Virat Kohli likely to miss next two Tests, also doubtful for final game
New Delhi, Feb 7: India's star batter Virat Kohli is likely to miss the third and fourth Tests against England due to personal reasons, which also kept him out of the first two matches of the series, a BCCI source said on Wednesday.
Chances of Kohli playing the final Test of the series in Dharamsala (from March 7-11) are also remote but the board isn't looking that far ahead as that particular match is still a month away.
The third Test will be held in Rajkot from February 15-19, while the fourth game is in Ranchi from February 23-27.
On February 3, PTI had reported that there is no clarity on Kohli's participation in the series and he will only be picked if he is in a position to play.
Recently Kohli's close friend and former South African skipper AB de Villiers had revealed on his YouTube show that the Indian batting ace is missing in action due to the impending arrival of his second child.
"The BCCI has time and again made it clear that when it comes to family matters, it stands firmly behind the cricketer and it will be Virat's call when he is ready to make a comeback. As of now, it looks unlikely that he will play in the series," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The other big question has been Jasprit Bumrah's workload management after the team's bowling spearhead sent down 33 overs for a match-winning haul of nine wickets in the second Test.
It is understood that the third Test's result could go a long way in deciding the course of the series which would make it difficult to rest Bumrah in the Rajkot game. If he plays in Rajkot it is a foregone conclusion that he will not play the next game in Ranchi, which would start in three days' time after the third Test.
Among the imminent comebacks, KL Rahul is likely to return to the playing eleven and Rajat Patidar will then have to sit out as Shreyas Iyer, after his tremendous work in the field including a superb run-out of Ben Stokes in Visakhapatnam, will get another go.
Ravindra Jadeja's progress has been positive and his hamstring is healing well but it might not be good enough to allow him to get cracking on his home turf in Rajkot.
Mohammed Siraj will be back after being given workload-related rest in Visakhapatnam and Mukesh Kumar is more than hundred percent certain to get the axe from playing eleven.
If Bumrah isn't rested, it will be interesting to see if head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma play two pacers along with three spinners or include a batting all-rounder like Washington Sundar, who has had scores of 85 not out and 96 not out in the previous home series against the same opposition.
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Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune's leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman's relatives were making misleading allegations.
A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident. "He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune," it said.
It said that the deputy secretary or under-secretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committee.
Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
"All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the 'Charity Hospital Help Desk' through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups," it said.
The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals, and they should be filled immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was "insensitive" on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
He conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incident.
"Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister's medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge," Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party's women's wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Pune's Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital.
Dr Nilima Ghaisas, his mother, said her son did not practice there.
Activist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Wagh's remarks and claimed that the BJP-led state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rent.
The deceased woman's husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, yet he could not do anything, Chaudhari said.
