New Delhi: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has taken an indirect dig at former captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri for his exclusion from the playing XI in the 2019 World Cup semi final against New Zealand. Despite being one of India's best bowlers in the tournament, Shami was left out of the crucial match at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Shami had an impressive performance in the 2019 World Cup, picking up 14 wickets, including a five-wicket haul, in just four matches. However, the 33-year-old was surprisingly not included in the playing XI for the semifinal, where the team management opted for two pacers and a spinner.

Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, Shami expressed his frustration about his exclusion despite his strong performance in the tournament. He mentioned the lack of proper communication regarding his omission from the semifinal.

"Mere dimaag mein sawaal aata hai, team ko joh players chaiye joh perform karta hai. 3 matches mein 13 wickets li hai, aur kya loge aap mere se? Nahi mere pass sawal hai naa uska answer hai. Mujhe mauka doge toh mein jaake baat karunga. Apna skills dikhaunga jab mere haath mein ball hogi," Shami said.

("My mind is filled with questions. The team needs players who perform. I have taken 13 wickets in 3 matches, what more do you expect from me? Neither have I questions nor the answer. If you give me a chance, I will go and talk. I will show my skills when the ball is in my hand.")

India's hopes of winning the ODI World Cup for the third time were dashed when they lost to eventual runners-up New Zealand in the semifinal. Chasing a target of 240 runs, India was bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 77 off 59 balls, but his effort was in vain as India fell 19 runs short.

Four years later, in 2023, India reached the final of the ODI World Cup without losing a single match. However, Rohit Sharma and his team suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Australia, who clinched their sixth title in the final held in Ahmedabad in November.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to restrain a one-member committee appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government from reviewing an independent Special Investigation Team's (SIT) report on the Tirumala laddu controversy.

The top court, on October 4, 2024, had set up the five-member independent SIT to probe the allegations of animal fat used in preparing Tirupati laddus to "assuage the feelings of crores of people", while making clear that the court cannot be used as a "political battleground".

On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi was told by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy that the state government's decision to appoint the one-member committee amounts to setting up a parallel inquiry that would affect the SIT's probe. The plea also assailed statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the row.

Rejecting the submissions, the CJI noted that the SIT probe is already over and the matter is sub-judice as two chargesheets, including a supplementary one, have been submitted in the court.

"Such an administrative enquiry cannot be called as overlapping with the criminal proceedings which led to the chargesheet and the supplementary chargesheet," the CJI said.

"There is no conflict of interest/overlapping, and the scope of the investigation/enquiry, having been well demarcated, shows that apprehension of the petitioner does not have a solid foundation. Let both processes continue strictly in accordance with the law," the court said.

Swamy argued that the state government's move undermines the authority of the SIT, constituted earlier by the Supreme Court itself to probe irregularities surrounding the laddus distributed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the SIT has completed its investigation and filed its final report.

He underlined that according to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) manual, if administrative lapses not connected to a criminal matter are found during a probe, then those have to be intimated to the state government, and as the SIT has found certain administrative lapses, the Andhra Pradesh government's panel is looking into those.

The panel replaced the state government's SIT, constituted on September 26, 2024, following the politically-sensitive row over the alleged use of animal fat in the laddus.

The controversy erupted after Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led regime in the southern state.

The YSR Congress Party has accused Naidu of levelling "heinous allegations" against it for political gains, while the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the state has circulated a laboratory report to back its claim.

A batch of pleas, including those seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged use of animal fat in making the laddus, was then filed in the apex court.