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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>In India, trial happens by extended detention</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2604745/in-india-trial-happens-by-extended-detention</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2604745/in-india-trial-happens-by-extended-detention#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 25 Apr 26 16:35:29 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[HAMMAD SARFRAZ]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[T-Magazine]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2604745</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Those who question the government’s policies on rights and freedoms, find themselves in an endless chase for justice]]>
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				<![CDATA[The world&#39;s largest democracy, or so the slogan goes, has perfected a quiet kind of cruelty against those who speak truth to power. For activists and journalists who question Narendra Modi&rsquo;s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, the punishment is arbitrary detention without trial, stretched endlessly into a legal void where no charge is filed and no freedom is granted. UN experts have called this pattern a violation of international human rights law.

To understand how this machinery operates, one need look no further than the case of Umar Khalid, a 33-year-old student activist and doctoral graduate of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Arrested on September 13, 2020, Khalid has spent more than five years in pretrial detention. His alleged crime was not violence, not conspiracy to commit terror, but a speech. On February 17, 2020, standing before 700 protesters in Amravati, Maharashtra, he spoke against the Citizenship Amendment Act. He invoked Mahatma Gandhi&rsquo;s tradition of non-violent civil disobedience. He explicitly urged protesters not to respond to violence with violence. For this, he was charged with 29 offences, including sedition, criminal conspiracy, and terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Prosecutors labeled him a &lsquo;key conspirator,&rsquo; a &lsquo;silent whisperer,&rsquo; and an architect of &lsquo;remote supervision&rsquo; over protests. Yet, despite the severity of these accusations, more than five years have passed without a single day of trial. The case remains stuck at the stage of arguments over charges. No verdict has been reached, no evidence has been tested in open court. Instead, Khalid sits in Tihar Jail, sharing facilities with convicted criminals, while the government offers no proof that his words ever incited violence.

It was precisely this Kafkaesque legal limbo that prompted the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to intervene. In November 2025, the body delivered a scathing opinion on Khalid&rsquo;s detention, finding his imprisonment to be arbitrary under four separate categories of international law. The government of India did not bother to respond to the UN&rsquo;s communication. It offered no defence, no explanation, and no denial of the allegations levelled by the experts.

The first category of arbitrariness identified by the Working Group concerns the very legal basis of Khalid&rsquo;s detention. Indian courts, the UN found, failed to conduct an individualized determination of whether his continued detention was reasonable or necessary. Section 43(D)(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act effectively makes bail nearly impossible by requiring only &lsquo;prima facie&rsquo; evidence of an offence &mdash; a threshold so low that courts denied Khalid bail multiple times, not because he posed a flight risk or a danger to society, but simply because the charges against him were serious. As the Working Group reminded, pretrial detention should be the exception, not the rule. In Khalid&rsquo;s case, the Modi administration made it the rule.



Moving to the second category, the UN experts determined that Khalid&rsquo;s detention directly resulted from the peaceful exercise of his fundamental rights, freedom of expression, assembly, association, and participation in public affairs. His speech explicitly rejected violence and there is no evidence he ever called for riots. Yet, the government used vague provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, whose definitions of &lsquo;unlawful activities&rsquo; and &lsquo;sedition&rsquo; remain dangerously imprecise to criminalize his activism. The UN warned that such vague laws confer excessive discretionary powers upon state agencies, enabling them to silence dissent under the guise of national security.

Even more alarming are the fair trial violations uncovered under the third category. After his arrest on September 13, 2020, Khalid was denied access to his lawyers for two full days &mdash; even though his lawyers were present outside the police station. His 11-hour interrogation the day before his arrest took place without legal counsel. His bail application then languished before the Supreme Court for over nine months and 18 days, adjourned approximately 12 times due to recusals, scheduling conflicts, and benches changed without explanation. More than five years later, his trial has not even started. The UN experts called this an excessive delay that violated his presumption of innocence, effectively punishing him for crimes that remain unproven and untried.

Finally, the Working Group found that Khalid was targeted on discriminatory grounds under the fifth category, specifically, his political opinion and his status as a human rights defender focused on Muslim minority rights and indigenous communities. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders has previously identified a pattern of Indian authorities using national security legislation to silence activists working on religious minority issues. Khalid&rsquo;s case fits squarely into that pattern, the Working Group concluded.

Taken together, these findings paint a disturbing picture of India&rsquo;s legal system as a tool for silencing dissent. And the government&rsquo;s refusal to engage with the UN Working Group only deepens the concern. In the absence of any reply, the UN experts recommended Khalid&rsquo;s immediate release, along with compensation and a full investigation into the violations of his rights.

But for Khalid, there is no freedom and he remains in jail. His case is not an outlier, it serves as a warning for the declines that are becoming ever so evident under Prime Minister Modi and his Hindu nationalists BJP leadership. Across the country, activists, journalists, and students who question government policy find themselves trapped in the same legal purgatory, charged under vague laws, denied bail, held for years without trial. The world&rsquo;s largest democracy, experts and advocacy groups caution, has learned to detain first and ask questions never. And the UN has now put it on notice not just in Khalid&rsquo;s case but also Jagtar Singh Johal&rsquo;s detention.

If Khalid&rsquo;s case exposes how the system operates, Johal&rsquo;s case shows how long it can keep someone behind bars without ever proving anything. Eight years &mdash; roughly three thousand and eighty-nine days later, Johal remains inside, with no end in sight. Johal is a British national and a Sikh human rights defender, but he didn&rsquo;t come to India to fight the government, he came to get married. In November 2017, not long after his wedding in Punjab, hooded men took him. They turned out to be police officers. For ten days they held him somewhere undisclosed, no lawyers, no family. He says they gave him electric shocks, forced him into stress positions, kept him from sleeping, and threatened to kill him. The Indian government has never seriously investigated any of it.



When he reappeared, he was in court, charged with terrorism offences. Some carried the death penalty. The charges reportedly rested on confessions that came out of that ten-day black hole. In March 2025, a court acquitted him on one of the charges. No reliable evidence, the judge said. But Johal, like Khalid, who awaits any form of trial, is still in jail.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the same body that condemned Umar Khalid&rsquo;s detention, has now issued a statement on Johal&rsquo;s case. &ldquo;Eight and a half years of arbitrary detention without a clear path to trial is not justice,&rdquo; they said. &ldquo;It is unlawful suffering. The prolonged uncertainty alone is a form of psychological torture.&rdquo;

The same machinery that held Khalid for five years without trial and Johal for eight has also held Irfan Mehraj captive, a Kashmiri journalist who has spent more than 1,000 days in a maximum-security prison in New Delhi, over 500 miles from his home in Srinagar, with no trial begun and no bail resolved.

In February this year, an international intervention pulled his case into the global spotlight when the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on his behalf, urging the body to declare his detention arbitrary and in violation of international law. But the warning from HRF went further: Mehraj&rsquo;s case is not an aberration but part of a pattern where Indian authorities jail first and dispense justice, if it comes at all, much later. &ldquo;Mehraj&rsquo;s case exemplifies India&rsquo;s practice of &lsquo;trial by jail&rsquo;,&rdquo; Hannah Van Dijcke, legal and research officer at HRF told the Express Tribune, adding that dissidents are subjected to indefinite pre-trial detention where the legal process itself becomes the punishment.

Indian authorities claim Mehraj&rsquo;s detention is linked to his former work with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, accusing him of terrorism and secession under what is known as the &ldquo;NGO terror funding case,&rdquo; part of a broader probe launched in 2020 against JKCCS and other Kashmiri NGOs that has already drawn widespread international criticism, including from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. HRF points out that Mehraj&rsquo;s reporting shows a consistent commitment to highlighting human rights issues in Kashmir &mdash; documenting everything from young women volunteering during the 2014 floods in Srinagar to the struggles of the Pandit community and ongoing abuses by authorities. &ldquo;Holding a journalist and human rights defender like Irfan Mehraj under this case is a blatant violation of press freedom and human rights,&rdquo; said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, executive director of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. His imprisonment, she added, appears to punish him for legitimate reporting and advocacy and reflects a wider pattern of silencing independent voices in Kashmir. &ldquo;Alongside Khurram Parvez, his case underscores the authorities&rsquo; failure to uphold freedom of expression and meet international obligations.&rdquo;



If Mehraj&rsquo;s case feels familiar, it is because the same law keeps appearing. At the core of all these cases &mdash; Khalid, Johal, Mehraj, Parvez &mdash; is the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, or UAPA, a terrorism prevention law with a provision allowing for very lengthy pre-trial detention. In practice, as Van Dijcke told The Express Tribune, the UAPA makes it much easier for Indian authorities to imprison dissidents because they do not have to go to official trial. Before Narendra Modi&rsquo;s government came to power in 2014, the law&rsquo;s use was negligible, but according to The Guardian, between 2014 and 2020, some 10,552 people were arrested under the UAPA. Among them was Khurram Parvez, detained in 2021 for documenting violence, torture, and enforced disappearances of Kashmiris by Indian armed forces. Among them was Umar Khalid, arrested for a speech. Among them is Irfan Mehraj, a journalist held for more than 1,000 days without trial.

Van Dijcke did not mince words in her interview with The Express Tribune earlier this year. India&rsquo;s political freedoms have eroded, she said bluntly, and the country is no longer fully democratic. &ldquo;We reclassified India from a democracy to what we call a hybrid authoritarian regime, a system that falls between a fully democratic and an authoritarian state.&rdquo; Mehraj&rsquo;s case, she added, is a clear example of where the judiciary and the legal system are failing. &ldquo;He has been in detention, without any trial, for more than 1,000 days. That is something you will never see in a democracy, as the general rule in international law is that pre-trial detention should be as short as possible.&rdquo;

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has put India on notice multiple times, and each time the government of India has offered no response, no defence, and no denial. The Express Tribune tried contacting various Indian government offices, including the External Affairs Ministry for comment, but each query was met with radio silence.

In Johal&rsquo;s case, his imprisonment was first recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention four years ago. Since then, the activist from Dumbarton has claimed to have been tortured, something the Indian authorities have previously denied and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

Now, the UN experts, according to a recent article published by the BBC, have sent a new communication about the case to the Indian authorities and said they will monitor developments. The ten experts, the British news organisation reported, are UN Special Rapporteurs, independent human rights specialists appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, and four members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Ria Chakrabarty, senior policy director at Hindus for Human Rights, has been following these cases closely. She argues the government has weaponized anti-terror laws against its critics. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question,&rdquo; she told the Express Tribune, &ldquo;that it is harder to dissent in India today than it was 12 years ago.&rdquo; Under Modi, she explained, these laws have been aggressively used against critics of Hindu nationalism, and disproportionately against Indian Muslims.

She pointed to a pattern that began even before the high-profile cases of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The first big case, she said, was actually that of anti-caste and tribal activists who rallied at Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra and were later attacked by Hindu nationalist mobs. Twelve leaders of the movement for the rights of caste-oppressed people and Adivasis were jailed for allegedly working with Maoists to overthrow the Modi government. The Supreme Court of India has slowly released most of them, she said, but one, Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest, died in prison at the age of 84. Both the Supreme Court and the UN have judged that many of the detainees were held with no evidence of terrorism. &ldquo;But this case is important to understand,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;because then the Indian Home Ministry started using the same playbook against Muslim activists who would lead protests subjected to Hindu nationalist violence, and later, primarily Sikh farmers protesting farm laws.&rdquo;

When Muslims protested the Citizenship Amendment Act, she explained, they were also protesting the core of the Hindu nationalist thesis that India should ever be anything but a secular republic. &ldquo;Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were arrested with dozens of others to silence criticism, not just of Modi, but of Hindu nationalism as a project,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;That is the real pattern we see in the last 12 years of Modi&rsquo;s government.&rdquo;



On the judiciary, she said: &ldquo;Right now, Indians have many questions about how much they trust the judiciary.&rdquo; In the cases of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Irfan Mehraj, she told the Express Tribune, &ldquo;the judiciary is undoubtedly trying to make an example out of these activists.&rdquo; She noted that Khalid and Imam applied for bail alongside five others. The other five were granted very restrictive bail, but Khalid and Imam were denied. &ldquo;The Supreme Court alleged that these two were the masterminds behind the Delhi riots in 2020,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but Umar was not in the city during the time of the violence, and the UN has deemed his detention arbitrary.&rdquo;

At the heart of all this, she explained, is the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a law that has existed since 1967 and has been amended over the years to become increasingly draconian. &ldquo;These laws are often called &lsquo;no-bail laws&rsquo; because they allow long periods of pretrial detention, supposedly to prevent acts of terror,&rdquo; she told the Express Tribune. &ldquo;The UAPA has been amended in many ways to restrict people&rsquo;s freedom of expression. These laws are written to undermine Indians&rsquo; rights to speedy and fair trials.&rdquo; The numbers bear this out, she said. Less than five per cent of UAPA cases lead to conviction. A majority do not even go to trial. More than 10,000 people have been arrested under the UAPA. &ldquo;During the arrest period, police are allowed to build a charge sheet to substantiate a terrorism allegation,&rdquo; she explained. In 2020, more than half of UAPA investigations lasted over three years. During that time, people are usually detained in jail, and bail is very difficult to obtain. &ldquo;Many Indian legal scholars and human rights defenders will often say that the UAPA process is the punishment because the law presumes the accused is guilty, and they have to prove their innocence.&rdquo;

When asked about Hindu majoritarian ideology, she said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s at the heart of how the current government approaches all criticism.&rdquo; &ldquo;When we say all of this, we are actually saying that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to capture the institutions of Indian governance.&rdquo; The Home Ministry, she told the Express Tribune, is now a political tool. Regardless of how individual police officers relate to the RSS or their personal politics, when the top law enforcement agency becomes a tool of Hindu nationalism, it influences the way all police forces work. She pointed to the Delhi riots case as a routine example. &ldquo;Hindu nationalists will instigate violence in Muslim neighborhoods, and then authorities will arrest Muslim community leaders and bulldoze the homes and businesses in that area,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The government punished Muslim activists who protested a discriminatory law rather than the perpetrators of the violence that swept Delhi.&rdquo;

Finally, asked what message she would deliver to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ria said: &ldquo;India is a pluralistic country, and Hindu traditions at their best have long insisted that truth and the divine are encountered through many paths, many philosophies, and many forms. Criticism and diversity of thought are integral to both being a good Indian and being a good Hindu. India&rsquo;s thousands of political prisoners deserve to be free, because they did what any good Indian should do: peacefully participate in the democratic process of dissent. Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Irfan Mehraj, and countless other political dissidents are not criminals for disagreeing with you, and as the leader of a diverse, secular republic, it is your constitutional duty to uphold the rights of people who disagree with you. A Hinduism that sees the sacred in multiplicity cannot be reconciled with a politics that fears diversity.&rdquo;

The Express Tribune also reached out to Ahmed Adam from the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, who has tracked these cases from an international legal perspective and sees a deeper failure. In Adam&rsquo;s opinion, the primary failure in Khalid&rsquo;s case is not investigative sloppiness or judicial delay, it is the arrest itself. &ldquo;He should not have been arrested at all,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And since his arrest, we have seen the entire legal and judicial system being weaponized against him. We see Khalid&rsquo;s case as emblematic of not only a pattern of using anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent but also deliberate erosion of the rule of law and independent institutions such as the judiciary.&rdquo;

On the question of whether prolonged pre-trial detention is becoming normalized in India, Adam said: &ldquo;It is fair to say that we are seeing a growing pattern of prolonged pre-detention as a tool to silence critics in India.&rdquo; He pointed to the UAPA&rsquo;s restrictive bail conditions and lengthy investigations, noting that despite the law&rsquo;s poor conviction rate, &ldquo;the lengthy investigations and prolonged detention without trial become punishment itself for those targeted.&rdquo;

When asked who should be applying pressure on India, Adam did not spare New Delhi&rsquo;s democratic allies. &ldquo;Disappointingly, we are seeing states and international institutions increasingly prioritizing political and economic interests and trade at the expense of human rights, protection of minorities, principles of rule of law and integrity of independent institutions.&rdquo;

The Indian government has consistently ignored recommendations and opinions from UN human rights mechanisms, Adam pointed out, and has even openly attacked those mechanisms to dissuade scrutiny of its record. But he argued that UN opinions still matter. &ldquo;One of their most important impacts is the international validation, legitimacy and visibility they bring to human rights defenders, activists and dissidents in such cases.&rdquo; These opinions become crucial platforms for international solidarity, he explained. &ldquo;They give detainees and their families hope and a feeling that they are not alone.&rdquo;

Describing Khalid&rsquo;s case as part of a clear pattern, Adam said human rights defenders, political activists, independent journalists, academics, lawyers, and dissidents are all being targeted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. This crackdown, he added, has come at a time of increasing persecution of religious minorities, particularly Muslims, as well as Dalits and Adivasis, driven by rising majoritarian and nationalistic political narratives. &ldquo;These two trends are unraveling India&rsquo;s democracy,&rdquo; he warned. &ldquo;The current BJP government is one of the first to successfully weaponize majoritarian narratives that vilified minorities, disinformation, and targeting of critics, and capture of independent institutions to gain and maintain power. Failure of the rest of the world to take note of this has led to proliferation of these trends across the world by authoritarians and aspiring authoritarians,&rdquo; he cautioned.

That persecution of religious minorities, Adam explained, is not incidental. It is central to how the law is being used. &ldquo;It is safe to say Muslims and Kashmiris have been disproportionately targeted, especially using anti-terrorism and national security laws such as the UAPA. This also follows the broader pattern of vilification and securitization of the entire Muslim community in India,&rdquo; he concluded.]]>
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			<title>India 'extremely high' doping risk: AIU</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2603796/india-extremely-high-doping-risk-aiu</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2603796/india-extremely-high-doping-risk-aiu#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 26 14:46:17 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2603796</guid>
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				<![CDATA[They have been elevated to a list of nations including Russia]]>
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				<![CDATA[India has been elevated to a list of nations including Russia where there is an &quot;extremely high&quot; risk of doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Monday.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) joins the likes of Russia, Belarus, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ukraine in the AIU&#39;s highest rating of Category A after being moved up from Category B.

Category A means India&#39;s athletes must now comply with more stringent anti-doping requirements.

The world&#39;s most populous country ranked in the top two for the most anti-doping violations in athletics between 2022 and 2025, the AIU said.

&quot;The doping situation in India has been high-risk for a long time and, unfortunately, the quality of the domestic anti-doping programme is simply not proportionate to the doping risk,&quot; AIU chair David Howman said.

&quot;While the AFI has advocated for anti-doping reforms within India, not enough has changed.

&quot;The AIU will now work with the AFI to achieve reforms to safeguard the integrity of the sport of athletics, as we have done with other Category A member federations.&quot;

The AIU is an independent body tasked with fighting corruption and wrongdoing, including doping, in athletics.

India is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, seen as a stepping stone for its ambition of staging the 2036 Olympics.

In the latest doping case in Indian athletics, Asian Games gold medallist archer Prathamesh Jawkar has been banned for two years.

He accepted the punishment for a whereabouts failure and will miss the Asian Games in September-October in Japan.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka was in New Delhi last week and said India is the biggest producer of performance-enhancing drugs.

However he noted that India consistently leading the list of drug cheats will not hamper its chances of hosting prestigious global sporting events.]]>
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			<title>International cricket returns to Bengaluru</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2599442/international-cricket-returns-to-bengaluru</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2599442/international-cricket-returns-to-bengaluru#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 26 15:28:07 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2599442</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Zimbabwe are set to embark on their first bilateral tour of India since 2002]]>
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				<![CDATA[Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Ranchi and Ahmedabad will host the five Tests of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will end a busy 2026-27 home season for India, in which they are set to host as many as four bilateral tours. The four teams touring are West Indies (three ODIs and five T20Is from September 27 to October 17), Sri Lanka (three ODIs and three T20Is from December 13 to 27), Zimbabwe (three ODIs from January 3 to 9) and Australia (five Tests from January 21 to March 7).

Zimbabwe&#39;s visit will be their first for a bilateral series in India since 2002.

The season will also mark Bengaluru&#39;s return to hosting international cricket for first time since stampede last June that led to loss of 11 lives outside Chinnaswamy Stadium. The ground will host the fifth T20I against West Indies on October 17 and the second ODI against Sri Lanka on December 16.

Bengaluru is one of five venues that will host two international matches over the season. The others are Guwahati (second ODI against West Indies and third Test against Australia), Hyderabad (fourth T20I against West Indies and second ODI against Zimbabwe), Ranchi (second T20I against West Indies and fourth Test against Australia) and Ahmedabad (third ODI against Sri Lanka and fifth Test against Australia).

Guwahati, which hosted its inaugural Test in November 2025, is set to host a Test match for a second consecutive season.

One notable fixture on the list is first ODI against Sri Lanka in Delhi, which is scheduled for December 13. Over recent years, Delhi has experienced severe air pollution in the winter months, with an India-Sri Lanka Test in 2017 marred by players experiencing breathing difficulty and nausea. Last year, the BCCI originally scheduled a Test match in Kolkata against West Indies in October and one against South Africa in Delhi in November. Those fixtures were later swapped to allow Delhi to host the match that occurred before the pollution spike that typically occurs around the time of Diwali.

