A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday
'I just need to go back and bat at my old position at No 3.' 'In the IPL, captaincy is just for namesake. You just need to go out there and play well.' Suresh Raina tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about the challenges that lie ahead as he leads the Gujarat Lions and how much he will miss his beloved Chennai Super Kings and under his favourite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
'One of his most famous scenes is set in a prison in Delhi where the British try to subvert Karla, the legendary Soviet spy who is being transferred back to Moscow and is being temporarily detained by the Indian agencies.' Ambassador B S Prakash salutes John le Carre.
'I don't care where I play my 100th Test. I didn't mind where I played my 50th; I don't mind where I play any of my Test matches. Representing my country is a great honour'
Off the field the Board of Control for Cricket in India looks set for a complete overhaul with Supreme Court's stinging observations tightening the noose around the mandarins of the richest sports body.
'If you take pride only in being a nation with nuclear weapons and a strong military, then you think very differently from those nations that take pride in having wonderful universities and academic institutions.'
In Rio, over 10,000 athletes will compete for the biggest prize in sport -- an Olympic gold medal.
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
New Test captain Virat Kohli laid out his ambitious vision for the Indian team, saying he wants to create a side which can dominate world cricket for the next five years at least.
Students' flagging interest in the written word is because of a generational digital divide, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
Right now, our mindset is very similar, to go out there and enjoy our cricket, which we have done in the past few years, says Kohli at a press conference before the defending champions' departure to England for the Champions Trophy. Rediff.com's Harish Kotian listens in as the young Indian captain speaks.
The following are the members of the Memon family who faced trial.
'A couple of hours before the H-Hour, the Kupwara division opened small arms and mortar fire on posts opposite its area of operation.' 'This was a diversionary tactic.' 'As Pakistani forces began to react to the firing, special forces teams began to slowly cross the LoC into PoK.' Nitin Gokhale reveals how planning for the surgical strikes began hours after the Uri attack.
'They should be conserved, preserved, and valued highly.'
'The Ek Do Teen song was shot for many days.' 'Listening to it so many times during the shoot, we knew it would be a big hit.' 'When Tezaab was released, Madhuri had gone to the US for a holiday.' 'When she returned to Mumbai, there was a large crowd waiting for her at the airport, calling out 'Mohini, Mohini,' her character from Tezaab.' 'That day Madhuri had arrived in the real sense.'
Three businessmen disclose their success mantras: One belongs to an old Marwari family, another is a second generation industrialist whose father scripted an amazing rags-to-riches story and the third was a professional till one day he succumbed to the charms of entrepreneurship.
'I am a human being, I was surely nervous, I am competing against a lot of people, but even when I played cricket there is not a single match where I was not nervous.' 'Lots of mothers, lots of sisters are so sure that no matter what happens, Sree will stand by them.' 'I will go to any length to help people.' 'If it is important to save somebody I will save him even if I have to die.'
'ISI mouthpieces in the media have been quick to blame India for the attack. Clearly, the intellect and worldview of these characters (which includes fairly senior retired military officers) is based on Bollywood movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod... More seriously, the fact that ISI touts have been using this opportunity to train their guns on India raises serious questions about all the talk of the army being on the same page as the civilian government on the issue of improving relations with India,' says Sushant Sareen.
India's Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the Japan Open following a straight set defeat against Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Bollywood's fortunes might not hinge on Pakistani actors and singers, but the forced ban on them sends out a disturbing message.
Muzzling NGOs is unbecoming of a democracy. Self-confident democracies encourage, indeed applaud, the involvement of citizens' associations, including NGOs, in social and political decision-making and development planning. Instead, our paranoid government bullies and terrorises them, says Praful Bidwai.
Tactical genius, uplifting leader, altruistic individual, a man with unwavering certitude. Dhruv Munjal recounts what made Mahendra Singh Dhoni a great captain.
'Nehru had multiple chances to make compromises, that would have preserved a united India, and he chose not to,' Nisid Hajari tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
Under Sharma Axis Bank has also taken the lead in focusing on technology, which has now become core to almost every other lender's strategy.
'India and Indian Americans cannot rely on wishful thinking about the checks and balances in the US system to magically take care of the many dangerous things that Trump could do,' says Chicago-based writer Ram Kelkar.
'There is a Jack Warner or two in every Caribbean parliament today.'
'From envy, heartburn and broken hearts to broken marriages, much damage has been done by unintended revelations in the social media. Suspicious partners bring out hidden relationships, which may never have come to light and hell breaks lose in many lives,' warns T P Sreenivasan.
The call to make brand ambassadors accountable has rattled filmstars and sports stars.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
'Biometric Aadhaar-based surveillance is not only about violation of privacy, but also about the treasure hunt for unprecedented financial surveillance and economic intelligence in the economic history of mankind,' asks Gopal Krishna.
'Never lose your optimism. Never lose your aspiration and never -- even if India becomes a prosperous consumer society -- never ever lose that shining light in your eyes,' advises Dr Peter McLaughlin, headmaster of the Doon School.
'Godse is no more, but the mindset which gave birth to such distorted philosophy is unfortunately still with us.'
Here's your weekly dose of weird, true and funny news from around the world.
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.
'Muslims in India have been suffering in many ways. Yet, they are proud Indians and love India as much as any other Indian community.'
A lot of the terrorism that is affecting Pakistan is really a blowback of the Pakistani state's policy of using jihadist groups as instruments of state policy. And unlike some other countries with similar policies, Pakistan doesn't have the benefit of the political and social space for pulling back from the disastrous course, says Sushant Sareen.
Narendra Modi's mother washed utensils to make a living. Madhusudan Mistry's grandmother, who brought him up, was a vegetable vendor. Mistry's trajectory from poverty to membership of the all powerful Congress Working Committee is moving. the man who has Rahul Gandhi's ear and is all set to take on Narendra Modi in Vadodara, speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a fascinating interview.
Meet Randeep Hooda, the man with a great sense of humour, an actor who loves his craft, an animal lover and, over and above all that, a Jat lad in touch with his roots...
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has to deal with 3 powerful enemies: the media, the political establishment, and business houses.
Prem Panicker, on the Rediff chat, delves on what went wrong for Team India and what to expect from Sunday's trans-Tasman World Cup final.