Shubman Gill (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Shubman Gill’s exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup squad continues to spark debate across cricketing circles. The decision surprised many, particularly given Gill’s recent role as vice-captain in India’s T20I series against South Africa. While some may justify the move on the grounds of team balance and strategy, dropping him at the last minute after entrusting him with a leadership position has raised questions about the selectors’ planning and communication. Gill had been reintegrated into India’s T20I setup earlier this year during the Asia Cup and was once again handed the vice-captaincy. Despite this, he struggled to secure a consistent spot at the top of the order, scoring 291 runs across 15 matches at a strike rate of 137.26, without registering a half-century.

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh criticised the decision, expressing disbelief at Gill’s omission. “Shubman Gill is a vice-captain. What is the reason behind dropping him? Just because he failed in 4-5 innings? Indian cricketers have had so many players who have barely managed to perform in 10 matches out of 100 opportunities,” Yograj told Ravish Bisht on a YouTube show. Singh also highlighted the impact of such decisions on younger players, using Abhishek Sharma as an example. “They still played; you already know the reason why. Young Abhishek Sharma arrived a couple of years ago. If he fails four innings, will you drop him as well?” he questioned, cautioning against inconsistent, knee-jerk reactions by the selection panel. Recounting past instances of backing senior players despite temporary struggles, Yograj referenced Kapil Dev’s treatment under Bishan Singh Bedi during the England tour. “Let me give you an example of the ‘great’ Kapil Dev. When we toured Pakistan with Bishan Singh Bedi as captain, Kapil Dev continued to play matches despite failing with bat and ball. But Bishan Singh Bedi still took him on the subsequent tour of England,” he said, emphasising the importance of trusting a player’s overall value to the team rather than reacting solely to recent form. Gill’s absence has reignited conversations about selection philosophy and the balance between short-term results and long-term team planning.

NEW DELHI: A delay of over four years has pushed up the cost of the country’s first Bullet Train project by around 83% to Rs 1.98 lakh crore. The first leg of the project, between Surat and Bilimora, is scheduled to be inaugurated in Aug 2027, while the entire 508-km corridor is likely to be completed by Dec 2029.Responding to a question on the cost escalation for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail Corridor project being implemented by NHRSCL, at a briefing on govt’s Pragati initiative, Railway Board CEO and chairman Satish Kumar said, “While the final sanction for the revised cost is yet to be taken, it’s around Rs 1.98 lakh crore. It’s still under revision… It will be finalised within a month or two.”Initially, the project was sanctioned at a cost of around Rs 1.1 lakh crore. The project has faced time and cost overruns due to different reasons, including delay in land acquisition, statutory clearances and finalisation of the rolling stock (trains).In a statement last week, railways said that overall physical progress in the project stood at 55.6% until Nov 30 and financial progress at 69.6%. Until Nov end, Rs 85,801 crore had been spent on the project. TOI has learnt that PM Narendra Modi, while reviewing work of railway ministry last month, had directed it to expedite completion of the project.Earlier on Friday, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually witnessed from Rail Bhawan the final breakthrough in a 1.5-km-long mountain tunnel, a part of the project, in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. “A big milestone has been achieved today (Friday). This achievement is the breakthrough of the mountain tunnel 5,” he said.In an official release, the ministry said that it is among the longest in Palghar district, being located between the Virar and Boisar bullet train stations. “It is the second tunnel breakthrough in Maharashtra, as the first 5-km-long underground tunnel between Thane and BKC was completed in Sept 2025,” it said. The project passing through Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli is designed to operate bullet trains at a speed of 320 kmph.The corridor will also be fit for operating the advanced Japanese E10 series Shinkansen trains as it is being designed to allow trains to run at 20 kmph higher speed. Once completed, the corridor will lead to an estimated reduction of nearly 95% in carbon dioxide emissions compared to road transport.

