Ishan Kishan returns, Ruturaj Gaikwad named captain of India A team for Australia tour
New Delhi, Oct 21: Ishan Kishan returned to the national set-up as he was on Monday named in a 15-member India A squad, to be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Fresh from his fine hundred against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, Maharashtra's Gaikwad was named captain of the India A team.
India A will play two first-class matches against Australia A in Mackay and Melbourne and then take part in a three-day intra-squad game against the senior India team in Perth.
Apart from Gaikwad, the squad also includes other opening batters like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan, as India will likely need to name a reserve opener in their Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, with captain Rohit Sharma set to miss one of the first two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for personal reasons.
Kishan, who was dropped from the BCCI central contracts earlier this year due to concerns that he was "prioritising" the cash-rich Indian Premier League over domestic cricket, made his return to the India A setup.
Kishan was last part of the India squad during the tour of South Africa in 2023, which he had left midway.
The batter had reportedly taken a personal break which did not go down well with the BCCI.
After the player decided to skip the domestic competitions in the run-up to the IPL, the BCCI dropped him from the central contract.
India A squad for the tour of Australia: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-captain), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (WK), Abishek Porel (WK), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian.
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25 killed, 6 injured in fire at nightclub in Goa
Panaji (PTI): At least 25 persons were killed and six others suffered injuries in a massive fire that erupted at a nightclub in North Goa after midnight on Sunday, police said.
While the police earlier said 23 persons died in the fire, they later confirmed two more deaths.
The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora in North Goa has claimed 25 lives, a police spokesperson said.
The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, he said.
Six persons suffered injuries in the blaze and they are currently undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, near here, the official said.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said.
"The police and fire department are conducting the investigation and legal action is being taken," the official said.
As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
The nightclub, a popular party venue at Arpora village, located around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year.
“We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms,” Sawant said.
“This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state,” Sawant said. “We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.
