India win toss, opt to bat first in opening Test against Australia
Perth (PTI): India captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia here on Friday.
Pacer Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will make debut for India.
For Austraia, opener Nathan McSweeney makes his debut.
The Teams:
India: Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
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Canada rejects allegations linking Modi, Jaishankar to criminal activities
New Delhi: The Canadian government has denied any connection between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities within Canada.
A statement from Nathalie G. Drouin, the national security and intelligence advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, clarified that there is no evidence implicating the Indian leaders. "Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate," the statement read.
The clarification follows a report by The Globe and Mail alleging links between the Indian leadership and the death of NIA-designated terrorist Hardeep Nijjar in Canada. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly refuted the report, labelling it "ludicrous" and dismissing it with "the contempt it deserves."
The MEA reiterated its stance, calling such allegations part of a "smear campaign" that harms already strained diplomatic ties.
This development comes amidst heightened tensions between India and Canada. Prime Minister Trudeau had previously claimed "credible allegations" of India's involvement in Nijjar's killing, which India vehemently denied, describing the accusations as "absurd" and "motivated."
Nijjar, a Khalistani activist, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. Following the incident, India recalled six diplomats after they were declared "persons of interest" by Canadian authorities.
India has consistently expressed concerns over extremism and anti-India activities in Canada, urging the Trudeau government to take appropriate action against such elements.
