On December 18, 2025, a video involving Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah at Chandigarh airport went viral, sparking a heated debate about celebrity boundaries and fan etiquette. The footage shows a fan persistently recording Bumrah despite the cricketer’s clear discomfort and verbal warnings. When the fan ignored his request to stop filming, Bumrah reportedly snatched the phone out of the fan’s hand, leading to a surge of polarized reactions across social media.

Jasprit Bumrah gives a surprising response after fan disregards his plea

The incident at Chandigarh airport unfolded as Bumrah was transiting during India’s high-stakes T20I series against South Africa. In the video, a fan is seen following the cricketer closely, filming him while saying, “Sir, I’ll only be going with you,” suggesting he had been trailing Bumrah for some time. A visibly unimpressed Bumrah is heard issuing a stern warning: “If your phone falls, then don’t blame me later.”

When the fan dismissively replied, “That’s okay, sir,” Bumrah uttered a sarcastic “cool” before physically taking the device from the fan’s hand to stop the recording. This confrontation has highlighted a growing tension in Indian sports, where players are increasingly vocal about unconsented filming and the “paparazzi-style” pursuit by fans in non-sporting environments. As of now, Bumrah has not issued an official statement, but the incident remains a major talking point regarding the “unwritten rules” of engagement between India’s sporting icons and their millions of admirers.

Here’s the video:

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Bumrah delivers a masterclass in multi-format dominance

In 2025, Bumrah cemented his status as a generational phenomenon, delivering a masterclass in multi-format dominance that few in history can rival. He began the year by heading to the ICC Awards in February to collect the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and the Test Cricketer of the Year award for 2024.

In the longest format, he reached a career pinnacle by surpassing 150 wickets in SENA nations, breaking Kapil Dev’s long-standing record for the most away five-wicket hauls for India during a searing spell of 5/83 against England at Leeds. While his T20I year saw a rare “off-night” against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where he conceded 45 runs, he quickly rebounded to lead India to the title and maintained his World No. 1 Test Ranking with a peak rating of 908 points.

His white-ball adaptability was on full display during the South Africa series, where his economy rate remained a gold standard despite the rising aggression of modern batters. Even as younger specialists like Varun Chakaravarthy topped the T20 charts, Bumrah remained the undisputed “clutch” operator, proving time and again that his unique action and surgical precision are India’s greatest assets under pressure.

Also READ: ‘Sold three sacks of wheat to watch the match’: Heartbroken fans demand full refund after India vs South Africa 4th T20I gets called off due to excessive fog in Lucknow

Manikrao Kokate (File photo)

NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court on Friday suspended a two-year sentence to former Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate in a case centred around cheating and forgery connected to a government housing scheme. It also granted bail to the NCP leader.However, citing strong preliminary evidence of Kokate’s involvement, the court refused to stay his conviction. Kokate was accused of submitting false income reports in order to secure a flat in a government EWS scheme.“Permitting a person convicted of criminal offence (to hold a cabinet position) solely on account of suspended sentence would cause grave and irreparable prejudice to public service,” said the court, as quoted by PTI. Justice R N Laddha’s order also noted that Kokate remained on bail throughout the magistrate’s court trial and during the sessions court appeal proceedings. The high court deemed it enough to grant bail, considering the brief duration of the sentence. “The application for suspension of sentence is allowed….The applicant has to deposit a sum of Rs one lakh as surety,” ruled the HC while accepting Kokate’s revision petition challenging the sessions court’s verdict.Ravi Kadam, representing Kokate, said that his client was at Lilavati hospital in Bandra for an angiography, with an urgent angioplasty scheduled for Friday afternoon. Public prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh contested the bail application.This came after the Nashik district and sessions court upheld Kokate’s conviction. He subsequently resigned from his position as sports and youth affairs minister in the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday night. Nashik police arrived in Bandra late Thursday to execute the arrest warrant.The core matter originated between 1989-1992, concerning an EWS housing scheme with Rs 30,000 as the annual income ceiling. The allegations claimed that Kokate acquired a flat in the scheme through false income declarations.The magistrate court found evidence of his substantial income through bank loans for grape cultivation, rabi crops, and documentation from the Kopargaon Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, indicating his earnings exceeded the scheme’s limits.

India vs South Africa Live Score: Hello and welcome to TimesofIndia.com for the 5th T20I between India and South Africa

Today, we are at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the final game of the ongoing T20I series.

Shubman Gill’s injury may have come at the wrong time, but it has opened a rare window for India’s T20I selectors to reassess their depth.

With major assignments looming, the absence forces experimentation that otherwise might have been delayed. Every match now becomes an audition, allowing fringe players to stake claims and combinations to be tested under pressure.

Instead of panic, the management appears focused on long-term gains, using adversity to stress-test bench strength and build a more resilient squad for the future.

