KOLKATA: Bengal’s voter count is likely to shrink by at least 68 lakh, or about 9%, from what it was in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The final list after special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls is scheduled to be published on Feb 28.The state’s draft SIR list, published on Dec 16, had around 7.1 crore electors after excluding a little over 58 lakh ASD (absent, shifted, dead/duplicate) voters. Election Commission sources said about 10 lakh more names are set to be excluded.

A senior EC official said 1.5 crore voters were identified with logical discrepancies or marked unmapped in the draft list and needed to attend in-person hearings. Of them, 3.6 lakh voters could not be handed over notices because BLOs failed to locate them.“These 3.6 lakh electors will be excluded from the final roll straightaway. Additionally, about 5.2 lakh voters received the hearing notices but did not appear before EROs/AEROs till 2pm on Saturday. Their names will also be excluded,” the EC official said.At the document-verification stage that followed hearings, another 1.6 lakh names were marked “ineligible”. “Therefore, the number of electors will go down by at least 10.4 lakh in the final roll,” the official said.In a meeting with the Bengal chief electoral officer, special roll observers and district magistrates on Friday, the poll panel flagged several cases where newspaper clippings, blank pages or invisible images had been uploaded on to the system and even verified. “Around 15-20 such cases were shown to DMs and central observers through a PowerPoint presentation. All such cases will be scrutinised during the super-checking exercise. Therefore, the number of ineligible electors may go up further,” another EC official said.In the period between the publication of the draft roll on Dec 16 and Jan 19, EC received 7.4 lakh Form 6/6A submissions, both online and offline, from persons seeking enrolment as new voters in Bengal. Also, 42,501 Form 7 submissions were made for deletion of names from the electoral roll due to death or change of address. More than 3.4 lakh Form 8 applications were submitted for update and minor corrections in EPIC. “All these forms will be disposed of before the publication of the final roll,” the official said.According to EC’s timetable, documents submitted by voters during hearings have to be scrutinised and verified by Feb 21. Disposal of cases, too, need to be completed by the same date. Rationalisation of polling stations must take place by Feb 25 before the publication of the final roll three days later.

New Zealand have announced a new all-format captain for their women’s side, with a fresh chapter beginning after Sophie Devine stepped down from the role following the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in October. The decision signals a new era for the White Ferns as they prepare for a packed international calendar over the next three years.

New Zealand Cricket names a new leader of Women’s side

New Zealand Cricket has entrusted the captaincy to Amelia Kerr, naming the young star as the full-time leader of both the ODI and T20I teams. Kerr takes over from Devine, who led the side through a significant phase, including the recent global tournament.

Having already captained New Zealand in two ODIs and two T20Is, Kerr is no stranger to leadership responsibilities. However, this marks her first long-term stint at the helm. Her appointment comes at a crucial time, with New Zealand set to defend their T20 World Cup crown in England later this year, followed by the ICC T20 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2027 and a historic Olympic appearance in Los Angeles in 2028, alongside another T20 World Cup.

Head coach Ben Sawyer backed the decision, highlighting Kerr’s deep understanding of what it means to represent New Zealand. He emphasized her influence both on and off the field, noting the respect she commands within the dressing room and her leadership experience with the Wellington Blaze over the past three seasons. According to Sawyer, the move reflects a long-term vision aimed at ensuring stability and continuity through to 2029.

“She’s an outstanding leader not only through her performances on the field, but also in the respect she has from the playing group off it. She has a sound understanding of the game and has strong leadership experience from the games she has captained the White Ferns and her time leading the Wellington Blaze over the past three years. Melie leading this team at this stage of her career ensures we have continuity and stability through the next cycle to 2029,” Sawyer was quoted as saying in a New Zealand Cricket release.

Impressive records and a fine player

Kerr’s elevation is built on a remarkable cricketing résumé. Since making her international debut in 2016 at just 16 years of age, she has grown into one of the most dependable all-rounders in world cricket. Across formats, she has scored 3,757 runs and claimed 201 wickets — numbers that place her among New Zealand’s elite performers. She currently ranks as the country’s third-highest wicket-taker and fifth-highest run-scorer in women’s internationals.

Her influence was particularly evident during New Zealand’s triumphant 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, where she played a starring role and was named Player of the Tournament. That golden run was followed by another milestone when she became the first New Zealander to win the prestigious Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy as the ICC Women’s Player of the Year — a recognition of her consistency, composure and match-winning ability.

Also READ: Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026: Date, Match Time, Broadcast & Live Streaming details

Star cricketer reacts after becoming all-format White Ferns captain

Speaking after the announcement, Kerr described the appointment as a ‘massive privilege’ and a dream come true. Representing New Zealand has always been close to her heart, and leading the side, she said, adds a special layer of responsibility.

