Tamil Nadu players Shahrukh Khan and R Sai Kishore to join as Team India reserves for Windies series
New Delhi(PTI): Rising T20 sensation M Shahrukh Khan and his state-mate, orthodox left-arm spinner Ravi Srinivas Sai Kishore, will be joining the Indian white-ball team as stand-by players for the upcoming six-match series against the West Indies.
Both Shahrukh and Sai Kishore played a huge part in Tamil Nadu's victorious campaign and their call-up is more of a precautionary measure in COVID-19 times when there is every possibility of a player from the main squad testing positive.
"Yes, Shahrukh and Sai Kishore have been called as stand bys for the Windies series. They will also enter the bubble with main team players," a senior BCCI official confirmed the development to PTI.
The limited overs series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with a three-match ODI rubber followed by three T20 Internationals in Kolkata.
For Sai Kishore, this is the second opportunity in an Indian team set-up after he was part of the net bowlers' group during a tour of Sri Lanka under Rahul Dravid last year.
Shahrukh, who was in contention to make it to the main squad, has been in the news this season for scoring runs at critical stages, including a last ball six against Karnataka, to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.
It was the same match where his colleague Sai Kishore got three wickets.
Similarly, against the same opponents in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final, he smashed 79 off 39 balls and his contribution in the final against HP was 42 off 21 balls.
While he might have to wait for his turn as head coach Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma give enough chances to the men who are above him in the pecking order of finishers, he can fancy an opportunity when the big guns are rested as the season progresses.
Ditto for Sai Kishore, who will be joining more as a net bowler with Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel in the set-up.
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Thousands protest in Washington DC against Trump ahead of inauguration
Washington: Thousands of people have gathered in Washington to protest against Donald Trump's policies ahead of his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
Trump, 78, succeeds Joe Biden, 82, on Tuesday as the new occupant of the White House. A coalition of nonprofit bodies, including Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, under the banner of People’s March, held the demonstration here to protest against the policies of Trump.
The People's March - previously known as the Women's March - has taken place every year since 2017.
Displaying anti-Trump posters and banner, the protestors raised slogans against the next President and also against some of his close supporters including Tesla owner Elon Musk.
The same group had also held a similar protest on January 2017, when Trump was inaugurated for the first time.
There were a series of three protests which started from three different parks and culminated near the Lincoln Memorial.
“Mass protest is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate to our communities that we are not obeying in advance or bowing to fascism, and invites them to do the same,” People’s March said.
The rallies coincide with Trump's arrival to the nation's capital for a series of weekend events in the lead-up to his swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Amongst the coalition members are Abortion Action Now, Time to Act, SisterSong, Women’s March, Popular Democracy In Action, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, The Feminist Front, NOW, Planned Parenthood, National Women’s Law Centre Action Fund, Sierra Club, and the Frontline.
Women’s March is anchoring the logistics of the mobilisation. Similar marches, though at a smaller scale, were also held in various other cities including New York, Seattle and Chicago.
“We really wanted to come to support women, equality, immigration, everything that really feels like we don't have much of a say in right now," Brittany Martinez, one of the protesters, told USA TODAY.
Law enforcement officials said protests and major events are being planned throughout the weekend ahead of the inauguration on Monday. The protestors condemned Trump’s policies and values. Many of them chanted, "Trans Lives Matter!", “Stand up, fight back!”, “Trust Black women!” and “We cannot be silent.”
