Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma of India (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma have emerged as one of Indian cricket’s most exciting duos, demonstrating the kind of depth that makes world cricket take notice. While Gill wields the bat with surgical precision, Abhishek attacks the ball with ruthless intent. Both have matured under the guidance of India’s two-time World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh, whose mentorship, though informal, has played a key role in shaping their careers. Coming from India’s 2018 Under-19 World Cup-winning squad—a batch that also produced stars like Prithvi Shaw and Arshdeep Singh—Gill made his senior India debut in 2019, while Abhishek waited six years before earning his cap. Today, Gill is India’s captain in ODIs and Tests, and Abhishek has established himself as the team’s leading T20 opener.

Speaking to Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj reflected on what set the two apart from their peers. “I started working with these guys just before Covid. And obviously, I could feel Shubman was up a notch, one step ahead. He had already played two games for India, and I could see that the guy is four times more hardworking than the average cricketer. Every time I told him something, he would happily adapt it in his batting. And that’s why he is where he is,” Yuvraj said. He added that Abhishek’s rise followed a carefully mapped process. “As for Abhishek, I put him in a process. I told him if you do this in 4 years, you’re going to play for India. Think about playing for India and not the IPL. And in exactly four years and three months, he debuted for India. Some guys don’t understand how much talent they have. But he did. And if you put in the process, the results will show.” Despite their close bond with Yuvraj, the mentor noted differences in approach between the two young batters. While T20 cricket has encouraged fearless strokeplay, something Abhishek embodies, Gill remains patient, often building his innings carefully. “I’ve had a lot of arguments about it, to be honest. I don’t mind going after bowling. I just feel that nowadays you don’t put a price on your wicket. There is no fear of getting out, and once there is no fear of getting out, you can go after any bowler. Whether he’s bowling 140 or 150. If I were in his place, I would never step out to somebody bowling 145. These guys are stepping out to 150 clicks. They are not afraid, and that’s the generation we have come to,” Yuvraj explained. Highlighting the difference between the two styles, he said: “I tell Abhishek that if you hit three sixes and three boundaries and take four runs, it’s the same amount of runs. Can you take the risk out? If you want to be consistent, either you create an impact or score a hundred. The problem is that they want to score 100 off 40 balls or 36 balls. Not happy scoring 100 off 50-55 balls. Why I feel Shubman is more consistent in his performances is that he gives himself time. Abhishek is not built like that.” Yuvraj’s insights underline the complementary nature of the pair: while Abhishek thrives on explosive hitting, Gill’s measured approach ensures reliability at the crease, making them a formidable combination for Indian cricket.

NEW DELHI: Providing an impetus to technology-driven river rejuvenation and pollution abatement measures, the Uttar Pradesh govt, in coordination with central agencies, has completed high-resolution aerial surveys of areas along the Ganga main stem in the state, generating precise geospatial datasets that are being integrated into a live GIS-based drain dashboard for round-the-clock monitoring.The dashboard with 2D and 3D visualisation capabilities enables basin-level pollution monitoring, identification of hotspots and prioritisation of drain remediation measures. This is the first-of-its-kind initiative where LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) based scientific data has been coupled with visual data generated through drone surveys.LiDAR, an active remote sensing technique, and drone surveys have been used to identify all drains discharging into the river, enabling a comprehensive response to drainage-related challenges through enhanced surveillance of sewage treatment infrastructure.The progress and deployment of such technology in the Ganga river basin was reviewed at a meeting chaired by Union Jal Shakti minister C R Paatil on Monday.The meeting also saw stress being laid on the importance of reuse of treated wastewater, adoption of innovative and research-based solutions such as ‘aquifer mapping’ with a focus on Paleo-Channels, as well as initiatives relating to bioremediation and innovative sewage treatment projects and centralised effluent treatment plants.Paatil directed all states to expeditiously formulate the policy for safe reuse of treated water, in alignment with the national framework. The review exercise also emphasised promotion of reuse of treated water in states with clearly prescribed targets and an enabling environment through notification of policy provisions.Meanwhile, the National Mission for Clean Ganga — a central nodal agency for implementation of the Ganga rejuvenation programme — is introducing CCTV-based real-time monitoring systems. This will be integrated with an AI-enabled feature extraction system and a centralised dashboard to further enhance the monitoring and compliance framework of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).STPs are currently being comprehensively monitored through Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) which track key water quality parameters such as BOD, COD, DO, pH and TSS. “The new initiative will add a critical layer of physical and visual monitoring to address concerns related to effective operation of STPs,” said an official.

