Shakib Al Hasan becomes highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals
Al Amerat (Oman), Oct 17: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan on Sunday became the highest wicket-taker in T20 International cricket when he pipped Lasith Malinga's tally of 107 wickets during their T20 World Cup game against Scotland here.
Shakib, the greatest ever cricketer from his country, finished with figures of 2/17 in four overs and in the process surpassed the Sri Lankan great's tally of T20 International wickets.
Shakib now has 108 scalps from 89 T20 International games and is also the only cricketer to have a double of 100 wickets and 1000 plus runs in this format.
On the day, he first removed Richie Berrington to equal Malinga and surpassed him with the wicket of Michael Leask.
Third in the list is New Zealand's Tim Southee, who has 99 wickets to his name.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
