The World Bank has approved $700 million in fresh financing for Pakistan as part of a longer-term programme aimed at supporting macroeconomic stability and improving public service delivery.As per Reuters, the funding has been cleared under the Public Resources for Inclusive Development – Multiphase Programmatic Approach (PRID-MPA), a framework through which Pakistan could receive up to $1.35 billion over multiple phases. The lender said the latest approval represents a major tranche under this broader initiative.Out of the $700 million, $600 million will be directed towards federal-level programmes, while the remaining $100 million will support a provincial initiative in Sindh, Pakistan’s southern province. The focus of the financing is to strengthen public resources and improve the delivery of essential services at both national and provincial levels.The approval comes months after the World Bank extended a $47.9 million grant in August to support primary education reforms in Punjab, the country’s most populous province. Together, the funding decisions signal continued engagement by multilateral lenders with Pakistan as it works to stabilise its economy and manage long-standing structural challenges.However, concerns over governance and institutional weaknesses remain. An IMF–World Bank report uploaded by Pakistan’s finance ministry in November flagged serious issues, including fragmented regulation, opaque budgeting practices and political capture of public resources. According to the report, these factors continue to deter investment and weaken the country’s revenue base, limiting the effectiveness of economic reforms.The latest World Bank financing also comes at a time when Pakistan remains heavily dependent on external funding to support its economy. Public debt has continued to rise, driven by slower economic growth and sustained borrowing from multilateral institutions. Recent inflows from bodies such as the IMF and other lenders have helped shore up external reserves and support fiscal consolidation efforts, but debt pressures remain elevated.Despite these challenges, Pakistan’s economy has shown signs of gradual recovery following two years of volatility. Growth has picked up modestly, the current account has moved into surplus, and foreign exchange reserves have improved, helped by multilateral disbursements and higher remittance inflows.The World Bank’s phased financing approach allows it to retain leverage over future funding while continuing to support Pakistan’s economic stabilisation efforts. How effectively the new funds translate into lasting reforms and improved service delivery will likely determine the pace and scale of further disbursements under the $1.35 billion programme, as per Reuters.

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Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Saturday announced India’s squads for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The T20I series will begin on January 21 in Nagpur and will serve as India’s final assignment in the format before the global tournament, scheduled from February 7 to March 8. India have been drawn in Group A for the T20 World Cup, alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the United States. The hosts will open their campaign against the USA on February 7 in Mumbai.

Despite a lean run with the bat in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, which India won 3–1, Suryakumar Yadav has been entrusted with the captaincy for the marquee event. In 20 matches and 18 innings this year, Suryakumar has scored 213 runs at an average of 14.20, striking at just over 125, without registering a single half-century.

Full Squads

India T20Is vs New Zealand: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan India T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan India’s T20 World Cup squad sees some major changes. Notably, Shubman Gill, who was India’s vice-captain in the T20 setup, has been dropped, with all-rounder Axar Patel named as the new vice-captain. Gill had struggled to find form since opening the innings. Brought back into the playing XI as part of the management’s long-term leadership plan, his performances remained underwhelming. In 15 T20 matches since his comeback, Gill has scored 291 runs at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137, failing to register a single fifty.Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, who had performed exceptionally well, including scoring three centuries as an opener, was moved down the order. His Asia Cup performance was mixed, though he finished as India’s third-highest run-scorer with 132 runs, behind Abhishek Sharma (314) and Tilak Varma (213). A solitary outing in Australia at No. 3 yielded little impact, after which Samson was dropped from the playing XI. In the last T20 against South Africa, Samson opened the innings again and scored a solid 37 off 22 balls, giving India a good start. The team management now plans to return to their original composition of playing a wicketkeeper at the top. Consequently, Jitesh Sharma has been dropped, and Ishan Kishan has been drafted as the second keeper. Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh make the T20 World Cup squad, while Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma miss out. Kishan comes off a stellar domestic season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he captained Jharkhand to their maiden T20 title. He finished the season as the highest run-scorer, amassing 517 runs in 10 games at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of 197.

