Suryakumar Yadav named captain of ICC men's T20I Team of the Year, 3 more Indians feature
Dubai: Flamboyant middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain of the ICC men's T20I Team of the Year, which also includes three more Indians in opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
The ICC Team of the Year recognizes 11 outstanding individuals who have impressed throughout the year with the bat, ball, or their all-round exploits.
Suryakumar found a place in the side for a second straight year and is in the running for T20I men's Cricketer of the Year. The right-handed strokemaker from Mumbai had a solid 2023.
His first innings of just seven to start the year against Sri Lanka was a mere speed bump in another prolific year, as he made scores of 51 (36) and 112 not out (51) in the next two matches. Consistent scoring in 20s to 40s continued, before an innings of 83 (44) against the West Indies in Providence proved his class. He ended the series against the West Indies with a knock of 61 (45) in Florida.
Surya also became India captain with Rohit Sharma taking a break in the back end of the year.
He made half-centuries against Australia (80 off 42 balls) and South Africa (56 from 36 balls), before posting a 100 against the Proteas off just 56 balls in their final T20I of the year in Johannesburg.
Besides the Indian quartet, the 11-member team also has England's Phil Salt as Jaiswal's opening partner, West Indies' Nicholas Pooran as wicket-keeper, Mark Chapman of New Zealand, Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza, Uganda all-rounder Alpesh Ramjani, Iraland's Mark Adair and Richard Ngarava of Zimbabwe. Among women, off-spinner Deepti Sharma is the lone Indian to find a place in the 11-member side to be led by Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu. The women's side features four Australians -- Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner and Megan Schutt, two from England in Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt of South Africa, West Indies' Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr of New Zealand.
A mixture of youth and experience make up the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year 2023 🙌
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2024
Details ➡️ https://t.co/BWgwdpaspp pic.twitter.com/2uztdSgsJE
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
