The highly anticipated IPL 2026 mini-auction is scheduled for December 16 in Abu Dhabi, where 1,355 players will compete for 77 available slots across 10 franchise squads. Collectively, the franchises have a combined purse of ₹237.55 crore to build competitive teams for the upcoming season. This auction follows a period of dramatic player retention and release activity announced on November 15, which has reshaped the squads and left franchises hunting for key assets, especially versatile all-rounders. Teams are also contending with a rule capping overseas players at 31, adding a strategic layer to their acquisitions.

Kolkata Knight Riders currently have the biggest purse at ₹64.3 crore and the most slots to fill with 13, while Mumbai Indians have the least funds available at just ₹2.75 crore for a minimal roster reshuffle. Chennai Super Kings, coming off a tough IPL 2025 campaign finishing last, have released high-profile players like Rachin Ravindra to free up ₹43.4 crore for rebuilding efforts. With the mini-auction looming, all eyes are on potential game-changers, and among them, Ravindra stands out as a prime target due to his multi-dimensional skill set and promising IPL track record.

Rachin Ravindra’s promising IPL trajectory

New Zealand all-rounder Ravindra burst onto the IPL scene with Chennai Super Kings in 2024, snapped up for ₹1.8 crore before an explosive debut game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Across 18 CSK matches, he amassed 413 runs at a strike rate of 143.90, including two fifties—his best 65*—with 40 fours and 16 sixes, though wickets eluded him. In IPL 2025, retained via RTM for ₹4 crore, he featured in eight games for 191 runs at 128.18 strike rate, highlighted by another 65*, but CSK let him go post a lean team campaign. Now in the ₹2 crore base-price bracket, his left-handed top-order aggression and slow left-arm spin make him a hot commodity for franchises craving balance.

5 franchises that can bid for Rachin Ravindra in IPL 2026 auction

1. Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals are prime contenders to vie for Ravindra’s services in this auction. With ₹21.80 crore left in their purse and eight slots to fill, including multiple overseas spots, DC is aiming to strengthen their top order after releasing players like Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis. Ravindra’s ability to bat aggressively in the top order, coupled with his spin bowling, fits Delhi’s strategy to add firepower and variety alongside key players like KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw.

2. Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans, holding ₹12.9 crore and five vacancies after releasing Gerald Coetzee, see Ravindra as a fitting all-rounder to complement their existing spinning stalwart Rashid Khan and batting anchor Shubman Gill. His ability to contribute in both departments can offer GT the extra balance required to sustain their competitive edge.

3. Mumbai Indians

Despite a modest remaining purse of just ₹2.75 crore, Mumbai Indians may target Ravindra as a cost-effective, impact player due to his dynamic batting and useful spin bowling. MI, having released a few fringe players, need versatile all-round options to support established stars and fill gaps in finishing roles or as a fifth bowler.

Also READ: 5 franchises that can target Liam Livingstone in the IPL 2026 auction

4. Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants, with ₹22.95 crore and six slots including four overseas, are on the lookout for left-handed batting reinforcements after releasing David Miller and Ravi Bishnoi. Ravindra’s dual ability to open or stabilize innings with the bat and provide slow bowling options makes him an attractive candidate for LSG to bolster their middle order alongside key pace and spin weapons.

5. Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders come into the auction with the biggest purse of ₹64.3 crore and a dozen vacancies. Post departures like Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, KKR is searching for dependable opening partners to Sunil Narine and spin depth with Varun Chakaravarthy. Ravindra’s left-handed aggressive batting style and slow orthodox spin perspective fit perfectly into KKR’s rebuilding blueprint, likely inciting a bidding war for his services.