Kerr made it clear that her leadership style will be rooted in a people-first philosophy. Drawing from a favourite Māori proverb — “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata” — she stressed that people are at the centre of everything. For her, success will come from nurturing belief, celebrating teammates’ achievements and fostering a culture of unity.

“Growing up it was my childhood dream to represent New Zealand and to now have the opportunity to captain my country is a massive privilege. I am following an exceptional group of leaders who have captained the White Ferns before me, so I don’t take the responsibility lightly. I have so much love for this group and so much passion for representing Aotearoa. The captaincy doesn’t change who I am, I am still the same person and will give everything I can to lead this group and hopefully bring our country success,” said Kerr.

Also READ: Amelia Kerr reigns supremacy with historic sweep at the New Zealand Cricket Awards 2025

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

Technically, MCX Gold on the daily chart continues to maintain a broader bullish bias despite the recent pullback. (AI image)

Gold price prediction today: Gold prices have pulled back from recent highs, but there is an underlying bullish bias, says Manav Modi, Senior Analyst, Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Below is his outlook for gold prices today and this week, along with top factors that will influence the movement of the yellow metal:Gold is hovering around $5,000 after weaker-than-expected US inflation reinforced expectations of Fed easing, driving the 10-year US Treasury yield lower with market participants to price nearly 50% odds of a third rate cut by December. Inflation data last week was reported 0.1% lower than estimates. Recent comments from Kevin Warsh signaling a preference for lower policy rates add to expectations of two 25bp cuts in March and June, which would further compress real yields and support gold inflows. Geopolitical risks remain elevated, with reports of Washington deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East amid stalled Iran nuclear talks boosting safe-haven demand. Meanwhile, markets are increasingly focused on the potential inflationary impact of renewed tariff threats from Trump, alongside lingering questions over Fed credibility. Notably, gold is trading at a discount for the first time in nearly a month even as Chinese demand strengthens, with Shanghai warehouse stocks crossing 100 tonnes, highlighting robust physical buying interest.Focus this week will be on FOMC meeting minutes, PCE price index. The US market remains shut amidst the President’s day holiday while China’s market remains shut for the week amidst lunar new year.Technically, MCX Gold on the daily chart continues to maintain a broader bullish bias despite the recent pullback, with price holding well above the key medium-term support zone near 148,000–150,000, which coincides with the 20-day moving average and prior breakout levels. Immediate resistance is seen around 158,000–160,000, where recent highs and upper supply zones are clustered; a sustained close above this band could open the path toward fresh highs. Fibonacci retracement levels suggest strong structural support near the 0.382 and 0.5 zones around 139,000–134,000 on a deeper correction, keeping the broader uptrend intact unless these levels are decisively breached. Volume patterns indicate that the sharp spike seen during the recent sell-off was not followed by sustained heavy distribution, suggesting profit booking rather than trend reversal. From a Bollinger Band perspective, price recently touched the upper band during the rally and has since cooled toward the middle band (20-SMA), indicating volatility compression and potential base formation; if price stabilizes above the mid-band and bands begin to expand again, it would favor a continuation move higher, whereas a decisive break below the middle band could trigger short-term corrective pressure toward lower supports.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

Asian markets showed little movement on Monday as several trading floors closed for Lunar New Year celebrations. Japan’s disappointing economic growth of just 0.1 per cent in late 2025 added pressure on newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Meanwhile, US markets will stay shut for Presidents’ Day, and gold prices dipped slightly after reaching $5,000 per ounce.The holiday closures affected mainland China, Seoul, and Taipei, while Hong Kong and Singapore operated only half-day sessions. The slow trading day followed a tech sector decline last week, triggered by worries about massive AI infrastructure investments.Japan’s weak GDP numbers fell short of the expected 0.4% growth, creating challenges for Takaichi, who won recent elections promising economic improvement.“The weak growth implies that the large supplementary budget passed at the end of November provided no boost to public spending last quarter just yet,” said Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics. He suggested Takaichi might need to act quickly on tax reforms and new budgets.Most Asian markets saw minor losses. Tokyo dropped 0.03%, while Hong Kong managed a 0.4% gain. The market mood improved after US inflation data showed a bigger-than-expected cooling in January.The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, featuring tech leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Google’s Sundar Pichai, starts Monday. The event comes amid growing concerns about AI’s social and environmental impacts, despite its role in boosting tech company profits.“US inflation data was good. And the initial response in equities reflected that. But the devil was in the details,” noted Kyle Rodda, adding that core inflation hit its lowest level since March 2021 at 2.4%.In precious metals, gold’s slight decline came after Friday’s gains. Standard Chartered’s note remained optimistic: “We expect gold to remain well supported,” citing expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts supporting gold demand.