South Africa's Hashim Amla retires from all formats of Cricket
Hashim Amla, only South African to score triple Test ton, retires from international cricket
Johannesburg, Aug 8: Hashim Amla, the only South African to score a triple Test match century, on Thursday announced his retirement from international cricket, just days after fast bowler Dale Steyn said he was quitting Tests.
Amla, 36, said he was retiring from all international cricket after a 15-year career during which he hit 55 centuries in 349 matches across all formats.
He followed record-breaking fast bowler Steyn who on Monday said he was retiring from Test cricket, although he remains available for international white-ball cricket.
An elegant right-handed top-order batsman, Amla overcame a shaky start in international cricket, during which his technique was criticised, to become one of South Africa's all-time leading batsmen.
He hit 55 centuries in a 15-year international career, including South Africa's highest Test score of 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012.
Amla scored 9,282 runs at an average of 46.64 in 124 Test matches and 8,113 at 49.46 in 181 one-day internationals.
He also made 1,277 runs in 44 Twenty20 internationals at an average of 33.60. He hit 28 centuries in Tests and 27 in one-day internationals. His Test tally included four double centuries.
Amla said he thanked "the fans for energising me when times were tough, and for celebrating with me when we succeeded together".
Amla made his Test debut against India in Calcutta in 2004/05, scoring 24 and 2.
In the same season he played in two matches of South Africa's home series against England but was dropped after scoring only 36 runs in four innings.
Some critics believed that his backlift, which took his bat out at an angle of close to 45 degrees, was a flaw which would prevent him from having a successful international career.
He modified his technique, although still retaining a distinctive loop in his backlift, and returned to Test cricket 15 months later with his first century, 149 against New Zealand.
He became an ever-present in the South African team.
His early struggles were recalled in a tweet by former team-mate AB de Villiers.
"So many doubted u early on, but your fighting spirit, humility & incredible one of a kind talent took u to the top of the mountain," said De Villiers.
Initially regarded as a Test specialist, Amla only made his one-day international debut in 2008 but soon proved that classic stroke play, mainly as an opening batsman, was as effective as power hitting in the limited overs game.
When he was at the peak of his career, between 2010 and 2016, he had an average of above 50 in both Tests and one-day internationals, while maintaining a scoring strike rate of better than 90 runs per 100 balls in one-day games.
In recent years, though, Amla's form dropped off and he struggled at the recent World Cup in England and Wales.
His last Test century was in October 2017 and he made only two one-day international hundreds after that date.
Amla captained South Africa in 14 Test matches between 2014 and 2015/16 but seldom appeared entirely comfortable in the role.
His captaincy career started promisingly with three series wins, including one in Sri Lanka, but after a difficult tour of India in which South Africa lost three of four Tests, he resigned as captain midway through a home series against England when South Africa were 1-0 down after two matches.
Amla said he would remain available for domestic cricket as well as the second edition of the Mzansi Super League Twenty20 competition, which is due to start in November.
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SC dismisses pleas seeking review of 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage
New Delhi, Jan 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
A five-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, B V Nagarathna, P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took up about 13 petitions related to the matter in chambers and dismissed them.
"We do not find any error apparent on the face of the record. We further find that the view expressed in both the judgements is in accordance with law and as such, no interference is warranted. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed," the bench said.
It said the judges have carefully gone through the judgements delivered by Justice (since retired) S Ravindra Bhat speaking for himself and for Justice (since retired) Hima Kohli as well as the concurring opinion expressed by Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, constituting the majority view.
The bench also rejected a prayer made in the review petitions for hearing in an open court.
According to practice, the review pleas are considered in chambers by the judges.
The new bench was constituted after Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the present CJI, recused from hearing the review petitions on July 10, 2024.
Notably, Justice P S Narasimha is the only member of the original Constitution bench comprising five judges which delivered the verdict, as former CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli have retired.
A five-judge Constitution bench led by then CJI Chandrachud on October 17, 2024, refused to accord legal backing to same-sex marriages and held there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those recognised by law.
The apex court, however, made a strong pitch for the rights of LGBTQIA++ persons so that they didn't face discrimination in accessing goods and services available to others, safe houses known as "garima greh" in all districts for shelter to members of the community facing harassment and violence, and dedicated hotlines in case of trouble.
In its judgement, the bench held transpersons in heterosexual relationships had the freedom and entitlement to marry under the existing statutory provisions.
It said an entitlement to legal recognition of the right to union, akin to marriage or civil union, or conferring legal status to the relationship could be only done through an "enacted law".
The five-judge Constitution bench delivered four separate verdicts on a batch of 21 petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriages.
All five judges were unanimous in refusing the legal recognition to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act and observed it was within Parliament's ambit to change the law for validating such a union.
While former CJI Chandrachud wrote a separate 247-page verdict, Justice Kaul penned a 17-page judgement where he broadly agreed with the former's views.
Justice Bhat, who authored an 89-page judgement for himself and Justice Kohli, disagreed with certain conclusions arrived at by the former CJI, including on applicability of adoption rules for such couples.
Justice Narasimha in his 13-page verdict was in complete agreement with the reasoning and conclusion of Justice Bhat.
The judges were unanimous in holding that queerness was a natural phenomenon and not an "urban or elite" notion.
In his judgement, the former CJI recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance of forming a committee chaired by the cabinet secretary to define and elucidate the scope of entitlements of such couples in a union.
The LGBTQIA++ rights activists, who won a major legal battle in 2018 in the Supreme Court, which decriminalised consensual gay sex, moved the apex court seeking validation of same-sex marriages and consequential reliefs such as rights to adoption, enrolment as parents in schools, opening of bank accounts and availing succession and insurance benefits.
Some of the petitioners sought the apex court to use its plenary power besides the "prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union and ensure LGBTQIA++ persons led a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.
