Rohit to lead against NZ in T20Is, Kohli rested, Hardik axed; rookies Venkatesh, Harshal get in
New Delhi, Nov 9: Rohit Sharma was on Tuesday officially anointed India's new T20 captain replacing Virat Kohli, who, along with some other seniors like Jasprit Bumrah, has been rested from the three-match series against New Zealand starting November 17 in Jaipur.
The new-look team also has IPL's highest run-getter Ruturaj Gaikwad and top wicket-taker Harshal Patel in the squad of 16 along with Venkatesh Iyer, who is seen as a potential all-round replacement for the injury-ravaged Hardik Pandya.
Pandya has been dropped from the squad after failing to make an impact during the T20 World Cup. Ruturaj has already played for India in the Sri Lanka series.
Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal rightfully got his place in the squad back while Mohammed Siraj, who has played a few T20Is in the past, is also in the mix.
Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar, who were in the T20 World Cup reserves are now in the main squad.
Rohit's appointment was a formality and KL Rahul will be his new deputy in shortest format.
"I don't know who all spread this misinformation but when Rohit Sharma is available, there are no other options for white ball captaincy at the moment. Yes, KL Rahul is around but he is only being considered as a deputy for time being," a senior BCCI official made it clear.
"Obviously, when Rohit takes a break he will lead but he is the white ball leader going forward," he said.
While BCCI didn't say anything about ODI captaincy, it is understood that the it wants one white ball captain going into the 2023 50-over World Cup and a decision for the three-match ODI series in South Africa will be taken at an appropriate time.
"I am still not sure if the board will retain Virat as ODI captain. There will be some discussions but chances are bleak. He will certainly remain the Test captain," the official said.
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja have also been given much-needed rest for the short series.
However, Pandya, who didn't actually provide an honest picture of his fitness status, has been dropped from the squad.
It is understood that the selection committee is extremely annoyed with his fitness woes and he is the only person, who is actually "dropped" and "not rested" unlike others.
"Hardik Pandya has not yet recovered from his lower back injury. However if the former T20 captain (Kohli in this case) was bent on having him at No 6 as a specialist batter, Chetan (chief national selector Chetan Sharma) and his team had to relent.
"Ditto when he asked for five spinners and then realised that he had asked for one too many," a senior BCCI official, privy to selection developments, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The quartet of Ruturaj (635 runs), Harshal (32 wickets), Avesh (24 wickets, 2nd highest wicket-taker) and Venkatesh (370 runs and 3 wickets) were unanimous picks after their stupendous IPL performances.
Similarly, the selectors did a course correction by picking Yuzvendra Chahal, who was mysteriously dropped from the World Cup squad and then was fabulous during the UAE leg of the IPL.
One player, who has probably got one last chance to redeem himself, is veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He is nowhere near his best but with the pace attack a bit short on experience, he was retained.
It is understood that after this, the selectors will look at other options also.
India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj.
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I ran to save my life: London-based singer recalls chaos at Messi event in Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): What was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime musical tribute to football legend Lionel Messi turned into a harrowing experience for London-based Indian singer Charles Antony, who flew to the country specially to perform at the event at Salt Lake stadium here.
Antony, a Malayali who sings in 18 languages, including Bengali, had composed a special Spanish song for Messi to welcome him in Kolkata, but was not able to sing that as he ran for his life amid chaos during the December 13 event at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here.
“I ran to save my life,” Antony told PTI, recalling how the celebration descended into mobocracy as crowd control collapsed inside the packed stadium.
Angry fans, many of whom had paid Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 — and in some cases up to Rs 20,000 in the black market — ran riot at the venue after failing to get even a glimpse of their favourite superstar from Argentina.
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“I had barely seen him. He was smiling, but it was very clear he was uncomfortable,” Antony vividly recalled, even after 10 days had passed.
Positioned on the running tracks near the gallery, the singer was waiting for Messi to complete his lap around the ground when the situation worsened.
Antony saw Messi, his long-time strike partner Luis Suárez and Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul being surrounded by many people.
He noticed water bottles, food packets, stones and metal objects being hurled from the gallery. Equipment was on the verge of being damaged, and panic had set in.
“I was lucky I was not injured, and none of my equipment was damaged,” he said.
The singer said there was confusion over reporting time, with instructions given to reach the venue at both 10.30 am and 9.30 am on December 13 for a sound check, and he had not had the opportunity to visit the stadium the previous day.
Personally invited by now-arrested event organiser Satadru Dutta to sing at the Messi events in Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi, Antony had travelled from London and was staying at the Hyatt Hotel here.
Having sung in the presence of Diego Maradona during his visit to Kolkata in 2016, an experience Antony describes as joyous and perfectly managed, the contrast was stark.
“When Maradona came to Kolkata in 2016, I was inside the inner circle. Nothing went wrong then. This time, I was outside the core circle," he said.
Antony said the size of the crowd, on both occasions, was huge.
“This is the first time in my life I saw nearly one lakh people in one place. Luckily, I got the chance to sing a couple of songs at the event. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of travelling all the way from London. And now, I have become the first Indian to sing with Maradona and for Messi," he said.
Antony said people began storming the ground after VVIPs were escorted through an underground exit and former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly left the stadium.
“That’s when the police told me to run to a safe place,” he said.
With no assistance from anyone, the singer grabbed whatever he could, his guitar, cables, mouth organs, and vocal processors, stuffing them into bags.
“Everyone was worried about the VVIPs. Nobody was concerned about my safety,” he said.
With his access tag still hanging around his neck, Antony felt even more vulnerable on that day.
“People misjudged me as one of the organisers. At one point, my life was under threat,” he said.
Police advised him to move towards the centre of the ground to avoid attacks from the galleries, he said.
Eventually, Antony ran all the way back to the hotel, later shifting to another hotel for safety.
“I had no time to look for anyone else. I ran to save my life,” he said.
In the aftermath, Antony tried repeatedly to contact Satadru Dutta to understand what would happen next, but could not reach him.
“There was complete uncertainty. I was getting very agitated,” he admitted.
He also witnessed the heartbreak of fans.
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“People had come from Meghalaya, Assam, Bengaluru just to see Messi. They couldn’t even see Messi and were very disappointed. and I saw many crying,” he said.
Antony clarified that he did not take any remuneration for the performances. The organisers only covered his travel costs from London and his accommodation in India.
Despite the ordeal, he refused to single out Satadru, the organiser, for mismanagement at the stadium.
“I don’t believe Satadru is solely responsible. He (Satadru) tried his best to stop people from coming close to Messi. But some others, possibly VVIPs, were taking selfies. He was visibly helpless. Everything went out of control,” Antony said.
For the singer, the day remains a painful memory, not just because he couldn’t sing for Messi, but because what should have been a celebration of football turned into a fight for survival.