Indian banks are likely to benefit from enhanced regulatory oversight by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a more robust supervisory toolkit, which should lower systemic risks and improve the sector’s operating environment, global rating agency Fitch said in a report.Fitch noted that these regulatory shifts, combined with strong economic growth prospects and reduced inflation risks, are credit positive for Indian banks. “We believe regulatory responses to stress events, frameworks for monitoring risks and recovery of impaired loans have improved in recent years. Consequently, weaknesses that contributed to the last non-performing loan spike between the financial year ended March 2016 (FY16) and FY18 have been significantly reduced,” the report said, as per news agency PTI.Banking system metrics are now at their strongest in years. The sector’s non-performing loan ratio fell to 2.2 per cent in the first half of FY26, down from a peak of 11.2 per cent in FY18, while the common equity Tier 1 ratio has risen to 14.8 per cent from 9.3 per cent in FY14. Fitch also highlighted that the sector’s return on assets, at around 1.3 per cent, is comparable with peer banking systems in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting a ‘bbb’ category operating environment.Fitch said the implementation of an expected credit loss (ECL) framework should further reduce volatility by smoothing earnings over the business cycle. Over the medium term, robust economic growth of over 6 per cent over the next two years is expected to provide banks with ample opportunities for profitable lending growth.The report added that India’s banking sector credit-to-GDP ratio stood at 59 per cent in 2025, below the peer average of 101 per cent. “This suggests there is headroom for lending growth to exceed nominal GDP growth moderately over the medium term without posing major risks to systemic stability, if underwriting standards hold up,” it said.Overall, Fitch indicated that stronger supervision, regulatory reforms, and a favourable macroeconomic environment position Indian banks to operate with reduced risks while continuing to expand credit prudently.

Sharif Osman Hadi (File photo)

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Tuesday submitted its chargesheet in the Sharif Osman Hadi case, naming 17 people in connection with the killing of the Bangladesh student leader.Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Md Shafiul Islam, additional commissioner of the DMP’s Detective Branch, said Hadi was killed out of “political vengeance” at the behest of the now-banned Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina. The former prime minister was ousted following student-led protests in August 2024 and has since been living in India.

“Through public rallies and social media, Hadi had strongly criticised the past activities of the Awami League and the Chhatra League,” Islam told reporters, referring to the party’s student wing. “His outspoken remarks angered leaders and activists of the Chhatra League and its affiliated groups.”Also read: Who was Sharif Osman Hadi? Key figure in Sheikh Hasina ouster“Considering the political identities of the accused and the victim’s previous political statements, the investigation has revealed that Hadi was shot dead due to political vengeance,” the police officer added.Hadi, 32, a spokesperson for Inqilab Moncho, rose to national prominence during the mass protests that led to the fall of the Hasina-led government. He was shot in the head on December 12 while campaigning in Dhaka.He was also a parliamentary candidate for the February 12 elections. Hadi was airlifted to Singapore for treatment but succumbed to his injuries on December 18.Also read: 2 Hindu men murdered as violence surges in Bangladesh — 6 such killings in 18 daysMeanwhile, Islam further stated the alleged shooter, Faisal Karim Masud, was “directly involved” with the Chhatra League. Another accused, Taizul Islam Chowdhury Bappi—an Awami League-nominated ward councillor—allegedly helped Masud and another prime suspect, Alamgir Sheikh, flee after the murder.So far, 12 people have been arrested in connection with the case.On Monday, home affairs adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury had told reporters the final chargesheet would be submitted on January 7. However, police filed it a day earlier amid protests in Dhaka by Inqilab Moncho, which has been demanding justice for its slain leader.(With PTI inputs)

A month after its theatrical release, ‘Dhurandhar’ continues to dominate the box office and has now crossed Rs 760 crore net in India. The Aditya Dhar directorial is headlined by Ranveer Singh and stars Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal in pivotal roles. While Ranveer won a lot of praise, it was Akshaye who broke the internet as his entry song and performance as Rahman Dakait was the most talked about. In a recent interview, actor Naveen Kaushik who plays Rahman Dakait’s trusted aide in the film, believes the conversation around performances has been somewhat one-sided.He said in a recent interview that it’s unfair that Akshaye has gotten all the attention while Ranveer has been sidelined. He pointed out that Ranveer had to focus on “containing his energy and delivering an extremely subtle, monotone performance throughout the film,” he said in an interview with Siddharth Kannan.

