CVs of Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag for national selectors' posts sent from spam emails
New Delhi, Dec 22: When the BCCI mandarins opened the mail box to check the CVs of prospective national selection committee candidates, they were in for a shock to find applications from Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virender Sehwag.
And if that wasn't enough, there was Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq also offering his candidature for the position.
Only that all these CVs were posted using spam email ids from imposters wanting to have some fun at BCCI's expense.
The BCCI has received over 600 e-mail applications for the five-member selection panel and a some of them have come from fake ids claiming to be Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag and Inzamam.
On a serious note, the Cricket Advisory Committee is expected to shortlist 10 names for the high-profile positions.
"Around 600 applications have been received and some of them have come from fake ids claiming to be Dhoni, Sehwag and Tendulkar. They are simply wasting BCCI's time by doing that.
"The CAC will shortlist 10 candidates and then choose the final five. The process will be completed soon," a BCCI source told PTI
The BCCI had sacked the Chetan-Sharma led selection panel following the team's semifinal exit from the T20 World Cup last month. However, that panel continues to remain in operation with their successors not finalised. The committee had also followed the first round of Ranji Trophy and are watching the second round. Debasish Mohanty is in Kolkata watching the Bengal vs Himachal Pradesh match.
On Wednesday, the BCCI Apex Council could not clear the central contracts of the players as the selection committee is yet to be formed and its input is needed before the list is finalised.
The CAC comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjpe and Sulakshna Naik, which was appointed earlier this month, is expected to meet soon to complete the job.
Besides deciding the central contracts, the selection panel's initial task will be to pick teams for the home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand starting January 3.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
