New T20 captain Hardik Pandya meets HM Amit Shah ahead of Sri Lanka series
New Delhi, Dec 31: Three days before he starts a new journey as India's full-time T20 captain, Hardik Pandya met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence here on Saturday.
The 27-year-old flamboyant Baroda all-rounder, who was made captain for the upcoming three-match T20I Sri Lanka home series beginning January 3, was accompanied by his cricketer brother Krunal.
"Thank you for inviting us to spend invaluable time with you Honourable Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji. It was an honour and privilege to meet you," Hardik posted on twitter with photos of him and his brother talking to Shah.
The Pandya-led side features fresh faces with seniors in Virat Kohli and KL Rahul not part of the T20I format and it is likely that Rohit Sharma may not be picked again keeping the 2024 World Cup in mind.
Pandya is also named as Rohit's deputy in the three-match ODI series that will follow the T20Is. Rohit is currently recovering from a finger injury.
Thank you for inviting us to spend invaluable time with you Honourable Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji. It was an honour and privilege to meet you. 😊 pic.twitter.com/KbDwF1gY5k
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) December 31, 2022
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Hampi temple bans bananas to prevent overfeeding of elephant
Hampi: A 7th-century shrine of Lord Shiva in Hampi has banned bananas in its premises, stating that devotees tend to overfeed the temple elephant as well as litter the place of worship with banana peels.
The management of Virupaksha temple said on Thursday that they decided on the ban for the good of the temple, the elephant as well as the devotees.
"We saw that the devotees get overzealous in their attempts to feed the elephant, which is not only harmful to the elephant concerned, but it also makes the place very dirty. The devotees leave behind banana peels and even the plastic bags that they bring the bananas in," said Hanaumantappa, temple endowment officer, to PTI.
The temple authorities also said ever since the reports of the ban came out, they have been getting a lot of calls asking about the ban.
Hanaumantappa appealed to people not to take the banana ban out of context and make it into a controversy.
"This is a local matter. We made the decision based purely on what was happening inside our temple premises," added Hanaumantappa.
Virupaksha temple is often referred to as 'Dakshin Kashi' and it sees at least 5,000 devotees every day. On special days and weekends, the crowd surges further, reaching even 50,000 a day, said sources from the temple.