IND-SA Squads:

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Shahbaz Ahmed

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, Tony de Zorzi, Lutho Sipamla, Kwena Maphaka

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On December 1, 2025, the talented singer B Praak and his beloved wife Meera Bachan celebrated a special milestone as they welcomed their precious baby boy. Taking to Instagram, the ecstatic couple shared their joy and gratitude with their fans, sparking an outpouring of love and congratulations from their dedicated followers.

Singer B Praak took to his Instagram to announce that he and his wife, Meera Bachan, have been blessed with a baby boy. The singer dropped a picture of Lord Krishna in his baby avatar with a cow and a calf alongside. The couple expressed gratitude and joy in their collaboration post. Let’s take a look at it.

Singer B Praak and wife Meera Bachan blessed with a baby boy

The caption on the image further read, “By the divine grace of RadheShyam, we are blessed with a baby boy on December 1, 2025. Our hearts overflow with gratitude and joy. The sun rises again, bringing light, hope, and new beginnings into our lives.”The ‘Teri Mitti’ hitmaker also revealed the name of their newborn. Along with that, the couple also explained the meaning of it in their collaboration post. They lovingly named him Ddvij Bachan. The caption on the image read, “DDVIJ BACHAN. Twice Born—A Spiritual Rebirth.”Meanwhile, the caption of the post read, “Sab Radhe Radhe Hai. Jay Shree Krushna.” Take a look at the post here. Soon, netizens flooded the comment section with congratulatory messages. The dropped heart and fire emojis on the post.

More about B Praak

B Praak, whose real name is Pratik Bachan, and his wife, Meera Bachan, are popular in the Punjabi music industry. The couple got married in the year 2019. They were blessed with their first child, a boy, in the year 2020. In 2022, they had announced the loss of their second child, a boy, shortly after his birth. B Praak had posted, “With the deepest pain we have to announce that our new born baby has passed away at the time of birth. It is the most painful phase we are going through as parents. We would like to thank all the doctors and the staff for their endless efforts and support (folded hands emoji). We are all devastated at this loss, and we request you all to kindly give us our privacy at this time (folded hands emoji). Yours, Meera and B Praak.“

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer Archana Patnaik on Friday said the draft electoral roll, after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), for the state now includes 5,43,76,755 voters, comprising 2.66 crore women and 2.77 crore men.She said that prior to the SIR, the poll-bound state had around 6.41 crore registered voters, and the exercise led to the deletion of 97,37,832 names from the rolls.According to Patnaik, the deletions included 26.94 lakh voters who had died, 66.44 lakh voters who had permanently shifted or migrated, and 3,39,278 duplicate entries where individuals were found to be registered in more than one place.She added that among those marked as migrated, 66,44,881 persons were found not residing at their registered addresses after three rounds of door-to-door verification conducted across the state.The SIR in the DMK-ruled state was conducted amid vehement opposition by chief minister MK Stalin, whose party filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the major roll-revision exercise in the southern state.“To prevent this anti-democratic move, we convened an all-party meeting and passed a resolution condemning the SIR. The Election Commission’s decision to carry out a full revision of the electoral roll just months before the election is part of a well-planned strategy to delete legitimate voters,” CM Stalin said while criticising the Election Commission’s electoral roll sanitisation exercise.Also read: Nearly 74 lakh names deleted from Gujarat rolls; EC opens window for objectionsCM Stalin added that the same tactic was used earlier in Bihar, where lakhs of genuine voters were allegedly “removed from the list”. He also pointed out that opposition to this controversial process had first emerged from Tamil Nadu, after which the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who also happens to be the Lok Sabha leader of opposition, raised strong objections.“Even after a legal case was filed, the Election Commission did not give a satisfactory explanation,” CM Stalin said.Taking aim at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, CM Stalin accused him of “playing a double game” and being “afraid of the Election Commission due to his ties with the BJP.”He added that while migrant workers from Bihar had found livelihood and respect in Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister was “playing political drama in Bihar for electoral gain.”SIR in GujaratNearly 74 lakh voters have been removed from Gujarat’s draft electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, reducing the state’s total electorate to 4.34 crore from 5.08 crore earlier, officials said on Friday.The Election Commission published the draft electoral rolls on Friday, after which 73.73 lakh names were omitted as part of the roll-cleaning exercise, Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer Hareet Shukla said.“Before the publication of the draft rolls, Gujarat had 5,08,43,436 registered voters. After the revision, the number stands at 4,34,70,109,” Shukla said.According to the CEO’s office, the deletions included 18,07,278 deceased voters, 9,69,662 absent voters, 40,25,553 voters who had permanently migrated, 3,81,470 duplicate entries, and 1,89,364 names removed under other categories.SIR in BengalOn Tuesday, the Election Commission published a draft list of deleted voters after the SIR of the electoral rolls in West Bengal. The list features voters whose names were included in the state’s electoral rolls in 2025 but were deleted from the draft rolls of 2026.This came after the first phase of the SIR exercise ended on December 11. The second phase, which began after December 16, will involve the filing of claims and objections. The notice phase, which includes issuance, hearings, verification and decisions on enumeration forms, as well as disposal of claims and objections, will be carried out concurrently by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).Parliament debate on SIRThe SIR issue was also debated and discussed at length during the Winter Session of the parliament, with the Leader of the Rajya Sabha JP Nadda and other key minister in the NDA government urging the opposition parties to come together to back the SIR of the electoral roll, while pointing out how West Bengal has seen a massive spike in its electorate from 4.8 crore to 7.6 crore since the last SIR in 2002.Nadda, citing ECI data during the debate in Rajya Sabha on electoral reforms, said the minimum increase in voters’ list of the 9 West Bengal districts bordering Bangladesh was 70 per cent since 2002, while the maximum had crossed 100 per cent. He shared that Uttar Dinajpur has witnessed the highest spike in electors at 105.5 per cent, Malda at 94.8 per cent, Murshidabad at 87.6 per cent, 24 Parganas at 83.5 per cent and Jalpaiguri at 82.3 per cent. What is SIRThe Election Commission of India (ECI) conducts a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to ensure the accuracy and completeness of voter lists ahead of major elections. The exercise involves a detailed door-to-door verification to identify and remove duplicate, shifted or deceased entries while enrolling new and first-time voters.Carried out under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the SIR aims to maintain the integrity of the electoral rolls by updating demographic details and correcting inaccuracies.During the revision, booth-level officers visit households, verify electors’ details, and facilitate claims and objections. The process is a key part of the Commission’s voter roll management, ensuring that every eligible citizen is included and the rolls reflect the most current and authentic data before elections.