What began as a platform for last-minute grocery runs is rapidly turning into a serious marketplace for beauty. On quick commerce apps, a bottle of anti-ageing serum now reaches consumers faster than many products can promise visible results, marking a clear shift in how beauty and personal care (BPC) products are being bought in India.The category has quietly become one of quick commerce’s biggest growth drivers, generating an estimated $100 million in monthly gross merchandise value, ET reported. The figure is only slightly lower than Nykaa’s average monthly beauty sales, signalling how quickly consumers are embracing instant delivery for products that were once carefully planned purchases rather than impulse buys.Executives say demand has expanded across both mass and premium segments. “The BPC category has been one of the fastest-growing segments this year. We are seeing strong traction across core segments: makeup, skincare, and everyday beauty essentials,” Zepto chief business officer Devendra Meel told ET. He also pointed to rising interest in high-end skincare and cosmetics on the platform.Market data backs this momentum. According to Redseer Strategy Consultants, beauty sales on quick commerce platforms surged 160% year-on-year in the last quarter, far outstripping the 20% growth seen on traditional ecommerce platforms over the same period.The growing reach of quick commerce is also drawing attention from global beauty companies. “In India, it’s clearly a game changer for us because whether it’s quick commerce or the traditional ecom platform, it allows us to reach consumers all over the country, which we couldn’t do before,” L’Oreal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said during a recent earnings call.For brands, the channel is already contributing a sizeable share of revenue. Quick commerce now accounts for between 7% and 25% of sales for several direct-to-consumer and legacy players. Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth and The Derma Co, has described quick commerce as its fastest-growing sales channel, contributing about 10% of its overall revenue.

GHAZIABAD: During a verification drive at a slum cluster in Kaushambi a week ago, an SHO decided to “put pressure” on residents to reveal their true nationality by holding a cellphone to their back like a scanner and telling them it would automatically detect if they were illegals.The checks happened on Dec 23 in Bhowapur slum, which has around 50 shanties. All such verification exercises have an established protocol that are supposed to protect people’s dignity as security agencies go about their work.

But the team in Bhowapur led by SHO of Kaushambi police station Ajay Sharma thought there was nothing wrong in throwing in an element of alarm. The SHO’s phone scan method came to light through videos of the incident that surfaced on social media on Thursday. One 26-second video shows the SHO accompanied by other police officers and RAF personnel asking a slum dweller to show his identity card. When he furnishes one and says he is a resident of Araria in Bihar, Sharma asks him whether he is from Bihar or Bangladesh, to which the slum dweller replies that he is from Bihar. The SHO then decides to tell him he has a machine that “immediately” says where a person is from.The SHO then tells a constable to bring the machine (a mobile phone) and place it on the man’s back. The machine is showing Bangladesh, Sharma tells him. The slum dweller then says, “no sir, we are from Bihar”. Sharma goes on to ask who is a Bangladeshi at the slum if he is not. The slum dweller says there is no one.Asked about his verification method, Sharma defended his actions to TOI, saying he hadn’t said or done anything wrong but “tried to put pressure on them so that they reveal their true identity”. No one, he insisted, was harassed.A senior police officer said that a foot march was carried out during Christmas and New Year. On Dec 23, the same happened in which SHO asked some people of the area about their documents and identity. “But there was no such order from seniors,” the officer added.Commissioner of police J Ravindra Goud told TOI, “We are checking the details of the video and if any person is harassed by police, we will take action.”

The SA20 2025-26 season reaches a high-octane peak as the tournament’s only unbeaten side, the Joburg Super Kings, host the defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, in a clash for the top spot. The Super Kings arrive at the bullring with massive momentum after a heart-stopping Super Over victory against Durban’s Super Giants on New Year’s Day. Meanwhile, the Sunrisers, led by Tristan Stubbs, are looking to rebound from a narrow loss to Paarl Royals that snapped their perfect start. This Match 11 is a heavyweight battle between JSK’s explosive batting and the Sunrisers’ lethal pace battery, promising a spectacular contest in front of a packed Johannesburg crowd.

JSK vs SEC, SA20 2025-26: Match Details

• Date and Time: January 3 (Saturday); 4:30 pm IST / 11:00 am GMT / 1:00 pm LOCAL
• Venue: Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Head-to-Head Record (SA20):

Matches played: 7 | Joburg Super Kings won: 3 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape won: 4 | No result: 0

Wanderers Stadium Pitch Report

The Wanderers Stadium is famously known as a batter’s paradise due to its high altitude and quick outfield, which allow the ball to travel significantly further. The pitch typically offers a true bounce that stroke-makers love, though the bullring often provides some steep bounce and lateral movement for the fast bowlers early in the innings. In recent SA20 fixtures, scores exceeding 180 have been the norm rather than the exception. While the surface remains consistent throughout, the historical trend at this venue favors the team bowling first, as chasing under the lights can be slightly easier once the initial seam movement subsides. The toss-winning captain will likely elect to bowl first to exploit the early morning moisture.

