Ireland PM Varadkar arrives in Goa to celebrate New Year
Panaji: Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who has his roots in India, arrived on Monday in Goa where he would ring in the New Year, an official said.
Varadkar, who is currently on a private visit to India, would be staying at a plush resort in North Goa district, a senior police official said.
Security around the resort has been beefed up,he said. "Prime Minister Varadkar's visit is entirely private. There are no official functions planned during his visit. He would be in Goa till January 1 alongwith his family," he said.
He will take a flight from the Dabolim Airport here on January 1 afternoon to return to his country, the official added.
On Sunday, Varadkar along with his family members visited his ancestral village Varad in the coastal Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
It was his first visit to the village, said Varadkar, who became prime minister ofIreland in June 2017. His father Ashok Varadkar, a doctor, moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
The visit was a "special moment" as three generations of his family gathered at Varad, theIreland prime minister said after the villagers felicitated him. He also visited a temple of the village deity.
During an interaction with villagers, he said, "This is my fifth visit to India but first to Varad village where my grandfather and father have been brought up. It is a privilege and honour for me to visit this place."
The Ireland PM also said he knows a few words of Marathi, his father's language, but not enough for interaction.
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World No. 1 Chakravarthy achieves career-best rating in ICC T20I bowler rankings
Dubai (PTI): India spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Wednesday consolidated his position at the top of the ICC Men's T20I Bowler Rankings, reaching a career-best rating following a stellar show in the ongoing T20 series against South Africa.
The 34-year-old Chakravarthy earned a new best rating of 818 points on the back of his third consecutive two-wicket haul in five-game home series.
The right-armer has six wickets across the first three matches of the series, with his spell of 2/11 from four economical overs in the most recent contest in Dharamsala proving pivotal in India's clinical seven-wicket triumph.
Chakravarthy (818 rating points) now holds a 119-point advantage over his closest rival in New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy (699) in second-place, while also moveing inside the top 10 for the best rating of all-time for T20I bowlers.
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh also improved four places to 16th overall on the rankings for T20I bowlers on the back of his Player of the Match heroics against the Proteas in the third game.
For South Africa, Marco Jansen (up 14 spots to 25th), Lungi Ngidi (up 11 rungs to 44th) and Ottneil Baartman also improved, reaching 68th from outside the top 100.
Among T20I batters, India now boast two players inside the top five on the rankings, with Tilak Varma gaining two spots to move to fourth overall after a trio of decent innings against South Africa.
Teammate Abhishek Sharma maintains a decent buffer at the top, while South Africa duo Aiden Markram (up eight places to 29th) and Quinton de Kock (up 14 spots to 43rd) made good ground following some decent recent efforts.
Pakistan's Saim Ayub has a narrow lead at the top of the rankings for T20I all-rounders despite not playing any international matches across the last week, with India's Shivam Dube the big mover on this list as he improves two places to 16th.
