Never seen the ball go out of shape this much: Rishabh Pant
London, Jul 9 (PTI): India vice-captain Rishabh Pant on Wednesday slammed the quality of the Dukes ball being used in the ongoing Test series against England, saying he has never seen the red cherry go out of shape to this extent.
Players approaching umpires to change balls has been a regular feature in the series with Dukes losing shape.
The bowlers are not getting any help from the ball after it gets softer, confining the batter-bowler contest to the new ball.
Ahead of the Lord's Test, starting Thursday, Pant said the ball has become a big problem and it is not good for the game.
"The gauge (to measure the balls) should be the same (whether its Dukes or Kookaburra. But it would be better if it was smaller (laughs). The balls are giving so much trouble. Definitely, I feel it's a big problem. Because the ball is getting out of shape," said Pant.
"What I've seen, the ball is getting de shaped too much. That has never happened like this to me. It's definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays differently because when it becomes softer, sometimes it's not doing too much. But as soon as it changes the ball, it's starting to do enough.
"As a batsman, you've got a keep on adjusting to it. But at the same time, I feel it's not good for cricket anyway," said the explosive batter.
India opted for two spinners and three pacers for the Edgbaston Test which they won by 336 runs. The Lord's pitch is expected to pose a tougher challenge for the batters. Pant did not confirm whether India would stick to the two spinner formula.
"We will get to know by tomorrow whether it would be 3-1 or 3-2. When you see the wicket two days, sometimes it changes the colour, the moisture will become less also,” said the southpaw.
Captain Shubman Gill had also complained about the ball getting softer after the Edgbaston Test.
On the speculation around the Lord's pitch after two flat tracks, Pant said he is not worried about how the surface would behave.
"Whatever the condition is given to us, we are fine it. We don't want to think about what the opposition is thinking. Are they changing their plan or not?
"See, we were discussing that the wickets will be good in England. Because the way they play cricket, they need a good wicket. So we were thinking how can we get 20 wickets in a good wicket. Shubman Gill was talking about 20 wickets,” said Pant.
He also feels the short turnaround between Edgbaston and Lord’s would help India maintain momentum.
Asked about the return of Jofra Archer to Test cricket after more than four years, Pant said he was happy for the Barbados-born England pacer.
In the field, Pant is among the chirpiest and is constantly advising Gill.
Talking about their relationship, Pant added: "When you have a good camaraderie in the team, it eventually shows on the field and that is exactly what is happening. Hopefully we can do the same thing with our whole team going forward and just make it one big unit."
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Egg-donation racket targeting poor women busted in Maharashtra's Thane; 3 held
Thane (PTI): Police have unearthed an egg-donation racket, suspected to be involving crores of rupees, that repeatedly exploited vulnerable women in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said.
The victims were offered Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per cycle and repeatedly used as egg donors, resulting in physical exploitation. They were taken to IVF centres where the eggs were surgically extracted and sold for lakhs, they said, adding that so far, 20 women are believed to have fallen prey to the racket.
Three women have been arrested in connection with the illegal trade operating out of a residential apartment and a sonography centre at Joveli in Badlapur East, the police officials said on Saturday.
Egg donation is a fertility procedure where a woman provides eggs for another person to conceive, usually via IVF (in vitro fertilisation). The donor undergoes screening and hormone treatment, eggs are retrieved, fertilised, and transferred to the recipient.
The arrested persons have been identified as Sulakshana Gadekar (44), Ashwini Chabukswar (29), and Manjusha Wankhede (46).
Following a tip-off from a victim to Thane Sub-District Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Dr Jyotsna Sawant, a raid was recently conducted at Gadekar’s residence in Nano City building, the police said.
“We recovered photos of injections used in connection with pregnancy, sonography reports, affidavits with false names, fake documents, and evidence of financial transactions on the mobile phones of the accused,” a police official said.
The accused targeted needy women, paying them Rs 25,000 to 30,000 per cycle. The victims were allegedly administered hormonal injections to increase egg production and were repeatedly used as donors, leading to physical exploitation, the official said.
“The process involved injecting the women to stimulate egg production and taking them for sonography. Once the eggs were ready, the victims were sent to IVF centres where the eggs were surgically extracted and sold for lakhs of rupees,” the official added.
Ulhasnagar Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Gore said that more than 20 women might have fallen victim to this racket so far.
“The racket was previously operating in Vangani before shifting to Badlapur recently. We are investigating the involvement of IVF centres, doctors, and hospitals. High-profile names are likely to surface as the turnover of this illegal trade is estimated to be in crores,” Gore said.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, the police added.
