With Asia Cup and World Cup on horizon; Hardik Pandya, Gill could be rested for Ireland T20s
New Delhi, Jul 20: India's T20 captain Hardik Pandya could be given a break from the three-match series against Ireland starting August 18 as part of workload management in a busy year including the Asia Cup and the big-ticket ODI World Cup at home, BCCI sources said.
Even Shubman Gill, who is now an automatic pick across three formats, could be rested keeping the global event in mind.
The 29-year-old Pandya is one of the key members of India's ODI team and his all-round prowess adds necessary balance to the side and hence the team management and the national selection panel is expected to deal with him cautiously.
"Nothing is finalised yet and it will also depend on how Hardik is feeling after the one-dayers and T20s in the West Indies. There is travelling involved and only a short turnaround of three days before one flies from Florida to Dublin.
"With World Cup being of primary importance, one has to factor in his workload. Let's not forget he will be Rohit's deputy in the World Cup," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Pandya is expected to play a key role during India's white-ball leg of West Indies tour where the team will play eight international games in 18 days in three Caribbean nations and the United States.
India play three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies in Bridgetown (Barbados), Tarouba (Trinidad), Georgetown (Guyana) and Florida (United States) between July 27 to August 13.
In Ireland, India play three T20s in a space of five days (August 18, 20 and 23) and if Pandya flies from USA to Ireland and then to India before jetting off to Colombo for Asia Cup, the workload will be immense.
When the workload is measured, even training sessions are taken into account -- duration of batting or number of overs sent down while bowling.
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.
"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.
Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.
The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.
With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.
Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.
NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.
Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.
YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.
"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.
On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.
Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.
Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.
The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.
The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.
The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.
In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.
