Wanindu Hasaranga suspended by ICC, to miss Test series against Bangladesh
Dubai, Mar 19: All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga could be unavailable for initial few games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League after he was suspended from the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh by the ICC, despite coming out of retirement on Tuesday.
Hasaranga, who had retired from Tests in August last year, was named in Sri Lanka's 17-man squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh starting on Friday.
But the ICC informed that the 26-year-old has 'breached the threshold of eight demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have been converted into four suspension points' in his latest offence during the third ODI.
"Hasaranga was found guilty of breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to 'showing dissent at an Umpire's decision during an International Match'," the ICC said on its website.
The incident happened in the 37th over when the right-arm spinner "snatched his cap" from one of the on-field umpires and also "ridiculed" the umpiring in the contest, the ICC said.
"He received a 50 per cent fine and accumulated three demerit points for his offense. This brought his total demerit points to eight in a 24-month period," the ICC said.
Hasaranga already had five demerit points three of which were docked in the third T20I against Afghanistan in Dambulla last month. He was also suspended for two T20Is against Bangladesh.
"Now, with the addition of the latest demerit points, he has breached the threshold of eight demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have been converted into four suspension points," the ICC said.
"The four suspension points equate to a ban from two Tests or four ODIs or T20Is, whatever comes first Hasaranga will therefore miss the two ICC World Test Championship Tests against Bangladesh," the governing body added.
Meanwhile, ICC also handed a 50 per cent match fee fine and three demerit points on Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis for "abusing the umpires while shaking hands with them".
"This breached article 2.13 of the Code, which relates to 'Personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an International Match'."
This was a first offence for Mendis in a 24-month period," the ICC said.
Both the players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions which were imposed by Andy Pycroft.
The first Test will be played in Sylhet from March 22-26, while the second tie is slated from March 30 to April 3 at Chattogram.
Hasaranga was roped in by SRH at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore.
As per the IPL schedule announced for the first two weeks, SRH will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23 in Kolkata. They will travel to Hyderabad for the tie against Mumbai Indians on March 27 and then proceed to Ahmedabad for the game against Gujarat Titans on March 31.
A big loss for Sri Lanka as star all-rounder is suspended for the #BANvSL Test series 👀
— ICC (@ICC) March 19, 2024
Details ⬇#WTC25https://t.co/CMmQZj3616
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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