Roadmap for 2024 T20 World Cup starts now, lot of people will get enough chances: Hardik Pandya
Wellington (PTI): Stand-in T20I skipper Hardik Pandya on Wednesday said the road map for 2024 T20 World Cup starts now, adding that going forward a lot of players will be given chances to stake their claim in the side.
India's 2022 T20 World Cup hopes ended with a 10-wicket defeat against eventual champions England in the semifinals.
Pandya, who will be leading India in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting Friday, said the team needs to overcome from their World Cup failure.
"Yes, we all know there is disappointment of the World Cup but we are professionals and we need to cope with it. How we cope with our success we cope up with our failures and move forward and look forward to get better rectify our mistakes," Pandya told reporters.
The next T20 World Cup will be played in 2024 in the West Indies and United States and the Indian squad is expected to undergo a major transition in the next two years with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among others being gradually eased out of the set up.
"Yes, the next T20 WC is almost two years so we have time (to unearth new talent). A lot of cricket will be played and a lot of people will get enough chances.
"The road map starts from now. But it's too fresh right now. We have a lot of time so we will sit down and have conversations on those grounds," Pandya said.
"Right now it's making sure that the boys enjoy playing here. We will talk about the future later," he added.
The white-ball tour of New Zealand that includes three T20Is and as many ODIs will not feature Kohli, Rohit, opener KL Rahul, keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as all have been rested as part of "workload management of players".
In their absence, the likes of Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been given a chance and Pandya says it will be an important series for them in the grand scheme of things.
"The main boys are not here but the same time the talent which the guys who are already here, they have also been playing for one and-a-half, two years now," he said.
"They have had ample chances and enough time in international cricket to express themselves and show what they have. Very excited for them, new bunch of guys, new energy and excitement.
"Every series is important. You can't play an international game thinking its not important. Yes World Cup is there but that's a different format, it's 50 overs.
"But it is an important series for a lot of boys who if they eventually do well here will be able to put a strong case going forward."
We don't need to prove anything to anyone
In a scathing column after the semifinal loss, former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote that India has achieved absolutely nothing since winning the ODI World Cup at home in 2011 and has been the most under-performing white-ball team in the history.
Asked about Vaughan's remarks, the all-rounder said, "I don't think we need to prove anything to anyone.
"Obviously when you don't do well, people will have their opinion, which we respect. I understand people have different point of views," Pandya said.
"Being at the international level, I don't think we need to prove anything to anyone. It's a sport, you keep trying to get better and eventually when the result is supposed to happen it will happen.
"There are things we need to work on, going forward we will rectify and work on it," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress not just removed clothes at AI Summit but exposed its intellectual bankruptcy: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday came down heavily on the Congress for the shirtless protest by its youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit recently, saying the opposition party can tear as many clothes as it wants, but his government will continue to work for the country's progress.
Addressing the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Modi also said that the Congress did not just remove its clothes in front of foreign guests but also exposed its intellectual bankruptcy, asserting that the millennials have already taught the country's oldest party a lesson, and now Gen-Z is ready to do the same.
In an apparent jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said the opposition was unhappy seeing the statue of "Babbar Shers" (lions) installed atop the new Parliament building, but their own “Babbar Shers" were running away after facing the "shoes" of the general public.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had said on February 24 that he was proud of the "Babbar Shers" of the Indian Youth Congress, who "fearlessly" raised their voice at the AI Summit.
"Congress ke Babbar Sher logon ki jute kha ke bhaag gaye (The 'lions' of Congress ran away after being hit by shoes by the public)," Modi said.
The prime minister was apparently referring to the protesting Youth Congress workers being heckled by some people at the AI Summit.
On February 20, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue in Delhi by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with anti-government slogans, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.
“Congress can tear as many clothes as it wants, but we will continue to work for India's development. Congress not just shed clothes at the AI Summit, it also exposed its incapabilities in front of foreign guests,” Modi said in his nearly 45-minute speech.
He said the AI Summit was a moment of pride for the entire nation, but unfortunately, Congress attempted to tarnish this national celebration.
"When the frustration and despair of failure weigh on the mind, and arrogance makes one's head spin, such a mindset emerges to defame the country," he said.
The prime minister also alleged that the Congress always takes refuge in Mahatma Gandhi to hide its failures, but tries to give credit to one family for anything good.
"People of our country welcomed every good step taken by our government, but the Congress only knows how to oppose everything. The votes of Congress are not stolen; rather, people do not consider Congress worthy of their votes. Millennials first taught a lesson to Congress, now Gen-Z is ready to do the same," he said.
Modi also said that in a democracy, the role of the opposition is not just about blindly opposing every move of the government, but presenting an alternative vision, and that is why the "enlightened public" of the country is "teaching a lesson" to Congress now.
In 1984, the Congress got 39 per cent of the votes and more than 400 seats. But its votes declined consistently in the subsequent elections, Modi said.
"Today, the condition of the Congress is such that it has more than 50 MLAs in just four states. Over the past 40 years, the number of young voters in the country has increased, but the Congress has clearly diminished," Modi said.
On the recent trade deals that India signed with foreign countries, Modi said the country has discovered its inherent strength and strengthened its institutions, which prompted developed nations to come forward and sign deals with India.
He also said that even after Independence, some people ensured that the colonial mindset remained for their own benefits.
"No country would have done trade deals with us had we not discovered our inherent strength and strengthened our institutions. Because of this, developed nations have come forward to sign trade deals (with India)," he said.
Modi also said that even after Independence, India was unable to break free from the mentality of slavery, for which the country is still paying the price.
"The latest example of this can be seen in the ongoing discussions on trade deals. Some people are shocked – ‘what has happened, how did this happen? Why are developed countries so eager to do trade deals with India?’ The answer is – a confident India is emerging from despair and frustration," he said.
Over the long span of history, centuries of slavery had instilled a feeling of inferiority, while the ideology imported from other countries deeply ingrained in society the notion that Indians were uneducated and subservient, the prime minister said.
"If the country was still mired in the despair of the pre-2014 era, counted among the 'Fragile Five', and gripped by policy paralysis, who would strike a trade deal with us?
"Over the past 11 years, a new surge of energy has flowed into the nation's consciousness. India is now striving to reclaim its lost potential," Modi said.
The prime minister also said that due to the recent series of reforms initiated by his government, the world's most powerful nations are now coming forward to sign trade deals with India.
"There was a time when India was only a consumer of new technology. But now we are not just developing them, but also setting standards," he said.
The prime minister also said that India's digital public infrastructure has become a subject of global discussion today, and every move India makes is closely watched and analysed across the world.
"The AI Summit was a clear example of this," he said.
The government's 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' is not a political slogan but an effort to correct the mistakes of the previous Congress governments by making India self-reliant, he said.
“So far, in every industrial revolution, India and the Global South largely remained followers, but in this age of artificial intelligence (AI), India is not only participating but is also shaping it. India now has its own AI startup ecosystem,” Modi said.
He also said the world is astonished that India, where around 30 million families lived in darkness until 2014, has now risen to become one of the top countries in solar power capacity.
India, where many cities had no hope of improving their public transport system, has now become the country with the world's third-largest Metro network, Modi said.
“The Indian Railways was known only for chronic delays and sluggish speeds, yet semi-high-speed connectivity like Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat has now become possible,” he said.
Nation-building never happens through short-term thinking; it is shaped by a long-term vision, patience and timely decisions, the prime minister added.
