of a statewide drive against mule bank accounts and “mule herders” involved in cyber fraud, officials said on Friday.
The special operations, which have been continuing since last week across Karnataka, targeted networks engaged in aggregating and selling mule bank accounts used for cyber crimes.
The arrests were made between December 2025 and February 2026, police said in an updated report.
“The Karnataka Cyber Command has conducted statewide special operations against Mule accounts and mule herders across Karnataka. The special drive has continued since last week and this is an updated report,” the department said in a statement.
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Police said the investigation identified a network of “mule herders” — individuals who aggregate and misuse mule bank accounts — who were retailing and selling such accounts to cyber criminals.
A total of 68 key accused and suspects have been arrested during the period.
According to the statement, mule herders had collected personal information and documents from unsuspecting laypersons and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives.
“These accounts were operated in a business-like manner,” it added.
As part of the crackdown, police registered 60 cases and identified 869 mule accounts across the state. As many as 8,788 complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against the identified mule accounts.
The total money involved in all NCRP-linked crimes stood at Rs 85.05 crore, of which Rs 13.43 crore has been put on hold, the Cyber Command said.
During the drive, police obtained 32 search warrants and conducted 35 searches. In the searches, 35 ATM cards, 37 passbooks, 80 mobile phones, 28 cheque books and 22 SIM cards were seized, along with other incriminating materials, officials said. Pronab Mohanty, the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Cyber Command) supervised the special drive, police added.
