WTC final to go ahead as planned: ICC after Britain adds India to travel 'red list'
Dubai: The International Cricket Council on Monday said the World Test Championship final, to be contested between India and New Zealand in Southampton from June 18, will go ahead as planned after Britain added India to travel "red list" after COVID-19 caseload surge.
India entering the "red list" effectively bans all travel from the country and makes a 10-day hotel quarantine compulsory for UK residents arriving back home.
However, the ICC expressed confidence in staging the WTC final in a bio-secure environment.
"The ECB and other members have demonstrated how we can stage international cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic and we are confident that we can continue to do that and that the WTC Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK," said the ICC in a statement.
"We are currently discussing with the UK Government the impact of countries being on the red list'," it added.
The Indian women's cricket team is also scheduled to tour UK in June. The men's team is also to play five Tests in England starting August 4.
India has reported 2,73,810 new positive cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day surge, taking the country's COVID-19 caseload past the 1.5 crore mark.
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Cong insulted Prez Murmu after Ram temple visit, will get fewer seats than age of its ‘shehzada’: PM
Chatra (Jharkhand), May 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flayed the opposition INDIA bloc for "insulting" President Droupadi Murmu after her visit to Ayodhya’s Ram temple, and asserted that the Congress will get fewer seats than the age of its ‘shehzada’.
Addressing a poll rally at Chatra, Modi also said leaders of the alliance are planning to merge small parties post the Lok Sabha polls to attain opposition status.
"Congress will get fewer seats than the age of its 'shehzada'," the PM said, in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi, and added that the bloc “has already accepted defeat”.
"A statement by a big INDIA alliance leader that all small parties should merge with Congress after the elections shows their desperation," he said.
Modi also asserted that NDA governments will be formed in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh where simultaneous assembly polls were underway, and asserted that the opposition will not get even 50 seats in LS polls.
“The mentality of the Congress is of the 18th century... after the President paid obeisance at the Ram temple, they talked about cleaning the temple... they insulted the President,” Modi said.
“Tribals converted Ayodhya's Prince Ram into ‘Maryada Purushottam’ Ram during the 14-year ‘vanvas’ (exile); We worship tribals for this, but the JMM-Congress are not able to digest this respect," he said.
The PM said people’s votes gave him an opportunity to serve the nation, and made a tribal woman president of the country. “Your one vote will stop anti-national forces," he asserted.
Modi also alleged that the INDIA bloc has plans to “hand over the country's assets to Muslims”, and the OBC/SC/ST reservations to the coalition’s "vote bank".
He said infiltration was on the rise in Jharkhand and that the infiltrators were grabbing the land of dalits and adivasis. "Your vote will strengthen Modi's hand to wipe out such forces."
Attacking the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand, the PM said: "We need to save our country from the JMM and Congress. You have seen how mounds of cash were recovered from the premises of a domestic help of a minister’s personal secretary. You can imagine how corrupt these leaders are.”
"Send these shameless leaders who looted Jharkhand to jail. I assure you that Modi can take action against them," he said.
The PM said he was born in a poor family and did not want any poor child to sleep empty stomach, which is why he “ensured ration to 80 crore people”.
He accused the Jharkhand government of preventing central ration supply from reaching the poor, and said it “indulged in corruption” in schemes like the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’.
“The only industry set up by the state government was of opium trade, as it wanted to destroy future generations for appeasement policies,” alleged Modi.
Criticising the JMM for "not fulfilling its 5-lakh jobs" promise, he said the regional party and Congress did not want the progress of tribal and poor children, but "Modi wants to make your children doctors and engineers”.