Also READ: Glenn Maxwell issues a touching statement after withdrawing from the IPL 2026 auction

Representative image (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India’s push to expand medical education into underserved districts has entered a new phase, with the Centre revealing in the Lok Sabha that 11 new medical colleges have received in-principle approval under a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model. These colleges will come up by upgrading district hospitals — a shift in strategy aimed at accelerating MBBS seat creation without waiting for full government-backed infrastructure.The projects cleared so far are spread across Jharkhand (Giridih, Dhanbad, Jamtara, Khunti), Arunachal Pradesh (Namsai) and Uttar Pradesh (Baghpat, Mainpuri, Hathras, Kasganj, Mahoba, Hamirpur).The government explained that the model will rely on Viability Gap Funding (VGF) — a financial support mechanism designed to make socially important but commercially unviable projects feasible for private partners. Under the scheme, the Centre may fund up to 30% of the project cost, with states allowed to match this amount. For pilot projects, support can go up to 40% of the cost, plus 25% of operations-and-maintenance expenses for the first five years.In return, States must allow full and free access to district hospital facilities for the attached medical colleges and must provide land on concessional terms — conditions aimed at ensuring that medical education does not dilute public-hospital services.The Lok Sabha reply also stressed that faculty norms, curriculum rules, equipment standards and staffing requirements will remain under the National Medical Commission’s Minimum Standard Requirement (MSR) Regulations, ensuring that PPP colleges follow the same quality benchmarks as government medical colleges.Alongside the PPP push, the government also confirmed that the existing Centrally Sponsored Scheme for upgrading district hospitals into government medical colleges has already sanctioned all 157 planned institutions, including 14 in Madhya Pradesh and two in Maharashtra.While the PPP model is still at an early stage, the approval of 11 projects signals the Centre’s intent to create a parallel pathway for strengthening medical infrastructure, especially in districts that have historically lacked teaching hospitals.The next challenge lies in execution — from faculty recruitment to readiness of hospital facilities — but policymakers say the new structure opens a crucial opportunity to expand medical education faster, in areas that need it most.

You don’t have permission to access “http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/birch-by-romeo-lane-nightclub-fire-video-new-video-shows-fire-breaking-out-at-goa-nightclub-9769237” on this server.

Reference #18.2ef63717.1765165105.10c8e8e5

https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.2ef63717.1765165105.10c8e8e5

L-R: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Dhruv Jurel (PTI Photo)

India have played most of their ODI cricket in subcontinental pitches over the last 18 months. With very few ODIs to be played before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, team management knows it will have to rethink its combination. TOI looks at a few points…Winning an ODI series at home is usually routine for India. That said, the emphatic win in Vizag on Sunday must have soothed the bruised egos in the Indian dressing room after an ODI series loss in Australia and then enduring a whitewash in a home Test series against South Africa.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Thus, it was not surprising to see ever-combative head coach Gautam Gambhir retort to the critics after sealing the series. He is usually ultraprotective of the way his team plays its cricket. For once, he alluded to the fact that the ODI team is yet to take its absolute shape looking ahead to the 2027 ODI World Cup. There are another three ODIs scheduled at home this season before the team management gets in full swing to prepare for the mega event in South Africa in Oct-Nov in 2027 once the T20 World Cup in Feb-March is over. Hence, Gambhir made it a point to highlight that the conditions in the World Cup will be distinctly different.

Rohit-Kohli success, lower middle-order balance issuesOver the last six ODIs, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have done enough to establish that they still make for the strong core of this ODI setup. Demonstrating an insatiable appetite for runs, the two seniors have said why it won’t be easy to move on from them in the immediate future.If one has to put a finger on a glaring issue in this ODI setup, it would be a relatively unsettled lower middle-order. India’s lack of firepower in the backend of the innings has been evident. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s powerhitting has been questionable.The experiment with Ruturaj Gaikwad batting at No. 4 in place of an injured Shreyas Iyer may have paid off, but the propensity to shuffle batters in different positions appears a bit unsettling at the outset. Gambhir maintained that set batting orders are over-hyped in white-ball cricket.

