Rishabh Pant re-enters top 10; Rohit, Kohli slip in ICC Test batting rankings
Dubai, Sep 25: Riding on a sensational century in his Test comeback, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant on Wednesday re-entered the ICC rankings at an impressive sixth position but India skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli slipped in a major shake-up in standings.
Pant (731), who smashed a stunning century in the opening game of the two-Test series against Bangladesh in Chennai, was placed sixth, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (751), moved up to fifth thanks to a half-century in the first innings of the Test match.
India skipper Rohit Sharma retained his place in the top ten, though he moved down five places with two underwhelming scores. He has 716 rating points.
Kohli also dropped five spots to go out of the top-10 and he is now placed 12th in the standings.
The Sri Lanka-New Zealand Test in Galle brought about top 10 bowling rankings shifts, with Prabath Jayasuriya solidifying his reputation as one of the game's best spinners, moving five spots into eighth after a nine-wicket haul.
Jayasuriya (743) is the highest-ranked player representing Sri Lanka across the three disciplines, moving past Asitha Fernando, who slid down two spots to 13th (700).
Kamindu Mendis, who moved up three spots to 16th in the batting rankings and Dhananjaya de Silva, who climbed five spots to 18th on the All-Rounder Rankings (168) were other movers over note in the victory.
In ODI rankings, young Afghan star Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Australian Travis Head leapt into the top 10 in the Batting rankings, thanks to quick-fire hundreds in action across UAE and England.
Gurbaz continued his dream career start in ODI cricket, hitting his seventh century in the format before his 23rd birthday, and moving 10 spots in the process up to eighth (692) to become the first-ever Afghan batter to reach the top 10 positions of the ICC Men's ODI Batting Ranking.
The previous best performer from the Asian country in the ODI Batting Rankings was Ibrahim Zadran, who had reached the 12th rank.
Gurbaz edged Head, who moved seven spots to ninth (684) in large part thanks to his 154 not out (129) in the first of five ODIs against rivals England.
Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan joined Rahmanullah in the rankings headlines, moving eight spots to third (668) in the ODI Bowling Rankings, claiming seven wickets across the team's two victories against South Africa in UAE.
The contributions of the pair helped Afghanistan to an ODI series win over the Proteas, their first against a top five-ranked opposition in their history.
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Days after teen dies in freak accident on basketball court, police lodge FIR on family's complaint
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana Police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons based on a complaint lodged by the family of a teenage basketball player, who died after the iron pole of a basketball hoop fell on him during practice in Rohtak district last month, an official said on Sunday.
The family of Hardik Rathi, who competed in the sub-junior national championships earlier, filed the complaint on Saturday, a police officer in Rohtak said.
His father has alleged criminal negligence by the officials concerned in the matter, pointing out that nothing was done despite bringing the "rusted, dilapidated, and unstable" basketball poles to the authorities notice.
Sandeep Rathi said he has alleged criminal negligence by public servants and contractors associated with the incident which caused his son’s death.
"Hardik's father filed a complaint on Saturday and based on that, an FIR has been lodged against unknown persons under the Section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," Lakhanmajra Station House Officer (SHO) Samarjeet Singh said.
"The complaint seeks action against anyone whose negligence led to the incident," he added.
Hardik and another teen died in eerily similar accidents in Haryana last month after the iron pole of the hoop crushed them on court during practice.
The twin tragedies in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts brought the state's sports infrastructure under scrutiny.
While 16-year-old Hardik died in Rohtak, Aman, 15, who was injured in Bahadurgarh, breathed his last during treatment at PGIMS Rohtak.
Hardik's father, Sandeep Rathi, had told mediapersons in Rohtak recently, "We repeatedly complained about the condition of the playground in our village, but the administration did nothing about it. Had they acted in time, my child would not have died."
The complainant has alleged that his son died in the incident while he was practicing at the basketball court at the Lakhan Majra Sports Stadium.
He said that Hardik Rathi was a national-level basketball player and had participated in several tournaments.
Sandeep Rathi further alleged that the basketball court at the stadium needed repairs as the poles were "rusted, dilapidated, and unstable" and claimed that several requests were made for this.
A grant of more than Rs 12 lakh was approved from the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD) funds of the local MP, but no work was done on the basketball court. Subsequently, an additional grant of Rs 6.20 lakh was also approved under the fund, but no work was done, he alleged.
In the complaint he said due to the "deliberate negligence" of the officials concerned in the discharge of their duties, a basketball pole fell on his son, causing fatal injuries, leading to his death on November 25.
He demanded that the role of the contractor who installed the poles at the basketball court in the sports stadium and the government officials who supervised the installation should also be investigated.
"...All public servants and contractors who installed the substandard poles and who deliberately failed to perform their duties of periodically inspecting and repairing the poles are responsible for criminal negligence in causing my son's death through their actions and conduct and have therefore committed offences punishable under the law...", he alleged.
In Bahadurgarh, Aman's father Suresh recently lodged a police complaint alleging negligence on the part of the officials concerned for the teen's death. He also sought action against the officials responsible.
The twin incidents led to an outrage in Haryana, with opposition parties slamming the BJP government and anguished family members joining them in blaming the establishment for the dilapidated sports infrastructure in the state.
After the tragic incidents, Haryana Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam said that departments maintaining sportsgrounds, such as education, panchayat, etc., must give an undertaking on their worthiness.
The sports minister also chaired a review meeting with the sports department officials in Panchkula, where he said that Rs 114 crore has been released for the repair, upgradation, and redevelopment of stadiums and playgrounds across the state.
Additionally, a major portion of the funds available with the district sports councils will be used to extensively renovate the playgrounds, Gautam had said.
