No question of replacing Virat Kohli as captain: RCB team director Mike Hesson
Bengaluru, Sep 19: Virat Kohli's record as the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper might have been below-par but the team's newly-appointed Director of Cricket Mike Hesson ruled out any change in leadership for the under-performing franchise in the next IPL edition.
Despite stars like Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle (for better part), RCB has not won the IPL since the event's inception. Kohli has led the team in seven of those seasons.
Hesson nipped questions on Kohli controlling the team and change in captaincy in the bud.
"We don't have that perception that Virat controls things. But may be he has had his learnings from the past (mistakes) while moving forward," Hesson said during a media interaction on Thursday.
Hesson said Kohli has been on the same page as him and chief coach Simon Katich.
"There has been no question mark over Virat's captaincy during last couple of weeks (of discussions)," Hesson clarified.
"...we have been very much aligned and he has been more than happy to take our advice from our experience," the former New Zealand coach added.
RCB's questionable recruitment has come in for a lot of criticism but Hesson assured that this time they are looking at specific players and not hundreds of options.
"There will be big focus on recruitment. Once auction gets completed, the work starts then, not a week before the tournament starts. We would have clarity in roles that players need to perform," he said.
On recruitment of domestic players, Hesson said there are specific players they would be looking at and not just statistical highlights during the Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare Trophy.
"During Vijay Hazare and Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we would like to see players we want to fit in. It's more about finding out how players build context around performance, conditions and pressure situations," he said.
Hesson also agreed that the team needs to consider consistent performances and not one odd innings before selecting players.
"Form is a factor but we need to be more holistic in terms of how we talent scout. We look at four-year period as then they are ready to deliver when put under the pump. It doesn't happen after one good season," he said.
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Momo seller dies by suicide in Jalpaiguri after name omitted from voters’ list
Jalpaiguri (WB): A momo vendor in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town died by suicide on Tuesday, with family members alleging that he had been distressed after his name was removed from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
According to IANS the deceased is identified as Gouranga De, who lived in a rented house with his wife and their son, under Ward 11. Police discovered the body on Tuesday morning and sent it for post-mortem.
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According to his family, De had been casting his vote for nearly four decades and they said his name did not appear in the 2002 voter list. De was subsequently called for a hearing during the recent revision process. Family members stated that he submitted the documents and information available with him at the time.
After the final electoral roll was published on February 27, De’s name was found to have been omitted, with “deleted” marked against it. His relatives and neighbours said he had been anxious since learning about the removal.
His landlord said De repeatedly expressed concern about what would happen to him after his name was struck off the list. “He was worried ever since his name was removed. He kept asking what would happen to him. The body was recovered this morning and now what will happen to this family?” he said.
De’s wife told local reporters that he did not have parents or grandparents and was therefore unable to furnish additional supporting details beyond the documents he had already submitted during the SIR hearing. She said the omission left him deeply upset.
Chairman of Jalpaiguri Municipality, Saikat Chatterjee, visited the family after receiving information about the incident, terming it unfortunate and called for accountability.. He was quoted by The News Minute as saying that De had approached him after finding his name missing from the list. Chatterjee had assisted him in submitting Form 6 online.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
