NEW DELHI: In his minute and 40-second Instagram Reel, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik couldn’t hide his emotions while talking about India’s T20 World Cup squad. He labelled the omission of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma as “shocking.”Karthik said: “I didn’t see that coming. It just tells you there’s a little bit of clarity lacking. I feel really bad for Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma.”

Much will be made of Shubman Gill being dropped but it is equally bewildering to see Jitesh Sharma not being named in the 15-member squad. The wicketkeeper-batter has been a perfect team man. With Sanju Samson being the first-choice keeper, he warmed the bench without making any fuss during the Bangladesh series last year. In the next series, he was shown the door.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Vidarbha batter let his bat do the talking in the Indian Premier League. Jitesh scored only 261 runs in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) title-winning season, but it wasn’t the runs that caught the selectors’ eyes — it was his strike rate of 176.35 while batting at Nos. 6 and 7.Those performances helped him get back into the India team for the Asia Cup. T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, who Jitesh considers as his cricketing idol, backed him during the continental tournament.

“Post last T20 World Cup, we spoke a lot on how to go about it. We spoke about not thinking of milestones ahead and following the journey. He’s been a completely different cricketer post that. The way he performed in the IPL and domestic tournaments he played, he’s done really well and earned his spot again,” Suryakumar had said on Jitesh’s comeback.Before the start of the Asia Cup, TimesofIndia.com learnt that with Shubman Gill back as an opener, it would be Jitesh Sharma who would play in the middle order. But in Dubai, the team management backed Sanju to bat at No. 5 in a revolving batting order.The Sanju experiment in the middle order fell flat. On the other hand, Jitesh kept working hard in the nets, waiting for his chance, but ended up warming the bench throughout the Asia Cup.

It was in Australia where Jitesh finally got the chance to play. In the three T20Is, he batted twice — scoring an unbeaten 22 off 13 balls in the third T20I in India’s five-wicket win while batting at No. 7 and playing his role to perfection.In the recently concluded five-match series against South Africa, he went out to bat thrice — scoring a five-ball 10 in Cuttack, a quickfire 27 off 17 balls in New Chandigarh, and not getting to face a ball in Ahmedabad. The 32-year-old was excellent with the gloves as well.Jitesh didn’t do anything wrong. He was a perfect team man and probably an easy scapegoat for the management, which is why he was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad.

TimesofIndia.com has also learnt the wicketkeeper-batter was in the team management’s Playing XI plans for the World Cup but now finds himself out of the squad. He was preparing for match situations where he would get only 5-7 balls to face but the designated finisher has been conveniently dropped for a top-order option in Ishan Kishan.A lot happened in the last few hours as not many saw these changes coming. It doesn’t matter whether it was due to a combination call or something else, the fact is Jitesh has been left in the lurch by his cricketing idol — Suryakumar Yadav.In his career, Jitesh has seen one too many swings of misfortune. But this brutal omission, without any explanation, says a lot about the “lack of clarity” in the Indian dressing room.

Shubman Gill is 26, and with age on his side, he may get another go at a World Cup — not to forget he plays the other two formats as well. But for players like Jitesh, 32, who plays just one format and are absolute team men, this was a moment to cherish. Instead, it has been destroyed, and it will take him time to come out of this heartbreak.

Earlier this year, in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, Jitesh had spoken about his belief in fate. “Mere naseeb mein tha. Mujhe achhe log milte gaye. Mere bhaagya mein tha (It was in my destiny. I kept meeting good people. It was in my fate),” he had said about his cricketing career.It seems Jitesh will now have to accept his fate and, hopefully, bounce back from this setback.

