England’s Alex Hales retires from internaitonal cricket with immediate effect
London, Aug 4: Explosive and temperamental England opening batter Alex Hales on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.
Hales, who made his international debut against India in August 2011 in a T20I at Manchester, represented England in 11 Tests, 70 One-Day Internationals and 75 T20Is.
Incidentally, Hales' last impact innings on the international stage was also against India, a brutal, unbeaten 47-ball 86 (4x4s, 7x6s) in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Hales and Jos Buttler (80 not out) had powered England to a 10-wicket win while chasing 169 at Adelaide.
“Just a note to announce that I have decided to retire from international cricket,” Hales shared in a note on his Instagram account.
''It has been an absolute privilege to have represented my country on 156 occasions across all three formats. l've made some memories and some friendships to last a lifetime and I feel that now is the right time to move on,” he wrote.
Hales, whose last appearance for England was in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan at Melbourne, said, ''Throughout my time in an England shirt I've experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows. It's been an incredible journey and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.''
Hales was not a part of England’s World Cup winning campaign in 2019 when the team’s captain Eoin Morgan and senior players decided that he had no role to play, while he served a 21-day ban for failing a second recreational drugs case. Morgan had termed it as ‘a complete breakdown of trust’.
But Hales was a vital cog in England’s revival in white-ball cricket. In fact, he contributed a 92-ball 147 (16x4s, 5x6s) when England piled up a monumental 481/6 against Australia in the Nottingham ODI in 2018 — the second highest ODI total ever.
Hales scored 2,419 runs at 37.79 with six centuries and 14 fifties in 70 ODIs. In 75 T20Is, he made 2,074 runs at 30.95 with one century and 12 half-centuries. In 11 Tests, he could only manage five fifties and a total of 573 runs at 27.28.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
