Ajinkya Rahane likely to be India's new Test captain following WTC Final loss: Reports
Mumbai: After India's resounding 209-run defeat against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, speculations are rife that Ajinkya Rahane will be appointed as the next Test captain for the Indian cricket team. According to reports in the Times of India, the national selectors are contemplating giving India's regular captain, Rohit Sharma, some rest during the upcoming West Indies tour.
The Times of India report suggests that Rohit Sharma might be rested either for the Test matches or the eight-match white-ball series, which includes three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). The final decision regarding Rohit's participation will be made after consultations with the player himself.
In the event that Rohit Sharma is indeed rested, Ajinkya Rahane is believed to be the frontrunner to take over the Test captaincy. Rahane made a remarkable comeback to the national team during the WTC final, where he displayed solid batting performances. The 35-year-old batsman scored 89 and 46 in the two innings of the final, contributing significantly to India's unsuccessful campaign. Moreover, he reached a significant milestone of completing 5000 runs in Test cricket, becoming the 13th Indian to achieve this feat.
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Udupi CNG fuel shortage: Long queues of vehicles has become a common sight
Udupi (Karnataka) Apr 29: The coastal district of Udupi is going through a severe shortage of Compressed Natural Gas for Automotive applications.
Although the number of CNG fuel-based vehicles is increasing, the number of CNG filling stations in Udupi district has not risen. In the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers have to wait for hours to get their fuel tanks filled.
“I've been waiting for not less than four-five hours everyday for the past one week. Most of the time my vehicle is idle and I am not able to take up fares, as a result of which I have lost so much of income and my bank obligations will take a beating if this continues any longer," Sundar Shetty, a rickshaw driver in Udupi said.
CNG fuel is not being supplied to existing bunks as per demand. And as the demand is high, the stock depletes quickly and sometimes the rickshaws are parked overnight in a queue for early morning refuelling, leaders of the CNG Autorickshaw Drivers Association said.
In Udupi town, there is only one bunk that has CNG facility, but most of the time it is empty.
“Due to high investment on land, equipment and daily stocks, there are not many takers for this business” the bunk owners said.
There is only one CNG station in Kundapura taluk out of three in Udupi district. There are more than 5,000 CNG based vehicles in the district.
The sight of hundreds of rickshaws and other vehicles waiting to fill CNG fuel at the CNG bank in Koteshwar every day from 4 am is very common.
Sometimes one has to wait till 8-9 o'clock. However, there is no guarantee that everyone will get fuel. Similar are the conditions in Karkala and Kundapur taluks of Udupi district.
The rickshaw drivers and other CNG users have appealed to the Udupi district authorities and approached the Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to put pressure on the government to normalise supply and to open more bunks.