Also READ: SA20 2026: Full list of commentators and presenters at South Africa’s explosive T20 cricket league

Joburg Super Kings vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Team Dynamics and Key Players

Joburg Super Kings: JSK are the team to beat this season, sitting at the top of the table with three wins from three. Their batting is spearheaded by the in-form Rilee Rossouw and the reliable Donovan Ferreira, who proved his finishing prowess in the Super Over thriller. The bowling unit has found a new hero in Richard Gleeson, whose eight wickets in three games have made him the most dangerous pacer in the league so far. With Faf du Plessis providing veteran leadership and the wily Prenelan Subrayen controlling the middle overs, the Super Kings look like a complete unit on their home turf.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape: The two-time champions remain a formidable force despite their recent slip-up. Their strength lies in a balanced attack featuring the raw pace of Anrich Nortje and the clinical Adam Milne, who has been amongst the wickets. The batting is anchored by the explosive Jordan Hermann and the marquee signing Quinton de Kock, who has already shown glimpses of his destructive best. Captain Tristan Stubbs provides the middle-order fire, while Marco Jansen offers elite all-round value. Their ability to deliver in high-pressure “big game” situations makes them a massive threat to JSK’s unbeaten run.

Squads: 

Joburg Super Kings: Faf du Plessis (c), James Vince, Rilee Rossouw, Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Ranjane, Rivaldo Moonsamy (wk), Akeal Hosein, Richard Gleeson, Reece Topley, Imran Tahir, Nandre Burger, Matthew De Villiers, Prenelan Subrayen, Daniel Worrall, Wiaan Mulder, Duan Jansen, Dian Forrester, Steve Stolk, Janco Smit, Neil Timmers, Jarren Bacher

Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Jonny Bairstow, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tristan Stubbs (c), Lewis Gregory, Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen, Patrick Kruger, Senuran Muthusamy, Adam Milne, Anrich Nortje, Chris Wood, Allah Ghazanfar, JP King, Christopher King, Jordan Hermann, Mitchell Van Buuren, Tharindu Rathnayake, James Coles, Beyers Swanepoel, Lutho Sipamla

JSK vs SEC, SA20 2025-26: Today’s Match Prediction

Case 1:

• Joburg Super Kings wins the toss and bowls first
• Sunrisers Eastern Cape powerplay score: 45-55 (6 overs)
• Sunrisers Eastern Cape total score: 170-185

Case 2:

• Sunrisers Eastern Cape wins the toss and bowls first
• Joburg Super Kings powerplay score: 50-60 (6 overs)
• Joburg Super Kings total score: 175-195

Match result: Joburg Super Kings to win the contest

Also READ: SA20 2026 – TV channels, live streaming details | When and where to watch in India, Australia, Pakistan, USA, UK & other countries

