Shami to play last 2 Tests of Australia tour; to leave after SMAT campaign: Source
New Delhi, Dec 7: Senior India speedster Mohammed Shami is set to compete in the last two Tests of the ongoing series against Australia with his playing kit already headed Down Under and the fitness clearance from the NCA's medical team being a "matter of formality".
While the Brisbane Test (from December 14) could be touch and go for the Bengal veteran, it is a foregone conclusion that he will be seen in Melbourne on Boxing Day (December 26) in the fourth Test.
A source close to the cricketer said that the NCA "fitness certificate" will come very soon.
"Shami's India kit has already been dispatched to Australia. He will complete Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 assignment and then leave," the source told PTI.
The 34-year-old Shami, who last played for India in the ODI World Cup final in November 2023, was forced into the long layoff due to an ankle surgery that needed surgery.
Just before his much-anticipated comeback against New Zealand, Shami developed swelling in the knee delaying his return.
Since the knockout round of Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy is taking place in Bengaluru, it is expected that the NCA (National Cricket Academy) medical team head Dr Nitin Patel and Strength and Conditioning trainer Nishant Bordoloi would be assessing him after Bengal finishes its campaign in the National T20 championship.
"Shami will be playing the pre-quarter final for us against Chandigarh. He will join us in Bengaluru by tomorrow. However, I am not sure if he will be available if we qualify for quarters or go the distance. Guess he will be fit and available for last two Australia Tests," Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who has had a good look at his premier bowler, told PTI.
Shukla echoed sentiments of former India head Ravi Shastri, who feels that Shami is needed as early as possible in Brisbane.
Shukla said Shami had done the right thing by deciding to play SMAT after bowling 43 overs in a Ranji Trophy game in Indore against Madhya Pradesh.
"He has already shed around six kilograms of body weight. He has played seven T20 games in 13 days. If he plays pre-quarters it will be eight games in 16 days.
"Shami himself wanted to play fair amount of domestic cricket and inform NCA how his body reacts," Shukla, a former ODI player, said.
India won the first Test in Perth, while the second game, a day-nighter, is currently in progress in Adelaide.
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Supreme Court strikes down Trump's sweeping tariffs, upending central plank of economic agenda
Washington (AP): The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.
The 6-3 decision centres on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.
It's the first major piece of Trump's broad agenda to come squarely before the nation's highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.
The majority found that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, which include tariffs. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote in the dissent.
The majority did not address whether companies could get refunded for the billions they have collectively paid in tariffs. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up for refunds in court, and Kavanaugh noted the process could be complicated.
“The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers. But that process is likely to be a mess,' as was acknowledged at oral argument,” he wrote.
The tariffs decision doesn't stop Trump from imposing duties under other laws. While those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Trump's actions, top administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.
The Supreme Court ruling comes despite a series of short-term wins on the court's emergency docket that have allowed Trump to push ahead with extraordinary flexes of executive power on issues ranging from high-profile firings to major federal funding cuts.
The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in US history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the GOP. Polling has found tariffs aren't broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argued that a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate importation during emergencies also allows him to set tariffs. Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Trump was the first president to invoke it for import taxes.
Trump set what he called "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency. Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.
A series of lawsuits followed, including a case from a dozen largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small businesses selling everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women's cycling apparel.
The challengers argued the emergency powers law doesn't even mention tariffs and Trump's use of it fails several legal tests, including one that doomed then-President Joe Biden's USD 500 billion student loan forgiveness program.
The economic impact of Trump's tariffs has been estimated at some USD 3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Treasury has collected more than USD 133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows.