Addressing perceptions about Akshaye Khanna’s reserved nature, Naveen clarified that the actor was never distant or cold. “If we went up to him for a conversation, he would speak very warmly. But once the conversation ended, he would retreat back into his space and so would we. I don’t know if it was method acting, but just like Rahman Dakait, who stays quiet, observes, and remains unpredictable, Akshaye sir was quite similar in real life. He stayed away from the chaos on set and focused solely on his character.”Naveen then spoke about Ranveer Singh, highlighting how starkly different the actor is from his on-screen persona Hamza. “Hamza is completely different from Ranveer. Ranveer is a ball of energy—a thousand-volt electric current. Whenever he’s on set, he greets everyone. He doesn’t like people sitting around lazily,” he said. Emphasising the contrast between the two key characters, he added, “These two characters, Hamza and Rahman, are poles apart. Every time the director said ‘cut’, Ranveer would instantly switch back to being himself, unless it was a very serious scene. He had a child-like curiosity throughout, with absolutely no ‘I am a huge star’ tantrums.”He also marked change in Ranveer’s emotional state during this film compared to earlier projects. “He wasn’t depressed the way he once spoke about being during Padmaavat. This time, it felt like he had an internal switch, he could move from Hamza to Ranveer in a click. He has incredible energy to play such varied characters. No one can match that.”While acknowledging the impact of Akshaye Khanna’s portrayal, Naveen reiterated that Ranveer’s work deserved more credit. “I do feel it’s unfair. Akshaye sir has undoubtedly created an iconic character that will be remembered for years. But what Ranveer has done as an actor, the tiny nuances, his voice modulation, for someone who is so energetic in real life to suppress all of that and play the complete opposite, it’s extremely difficult.”Referring to a standout sequence, Naveen said, “In the famous ‘FA9LA’ song, everyone in the scene is dancing, except Ranveer Singh. To restrain yourself in a moment like that is incredibly hard. But people didn’t notice it because of Akshaye sir’s commanding aura. Ranveer’s character is deliberately underplayed. He doesn’t seek attention. In the film, the first man in command is Akshaye, followed by Danish. If Ranveer had ego issues, he could have easily tried to draw focus to himself, but he didn’t. An insecure actor would have done that. Ranveer stayed true to his character and allowed someone else to shine.”Speaking about their off-screen dynamic, Naveen described a professional and collaborative relationship between the two actors. “Ranveer and Akshaye shared a very cordial relationship on set. They rehearsed together, looked out for each other, whether it was during rehearsals or something as simple as arranging chairs. They were great collaborators.”

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has thrown his weight behind India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, explaining how the star cricketer can return to the fearless style that once made him one of the most destructive batters in world cricket. With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set to begin on February 7, Ponting believes Suryakumar’s experience and self-belief will be crucial for India’s campaign.

A surprising slump for Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is

Suryakumar’s dip in form during the 2025 T20I season raised eyebrows across the cricketing fraternity. Known for his innovative stroke play and ability to dominate bowlers in all phases of an innings, the Indian skipper endured an unusually lean run. Across 19 T20I innings in 2025, he scored only 218 runs at an average of 13.62, with a strike rate of 123.16. Notably, he failed to register a single half-century, with his highest score being an unbeaten 47.

Ponting admitted that the numbers were unexpected for a player of Suryakumar’s calibre. The former Australian great highlighted that consistency had long been one of the Indian batter’s biggest strengths, making his recent struggles even more surprising.

“That’s as big a surprise for me, just looking at his recent form. He’s been such a solid and consistent contributor for India in T20 cricket for a long time and just hasn’t been able to find it of late. He’s an interesting one because when I’ve seen him play his best, he’s taken six or eight or 10 balls to get going and then just lets it all go,” Ponting told ICC.

Ponting explains how Suryakumar can regain his form

Ponting stressed that the key to Suryakumar’s revival lies in mindset rather than technique. According to Ponting, when Suryakumar is at his best, he allows himself a brief settling-in period before unleashing his full range of shots without fear of dismissal. The Tasmanian drew parallels with Travis Head, noting that both players thrive when they focus on scoring freely instead of worrying about getting out. He advised Suryakumar to think about run-making, trust his instincts, and back the methods that have already proven successful at the highest level.

“He plays all of his shots and backs himself and a bit like Travis Head where it almost looks like they don’t ever fear getting out. That’s what I’d say to him. I’d be saying, think about scoring runs, don’t think about getting out. Trust yourself, back yourself. You’re proven to be as good as anybody in the world in the T20 format and go and prove it to everybody once again,” added Ponting.

Also READ: Ricky Ponting selects Australia’s 16-man squad for Ashes 2027; picks two uncapped players

Stark contrast between international and IPL form for Surya

What has puzzled experts and fans alike is the sharp contrast between Suryakumar’s international struggles and his dominant performances in franchise cricket. During the IPL 2025 season, he was in sensational touch for Mumbai Indians, finishing as the franchise’s leading run-scorer with 717 runs. He averaged an astonishing 65.18 and struck at 167.91, regularly dismantling bowling attacks with ease. This disparity suggests that the issue is not a decline in skill but perhaps the added pressure of leadership and expectations at the international level.

As India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar’s form carries added significance. His performances at the upcoming World Cup will be closely scrutinized, not only for their impact on India’s results but also for what they signal about his leadership under pressure.

Also READ: Who is Khushi Mukherjee? The actress who made bold claims against Suryakumar Yadav

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