Zohran Mamdani is set to begin a new mayoral term after a historic election that gave him the highest vote count for a New York City mayor in 60 years. After winning with a campaign focused on working-class issues, he now faces the challenge of delivering on his promises as living costs remain at record highs, economic growth shows signs of slowing, federal support weakens and budget pressures mount.Housing remains the most severe strain on household finances. More than half of a typical family’s income goes towards rent, while about 100,000 people rely on homeless shelters each night, according to CNN. In Manhattan, median monthly rents have crossed $5,400. “This is what a full-blown affordability crisis looks like,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said in a December report.Central to Mamdani’s agenda is a pledge to freeze rents in rent-stabilised apartments, a policy he has described as his “landmark policy”. Nearly one million apartments, close to half of the city’s rental housing, would be affected. However, nonprofit housing providers and developers operating subsidised units say that existing revenues are already insufficient to meet operating costs.Simultaneously, the rising cost of daily necessities has pushed many residents into financial distress. Around 1.4 million people, roughly 15% of the city’s population, face food insecurity. Child care costs are also among the highest in the country, with a family required to earn $334,000 annually to afford care for a two-year-old, according to US Census Bureau data.Data from Community Preservation Corporation shows that since 2020, expenses for rent-stabilised housing have increased by 22%, while rents have risen by only about 11%. Industry experts warn that the gap between costs and income could lead to worsening building conditions as expenses for insurance, labour and utilities continue to rise.Alongside rent control, Mamdani has proposed the construction of 200,000 permanently subsidised affordable homes aimed at low- and moderate-income residents. Yet financial stress within the affordable housing sector is already evident. “The trends of increasing costs and reduced income are unsustainable for affordable housing,” Enterprise Community Partners and National Equity Fund said in a recent report, calling for emergency funding and state intervention to curb insurance expenses.Beyond housing, Mamdani has committed to free child care for children aged six weeks to five years and removing fares from city-run buses. Funding these initiatives depends on state approval to increase taxes on high-income residents and corporations. New York governor Kathy Hochul has publicly opposed making the entire bus network free, citing the potential $1 billion loss in fare revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.Whether Mamdani can turn this proposal into policy will depend on political pressure from his support base, according to Columbia University historian Kim Phillips-Fein. His grassroots campaign has already inspired allies to launch a nonprofit organisation aimed at pressing city and state lawmakers in Albany. “People thought Mamdani’s election was impossible a year ago, but it was accomplished through significant political organizing,” Phillips-Fein said. His success as mayor “will depend upon an alignment of political forces and continued organizing.” Economic indicators present both strength and concern. While opponents warned before the election of a potential flight of wealthy residents or a repeat of the city’s 1970s fiscal collapse, Phillips-Fein told CNN that such comparisons are “shallow”. Unlike that period, New York is not experiencing population loss or a decline in manufacturing jobs.Employment and labour force participation remain at record levels, tax revenues are at historic highs and office leasing reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2025. However, momentum is slowing. The city is projected to add 78,000 fewer jobs in 2025 than the previous year, with most gains concentrated in the low-wage home health sector, according to Sarah Parker of the New York City Independent Budget Office.At the same time, a $6.5 billion budget shortfall is expected in 2027, with larger gaps forecast in subsequent years. The incoming administration is “facing a pretty challenging fiscal picture,” Parker said.Federal policy is likely to shape the city’s outlook. Mamdani has vowed to pursue “the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis this city has seen since the days of Fiorello La Guardia”, but unlike La Guardia’s era, current federal leadership has moved to cut key social programmes, CNN reported.State estimates suggest that Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill will lead to 1.5 million New Yorkers losing health insurance coverage, 300,000 households losing some or all SNAP benefits, $13 billion in cuts to the state’s healthcare system and 200,000 job losses, alongside higher long-term energy costs due to the cancellation of clean energy projects.Although Mamdani and US President Donald Trump held a meeting at the White House in November, the administration is withholding $18 billion in federal funding for New York City transit projects. Tariffs, immigration restrictions and reduced federal spending create a “challenging climate for cities like New York,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a December report, as cited by CNN. Meamwhile, Mamdani has maintained confidence that progress is possible. “I’m really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers in partnership with the president on the affordability agenda.”

Rishabh Pant (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

New Delhi: The current Indian team management’s go-to word has been ‘flexibility’. Now, it remains to be seen whether the selectors continue to experiment or opt for continuity. At the centre of this debate is Rishabh Pant. By standard team-building logic, Pant’s place in the 15-member squad shouldn’t be in doubt. He has warmed the bench as KL Rahul’s backup wicketkeeper for the last 18 months. Since coming back from a car accident, he has played only one ODI — on a rank turner in Sri Lanka in Aug 2024. Before the accident, Pant averaged over 41 with a strike rate close to 110 while batting at No. 4. Much has changed since. Gautam Gambhir has consolidated his influence as head coach. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as captain. ‘Flexibility’ and an aversion to superstar culture have become core principles of selection.