With a pair of thick glasses perched on his nose, Comrade Prakash Reddy, 75, peers out of the glass wall of his third-floor office. “The skyline has completely changed. Malls and residential towers have replaced mills and their chimneys, which dotted Parel and neighbouring areas,” sighs Reddy, a senior member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Mumbai. “We may not be politically very strong, but the left movement survives in our struggle,” claims Reddy, seated at a table silhouetted against a wall from where many stalwarts, including CPI founder-trade union leader S A Dange, look down benignly.As CPI prepares to hold a valedictory function of its centenary celebrations—founded on December 25, 1925, in Kanpur—at Dadar on December 26, it seems apt to look at where the left movement and its ardent supporters in the city stand today. Mumbai once reverberated with the revolutionary slogan of inquilab zindabad as girni kamgars (mill workers) battled owners’ alleged apathy even as their leaders dreamed of naya savera (a new dawn). Many critiqued these leaders as romantics who chased chimera and dreamed of utopia.The CPI’s current office—third floor of the 22-storey Rudra Heights in Parel East, replacing the famous Dalvi building—speaks volumes about the movement’s capitulation to the market forces. In exchange of nine rooms the party once owned at the famous Dalvi building, it now occupies two floors, including the one which houses offices of All India Federation, Mumbai Girni Kamgar Union, and National Federation of Indian Women.What has the left achieved, and what is left of the left in the city?“Communists were at the forefront of the Royal Indian Navy revolt (1946) and Samyukta Maharashtra movement. Nationalisation of banks, bonus, and reforms in sectors like LIC, GIC, end of the privy purses, all were achieved because of our struggle,” says CPI’s Secretary Milind Ranade, 63. As also general secretary of Maharashtra Municipal Kamgar Union and Kachra Vahtuk Shramik Sangh, which together have 15,000 members, Ranade commands influence. “We took our fight to the Supreme Court to make 4,500 contractual safai karamcharis permanent. The spirit to fight for the rights is alive,,” says Ranade.There were over 200,000 workers in 60 cotton mills in the city. Supporting them were members of the communism-inspired Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA) and Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association (IPTA). Sahir Ludhianvi’s haunting lyrics in Pyaasa (1957), “Jinhein naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hain” and “Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai” echoed the working class’s yearning to end exploitation. The likes of P C Joshi and Kaifi Azmi were card-carrying members of the CPI. Sajjad Zaheer, Ali Sardar Jafri, Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, and many others helped the left movement.”Post-independence, our target has changed, but the aim to help the working class remains,” says Charul Joshi, 72, a former millhand who is holding a photo exhibition of left-leaning writers and poets at the December 26 event.Left-aligned theatre and cinema, says theatre and film director Ramesh Talwar, have suffered a setback. “Sagar Sarhadi of the film ‘Bazaar’ (1982) fame put Rs 1 crore to make ‘Chausar’ but could not release it as no one bought it.

NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in recent reports, flagged how railways failed to boost its non-fare revenue despite holding vast stretches of vacant land and how dues amounting to Rs 4,087 crore from 269 private siding owners remained unrecovered by different zones till March 2023, pointing to weak monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.CAG audit focussed on two activities of RLDA, the railway entity for development of its surplus land for commercial use and revenue generation, commercial development of vacant railway land and construction of multi-functional complexes (MFC), from 2018-19 to 2022-23. It found that as of March 2023, railways owned 4.88 lakh hectares of land, of which 62,740 hectares was lying vacant, with only 997.8 hectares (1.6%) having been entrusted to RLDA. During this period, the Railway Board had received 188 proposals for 657 hectares, and it entrusted 59 of the 188 proposals to RLDA, following which RLDA awarded 35 sites to developers.It found that despite availability of such quantum of land, RLDA, as of March 2023, could award only 8.8% (87.76 hectares) of land entrusted to it for development. It noticed that several sites were entrusted to RLDA despite unresolved land title issues, encroachments and other encumbrances, resulting in non-monetisation of such sites. It identified systemic and operational issues that had adversely affected timely monetisation of railway land and realisation of revenue.It observed that Railway Board, while processing proposals for entrustment of land to RLDA, should have ensured that the land parcels were free from encroachments and other encumbrances, noting that weak inter-agency coordination in Indian Railways had contributed significantly to delays. “Alarmingly, none of the awarded commercial sites were developed as of March 2023,” the report added.In another report, it detected the failure of railway zones to recover dues outstanding from private siding owners. It has recommended the railways various measures to improve and track recovery of dues.

KOLKATA: PM Narendra Modi used a fog-forced virtual rally in Bengal Saturday to pursue two parallel damage-control efforts – shoring up support among Matua voters unsettled by an electoral roll revision and repairing political fallout from his recent “Bankim da” reference in Parliament.PM Modi was to address a public meeting at Taherpur in Nadia district but his helicopter could not land because of heavy fog. He returned to Kolkata airport and spoke virtually for 18 minutes.The Matua community – electorally crucial in Nadia and North 24 Parganas – has shown signs of unease over EC’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls. At the same time, Trinamool Congress has targeted Modi and BJP over his Lok Sabha reference to Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay as “Bankim da”, calling it proof that the party was culturally alien to Bengal. Calling Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay “Rishi Bankim babu”, Modi praised the author of ‘Anandamath’ and creator of ‘Vande Mataram‘, saying Bengal and Bangla had enriched Indian history and culture. “Vande Mataram was one such contribution and the entire nation is celebrating its 150th anniversary,” he said. “Bengal was blessed with a sage like Rishi Bankim babu, who sowed seeds of emancipation in British-ruled India.”He paid tribute to Matua icons Harichand Thakur, Guruchand Thakur and Baroma, praising the community for “taking their philosophy of social development forward” and crediting Harichand Thakur with teaching “the virtue of karma”. He also invoked Sri Chaitanya, describing him as an icon of love and compassion.Modi linked SIR to infiltration, an emotive subject in border districts adjoining Bangladesh, including Nadia and North 24 Parganas. “I can see them shouting ‘go back Modi’ slogans,” he said, referring to TMC supporters. “But they are tight-lipped when it comes to saying ‘go back’ to infiltrators. The infiltrators, who are trying to control Bengal, are close to Trinamool’s heart. That is why they are trying to save infiltrators and opposing SIR.“The speech did not directly address Matua fears linked to SIR. In Nadia, more than 2.7 lakh voters – over 6% of the electorate – have been flagged as “unmapped”, unable to establish linkage with the 2002 voters’ list. In North 24 Parganas, over 7 lakh voters – about 8.8% – fall in that category. Matua elders say a substantial share of those numbers belongs to their community.BJP functionaries acknowledged Matua support played a major role in the party’s strong performance in 2021 assembly polls and 2024 general elections, and have issued assurances to calm anxieties. Some senior members privately expressed surprise that Modi did not directly engage with the issue.Modi also pitched BJP as the sole alternative for Bengal’s development after virtually inaugurating construction of a four-lane highway. He contrasted NDA’s landslide victory in Bihar with what he called “mahajangalraj” in Bengal, blaming Trinamool for stalled growth.

