Many seniors players will not play T20 format next year, transition will kick off: Source
Adelaide (PTI): India's T20 squad will undergo a major transition in the next 24 months because senior players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin will be gradually eased out, BCCI sources said on Thursday.
While it appears that Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik have played their last games in the shortest format, the BCCI will leave it on Kohli and Rohit to decide on their T20I future.
After team's humiliating defeat in the T20 World Cup semifinal, a visibly upset Rohit was consoled by head coach Rahul Dravid, who fronted the media after the match.
The next T20 World Cup is still two years away and if those privy to developments are to be believed, there will be a brand new team in place with Hardik Pandya being the long-term captaincy choice.
"The BCCI never asks anyone to retire. It is an individual decision. But yes, with just a handful of T20Is scheduled in 2023, most of the seniors will concentrate on ODIs and Test matches in that cycle," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"You don't need to announce retirement if you don't want to. You will not see most of the seniors playing T20 next year," the source added.
However, Dravid said it's too early to talk about transition when PTI asked him about future of senior players like Kohli and Rohit.
"It's too early to talk about it right now just after a semi-final game. These guys have been terrific performers for us. Like you said, we have a couple of years to reflect on it," Dravid said.
While some of the players have been contemporary greats of the game, Dravid doesn't want anyone to write them off in haste.
"There are some really good quality players here, so absolutely not the right time to talk about this stuff or think about this stuff right now.
"We'll have enough games, enough matches as we go on ahead, and India will try and build and prepare for the next World Cup, the head coach added.
It is understood that for the next one year, the T20Is will take a back seat as India play at least 25 ODIs, going into next year's 50-over World Cup at home.
A look at India's FTP calendar shows that till the 50-over World Cup, the team will play only 12 T20Is in form of bilateral events (home and away), starting with three games in New Zealand next week.
With Shubman Gill included in the side and Rishabh Pant (vice-captain for tour) also a keen opener, the grammar of Powerplay batting might change.
Not to forget a phenomenally talented Prithvi Shaw, who has been repeatedly ignored in Dravid's stint as coach.
Rohit and Kohli are huge names and the BCCI is likely to leave it up to them to decide about charting the course for the next phase of their careers.
Rohit is 35 now and in two years at the age of 37, he is not expected to lead a T20I team in a global meet.
In case of Karthik's role as designated finisher, it was a short-term arrangement keeping in mind the T20 World Cup.
As far as Ashwin is concerned, there was no serious threat perception in minds of the opposition batters during the entire tournament. Three of his six wickets in six games came in the Zimbabwe match and an economy rate of 8.15 was nothing to write home about.
Washington Sundar, who before his plethora of injuries had cemented his place, will now get a longer rope.
The only tricky call will be on KL Rahul, whose strike-rate of 120.75 was a reflection of everything that was wrong with Indian team.
He is the only opener among top teams, who has played two maiden overs and has failed to get into double digits against any top side (4 vs Pakistan, 9 vs SA, 9 vs England) in big games.
Rahul has failed to change his game despite a lot of criticism and his non-performance has been so glaring that it will be difficult to ignore when the selectors meet to pick team for a T20 series against Sri Lanka.
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.
HC to decide if gram panchayat members can continue in Manipur post tenure: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday said the high court would decide whether the elected gram panchayat members, whose five-year tenure was over in Manipur, were entitled to continue in their posts in the event of the appointment of an administrative committee or an administrator.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said it would like to have the benefit of the view of the high court in the matter and set a three-month time frame to adjudicate the legal question.
"The question that falls for consideration in this case is that whether the elected member of the Gram Panchayat whose five-year tenure is over was entitled to continue as members of the gram panchayat in the event of appointment of administrative committee or administrator, as contemplated under Section 22 of the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act of 1994," the bench noted.
The Manipur government’s counsel said the state could not hold panchayat elections due to the unprecedented violence.
"Since, we would like to have the advantage of the opinion of the high court, we dispose of the special leave petition without expressing any opinion on merits, with the request to the chief justice of Manipur High Court to post the main case before a division bench at the earliest. We further request the division bench, before whom the matter is listed, to provide expeditious hearing with an endeavour to resolve the controversy within three months," the bench said.
The bench noted that provision of Manipur Panchayati Raj Act was amended to substitute the word "cease" with the word "continue" with respect to the tenure of the elected members of the gram panchayat.
The petitioners have challenged a high court order and submitted that since elections in gram panchayat could not be held in Manipur for various reasons, the previously elected members of the panchayat were entitled to continue as per the amended Section 22 (3) of 1994 Act.
Section 22 deals with the power of deputy commissioner to appoint an administrative committee or an administrator for a period of six months, which will then oversee the election.
Section 22 (3) of the law says once the administrative committee or an administrator is appointed by the deputy commissioner, the elected members of earlier gram panchayat shall cease to exist.
The top court said what has been challenged before it was an interlocutory order of the high court and the main petition in which the question of law that had been raised was still pending.
The original petitioners before the high court were elected representatives at the fifth general elections for gram panchayats and the zilla parishads who sought a direction to continue in the office beyond the period of five years as stipulated by law as elections were last held in 2017.
They sought to continue as panchayat members till the time the state election commission notified the election for the sixth general elections for gram panchayats and zilla parishads.
On February 29, last year, the high court in its interim order gave liberty to Manipur government to appoint an administrative committee for each gram panchayat and zilla parishad in accordance with law and the provision of the Act.