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar is known for his fearless opinions and speaking his mind. The ‘Sholay’ writer once again sparked a debate by questioning the idea of women covering their faces. Speaking at a recent event, Akhtar questioned the social logic behind women being expected to cover their faces. The session was attended by students and other people as well, and quickly turned into an open and engaging exchange of views. Rather than attacking faith or personal belief, Akhtar focused on what he described as deep-rooted social conditioning. According to him, face-covering is often less about personal freedom and more about invisible pressure from society.

Javed Akhtar raises a blunt public question

At the SOA Literary Festival 2025, the conversation became especially engaging during the interactive segment of the session. A young girl referred to Akhtar’s earlier remarks about growing up among women who did not wear burqas. She asked whether covering oneself automatically makes a woman less strong.Akhtar’s response was direct and unfiltered. “Why should you be ashamed of your face?” he asked, drawing attention to a question that many people rarely stop to examine.Akhtar explained that dignity in dressing should apply equally to men and women saying, “I believe that revealing clothes, whether men wear them or women, don’t look dignified. If a man comes to the office or college in a sleeveless shirt, it’s not a good thing. He should dress decently. And a woman should also be decently dressed.” However, Akhtar made it clear that modesty and face-covering are not the same thing.

Javed Akhtar explains modesty versus face covering

Akhtar drew a clear line between dressing decently and hiding one’s face. He questioned the logic behind treating a woman’s face as something that must be concealed. “But what makes her cover her face? What is so vulgar, obscene, undignified about her face that it is covered? Why? What is the reason?” he asked, pushing the audience to think beyond tradition and habit.According to Akhtar, the idea that face-covering is always a personal choice does not hold up under closer inspection. He argued that many women are influenced by their surroundings long before they believe they are choosing freely. “This is peer pressure. If given a choice, she is brainwashed. If she says that she is doing it on her own, then she is brainwashed,” he said.He went on to explain that approval from family members and the immediate social circle plays a major role, “Because she knows that some peers in her life will appreciate that this is done.”

Javed Akhtar questions idea of free choice

Taking his argument further, Akhtar questioned whether face-covering would exist in the absence of social pressure. “If you leave her, then why will anyone cover their face? Does she hate her face? Is she ashamed of her face? What? Why?” he asked.

Recent hijab incident sparks online outrage

Akhtar’s comments come at a time when discussions around women’s dignity, religion and public behaviour are already heated. Recently, a video from a government event in Patna went viral on social media, adding fuel to the ongoing debate. The clip showed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling down a woman’s hijab during a public function. The moment sparked strong reactions online, with many calling the act inappropriate and disrespectful.

Zaira Wasim reacts strongly

Among those who reacted strongly was former actor Zaira Wasim, known for her role in ‘Dangal’. The 25-year-old actor, who quit Bollywood in 2019 as it “interfered with her faith and religion”, demanded an “unconditional apology” from Nitish Kumar.Sharing her anger on X (formerly Twitter), Zaira wrote, “A woman’s dignity and modesty are not props to toy with. Least of all on a public stage. As a Muslim woman, watching another woman’s niqab being pulled at so casually, accompanied by that nonchalant smile, was so infuriating. Power does not grant permission to violate boundaries. @NitishKumar owes that woman an unconditional apology.”