Former national selector Devang Gandhi warned the consequences could be very harsh much like it happened in the 2019 World Cup. “As long as Kohli and Rohit are around, the planning has to revolve around them. The management must stick to a pool of not more than 20 players now. Leading up to the 2019 World Cup, no one was given enough chances to settle down at No. 4. When the top order imploded in the semifinal, no one was ready. The same happened in the 2023 World Cup, when the team management was forced to play Suryakumar Yadav who didn’t have a good ODI record,” Gandhi told TOI.“Someone like Rishabh Pant has not played a match. If KL Rahul suffers an injury during the World Cup, Pant or any other wicketkeeper must have enough game time. In 2019, Pant came in with the experience of just five ODIs. If there is a scope to play both Pant and Rahul together, there’s no harm in it. And if they have identified Gaikwad as Iyer’s backup, then it should remain that way,” he added.Balancing the allrounders and finding an extra pacerGambhir’s tenure as head coach has seen India play most of their ODIs in sub-continental conditions. Prasidh Krishna’s inconsistency was becoming a major talking point until he was able to come back strongly in the last ODI. Jasprit Bumrah aside, the pace reserves lack experience at the moment. Mohammed Siraj’s omission did raise eyebrows. Harshit Rana has become important to firming up a plan. “That’s one of the reasons why we are trying to develop someone like Harshit, who can contribute at No. 8. That’s how we need to find the balance, because in South Africa, we would be needing three seamers,” Gambhir said.Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta feels depending heavily on Hardik Pandya could be risky. “If Hardik is around, he will solve a lot of problems. But you have to be prepared for a situation where Hardik isn’t fit. Someone has to be groomed to handle the middle overs with as much impact with the bat,” Dasgupta reckoned. “Till now they were playing with three spinners and three pacers with a spinner batting up the order. Now they have to prepare for an attack of six bowlers with four seamers. Maybe they can try Siraj as backup pacer,” he added.Gandhi concurred with Dasgupta. “In South Africa, you will need a proper batter in top 5 on bouncier pitches. That’s why I feel someone like Rahul should bat a little higher. Kohli was comfortable with five solid bowling options in 2019.”

Zohran Mamdani (Photo credit: AP)

New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani released a video explaining the rights of immigrants when confronted by ICE officers, days after a reported US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Canal Street prompted public outcry. In the clip, posted late Sunday, he said, “We can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights,” as he pledged to defend the city’s more than three million immigrant residents. The video accompanied his post on X in which Mamdani wrote: “Know your rights. Protect your neighbours. New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.”Mamdani said he would “protect the rights of every single New Yorker,” stressing that agents “cannot enter into private spaces, like your home, school, or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge.” He warned that officers may present paperwork “that looks like this and tell you that they have the right to arrest you,” but added, “That is false. ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent.”Mamdani also advised that individuals being questioned may ask “Am I free to go?” until they receive a clear answer, and said New Yorkers are allowed to film ICE agents provided they do not interfere with an arrest. “Remain calm. Do not impede their investigation, resist arrest or run,” he added, reiterating that the right to protest remains constitutionally protected.Mamdani, who met President Donald Trump in a surprisingly cordial Oval Office meeting weeks earlier, has positioned himself as a staunch opponent of aggressive immigration enforcement within the city. Closing his video, he said: “New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters.”His message followed a sequence of enforcement activities that have increased tension in the city. ABC News reported that his advisory was released shortly after federal agents carried out an operation in Manhattan, part of broader immigration enforcement drives across several US cities. The outlet also noted that demonstrators had gathered last weekend as agents attempted detentions on Canal Street, echoing a similar sweep last October that drew spontaneous protests in Chinatown.The New York Times reported that on November 28, protesters clashed with police outside a parking garage on Centre and Hester Streets. Dozens of federal agents from US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security had appeared to be assembling there ahead of a raid. The standoff escalated as protesters blocked the garage entrance with their bodies and piled garbage bags to prevent agents from exiting. The confrontation lasted nearly an hour, leading to several arrests and effectively stalling the operation.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra urban development department led by deputy CM Eknath Shinde has approved allotment of an approximate 2-acre vacant BMC plot in Sion in Mumbai to Vishwa Hindu Parishad on lease for a period of 30 years. The civic body will charge a one-time premium of Rs 9.7 crore and Rs 10,186 per year as concessional rent thereafter. The plot will be used for medical and educational purposes.