India&#39;s 2026-27 home fixtures

Three ODIs vs West Indies Thiruvananthapuram (September 27), Guwahati (September 30), New Chandigarh (October 3)

Five T20Is vs West Indies Lucknow (October 6), Ranchi (October 9), Indore (October 11), Hyderabad (October 14), Bengaluru (October 17)

Three ODIs vs Sri Lanka Delhi (December 13), Bengaluru (December 16), Ahmedabad (December 19)

Three T20Is vs Sri Lanka Rajkot (December 22), Cuttack (December 24), Pune (December 27)

Three ODIs vs Zimbabwe Kolkata (January 3), Hyderabad (January 6), Mumbai (January 9)

Five Tests vs Australia Nagpur (January 21-25), Chennai (January 29-February 2), Guwahati (February 11-15), Ranchi (February 19-23), Ahmedabad (March 3-7).]]>
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			<title>Gavaskar condemns Sunrisers for signing Abrar</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2598077/gavaskar-condemns-sunrisers-for-signing-abrar</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2598077/gavaskar-condemns-sunrisers-for-signing-abrar#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 26 10:13:12 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[The Pakistani spinner was signed for the Hundred]]>
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				<![CDATA[India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has alleged that the signing of Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed by an Indian-owned Hundred franchise in England &quot;indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians&quot;.

Players from Pakistan have not featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009 because of deep-seated diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

There was speculation that Pakistan players involved at the inaugural Hundred auction in London would be subject to a &quot;shadow ban&quot;, with IPL-affiliated teams refusing to bid for them.

That did not come to pass, but Sunrisers Leeds -- from the same group that controls IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad -- faced a fierce social media backlash after last week clinching a deal for Abrar, paying &pound;190,000 ($252,000) for his services.

Former India captain Gavaskar, 76, launched a blistering attack in a weekend column for the Indian newspaper Mid-Day.

&quot;The fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government, which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians,&quot; he wrote.

&quot;Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties.&quot;

Three other Hundred franchises -- MI London, Manchester Super Giants and Southern Brave -- are at least part-owned by companies that control IPL teams.

Usman Tariq, the only other Pakistani player bought in auction, was picked up by American-backed Birmingham Phoenix.

The England and Wales Cricket Board last month issued a statement saying all eight franchises in the 100-ball-a-side competition were committed to selection based solely on performances.

India and Pakistan, who were engaged in a deadly conflict in May last year, have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade and meet only in global or regional tournaments.

&quot;There&#39;s still time to undo the wrong and hopefully wiser counsels will prevail,&quot; added Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.]]>
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			<title>India target Olympic gold</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596645/india-target-olympic-gold</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596645/india-target-olympic-gold#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 26 13:15:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2596645</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Yadav says gold in 2028 Olympics was India's next big aim]]>
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				<![CDATA[Captain Suryakumar Yadav said gold in 2028 on cricket&#39;s return to the Olympics was India&#39;s next big aim after extending their T20 domination with back-to-back World Cup titles.

Co-hosts India hammered New Zealand by 96 runs in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday to be the first team to retain the T20 world crown and first to win it three times.

It was also the first time a team have won the title on home soil, and they did it with a brand of fearless, attacking cricket.

&quot;It has been very special,&quot; Suryakumar told reporters at a celebratory midnight press conference, as fans across the country flooded into the streets.

&quot;And definitely the next goal is Olympics, Olympic gold and also the T20 World Cup that year.&quot;

Los Angeles 2028 will see cricket return to the Olympics for the first time since 1900.

Led by then captain Rohit Sharma, India won the T20 World Cup two years ago in Barbados for their first major title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit and fellow stalwart Virat Kohli retired from the shortest format after the final against South Africa and Suryakumar took over as captain.

&quot;I think that drought ended in 2024 after a really long time and from there we never looked back,&quot; said the 35-year-old.

&quot;We played a different brand of cricket in 2024 and from there we understood how this team needs to work (going) forward.

&quot;And it&#39;s been a wonderful journey since then.&quot;

Suryakumar added: &quot;We wanted to do something special in front of the home crowd. We want to continue doing that... and never stop.&quot;

India won the 50-over World Cup in 2011 at home under M.S. Dhoni, who led the team to a T20 World Cup in the inaugural edition in 2007.

After that was a comparative drought in the biggest events by India&#39;s sky-high standards.

Two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir, who succeeded Rahul Dravid as coach after the 2024 World Cup win, wants to carve out his own legacy.

&quot;I don&#39;t believe in inheriting anything, I believe in creating something,&quot; said Gambhir, who has not always been universally popular with fans and pundits as the coach.

&quot;And hopefully we&#39;ve created something which probably all of you guys could be proud of, that the kind of brand of cricket we&#39;ve played.&quot;]]>
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			<title>'T20 kings': nation celebrates Indian romp to World Cup glory</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596641/t20-kings-nation-celebrates-indian-romp-to-world-cup-glory</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596641/t20-kings-nation-celebrates-indian-romp-to-world-cup-glory#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 26 12:57:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2596641</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[India successfully defended their T20 World Cup crown in their home conditions]]>
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				<![CDATA[Millions of euphoric Indians celebrated on Monday what cricket great Virat Kohli hailed as a &quot;phenomenal&quot; display in winning the T20 World Cup for a record third time.

The co hosts and pre tournament favourites swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in Sunday&#39;s final in front of 86,000 spectators at Ahmedabad&#39;s Narendra Modi Stadium.

India became the first team to lift the trophy on home soil, the first to retain it and are now the most successful side in the history of the global showpiece.

Indian newspapers praised Suryakumar Yadav&#39;s men for their dominant performance, with the mass-circulation Times of India saying they had rewritten history in &quot;bold strokes&quot;.

&quot;India didn&#39;t so much win the title as stroll to it. It was a coronation rather than a final,&quot; it said in a front-page report headlined, &quot;Threemendous: T20 kings keep the crown.&quot;

The English-language Indian Express said it was the first time India had won a showpiece event without a &quot;larger-than-life megastar&quot;.

It credited coach Gautam Gambhir with &quot;sowing the seeds&quot; of belief in the team, calling him the &quot;architect&quot; of India&#39;s triumph.

Cricket is a national obsession in the world&#39;s most populous country, woven deeply into its cultural and social fabric.

Star players enjoy adulation and the game serves as a rare unifying force in an otherwise diverse nation.

&nbsp;

Celebrations across country

As the victory became inevitable late Sunday, thousands of delirious fans converged on Delhi&#39;s India Gate monument waving tricolour flags, beating drums and dancing to blaring Bollywood hits.

Drivers came out of their cars on the broad avenues around the monument to join impromptu street celebrations that stretched long into the next day.

The scene was replicated in cities, towns and villages across the country.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar hailed the Indian team as &quot;totally deserving and rightful winners&quot;.

&quot;What a fantastic performance by our team and a special brand of cricket on display,&quot; he said, referring to their fearless attacking game.

The 50-year-old shared a photo of fans gathered outside his Mumbai residence long after midnight, writing: &quot;Not in Mumbai to witness the celebration... but it&#39;s happening all over the country.&quot;

Thousands of fans also celebrated outside the Ahmedabad stadium, where India suffered heartbreak in the 2023 50 over World Cup final.

&quot;India has now won back-to-back. So we hope in the next World Cup we will win as well,&quot; Akshay, a 35-year-old engineer, told AFP.

Daval Shah, another fan, said he throughly enjoyed the game even though it was pretty one-sided.

&quot;It&#39;s always been in one corner of our mind that we were defeated here,&quot; said Shah, 40, referring to the 2023 loss to Australia.

&quot;It&#39;s like a jinx, but we have broken the jinx today.&quot;

Indian batting superstar Kohli, who retired from the shortest format of the game after India&#39;s 2024 title win, called the performance &quot;phenomenal&quot;.

&quot;Absolutely no match for the explosive cricket played by us throughout the tournament,&quot; he wrote on X.]]>
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			<title>Billion hopes as India face New Zealand for T20 World Cup glory</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596455/billion-hopes-as-india-face-new-zealand-for-t20-world-cup-glory</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596455/billion-hopes-as-india-face-new-zealand-for-t20-world-cup-glory#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 26 10:59:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2596455</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The final is set to take place at the packed Narendra Modi Stadium]]>
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				<![CDATA[Defending champions India play New Zealand on Sunday in Ahmedabad looking to become the first side to lift the T20 World Cup for a third time and the country of 1.4 billion expecting nothing less.

Standing in the way of Suryakumar Yadav&#39;s hosts are a team who have already upset the odds with a thumping nine-wicket win over previously unbeaten South Africa to reach the final.

After Finn Allen&#39;s record 33-ball century in the semi-finals, a buoyant New Zealand believe they can finally win a T20 World Cup crown.

Skipper Mitchell Santner said: &quot;If we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team.&quot;

India will have to withstand the expectations of 100,000-plus cricket-obsessed fans at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium.

Hundreds of millions more will be watching on TV.

The world&#39;s top-ranked T20 team are attempting to become the first to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.

&quot;There will definitely be pressure and nerves, especially playing in India and going for the title,&quot; said Suryakumar after a nerve-shredding seven-run win against England in a high-scoring semi-final.

&quot;But the boys and the whole support staff are excited as well.&quot;

India have effectively played three knockout games to reach the final, after losing their opening Super Eights match to South Africa.

They hammered Zimbabwe by 72 runs and chased down 196 to beat the West Indies in must-win games to make the semi-finals.

&#39;Special&#39; Bumrah&nbsp;

After posting a mammoth 253-7 against England in the last four, India needed a pivotal 18th over from death-bowling master Jasprit Bumrah to stave off an English batting assault.

Bumrah conceded just six runs from his final over to leave England with too much to do and, despite Jacob Bethell&#39;s 105, India held on.

Suryakumar acknowledged he was lucky to have such a unique talent to call upon in the crucial moments.

&quot;It was a special bowling performance,&quot; he said of Bumrah.

The main concerns for India are the form of opening batsman Abhishek Sharma and leading spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Both are number one in the International Cricket Council T20 rankings but have been out of sorts as the tournament heads to its climax.

Abhishek had three consecutive ducks in the group phase and his only score of any note was a fifty against Zimbabwe.

Chakravarthy was targeted mercilessly by England&#39;s batsmen at Mumbai&#39;s Wankhede stadium as they pummelled him for 64 runs from his four overs.

He has taken just four wickets since the group phase.

New Zealand have blown hot and cold, having been beaten by South Africa and England earlier in the tournament.

But all their players are hitting form at the right time and they have enough firepower to upset India.

They crucially also have nothing to lose as they will go into the final as huge underdogs.

Santner said: &quot;It&#39;s going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we&#39;re probably not the favourites.

&quot;But yeah, I wouldn&#39;t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.&quot;]]>
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			<title>New Zealand want to 'break a few hearts</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596317/new-zealand-want-to-break-a-few-hearts</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2596317/new-zealand-want-to-break-a-few-hearts#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 26 13:02:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2596317</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[They will lock horns against India in T20 World Cup final]]>
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				<![CDATA[New Zealand will &quot;not mind breaking a few hearts&quot; in the T20 World Cup final against defending champions and hosts India, captain Mitchell Santner said on Saturday.

Santner&#39;s side will face India on Sunday in Ahmedabad with over 100,000 home fans expected to fill the Narendra Modi Stadium.

New Zealand reached the 2021 final, losing to Australia, and have never won a white-ball World Cup.

&quot;I wouldn&#39;t mind winning a trophy,&quot; Santner said.

He added: &quot;It&#39;s going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we&#39;re probably not the favourites.

&quot;But yeah, I wouldn&#39;t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.&quot;

New Zealand have blown hot and cold.

They hammered South Africa -- unbeaten until then -- by nine wickets in the semi-finals after Finn Allen blasted the fastest-ever century at the tournament.

But they also lost to South Africa and England earlier in the competition.

They face an India side on a roll with three straight wins.

In 2023, Australia led by Pat Cummins silenced the home crowd in Ahmedabad in the final of the ODI World Cup.

&quot;I guess that&#39;s the goal, is to silence the crowd,&quot; said Santner.

&quot;T20 cricket is fickle at times. We&#39;ve seen South Africa playing very good cricket all the way through and then had a little hiccup against us and out.

&quot;So I think for us, it&#39;s taking confidence from that and if we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team.&quot;

Top-ranked India are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.

They would also be the first to win the title three times.

But they will have to withstand the expectations of a packed house plus hundreds of millions more watching on TV.

Santner feels that level of expectation could weigh heavily on them.

&quot;So I think that comes with a lot of added pressure as well,&quot; said Santner. &quot;So if we can go out there and try and put, I guess, that added pressure on them and see what happens.&quot;

New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips reminded India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is &quot;human&quot; after all - and hopes the talisman has an off ​day in Sunday&#39;s Twenty20 World Cup final.

Arguably the best all-format bowler &zwnj;of his era, Bumrah&#39;s mastery was on display again in India&#39;s narrow victory in Thursday&#39;s thrilling semi-final against England in Mumbai.

Bumrah returned figures of 33-1 in his tidy four overs in ​a match where 449 runs were amassed and 34 sixes rained ​on the Wankhede Stadium.]]>
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			<title>India face New Zealand for T20 World Cup glory</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595960/india-face-new-zealand-for-t20-world-cup-glory</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595960/india-face-new-zealand-for-t20-world-cup-glory#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 26 12:10:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2595960</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The defending champions clinch a narrow victory over England to reach the final]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[India face New Zealand on Sunday in Ahmedabad looking to become the first side to lift the T20 World Cup for a third time but under huge pressure with the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

Standing in the way of Suryakumar Yadav&#39;s side are a team who have already upset the odds with a thumping nine-wicket win over the previously unbeaten South Africa to reach the final.

New Zealand believe, after Finn Allen&#39;s record 33-ball century in the semi-final in Kolkata, that they are capable of taking down the hosts to win their maiden T20 World Cup title.

&quot;We&#39;ve got a lot of momentum going into the weekend,&quot; warned Allen.

&quot;I think if we play our best cricket we can beat anybody.&quot;

India will not only have to withstand the expectations of 100,000-plus cricket-obsessed fans in a packed Narendra Modi stadium and hundreds of millions more watching on TV, but also the weight of history.

The world&#39;s top-ranked T20 team are attempting to become the first to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.

&quot;There will definitely be pressure and nerves, especially playing in India and going for the title,&quot; said Suryakumar after a nerve-shredding seven-run win against England in a high-scoring semi-final.

&quot;But the boys and the whole support staff are excited as well.&quot;

India have effectively played three knockout games to reach the final, after losing their opening Super Eights match to South Africa.

They hammered Zimbabwe by 72 runs and chased down 196 to beat the West Indies in must-win games to reach Thursday&#39;s semi-final against England.

After posting a mammoth 253-7 against Harry Brook&#39;s side, India needed a pivotal 18th over from death-bowling master Jasprit Bumrah to stave off an England batting assault.

&#39;Showed character&#39; 

Bumrah conceded just six runs from his final over to leave England with too much to do and, despite Jacob Bethell&#39;s 105, India held on to spark wild celebrations.

Suryakumar acknowledged he was lucky to have such a unique talent to call upon in the crucial moments.

&quot;We all know what he&#39;s capable of and what he&#39;s done for India over the years. He did the same thing again today, raised his hand and showed character to pull the game away from them.

&quot;It was a special bowling performance.&quot;The main concerns for India are the form of opening batsman Abhishek Sharma and leading spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Both are number one in the International Cricket Council T20 rankings but have been out of sorts as the tournament heads to its climax.

Abhishek had three consecutive ducks in the group phase and his only score of any note was a fifty against Zimbabwe.

Chakravarthy was targeted mercilessly by England&#39;s batsmen at Mumbai&#39;s Wankhede stadium as they pummelled him for 64 runs from his four overs.

He has taken just four wickets since the group phase.

Mitchell Santner&#39;s New Zealand have blown hot and cold, having been beaten by South Africa and England earlier in the tournament.

But all their players are hitting form at the right time and they have enough firepower to upset India.

They crucially also have nothing to lose as they will go into the final as huge underdogs.

Opener Tim Seifert, who has three fifties in the tournament, has been consistently setting a platform for the likes of Allen and Glenn Phillips to launch.

&quot;I just looked to play almost a support role to Tim,&quot; said Allen after the semi-final, where Seifert hit 58 off 33 balls as the pair put on 117 for the first wicket in 9.1 overs.

&quot;He&#39;s in incredible form, he&#39;s an incredible player and I think he&#39;s just showing the world what he can do.

&quot;I think that makes it easy for me to sit back and have the best seat in the house.&quot;]]>
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			<title>India eye special performance to conquer 'street-smart' England</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595787/india-eye-special-performance-to-conquer-street-smart-england</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595787/india-eye-special-performance-to-conquer-street-smart-england#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 26 12:18:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2595787</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Morne said India would again need someone &quot;to put their hand up&quot; against Harry Brook's side]]>
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				<![CDATA[India will need a &quot;special performance&quot; to beat a &quot;street-smart&quot; England in their T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, bowling coach Morne Morkel warned on Wednesday.

Sanju Samson&#39;s sparkling 97 not out enabled India to chase down 196 against the West Indies in a winner-takes-all clash on Sunday in Kolkata.

Morne said India would again need someone &quot;to put their hand up&quot; against Harry Brook&#39;s side on Thursday night to keep the nation&#39;s dream of a home World Cup win alive.

Morkel agreed India had not put together a flawless display in the tournament yet, but said that did not matter.

&quot;We haven&#39;t really spoken about the perfect game,&quot; Morne told reporters at Mumbai&#39;s Wankhede stadium after India&#39;s final training session before Thursday&#39;s big clash.

&quot;It&#39;s not about how you get to the semi-finals. It&#39;s about the next two games, how we&#39;re going to play there.

&quot;I think the quality of this team has been shown that on the day somebody will put their hand up.

&quot;Then hopefully, especially tomorrow night, we can put that special performance in.&quot;

It is the third T20 World Cup in a row that India will play England in the semi-finals.

Both previous times the winners went on to lift the trophy.

In 2022, England crushed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide and beat Pakistan in the Melbourne final.

Two years ago India won in Guyana by a similarly dominant 68 runs before downing South Africa in Barbados.

This time, though, India will have the backing of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai.

&quot;It&#39;s a big occasion tomorrow night here, a semi-final, a great stadium to play a great game of cricket,&quot; said Morkel.

&quot;So hopefully the boys can rock up tomorrow and just be calm and execute those skills.&quot;

India are leaving nothing to chance in their preparations.

Training on Tuesday night was delayed by an hour so it did not coincide with a lunar eclipse, which is considered unlucky in India.

&quot;I was told about the lunar eclipse and the session was pushed backwards,&quot; admitted Morkel.

&quot;I think the most important thing to focus on was the quality the guys put in at training, which was great to see.&quot;

India hosted the T20 World Cup in 2016 and lost in a Mumbai semi-final to eventual champions the West Indies.

India are wary of the threat posed by England, who were shaky in the group phase but powered through the Super Eights with wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.

&quot;They&#39;re a team that&#39;s street smart. Obviously there&#39;s a lot of quality in their side,&quot; said Morkel.

&quot;Their batting is deep, which makes them a very dangerous side. With the ball, they&#39;ve got a lot of attacking options.

&quot;The way they approach a T20 game, fearless, trying to take the game on, will give you opportunities.

&quot;Tomorrow is going to be a good shoot-out between two aggressive teams.&quot;

South Africa play New Zealand in the first semi-final later on Wednesday.]]>
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			<title>'Superman Sanju' toast of India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595222/superman-sanju-toast-of-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595222/superman-sanju-toast-of-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 26 12:08:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2595222</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[He scored an unbeaten 97 as they chase of 196 against Windies]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[India on Monday hailed Sanju Samson as a &quot;game-changer&quot; after the opener&#39;s batting masterclass in Kolkata took the defending champions into the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

Samson&#39;s unbeaten 97 led India&#39;s chase of 196 against the West Indies in the last Super Eights match to set up a semi-final against England in Mumbai on Thursday.

Samson paced his innings to perfection and had more than a billion India fans erupting in joy on Sunday night when he hit Romario Shepherd for a six and four to complete the chase at Eden Gardens.

&quot;Handling the final overs well in both innings gave us the edge,&quot; India&#39;s batting great Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X.

&quot;Sanju Samson&#39;s calm presence at the crease was wonderful to watch. That kind of presence lifts a side. Brilliant effort from everyone. On to the semi-finals!&quot;

Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said: &quot;Sanju Samson the man for India in a do-or-die game. Focus is never on him but he proves to be the game-changer.&quot;

The 31-year-old Samson has been in and out of the Indian team and played just one group match against Namibia in the absence of opener Abhishek Sharma.

India brought back Samson in their Super Eights match against Zimbabwe to break up the all left-handed opening partnership of Abhishek and Ishan Kishan.

India&#39;s media were lavish in their praise for Samson, who saved India from a humiliating early tournament exit on home soil.

&quot;Superman Sanju rescues India,&quot; blazed the Times of India.

India coach Gautam Gambhir called Samson &quot;world-class&quot;.

&quot;We all know how good a player Sanju is and it was all about backing him,&quot; Gambhir told reporters.

&quot;Today was a day where he probably showed his true potential.&quot;

Samson, who made his debut in 2015, has played just 60 Twenty20 matches for India since.

&quot;I always say, good things happen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience,&quot; said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.

&quot;It&#39;s all his hard work.&quot;

South Africa face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday in Kolkata.

The final is in Ahmedabad on Sunday.]]>
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			<title>Jammu and Kashmir win maiden Ranji Trophy</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595044/jammu-and-kashmir-win-maiden-ranji-trophy</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595044/jammu-and-kashmir-win-maiden-ranji-trophy#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 26 11:04:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[They defeated eight-times champions Karnataka]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Jammu and Kashmir claimed their maiden Ranji Trophy on Saturday after a draw with eight-times champions Karnataka in the final of India&#39;s premier domestic first-class competition, securing the win on the basis of their first-innings lead.

It was the first title in 67 years for Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian state that shares a border with neighbouring Pakistan. The two countries, who both control parts of the region, have fought two wars over it.

&quot;I cannot explain and I don&#39;t have any words. It is the biggest thing in my life,&quot; Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra said.