Three ODIs against New Zealand may not seem significant. But India will play only 20 or so ODIs before the 2027 World Cup. “The team management and selection committee did a good job when they started the transition process. But constant chopping and changing doesn’t help stability. If Pant has been your No. 2 wicketkeeper and is dropped without playing, you are challenging your own selection process. There needs to be consistency in selection, otherwise it doesn’t send a good signal to players coming up the ranks,” former national selector Devang Gandhi told TOI. It is understood that the selectors wanted to rotate Pant and Rahul as wicketkeepers in the six home ODIs this season. However, the continued reluctance to play Pant suggests a lack of trust in his abilities. Similar situations have played out in Test cricket with Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy, when the management and captain did not appear to be on the same page. “My only fear is a repeat of 2019, when you didn’t prepare backups in the middle order. Pant can still serve for another seven to eight years. If they feel they can maximise his potential, they must start working with him. He has been part of the system since 2018. If not, they must identify a definite second wicketkeeper — and not keep changing without giving the player a full run, because there aren’t many ODIs before the World Cup,” former India wicketkeeper and broadcaster Deep Dasgupta said. Pant hasn’t set the stage on fire in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on sticky Bengaluru pitches. “I won’t judge him by the runs. He hasn’t played the 50-over format for nearly three-and-a-half years. Before his accident, he had started finding his feet in ODIs. It’s about how much you want to back him,” Dasgupta added.

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Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, has formally written to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemning the “reckless and inflammatory threats” made by US President Donald Trump. Tehran also warned that the United States would bear full responsibility for any consequences or escalation that might arise from such statements.In the letter dated January 2, Iran accused the US president of openly threatening the use of force against a sovereign UN member state, asserting that such remarks amounted to a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter.Drawing attention to Trump’s recent comments, the Iranian envoy said the US president had gone beyond rhetoric by publicly declaring: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Iravani said the statement amounted to “the incitement of violence, unrest, and terrorist acts within Iran” and constituted “a clear, explicit, and unlawful threat of the use of force against a sovereign State.”Trump’s remarks came amid widening protests in Iran over economic hardship, soaring inflation and a sharp fall in the national currency. In a post on Truth Social, the US president warned Iranian authorities against killing protesters, saying the United States would “come to their rescue” if peaceful demonstrators were harmed, before adding that Washington was “locked and loaded.”“Only days earlier, the President of the United States publicly threatened the Islamic Republic of Iran with the use of force, including renewed military attacks against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities and its defensive capabilities. These repeated and deliberate statements demonstrate a consistent pattern of unlawful conduct by the United States and constitute a clear, explicit, and unlawful threat of the use of force against a sovereign State, as well as interference in its internal affairs,” the letter read. Iravani stressed that international law strictly prohibits such threats, regardless of political justification. “Such threats, irrespective of political pretexts or rhetorical framing, are strictly prohibited under international law,” the letter said, citing Articles 2(1), 2(4) and 2(7) of the UN Charter.The letter also accused Washington of encouraging unrest as a pretext for pressure or intervention, calling it “a grave violation of Iran’s sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity.” It added that the encouragement or facilitation of violent activity within another state constituted “an internationally wrongful act.”Placing the current tensions in historical context, the Iranian envoy pointed to what he described as a long record of US intervention, including the 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, the 1988 shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655, the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani and the imposition of decades-long sanctions.He also referred to joint US-Israeli attacks in June 2025, which he said targeted civilians, infrastructure, and peaceful nuclear facilities.Calling on the UN to act, Iran urged the Security Council “to unequivocally and strongly condemn these reckless and provocative statements” and to demand that the United States “cease all threats or uses of force” and comply with its obligations under international law.The letter concluded with a direct warning, stating: “The Islamic Republic of Iran unequivocally rejects and strongly condemns these reckless, interventionist, and inflammatory statements, and reaffirms its inherent right to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security.” Iranian officials have strongly rejected the warning. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described Trump’s comments as “reckless and dangerous”. Araghchi said that the protests were largely peaceful and driven by economic pressure and warned that any interference in Iran’s internal affairs would be firmly rejected. Other senior figures have also cautioned that foreign intervention would cross Iran’s security “red lines” and risk wider regional instability.The current protests are the most widespread since the 2022 unrest that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Amini, a young woman, had been accused by Iran’s morality police of not wearing her veil properly.