Only two journalists turn up for SKY's pre-match press conference ahead of Ind-Aus series
Vishakhapatnam: The effects of World Cup fatigue are evident not only among players and support staff but also in the journalism, as only two reporters attended India's pre-match press conference before their series-opening T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam.
This low turnout is unprecedented for a men's Indian cricket team match at home in recent memory. Typically, press conferences during ICC events attract over 100 journalists, but the quick turnaround after the World Cup final appears to have impacted media interest.
India's captain for the T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav, expressed surprise and amusement at the low attendance, stating, "Only two people?" The reduced interest is attributed to the short three-day gap between the World Cup final and the start of the T20I series against Australia.
During the World Cup, press conferences routinely drew over 100 journalists, reaching over 200 for significant matches like the semi-final and final.
Suryakumar Yadav, reflecting on India's World Cup campaign, acknowledged the disappointment of the loss but emphasized the need to move on. He shared, "It is difficult; it will take time, it can't be that you wake up next morning and you forget everything that happened. It was a long tournament. We would have loved to win it."
Notably, Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan, and Prasidh Krishna are the only members of India's World Cup squad selected for the T20I series, as others have been given a break. Australia, on the other hand, has several World Cup-winning players, including Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, and Josh Inglis, participating in the series.
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T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
