Virat Kohli set to play Ranji Trophy after 12 years
New Delhi (PTI): Indian superstar Virat Kohli is set to play his first Ranji Trophy game since 2012 after making himself available for Delhi's tie against Railways scheduled here from January 30.
Kohli could not make it for Delhi's upcoming away clash against Saurashtra, beginning in Rajkot on January 23, due to a neck sprain but he has communicated to DDCA that he is available for the team's last league match of the Ranji Trophy.
"Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways," Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.
The BCCI has made playing domestic cricket mandatory for its contracted cricketers unless there is a fitness issue following the series loss in Australia earlier this month.
Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 when Delhi took on Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.
Thanks to BCCI's directive, the last two rounds of Ranji Trophy will be star-studded affairs.
Kohli's India and Delhi teammate Rishabh Pant will play his first Ranji game in six years when he takes the field in Rajkot. He too could be seen alongside Kohli in the Railways game.
After the Champions Trophy squad announcement on Saturday, India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed his availability for Mumbai's match against Jammu and Kashmir at home.
Other India stars including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja will also be seen in action in the next round of Ranji Trophy for their respective sides.
The clamour for Rohit and Co to play red-ball cricket had grown after India lost their second successive Test series. After being blanked 3-0 by New Zealand at home, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia.
Both Rohit and Kohli had a series to forget in Australia. While Rohit decided to bench himself for the final Test in Sydney due to poor form, Kohli was caught in the slip cordon off balls outside the off-stump as many as eight times in the series.
India next play a Test against England in June but both Rohit and Kohli would like to be among the runs heading into the Champions Trophy next month.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
