Don't judge Cummins just after one game, says KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik
Abu Dhabi Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik finds it extremely "unfair" that his premier pacer Pat Cummins is being criticised after just one bad performance that too when he played straight after completing his quarantine.
All eyes were on Cummins, this edition's highest paid overseas recruit and he was taken apart by Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma as he went for 49 runs in 3 overs during KKR's 49-run IPL defeat on Wednesday.
"It is very unfair to judge him (Cummins) right now. He is just off quarantine, (it is) at 3.30/4.00 PM when he got permission to come and play the match itself. We are just happy to have him and I don't think this is a game where we need to judge him at all," Karthik said at the post-match press conference.
The KKR skipper termed Cummins as a champion bowler who will eventually come good.
"Just the fact that he is a world champion bowler, from whatever I have heard and seen he is one of the best going around in the world. I trust him and I'm sure, he will come good," said Karthik.
Karthik also had a word of praise for young Shivam Mavi, who returned with figures of 2/32, with wickets of Rohit and Quinton de Kock.
"Upfront he (Mavi) was very good. The poor guy missed out due to an injury last year and he is looking forward to this competition and he is shaping up well and that's a good sign for KKR," he added.
While someone like Andre Russell once again batted down the order at No 6, Karthik defended the decision, saying that it was more to do with keeping a left-right combination going.
"I think it is a strategy because it is done universally only simply because it is not easy for a bowler to bowl consistently to left-hander and a right-hander (and) even if they get their line a little wrong, it could go for runs. Because we have the advantage of doing that, sometimes we tend to do that," he said.
Karthik said his side didn't execute the slower deliveries well enough in these conditions.
"Some didn't execute slower balls) that well because it was a little shorter and that is why the square boundaries came into play a lot more."
For Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar Yadav, who came in at No 3 was one of the architects of MI's victory with 47 off 28 balls, said that he won't mind opening the innings if required.
"That is the team management's call. I have loved opening for Mumbai Indians in the last two years and whenever they give me that opportunity, I would love to do that".
While the ground dimensions are different, it didn't change their game plan insisted Surya.
"Yes, the boundaries are big but I don't think there was any drastic change in his batting, he just kept things very-very simple, played his natural game, what he is known for and the result is there in front of you," sais the MI batsman.
"We were actually keeping things pretty simple, we were just backing ourselves and we knew we had played one game here and what strokes are to be executed on this ground, so we just stuck to our plan and it went out really well, he explained.
Jasprit Bumrah had a rare off-day against CSK, but he bounced back in style and Surya termed the India pace-spearhead as the "best bowler in the world."
"His rhythm, his work ethics and his discipline during the training sessions is unbelievable as I have been seeing in the last few days. He came back stronger and he will keep getting stronger as the game progresses," he added.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