US-listed shares of Infosys shot up as much as 40% within minutes of the market opening on Friday, briefly adding tens of billions of dollars to the Indian IT major’s market value. The sudden surge pushed the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to a 52-week high of $30 and forced the New York Stock Exchange to halt trading due to extreme volatility, according to ET. The sharp move took place during a low-liquidity holiday session and was not linked to any new announcement from the company.Why did the rally raise eyebrows?The speed and scale of the rise caught traders off guard because there was no obvious trigger. Analysts pointed out that such extreme swings are unusual for a large, widely tracked stock like Infosys. The trading halt itself highlighted how fragile markets can become when liquidity is thin and automated systems dominate activity.Was a short squeeze involved?One of the main explanations doing the rounds was a possible short squeeze. This happens when investors betting against a stock are forced to buy it back quickly as prices rise, pushing the stock even higher. Traders quoted by Moneycontrol said a major lender may have recalled 45–50 million Infosys ADR shares that had been lent out. That number is far higher than the usual daily trading volume of about seven to eight million shares. In a thin market, such a recall could have forced short sellers to rush for shares, accelerating the spike.Did a technical glitch play a role?Another theory is centred on a data error. According to The Chronicle Journal, several market data platforms mislabelled the Infosys ticker ‘INFY’ as ‘American Noble Gas Inc’. While the company name was wrong, the financial data and news attached to the ticker still referred to Infosys, including details about its AI investments and $75 billion market value. This mismatch may have confused algorithmic trading systems, triggering automated buying and adding fuel to the rally.Did the sector backdrop help?Indian IT stocks had received some support after Accenture posted better-than-expected results. However, analysts said this alone could not explain such a dramatic move in Infosys ADRs, as per ET.Infosys clarified that there was no material reason behind the volatility. In an exchange filing, the company said the ADRs saw sharp price movements on December 19, triggering two volatility trading pauses on the NYSE, but added that there were “no material events that require disclosure” under listing regulations.Whether driven by short covering, a technical glitch or both, the episode underlines how quickly markets can spiral when low liquidity, automated trading and data errors collide — even for blue-chip stocks.

AHMEDABAD: Former India captain Rohit Sharma will feature in the first two matches for Mumbai in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, and all-rounder Shivam Dube have not been included in Mumbai’s squad for the domestic One-Day tournament. The team will be captained by all-rounder Shardul Thakur.The group stage of VHT will be held between Dec 24, 2025 and January 8, 2026. Mumbai have been placed in Elite Group C, alongside Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Goa, and will play their matches in Jaipur.

“Rohit will play in Mumbai’s first two matches of the tournament (against Sikkim on Dec 24, and against Uttarakhand on Dec 26, at Jaipur),” a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association told TOI on Friday. The BCCI has made it mandatory for all current national team players to turn up in at least two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, unless a player is injured or recovering from injury at CoE. Earlier, it emerged that former India captain Virat Kohli too will turn out in VHT for Delhi.“All the India players will be accommodated in the Mumbai squad as and when they are available,” Mumbai’s senior selection committee chairman Sanjay Patil told this paper, after his panel picked the squad for the tournament on Friday. Also present in the selection meeting was former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, currently the MCA’s men’s cricket advisor.Jaiswal, India’s Test and ODI opener, was hospitalized in Pune after suffering from a bout of acute gastroenteritis after Mumbai’s last match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy against Rajasthan. “He will be included in the Mumbai squad once he gets clearance from the medical team,” Patil said.India play their next international series starting with the three-match ODI series against New Zealand from Jan 11, 2026 in Vadodara.Meanwhile, it’s learnt that former India and Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane has asked to be rested from the initial matches Mumbai team in the league stage of the tournament. “He has got a hamstring issue, and will rest and recover. He will join the Mumbai team after the first couple of matches,” Patil said.The selectors have given a maiden call-up to opener Ishan Mulchandani. Young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who managed to score just 49 runs in four matches@16.33 in the recently-held Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, was lucky to survive the axe. Prolific domestic batter Sarfaraz Khan, who was in sizzling form in SMAT, hammering 329 runs in seven matches at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.80, including three fifties and a century, is apart of the squad, and so is his younger brother, allrounder Musheer Khan.Though Mumbai failed to defend their SMAT title, failing to advance beyond the Super League Stage, Patil was quite pleased with the team’s performance in the T20 tournament. “I’m quite happy with our performance. We won eight out of our 10 matches, which means that we played some good cricket. Everyone played well, especially Sarfaraz Khan. It’s just that we suffered badly due to the Net Run Rate Rule,” Patil said. Mumbai won two out of their three matches in the Super League stage, but crashed out as their NRR was inferior to the other teams.According to the rules of the tournament, the NRR was counted from scratch for the Super League. And, after three Super League games, if multiple teams were on equal points, then instead of looking at the head-to-head figures, the NRR was taken into consideration.

Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon push Australia to the cusp of Ashes 2025-26 triumph against England in Adelaide. The third Test of the Ashes 2025-26 series at Adelaide Oval, starting December 17, 2025, saw Australia dominate England on Day 4, setting a daunting 435-run target after posting 371 and 349. With England reeling at 207/6, needing 228 more at stumps, Cummins and Lyon’s incisive bowling sparked massive crowd celebrations, inching Australia toward a series-clinching win.​

Australia’s resilient batting stand put up a massive target against England on Day 4

Australia’s second innings began steadily on Day 4 but witnessed a dramatic collapse after a strong platform, yet they amassed 349 to forge ahead. Travis Head‘s masterful 170 off 219 balls, including 16 fours and two sixes, anchored the innings, reaching 150 in 205 balls during a 150-run fifth-wicket stand with Alex Carey (72 off 128). Key partnerships propelled milestones: 300 runs in 71.5 overs and 250 in 61.6 overs, but post-Head’s dismissal at 311/5 (73.6 overs), the lower order crumbled, losing 38 runs for six wickets in 10.8 overs.​

England’s bowlers struck back decisively. Josh Tongue claimed 4-70, including Head, Cameron Green (7), and Josh Inglis (10), while Brydon Carse took 3-80, dismissing Jake Weatherald (1), Marnus Labuschagne (13), and Lyon (0). Usman Khawaja (40) and Carey added crucial runs before Ben Stokes (1-26) and Jofra Archer (1-20) mopped up, with Australia all out in 84.4 overs at 4.12 runs per over. Despite the late wobble from 311/5 to 349 all out, the total left England facing history’s fourth-highest successful chase target in Tests.​

Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon strike England down as Australia eye Ashes 2025-26 glory

Cummins and Lyon turned Day 4 at the Adelaide Oval into a theatre of dominance, sending the crowd into raptures as Australia tightened its grip on a likely Ashes 2025–26 triumph. With England attempting an increasingly uphill chase, Cummins led from the front with a fiery spell that shattered the visitors’ early resolve. Striking in his very first over, the Australian captain removed Ben Duckett and soon added the prized wickets of Ollie Pope and Joe Root, finishing with superb figures that reflected both control and menace. At the other end, Lyon played the perfect foil, using guile and patience to break England’s middle order, dismissing Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and, most crucially, the well-set Zak Crawley, whose gritty resistance briefly kept England afloat.

England’s innings never truly found momentum, crawling along at a slow run rate as Australian bowlers applied relentless pressure. Crawley’s half-century offered a flicker of hope, but once he fell, the collapse after tea laid bare England’s fragile middle order. Cummins’ supporting cast, including Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, maintained tight lines, ensuring there was no escape. By stumps, England were staring at a daunting target with their tail exposed, while the Adelaide crowd sensed the inevitable. With Australia needing just a few more breakthroughs, a 3–0 series lead now appears firmly within reach.