&quot;I have been lucky to be with JKCA (Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association). The guys have been phenomenal and excellent.

&quot;From the beginning, they were 100% sure we would win this Ranji Trophy.&quot;

Opening batter Shubham Pundir, who was named man of the match, scored 121 and Dogra (70) guided Jammu and Kashmir to a mammoth first-innings total of 584.

Right-arm pacer Aaquib Nabi Dar, who was named player of the series, finished with 5-54 to bowl out Karnataka for 293, securing a 291-run lead for his side despite opener Mayank Agarwal&#39;s fighting 160-run knock for the home team.

Choosing not to enforce the follow-on, Qamran Iqbal (160 not out) and Sahil Dogra (101 not out) smashed centuries on the final day before declaring on 342-4 after which the captains agreed to a draw.

Indian Cricket Board President Mithun Manhas, a former Jammu and Kashmir player, watched the final day along with the state&#39;s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and dedicated the win to the people of the state.

&quot;I think the best part that has happened in the last four years is they started believing in themselves and the rest is history,&quot; Manhas said.]]>
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			<title>India aim for 'fearless cricket'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2594852/india-aim-for-fearless-cricket</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2594852/india-aim-for-fearless-cricket#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 26 04:33:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2594852</guid>
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				<![CDATA[They will face the West Indies in a virtual semi-final of the T20 World Cup]]>
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				<![CDATA[India revived their T20 World Cup campaign with their &ldquo;fearless&rdquo; brand of cricket ahead of a winner-takes-all decider against the West Indies for the last semi-final berth.

Hot favourites to defend their title on home soil, India thrashed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai on Thursday to bounce back from their heavy defeat against South Africa in their Super Eights opener.

India&rsquo;s batting, led by opener Abhishek Sharma&rsquo;s blistering 55, and an unbeaten 50 by Hardik Pandya, piled up 256-4, the second-highest total in the history of the tournament.

In a brutal show of power hitting, the Indian batters demolished the opposition bowling with 17 sixes and 17 fours at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

India face the West Indies, who went down to South Africa by nine wickets, in Kolkata on Sunday to decide the second semi-finalist from Group 1.

&ldquo;We want to play the fearless cricket, the brand of cricket we played today and we played since last year,&rdquo; batter Tilak Varma said.

&ldquo;The same intent we want to keep in the next game as well. And going ahead in the tournament, we take the same intensity (forward).&rdquo;

The left-handed Varma hit a 19-ball 44 as he put together an unbeaten 84-run stand with Pandya, who capped off the innings with two sixes to raise his fifty.

It all came together for India after they rejigged their opening combination with the return of Sanju Samson, who handed the team a quick start with his 24 off 15 balls.

The left-handed Abhishek hit form with his first T20 World Cup fifty after he struggled in the tournament with three ducks in four innings.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important when the openers give us a good start, the same confidence follows to number three, four and five,&rdquo; said Varma.

&ldquo;And we discussed that whatever the situation is, (even) if we lose three-four wickets in powerplay, we will bat with the same rhythm,&rdquo; he added.

&ldquo;And we want to show the fear in opposition bowlers, that these guys are ready to hit each and every ball.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

&lsquo;Keep that intensity&rsquo;

India, the world&rsquo;s top-ranked T20 team, came into the World Cup on the back of huge totals in bilateral contests, and were tipped to cross the 300-run mark at the tournament.

But their batting had looked fragile and was often exposed, including by minnows the United States, who reduced them to 77-6 in their opener.

Varma remains cautious of his team&rsquo;s plans against the West Indies, who posted 254-6 against Zimbabwe in their Super Eights opener.

&ldquo;So if the wicket is not good, then we&rsquo;ll adjust, and we&rsquo;ll keep that intensity on,&rdquo; said Varma.

&ldquo;I would not say we want to score more than 250 &mdash; but if we get a good start, then of course we&rsquo;ll go for it.&rdquo;

The Indian bowling has looked good.

On Thursday, left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh returned figures of 3-24 to limit Zimbabwe to 184-6.

He surpassed senior paceman Jasprit Bumrah as the leading bowler for India at the T20 World Cup with 35 wickets to Bumrah&rsquo;s 33.

&ldquo;We have been doing well for the past couple of years, so even after a blip or a defeat, the belief of the group was there,&rdquo; Arshdeep told reporters.

&ldquo;We knew we just have to come and follow our processes, and the result will come our way. So the thought was very simple and we are enjoying it.&rdquo;

The 2024 champions have the weight of history against them. No team has ever retained the T20 World Cup and no side have ever won the trophy on home soil.]]>
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			<title>Samson in India's mix for high-stakes clash against Zimbabwe</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2594535/samson-in-indias-mix-for-high-stakes-clash-against-zimbabwe</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2594535/samson-in-indias-mix-for-high-stakes-clash-against-zimbabwe#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 26 13:05:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2594535</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The host nation suffered a 76-run defeat to South Africa in their Super Eights opener]]>
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				<![CDATA[Defending champions India are looking to bolster their faltering opening combination ahead of a dare-not-lose T20 World Cup clash against Zimbabwe to keep hopes of making the semi-finals alive.

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is an option at the top of the order, in India&#39;s second Super Eights clash in Chennai on Thursday.

Opener Abhishek Sharma&#39;s batting slump -- including three consecutive ducks -- has dented India&#39;s campaign.

The team suffered a 76-run defeat to South Africa in their Super Eights opener.

India now face a straightforward equation -- win their remaining two matches to keep qualification for the semi-finals largely in their own hands, or risk depending on other results.

Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak acknowledged that team combinations are under discussion for the high-stakes match.

&quot;There can be changes, yes,&quot; Kotak told reporters. &quot;And obviously, it goes without saying that we discuss, because there are two leftie openers, number three is left-handed.&quot;

While Kotak downplayed the imbalance, he admitted early setbacks had forced the team to reassess.

&quot;I personally don&#39;t think that there is any problem there but because we lost a wicket in the first over in three games, obviously, any team would think,&quot; he said.

India&#39;s top and middle order is dominated by left-handers, offering opponents a clear tactical approach.

Teams including Pakistan, the Netherlands and South Africa have targeted the vulnerability by opening the bowling with off-spin, dismissing one of the two openers in the first over with an off-spinner.

In the loss to South Africa, Abhishek&#39;s opening partner Ishan Kishan fell for a fourth-ball duck after skipper Aiden Markram opened the bowling with off-spin.

Samson, a right-hander who played in the tournament with Abhishek unwell, could break the left-handed grip on the top of the order.

&quot;People ask about Sanju as right-hander up front,&quot; said Kotak. &quot;Or you think of playing three spinners,&quot; he added.

Zimbabwe, led by Sikandar Raza, have emerged as one of the surprise packages of the tournament, having stunned Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka to reach the Super Eights.

The West Indies top the Super Eights Group 1 after defeating Zimbabwe, with South Africa second. Both India and Zimbabwe head into Thursday&rsquo;s clash in urgent need of a victory.

&quot;For us, every match is a must-win from here,&quot; said Kotak.

&quot;If you want to go and win the World Cup, you expect to beat all the sides you play.&quot;

Indian middle-order batter Rinku Singh has left the team to attend to his ailing father, and missed training ahead of the key match. But Kotak said Rinku will rejoin the team Wednesday evening.]]>
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			<title>Beyond the boycott</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593859/beyond-the-boycott</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593859/beyond-the-boycott#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 26 18:06:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Nabil Tahir]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[T-Magazine]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2593859</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan have talent on paper but tighten against elites. After India loss, can poise return in Super 8?]]>
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				<![CDATA[For more than a week, Pakistan&rsquo;s T20 World Cup campaign was framed less by cricket and more by choice. The initial decision to boycott the match against India shifted the conversation from team balance and match-ups to principle and precedent. When Bangladesh requested reconsideration, and Pakistan eventually agreed to take the field, the narrative pivoted again. The question was no longer whether the game would be played, but what it would mean once it was.

Amid that uncertainty, the team itself remained a source of expectation. Back home, fans spoke less about politics and more about possibilities. There was belief in the pace attack, confidence in experience at the top, and quiet optimism that this tournament could offer something steadier than past campaigns. In Colombo, pockets of green in the stands carried that hope across borders. Supporters who had travelled did not come to witness a diplomatic episode. They came to watch a side they believed had the tools to compete with anyone.

By the time the day of the match against India finally arrived, it carried not only political residue but emotional investment. When Pakistan lost by a clear margin, the disappointment felt layered. It was not simply a group-stage defeat. It was a performance that unsettled belief.

Yet the campaign did not unravel. Pakistan went on to win their remaining three group matches and secure qualification for the Super 8. The standings remain favourable.

This piece is not about whether Pakistan should have played. It is about what the performance revealed once they did.



The India match as a psychological test

Strip away the noise that preceded it, and the match against India becomes something more revealing than a rivalry fixture. It becomes a study in temperament. Pakistan were not confronted by unfamiliar conditions or an unknown opponent. They were up against a side they have analysed repeatedly, prepared for precisely, and competed against in multiple ICC tournaments. The gap that emerged did not feel technical. It felt internal.

From the early overs, there was a difference in posture. India&rsquo;s intent was visible. Their batters looked decisive in stroke selection, clear in placement, certain in tempo. Pakistan, by contrast, appeared measured to the point of caution. Singles were taken where boundaries might have been attempted. Lengths were respected rather than challenged. The field dictated the play rather than forcing an adjustment.

Body language often reveals what scorecards conceal. There was no panic in Pakistan&rsquo;s approach, but there was restraint. Shoulders dropped incrementally when pressure built. Conversations in the field looked corrective rather than proactive. Momentum shifted not in a dramatic collapse, but in phases. An over conceded quietly here, a scoring opportunity passed up there. The match drifted before it tilted. India dictated the tempo. Pakistan responded to it.

That is the difference between being outclassed and being inhibited. Pakistan were not overwhelmed by superior skill in every department. They were hesitant at decisive moments. Against the strongest opposition, that hesitation becomes the margin.



Tactical shortcomings in key phases

If the psychological layer framed the contest, the tactical details sustained it. Pakistan did not unravel in one reckless passage of play. They conceded ground gradually, across phases that in modern T20 cricket are designed to be seized rather than survived.

The powerplay remains the first inflection point. Pakistan&rsquo;s starts were controlled but cautious. Dot balls accumulated, and with them came a subtle shift in pressure. The early overs did not collapse the innings, but they narrowed its possibilities. In contemporary T20 cricket, the powerplay is less about preservation and more about assertion. Pakistan leaned towards the former. India capitalised on that restraint by keeping fields attacking and lengths disciplined.

The middle overs exposed structural rigidity. Pakistan&rsquo;s template continues to rely on anchors to stabilise, but when stability turns into stagnation, tempo suffers. Strike rotation slowed at key moments. The batting order appeared fixed rather than adaptable to matchups. Instead of promoting aggression when the field spread, consolidation persisted. Against elite bowling, that caution reduces scoring avenues and delays acceleration until it becomes forced.

Bowling phases followed a similar pattern. There were no glaring errors, but execution at the death lacked precision. Variations did not consistently deceive. Lengths missed by inches at crucial junctures. In T20 cricket, those inches convert into boundaries.

Fielding completed the picture. A misfield here, a slightly delayed release there. Marginal lapses that rarely headline a defeat, yet collectively concede ten or fifteen runs. At this level, that margin alters momentum.

The issue was not one catastrophic error. It was cumulative conservatism across phases that demanded controlled aggression.



Talent versus mindset

On paper, Pakistan is not a limited side. The bowling attack carries pace, variation and experience in equal measure. The top order includes players who have scored heavily across formats and conditions. The middle overs have power hitters capable of shifting games in a handful of deliveries. The three group-stage victories underlined that ability. Against other opponents, Pakistan looked balanced, confident and technically secure.

Which raises the uncomfortable question. Why does that assurance narrow against elite opposition? The difference is rarely about skill. It is about posture.

Sides such as India and England operate with visible permission to take risks. Their batters attack fields even after a mistimed shot. Their bowlers attempt yorkers and slower variations even after one is struck for four. Mistakes are absorbed as part of a larger intent. The tempo rarely retreats.

Pakistan, by contrast, often recalibrates after error. A boundary conceded tightens length. A false stroke encourages consolidation. The instinct shifts towards control rather than escalation. In isolation, that instinct is understandable. In high-level T20 cricket, it becomes restrictive.

This is where mindset intersects with method. When the objective subtly becomes avoiding mistakes rather than creating pressure, tempo alters. Singles replace calculated aggression. Safe overs replace probing ones. The game is managed rather than shaped.

The team does not lack ability. It lacks freedom under pressure. Against most sides, structure is enough. Against the strongest, freedom becomes essential. Until Pakistan align their evident talent with a willingness to sustain risk, the gap against elite opponents will continue to feel psychological rather than technical.



The Babar Azam and Namibia question

If the India defeat sharpened scrutiny on the team, it inevitably sharpened scrutiny on its captain. Babar Azam did not bat in the chase against Namibia, a decision that on the surface appeared practical. The target was modest, the platform secure, and giving a youngster exposure could be framed as investment in depth. Tournament management often demands rotation.

Yet timing shapes interpretation. After a high-profile defeat, even routine decisions acquire weight.

Babar&rsquo;s role during the past tournaments has already shifted more than once. He was initially asked not to open, moving to number three in an attempt to recalibrate tempo. That adjustment was later altered again by the head coach in this tournament, and now some ex-players are asking for his retirement. For a player whose T20 record remains among the strongest in Pakistan&rsquo;s history, both in terms of aggregate runs and consistency, such positional instability can create its own uncertainty. When structure changes repeatedly, clarity narrows.

The Namibia game added another layer. A youngster such as Khawaja Nafay was in the conversation, and when Babar did not come out to bat, questions followed. Was it tactical rest? A move to protect rhythm? An attempt to ease pressure? None of these interpretations require accusation, yet all circulate in the absence of explicit explanation.

Leadership narratives are rarely static. In big tournaments, they evolve quickly. Babar&rsquo;s tempo in high-pressure matches has been debated before, not in terms of ability but in terms of pace relative to modern T20 expectations. Perhaps the broader question is one of format alignment. With his technique and temperament, he remains an asset in longer formats. Continuing to recalibrate his T20 role amid public scrutiny risks unnecessary damage to a record that still commands respect.

After a defeat of this scale, leadership clarity becomes part of the performance discussion itself.



The paradox of progression

It would be unfair to reduce Pakistan&rsquo;s campaign to a single defeat. After the loss to India, the team did not unravel. It regrouped. It won the last group match. It secured qualification for the Super 8 without last-day dependence or mathematical anxiety. On paper, that reflects control.

In those matches, improvement was visible. The bowling regained sharpness. Lengths were more disciplined, plans clearer. The fielding tightened, cutting down the marginal runs that had slipped earlier. Batting intent appeared more aligned with the match situation. Confidence, often fragile in tournament environments, returned steadily.

This is the paradox. Pakistan did enough to progress. They showed that the squad has balance and resilience. The dressing room did not fracture under pressure. Corrections were made. Momentum was restored.

And yet, the India match continues to frame evaluation. Not because it was decisive in standings, but because it represented the highest competitive bar encountered in the group. It exposed hesitation against a top-tier opponent. That exposure lingers longer than comfortable victories over others.

Group-stage success confirms competence. It does not automatically confirm championship readiness. Tournaments escalate in intensity and precision. Margins narrow. Opponents adapt quickly.

Qualification masks inconsistency. It does not resolve it. Pakistan have earned their place in the Super 8. The question now is whether they have addressed the pattern that surfaced when the stakes first rose.



The Super 8 as identity test

The Super 8 phase will strip away comfort. New Zealand offers structure and discipline. In the group stage, it has largely outclassed its opponents, asserting control in most of their matches, with only South Africa managing to push them into deeper waters. That consistency makes them a different kind of challenge. Against New Zealand, Pakistan&rsquo;s tempo management will be under direct scrutiny. A cautious start will not go unchallenged, and small tactical errors will be absorbed quickly.

England presents a different examination. It&rsquo;s template is assertive from the first over. It attacks fields, reshuffles orders, and accepts risk as structural. If Pakistan retreat into conservatism, England will accelerate past them. Matching intent without losing control becomes essential.

Sri Lanka introduces tactical variation. Spin-based disruption, changes of pace, and calculated pressure in the middle overs will test Pakistan&rsquo;s strike rotation and patience. Against it, stagnation can be as damaging as recklessness.

The pressure may not feel as politically and emotionally charged as it did against India, but the technical demand will be higher. Against New Zealand, England, and Sri Lanka, Pakistan will require their best skills, not just flashes of them. There will be less noise, but greater scrutiny in execution.

The boycott debate asked whether Pakistan would play. The Super 8 will ask whether they can play without restraint.]]>
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			<title>Suryakumar backs Abhishek's attacking play despite three ducks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593821/suryakumar-backs-abhisheks-attacking-play-despite-three-ducks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593821/suryakumar-backs-abhisheks-attacking-play-despite-three-ducks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Feb 26 11:54:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[He is the world number one-ranked T20 batsman]]>
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				<![CDATA[India skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday backed struggling opener Abhishek Sharma to play his attacking game with enough firepower in the rest of the line-up as they face South Africa in the T20 World Cup.

The two teams will clash in the Super Eights stage in Ahmedabad on Sunday in a rematch of the T20 World Cup final two years ago, won by India.

Both teams topped their group with perfect records.

But while Aiden Markram&#39;s South Africa have looked strong in all departments, tournament favourites India have not enjoyed batting consistency, with Abhishek recording three consecutive ducks.

&quot;People who are worried about Abhishek&#39;s form, I worry for them,&quot; a smiling Suryakumar told reporters.

&quot;I think about those teams against whom he is going to fire as he has not been able to score till now. When he gets the runs then you know how it is.&quot;

Suryakumar said, &quot;It is a team sport, it happens. Team requires him to play with his identity, so if he fires it&#39;s okay otherwise we are there to cover for him. Last year he covered for us, now we will do it for him.&quot;

The left-handed Abhishek, the world&#39;s number one ranked T20 batsman, has handed the team many explosive starts since his debut in July 2024.

Big totals were predicted at the start of the 20-team tournament with India pipped to cross 300 on home ground, but the reality has been different.

Ireland&#39;s 235 against Oman in the group stage has been the highest total so far, with India reaching their best of 209 in a big win over minnows Namibia.

&quot;We are trying to explode from the start because everyone knows their T20 template, but we don&#39;t want to become a team that&#39;s always blasting away,&quot; said Suryakumar.

&quot;There could arise a situation where two-three wickets fall early and we have to be a smart team to bat well between 12-15 overs and we have enough firepower that if the base is strong then we can smash 60-70 runs in last five overs.&quot;

India boast of a potent spin attack led by world&#39;s number one ranked T20 bowler Varun Chakravarthy, who has claimed nine wickets in four matches.

South African spinners including Keshav Maharaj have also made their presence felt and Suryakumar said there will be no favourites in the Sunday game.

&quot;The (Indian) spinners have done well against almost all oppositions, (but) I can&#39;t say we will have an edge,&quot; said Suryakumar.

&quot;It&#39;s a new game and we start from zero. But definitely some good plans. On the given day, plans and execution should be coming together, if that comes together we will definitely have an edge.&quot;

India are on a 12-match unbeaten run at the T20 World Cup, stretching back to their defeat in the semi-final against eventual winners England in 2022.]]>
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			<title>India's AI Summit opening in New Delhi marred by long queues, confusion</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593109/indias-ai-summit-opening-in-new-delhi-marred-by-long-queues-confusion</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593109/indias-ai-summit-opening-in-new-delhi-marred-by-long-queues-confusion#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 26 16:40:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2593109</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Attendees complained of poor signage, overcrowding and organisational lapses at the New Delhi venue]]>
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				<![CDATA[India&#39;s AI Impact Summit, an event meant to showcase the country&#39;s technology ambitions, faced a wave of online criticism on its opening day on Monday as attendees reported long queues, overcrowding and organisational lapses at the New Delhi venue.

Several delegates told Reuters unclear instructions had left many scrambling to reclaim possessions after the exhibition building was suddenly cleared ahead of security sweeps for high-level arrivals. Some speakers due on Tuesday panels were still awaiting confirmation of sessions and agendas.

Attendees said poor signage and limited seating added to confusion at the summit, where about 250,000 people are expected, and some sessions could not accommodate all those seeking entry.

India&#39;s IT ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Developing nations positioning for AI boom

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government, the disarray at an event of international stature risks more than just poor optics &mdash;&nbsp;the organisational lapses threatened to overshadow the government&#39;s messaging on India&#39;s technological prowess.

Indian officials are positioning the summit, which runs until February 20, as a platform to amplify the voices of developing nations in global AI governance. Delhi marks the first time the global event is being held in the developing world.



&#39;We were made to vacate or exhibition, we are left without food and water, we feel like we are jailed.&#39;

Narendra Modi caused a global embarrassment by gatecrashing the AI Summit in Delhi for his own photo-op.

This is what exhibitor Romil Rungta, Sales head at YuVerse, a&hellip; pic.twitter.com/7V35Sz1mlE
&mdash; Congress (@INCIndia) February 17, 2026


Some journalists covering the summit spent much of Monday seeking clarity on entry procedures, with confusion over separate digital QR codes and physical passes for access, according to messages in a WhatsApp group for the event.

A number of reporters said physical passes promised for collection weren&#39;t ready, while others complained of a lack of seating to file stories and run interviews from.

Many attendees took to social media on Monday to complain about the event&#39;s organization.

&quot;Gates are closed so could not access my own booth at the AI Summit. If you&#39;re also stuck outside and wanted to visit the Bolna team, dm me,&quot; Maitreya Wagh, co-founder of AI voice startup Bolna, wrote on X.

