KOLKATA: Aftershocks of the showdown between Enforcement Directorate (ED) and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over raids on Trinamool-linked political consultancy I-PAC jolted Calcutta high court Friday, prompting Justice Suvra Ghosh to postpone hearing petitions filed by either side till Jan 14 on grounds of “enormous disturbance and commotion” in the courtroom.The judge, seemingly annoyed at her repeated pleas for “order” being ignored by lawyers and apprentices seeking to outshout each other, walked out of the courtroom after quickly announcing the forced adjournment.

Justice Ghosh specified in her order that she would have heard both petitions as scheduled had a large gathering of lawyers and others not entered the courtroom and caused a ruckus. “Several requests made by the court to maintain decorum and dignity fell on deaf ears. The environment in the courtroom is not conducive to commence/continue with the hearing,” she said.ED, the first mover in the legal battle over CM Mamata’s alleged interference in the probe against I-PAC, immediately approached acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul for an urgent hearing. The plea was turned down. Acting CJ Paul told the agency’s counsel Dhiraj Trivedi that there was no justification in pushing for an urgent hearing after the judge assigned to take up its petition had fixed a date.The face-off between ED and Mamata started Thursday afternoon after she drove to the Loudon Street home of IPAC director Pratik Jain when the agency was searching the premises for evidence linked to an investigation in a 2020 money laundering case.The CM next went to IPAC’s office in Salt Lake’s Sec-tor V, staying put for almost four hours and allegedly taking away sheaves of documents and storage devices that she claimed contained Trinamool Congress’s election strategy. Besides Mamata, ED’s petition accuses DGP Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Varma of “theft of digital devices and other evidence, and wrongful restraint and confinement of central govt officers”.Mamata’s petition against ED alleges the central agency was doing BJP’s bidding and targeting I-PAC addresses to “snatch” Trinamool-specific and other data pertaining to the upcoming assembly elections. Friday’s hearing was scheduled for 2.30pm, but the crowd in court No. 5 started to swell after the lunch break ended at 2pm.ED counsel Trivedi and Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee complained they were finding it impossible to reach the bench to argue their cases. “Anyone not associated with the case, please leave,” Justice Ghosh pleaded. After 15 minutes of chaos, HC officials and a Kolkata Police officer posted outside the courtroom managed to clear a section of the crowd, but the commotion refused to die down. “I cannot hear anything,” Justice Ghosh declared, leading to the adjournment.

India’s T20 plans have taken a small hit just before the final ICC T20 World Cup 2026 preparations, and Aakash Chopra feels the answer is very simple. With Tilak Varma ruled out of the start of the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand because of an abdominal injury, Chopra said that the Men in Blue already have an “automatic” replacement available.

Tilak Varma injury opens door as Aakash Chopra pushes Shreyas Iyer’s T20I return

The cricket pandit believes that India should bring Shreyas Iyer straight back into the T20I squad without any second thought for the upcoming T20I series against the Black Caps. Tilak’s injury has created a gap in the middle order at a time when the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is close.

Given that Chopra feels this is not the time to experiment or shuffle the batting order, saying the team already has enough openers and does not need to push anyone new at the top, and Shreyas Iyer fits perfectly into the middle-order role.

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Read Also: Shreyas Iyer officially appointed as captain on cricket comeback

The former Indian batter further pointed out that Iyer is experienced, understands pressure situations, and is already in good form. Notably, Iyer has already played 51 T20Is for India and scored over 1100 runs, apart from establishing himself as one of the best batters in the IPL.

He fits the bill, and Shreyas Iyer gets my vote: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra said in a video posted on X: “Who can it be? Shreyas Iyer. ‘Sarpanch’ Sahab should be picked automatically. He is already playing well and scored in the Vijay Hazare Trophy too. Even when Iyer was not picked in the Asia Cup, it felt slightly unfair, but it was understandable. But there is an opportunity for a middle-order role here. He is also an experienced player and set the IPL on fire. He fits the bill, and Shreyas Iyer gets my vote.”

Chopra also pointed out that players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are all openers, and that is not what the team needs right now. India needs someone who can settle the innings, control the middle overs, and finish strong, and Chopra feels Iyer is the best choice.

Read Also: Rishabh Pant’s T20I comeback staged ahead of T20 World Cup 2026, new role assigned

Chopra Makes Strong Case for Iyer’s Return

The commentator further explained, “India does not need an opener; they need a middle-order batter.” However, he admitted that there are other options available for the middle-order role, like Riyan Parag and Jitesh Sharma, but yet he will go with Iyer.

Chopra signed off by saying, “Riyan Parag could also be one candidate. He was part of the T20I side before and can also bowl. If India is looking for a multi-skilled player, Parag could be that guy. But my vote is for Shreyas Iyer. I would place Parag at No. 2. Jitesh Sharma might have an outside chance, though India does not need three wicketkeepers.”

Notably, the BCCI confirmed that Tilak Varma had surgery for his abdominal issue in Rajkot on January 7. He was discharged the next day, and his condition is stable. The star batter will travel back to Hyderabad on Friday (January 9).

KOLKATA: Aftershocks of the showdown between Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over raids on Trinamool-linked political consultancy I-PAC jolted Calcutta high court Friday, prompting Justice Suvra Ghosh to postpone hearing petitions filed by either side till Jan 14 on grounds of “enormous disturbance and commotion” in the courtroom.The judge, seemingly annoyed at her repeated pleas for “order” being ignored by lawyers and apprentices seeking to outshout each other, walked out of the courtroom after quickly announcing the forced adjournment.