Also WATCH: Nathan Lyon’s deadly spin sends Harry Brook packing on Day 4 of Adelaide Test

Here’s how fans reacted:

Nathan Lyon to-

Zak Crawley
Ben Stokes
Harry Brook#Ashes2025 pic.twitter.com/sw4xobBMDQ

— SanjayGandhi (@SanjayGandhi41) December 20, 2025

The modern-day great Nathan Lyon 🐐 has been Australia’s X-factor since 2011.#AUSvsENG #NathanLyon #Ashes2025 #ashes25 ⚱️ pic.twitter.com/6OuFU2fe77

— महेंद्र बाहुबली (@Mahisi1996) December 20, 2025

Nathan Lyon’s sensational spell puts Australia on the brink of retaining the Ashes in Adelaide 🔥#WTC27 pic.twitter.com/iDFeJv79hu

— Kunal Khan (@kkunalkhan) December 20, 2025

NATHAN LYON IS INEVITABLE!

In the space of just a few overs, he’s cleaned up Harry Brook (30) AND Ben Stokes (5)! Both batters absolutely bamboozled by the drift and dip. Brook went for the reverse sweep Garry hit the stumps. Stokes played back Garry took the wood.#Ashes #Lyon pic.twitter.com/AmfAnJAC8k

— Arun R Arya (@arunarya6396) December 20, 2025

3.3 overs, and Nathan Lyon wreaks havoc:

❌ Brook b Lyon
❌ Stokes b Lyon
❌ Crawley st Carey b Lyon

A spell for the ages — pure magic from Lyon!

No wonder they call him the GOAT 🐐#AUSvsENG #Ashes2025 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/eodKq2Qttn

— Arshy (@imArshit) December 20, 2025

Only two men have taken 150+ wickets as Test captain: Imran Khan (187) and Pat Cummins (150) 💪 pic.twitter.com/x0Gnlunnel

— Sohail Khan (@k42068387) December 20, 2025

PAT CUMMINS GETS JOE ROOT FOR THE 13TH TIME IN TEST CRICKET. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SyBwhy2zn4

— Muhammad Zubair (@MuhammadZu83460) December 20, 2025

🚨 AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND ASHES, Third Test Match 3rd DAY , STUMPS

ENGLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 AT 207 for 6

Will Jacks – 11*
Jamie Smith – 2*

Pat Cummins : 10 – 3 – 24 – 3

Australia need 4 wickets to win #Ashes2025 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/MESedYgjrT

— CricketPremi (@AkhandSharma9) December 20, 2025

Pat Cummins — a modern-day great captain

Pat Cummins has become the second bowler in Test history to take 150 wickets as captain.

Only the great Imran Khan stands ahead, with 187 wickets as Test captain.

⭐ Elite company. Historic milestone. Leadership with impact. pic.twitter.com/wC1IlbapHA

— Abdul Rehman Yaseen (@Aryaseen5911) December 20, 2025

Australia have edged closer to retaining the Ashes 💪#AdelaideTest #AUSvsENG #Ashes pic.twitter.com/2LlAdfLOeb

— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) December 20, 2025

Also WATCH: Marnus Labuschagne grabs a screamer to remove Ollie Pope on Day 4 of the third Ashes 2025-26 Test in Adelaide

Pakistan men’s hockey team (IANS)

