Shikhar Dhawan to lead India on Sri Lanka tour, six uncapped players named in 20-man squad
New Delhi, Jun 10: Opener Shikhar Dhawan was on Thursday named as captain of the Indian team that will travel to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs tour next month as the BCCI announced a 20-man squad, packed with youngsters, including six uncapped players.
With country's top cricketers already in England for the World Test Championship final and the subsequent England series, the selection of a number of youngsters in the squad is on expected lines.
Many of them impressed in the suspended IPL and have been rewarded with their maiden India call-up. They included Devdutt Padikkal, pacer Chetan Sakaria, Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Varun Chakravarthy.
Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey have made a comeback but Shreyas Iyer missing out on selection means he has not yet recovered from his shoulder injury.
Out of favour spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are also part of the squad that also has Pandya brothers -- Hardik and Krunal -- apart from two wicket-keeper batsmen in young Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.
India are scheduled to clash with Sri Lanka in three One-day Internationals and as many Twenty20 matches on the tour that will begin on July 13 and conclude on July 25.
All the matches will be played at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
India's squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
