Rohit Sharma and Navdeep Saini ruled out of second Test against Bangladesh
Mirpur, Dec 20: India skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the second Test against Bangladesh, starting here on Thursday, as he has not made a full recovery from a thumb injury.
Rohit had flown back to India to see a specialist after injuring his left thumb while fielding in the second ODI against Bangladesh here on December 7.
He is under the care of the BCCI medical team following his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Pacer Naveep Saini, who had made a comeback into the Test team, is also out of the game with an abdominal muscle strain.
"The medical team is of the opinion that the injury needs some more time to heal completely before the Indian captain can bat and field with full intensity. He will continue his rehab and will not be available for the second and final Test against Bangladesh.
"Navdeep Saini is also ruled out of the second Test owing to an abdominal muscle strain. The fast bowler will now report to the NCA for further management of his injury," said the BCCI in a statement.
It is understandable why the management did not want to risk playing Rohit. India have a busy home season lined up with Sri Lanka and New Zealand visiting for a limited overs tour next month and that will be followed by the high-profile Test series against Australia.
Saini's injury does raise a few questions on his fitness. He represented India A in the two games in Bangladesh ahead of the Tests and was deemed fit. He did not play the first Test, though.
Saini's last Test appearance came in Brisbane in January last year when India pulled off a win for the ages.
K L Rahul will continue to lead the side in Rohit's absence with Cheteshwar Pujara being his deputy. India lead the two-Test series 1-0 after a convincing win in Chattogram.
India's updated squad for 2nd Test against Bangladesh: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.
NEWS - Rohit Sharma and Navdeep Saini ruled out of second Test against Bangladesh.
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 20, 2022
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