Former Pakistan hockey Olympian Anjum Saeed has landed in controversy following an incident during the national team’s return journey from the FIH Pro League in Argentina, after he was reportedly caught smoking on an aircraft while it was refuelling at Rio de Janeiro airport. Saeed, who was part of the senior Pakistan team’s support staff as manager for the Pro League tour, was travelling back with the squad when the incident occurred during a stopover in Brazil. According to reports, he was found smoking on board while the aircraft was on the ground for refuelling in Rio, a serious safety violation. As a result, Saeed and one Pakistan player were not permitted to reboard the flight, which was scheduled to continue on to Dubai. The former defender and midfielder later returned to Pakistan separately and has since claimed that his absence from the team’s return was due to personal work in Dubai. However, officials have disputed this explanation and confirmed that the issue has drawn the attention of the Pakistan Sports Board. A senior PSB official said the board had formally asked the Pakistan Hockey Federation to conduct an independent inquiry into the matter, stressing that the episode reflected poorly on Pakistan sport. The official added that while the board had already gathered preliminary information of its own, it wanted the federation to take responsibility and determine what action was required given the seriousness of the incident. According to the official, the situation escalated when Saeed and another player allegedly reacted angrily after he was confronted by airline staff for smoking during the refuelling stop. The matter was then reported to the authorities, leading to both individuals being offloaded from the flight. Saeed is a well-known figure in Pakistan hockey, having featured in the 1992 Olympic Games, including the semi-final, and being part of the squad that won both the World Cup and Champions Trophy in 1994. The controversy has further overshadowed Pakistan’s campaign in the FIH Pro League, where the team struggled during their first-ever appearance in the elite competition.

With no signs of slowing down, ‘Dhurandhar’ starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Rakesh Bedi, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, and more, continues to dominate at the box office. The Aditya Dhar film entered its third week on Friday and has already minted over Rs. 480 crore. At this pace, the movie is expected to make more than Rs 500 crore on Saturday. According to the trade reports, currently, on its third Saturday, the movie has already made over Rs 8 crore. For a detailed box office report of the spy thriller, read below.

‘Dhurandhar’ box office collection day 16 (LIVE)

According to Sacnilk, the movie made Rs. 22.5 crore on Friday, and on Saturday, day 16, until now the film has added Rs. 8.61 crore to the tally. Currently, the movie’s net total collection in India stands at Rs 491.61 crore.

As aforementioned, the movie is expected to make more than Rs 500 crore during its second weekend. These numbers came amid the competition from the new international release, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’ The sci-fi drama opened with Rs. 20.05 crore on Friday, and so far on Saturday, it has collected Rs. 4.89 crore. The net collection of the movie in India is Rs.24.94 crore.

‘Dhurandhar’ – day wise break down of the box office

Based on true incidents, ‘Dhurandhar’ had a massive opening, making it the second-highest opener of 2025. In its first week, the movie showed impressive growth, and the second week was no different either. Here are the day-wise numbers of the movie.Day 1 [1st Friday] Rs 28 CrDay 2 [1st Saturday] Rs 32 CrDay 3 [1st Sunday] Rs 43 CrDay 4 [1st Monday] Rs 23.25 CrDay 5 [1st Tuesday] Rs 27 CrDay 6 [1st Wednesday] Rs 27 CrDay 7 [1st Thursday] Rs 27 CrWeek 1 Collection Rs 207.25 CrDay 8 [2nd Friday] Rs 32.5 CrDay 9 [2nd Saturday] Rs 53 CrDay 10 [2nd Sunday] Rs 58 CrDay 11 [2nd Monday] Rs 30.5 CrDay 12 [2nd Tuesday] Rs 30.5 CrDay 13 [2nd Wednesday] Rs 25.5 CrDay 14 [2nd Thursday] Rs 23.25 CrWeek 2 Collection Rs 253.25 CrDay 15 [3rd Friday] Rs 22.50 CrDay 16 [3rd Saturday] Rs 8.61 CrTotal Rs 491.61 CrDISCLAIMER: The box office numbers in this article are compiled from our proprietary sources and diverse public data. We strive for accuracy and all figures are approximate unless explicitly mentioned. We offer a fair representation of the project’s box office performance. We are open to feedback and suggestions on toientertainment@timesinternet.in