GURGAON: A passerby helped rescue two minor girls, sisters aged 8 and 6, from an auto driver who had kidnapped them and driven to a forested area in Manesar, where he forced himself on the older girl.Later, as police pursued him, the assailant jumped from KMP flyover in Pachgaon. He suffered fractures in both his legs and was taken into custody.

The auto driver, 29-year-old Sarvesh, is married and has a daughter, police said. He lives alone in Kasan while his family is in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur. Police said that the sisters were among several children playing at a ground in Manesar when the accused stopped there around 5pm last Saturday.

He zeroed in on the sisters and walked up to them with chocolates and other eatables he had bought, indicating he had planned it.There, he struck up a conversation with the girls and asked them if they wanted to go on a ride around the ground with him. “When they agreed, the accused took the girls to an isolated place and sexually assaulted the older girl while the younger sister was in the auto. A local happened to be passing by, spotted the auto driver and raised the alarm. The accused fled the spot, leaving his auto at the spot,” a police officer said. The passerby immediately alerted the police control room, following which a patrolling team, Manesar police, and a crime branch team reached the spot. Police informed the girls’ family and took them for a medical examination. Multiple teams were formed. On Monday, the Manesar crime branch traced the accused using online and offline intelligence. “Sarvesh was preparing to flee from Gurgaon and was waiting for a bus on KMP Expressway. A police team found him just in time. Seeing them, he panicked and jumped from the flyover. He is undergoing treatment in a local hospital as he suffered a fracture on his legs after he jumped from KMP flyover after seeing the cops. This is a heinous crime, and the accused should get stringent punishment,” a police officer said. Sarvesh has been named in an FIR filed under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Manesar police station. While there were no major physical injuries, both girls are undergoing counselling, sources said.

Team India have announced their much-anticipated squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, and it comes with several headline-making decisions. The biggest talking point from the selection meeting is the exclusion of Shubman Gill, who was serving as vice-captain in the shortest format, while Axar Patel has been elevated to the deputy’s role. The squad was officially unveiled at a press conference addressed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia, India captain Suryakumar Yadav, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

Shubman Gill dropped and Axar Patel named deputy of Suryakumar Yadav

Gill’s absence from the 15-man squad has raised eyebrows, especially considering his leadership role in recent T20I series. However, Agarkar clarified that the decision was driven purely by team balance and current combinations rather than past roles.

“Shubman was the vice-captain, he’s not in the team. Axar was the vice-captain when the T20s used to clash,” Agarkar said, underlining the selectors’ preference for flexibility and all-round options heading into a global tournament.

Axar’s promotion reflects India’s continued emphasis on multi-skilled players who can influence games in multiple phases, particularly on varied conditions expected during the World Cup.

Ishan Kishan earns recall after SMAT heroics

One of the most positive stories from the selection is the return of Ishan Kishan. The left-hander forced his way back into the national setup after a sensational Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign. Kishan finished the tournament as the highest run-scorer and crowned it with a match-winning century in the final, guiding Jharkhand to a memorable title triumph.

His recent form and ability to dominate the powerplay made him an irresistible pick for the selectors, especially with India keen on explosive starts at the top of the order.

Rinku Singh back as finisher in big-tournament plans

Another notable inclusion is Rinku Singh, who has found himself in and out of the T20I side over the past year. Despite limited opportunities, Rinku’s reputation as a calm and destructive finisher has worked in his favour.

