Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan discusses India's ODI series against Afghanistan as a crucial opportunity to assess squad depth for the upcoming ICC World Cup, highlighting key players and their roles, especially for South African conditions.
Sunil Gavaskar praised India's team-first approach and clinical chase against Afghanistan in the opening ODI, highlighting KL Rahul's selfless batting and the contributions of Nitish Kumar Reddy and debutant Gurnoor Brar. Former England spinner Graeme Swann warned of a tougher challenge in the second ODI in Lucknow due to Afghanistan's strong spin attack.
The BJP will use Samrat Choudhary to make a dent into Nitish Kumar's traditional social support base of Kurmi and Koeri/Kushwaha communities.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has raised serious questions over the Indian team's selection policy after all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was left out of the playing XI for the first ODI against South Africa -- even with Hardik Pandya unavailable.
Wait for a while before he does another somersault... But one thing is reasonably certain -- the twice betrayed BJP may not embrace him again, predicts Virendra Kapoor.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
This was confirmed by Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra, who held a press conference nearly 12 hours after the incident took place at 6.40 am on the Desh Ratna Marg.
'With vendetta politics as its main plank, the BJP will be looking out for every opportunity to destabilise this Mahagatbandhan government.'
Pacer Harshit Rana has joined the Indian ODI squad for the final match against Afghanistan in Chennai after recovering from a knee injury. Rana, who underwent surgery in February, missed the T20 World Cup and IPL due to the ligament strain. India has already secured the series with a 2-0 lead.
According to state government data, the first 10 months of last year -- January to October 2020 -- witnessed 2,649 murders in Bihar, an average of nearly nine murders a day.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishore has accused the ruling BJP and the state government of using police to harass his party workers, alleging that over 16 leaders were detained ahead of the Bankipur Assembly by-election. Despite the alleged intimidation, Kishore expressed "200 per cent" confidence in his victory.
The meeting of the NDA MLAs was called to discuss the strategy to be adopted by treasury bench members during the four days long monsoon session of state assembly that began on Thursday.
In a major embarrassment to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's development politics, his party colleague Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav has accused him of not coming out of caste politics.
Suryansh Shedge's India call-up may have come as a "lucky break", but the young all-rounder has been urged to treat it as a learning opportunity by soaking in everything inside a dressing room full of experienced players and young leaders.
Ideology and principle are always put to work to camouflage political ambition. Nitish Kumar is a past master at this. His acceptance of the NDA in the first place was aimed at the top spot of Bihar. Then Delhi became the goal, but Narendra Modi's rise as head of the campaign rang alarm bells. So Nitish suddenly remembered secularism, says Jaya Jaitly.
A young girl wants to correct her father's name in her school certificate; a man wants his three year unpaid rent from a government doctor, an athlete wants an archery set... Scenes from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Darbar, recorded by Rediff.com's Archana Masih.
Aakash Chopra has questioned the India team management's handling of allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The former India opener asked if the selectors and team management are on the same page about how, or even when, Nitish should be used.
"Best wishes to Nitish Kumar ji on being nominated as the chief minister. I hope he makes his priority positive issues such as aspirations of the people of Bihar, the NDA's promise of 19 lakh jobs-employment, education, health, livelihood, irrigation and justice rather than his ambition for the chair," Tejashwi wrote in a social media post.
Bengal seized momentum with late wickets after Mukesh Kumar's spells, leaving their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Andhra evenly poised at 264/6 on the first day.
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
Singh, considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with raising slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 13, during a heated exchange in the House.
Bihar's political corridors are buzzing with rumours of the star-politician joining hands with Nitish Kumar.
'Nitish Kumar has only done what any smart politician will do in his place,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Voters from the forward castes voted for JD-U because they feared Laloo Yadav's return, but since that fear is no longer there they may not see the need to vote for Nitish Kumar anymore.'
'Nitish Kumar has reverted to the 1990s model. The besetting sin of this type of ministry formation was a fundamental insult to democracy,' argues T V R Shenoy. 'Not only did it not inform the voter who the prime ministerial candidate was, but it also gloried in keeping out the largest party in the Lok Sabha.'
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has announced his decision to contest the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar. He frames the bypoll as a "referendum" on the performance of the current BJP-led government under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Kishor, a former poll strategist, aims to challenge the established parties in a seat traditionally held by the BJP.
India will take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test from June 6 onwards at New Chandigarh. This comes after the Men in Blue suffered a 0-2 clean sweep loss to South Africa at home last year, marking back-to-back series whitewashes in two years in a row, after a 0-3 whitewash loss to New Zealand in 2024, which marked the end of India's 12-year unbeaten streak at home.
Riding on the clear trends of Bihar Assembly polls which pointed towards a landslide victory of the National Democratic Alliance over the Mahagathbandhan, Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas chief Chirag Paswan said on Friday that he firmly believed that Nitish Kumar would continue to remain the state's chief minister.
'I remember that Indira Gandhi was virtually worshipped as a goddess. The kind of power wielded by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s was much more than what Modi does today, but in just three years down the line Indira Gandhi faced defeat.' 'So you cannot take people's sentiments for granted. That is a lesson that the BJP should learn.'
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
Dharmendra Kumar Singh says the Bihar chief minister may be fighting a losing battle.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
It has been a chequered political journey for Samrat Choudhary, who began his political career as a minister in Bihar nearly three decades ago, only to be removed by the then-Governor following allegations about his eligibility.
Opposition members in the Bihar legislative council were suspended and evicted after demanding an apology from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly using foul language against their leader Rabri Devi, leading to a day of disruption and accusations from both sides.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has been elected as the BJP legislature party leader, paving the way for him to become the next Chief Minister of Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's assets have increased slightly to Rs 1.65 crore, while several ministers are wealthier, according to the latest asset disclosure.
Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin discusses the team's strategy to counter aggressive batting in the IPL, highlighting Pat Cummins' plan against Priyansh Arya. He also praises the contributions of other bowlers and all-rounders.
Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday alleged that "poisonous substances" were being mixed into the food served to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, by those "coveting his chair".
Sanju Samson has been dropped from the Indian T20I squad for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe, making way for Punjab Kings' wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh.
Rampant crime challenges the chief minister's promise to maintain law and order. But some say there are other forces at play.
