Jamie Smith of England (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Joe Root’s record-equalling 41st Test hundred ended as a lonely high point in England’s innings as a familiar lower-order collapse dragged the side down to 384, despite the former captain standing tall with a sublime 160. While Root was showered with praise and admiration, the mood shifted sharply after Jamie Smith threw his wicket away with a shot that left both camps stunned. Smith was batting on 41 and looked set to help push England beyond 450, having already established himself as a key figure with 434 runs against India last year, including a century and two fifties. Instead, a moment of recklessness undid his work. Taking on Marnus Labuschagne in the all-rounder’s first over, Smith charged down the pitch to a dragged-back short ball. The off-side heave was mistimed, and Scott Boland calmly completed the catch at deep cover.

The dismissal triggered widespread criticism, with reactions cutting across national lines. Justin Langer was particularly scathing on air. “What I do know is not for the first time in this series, Jamie Smith has played one of the dumbest shots you’ll ever see in Test cricket,” the former Australia coach said. “He was lucky earlier; he had a very soft dismissal off a no-ball to Cameron Green. Test cricket goes for five days; this is dumb cricket. Marnus Labuschagne is pumped.” Brett Lee was equally blunt in his assessment. “The golden arm strikes again! Marnus Labuschagne just bowled bumper after bumper after bumper – at 129km/hr – but it’s effective,” Lee said. “His 14th Test wicket – and this would probably be his favourite. It’s a rank bumper outside off stump, but what was he doing? What was Jamie Smith thinking? It was a poor shot. It’s a filthy shot.” The reaction in the commentary box said plenty too. Former England spinner Graeme Swann could only bury his face in disbelief, while Simon Katich turned his fire on England’s aggressive approach. “He’ll go in the dressing room now and probably get pats on the back for taking the game on,” Katich said on SEN Radio. Alyssa Healy echoed the frustration from the Australian side. “There is one man in the deep in front of point on the off-side, and he has picked him out,” she said. “I know this is the way they play and the way they want to approach it, but you cannot honestly tell me he’s going to walk back into that change room and be patted on the back.” Root’s innings had promised dominance and control. Smith’s dismissal, however, ensured the focus shifted from celebration to criticism, leaving England to reflect on another collapse that overshadowed a historic hundred.

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NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to deny bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots case.Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla hailed the verdict as “Satyameva Jayate” and demanded that the Congress must apologize for “defending” the accused.

Following the verdict, Poonawalla wrote in a post on X: “Satyameva Jayate… Prima facie allegations are true… Organised not organic, Sponsored not spontaneous. Congress must apologise for its support to tukde tukde gang from Afzal to Umar and Sharjeel.”

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The BJP spokesperson justified the stand that the Delhi riots were not spontaneous. He demanded an apology from the Congress party, alleging that it had supported those accused of playing a key role in the violence.Speaking to reporters, Poonawalla said, “Today we would say Satyamev Jayate. The Supreme Court has denied bail to the poster boys of the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, whose role in the Delhi riots and charges against UAPA have been prima facie found to be true. It shows that the Delhi riots were not organic but organised, not spontaneous but sponsored.”He further alleged that Congress had continued to defend the accused despite serious allegations against them. “Unfortunately, the Congress Party continued to defend Sharjeel and Umar. These people who wanted to cut and dissect India into pieces. Today they must apologise… The Congress Party and its ecosystem must apologise today,” he added.The Supreme Court had denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case linked to an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. However, the court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.The court observed that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam stood on a “qualitatively different footing” compared to the other accused, observing that their roles were “central” to the alleged offences.It held that their continued incarceration did not violate constitutional safeguards or override the statutory embargo under applicable laws.The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria on bail pleas filed by the accused. The apex court had earlier reserved its verdict on December 10 after hearing detailed arguments from all sides.

During the hearings, lawyers appearing for the accused argued that the prolonged incarceration of over five years and delays in the trial warranted bail. They also contended that there was no evidence to show that the accused had instigated violence.Opposing the pleas, the Delhi Police argued that the alleged offences were part of a deliberate and well-orchestrated conspiracy. It claimed the violence was planned to destabilise the state and coincided with the visit of the then US President to India to draw international attention. According to the police, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was used as a “radicalising catalyst” under the guise of peaceful protests.The violence during protests against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in February 2020 left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has dropped a diplomatic stance on Bangladesh’s demand to shift their matches in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 out of India. They want to play their matches in Sri Lanka, the joint host of the tournament next month.

Harbhajan Singh Reacts to Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 Venue Shift Demand

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has officially asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move its ICC T20 World Cup 2026 matches out of India, raising safety and security concerns.

As the ICC faces a mounting diplomatic and logistical challenge, Harbhajan Singh has emphasized India’s proven track record as a safe and welcoming host for all international teams.

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Read Also: ‘Can’t protect one player’: BCB brutally mocks BCCI over Mustafizur Rahman IPL row

At the same time, Harbhajan stressed that whether Bangladesh wants to play in India or shift their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 matches to Sri Lanka is ultimately their choice, and the final call rests with the governing body and BCB itself. However, he slammed the current situation of Hindus in Bangladesh.

