Anil Kumble calls for separate Indian teams in Test and white-ball cricket
New Delhi (PTI): Former India captain and coach Anil Kumble feels having totally different squads in limited overs and Test format is the way forward for the country in international cricket.
England's roaring success in ODIs and T20Is has ignited the debate for different teams and coaches in white and red ball cricket.
"Definitely, you need separate teams. You need, certainly, T20 specialists. I think what this English team has shown and even the last (T20) World Cup champions Australia have shown is that you need to invest in a lot of allrounders. Look at the batting order," Kumble told ESPNcricinfo.
"Today Liam Livingstone is batting at No. 7. No other team has a No. 7 of the quality of Livingstone. (Marcus) Stoinis walks in at No. 6 (for Australia). That's the kind of team you have to build. That's something that you need to invest in.
"I'm not really sure whether you need a different captain or a different coach. It all depends on what team you are going to pick and then choose how you want to build the support and the leadership around it."
Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody said splitting coaches should be seriously considered by international teams. England have Brendon McCullum as their Test coach and Matthew Mott as their white-ball coach.
"I think there is no doubt that moving forward, whether it be player or support management, there needs to be a serious look into that separation.
"It seems England have quite a considerable difference between their red-ball squad and their white-ball squad. They've created a depth of quality," Moody told the cricket website after England won their second T20 World Cup title.
"With regards to England being the best white-ball team (of all time), I don't think they're there yet. If they had won in the UAE at the last T20 World Cup, you could base an argument, but they weren't there in that one. So they've missed a World Cup there. They've missed that sort of dominance of a cycle."
Moody said the demands on the players and the team management involved in all the formats are huge.
"The price of having success is extremely draining. If you are going to be prepared properly, it's very hard to manage it with three formats," said Moody.
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Drug addiction sign of mental illness, says DC Mullai Muhilan
Mangaluru: Drug addiction is a sign of mental illness and there is a critical need for awareness among students, stated Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mullai Muhilan at the ‘Drugs Free India’ awareness program. Organized by the Counseling Department of St. Aloysius PU College in collaboration with the District Administration, Mangaluru Police Commissionerate, Indian Coast Guard, and the Customs Commissionerate, the event took place on Tuesday.
Delivering the keynote address, DC Mullai Muhilan emphasized the importance of counseling centers in every school to educate students about the dangers of drug addiction. He highlighted the correlation between the increasing number of educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada District and the rising supply and demand for narcotic drugs. He stressed the need for continuous efforts to dismantle the supply chain of narcotics and initiatives to curb the demand through systematic education.
“Anti-drug units have been established in 528 colleges across the district. These units operate with utmost confidentiality, allowing students to report information about drug supply and abuse, thereby preventing their peers from falling into the trap of addiction,” Muhilan said.
Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal reported that over 500 cases related to drug supply and abuse had been registered in the past six months, with 400 cases pertaining specifically to drug abuse. He noted that many complaints came from mothers about the deteriorating behavior and habits of their children. Agrawal stressed the importance of self-awareness among students to avoid drug addiction and urged them to stay away from narcotics.
Mangaluru Customs Commissioner P Vinitha Shekhar described narcotics as a ‘social menace’ and explained the customs department’s role in search and destroy operations in accordance with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. She highlighted India's vulnerability to drug trafficking due to its proximity to opium-producing countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. She also pointed out the link between drug supply networks and the funding of terrorist organizations.
District Coast Guard Centre DIG P K Mishra, through an illustrative story, encouraged students to contribute to society by reporting unusual behavior in their friends and peers that might indicate drug abuse.
Fr. Clifford Sequeira, Principal of St. Aloysius PU College, and Dr. B K Kiran Kumar from the Department of Psychology at the Institute of Medical Sciences were also present at the event.
