Shikhar Dhawan to replace Mayank Agarwal as Punjab Kings captain
New Delhi, Nov 2: Veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan will replace Mayank Agarwal as Punjab Kings captain for the 2023 Indian Premier League.
The decision was taken at the franchise's board meeting on Wednesday.
The move was on expected lines after the 31-year-old from Karnataka failed to take the team to the IPL play-offs earlier this year.
Agarwal was made captain for the 2022 edition after K L Rahul decided to move to Lucknow Super Giants. Besides the team's inconsistent run, Agarwal's form also dipped as he managed 196 runs at an average of 16.33.
The franchise had thought about making Dhawan the skipper last year as well but decided to go ahead with Agarwal.
"The board has decided to make Dhawan captain. He has all the experience, both as player and captain in the IPL and also did well for the team in his first season last year," an IPL source told PTI.
Punjab had paid Rs 8.25 crore for Dhawan's services at the mega auction earlier this year. The 36-year-old southpaw repaid the faith by scoring 460 runs in 14 games at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 122.66.
The franchise is keen on retaining Agarwal despite handing over the leadership duties to Dhawan. A decision on that will be made soon as the player retention deadline is set at November 15.
Though Dhawan has been a consistent performer in the IPL, he only plays in the 50-over format for India. Of late, he has been captaining the second string India ODI team and will lead the side in New Zealand later this month. In the IPL, he has leadership experience with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Punjab will also have a new head coach in Trevor Bayliss, who guided England to the 2019 ODI World Cup title and KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. Bayliss will be assisted by fellow Australian Brad Haddin.
The team owners' expectations are high from the new coach and captain as the franchise searches for its maiden title. Punjab's sold final appearance came way back in 2014. They finished sixth in the previous four seasons.
Gabbar will be at the 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗿 for Punjab Kings! 🗻#SherSquad, welcome your 🆕 Skipper, Jatt ji! ♥️🤩#ShikharDhawan #CaptainGabbar #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings @SDhawan25 pic.twitter.com/BjEZZVVGrw
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) November 2, 2022
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Catholic Bishops' body slams Bhagwat's remarks
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on Thursday slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his reported remark that Pranab Mukherjee, when he was President, had said tribals would turn "anti-national" if there is no "ghar wapsi"Catholic Bishops.'
In a statement issued here, CBCI, a body of Catholic Bishops, referred to reports which said Bhagwat, at an event on Monday, claimed that Mukherjee, while he was President had appreciated ghar wapsi and told him that had it not been for the Sangh's work on reconversion, a section of Adivasis would have turned "anti-national".The CBCI called the report "shocking".
"Fabricated personal conversation being attributed to a former president of India and its posthumous publication with the vested interest of an organization with questionable credibility raises a grave issue of national importance," the CBCI claimed.
"Is it not the violent ghar wapsi program of VHP and other similar organizations, curtailing the exercise of freedom of conscience of economically deprived tribals, the real anti-national activity?" it asked.
'Ghar wapsi' is a term used by the RSS and affiliated organisations to refer to reconversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, based on the belief that they were originally Hindus before converting to other religions.
The CBCI also questioned why Bhagwat did not speak about it while Mukherjee was alive.
"We, the 2.3 percent of Indian citizens who are Christians feel extremely hurt by such manipulated and motivated propaganda unleashed," it said.
In a post on X following the statement issued by CBCI, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, "Speak up. This is a start!"
"Bishops body have issued a statement condemning remarks made by Dr Mohan Bhagwat and RSS for defaming the Christian community," he said.
O'Brien added that they should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi more questions, including why Christmas Day has been turned into "Good Governance Day".
The TMC leader, in a blogpost earlier this month, had said "hard questions" must be asked to the government with regards to the Christian community, including why the FCRA has been 'weaponised', and why has Manipur been 'ignored'.