&quot;We may set up a mini-booth at some Connaught Place cafe,&quot; he added, referring to the business district near the summit venue.]]>
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			<title>There were tears in his eyes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593069/there-were-tears-in-his-eyes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2593069/there-were-tears-in-his-eyes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 26 11:33:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Saleem Khaliq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan suffered a crushing 61-run defeat against arch-rivals India]]>
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				<![CDATA[There were tears in his eyes &mdash; this is no exaggeration, there really were tears. At the R. Premadasa Stadium after the match, when I moved forward to console the boy in the green shirt, his friends or cousins &mdash; whoever they were &mdash; reached him before I could.

&ldquo;Oh, are you crying? Haha, when will you grow up? We lost, so what? Stop crying.&rdquo;

He glared at them angrily and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not crying; something just got in my eye.&rdquo;

Then he said, &ldquo;Come on, let&rsquo;s go to the hotel,&rdquo; and they walked off.

But I knew &mdash; that night, many Pakistanis who loved their country had tears in their eyes. Some would have made the same excuse &mdash; that something went into their eyes &mdash; to avoid mockery. Others might have refused to let their tears fall, afraid of what people would say. Women can cry freely, but men do not have that liberty.

Cricket fans can tolerate anything &mdash; but not a loss to India.

Even while I was in Sri Lanka, I got calls from Pakistan: &ldquo;We had such high hopes, but it&rsquo;s disappointing. You journalists never criticize the PCB. You glorify small things and only put pressure on players.&rdquo;

I said, &ldquo;Maybe you&rsquo;re right &mdash; but do you know why?&rdquo;

We are such strange people that even when cooking up imaginary dreams, we don&rsquo;t think about whether they can ever come true.

This is the same team that lost to India three times in the Asia Cup, that struggled to beat the Netherlands &mdash; and yet we thought the Indian side would just hand us the victory on a plate.

Before the match, here&rsquo;s what happened: A former star said, &ldquo;This time our team looks strong. We&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

Another said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re used to Sri Lankan conditions; the Indians have just arrived, they don&rsquo;t know the pitches. We&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

A third said, &ldquo;Our spinners are outstanding. We&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

A fourth said, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how it is &mdash; we&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

A fifth said, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way &mdash; we&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

On TV, the anchor asked me, &ldquo;Saleem sahib, what do you think?&rdquo;

I said, &ldquo;the team looks great. We&rsquo;ll win.&rdquo;

Ask any other media person &mdash; they said the same thing: We&rsquo;ll win.

But in our hearts, we knew &mdash; how could we win?

We have spinners &mdash; but so do India.

Our pacers are out of form &mdash; theirs are in form.

Our batting is struggling &mdash; theirs is crushing every opponent.

So how were we supposed to win?

Would we win with Faheem Ashraf&rsquo;s sixes or Saim Ayub&rsquo;s no-look shots?

We have perhaps the strangest team in the world.

Of our two pacers, one &mdash; Faheem &mdash; is not even trusted by the team management to bowl.

Yes, he occasionally hits a six or two.

The other, Shaheen Afridi, has lost form and needs rest.

Saim is expected to bat aggressively but ends up taking wickets.

Babar Azam&rsquo;s era seems over &mdash; how long will we keep playing him in hope of big scores? It would be better if he at least retires from T20s.

Sahibzada Farhan was expected to perform well but failed.

Salman Ali Agha, after becoming captain, started asserting authority and, like previous captains, grabbed his preferred batting position &mdash; fine, but then at least make runs!

Someone said brilliantly about Usman Khan: &ldquo;He scored a few runs only because India hadn&rsquo;t done homework on him.&rdquo;

If a player keeps getting out for zero, why would any opponent fear him?

He had a great chance to become a hero &mdash; and he blew it.

Our all-rounders are such that they must feel shy seeing their names next to the term &ldquo;all-rounder.&rdquo;

They don&rsquo;t seem to know whether to bat or bowl &mdash; and some fail at both.

All-rounders were Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, and Azhar Mahmood &mdash; men who actually won matches for Pakistan.

In Colombo, even Sri Lankans were supporting Pakistan.

I spoke in Urdu to a man in a green shirt, but he replied, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m Bangladeshi, please speak English; I don&rsquo;t know much Urdu.&rdquo;

The Pakistani flag he was waving was bigger than what many of us hoist at home on Independence Day.

Fans had come from London, Dubai, even America &mdash; but their support did not help.

The players were so nervous that they could barely bat.

They should be thankful the team at least reached 100 runs.

Is Sahibzada lacking talent? Is Saim not capable? Is Babar completely finished? Is Salman useless?

Not at all. But something happens when they face India &mdash; their hands and feet tremble.

The team&rsquo;s sports psychologists couldn&rsquo;t help; perhaps when they return home, he himself will need counseling sessions.

Now it&rsquo;s come to this &mdash; even the U.S. is ahead of us on the points table!

Yes, I remember &mdash; the U.S. beat us in the last World Cup too.

Now we&rsquo;ll have to pray to beat Namibia.

I have to watch social media &mdash; it&rsquo;s part of my job &mdash; but the Indians have unleashed such a storm of mockery that it&rsquo;s unbearable.

Of course, they have the chance &mdash; we keep losing.

Our army defeated them in war, shot down their Dassault Rafale jets, and our name resounds across the world &mdash; yet in cricket, we achieve nothing.

If only we could find a strong captain &mdash; fearless, someone who could look any opponent in the eye.

If only we could find brave players in cricket, like our Air Force pilots &mdash; who can strike and conquer.

Until that happens, we can do nothing.

We keep conducting &ldquo;operations&rdquo; &mdash; dropping Player A, picking Player B &mdash; and after the next defeat, bringing A back and dropping B.

Even the fans think the same way: they love whoever is dropped, then demand his comeback, and once he returns, they want him dropped again.

But tell me honestly &mdash; which Don Bradman, Malcolm Marshall, or Shane Warne do we have sitting out of the squad?

I&rsquo;m writing this while sitting on the flight &mdash; the rest, God willing, in the next column.]]>
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			<title>Biggest cricket clash in Colombo</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592871/biggest-cricket-clash-in-colombo</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592871/biggest-cricket-clash-in-colombo#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 26 09:15:52 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Saleem Khaliq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2592871</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Arch-rivals, Pakistan and India, locked horns in Sri Lanka capital]]>
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				<![CDATA[If you&rsquo;ve traveled abroad recently from Jinnah International Airport Karachi, you&rsquo;d know it&rsquo;s no longer an easy process. That&rsquo;s why, for a 7 a.m. flight, I reached the airport at 2:30 a.m. There was already a line just to enter the main building. Ahead of that was the queue for baggage scanning. Then the anti-narcotics officials were selectively stopping some passengers for questioning.

The longest queue, though, was for Turkish Airlines&mdash;I&rsquo;ve never seen such a massive line at any airline counter in Pakistan. Luckily, the SriLankan Airlines counter wasn&rsquo;t too crowded. After getting my boarding pass, I looked toward the immigration counters, which seemed relatively better organized this time&mdash;more counters were active, though crowds still built up quickly.

In the lounge, it was clear that large numbers of passengers were cricket fans heading to Colombo. Many were traveling with their families. I noticed a man with some documents wearing a PCB shirt to help some people fast-track through all procedures&mdash;later I realised he was handling protocol for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) governing board members. On my flight were Zaheer Abbas and several other board members, traveling as a PCB&rsquo;s guest to watch the Pakistan vs India match, something that&rsquo;s happened in the past too.

The flight went smoothly, though the old aircraft reminded me of PIA&mdash;the seats were in poor condition, and the tiny screen in front of me was about the size of a phone. To be honest, I was a little nervous at first, especially when strange noises came from the plane before takeoff, but once we were in the air, everything was fine.

For Pakistanis visiting Sri Lanka, it&rsquo;s easy to get an online ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization)&mdash;a simple form, a $20&ndash;25 fee, and you receive a double-entry visa within 24 hours. I had completed this in December, but many friends told me recently that there were delays due to a surge of cricket fans. Sri Lanka resolved the issue by allowing visa on arrival, and many on my flight received theirs that way. Immigration took just 3&ndash;4 minutes.

When exchanging currency, I realized the Pakistani rupee was slightly stronger than the Sri Lankan rupee. On the way from the airport, I saw large billboards advertising casinos&mdash;apparently, many people visit Sri Lanka just for gambling. Tourism drives much of their economy; during COVID-19, when tourists stopped coming, the country went bankrupt.

From the airport, I went straight to the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) to collect my accreditation card. Security was tight due to an ongoing Ireland vs Oman match. Fortunately, the media manager came out and handed me my card&mdash;without it, you can&rsquo;t enter the stadium on match days.

Since it was Valentine&rsquo;s Day, the hotel restaurant was filled mostly with couples, many women dressed in red. Outside, large screens were showing World Cup matches. After enjoying high tea, I went to my room to file my stories. In the lobby, I met a Pakistani fan who had flown in from Dubai with his Indian friends to watch the match.

I messaged team media manager Naeem Gilani, asking for updates, but even after two days, there was no reply&mdash;perhaps he&rsquo;s busier than Mohsin Naqvi and Aamir Mir! For dinner, I ordered from a Pakistani restaurant, which made me nostalgic for Dubai, where you can find the best food from every country.

Talking to a few players, I learned that the PCB chairman had met the team to boost their morale. Before the match, the Indian camp seemed overly anxious about Pakistani spinner Usman Tariq, which led them to raise objections over his bowling action. Both teams practiced separately.

Even during the press conference, Salman Ali Agha fielded many questions about Usman and defended him strongly. In recent days, more people were checking weather websites than cricket updates, wondering whether it would rain on match day&mdash;but thankfully, the weather were better.

The organizers had announced that stadium gates would open at 3 p.m.&mdash;four hours before the start&mdash;to ease security checks. I arrived even earlier. Wherever a Pakistan-India match is held, it&rsquo;s wise to reach the venue as early as possible.

At R. Premadasa Stadium, there was heavy police presence inside and outside&mdash;I hadn&rsquo;t seen such scenes at a cricket match in a long time. Both teams were staying at separate hotels under tight security.

After placing my laptop in the media center, I took a long walk outside the stadium to interview fans for Express News. I&rsquo;ll share that story tomorrow, but for now, let&rsquo;s head straight to the toss.

My sources had already told me in the morning that the Indians wouldn&rsquo;t back down&mdash;and again, there would be no handshake between the captains. That turned out to be true. Interestingly, former Indian player Harbhajan Singh, who&rsquo;s often outspoken, did shake hands with Sahibzada Farhan before interviewing him. Even Sanjay Manjrekar has publicly criticized his country&rsquo;s &ldquo;no-handshake&rdquo; policy.

Thankfully, this strange &ldquo;virus&rdquo; hasn&rsquo;t reached the media center yet&mdash;journalists from both countries who know each other were shaking hands warmly. By that time, the stadium was nearly full, with a large Indian contingent in the stands. Pakistani fans were there too, though fewer in number.

I&rsquo;ll share the rest of the story tomorrow. For now, let&rsquo;s join the toss live.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan, India brace for high-stakes clash</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592560/pakistan-india-brace-for-high-stakes-clash</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592560/pakistan-india-brace-for-high-stakes-clash#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 14 Feb 26 12:01:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Saleem Khaliq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2592560</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rain may spoil the fun in Colombo]]>
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				<![CDATA[The cricket battlefield has heated up in Colombo, the much-anticipated Pakistan vs India clash in the ICC T20 World Cup will take place on Sunday. Both teams have rolled up their sleeves, ready for a fierce contest. In favorable conditions, both sides are expected to rely heavily on their spinners.

However, dark clouds continue to hover over Colombo, with rain already forecast for Sunday.

According to details, a clash between these traditional rivals is always the highlight of any tournament. This time, after Pakistan&rsquo;s initial threat to boycott due to India&rsquo;s negative attitude, and their eventual agreement to play following justice for Bangladesh, anticipation for the match has grown even higher.

The match will be a day-night encounter at R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan, after a tough win against the Netherlands, defeated the USA, while India triumphed over both the USA and Namibia. In the Asia Cup, the &ldquo;Men in Blue&rdquo; defeated Pakistan in all three encounters, but the &ldquo;Green Shirts&rdquo; are determined to deliver a strong performance this time.

The team that wins on Sunday will progress to the Super 8, while the losing side will have another chance in their final group match.

The pitch conditions appear favorable for spin bowling. Pakistan&rsquo;s uniquely styled spinner Usman Tariq has troubled the Indian batters, and he&rsquo;ll be supported by Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, and Saim Ayub in the spin department. The pace attack will be led by Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf though Faheem wasn&rsquo;t given the ball in the previous match, and Shaheen has yet to return to full form. Stopping India&rsquo;s aggressive batters from scoring heavily during the powerplay will be crucial.

Aggressive opener Abhishek Sharma, recovering from a stomach illness, has joined the Indian squad in Colombo, though it&rsquo;s undecided whether he&rsquo;ll play. Indian batters Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav are in fine touch, while Hardik Pandya has established himself as a reliable all-rounder.

Pakistan&rsquo;s batting will depend on an aggressive start from Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub. Salman Ali Agha, batting at one-down, will be expected to contribute significantly. Babar Azam remains the team&rsquo;s backbone he&rsquo;ll need to balance wicket preservation with maintaining a healthy scoring rate. All-rounders Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf have proved their worth with the bat, though Usman Khan, who was dismissed for zero in both previous matches, has been a disappointment.

For India, deciphering the spin of Varun Chakravarthy will be a challenge for Pakistani batters, while Axar Patel also poses a threat with his spin.

On this high-voltage occasion, security is at its highest level. Armed guards accompany both teams everywhere &mdash; from their hotels and practice sessions to their match-day movements. The match will begin at 7 p.m., with stadium gates opening at 3 p.m. Fans have been advised to arrive at least four hours before the start.

The blockbuster contest has given a major boost to Sri Lanka&rsquo;s tourism industry, with thousands of fans from both countries already in Colombo. All tickets have been sold, and black-market sales continue. With dark clouds still looming and rain forecast for Sunday, fans are praying for clear skies. Both teams held intense practice sessions on Saturday.

For the record, Pakistan and India have faced each other 16 times in T20 Internationals India has won 12, Pakistan 3, and the famous 2007 &ldquo;bowl-out&rdquo; match ended in a tie.]]>
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			<title>Babar Azam urges calm as Pakistan brace for high-stakes India clash</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592536/babar-azam-urges-calm-as-pakistan-brace-for-high-stakes-india-clash</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592536/babar-azam-urges-calm-as-pakistan-brace-for-high-stakes-india-clash#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 14 Feb 26 08:11:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2592536</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Men in Green will be in action against arch-rivals India]]>
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				<![CDATA[Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has spoken about handling pressure and emotion ahead of one of cricket&rsquo;s biggest occasions when Pakistan take on India at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday in the ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Babar described the fixture as a contest that goes far beyond cricketing skill, with global attention, fan emotion and political undercurrents all adding to the intensity.

&ldquo;A Pakistan-India match is always high intensity,&rdquo; Babar said. &ldquo;The whole world is watching, fans are involved everywhere, and expectations rise automatically.&rdquo;

Now 31, Babar said experience had taught him that mental composure often matters more than technique in matches of such magnitude. He stressed that learning to shut out external noise can be decisive, especially for younger players exposed to the rivalry&rsquo;s glare for the first time.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve learnt that the more calm and relaxed you stay &mdash; and the less you listen to outside talk &mdash; the better it is,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;Young players naturally get excited, but if you stay tension-free and composed, it works in your favour.&rdquo;

The comments come ahead of a fixture that has already survived weeks of uncertainty. The Pakistan&ndash;India T20 World Cup match in Colombo was briefly under threat amid a broader geopolitical standoff that also involved Bangladesh.

With bilateral cricket between Pakistan and India frozen for more than a decade, encounters are restricted to multi-nation tournaments at neutral venues. This year&rsquo;s World Cup was further complicated when Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team event after refusing to tour India over security concerns.

Pakistan initially announced a boycott of the India match, citing solidarity with Bangladesh &mdash; a move that put the tournament&rsquo;s most lucrative fixture in jeopardy. Broadcasters and sponsors reportedly feared massive advertising losses, prompting urgent behind-the-scenes negotiations by the International Cricket Council, which eventually brokered a compromise to ensure the match went ahead.

While politics has shaped the backdrop, the on-field rivalry has been largely one-sided in T20 World Cup history.

India&rsquo;s statistical edge

Defending champions India hold a 7&ndash;1 record over Pakistan at T20 World Cups and reinforced their dominance at last year&rsquo;s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, beating Pakistan three times in one tournament, including a fiery final.

Former India captain Rohit Sharma has dismissed talk of favourites, warning against complacency.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a funny game,&rdquo; Rohit said recently. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t just think it&rsquo;s an automatic two points. You have to play good cricket on the day.&rdquo;

Both teams have started the T20 World Cup 2026 with two wins, but India appear to have greater momentum. Opener Abhishek Sharma and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the tournament&rsquo;s batting and bowling rankings respectively, although Abhishek remains doubtful after a stomach infection.

India&rsquo;s depth has also stood out, with Ishan Kishan thriving at the top, captain Suryakumar Yadav regaining form, and Rinku Singh settling into the finisher&rsquo;s role. Jasprit Bumrah anchors the pace attack, while Hardik Pandya provides balance as a key all-rounder.

For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has impressed early, though debate continues around Babar Azam&rsquo;s strike rate. Captain Salman Ali Agha will look to all-rounder Saim Ayub for impact, while off-spinner Usman Tariq &mdash; with his unusual side-arm action &mdash; could emerge as a surprise weapon.]]>
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			<title>India-Pakistan: Hottest ticket in cricket sparks T20 World Cup fever</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592375/india-pakistan-hottest-ticket-in-cricket-sparks-t20-world-cup-fever</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2592375/india-pakistan-hottest-ticket-in-cricket-sparks-t20-world-cup-fever#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 26 13:12:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2592375</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The high-octane clash is set to take place on February 15]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Excitement was hitting fever pitch in Colombo and across South Asia on Friday after Pakistan relented and decided to play against India in the T20 World Cup, reigniting the most lucrative match in cricket.

The hottest tickets in world cricket were hard to come by, despite Sunday evening&#39;s game in the Sri Lankan capital only being confirmed late on Monday.

The 35,000-capacity R.Premadasa Stadium was sold out, sources told AFP, with tickets going for at least four times face value on the black market.

Hundreds of millions more will watch the match, which has given the tournament a shot in the arm, on television in India, Pakistan and beyond.

Emotions will run high as every ball and shot is cheered or jeered in the high-stakes showdown between the uneasy South Asian neighbours.

Both teams have two wins out of two in Group A, meaning the winner should be assured of a place in the Super Eights round.

The two bitter rivals only meet in global or regional tournaments these days and only on neutral territory.

It has been more than 18 years since India and Pakistan last met in a Test match, and 13 years since either side crossed the border to play a bilateral series.

They met three times in the T20 Asian Cup in Dubai last September, with India triumphant each time, including the final.

The TV audience for Sunday&#39;s clash has been tipped to break all records.

Wild estimates of a billion-plus watching are often bandied about for India v Pakistan games.

However, according to verifiable figures from the International Cricket Council, the most-watched match was the 2011 50-over World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka in Mumbai, which had 558 million unique viewers.

India&#39;s win over Pakistan in the semi-final of that tournament is second, with 495 million.

&nbsp;

Boycott and back

The match will likely generate multi-millions of dollars in advertising, broadcast rights, sponsorship and tourism.

However, the biggest and most lucrative clash in world cricket was only revived after a frantic weekend of negotiations.

The governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both wrote to their counterpart in Islamabad on Monday urging it to change its stance and allow the game to go ahead. They got their wish just before midnight.

After &quot;multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15&quot;, the Pakistan government said.

The decision had been taken with the aim of &quot;protecting the spirit of cricket&quot;, it said.

The 20-team tournament had been overshadowed by an acrimonious political build-up.

Bangladesh, who refused to play in India after citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.

As a protest, the Pakistan government ordered the team on the eve of the tournament not to face India, which is co-hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka, before relenting eight days later.]]>
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			<title>India, Malaysia exchange 11 cooperation pacts during Modi visit</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591380/india-malaysia-exchange-11-cooperation-pacts-during-modi-visit</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591380/india-malaysia-exchange-11-cooperation-pacts-during-modi-visit#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 26 06:11:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2591380</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Agreements cover semiconductors, peacekeeping as countries aim for trade surpassing last year's $18.6bn]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, renewed pledges on Sunday to bolster trade and explore potential collaborations in semiconductors, defence and other fields.

Modi is on a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation, his first since the two countries elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in August 2024. Anwar said the partnership included deep collaborations in multiple fields, including trade and investments, food security, defence, healthcare and tourism.

Read: US, India unveil interim trade framework, move closer to broad pact

&quot;It&#39;s really comprehensive, and we believe that we can advance this and execute in a speedy manner with the commitment of our both governments,&quot; he told a press conference after hosting Modi at his official residence in the administrative capital Putrajaya.

Following their meeting, Anwar and Modi also witnessed the exchange of 11 cooperation agreements, including on semiconductors, disaster management and peacekeeping.

Read More: As EU and India move closer, where does Pakistan stand?

Anwar said India and Malaysia would continue efforts to promote the use of local-currency settlement for cross-border activities and expressed hope that bilateral trade would surpass last year&#39;s $18.6 billion.