Condemning the move, city Congress chief MP Varsha Gaiwkad said the arbitrary allotment of land to organisations close to BJP, weeks before BMC elections, was wrong.“The plot located in F/ North ward measuring 7,658.33 sq m in area, has been converted into leasehold land and given to VHP on lease for a period of 30 years under Section 92 (DD) of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888. The deputy commissioner, (improvement), BMC submitted a proposal for approval of the state govt. The matter…was under consideration of the state govt,” said a govt resolution (GR).“First, slum land was given to govt’s favourite builders, now vacant land is being given to their favourite organisations. On the one hand, BMC is auctioning plots to raise money as it is on the brink of bankruptcy, and on the other, they are allotting prime plots to their favourite organisations. This kind of allotment just before BMC polls is illegal and unethical. Health and education are BMC’s mandatory functions, they must build and run hospitals on their own. VHP has no experience in healthcare or hospital operations. On what grounds is this gift worth crores being given?” said Gaikwad, adding it was shocking Shinde approved the allotment ‘under instructions’ of BJP.“A rent of Rs 10,186 per year will be charged from 25th June, 2025 at a concessional rate of Rs 10,186 per annum for next 30 years. State govt is approving levy of Rs 9,72,56,500 as a onetime premium for allocation of land under the powers vested in state govt…,” said the GR.In Oct last year, state cabinet had cleared handing over of a 6,320 sqm plot in Wadala costing around Rs 74 crore to Veer Savarkar Charitable Trust for educational purposes. The proposal was sanctioned just a month after Sion-Koliwada BJP MLA, Captain Tamil Selvan, made an application seeking the allotment. On Selvan’s request, state govt had also cleared the change of reservation of the land from residential to educational.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should be viewed differently because of their record in ODI cricket, and their place in the team should not have been questioned. He said this while speaking to JioStar.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!There has been speculation that selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir may be unsure about the senior players’ form and fitness till the 2027 World Cup. But Kohli and Rohit have scored three centuries — two by Kohli — and five half-centuries — three by Rohit — in their last six ODIs.

“I don’t think the place of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the team should have been a question. Look at what they have done over so many years,” Bangar said.Bangar said ODIs are played less often now, so established players may need a couple of matches to settle in, and Kohli and Rohit have earned that space because of their work for India.“They have retired from two formats, so it’s obvious they might take just a couple of sessions to get back into action, because they have done it so often. They don’t need to play as many matches as a younger player.”“Once they are there, once they are hungry and fit, you want players of that quality. You have to treat them differently and give them space,” Bangar said.In the ODI series against South Africa, Rohit Sharma, 38, scored 57 and 75 in the first and third matches. Kohli, 37, who was named Player of the Series, scored 135, 102 and 65 not out.“When they are on song, you see the difference. Their sheer presence changes the dressing room atmosphere.”Bangar, who has worked with Kohli at RCB and overseen his batting sessions, said the senior players likely spoke to the younger members after the Test series loss to South Africa.“After the humiliating loss in the Test series, they must have spoken to the boys. They helped put things behind and play with freedom and authority, giving the whole team supreme confidence.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday raised concerns about the recent Hollywood deal that shook up the media landscape, Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. The US president, speaking to the media while arriving for the Kennedy Center Honors awards ceremony on Sunday, said that the proposed multi-billion-dollar acquisition raised concerns about market dominance. The streaming service, he argued, already commands significant power in the sector. Netflix has “a very large market share” and “it could be a problem.” He further hinted that the White House would be tied to deal, “I’ll be involved in that decision.”These remarks come as federal authorities weigh whether the nearly $83 billion deal should be allowed to proceed amid pushback from within Hollywood, where the prospect of further consolidation has triggered antitrust concerns.Despite the caution, Trump offered warm words for Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who met him at the White House recently, saying “he’s done one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies.”The takeover would hand Netflix control of HBO Max in addition to Warner Bros. studios, the home of titles ranging from “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane” to recent box-office juggernaut “Barbie.” In case the agreement stands as proposed, the streaming platform would also take possession of world-famous franchises including Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings saga and DC Studios’ superheroes: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman among them.However, the deal excludes Warner Bros.’ linear television channels. Discovery, CNN and other broadcast properties would be separated from the company before any sale is finalised.Warner Bros. Discovery announced in October that it was open to a sale after fielding multiple unsought bids. Netflix emerged ahead of rival interest from Comcast and from Paramount Skydance, the media business led by David Ellison, a figure known to be a major supporter of Trump.