The Call Rests with the ICC: Harbhajan Singh

The former World Cup winner also believes that the ICC must take a balanced decision that respects all sides, not through public pressure or emotional reactions, especially with the upcoming showpiece event just weeks away from beginning.

Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by ANI, “Due to the various events that have taken place in the past few days, Bangladesh does not want to come to India. Whatever happened in Bangladesh is wrong. ICC needs to make a decision on their request. We welcome everyone to India, but whether they want to come here or not is their choice.”

The heart of the controversy

The BCB moved to ICC after the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) removed Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad on the BCCI’s directive following intense demand from the fans and political leaders in the wake of reported killings and harassment of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

The situation escalated further when the Bangladesh government announced that the upcoming IPL 2026 broadcasts would be suspended in the country.

Until further notice, IPL matches and related programs will not be telecasted in Bangladesh, showing how serious the situation has become.

Read Also: Mustafizur Rahman’s condition really bad amid IPL exit, India-Bangladesh row? Big revelation emerges

India–Bangladesh tensions rock ICC T20 World Cup as ICC scrambles for Plan B

The ICC has been pushed into urgent action as rising tension between India and Bangladesh threatens to disrupt plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

It is being said that the ICC has started working on a backup schedule after the BCB officially asked for its matches to be shifted out of India.

Bangladesh have requested that their games be moved to Sri Lanka, citing growing concerns over safety and security as relations between the two countries continue to worsen.

The request has put the ICC in a tight spot, as the tournament is set to begin on February 7, leaving very little time to reshuffle venues, logistics, teams’ travel plans, and broadcast arrangements. Now, all eyes are on the ICC’s next move.

NEW DELHI: In what seems to be a last-moment decision, star batter Virat Kohli will not play Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Railways on Tuesday, January 6, in Bengaluru.As per BCCI guidelines, Kohli had played two matches for Delhi earlier in the tournament, against Andhra and Gujarat. He scored 131 and 77 in those games, helping Delhi register back-to-back wins. After missing the next three matches, there was expectation that Kohli could feature in one more game before joining the India squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting Sunday. That, however, will not happen, and Delhi will play the Railways match without him as they look to stay on top of Group D.

“No, he is not available,” Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh confirmed to Hindustan Times.The BCCI mandate required centrally contracted players to play at least two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches. Kohli fulfilled that requirement with his appearances earlier in the tournament.DDCA president Rohan Jaitley had earlier said last week that Kohli would play the match against Railways.During his two outings for Delhi, Kohli was in form, scoring 131 and 77. In the process, he became the fastest player to reach 16,000 List A runs, achieving the milestone in his 330th innings. He went past Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the mark in 391 innings.The ODI series against New Zealand begins on January 11.Had Kohli played, the Railways match would have seen him face pacer Himanshu Sangwan, who had dismissed him in what turned out to be Kohli’s final red-ball match of his career. Kohli’s absence comes with the New Zealand series close, following his white-ball form last year when he scored 302 runs against South Africa. With Rohit Sharma having already played two matches for Mumbai, both senior batters have now completed their domestic appearances this season.

AMRITSAR: The officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj, has summoned Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to appear at its secretariat on Jan 15 over alleged “anti-Sikh remarks”, “objectionable conduct”, and a recently surfaced video that the Takht says deeply hurt Sikh sentiments.Mann posted on X that he would appear before Sri Akal Takht Sahib as a “humble and devout Sikh instead of a chief minister”. “Any command from Sri Akal Takht Sahib Ji is accepted with full reverence and will be obeyed. I will walk barefoot before Sri Akal Takht Sahib,” he said.Mann said though the President is visiting Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar on Jan 15, he would still obey the Takht summons. “For me, Sri Akal Takht Sahib Ji is above everything. The command received from the sacred Takht is, was, and will always be supreme to me and my family,” he said. Jathedar Gargajj said the CM, despite holding a high constitutional office, repeatedly made statements that challenged “Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of religious conduct)”, supremacy of Akal Takht, and sanctity of Guru Ki Golak. “These comments reflect an arrogance of power and an anti-Sikh mindset,” Gargajj alleged.Clarifying why the CM was not summoned to appear at the facade (Fasil) of Akal Takht, the jathedar said that Bhagwant Mann is a “patit (apostate)” and, according to Sikh tradition, cannot be summoned to appear at Fasil. “Therefore, he was summoned to personally appear at the secretariat of Akal Takht at 10am on Jan 15 to submit his explanation,” Gargajj said.Jathedar Gargajj said a controversial video that had recently surfaced would be subjected to forensic examination and, if found authentic, strict Panthic action would follow.Mann got support from rather unexpected quarters. BJP criticised the Akal Takht summons, with party Punjab spokesperson Sarchand Singh calling it a “well-orchestrated exercise” to shield senior Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and those who are facing arrest over the 328 missing sacred saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Invoking “religious defiance” was a tactic to exert pressure on the CM and obstruct the SIT investigation, he said. He said there is no Panthic tradition of summoning a ‘patit’ Sikh even at the Akal Takht secretariat.