Durham to speak to head coach James Franklin over Yuzvendra Chahal allegations
New Delhi, Apr 11: County side Durham has said they will speak to head coach James Franklin "privately" over the physical harassment allegations made by Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal against the former New Zealand pacer.
Earlier this year, in a podcast published by Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chahal had recalled an incident from 2011 when his then Mumbai Indians teammates Franklin and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds had allegedly tied him up while celebrating their win in the Champions League final that year.
"We are aware of recent news reports surrounding an incident in 2011 which name a member of our staff," Durham said in a statement to 'ESPNcricinfo'.
"As with any matters involving employees, the club will speak privately with all parties involved to determine the facts."
Chahal also alleged that the duo had taped his mouth, left him in a room and forgot about him for a whole night.
Franklin, who was part of Mumbai Indians squad from 2011 to 2013, was appointed Durham coach in early 2019.
"It happened in 2011, when Mumbai Indians won the Champions League. We were in Chennai. He [Symonds] had had a lot of 'fruit juice'.
"I don't know what he was thinking, but he and James Franklin got together and tied my hands and legs and said, 'no, you've to open'. They were so lost that they taped my mouth and forgot about me completely during the party.
"Then they all left and, in the morning, someone came to clean [the room] and saw me, and called a few others and untied me," Chahal claimed.
According to Chahal, neither player has ever apologised.
The allegations against Franklin and Symonds have come to the fore after the leg-spinner revealed another shocking incident when a drunk player dangled him from the 15th-floor balcony of a Bengaluru hotel during a post-match IPL party in 2013.
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Woman died post delivery after Pune hospital refused admission over Rs 10 lakh deposit
Mumbai (PTI): BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe on Thursday claimed a Pune-based hospital refused to admit the pregnant wife of his personal secretary due to non-payment of advance deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The woman, Tanisha Bhise, later died at another hospital after giving birth to twins, he said in a video message.
Her husband Sushant works as a personal secretary to Gorkhe.
The hospital refuted the allegations and blamed the woman's kin for giving "misleading information".
"Despite an assurance to pay Rs 3 lakh immediately, the hospital denied admission to the patient. Even a call was made from Mantralaya to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, but it did not yield any response from the hospital," Gorkhe alleged.
"The woman was later taken to another hospital, where she gave birth to twin girls but passed away. This is a serious issue. I request the chief minister to take strict action against the hospital. I will also raise this matter in the upcoming legislative session," Gorkhe said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare also took to social media and asserted the hospital sought Rs 10 lakh as deposit despite the woman's kin agreeing to arrange Rs 2.5 lakh immediately and the rest in a short period.
"Even after a call from Mantralaya, the hospital did not change its stand. The patient had to be shifted to another hospital, where she delivered twins but did not survive. Had the hospital administration shown some humanitarian consideration, Tanisha Bhise might have been alive today," Andhare stated.
BJP leader and MLC Chitra Wagh also criticised the hospital's action and sought strict action, including revoking licences of doctors or hospitals found guilty of such behaviour.
"If this is the treatment meted out to someone close to a legislator, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary patients," Wagh said.
Wagh in her post on X said, "The doctors were supposed to offer support to the woman but they showed their commercial interest only. If such type of treatment is offered by the hospitals operated by charitable trusts, then the doctor's license should be cancelled and hospital should be closed. One strong step would give a message to others who practice in such way."
The hospital, meanwhile, refuted the allegations and blamed the woman's kin for giving "misleading information".
"We will prepare a detailed report about the incident and will submit it to the health department of the state. The report will have detailed medical information about the incident which was concealed by the kin of the deceased woman,” said Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital medical director Dr Dhananjay Kelkar said.
