Indian umpire Nitin Menon set for Test debut
Mumbai: India's Nitin Menon will make his Test debut after being appointed as an on-field umpire for the upcoming Test match between Afghanistan and West Indies to be held in Dehradun from November 27.
According to the BCCI, Nitin is the son of former international umpire Narendra Menon and followed his father's footsteps and became a state panel umpire for Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association in 2005.
Nitin, who has represented Madhya Pradesh in U-16, U-19, U-23 and List A matches, cleared the All India Umpiring Exam conducted by the BCCI in 2006 and started officiating in domestic matches from the 2007-08 season.
Apart from 57 first-class games, Nitin has also officiated in 22 One Day Internationals, nine T20 Internationals and 40 IPL matches. An elated Nitin, whose ultimate goal is to become an ICC Elite Panel Umpire thanked BCCI for the support and faith shown in him.
"The reason behind my smooth transition to international cricket is mainly because of the robust, competitive and professional structure of the BCCI domestic matches," he was quoted as saying by the BCCI.
He added that the Umpires Exchange Program helped him in his overall growth as a match official.
"The experience that I gained from officiating in our domestic tournaments and the opportunity given to me by the BCCI for officiating in the IPL as well as in first class matches in Australia, England and South Africa as part of Umpires Exchange Program has helped me in my development as an umpire," Nitin said.
"I am happy to repay the trust shown in me and looking forward to facing the new challenges of Test cricket so that I can achieve my goal of becoming an ICC Elite Panel Umpire," he added.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