Malaysia will also support India&#39;s efforts to open a consulate in Malaysia&#39;s Sabah state on Borneo island, Anwar said.]]>
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			<title>Suryavanshi smashes 175 as India win Under-19 World Cup final</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591106/suryavanshi-smashes-175-as-india-win-under-19-world-cup-final</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591106/suryavanshi-smashes-175-as-india-win-under-19-world-cup-final#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 26 15:26:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2591106</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[They thumped England by 100 runs]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Fourteen-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi hammered a stunning 175 from just 80 balls as India thumped England by 100 runs in the Under-19 ODI World Cup final in Harare on Friday.

Suryavanshi, who has already made history by becoming the youngest player to post a century in the Indian Premier League, lashed 15 fours and 15 sixes in his innings which saw him score his last 151 runs from just 56 balls.

The left-handed opener was finally caught behind by England captain Thomas Rew off Manny Lumsden to leave India on 251-3 in the 26th over. They closed their 50 overs on 411-9.

England launched a spirited attempt at making the runs with opener Ben Dawkins making 66 and middle-order batter Caleb Falconer striking a sublime 115 from 67 balls.

Falconer was last man out, superbly caught by Khilan Patel, with England all out for 311 in 40.2 overs and India winning the title for the sixth time.

&quot;I had faith in my skills that I can contribute in big games and today it happened,&quot; said Suryavanshi who was named player of the match and player of the tournament, having finished with 439 runs in seven innings at 62.71.

Suryavanshi launched himself on to the international scene in 2024 as a 13-year-old with a 58-ball century against Australia in his Under-19 debut.

Picked up by Rajasthan Royals, Suryavanshi then announced himself on the world stage by belting his first ball fearlessly for six on his IPL debut.

Nine days later, he clubbed the Gujarat Titans bowlers to all parts as he scored the second fastest hundred in tournament history.

The teenager brought up his century off 35 balls with 11 sixes and seven fours to stand behind only West Indies great Chris Gayle, who took 30 balls to make a ton in 2013.]]>
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			<title>Suryavanshi smashes record in U19 World Cup final</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591103/suryavanshi-smashes-record-in-u19-world-cup-final</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591103/suryavanshi-smashes-record-in-u19-world-cup-final#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 26 14:59:29 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2591103</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[He smashed 175 off just 80 balls]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi unleashed a ferocious batting masterclass in the Under-19 World Cup final against England, smashing a record-breaking 175 off just 80 balls at Harare Sports Club on Friday.

The teenage sensation&#39;s explosive knock, featuring an eye-watering 15 fours and 15 sixes, propelled India to 411-9 in 50 overs after they won the toss and elected to bat first.

Suryavanshi&#39;s innings shattered the previous record for the highest individual score in the tournament final, surpassing compatriot Unmukt Chand&#39;s unbeaten 111 against Australia in 2012.

The opener brought up his fifty in just 32 balls before reaching his century in 55 deliveries, ultimately posting the highest score by an Indian in Under-19 World Cups, surpassing Raj Bawa&#39;s unbeaten 162 against Uganda in 2022.

He fell in the 26th over when he was caught behind going for a slog sweep and as he walked back to the pavilion, England&#39;s players approached him to shake his hand.

His six-hitting spree also broke new ground as he cleared the rope 30 times in the tournament to eclipse South Africa&#39;s Dewald Brevis, who struck 22 in the 2022 edition.

The Indian opener burst on to the scene last year when he became the youngest player to score a century in men&#39;s Twenty20 cricket in an Indian Premier League match when he scored 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans.

The prodigious talent had already shown his appetite for big scores against England, scoring his maiden ton for the Under-19 side in July with 143 off 78 balls in Worcester.

India are looking to win a record-extending sixth Under-19 World Cup having last won the title in 2022. England are seeking their second title after winning it in 1998.]]>
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			<title>There will be nerves at home: Yadav</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591102/there-will-be-nerves-at-home-yadav</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2591102/there-will-be-nerves-at-home-yadav#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 26 14:55:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2591102</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[They will start their campaign against the United States]]>
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				<![CDATA[India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted Friday &quot;there will be nerves&quot; when India open their T20 World Cup campaign in front of more than 30,000 fanatical home supporters in Mumbai, but vowed to give them &quot;entertainment&quot;.

The co-hosts start their Group A campaign against the United States at a packed Wankhede stadium on Saturday night.

Suryakumar is only too aware that India, the top-ranked T20 team in the world, are overwhelming favourites to retain their title .

But he said his team will try to feed off the positive vibes from a billion-plus home supporters and not be crushed by the huge weight of expectation.

&quot;When you&#39;re playing at home there is always an added pressure. I&#39;m not running away from the fact,&quot; Suryakumar told reporters ahead of India&#39;s final training session on Friday.

&quot;To be honest, there will be nerves, there will be pressure, but if you see the positive side of it, there&#39;ll be a lot of cheer around.

&quot;There&#39;s so many people coming to watch in the stadiums, I&#39;ve told my boys the same thing, 30,000-35,000 people coming and so many watching at home.

&quot;Let&#39;s give them a good time. Let&#39;s give them entertainment.&quot;

India know that their opening opponents, the United States, caused the biggest upset of the 2024 tournament when they beat Pakistan in a super over, and Suryakumar said no team would be taken lightly.

&quot;I don&#39;t see any weak teams in the competition. All 20 teams are very much capable of playing some good cricket,&quot; he said.

&quot;In this format, one or two batters can make a difference. Or it takes one or two bowlers to have a good 24 balls on any given day.

&quot;So we will have to play the same way as we&#39;ve been playing against all the teams.&quot;

The USA&#39;s middle order batsman Sanjay Krishnamurthi said it was an honour to play their opening match against the hosts in Mumbai.

&quot;I think for all Americans, this is a special moment for our country,&quot; said the Oregon-born 22-year-old.

&quot;To be able to come here and play cricket in one of the most iconic stadiums against one of the best teams in the world, I think it&#39;s going to inspire a future generation of cricketers to rise through the ranks in American cricket.&quot;

India have fitness doubts over fast bowler Harshit Rana, who bowled just one over in a warm-up match on Wednesday before leaving the field clutching his knee.

&quot;He hasn&#39;t been ruled out yet, but after the warm-up game, he wasn&#39;t looking good,&quot; said Suryakumar.

&quot;The physios are assessing him. But he doesn&#39;t look good. Yeah, it&#39;s not that great.&quot;]]>
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			<title>India will travel to Colombo for Pakistan match</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590948/india-will-travel-to-colombo-for-pakistan-match</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590948/india-will-travel-to-colombo-for-pakistan-match#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 26 13:43:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The development was confirmed by India captain Suryakumar Yadav]]>
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				<![CDATA[India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team would travel to Colombo as planned for their Twenty20 World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, despite Pakistan&#39;s decision to boycott the match citing geopolitical tensions.

The Pakistan government directed its team to boycott the February 15 Group A contest to show solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns.

&quot;Our mindset is clear,&quot; Suryakumar told reporters at the captains&#39; pre-tournament press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

&quot;We have not refused to play - they have. We&#39;ve booked our flight and we are going.&quot;

India, currently the top-ranked T20 team, are aiming to become the first side to defend the title, and also the first hosts to win the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan&#39;s boycott of the India match would leave them with little margin for error in their bid to reach the Super-8 stage, as only the top two teams from each group in the 20-team tournament advance.

Group A also features Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA, who shocked Pakistan in the 2024 edition of the tournament.

Pakistan captain Salman Agha said the decision to boycott the game against India was &quot;not in our control&quot;.

&quot;It&#39;s a government decision, and we respect that,&quot; Salman told reporters in Colombo.

&quot;Yeah, we lost to USA in the last World Cup, but that&#39;s history now. It&#39;s a new World Cup, it&#39;s a new team, and it&#39;s a new combination.

&quot;All three teams in our group, they are very good sides... So we are preparing for these games like we always do against any other team.&quot;

Asked what would happen should India and Pakistan meet in a knockout game, Salman said they would follow government advice.

Australia will be well prepared, says marsh

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh played down the significance of their 3-0 series loss in Pakistan heading into the tournament.

&quot;Look, Pakistan was Pakistan. We had a few guys missing and we come here with a long lead-in,&quot; Marsh said. &quot;We will be very well-prepared for our first game.&quot;

I love watching curling every Olympics. You know, I like to watch it.

Australia will be without Pat Cummins through injury, while Josh Hazlewood is likely to miss the early games.

Marsh expressed confidence in their bowling depth.

&quot;One of the great things about Pat and Josh especially, being all three-format players is that we&#39;ve been able to build a lot of depth within our squad and the guys that have come in have played a lot of cricket for our group.

&quot;So we&#39;ve got a lot of confidence in them to go out there and do the job when required and then we&#39;ll just pick teams based on the conditions.&quot;

England captain Harry Brook was upbeat about their chances of a third T20 World Cup title.

&ldquo;We are confident, we want to go all the way in the tournament, but would still want to take it one game at a time,&rdquo; Brook said.]]>
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			<title>T20 World Cup to begin after chaotic build-up</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590775/t20-world-cup-to-begin-after-chaotic-build-up</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590775/t20-world-cup-to-begin-after-chaotic-build-up#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 26 14:41:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2590775</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan will open the tournament against the Netherlands in Colombo]]>
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				<![CDATA[Cricket&#39;s T20 World Cup begins Saturday after an acrimonious build‑up overshadowed by political turmoil, with Bangladesh kicked out and Pakistan refusing to face arch-rivals and co-hosts India.

When the first ball is finally bowled after a chaotic lead-in, Pakistan will open the tournament against the Netherlands in Colombo.

Defending champions and tournament favourites India will make their tournament bow in the night match on day one against the United States in Mumbai, carrying the hopes of a billion-plus home cricket supporters.

Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India will start as firm tournament favourites and are expected to ease into the Super Eight stage from Group A.

But they will be wary of the United States, who are looking to take down another cricketing powerhouse, having shocked Pakistan to make the Super Eights in 2024.

Former champions Australia and England are also strong contenders to lift the trophy and deny holders India the title for a record second straight time.

The 2021 winners Australia have been hit hard by the absence of pace spearhead Pat Cummins, who was ruled out with a lower back injury.

Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the early stages as he recovers from hamstring and Achilles injuries.

Led by Mitchell Marsh, the Australians should still ease into the next round from Group B against Ireland, who they play first on Wednesday, plus co-hosts Sri Lanka Oman and Zimbabwe.

Harry Brook&#39;s England, full of confidence after a 3-0 T20 series win in Sri Lanka this week, are expected to make the Super Eights from a Group C that also features two-time winners West Indies, debutants Italy, Nepal and Scotland.

Brook, under intense scrutiny after having to apologise for an incident with a night club bouncer in New Zealand last year, takes charge at a global tournament for the first time since he replaced Jos Buttler as white ball captain.

England, who start with a match against Nepal on Sunday in Mumbai, won the tournament in 2010 and 2022.

Scotland, after their 11th-hour call-up to replace Bangladesh, will take guard on the opening day when they face the West Indies in Kolkata.

Football powerhouse Italy will make an appearance at a cricket World Cup for the first time, and will kick off against the Scots in Kolkata on Monday.

South Africa, the runners-up in 2024, have never won a white ball World Cup, but are buoyed by winning the World Test Championship last year.

They will be a threat but must first emerge from a tough-looking Group D that contains dangerous opponents in New Zealand and Afghanistan.

They begin against Canada on Monday in Ahmedabad, with the UAE the other team in that group.

The top two teams from each of the four groups of five teams will advance to the Super Eights, with the top four making the semi-finals.

Politics, pullouts

There will be relief at the weekend when the action gets under way finally after weeks of political posturing that has dominated the build-up to 10th edition of the showpiece tournament.

Bangladesh refused to play in India, citing security concerns, as relations between the two countries soured and were kicked out by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from England&#39;s Group C.

The ICC is led by Jay Shah, the former Indian cricket board secretary and son of the powerful Indian home minister Amit Shah.

Pakistan, who had backed Bangladesh&#39;s plea to have their games moved to Sri Lanka, were cleared to play by the Islamabad government but they ordered the team not to play the marquee group clash against fierce rivals India on February 15.

According to media reports, the ICC is still waiting formal communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board on the boycott, leaving the door slightly ajar for a last-minute deal to get the game on.

If India are awarded a walkover, Pakistan will lose two points and take a big hit to their net run rate.

If any of their other three Group A games are lost to the weather then it could make it almost impossible for Pakistan to qualify.

Pakistan&#39;s pullout will result in a loss of millions of dollars in revenue for broadcasters, and will be a huge letdown for fans on both sides.

The crisis was triggered last month when India&#39;s cricket board ordered the IPL&#39;s Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, a move that deepened political strains between the neighbours.

The tournament will conclude with the final on March 8 in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan go that far.]]>
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			<title>India aim for back-to-back T20 triumphs</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590573/india-aim-for-back-to-back-t20-triumphs</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590573/india-aim-for-back-to-back-t20-triumphs#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 26 10:28:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2590573</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Suryakumar Yadav’s men will begin their campaign against the United States]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Holders India will enter the T20 World Cup as firm favourites on home soil, but coach Gautam Gambhir faces intense scrutiny under the weight of expectation from a billion-plus fans.

India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will begin their campaign against the United States at Mumbai&#39;s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

It will round off the opening day of the tournament&#39;s 10th edition, which has been marred by a chaotic build-up.

Bangladesh last month refused to play in India, citing security concerns, and were kicked out to be replaced by Scotland.

This week the Pakistan government followed up by barring its team from playing against India in Group A on February 15 in Colombo as a protest at Bangladesh&#39;s treatment.

The boycott has robbed the group stage of the biggest rivalry and money-spinning spectacle, but leaves India in pole position to top the group.

Pakistan should also progress to the Super Eights in second place, barring a slip-up against the Netherlands, Namibia or the USA, who make up the five-team group.

Top-ranked India reinforced their credentials as tournament favourites with a recent 4-1 win over New Zealand -- their ninth successive T20 bilateral series triumph.

But home defeats in other formats have put Gambhir&#39;s high-profile job on the line.

India were beaten 2-0 by South Africa in a Test series last year and New Zealand won an ODI series 2-1.

Gambhir, 44, replaced Rahul Dravid as coach after the T20 World Cup triumph in 2024 and has lost 10 out of 19 Tests.

Swashbuckling Sharma

Indian media suggested the former batsman and World Cup-winner may lose his job if India fail in the 20-team tournament.

&quot;He should stay away from social media till the World Cup and focus on the team,&quot; India batsman Ajinkya Rahane told website cricbuzz.

It will be India&#39;s first T20 World Cup since the retirements of then captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli following the final victory in Barbados in 2024.

India first won the title under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Johannesburg in 2007 but will have to defy history to win again, with no team having previously gone back-to-back.

Abhishek Sharma has replaced Rohit in the role of fearless opener, with the swashbuckling batsman scoring at a punishing strike rate of more than 194.

The 25-year-old left-hander is in form. He&nbsp; smashed India&#39;s second fastest 50, off 14 balls, against New Zealand.

Captain Suryakumar ended a batting slump with three half-centuries in the same series while Ishan Kishan&#39;s comeback has added muscle to the batting order.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar told broadcaster JioStar that India were full of confidence.

&quot;Even if there is a small stumble, this team knows it can recover, regroup, and continue marching towards victory,&quot; said the former India captain.

The bowling attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah, has new talent in the shape of medium-pacer Harshit Rana.

Bumrah, Rana and Arshdeep Singh form the seam attack, with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube as the all-rounders.

&quot;It&#39;s a luxury that we have a handful of bowlers that can bowl in every situation,&quot; bowling coach Morne Morkel said.

&quot;Part of the thinking ... was to look at different sorts of combinations. We don&#39;t want teams to have set plans against us.&quot;

Spinner Washington Sundar and batsman Tilak Varma are recovering from injury, but both are expected to be fit.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan's India boycott splits fans</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590565/pakistans-india-boycott-splits-fans</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590565/pakistans-india-boycott-splits-fans#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 26 09:24:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2590565</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Men in Green won’t feature in the highly anticipated India clash in the group stage]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan&#39;s decision to boycott its Twenty20 World Cup match against India has drawn widespread support from fans and administrators who hailed the move as a long-overdue stand in a rivalry in which sport and geopolitics have collided.

The government on Sunday cleared Pakistan to take part in the tournament beginning February 7 but barred the team from playing India in a February 15 group match in Colombo, a decision the International Cricket Council (ICC) said was not in the interests of the global game.

The boycott deepened a long freeze in bilateral cricket between the nuclear-armed neighbours &mdash; who have not played a full series since 2012&ndash;13 and now meet largely at neutral venues &mdash; and dealt a blow to the ICC&#39;s marquee event, with India-Pakistan matches the biggest drivers of global viewership and revenue.

&nbsp;

&#39;Enough is enough&#39;

For many in Pakistan, however, the boycott was less about cricketing issues, with Pakistan forfeiting two points by skipping the match, and more about symbolism.

&quot;Enough is enough,&quot; former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi told Reuters, accusing India&#39;s board of politicising the ICC. &quot;It&#39;s time to challenge this duplicitous approach by exercising PCB&#39;s options in alliance with Bangladesh.&quot;

The Indian government, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council did not respond to requests for comment.

The ICC said it was still awaiting an official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) conveying their &quot;position of selective participation&quot;.

&quot;While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan,&quot; the Dubai-based body said in a statement on Sunday.

The government has not publicly detailed its reasoning, but Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, linked the move to security tensions with India.

&quot;Nothing is more important than the memory of Pakistani citizens and troops murdered by Indian proxy terrorists over the weekend,&quot; Zaidi said. &quot;With funerals taking place today, this was the least that could be done.&quot;

The remarks followed coordinated attacks by Baloch separatist militants across Pakistan&#39;s southwestern Balochistan province over the weekend that killed nearly 50 people.

India&#39;s foreign ministry rejected Pakistan&#39;s accusations, calling them &quot;baseless&quot; and accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal issues.

Pakistan&#39;s World Cup jersey has been branded the &quot;Markhor Edition,&quot; after the national animal, a symbol of resilience also used in military iconography, Geo TV reported.

&nbsp;

&#39;Let cricket just be a game&#39;

On the streets of Pakistan&#39;s major cities, many cricket fans backed the boycott as a response to what they see as India&#39;s growing influence over global cricket governance.

&quot;This arrogance of India should be broken a little,&quot; said Mohammad Asghar, a fan in Karachi. &quot;They should realise someone has come forward to challenge them.&quot;

Others drew parallels with Bangladesh&#39;s earlier withdrawal from the tournament over safety concerns, a move that led to Scotland replacing them, and questioned why Pakistan should be held to a different standard.

&quot;If Bangladesh can boycott for one player&#39;s safety, why can&#39;t Pakistan take a stand?&quot; said Ayaz Ahmed.

The decision also sparked heated debate on social media, with users divided between calls for &quot;self-respect&quot; and warnings that skipping the match could further isolate Pakistan in global cricket.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi agreed.

&quot;Cricket can open doors when politics closes them,&quot; he wrote on X. &quot;It&#39;s regrettable that Pakistan won&#39;t play India, but this is the moment for the ICC to prove it is impartial.&quot;]]>
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			<title>India to ramp up US oil, arms, aircraft purchases in trade pact</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590547/india-to-ramp-up-us-oil-arms-aircraft-purchases-in-trade-pact</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590547/india-to-ramp-up-us-oil-arms-aircraft-purchases-in-trade-pact#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 26 06:49:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[New Delhi opens highly-guarded agriculture market, slashes car tariffs as Washington cuts duties to 18%]]>
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				<![CDATA[India has agreed to buy petroleum, defence goods, and aircraft from the United States, while partly opening up its highly-guarded agriculture sector under a trade deal, according to a government official, as the two sides reconcile after months of tensions.

President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday that slashes US tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

Trump said India agreed to buy more American goods with purchases rising to as much as $500 billion including energy, coal, technology, agricultural and other products.

Read: Trump agrees trade deal with India, slashes reciprocal tariff to 18% after call with Modi

The Indian government official, who did not want to be named, said India has agreed to buy US goods including telecom and pharmaceuticals and offered market access for some agricultural products, as part of New Delhi&#39;s commitments under the deal.

India recently offered select market access for agricultural products to the European Union under a trade deal.

The Asian nation has also lowered tariffs on imported cars to address Washington&#39;s immediate US demands to conclude the first tranche of the deal, the official added.

India&#39;s trade ministry did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

India&#39;s exports to the US rose 15.88% year-on-year to $85.5 billion in January-November, while imports stood at $46.08 billion, Indian government data showed.

&quot;The commitment to buy US products covers sectors like pharmaceuticals, telecom, defence, petroleum and aircraft. It will be done over the years,&quot; the official told Reuters.

The official said a more comprehensive pact with the US will be negotiated over the coming months.

Deals lift sentiment

The announcement of a trade deal between India and the US has reduced a great deal of global uncertainty, India&#39;s economic affairs secretary, Anuradha Thakur, said at an event in New Delhi on Tuesday.

It also lifted investor sentiment. India&#39;s benchmark stock index, the Nifty 50, was up nearly 3% and the rupee climbed over 1% to 90.40 per dollar in early trading.

The 18% tariff offered to India is lower than its Asian peers and comes right in time as exporters are still negotiating annual contracts with their US customers, the official said.

Read More: India and the United States

Among Asian nations, US tariffs on goods from Indonesia stand at 19% while the rate for Vietnam and Bangladesh stands at 20%.

&quot;Lower tariffs will not only improve price competitiveness but also help Indian exporters integrate more deeply into US supply chains,&rdquo; said SC Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

Reduction in US tariffs on most Indian goods will reinvigorate India&#39;s goods exports to the US, Moody&#39;s Ratings said in a statement on Tuesday.]]>
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			<title>India announces record $85b defence budget, up 15% from last year</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590421/india-announces-record-85bn-defence-budget-up-15-from-last-year</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590421/india-announces-record-85bn-defence-budget-up-15-from-last-year#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 26 11:51:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2590421</guid>
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				<![CDATA[$133b for infrastructure; spending aims to boost manufacturing, create jobs]]>
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				<![CDATA[India will spend a record amount on infrastructure and defence, the finance minister said in her national budget speech on Sunday, with plans for high-speed rail, submarines and fighter jets.

