Dhoni's tribute to Indian Army hit with fans but ICC wants insignia removed from gloves
Southampton, Jun 6: Mahendra Singh Dhoni sporting an Army insignia on his glove during the India-South Africa clash was well appreciated by his fans but the International Cricket Council on Thursday requested the BCCI to have the badge removed, saying it is against its regulations.
Claire Furlong, ICC General Manager - Strategic Communications, told PTI that the apex body has requested the Indian cricket board to have the sign removed. India's next game is against Australia on Sunday.
"It is against the regulations and we have requested it is removed," Furlong told PTI.
When asked if Dhoni, who is a Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of Territorial Army, could be penalised for the breach of an ICC regulation, she added: "For first breach no, just a request to remove".
Dhoni's love for the Indian Army is well known. During the opening World Cup fixture against South Africa in Southampton on Wednesday, Dhoni's gloves attracted special attention when the TV cameras zoomed in.
The regimental dagger insignia of the para forces was embossed on his green wicket-keeping gloves.
While there is a possibility that Dhoni may have worn these gloves with the dagger insignia earlier also, it did get a lot of traction on social media with fans loving his unique way of paying tribute to the armed forces.
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Rain lashes parts of Bengal as severe cyclone 'Dana' moves closer to coast
Kolkata (PTI): Several districts of West Bengal received moderate to heavy rain on Thursday morning, as severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' inched closer to the state’s coast and that of neighbouring Odisha, the IMD said.
The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.
The weather system lay 280 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 370 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 2.30 am, the IMD said in a bulletin.
The cyclonic storm is set to bring heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts, including Kolkata.
Advising fishermen not to venture into the sea, the Met Department said gale wind with speeds reaching 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph is prevailing over northwest Bay of Bengal.
It warned that the wind speed over the area is likely to increase gradually to
100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph till Friday morning, and decrease thereafter.
The coastal districts of Bengal are experiencing moderate to heavy rain and gusty winds since the early hours of Thursday, while Kolkata woke up to an overcast sky and intermittent showers.
The bulletin warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy downpour in isolated places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts on Thursday and Friday.
Public transportation to and from Kolkata's suburbs may get affected from the evening, as Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled a large number of trains on Thursday and Friday, in view of the cyclone.
More than 170 express and passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway (SER) jurisdiction have been cancelled, an official said.
The trains cancelled were scheduled to depart from their originating stations between October 23 and October 27, he said.
The Kolkata-headquartered SER zone is spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Besides, the Eastern Railway (ER) will not operate any EMU local train from Sealdah station on its south and Hasnabad sections from 8 pm on Thursday till 10 am on Friday, the official said.
The ER also cancelled 68 suburban trains on the Howrah division on Friday morning, he said.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is on high alert and has mobilised vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency over the Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, the NDRF said it has deployed several teams across south Bengal to tackle any emergency situation.
Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across river Hooghly in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled in view of the impending inclement weather, officials said.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has also opened a control room at its headquarters here, and cancelled the leaves of all essential staff.