“Combinations more than anything else, two keepers at the top. Rinku comes who gives that lower middle-order option,” Agarkar explained, highlighting the need for depth and flexibility in crunch moments.

Also READ: Top 5 fastest fifties for India in T20I cricket ft. Hardik Pandya – IND vs SA

Likely combinations and leadership core

With Gill missing, Sanju Samson is expected to continue as the wicketkeeper-batter and could open alongside Abhishek Sharma. The squad also features experienced campaigners like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, alongside a strong spin contingent led by Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.

As India lock in their plans for the 2026 T20 World Cup, the message from the selectors is clear: current form, adaptability, and role clarity will trump reputation as the Men in Blue chase another global title.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakaravarthy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Rinku Singh

Also READ: Fans go wild as Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya help India demolishes South Africa in Ahmedabad T20I to clinch a 3-1 series win

NEW DELHI: Holding that the Constitution itself is put at risk if the balance between power of the State and dignity of the individual is disturbed, Supreme Court held that govt cannot deny renewal of passport to an accused or convict when the court concerned has given no-objection to get it renewed with a condition that prior permission would be needed to go abroad.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and A G Masih said where criminal cases are pending then a “no objection certificate” or permission from criminal court may override an adverse police report for renewal of passport. It quashed order of passport authority rejecting renewal of passport to one Mahesh Kumar Agrawal who is convicted in one case in Delhi and being prosecuted by NIA court in Ranchi in coal mining case. He challenged his conviction in Delhi HC and his appeal is pending. He got bail in both cases and got no-objection from both DelhI HC and Ranchi court for renewal.Allowing his plea, the bench said, “Liberty, in our constitutional scheme, is not a gift of the State but its first obligation. Freedom of a citizen to move, to travel, to pursue livelihood and opportunity, subject to law, is an essential part of guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution. The State may, where statute so provides, regulate or restrain that freedom in interests of justice, security or public order but such restraint must be narrowly confined to what is necessary, proportionate to the object sought to be achieved, and clearly anchored in law,” it said.It said the law permits court to allow renewal of passport while retaining complete control over each instance of foreign travel by insisting on its prior approval as had been done in the present case. “In our view, once criminal courts, with full knowledge of the pending proceedings, consciously allowed renewal subject to the condition that the appellant shall not travel abroad without their permission and, in case of NIA court, required redeposit of renewed passport, underlying concern of Section 6(2)(f) stood adequately addressed under judicial supervision,” it said. Section 6(2)(f) talks about denying passport when criminal case is pending.“In the present case, both criminal courts have adopted a different but equally legitimate method of control by allowing renewal while reserving to themselves the power to regulate each instance of foreign travel. That method satisfies the statutory concern of securing the accused’s presence…” it said.“Denial of renewal of a passport does not operate in a vacuum. This court has repeatedly held in a catena of judgements that right to travel abroad and right to hold a passport are facets of right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Any restriction on that right must be fair, just and reasonable, and must bear a rational nexus with a legitimate purpose,” it said.

Elon Musk became the first person in history to reach a net worth of more than $700 billion following a court ruling that reinstated a massive compensation package tied to his role at electric‑vehicle maker Tesla, reports news agency Reuters.Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court restored stock options from Musk’s 2018 pay package that had been voided by a lower court, leading to a surge in his estimated wealth to about $749 billion. The options are now valued at roughly $139 billion, far more than the original $56 billion figure when the deal was first approved.The high court said the earlier decision to cancel Musk’s pay package was unfair and wrong. This reversed a 2024 ruling that had called the deal “unfathomable.” With the package restored, Musk’s wealth increased significantly and made him the richest person in the world by an absurd margin.Earlier this week, Musk’s wealth passed $600 billion for the first time, following reports that his space company SpaceX might go public, which could increase his fortune even more.In November, Tesla shareholders approved a new pay plan for Musk worth $1 trillion, the largest ever for a corporate executive. The step showed strong support from investors for his plans to make Tesla a leader not in electric cars and also in artificial intelligence, robotics.Musk’s expensive ventures extends beyond Tesla, where he owns a hefty share of stock. He is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer and space transport company behind reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite internet network. In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Musk’s ventures include Neuralink, a neurotechnology firm developing brain‑computer interfaces, and The Boring Company, which focuses on tunnel construction and innovative transport systems. He also oversees X Corp., the parent of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and xAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) research company.Musk’s wealth now far exceeds that of his nearest rival, Google co‑founder Larry Page, by nearly $500 billion on the Forbes list.The billionaire also briefly worked with the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, under US President Donald Trump in the White House. DOGE was set up by executive order to cut government waste and make federal operations more efficient, and Musk served as a special government employee and senior adviser on the initiative without a salary, providing guidance on cost‑cutting measures and restructuring efforts.