New Delhi plans to spend $133 billion on infrastructure and $85b on defence, a respective rise of around 9% and 15% compared to last year&#39;s budget.

Data centres, artificial intelligence, and the mining and processing of rare earths will also receive government support, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament.

She said public spending on infrastructure had increased dramatically from around $21b in 2014-15 and that it was now at an &quot;all-time high&quot;.

Read: India denies reports of exit from Chabahar port amid US sanctions

The defence spending hike comes after a four-day conflict with arch-rival Pakistan last May that killed at least 70 people, and saw both sides make extensive use of drones as well as intense missile and artillery barrages.

&#39;Best interest&#39;

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the spending as &quot;unprecedented&quot; and said it would help equip India&#39;s armed forces with fighter jets, drones, ships, submarines and other critical hardware. &quot;It is in the best interest of the nation,&quot; he added.

New Delhi is in the midst of negotiating defence contracts with domestic and international suppliers, including France, the United States and Germany.

The world&#39;s most populous country sees massive infrastructure spending as key to sustaining its high growth rate by boosting domestic manufacturing and creating millions of new jobs.

&quot;India is not content with simply being the fastest-growing economy,&quot; Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the budget.

&quot;India wants to become the world&#39;s third-largest economy. This year&#39;s budget presents an ambitious roadmap to give new momentum to domestic manufacturing and self-reliance.&quot;

Sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics and chemicals are primary targets to boost exports, Sitharaman said. She promised the development of business parks for textiles and chemicals and said $5b would be spent on boosting domestic electronics manufacturing.

&#39;Confident steps&#39;

This is the first budget since US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian imports in August. New Delhi and Washington are in the process of negotiating a long-delayed trade agreement.

However, relations have soured over India&#39;s purchases of Russian oil, which Washington says is helping bankroll Moscow&#39;s war in Ukraine. New Delhi signed a major trade deal with the European Union last month, with many crediting Trump&#39;s tariffs for helping finalise the deal.

&quot;Today, we face an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperilled, and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted,&quot; Sitharaman said in parliament.

&quot;India will continue to take confident steps towards &#39;Vikasit Bharat&#39; (developed India) by balancing ambition with inclusion&quot;.

Read More: Bangladesh probes India power overpricing

The budget touted plans for seven high-speed rail corridors linking some of India&#39;s most important cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. It also puts forward a scheme to build &quot;rare earth corridors&quot; in four mineral-rich states in southern and eastern India.

Several technology giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft, announced investments last year worth billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and data centres across India.

&quot;I propose to provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India,&quot; Sitharaman said in her speech.

The government also announced financial support to expand India&#39;s recent push to develop its domestic semiconductor industry.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan clears T20 World Cup entry but pulls out of high-stakes India clash on Feb 15</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590254/pakistan-to-play-t20-world-cup-2026-but-skip-india-match-govt</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2590254/pakistan-to-play-t20-world-cup-2026-but-skip-india-match-govt#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 26 14:20:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2590254</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[ICC calls on PCB to find a mutually acceptable solution, saying selective participation is 'difficult to reconcile']]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan will participate in the ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup 2026 but will not take the field in its scheduled match against India on February 15, the government said on Sunday, confirming a politically sensitive decision ahead of the global tournament.

In a post on the government&rsquo;s X account, it said: &ldquo;The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.&rdquo;



The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 1, 2026


The decision was taken following a meeting between Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the statement.

The development comes amid a broader Bangladesh controversy, which has already cast a shadow over the tournament. Bangladesh were removed from the T20 World Cup 2026 and replaced by Scotland in the tournament, a decision that triggered criticism from several quarters, including Pakistan, over what was described as inconsistent treatment by the International Cricket Council (ICC).


The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.
&mdash; Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 1, 2026

Bangladesh&rsquo;s replacement &mdash; following disputes related to hosting arrangements, security concerns and scheduling under the hybrid model involving India and Sri Lanka &mdash; intensified debate over governance and fairness in international cricket, with Pakistan openly expressing solidarity with Bangladesh earlier in the row.

The T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, is now facing renewed uncertainty as political considerations intersect with cricketing commitments. A Pakistan&ndash;India clash is traditionally the tournament&rsquo;s biggest commercial draw, and Pakistan&rsquo;s refusal could force the ICC to revisit scheduling or points-allocation scenarios.

Pakistan&rsquo;s T20 World Cup campaign begins against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo, followed by matches against the United States on February 10 and Namibia on February 18.

Despite opting out of the India match, Pakistan&rsquo;s participation in the rest of the ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup 2026 signals a calibrated approach rather than a full boycott, following days of speculation linked to the Bangladesh issue and regional tensions.

The ICC has yet to issue an official response on how Pakistan&rsquo;s decision will impact the tournament structure, while cricket administrators continue to monitor the fallout from both the Pakistan&ndash;India match refusal and the Bangladesh replacement controversy, which together have made the build-up to the World T20 unusually fraught.

ICC calls for &lsquo;mutually acceptable solution&rsquo;

The International Cricket Council has called on the PCB to find a mutually acceptable solution after Pakistan announced it would boycott its match against India in the main event.

In a statement, the ICC said that selective participation &ldquo;is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event,&rdquo; where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms according to the tournament schedule. The council also noted that it is still awaiting official communication from the PCB.

&ldquo;ICC tournaments are built on the principles of sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness,&rdquo; the statement said, adding that selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of international competitions.

While respecting the role of governments in matters of national policy, the ICC said the decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan.

The council emphasised that the PCB should consider the long-term impact of its stance on cricket in the country, noting that such a move could affect the global cricket ecosystem, of which the PCB is both a member and a beneficiary.

The ICC reiterated that its priority remains the successful delivery of the Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup and said all members, including Pakistan, share responsibility for ensuring a fair and competitive tournament.

The council urged the PCB to explore a solution that protects the interests of all stakeholders.

India-Pakistan rivalry

In the cricketing world, an India&ndash;Pakistan contest is the most anticipated fixture at any ICC tournament, particularly since the suspension of bilateral tours between the two cricket-mad neighbours.

Owing to strained relations, India have not toured Pakistan since 2008, and the rivals now face each other only at multi-team events. Pakistan, however, visited India for the 50-overs World Cup last year, the 2016 T20 World Cup, and a three-match ODI series in 2012.

Pakistan also hosted the Asia Cup in 2023, but eventual winners India played all their matches in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model.

Controversy erupted after India refused to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy, despite Pakistan having toured India for the ODI World Cup. India maintained that its government did not grant permission for the tour &mdash; a stance accepted by the ICC at the time, though a similar justification was later rejected when put forward by Bangladesh.

After weeks of deliberations, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the global governing body of the sport, approved the hybrid model proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, as well as other ICC events scheduled between 2025 and 2027.

In a formal statement, the ICC said: &ldquo;India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events during the 2024&ndash;2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed.&rdquo;

The ICC added that the hybrid arrangement would apply to two major events next year &mdash; the men&rsquo;s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the women&rsquo;s ODI World Cup in India. It will also be in place for the men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup in 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and the women&rsquo;s T20 World Cup in Pakistan in 2028.

Under this arrangement, all of Pakistan&rsquo;s matches were shifted to Sri Lanka, as they were to be played at a neutral venue.

The issue appeared to have been resolved but resurfaced when India dropped Bangladesh&rsquo;s pacer from the Indian Premier League amid rising tensions with Bangladesh, further worsening the already strained relations between the two cricketing nations.

Bangladesh demanded that the ICC shift its matches to Sri Lanka, but the international cricket body refused to comply, forcing Bangladesh to withdraw from the World Cup, with Scotland added as a replacement.

The dispute, centred on hosting arrangements, security concerns and scheduling under the hybrid model involving India and Sri Lanka, intensified debate over governance and fairness in international cricket. Pakistan openly expressed solidarity with Bangladesh earlier during the row.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the government held extensive deliberations over the decision to participate in the World Cup, including the option of a complete boycott in solidarity with Bangladesh and in protest against what they described as the ICC&rsquo;s unfair treatment. However, it was eventually decided that Pakistan would boycott only the match against their arch-rivals.

India and Sri Lanka are hosting the ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup for the second time. Sri Lanka were the hosts of the 2012 edition while India hosted it in 2016, with West Indies winning both the editions.

India (2007 and 2024) and England (2010 and 2022) are the other teams to win the championship more than once while Pakistan (2009), Sri Lanka (2014) and Australia (2021) are the other past winners.]]>
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			<title>Bangladesh approves shooting team's India tour</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589708/bangladesh-approves-shooting-teams-india-tour</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589708/bangladesh-approves-shooting-teams-india-tour#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 26 13:02:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[They barred their cricket team from visiting the country]]>
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				<![CDATA[Bangladesh has approved its shooting team&#39;s tour to New Delhi for next month&#39;s Asian Shooting Championships days after the cricket team&#39;s refusal to play in India due to safety concerns cost them a place at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup, which runs from February 7 to March 8, after they insisted they would not tour India, highlighting security concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), citing independent security assessment reports, dismissed Bangladesh&#39;s demands to play their World Cup matches in tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka instead, arguing the late change in schedule was &quot;not feasible&quot;.

However, media reports in Bangladesh said a three-member contingent comprising shooter Robiul Islam, his coach Sharmin Akhter and jury member Saima Feroze had received sports ministry approval to compete in New Delhi.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) Secretary General Pawan Singh confirmed the shooting team would compete in India.

&quot;Bangladesh&rsquo;s participation was confirmed a month ago. Our applications for clearances for all nations have been in process for almost three months,&rdquo; Singh told Reuters.

&ldquo;We have to follow ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) norms as a sport and comply with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) charter, and as NRAI, we have always received support from the government.&rdquo;

Singh added that the Bangladesh contingent did not request any extra security measures.

&quot;The Bangladesh team has come to our tournaments many times, so they know our strict protocols well. Maybe that&rsquo;s why they are confident and have not made any special requests.&rdquo;

The Asian Shooting Confederation, which is organising the event, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The continental rifle and pistol shooting championship will be held in New Delhi from February 2-14.]]>
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			<title>New Zealand thrash India to end losing streak</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589536/new-zealand-thrash-india-to-end-losing-streak</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589536/new-zealand-thrash-india-to-end-losing-streak#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 26 14:19:10 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Black Caps thumped the hosts by 50 runs in the fourth T20I]]>
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				<![CDATA[New Zealand thumped India by 50 runs in the fourth Twenty20 International to earn their first win of the five-match series in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Put in to bat, New Zealand struggled to build on the century opening stand between Tim Seifert (62) and Devon Conway (44) but still posted a commanding 215-7.

The tourists then returned to bowl out India for 165 in 18.4 overs despite Shivam Dube&#39;s belligerent 65 off 23 balls that included seven sixes.

India lead the series 3-1 ahead of Saturday&#39;s final match in Thiruvananthapuram.

Earlier, New Zealand got off to a blazing start with Seifert and Conway combining in an opening stand of 100 to lay the foundation for a big total.

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Conway in the ninth over to break the century stand as India clawed their way back into the contest with a flurry of wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah took a return catch to send back Rachin Ravindra in the next over and Arshdeep Singh ended Seifert&#39;s 36-ball blitz, which contained three sixes.

Kuldeep also claimed the wicket of Glenn Phillips (24) but Daryl Mitchell smashed 39 not out from 18 balls as New Zealand managed to make hay in the death overs to power past the 200-mark.

Having taken an unassailable 3-0 lead, India rested top-order batter Ishan Kishan, who sustained a niggle in their victory in Guwahati, and their rejigged batting order was immediately under pressure.

Their in-form opener Abhishek Sharma, currently the top-ranked T20 batter, fell for a first-ball duck to Matt Henry while skipper Suryakumar Yadav (eight) did not last long either.

A promoted Rinku Singh made 39, but wickets kept tumbling with New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner claiming 3-26.

Dube kept India in the hunt but his run-out, when Harshit Rana&#39;s drive was deflected onto the stumps at the non-striker&#39;s end by bowler Henry in his follow-through, effectively sealed India&#39;s fate.]]>
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			<title>T20 World Cup: Naqvi says final decision on 'ICC matter' soon amid reports of boycotting India clash</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589135/pakistan-consider-boycotting-india-clash-at-t20-world-cup-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2589135/pakistan-consider-boycotting-india-clash-at-t20-world-cup-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 26 10:40:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2589135</guid>
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				<![CDATA[PCB chief says PM Shehbaz directed him to resolve issue while 'keeping all options on the table']]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that matters related to the International Cricket Council&#39;s Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup 2026 would be decided by Friday or next week amid reports that Pakistan are considering boycotting their high-profile group-stage match against arch-rivals India as fallout grows from the decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland.

The Pakistan vs India match is scheduled for February 15 in Colombo and is one of the most lucrative fixtures in global cricket. Sources within the PCB said the move was being discussed as a form of protest after Bangladesh refused to travel to India and was subsequently removed from the tournament at short notice.

According to insiders, the PCB was evaluating multiple response options and has not ruled out symbolic protests even if Pakistan continue to participate in the tournament. Skipping the India match would cost Pakistan two group-stage points but could inflict significant financial damage on the ICC, for whom the Pakistan-India contest represents a major commercial driver in the T20 World Cup.

In a post on X after a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Naqvi said he had a &quot;productive meeting&quot; with the premier.

&quot;Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday.&quot;



Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday. pic.twitter.com/6SOvNdLceW
&mdash; Mohsin Naqvi (@MohsinnaqviC42) January 26, 2026


Naqvi is also due to meet the national squad following the announcement of Pakistan&rsquo;s T20 World Cup squad. The meeting is expected to focus on team preparations as well as the broader situation surrounding the tournament. Naqvi has reiterated that the final decision on Pakistan&rsquo;s participation will be taken in consultation with the federal government.

Naqvi has criticised the ICC for what he described as &ldquo;double standards&rdquo;, insisting Bangladesh had been treated unfairly. He also questioned the governing body&rsquo;s consistency, arguing that if hybrid arrangements could be made in other cases, similar consideration should have been extended to Bangladesh.

He further warned against what he termed undue influence in ICC decision-making, stating that &ldquo;one country cannot dictate another&rdquo;, a remark widely seen as a reference to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Pakistan&rsquo;s T20 World Cup campaign begins against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo, followed by matches against the United States on February 10, India on February 15 and Namibia on February 18.

The Super Eight stage will be held from February 21 to March 1 in Colombo and Kolkata, with semi-finals scheduled for March 3 and 5. The final is set to take place on March 8 in either Ahmedabad or Colombo.]]>
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			<title>New Zealand register first ODI series win in India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2587949/new-zealand-register-first-odi-series-win-in-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2587949/new-zealand-register-first-odi-series-win-in-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 26 12:04:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
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				<![CDATA[Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips guided the visitors to 337-8]]>
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				<![CDATA[New Zealand overcame a valiant 124 by Virat Kohli to down India by 41 runs and seal their first-ever ODI series victory on Indian soil on Sunday.

Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips guided New Zealand to 337-8 with a fourth-wicket stand of 219 after the tourists slipped to 5-2 and 58-3 in Indore.

Mitchell made 137 and Phillips hit 106 off 88 balls.

The Black Caps then bowled out India for 296 in 46 overs despite Kohli&#39;s 54th ODI century and clinched the three-match series 2-1.

New Zealand had lost all seven of their previous ODI series in India, a run dating back to 1988.

The Black Caps registered their first ever Test series win in India with a 3-0 sweep in October 2024, and added another landmark success in this series despite being without several key players including Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Tom Latham, Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy.

&quot;We&#39;re the sum of all the parts and we really try to work together as a group -- that&#39;s part of the Kiwi way,&quot; captain Michael Bracewell said.

&quot;We&#39;re just a small country from the bottom of the world and we try to work together to take on some of the bigger countries in the world.&quot;

He added: &quot;We really rally around there as a group and when things come like that, it&#39;s pretty special.&quot;

India -- the world&#39;s most populated nation with 1.4 billion people -- are the top-ranked ODI side ahead of New Zealand.

The in-form Kohli, who plays just the 50-over format after retiring from Test and T20 international cricket, threatened to pull off a remarkable chase in a 99-run seventh-wicket partnership with Harshit Rana, who made 52.

New Zealand left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox returned figures of 2-42 from his 10 overs after Bracewell left the field with a calf injury and did not return.

&nbsp;

Mitchell magic

Mitchell led the team in Bracewell&#39;s absence, which also left New Zealand a bowler short.

Zak Foulkes and fellow seamer Kristian Clarke took three wickets each.

India slumped to 71-4 before Kohli hit back in an 88-run stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made 53, and then with Rana.

&quot;The way Virat is batting, that&#39;s definitely a plus always,&quot; said India captain Shubman Gill. &quot;The way Harshit has batted in the series, batting at number eight, it&#39;s not easy.&quot;

Kohli struck 10 fours and three sixes in his 108-ball knock before he was caught off Clarke and walked back to a rousing ovation after his 85th international century.

Earlier the in-form Mitchell picked up from where he left off after his match-winning 131 not out in the second ODI, which levelled the series at 1-1.

Mitchell reached his ninth ODI ton with a single off Ravindra Jadeja before Phillips also brought up his hundred.

Arshdeep finally dismissed Phillips caught behind to end the marathon stand and Mitchell soon followed, falling to Mohammed Siraj.

Mitchell was named player of the match and series for his 352 runs in three matches.

New Zealand wobbled, losing four more wickets but Bracewell hammered an unbeaten 28 off 18 balls.

The teams next play five T20 matches in a final tune-up for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka between February 7 and March 8.]]>
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			<title>New UCI race fuels India's pedal-to-medal dreams</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2587786/new-uci-race-fuels-indias-pedal-to-medal-dreams</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2587786/new-uci-race-fuels-indias-pedal-to-medal-dreams#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 26 12:20:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Pune Grand Tour (PGT) begins on today]]>
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				<![CDATA[Naveen John cannot help feeling both excited and wistful ahead of what he calls the &quot;biggest opportunity&quot; for an Indian rider.

Excited, because he will be racing in the first-ever multi-stage road race in India, a UCI 2.2 classified international cycling event. Sad, because it did not come when he was younger and not pushing 40 as he is now.

&quot;Older men always wish they were younger,&quot; John told Reuters in an online discussion. &quot;One of the main reasons I remained in this sport for so long is because I knew something like this was round the corner.&quot;

Spread across 437 kilometres and four stages, the Pune Grand Tour (PGT), which begins on Monday, will feature around 170 riders from 35 countries, including 12 locals.

Organisers hope the race will unlock cycling&#39;s potential in the world&#39;s most populous nation and put cycling at the centre of India&#39;s Olympic planning.

&ldquo;It&#39;s not rocket science,&quot; Maninder Pal Singh, secretary general of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), told Reuters by phone.

&quot;Cycling is the low-hanging fruit of all sports. All you need is a clear roadmap. The more events you host, the better cycling nation you become &ndash; as simple as that.

&quot;We need more events, more exposure for our riders. Olympic medals will follow.&quot;

Right now, with UCI events scarce in Asia and expensive in Europe, Olympic participation has remained a distant dream for John&#39;s generation.

With Maharashtra committing long-term to it, however, the Pune race could mark a shift, especially as at least four other states have expressed interest in hosting similar events.

John remembers the countless emails and calls he made in 2016 before landing a contract with an Australian team, which made him the first Indian to join a professional outfit.

&nbsp;

Home benefits

More home races would make it easier for younger riders to win professional contracts, he said.

&quot;I see it happening. Earlier, you had to reach out to some European director, who&#39;s never seen you race against other professionals. Now, if a rider finishes a stage race, he can reach out to a director in Australia or Spain, and say &#39;I&#39;ve done this race and I&#39;m 21. Can you give me a contract?&#39;&quot;

Given the number of medals available, CFI&#39;s Singh said, cycling should be central to India&#39;s Olympic planning.

&quot;Cycling offers the third highest number of medals in the Olympics. You prepare one rider for multiple medals. Look at the money you need to spend in certain team sports where you target just two medals.&quot;

With India bidding for the 2036 Olympics, John said the timing was ideal.

&quot;Ten years is sort of a perfect time where there&#39;s a sense of urgency and also enough time to make things happen,&quot; he added.

&quot;Seeing the first Indian winner of a UCI stage race, I think, will happen in eight to 10 years and that aligns with the Olympic goal also because that&#39;s the level we need to be at.&quot;

Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said they wanted to market the city as a global tourism hub through the event.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be an annual event and our preparation is of the ProSeries level,&quot; Dudi told Reuters.

&quot;UCI is looking at new markets and India is a huge untapped market for cycling.&quot;]]>
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			<title>India’s foreign policy, politics and economy to collide in 2026, analysts warn</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2586554/indias-foreign-policy-politics-and-economy-to-collide-in-2026-analysts-warn</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2586554/indias-foreign-policy-politics-and-economy-to-collide-in-2026-analysts-warn#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jan 26 10:55:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Web Desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[US tariffs, strained ties and regional instability may test Modi government’s balancing act]]>
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				<![CDATA[India is likely to face a year in which the lines between foreign policy, domestic politics and the economy become increasingly blurred, making it harder for Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s government to offset diplomatic setbacks with domestic successes, according to an analysis by Chatham House.

The report said 2025 was anging foreign policy year, marked by a four-day conflict with Pakistan in May and a surguably India&rsquo;s most challebsequent downturn in relations with the United States.