Justice Ghosh specified in her order that she would have heard both petitions as scheduled had a large gathering of lawyers and others not entered the courtroom and caused a ruckus. “Several requests made by the court to maintain decorum and dignity fell on deaf ears. The environment in the courtroom is not conducive to commence/continue with the hearing,” she said.‘I cannot hear anything’: Judge said, leading to adjournmentEnforcement Directorate, the first mover in the legal battle over Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s alleged interference in the probe against I-PAC, immediately approached acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul for an urgent hearing. The plea was turned down. Acting CJ Paul told the agency’s counsel Dhiraj Trivedi that there was no justification in pushing for an urgent hearing after the judge assigned to take up its petition had fixed a date.The face-off between ED and Mamata started Thursday afternoon after she drove to the Loudon Street residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain when the agency was searching the premises for evidence linked to an investigation in a 2020 money laundering case. The CM next went to I-PAC’s office in Salt Lake’s Sector V, staying put for almost four hours and allegedly taking away sheaves of documents and storage devices that she claimed contained TMC’s election strategy.Besides Mamata, ED’s petition accuses DGP Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Varma of “theft of digital devices and other evidence, and wrongful restraint and confinement of central govt officers”. Mamata’s petition against ED alleges that the central agency was doing BJP’s bidding and targeting I-PAC addresses to “snatch” Trinamool-specific and other data pertaining to the upcoming assembly elections.Friday’s hearing was scheduled for 2.30pm, but the crowd in court no. 5 started to swell after the lunch break ended at 2pm. ED counsel Trivedi and Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee complained that they were finding it impossible to reach the bench to argue their cases. “Anyone not associated with the case, please leave,” Justice Ghosh pleaded.After 15 minutes of chaos, HC officials and a Kolkata Police officer posted outside the courtroom managed to clear a section of the crowd, but the commotion refused to die down. “I cannot hear anything,” Justice Ghosh declared, leading to the adjournment.

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Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Super League trophy. (Image: X)

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) took a decisive step towards expansion on Thursday, inducting two new franchises ahead of the 2026 season — but the price tags attached underlined the stark financial gap between the PSL and the Indian Premier League (IPL).Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!A real estate consortium and a US-based aviation and healthcare conglomerate won the bids for the two new teams at a combined price of $12.75 million (approximately INR 114 crore). OZ Developers secured the Sialkot franchise for PKR 1.85 billion ($6.55 million), while the FKS Group from the United States picked Hyderabad after a successful bid of PKR 1.75 billion ($6.2 million).

With these additions, the PSL will expand from six to eight teams when the season begins on March 26, marking a new phase in the league’s growth strategy. However, the auction figures have sparked discussion across the cricketing world for a different reason — the dramatic contrast with IPL valuations.Each of the new PSL teams was sold for roughly INR 56–59 crore, a figure that is almost identical to the combined IPL salaries of Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) and Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore). In fact, the combined cost of the two new PSL franchises is still lower than the INR 118 crore spent on just the top nine players at the IPL 2026 auction.

The contrast becomes even sharper when placed against IPL franchise sales. The two IPL expansion teams added in 2021 were sold for INR 5,625 crore and INR 7,090 crore respectively — nearly 100 to 125 times the price of a new PSL franchise on a like-for-like basis. Even when adjusted for inflation, the IPL’s original 2008 franchise fees would today sit in the INR 900–1,500 crore range, still vastly higher than PSL’s latest numbers.Meanwhile, former Multan Sultans owner Ali Khan Tareen stayed away from the auction despite being eligible to bid. Explaining his decision on social media, Tareen reiterated that his association with the PSL was rooted in representing South Punjab. “When the Multan team is being sold, we’ll be ready,” he wrote.For now, Multan Sultans will be run by the Pakistan Cricket Board this season before being put up for sale after the PSL concludes in April.

Diya Kumari with mother Padmini Devi. The row involves land in what used to be ‘Hathroi village’ in official records

JAIPUR: Supreme Court has reopened proceedings in a Rs 400-crore land dispute between Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and the family of former royal and deputy CM Diya Kumari, setting aside a Rajasthan high court order that allowed a 2011 trial court decree in favour of the princely estate to “stand without examination on merit”. The bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Vishwanathan held that there was no justification in the high court declining to consider JDA’s appeal on technical grounds. The judges directed the HC bench to decide JDA’s first appeal on merit within four weeks and submit a compliance report. The dispute involves land in what used to be “Hathroi village” in official records before becoming part of central Jaipur’s urban sprawl, including prime real estate, schools, hospitals and other civic infrastructure. JDA pegs the value of the land parcel, mentioned in revenue records as “Siwai chak” (uncultivable govt land), at Rs 400 crore. The petition says the civic administration took possession of the land in the 1990s, challenging the erstwhile royal family’s claim that it was registered as private property under the 1949 Covenant linked to Jaipur’s accession to the Indian Union. JDA insists the land was never listed as the former royal family’s private property in the covenant schedule, and that swathes of land were lawfully acquired between 1993 and 1995 after paying compensation. In 2005, the royal family filed a civil suit, seeking declaration of ownership. On Nov 24, 2011, the trial court decreed the suit in their favour, declaring them owners. The court set aside revenue entries in favour of the state and restrained JDA from interfering with possession. JDA filed its first appeal in 2012. It was dismissed in Nov 2023, before being restored just over a year later. On Sept 15 last year, HC declined to intervene in the dispute, leaving the trial court decree intact without appellate scrutiny. JDA approached Supreme Court on Dec 10, arguing that public land was lost on technical grounds despite issues involving public title, completed acquisitions, settled revenue records and a constitutional bar under Article 363.