India pacer Harshit Rana ruled out of T20 World Cup; Siraj to come in: BCCI sources
Mumbai (PTI): Young India speedster Harshit Rana was on Friday ruled out of the T20 World Cup because of a knee injury sustained in a warm-up game here with skipper Suryakumar Yadav admitting that he was "not looking good".
Fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj has been drafted in to replace Rana in the squad, according to reliable BCCI sources.
Earlier, Suryakumar's admission was indication enough that head coach Gautam Gambhir's 24-year-old protege was unlikely to recover in time to play any of the matches, starting with the lung-opener against the USA on Saturday.
"Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet, the physios are assessing him but he does not look good," Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference here on Friday.
The Indian captain, however, tried to make light of the setback.
"Don't worry, we have 11 players for tomorrow. But it obviously would be a big blow because you make a squad of 15 after a lot of thought and he was included after some thought process," said Suryakumar.
"But if he is not available going forward, we will then set different combinations. We have enough players and combinations against all teams that we can have for this tournament but if we miss him (for not being available), we will definitely miss him," he added.
Rana could bowl only one over in the warm-up game against South Africa in which he conceded 16 runs and then hobbled off the field with a knee injury.
Although Rana is not a first eleven certainty with an economy rate of 10.60 in nine T20Is, he certainly would have been a handy inclusion in specific conditions. He is also a useful lower-order hitter.
In place of Rana, the pacers who could be in contention are Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj among the experienced ones.
All-rounder Washington Sundar is already looking doubtful with a side strain and rib muscle tear.
"We will see which (other) fast bowlers have done really well for the last one or two years or if there is any bowler who can bat as well," Suryakumar said of available options.
"But there is no hard and fast rule that he can bat, because if you are expecting someone at No.9 or No.10 to come out and hit a six, then what are the other eight (players) doing before him? We will see, we do have a few options but we will pick the best one," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