The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian crude and the failure to conclude a trade deal by an agreed deadline. Adding to New Delhi&rsquo;s concerns, Washington also stepped up its outreach to Islamabad.

India also faced instability in its neighbourhood, including so-called Gen Z protests in Nepal and a deterioration in relations with Bangladesh after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was removed from power and fled to India in 2024.

According to the Chatham House article, the Modi government sought to play down these setbacks by highlighting domestic achievements, including electoral wins for the Bharatiya Janata Party in state polls, economic reforms such as changes to the goods and services tax and new labour codes, and free trade agreements with the United Kingdom, Oman and New Zealand.

Read: India&#39;s double game with US

Despite the impact of US tariffs, India remained the world&rsquo;s fastest-growing major economy in 2025, posting growth of 8.2% between July and September, supported by its large domestic market.

However, the report said the latest growth data came before the full force of US tariffs took effect, warning that the longer they remain in place, the more sustained their impact on the economy is likely to be in 2026.

Washington is also considering additional sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, a move that could further affect India&rsquo;s economy. Analysts said this could have political consequences, as India is due to hold elections in four states and one Union Territory in 2026.

The Modi government is hoping trade diversion and new agreements will ease some of the pressure, with a key focus on concluding a long-pending trade deal with the European Union, India&rsquo;s largest trade partner. Negotiations, however, have been on and off since 2007, and a deadline to finalise the deal by the end of last year was missed. Both sides are now aiming to make progress ahead of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen&rsquo;s visit to India later this month.

India is also set to host a series of high-profile summits in 2026, including the AI Impact Summit in February, the BRICS summit and possibly the Quad summit, which was postponed last year amid strained India-US relations.

Several world leaders are expected to visit India. Following Russian President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s visit in December, Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Ant&oacute;nio Costa will be chief guests at India&rsquo;s Republic Day parade later this month. Chinese President Xi Jinping may also attend the BRICS summit, while US President Donald Trump could visit if the Quad summit goes ahead and bilateral differences are resolved.

Read More: Bangladesh-India ties hit new low

While New Delhi is likely to present these developments as proof of its multi-aligned foreign policy, the Chatham House analysis said cracks are emerging in India&rsquo;s long-standing commitment to strategic autonomy.

India&rsquo;s exclusion from the inaugural summit of the Trump administration&rsquo;s Pax Silica initiative in December was cited as a key signal. Although India has often been portrayed as a beneficiary of efforts to diversify supply chains away from China, its absence from a major initiative on critical and emerging technologies suggested a weakening of that narrative.

The report said India is increasingly being seen as a secondary player in some advanced technology sectors. While US tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft have announced investments in India, much of this has focused on data centres rather than advanced manufacturing.

India&rsquo;s ambitions in semiconductor manufacturing also face constraints. While Modi announced last year that India would produce its first domestically made chips, these are expected to be less advanced, trailing-edge chips. Analysts pointed to shortages of water and electricity as key challenges.

The report said India&rsquo;s careful balancing act was also evident in its muted response to global crises, including the US attack on Venezuela. Among BRICS members, India issued only a brief statement expressing &ldquo;deep concern&rdquo;, while focusing on the safety of Indian nationals.

Similar restraint has been seen in New Delhi&rsquo;s responses to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, reflecting a desire to maintain relations with Israel, Russia and the United States.

Read Also: India and the United States

As a result, Indian foreign policy often appears aloof, the report said, noting a gap between its stated support for a rules-based international order and its reluctance to speak out forcefully during major crises.

In 2026, India will seek to bolster its Global South credentials during its BRICS chairmanship by promoting a non-Western, but not overtly anti-Western, worldview. This may involve softening contentious proposals such as de-dollarisation by reframing them as efforts to settle trade in national currencies.

Closer to home, India will aim to reset ties with Nepal and Bangladesh after elections in both countries early next year. Relations with Pakistan, however, are expected to remain fragile.

While both sides have shown restraint in recent months, analysts warned that hyper-nationalist rhetoric, the risk posed by non-state armed groups and the possibility of another high-profile attack mean the danger of accidental escalation will remain high in 2026.]]>
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			<title>Bangladesh says will not play T20 World Cup matches if in India</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2585406/bangladesh-to-demand-t20-world-cup-matches-be-moved-outside-india</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2585406/bangladesh-to-demand-t20-world-cup-matches-be-moved-outside-india#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 26 09:06:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2585406</guid>
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				<![CDATA[The action comes after India pushed fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to withdraw from IPL due to political tensions]]>
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				<![CDATA[Bangladesh has requested their matches at next month&#39;s T20 World Cup be played in Sri Lanka, after India forced a Bangladeshi player to quit the Indian Premier League.

Political relations between India and Bangladesh soured after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), after an emergency meeting on Sunday, said it had &quot;formally requested&quot; the International Cricket Council (ICC) shift their games to Sri Lanka.

&quot;The Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,&quot; a BCB statement read.

It said its decision was made due to &quot;growing concerns regarding the safety and security&quot; of its players, and based on its government&#39;s advice.

Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was on Saturday released by the Kolkata Knight Riders after the IPL team were &quot;advised&quot; by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to do so, following tensions between the neighbouring nations.

Earlier, Asif Nazrul, Youth and Sports Adviser in the interim government, said that Dhaka &quot;will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances.&quot;

&quot;The days of slavery are over,&quot; he added, in a statement carried by the state-run BSS news agency on Sunday.

&quot;Where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup,&quot; he wrote.

&#39;Dignity and security&#39;

The T20 World Cup begins on February 7, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh are scheduled to play their four group matches in India.

Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, part of a deal that allows both India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.

India&#39;s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called &quot;unremitting hostility against minorities&quot; in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Bangladesh&#39;s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.

BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul earlier said that &quot;the dignity and security of our cricketers are our top priorities&quot;.

Mustafizur, who has previously played in the IPL for other teams, was snapped up at auction in December by Kolkata for more than $1 million.

But BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that &quot;considering recent developments&quot; Kolkata had been &quot;advised to release&quot; the 30-year-old.

The 2026 IPL season begins on March 26.

Nazrul said he would also ask that the IPL be blocked by Bangladeshi broadcasters.

&quot;I have requested the Information and Broadcasting Adviser to stop the broadcasting of the IPL tournament in Bangladesh,&quot; he said.

Kolkata, majority-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, subsequently said that Mustafizur&#39;s &quot;release has been carried out following due process and consultations&quot;.

The cricket row comes only days after tensions between the nations had appeared to have eased.India&#39;s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Bangladesh last week, the most senior visit by an Indian official since the overthrow of Hasina.

On Friday, the BCB announced that India would go to Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in September.

Bangladesh will hold its first elections since the uprising on February 12.]]>
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			<title>BCCI instructs Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2585259/bcci-instructs-kolkata-knight-riders-to-release-mustafizur</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2585259/bcci-instructs-kolkata-knight-riders-to-release-mustafizur#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jan 26 09:02:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2585259</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[He was signed by Kolkata in last month's auction for a fee of 92 million Indian rupees]]>
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				<![CDATA[Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders have been told to release fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, the Board of Control for Cricket in India&#39;s (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said on Saturday, amid growing tensions between the countries.

Last month, hundreds protested near Bangladesh&#39;s High Commission in New Delhi after Hindu factory worker Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and set on fire in Bangladesh&#39;s Mymensingh district by a crowd that accused him of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

A total of 12 people were arrested in connection with his death.

The incident worsened relations between India and its neighbour, with ties already strained after Bangladesh&#39;s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi following protests against her in 2024.

&quot;Due to recent developments going on all across, the BCCI has instructed the franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad,&quot; Saikia told Indian news agency ANI.

&quot;They can ask for a replacement if needed. And upon request, BCCI will allow a replacement player.&quot;

Mustafizur, 30, has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in previous seasons of the IPL, taking 65 wickets in 60 matches.

He was signed by Kolkata in last month&#39;s auction for a fee of 92 million Indian rupees ($1.02 million), making him the most expensive player from Bangladesh in IPL history.

The 19th edition of the IPL begins on March 26, after India and Sri Lanka co-host the Twenty20 World Cup starting in February.]]>
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			<title>Dhurandhar &amp; Company: Just Bollywood radicalising?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2584260/dhurandhar-company-just-bollywood-radicalising</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2584260/dhurandhar-company-just-bollywood-radicalising#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 25 21:09:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Manzar Zaidi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[T-Magazine]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2584260</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[As mainstream Indian films align more closely with state ideology, entertainment becomes an instrument of persuasion]]>
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				<![CDATA[There was a time when Indian cinema argued with India.

It questioned authority, mocked power, mourned injustice, and&mdash;often clumsily, sometimes courageously&mdash;held up a mirror to the republic&rsquo;s contradictions. From Mother India to Garam Hawa, from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro to Bombay, the screen was a site of contestation. It reflected the nation not as it wished to see itself, but also vented forth aspirations.

That Indian cinema is receding. In its place stands something more disciplined, more certain&mdash;and more insidious- propaganda, dressed as entertainment.

Contemporary mainstream Indian cinema, particularly since 2014, has begun to function less as cultural expression and more as political instrument. Not through crude censorship or overt diktat, but through something subtler: alignment. Alignment with power, with ideology, with a vision of the nation that is singular rather than plural, muscular rather than reflective, and majoritarian rather than democratic.

This is not a story about Dhurandhar or other similar films. It is about how an entire cultural industry learns&mdash;slowly, profitably, and often willingly&mdash;to speak the language of the state.

Entertainment Does Not Float Above Politics

Every society tells itself comforting myths about its cultural industries. One of India&rsquo;s most persistent myths is that Bollywood is &ldquo;just entertainment&rdquo;&mdash;loud, escapist, unserious. But cinema has never been politically innocent. It is a mass medium that reaches deeper and wider than most political speeches ever will. It works not through argument, but through emotion; not through facts, but through identification.

Scholars of propaganda have long understood this. Herman and Chomsky&rsquo;s famous model, developed to explain news media, applies with equal&mdash;perhaps greater&mdash;force to entertainment. When ownership structures, regulatory incentives, market pressures, and political climates align, culture does not merely reflect power. It amplifies it.

In India today, those alignments are unmistakable.

Financing increasingly flows toward narratives that flatter the ruling ideology. Regulatory institutions operate with strategic ambiguity, rewarding compliance and punishing dissent. Political leaders publicly endorse films, slogans migrate seamlessly from cinema halls to campaign rallies, and box-office success becomes indistinguishable from ideological validation; case in point being the biopic about premier Modi- but more of that later.

The result is not state censorship in the old authoritarian sense. It is something more modern and more effective: self-censorship lubricated by profit and protection.

The new nationalism on screen

The transformation is clearest in the stories Indian cinema now prefers to tell. Every ultra- nationalist project requires an adversary. Contemporary Indian cinema has grown increasingly adept at providing one, Pakistan.

The Indian cinema is no longer a complex civic idea, where ideas were sometimes negotiated among differences. It is a moral entity under siege. Enemies are everywhere&mdash;across borders, within minorities, among critics, dissenters, and sceptics. Conflict is simplified into binaries: loyal versus anti-national, patriotic versus treacherous, us versus them.

Films like Uri: The Surgical Strike did not merely dramatise military action; they aestheticised it. War became spectacle, masculinity became nationalism, and vengeance became virtue. The film&rsquo;s famous catchphrase&mdash;enthusiastically adopted by politicians&mdash;revealed how easily cinematic emotion can be converted into political mobilisation.

PM Narendra Modi went further still, collapsing the distance between cinema and campaign. Released on the eve of national elections (and briefly halted by electoral authorities for precisely that reason), it presented the prime minister not as a political actor subject to scrutiny, but as a messianic figure&mdash;untouched by ambiguity, error, or dissent. It was not biography. It was hagiography.

Then came The Kashmir Files, perhaps the most consequential cultural artifact of this era. The suffering it depicts&mdash;the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits&mdash;is real and deserves remembrance. But remembrance is not the same as instrumentalisation. By stripping history of context, complexity, and competing narratives, the film transformed trauma into accusation and memory into weapon. State governments declared it tax-free; officials organised screenings. A commercial film was repurposed into ideological curriculum.

This is how propaganda works in the twenty-first century. Not by inventing lies wholesale, but by selecting truths, amplifying them, and embedding them within narratives that serve present power.

Dhurandhar &amp; Company

Cinema is more than entertainment; it is a mirror, a megaphone, and, at its best, a bridge between worlds. When a film seizes the public imagination, topping box offices and generating oceans of commentary, it shows not just Box Office appeal but also reflection on what the audience are watching, or more critically, what they want to watch.

Dhurandhar&mdash;the latest high-octane offering from the Indian film industry is precisely such a work. Its commercial success is undeniable, its cinematic craft slick and crowd-pleasing, and its appeal is rooted in a lineage of bravura and high-energy storytelling.

And yet, nestled within this tapestry of action and spectacle lies a deeper conversation about representation, responsibility, and the narrative choices that shape how billions perceive each other across borders.

Every cultural product carries within it assumptions about the world and the people in it, and films with geopolitical subtext have an outsized influence on how audiences construct mental maps of &ldquo;the Other.&rdquo;

Much like others before it, Dhurandhar engages with Pakistan not as a nuanced neighbour across shared history, but as a flattened adversarial backdrop for the Indian hero&rsquo;s exploits.

Why does this matter? Because nations are not abstract entities; they are aggregations of people whose lives and identities are shaped by history, culture, and shared humanity. Stories that default to reductive portrayals contribute to a climate where understanding erodes and caricature deepens.

Imagine a viewer in Lahore or Karachi watching Dhurandhar or its trailers online. The film&rsquo;s action might be thrilling, its hero inspiring&mdash;but when it later folds into a narrative that casts Pakistan as convenient shorthand for malevolence or antagonism, that viewer&rsquo;s experience of Indian cinema becomes tinged with a sense of exclusion or misrepresentation. A viewer might love the action, but also say about the storyline- &ldquo; Yaar buhut lambi lambi chori hui hain.&rdquo;

Conversely, imagine audiences in India or elsewhere who may never have meaningful personal encounters with Pakistanis. Their only exposure through widely distributed cinematic products could become a distorting lens&mdash;less reality than fable spun from geopolitical anxieties.

This is not to advocate for shying away from conflict narratives. Conflict is real, and art should have the courage to approach it. But it should do so with complexity, empathy, and a willingness to present adversaries at least sometimes, as human rather than as tropes. When it doesn&rsquo;t, art reduces into merely propaganda.

Some might ask: &ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t this just a movie? Why read geopolitics into entertainment?&rdquo; This is a valid question&mdash;and the answer lies in understanding how narratives shape public imagination. Stories are not inert; they are formative.

When a blockbuster normalises certain portrayals of &ldquo;the Other,&rdquo; especially in regions where real tensions exist, it becomes part of a larger cultural ecosystem. Audiences carry these narratives into public discourse, into social media debates, into classrooms and dinner tables. Film influences empathy just as much as it influences fashion trends.

If Hollywood blockbusters of the late 20th century often shaped American views of &ldquo;the foreign,&rdquo; then Indian blockbusters have a similar cultural reach. Filmmakers hold immense power. They shape how we see heroes, villains, cities, and souls. Their choices reverberate beyond ticket sales into the realm of collective perception.

Pakistani characters in Indian cinema still greet each other with an exaggerated chorus of &ldquo;janab&rdquo; and &ldquo;aadab&rdquo;, as if these words are exchanged hourly on every street corner from Karachi to Peshawar. Pakistanis themselves often snigger at this&mdash;it is so obviously and theatrically outdated, that it barely merits offence. But accuracy is besides the point. What matters is perception.

This is not how Pakistanis see themselves; it is how Indian cinema has decided to see them. Repetition does the rest. Over time, these linguistic tics harden into shorthand, and shorthand hardens into belief.

In the same way, Muslims more broadly are now routinely coded as suspect: terrorists, fanatics, infiltrators, demographic threats. There is of the occasional &lsquo;good Muslim&rsquo; co-protagonist, thrown in to cater to Indian Muslims, but that theme is rarely now the pervasive, even important part in the storyline.

Lighting, background scores, accents, narrative arcs&mdash;all do their quiet work.

Cinema does not need to shout to persuade; it merely needs to repeat.

Edward Said once wrote that Orientalism operates not through what is said once, but through what is repeated until it feels natural. The same is true here. When audiences repeatedly see one community associated with violence and another with redemption, these associations harden into common sense.

The mastery of propaganda lies not in any single film, but in accumulation. Media scholars call this &ldquo;cultivation&rdquo;: the gradual shaping of worldviews through prolonged exposure. Over time, the line between cinematic fiction and social reality blurs. The screen does not merely depict prejudice; it normalises it.

Equally clear is Indian cinema&rsquo;s growing role in rewriting the past.

Historical films increasingly impose contemporary political identities onto periods that were far messier and far less communal than today&rsquo;s narratives by Bollywood. Medieval Muslim rulers are recast as modern villains; complex political struggles are reduced to religious binaries. Historians protest, but spectacle drowns out scholarship.

I am not the only one decrying this radicalisation of Indian cinema but there is a plethora of authoritative scholarly studies on this too (see below), many from Indian scholars themselves. The politics and mutual animosity of India Pakistan aside, as an avid movie watcher, it pains me just a bit to see the industry that produced the tear rendering, moving &lsquo;My name is Khan&rsquo;, swing so far to the right. That particular movie was a superb rebuttal of Islamophobia as ever can be, and would have won more hearts and minds for Bollywoood than Dhurnadhar ever can. It&rsquo;s a pity we wont be seeing too many of the former, as jingoism takes over.

Cinema&rsquo;s emotional authority gives it enormous power over collective memory. For millions, films function as history lessons. When those lessons are distorted, the consequences are not academic. They shape how citizens understand belonging, grievance, and entitlement in the present.

A democracy cannot survive long on mythic history alone. At some point, the stories it tells itself begin to demand political enforcement.

Why Bollywood goes along

It would be comforting to blame all this on coercion. The truth is less reassuring.

Bollywood&rsquo;s compliance is not merely the result of fear; it is the product of incentives. Nationalist films sell. They receive political amplification, institutional protection, and often spectacular commercial returns. Dissenting films face delays, protests, boycotts, and silence.

Over time, rational actors adapt. Scripts change. Risks are avoided. Certain characters quietly disappear. This is not conspiracy; it is market logic operating within an ideologically charged environment.

Preference falsification becomes routine. Some filmmakers may even privately disagree with dominant narratives, but public dissent carries costs few are willing to bear. Silence becomes safety. Alignment becomes success.

India is not alone in this trajectory. History offers many examples of regimes that discovered the political utility of culture&mdash;from fascist Europe to the Soviet Union. The aesthetics differ; the mechanics remain eerily similar.

When cinema ceases to argue with power and learns instead to ventriloquize it, something essential is lost. Not just artistic freedom, but democratic capacity itself. And the most dangerous moment for any nation is when its stories stop questioning power&mdash;and start teaching people how to love it uncritically.

The writer is a security analyst. His works including the paper on above, and can be accessed by following him on through his LinkedIn handle &lsquo;Manzar Zaidi PhD&rsquo;

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer]]>
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			<title>Pakistan young-guns shine bright</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583499/pakistan-young-guns-shine-bright</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583499/pakistan-young-guns-shine-bright#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 25 12:22:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Saleem Khaliq]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2583499</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Men in Green beat India in the ACC U19 Asia Cup final]]>
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				<![CDATA[Deepesh Devendran went for a lofty shot, the ball hanging in the Dubai air for a brief, dramatic moment before Ahmed Hussain settled under it and completed the catch. With that simple act, Pakistan were crowned Under-19 Asia Cup champions. It was not just a victory; it was a statement. Beating India by 191 runs in a final is no ordinary achievement&mdash;it is the kind of result that echoes for years.

What made the triumph even more striking was the context. Just a week earlier in the same tournament, India had defeated Pakistan by 90 runs. That loss planted seeds of doubt, and many wondered how the Green Shirts would respond when it mattered most. The answer came in the most emphatic fashion possible. Pakistan didn&rsquo;t just beat India; they overwhelmed them so comprehensively that this final will remain etched in memory on both sides of the border.

At the heart of the performance was Sameer Minhas, who batted with the authority of a seasoned international. Facing India carried no visible fear&mdash;only purpose. His breathtaking 172-run innings, studded with 17 fours and nine sixes, was an exhibition of confidence, timing and power. At just 19, Minhas played like a man who knew exactly what the occasion demanded. If this is what he can produce at youth level, the future promises much more.

The bowling matched the batting in intent and execution. Ali Raza stood out with his pace and control, confirming why he is already being discussed within PCB circles as a future star. Alongside him, Abdul Subhan and Mohammad Sayyam provided relentless support, ensuring India never found a way back into the contest. The key challenge now is nurturing this talent properly&mdash;protecting these players from burnout, poor planning and premature expectations so they can eventually serve Pakistan at the highest level.

History tells us that most great cricketers announce themselves early. Under-19 cricket has long been a launchpad, and this tournament was no different. Along with Minhas, batters like Ahmed Hussain and bowlers such as Ali Raza, Abdul Subhan and Mohammad Sayyam have stepped into the spotlight. With an Under-19 World Cup on the horizon, this Asia Cup triumph provides momentum and belief. The &ldquo;Little Stars&rdquo; of Pakistan have truly shone.

Encouragingly, this success is not an isolated event. Pakistan&rsquo;s junior teams have been delivering consistently in recent times. After the achievements of the Emerging team, the Under-19s have now made their mark. There is a lesson here for the senior side, which has struggled against India in recent years. These youngsters did not crumble under pressure. They stared their rivals in the eye, absorbed the heat, and fought back. One batter changed the course of the match on his own&mdash;something rarely seen at senior level, where fear too often dictates outcomes.

