KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
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.
IAS officer row: Congress urges President Murmu not to accept resignation
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday urged President Droupadi Murmu not to accept the "technical resignation" of IAS officer Rinkoo Singh Rahee and demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government be directed to provide work to the officer who has sought return to his parent Provincial Civil Services, citing prolonged lack of work.
Congress SC Department chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam said that even today, when a Dalit youth works hard to become an IAS-PCS officer, he or she has to face harassment.
"The situation becomes such that the officers are forced to resign from their job. One such officer is Rinkoo Singh Rahee Ji. When Rinkoo Singh Ji was a PCS officer, he exposed a scam in which crores of rupees had been embezzled. At that time, a murderous attack was carried out on him, and he was shot," Gautam said at a press conference.
"Look at the spirit of national service: Rinkoo Ji recovered and returned, becoming an IAS officer, but he continued to be punished for his honesty and kept being transferred repeatedly. Now the situation is that for the past eight months, he hasn't been assigned any work at all; no important or key position has been given to him. In such a situation, Rinkoo Ji refused to accept his salary and submitted a technical resignation," he said.
Is there no need for such honest officers in the country, the Congress leader asked.
"Will any officer be punished for being a Dalit?" he said.
"I demand from the Honourable President of the country that the technical resignation of IAS Rinkoo Singh Rahee Ji should not be accepted. At the same time, the UP government should be directed to provide work to him," Gautam said.
Rahee, currently attached to the Board of Revenue in Lucknow, has written to the President requesting repatriation to PCS, stating that he has remained without any defined responsibilities for around eight months.
When asked about his step, Rahee told PTI that his move should not be construed as an attempt to exit public service, emphasising that it was a procedural step.
"I am not talking about quitting the system. It is a technical resignation only. I consider the constitutional system to be good; if there are some shortcomings, they can be amended," he said.
Rahee also dismissed suggestions of personal distress or harassment, stating, "I have no personal issues. I am not personally harassed, not in depression, I have already faced the worst."
In his letter to the President dated March 26, Rahee has sought permission to tender a technical resignation from the IAS, citing moral dilemma over continuing in service without substantive responsibilities while drawing salary and benefits.
He stated that his adherence to constitutional values and an accountability-driven work approach had led to a sense of "unsuitability" within the prevailing administrative system.
