Hardik Pandya named captain of T20I squad vs Lanka; Rohit Sharma returns as captain in ODIs
New Delhi, Dec 27: The transition phase in Indian cricket kick-started on Tuesday with premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya being named captain of the T20 side for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka starting January 3.
The 27-year-old Baroda man has also been named as the vice-captain of the ODI squad, indicating current regime's plans to see him as long-term white ball leader once 35-year-old Rohit Sharma decides to call time on his illustrious international career.
While Rohit, recuperating from a finger injury was named captain of the ODI series which is to follow the T20Is, it is understandable that the shortest format will now feature fresh faces and primarily IPL performers.
Even Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are also not part of the T20I format and there is an indication that the duo along with Rohit might not be picked again keeping the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.
The troika will probably be asked to concentrate on 50-over format with a World Cup set to be played in India next year.
"Yes, there will be no official announcement that Rohit has been removed from T20I captaincy but he along with Kohli and Rahul will be phased out from the format. Obviously, Rohit's dislocated thumb injury hasn't completely healed although he has started training. But phasing out has indeed started," a senior BCCI source privy to development told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Suryakumar Yadav, for his mindblowing one year, is now the new vice-captain in T20Is.
Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to IPL triumph during the last edition was touted as Rohit's replacement after India lost to England in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup playing archaic cricket.
While Rohit is still recovering from thumb dislocation, the BCCI press release doesn't state if it is a permanent change or just for one series.
The T20I team has a fresh look with two uncapped pacers Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar being inducted into the shortest format.
Mavi was picked by Titans for Rs 6 crore, while Bengal's Mukesh was snapped by Delhi Capitals for Rs 5.50 crore.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi, two powerhouse IPL performers, made it to the T20 side.
The ODI side boasts of a more experienced look with Mohammed Shami coming back from shoulder injury.
Pant heads for NCA
Rishabh Pant is not a part of both the white-ball squads and it is understood that he has been asked to report at the NCA for a knee strengthening rehabilitation programme for two weeks. Hence, he will miss the entire Sri Lanka series.
But BCCI's statement doesn't mention whether he has been rested or dropped.
End of road for Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan, one of India's contemporary white ball greats, has perhaps played his last match for the country after a prolonged bad patch which finds him ousted from the national ODI set-up.
Ironically, even one series before Bangladesh, he was leading the side in New Zealand but his dismal drop in scoring rate and also not being able to string a series of consistent scores have gone against him.
Rohit being a white-ball giant and Shubman Gill in prime ODI form with Ishan Kishan hitting fastest double hundred less than a month back, India have multiple options and can look beyond Dhawan.
As reported by PTI on December 11, Dhawan has now been predictably dropped and possibly it is the end of the road for one India's star performers at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and 2015 World Cup, where he was the highest scorer.
India's squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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