Development, however, does not happen by accident. For years, Pakistan has heard former &ldquo;superstars&rdquo; say they are ready to coach the national team but unwilling to work at Under-19 level due to lack of money or exposure. As a result, junior teams were often left in the hands of lesser-known figures. India took a different route, appointing Rahul Dravid to work with their Under-19 and &lsquo;A&rsquo; teams&mdash;a decision that paid rich dividends.

Pakistan, thankfully, seems to be learning. Sarfaraz Ahmed, himself a former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain, has embraced the role of mentor and manager. During a recent visit to Dubai, I witnessed firsthand how closely Sarfaraz had bonded with the young players. He wasn&rsquo;t just offering cricketing advice; he was helping them navigate personal challenges as well. That&rsquo;s why they call him &ldquo;Saifi Bhai.&rdquo; His presence has brought trust, humility and belief&mdash;qualities money can&rsquo;t buy.

Someone recently messaged me saying, &ldquo;Former cricketers claim Pakistan&rsquo;s talent has dried up&mdash;so how did our Under-19 team beat India by such a margin?&rdquo; The answer is simple: talent has never dried up. Cricket runs in Pakistan&rsquo;s veins. Every street hides a potential cricketer, every taped-ball game a raw gem. All these youngsters need is opportunity, structure and honesty in selection.

It was reassuring to see that merit prevailed this time. Despite past controversies around favoritism, the selectors&mdash;led by Aaqib Javed&mdash;stuck to performance. When selection is fair, results follow. Under Mohsin Naqvi&rsquo;s leadership, the PCB appears to be moving in the right direction, and the early signs are promising.

Under-19 cricket is the first step on a long road. From here, only a handful will rise to become stars; many others will fade away. The choice lies with these young players&mdash;to stay focused, hungry and disciplined. For now, though, they deserve celebration.

By lifting the Asia Cup abroad and raising the national flag high, this team has given the nation a rare moment of pure sporting joy.

Well done, Team Pakistan.]]>
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			<title>How Hindutva hollowed out India’s secular promise</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583242/how-hindutva-hollowed-out-indias-secular-promise</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583242/how-hindutva-hollowed-out-indias-secular-promise#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 25 21:25:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[HAMMAD SARFRAZ]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category><category><![CDATA[T-Magazine]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2583242</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[When a leading politician pulls a Muslim woman’s hijab in public, it is not a casual act]]>
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				<![CDATA[India did not stumble into secularism. It arrived there bruised, traumatised, and acutely aware of the dangers of unchecked majoritarian power. The decision to separate the authority of the state from the dominance of any one religion was not ideological fashion, it was a matter of political survival. A country born amid the carnage of Partition could not afford a state that chose favourites based on faith.

But secularism was never meant to make India less Hindu. It was meant to make power less cruel to its minorities. It was the architecture that held the republic together. That architecture is now cracking, and that distinction is increasingly being erased under the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi.

When Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United)&mdash;a party that claims secular credentials but has morphed into an extension of the majority BJP, a far-right political body driven by Hindutva ideology&mdash;publicly pulled down a Muslim woman&rsquo;s hijab during an official event, the moment reverberated far beyond the immediate scene. The act itself was small, a flick of fabric, a casual gesture, but it carried the weight of something much larger. It was not merely discourteous or inappropriate. It was a physical assertion of authority over a woman&rsquo;s body, enacted without consent and without consequence.

What followed was almost as telling as the act itself. Outrage was immediate, but it was accompanied by a flurry of rationalisations &ndash; debates over intent, appeals to context, and accusations that critics were overreacting. Leading the chorus of justifications, Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad said: &ldquo;He is also a human being after all. One should not hound him like this. Just by touching the hijab caused such an uproar&mdash;what would have happened if he had touched something else?&rdquo;

Comments like Nishad&rsquo;s show how the woman&rsquo;s discomfort was subordinated to the reputational management of the powerful&mdash;in this case, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In a functioning secular democracy, such a moment would have ended with Kumar&rsquo;s resignation and his political career. Instead, it faded into the noise, with most responses merely justifying the act. This is how secularism dies, not through a dramatic repeal, but through normalisation.



Secularism as restraint, not hostility

India&rsquo;s secular architecture was always fragile. Communal riots erupted even in its early decades. Religious prejudice never vanished. Caste hierarchies remained deeply entrenched. Despite these failures, there was a broadly shared understanding that the state was meant to restrain religious dominance, not amplify it. Political leaders were expected, at least publicly, to uphold the principle that citizenship could not be graded by belief. That expectation has steadily eroded since Modi ascended to power.

Today, secularism is often caricatured as hostility to Hinduism, while Hindutva is presented as cultural revival. If anything, this framing is misleading. Secularism, as practised in India&rsquo;s constitution, was never anti-faith. It was anti-entitlement. It denied the majority the right to treat the state as an extension of its own religious identity. Hindutva reverses this logic.

It recasts the majority not as one community among many, but as the rightful owner of the nation&rsquo;s moral centre. In doing so, it transforms minorities into guests, tolerated, conditional, perpetually on probation.

This shift has profound consequences. When power sees itself as civilisationally justified, restraint of any sort begins to look unnecessary. The state no longer asks whether it should intervene in matters of belief or personal autonomy. It asks only whether it can.



Manufactured suspicion against Muslims

India&rsquo;s Muslims have borne the brunt of this transformation under Modi. They are spoken about incessantly, but rarely addressed as full political subjects. Their loyalty and even their citizenship is questioned. Their religious practices are scrutinised for signs of extremism. Their neighbourhoods are policed as potential threats.

This suspicion is not accidental, it is cultivated and manufactured. Over time, Muslims have been framed as demographic dangers, security risks, or beneficiaries of misplaced generosity. Each framing justifies a different form of exclusion. Lynching is rationalised as spontaneous anger. Housing demolitions are described as urban order. Surveillance is defended as national interest. None of these measures, taken alone, announces the death of secularism. Together, they hollow it out.

Muslim women are particularly vulnerable within this ecosystem. They are cast simultaneously as victims needing rescue and as symbols of backwardness requiring discipline. Their choices are endlessly interpreted by those who neither share their experiences nor respect their agency.

The hijab has become the most visible site of this obsession. It is framed as incompatible with modernity, neutrality or equality, even as other religious markers pass without comment. Choice is celebrated in principle and denied in practice. Muslim women are told they must be liberated, even if they do not consent to the method.

In such an environment, a public official pulling a woman&rsquo;s hijab is not a lapse in judgement. It is an expression of ideological confidence.



When power crosses into touch

Few would deny that speech and physical intrusion occupy entirely different moral and legal realms. Laws can be debated. Policies can be challenged. But when power touches, it bypasses deliberation and asserts dominance directly.

Consent is the quiet cornerstone of any functional democracy. It rests on the assumption that no citizen&rsquo;s body or belief is available for correction by authority. When consent is overridden, hierarchy takes its place.

What matters here is not intent but structure. Pulling a Muslim woman&rsquo;s hijab is not leadership, it is an act of bigotry and misogyny exercised through power. It reflects a political culture in which authority feels entitled to intervene, to correct, to touch &mdash; without asking. But judging by their playbook, it is obvious that Hindutva politics does not operate on consent, it operates on control. And where control replaces consent, hierarchy is no longer hidden.

The defences offered in the aftermath only reinforce this reality. Those in power are granted the luxury of interpretation, those subjected to power are asked to absorb the violation. Harm becomes subjective. Accountability is often absent in such cases, and even more so for minorities.



Gender, hierarchy and the limits of belonging

It would be a mistake to see this incident purely through the lens of Islamophobia. The same political logic that renders Muslim women&rsquo;s bodies available for discipline has long governed the lives of Dalit women.

Dalit women occupy one of the most precarious positions in Indian society. Their exclusion from temples, their vulnerability to violence, and their punishment for asserting dignity are not anomalies, they are mechanisms through which caste is enforced. Appeals to tradition, purity and order are routinely used to justify their marginalisation and exclusion.

Hindutva claims to dissolve caste distinctions under a unified Hindu identity, but it rarely confronts the inequalities where they run deepest&mdash;in who can enter sacred spaces, who controls women&rsquo;s lives, and who holds power. Dominant-caste authority remains largely intact. Dalit assertion is tolerated only so long as it does not threaten these hierarchies.

Women&rsquo;s bodies become the terrain on which this hierarchy is enforced. Whether through policing what they wear, denying them entry, or threatening them with violence, control is exercised in ways that shape daily life, restrict freedom, and demand obedience.

For those who live under it, the effects are personal and persistent. Fear, frustration, and the constant reminder of where they stand in a rigid social order. These patterns make it clear that misogyny within Hindutva politics is not selective, it is very much structural.

The myth of the exception

When confronted with such incidents, defenders often reach for the language of exception. This was an aberration, they argue, not a reflection of the system. Few would disagree that a system is revealed not by its ideals, but by how it responds to violations.

The absence of swift, unequivocal accountability is itself a form of endorsement. It signals what will be tolerated. Over time, tolerance becomes an expectation.

India has not lost its secular character in a single decisive moment. It has been eroded through accumulation. Every incident seems to lower the threshold of outrage; each justification widens the space for the next intrusion. Democracy in India has not disappeared&mdash;it has been steadily thinning over time.



What is being lost

The debate over Hindutva is often framed as a culture war between faith and liberalism, tradition and modernity. This framing conceals the deeper issue.

The real question is whether India can remain a republic in which citizenship is equal, autonomy is respected, and power is constrained. A state that privileges one identity over others cannot indefinitely claim to represent all.

Secularism was never a guarantee of harmony. It was a promise of restraint. It asked the powerful to accept limits, and the majority to live with difference. It recognised that pluralism is not comfortable, but it is necessary.

When leaders feel entitled to rearrange a woman&rsquo;s clothing in public, that restraint has already collapsed. When such acts are minimised rather than condemned, the collapse becomes irreversible.

And what starts with minorities never ends with them. A culture that discards consent will spare no one. Today, Muslim women, tomorrow dissenters, journalists, students&mdash;anyone who refuses to conform.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Pakistan seek first U19 Asia Cup title as they face India in final</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583171/pakistan-seek-first-u19-asia-cup-title-as-they-face-india-in-final</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583171/pakistan-seek-first-u19-asia-cup-title-as-they-face-india-in-final#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 25 11:45:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2583171</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Green Shirts are yet to claim their maiden U19 Asia Cup title]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan will take on India in the final of the ACC Men&rsquo;s U19 Asia Cup on Sunday, 21 December at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. The first ball of the final will be bowled at 9am local time.

Since the tournament&rsquo;s inception in 1989, Pakistan &ndash; winners of the 2004 and 2006 ICC Men&rsquo;s U19 World Cups are yet to claim the U19 Asia Cup title in its 11 editions.

In the ongoing eight-team event, Pakistan won two of their three games in Group &lsquo;A&rsquo; and advanced to the final after defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second semi-final on Friday, 19 December.

Pakistan will rely on their batting star Sameer Minhas, the team&rsquo;s highest run-getter with 299 runs in four matches, including a century and a half-century. In the bowling department, right-arm pacer Abdul Subhan has been the most successful with 11 wickets from three matches, while left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Sayyam has claimed eight wickets so far.

Talking to PCB Digital ahead of the final, Farhan Yousaf said: &ldquo;Our preparation has been very good and the morale in the camp is very high. The management has backed us strongly and we will try to come out victorious.

&ldquo;Bangladesh proved to be a very good opponent and it was enjoyable to compete against them. The players performed really well. Our fielding unit has been outstanding, the batting performed well in the last match and the bowling has been consistent throughout the tournament. This collective effort has contributed to our strong results.

&ldquo;The final is a big game and the players are very confident. We aim to carry forward the momentum and positivity from the last match, play aggressive cricket, give our 100 per cent and are hopeful of a result going in our team&rsquo;s favour.&rdquo;

15-member squad:

Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hassan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Huzaifa, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan (wk), Niqab Shafiq and Sameer Minhas]]>
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			<title>India drop Gill for T20 World Cup</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583159/india-drop-gill-for-t20-world-cup</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583159/india-drop-gill-for-t20-world-cup#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 25 09:49:24 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2583159</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ishan Kishan returned to the side for the mega even]]>
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				<![CDATA[Test and one-day captain Shubman Gill could not find a place in India&#39;s 15-member squad for next year&#39;s home Twenty20 World Cup, but stumper-batter Ishan Kishan returned to the side on Saturday.

Gill has gone 18 innings in T20 Internationals without a 50 and missed Friday&#39;s match against South Africa with a foot injury.

Sanju Samson has impressed in the limited opportunities and made a breezy 37 as Abhishek Sharma&#39;s opening partner replacing Gill in Ahmedabad.

Kishan was recalled after the stumper-batsman led Jharkhand&#39;s successful campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smashing a hundred in Friday&#39;s final against Haryana.

The same squad will play a five-match home T20 series against New Zealand next month.

Jasprit Bumrah will lead India&#39;s pace attack that also contains left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh.

Varun Chakaravarthy will spearhead the spin department, which also includes left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

India will also expect Hardik Pandya, their premier seam-bowling all-rounder, to play a crucial role in their title defence in the tournament to be played between February 7 to March 8 across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper)]]>
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			<title>U19 Asia Cup: Pakistan crush Bangladesh to set up India final</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583033/u19-asia-cup-pakistan-crush-bangladesh-to-set-up-india-final</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2583033/u19-asia-cup-pakistan-crush-bangladesh-to-set-up-india-final#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 25 13:46:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Sports Desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2583033</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Men in Green registered an eight-wicket victory on Friday]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan Under-19 produced a clinical all-round display to outclass Bangladesh by eight wickets and book a blockbuster final against arch-rivals India in the ACC Men&rsquo;s U19 Asia Cup on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target, Pakistan made light work of the pursuit, reaching the winning runs with just two wickets down and a staggering 69 balls to spare. The emphatic victory underlined Pakistan U19&rsquo;s dominance in the tournament and set up a much-anticipated Pakistan vs India U19 Asia Cup final.

The chase, however, began with an early hiccup. Opener Hamza Zahoor was dismissed for a duck in the first over with only one run on the board. Any thoughts of pressure were quickly erased as Sameer Minhas and Usman Khan counter-attacked with confidence and clarity. The pair added a brisk 85 runs for the second wicket in just 57 deliveries, completely shifting the momentum in Pakistan&rsquo;s favour.

Usman&rsquo;s stay ended in the 11th over when Samiun Basir trapped him lbw for a well-made 27 off 26 balls, an innings that included two fours and two sixes. By then, the damage had been done. Sameer continued to control the chase and was joined by Ahmed Hussain, with the duo calmly steering Pakistan home through an unbeaten 36-run stand.

Sameer finished as the standout performer with an assured 69 not out off 57 balls, striking six fours and two sixes, while Ahmed chipped in with a composed 11* from 14 deliveries.

Earlier, Pakistan&rsquo;s bowlers laid the foundation for the dominant win by dismissing Bangladesh for 121 in 26.3 overs in the rain-curtailed second semi-final at The Sevens Stadium. The match was reduced to 27 overs per side due to rain, but Pakistan adapted far better to the conditions.

Bangladesh openers Zawad Abrar and Rifat Beg made a steady start, adding 24 runs in 4.4 overs, before both were dismissed in quick succession. Skipper Azizul Hakim and Kalam Siddiki briefly rebuilt with a 31-run partnership that pushed the total past 50, but the resistance was short-lived.

Right-arm pacer Abdul Subhan turned the game decisively in Pakistan&rsquo;s favour with a double strike in the 12th over, triggering a collapse from which Bangladesh never recovered. The Tigers slid from 55 for 3 to 73 for 6, with Azizul top-scoring with 20 off 26 balls.

Samiun Basir provided some late resistance with a fighting 33 off 37 balls, including a six and a four, but Bangladesh were bowled out before completing their allotted overs.

Abdul Subhan starred with the ball, finishing with a four-wicket haul, while Huzaifa Ahsan provided excellent support with two wickets. Pakistan now head into the ACC Men&rsquo;s U19 Asia Cup final brimming with confidence as they prepare to face India in a high-stakes showdown.]]>
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			<title>India rule white ball amid geopolitical issues</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2582836/india-rule-white-ball-amid-geopolitical-issues</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2582836/india-rule-white-ball-amid-geopolitical-issues#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 25 14:31:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[REUTERS]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2582836</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[They won the ICC Champions Trophy this year after securing T20 World Cup in 2024]]>
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				<![CDATA[India owned white-ball cricket while South Africa shed their &#39;bridesmaids&#39; tag but the spectre of geopolitics loomed large over the game in a tumultuous 2025.

The already-soured relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan reached a new low when the nuclear-armed neighbour engaged in a military conflict in May that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged war.

It disrupted the Indian Premier League and the bad blood was evident in the subsequent 20-overs Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates, where India refused to accept the winner&#39;s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan&#39;s interior minister.

India beat Pakistan three times during the politically charged tournament and refused to shake hands with them either at the toss or after the match. Players from both sides made provocative gestures, which invited sanctions from the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

Earlier in March, India lifted the Champions Trophy in a perfect culmination of their unbeaten run in the 50-overs tournament. It was the first ICC tournament held in Pakistan in nearly three decades but India played all their matches in Dubai, which many saw as an advantage for them.

Similarly, Pakistan played all their matches in Sri Lanka when India hosted the 50-overs Women&#39;s World Cup.

Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates ended India&#39;s agonising wait for a maiden Women&#39;s World Cup title with Jemimah Rodrigues smashing a sensational hundred to upset defending champions Australia in the October 30 semi-final in Navi Mumbai.

South Africa also ended decades of hurt and won the World Test Championship (WTC) beating Australia in the final at Lord&#39;s.

For a team often ridiculed for their tendency to bottle it during the knockout stages of ICC tournaments, Temba Bavuma and his men carried no past baggage. Opener Aiden Markram&#39;s fourth-innings hundred secured their five-wicket victory, ending a long-standing jinx.

&quot;We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters,&quot; Bavuma said after claiming the WTC mace.

&quot;We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took. This win squashes that. Here&#39;s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.&quot;

South Africa went on to register their first test series victory in India in 25 years with a 2-0 sweep, proving their WTC success was far from a fluke.

India could not replicate their white-ball success in test cricket and appear in the throes of a tricky transition after stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quit the format earlier this year.

In England&#39;s case, the issue was not personnel but philosophy.

Their high-risk &#39;Bazball&#39; approach, built around swashbuckling batting, failed to deliver in Perth and Brisbane, leaving their Ashes campaign in disarray.]]>
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			<title>India charges militant-groups, 6 men over Pahalgam attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2582395/india-charges-militant-groups-6-men-over-pahalgam-attack</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2582395/india-charges-militant-groups-6-men-over-pahalgam-attack#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 25 04:55:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2582395</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[NIA charges Lashkar-e-Taiba and its offshoot for alleged role in planning, facilitating, executing the attack]]>
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				<![CDATA[India&#39;s anti-terrorism agency on Monday charged militant groups and six individuals over an April attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 men, and triggered intense fighting between India and Pakistan.

The fighting, the worst between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades, was sparked when militants opened fire on Hindu tourists in the Pahalgam region of Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi said the attack was backed by Pakistan, allegations which Islamabad has denied.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF), were charged for their alleged role in &quot;planning, facilitating, and executing the Pahalgam attack&quot;, according to a statement from India&#39;s anti-terrorism agency.

Three men killed by Indian security forces during Operation Mahadev in July in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, were charged posthumously, the statement said. Another two men already in custody were charged, and a man accused of being a &quot;Pakistani&quot; terrorist handler.

A spokesperson for Pakistan&#39;s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The 1,597-page document was filed before a special court in the Jammu region of India, and contained the first formal charges over the attack.

The NIA claims it has traced the conspiracy to Pakistan during a probe that lasted eight months, the statement said, adding that the LeT and TRF, along with the six men, were charged with waging war against India.]]>
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			<title>Fans vandalise India stadium after Messi's exit</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2581963/fans-vandalise-india-stadium-after-messis-exit</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2581963/fans-vandalise-india-stadium-after-messis-exit#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 13 Dec 25 09:46:19 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[AFP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The 38-year-old superstar touched down in the eastern state of West Bengal early Saturday]]>
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				<![CDATA[Angry spectators broke down barricades and stormed the pitch at a stadium in India after football star Lionel Messi, who is on a three-day tour of the country, abruptly left the arena.

As a part of a so-called GOAT Tour, the 38-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami superstar touched down in the eastern state of West Bengal early Saturday, greeted by a chorus of exuberant fans chanting his name.

Hours later, thousands of fans wearing Messi jerseys and waving the Argentine flag packed into Salt Lake stadium in the state capital Kolkata, but heavy security around the footballer left fans struggling to catch a glimpse of him.

Messi walked around the pitch waving to fans and left the stadium earlier than expected.Frustrated fans, many having paid more than $100 for tickets, ripped out stadium seats and hurled water bottles onto the track.

Many others stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents.

&quot;For me, to watch Messi is a pleasure, a dream. But I have missed the chance to have a glimpse because of the mismanagement in the stadium,&quot; businessman Nabin Chatterjee, 37, told AFP.

Before the chaos erupted, Messi unveiled a 21-metre (70-foot) statue which shows him holding aloft the World Cup.

He was also expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium.

Another angry fan told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that people had spent &quot;a month&#39;s salary&quot; to see Messi.

&quot;I paid Rs 5,000 ($55) for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians. The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame,&quot; Ajay Shah, told PTI.

State chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she was &quot;disturbed&quot; and &quot;shocked&quot; at the mismanagement.

&quot;I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,&quot; she said in a post on X, adding that she had ordered a probe into the incident.

Messi will now head to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi as part of the four-city tour.

His time in India also includes a possible meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.]]>
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