Gujarat Titans retain Hardik Pandya as captain for IPL 2024; details here
New Delhi, Nov 26: Gujarat Titans on Sunday retained premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya as their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, amid speculations that he could join Mumbai Indians ahead of the December 19 auction.
Pandya had joined Gujarat Titans as their captain in 2022 and led them to title in the maiden season itself, besides guiding them to the IPL 2023 final, where they lost to the Chennai Super Kings.
Speculations were rife that Pandya could rejoin Mumbai Indians, ending his two-year association with the Titans ahead of the IPL 2024.
It was expected to be an all-cash trade with Mumbai but in the end Pandya and the Titans found a way out to continue their journey together, at least for now.
While the Mumbai side named Rohit Sharma as their captain for IPL 2024, England pacer Jofra Archer has been released.
Archer is still recuperating from an elbow surgery.
List of Retained and Released players of IPL teams:
1. Mumbai Indians: Retained: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Dewald Brevis, SKY, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Cam Green, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd (trade).
Released: Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier.
2. Gujarat Titans: Retained: Hardik Pandya (Captain), David Miller, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma.
Released: Yash Dayal, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Pradeep Sangwan, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka.
3. Lucknow Supergiants: Retained: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Released: Daniel Sams, Karun Nair, Jaydev Unadkat, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Swapnil Singh, Arpit Guleria.
Traded out: Romario Shepherd, Avesh Khan.
Traded in: Devdutt Padikkal.
4. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed (traded from RCB), Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Fazahaq Farooqi.
Released: Harry Brook, Samarth Vyas, Kartik Tyagi, Vivrant Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Adil Rashid.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders: Retained: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy. Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell,Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
Released: Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, David Wiese, Arya Desai, N Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Johnson Charles.
6. Chennai Super Kings: Retained: MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway (wk), Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana.
Released: Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorius, Ambati Rayudu, Sisanda Magala, Kyle Jamieson, Bhagath Varma, Senapati and Akash Singh.
7. Delhi Captails: Retained: Rishabh Pant, David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Abishek Porel, Lalit Yadav, Yash Dhull, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Khaleel Ahmed.
Released: Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Aman Khan, Priyam Garg, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Phil Salt, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
8. Rajasthan Royals: Retained: Sanju Samson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Avesh Khan (traded from LSG), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma
, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Kunal Singh Rathore, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira.
Released: Devdutt Padikkal (traded to LSG), Murugan Ashwin, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Akash Vashisht, Abdul Bazith, Kuldip Yadav, Joe Root, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy.
9. Royal Challengers Bangalore: Retained: Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (trade), Vyshak Vijaykumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar.
Released: Wanindu Hasarangha, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jhadav.
10. Punjab Kings: Retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Matthew Short, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa.
Released: Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mohit Rathee, Baltej Dhanda, Raj Angad Bawa, Shahrukh Khan.
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Karnataka's 2024 punctuated with bomb blast, murders, suicides
Bengaluru (PTI): The bomb blast at Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1 here stood out for Karnataka in a year that saw its share of twists in the script, particularly with weather and politics.
Initially, it was thought the blast at the popular eatery's Whitefield branch was caused by a gas leak. But it turned out to be an improvised explosive device (IED) blast, which injured at least eight people. By March 4, the National Investigation Agency took over the case, arresting two suspects.
Year 2024 also saw an acute dry spell in several parts of Karnataka. But the water crisis was more severe in Bengaluru. This was followed by a very wet rainy season that resulted in devastating floods and landslides, particularly in the coastal parts and Western Ghats of Karnataka. The state witnessed 46 landslides in 2024, causing 12 related deaths, according to official figures.
Politically, too, the mood swung both ways, with BJP walking away with a lion's share of votes in the Lok Sabha elections in April, although its seats slipped from 25 in 2019 to 17. However, months later, in November, the ruling Congress swept all three Assembly by-polls that came as a relief to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who otherwise had a challenging year, having to weather the Valmiki and MUDA 'scams.'
As is wont, politicians kept 2024 really busy. The most deeply felt news in Karnataka was perhaps the death of former Chief Minister and the man who transformed Bengaluru into a global hub, S M Krishna, on December 10. People poured their hearts out in obituaries, bringing out his multi-faceted personality.
As for getting a rap, the top rung netas made it to the news.
If Siddaramaiah was caught in a "resign now" turmoil first over the Valmiki 'scam' and then over the controversy surrounding the MUDA site allotment, former CM B S Yediyurappa was issued a non-bailable warrant in a POCSO case.
But it was former JD (S) MP Prajwal Revanna who stirred up the biggest controversy. Cases of sexual abuse involving Prajwal shocked the entire nation when pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving him were circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Revanna was arrested by the SIT on May 31 upon arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany and is being tried in the Karnataka High Court.
The Valmiki 'scam' came to light when the superintendent of Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation died of suicide, leaving behind a purported note alleging Rs 85 crore embezzlement.
The alleged irregularities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) over allotment of residential sites involved Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi. She, it was alleged, was allotted 14 sites in an upmarket residential area in the 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of her 3 acres 16 guntas of land. She later returned them.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa faced the heat when a woman filed a complaint in Bengaluru’s Sadashivanagar Police Station, alleging the BJP veteran sexually assaulted her minor daughter.
What is politics without its intrigues? This year too saw its share and the one that stood out was the alleged tussle for the CM post by Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar. Although assured often by Shivakuma that the CM will complete a full term of five years, the rumours refuse to die down.
In a plot twist, Kannada film industry's most talked about actor in 2024 was a murder suspect. Actor Darshan was arrested for allegedly murdering his fan, 33-year-old Renukaswamy on June 11, along with his friend, actor Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others. But on December 13, the actor – and the others – were given bail, and his fans celebrated it with the same fervour as his film releases.
But as murders go, this year the murder of 29-year-old Mahalakshmi on September 21, whose body was chopped into 30 pieces – in some accounts even 59 pieces – and stacked in her refrigerator, was easily one of the most gruesome.
She was allegedly strangled by her boyfriend, who later dismembered her body. The 30-year-old Mukti Ranjan Rai then went to his native town in Odissa and took his life, leaving behind a suicide note confessing to his crime. His body was found four days after Mahalakshmi's.
Another death that had the whole country debating was that of 34-year-old software engineer Atul Subhash.
He too died of suicide on December 9, leaving behind a detailed 24-page suicide note and an 81-minute video that some men hail as manifesto for men's rights.
The case also threw spotlight on how dowry law was allegedly being misused by some women to harass their husbands. Incidentally, his wife Nikita Singhania, her mother and brother were arrested on December 14.
The gruesome accident of a CEO and his family of five on December 22 too caught the attention of the entire nation. That Chandram Yegapagol, 48, was driving 'responsibly' a new four-wheeler of a brand known for being a 'safe car', triggered another debate on lack of road safety in the country.
The Karnataka legislature passed a law in February mandating all name boards of commercial establishments to have 60 per cent Kannada language component.
