Pat Cummins ruled out of T20 World Cup as Australia pick Ben Dwarshuis in 15-men squad
Melbourne (PTI): Australia suffered a huge blow on Saturday as premier pacer Pat Cummins was ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to an injury, forcing the national selectors to pick Ben Dwarshuis in his place in a 15-member squad.
Cummins, 32, has not recovered fully from his lingering back injury and will miss the tournament that begins in India and Sri Lanka on February 7, while top-order batter Matthew Short has also been omitted from the original 15-player squad.
Matthew Renshaw comes in for Short who was listed in the initial provisional squad.
Selector Tony Dodemaide said: "With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late order hitting.
Cummins had initially been named in Australia's provisional squad.
"We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.
"Matt (Renshaw) has impressed in all formats of late, including in multiple roles in white ball formats for Australia, the Queensland Bulls and the Brisbane Heat.".
The trio of Josh Hazlewood, Tim David and Nathan Ellis have cleared the fitness test for the month-long T20 showpiece.
Hazlewood has not played since injuring his hamstring and Achilles prior to the Ashes. David missed most of the BBL and the Pakistan series because of a hamstring injury, while Ellis missed the Big Bash League finals and the Pakistan tour with a hamstring niggle.
"With the top order settled and spin heavy conditions expected in the pool stages in Sri Lanka, we also feel Matt provides extra middle order support, with Tim David completing his return to play program in the early phase of the tournament.
"As a left hander, he (Renshaw) also offers a point of difference to the middle order batting."
Australia is currently playing a three-game T20 Series against Pakistan in Lahore before leaving for Sri Lanka for the pool stages of the World Cup.
The T20 World Cup will be held in venues across India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8..
Australian squad: Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
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Nationality in question: Karnataka HC seeks Bangladesh verification in Bengaluru detainee case
Bengaluru: Uncertainty continues to surround the citizenship status of a 32-year-old Bengaluru resident after the Karnataka High Court directed the state government to verify his antecedents through Bangladeshi authorities, despite official confirmation from West Bengal identifying him as an Indian national.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Rafiqul Biswas, who worked as a school bus driver and scrap dealer, was detained by Bengaluru police in September last year on allegations that he was a Bangladeshi national living illegally in India. The police action was reportedly based on documents, including a birth certificate and an identity paper bearing his photograph, which described him as a citizen of Bangladesh. Biswas’s family has consistently denied the allegation, asserting that he and his parents are natives of West Bengal.
The detention led to a prolonged legal and personal crisis for Biswas and his family. While lodged at a Foreigners Regional Registration Office detention centre, he suffered a cardiac episode and was hospitalised. He reportedly experienced a second heart attack in December and was subsequently released on medical grounds. His family has said he has faced repeated cardiac complications over the past four months, attributing them to stress arising from the case.
Since his release, Biswas has moved out of his earlier residence, citing fear of being targeted and loss of livelihood. Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, he declined to reveal his current location. His teenage daughter said the family had spent several days outside the FRRO office during his detention, carrying documents to prove his Indian citizenship. “My father is from West Bengal. We were born here,” she said.
The family also approached the State Human Rights Commission, alleging that the police had sought a bribe to settle the matter. The police have denied the allegation. Sources in the commission confirmed that the family had appeared before it in connection with the complaint.
Support for Biswas came from the All-India Shramik Swaraj Kendra, a Bengaluru-based organisation working with informal-sector workers. The organisation took up the case after Biswas’s wife sought assistance and later contacted the West Bengal Chief Minister’s Office for verification. Representatives of the organisation said the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Board, in coordination with the Nadia district police, confirmed that Biswas is a resident of West Bengal and forwarded the relevant documents to the Karnataka government.
A lawyer was subsequently engaged to represent Biswas before the Karnataka High Court, where it was argued that a foreigners’ tribunal must first determine an individual’s nationality before any deportation proceedings could be initiated.
In an order passed on January 12, the High Court recorded that government authorities had acknowledged Biswas as a native of West Bengal and observed that the prosecution must produce proof from Bangladesh if it continued to claim that he was a foreign national. Acting on an appeal filed by the FRRO, the court granted the authorities two weeks to seek verification of the documents through Bangladeshi officials and directed the police to explain how papers identifying Biswas as Bangladeshi were obtained.
A senior police officer associated with the case said the detention was carried out based on a letter from State Intelligence describing Biswas as an illegal immigrant, along with documents received through official channels. The officer maintained that the police had followed due procedure and rejected allegations of bribery.
The matter is expected to come up for further hearing in early February.
