Who Replaces Virat Kohli? Sanju Samson vs Tilak Verma for No. 4: India's Predicted XI for 1st T20I vs Afghanistan

news18.com alman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss 17 is an utter and complete mad house, and not in a good way. Have you been up-to-date with everything that’s been happening inside the house? Can someone please tell he devotional fervour is at its peak across the nation as Ayodhya is gearing up to mark the momentous occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. While many devotees from across the country are travelling to Ayodhya to offer their prayers to Lord Rama, some are donating money to contribute in the construction of the temple. Advertisement Meanwhile, the face-off between the BJP-led central government and the Opposition over the invitations being extended for the Pran Pratishtha of the grand Ram temple is continuously escalating with each passing day. Notably, the guest list for the inaugural function is being decided by a team nominated by the Sri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is dominated by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leaders. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Wednesday flagged off 2,100 cooking oil drums and a ‘Ram Durbar’ procession, heading to ‘Sita Rasoi’ (Sita’s kitchen) in Ayodhya. The oil will be used for cooking the food to be served to the devotees attending the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 and afterwards. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has made a stark contrast between India’s fraught ties with Canada and that of the US, saying that one justifies terrorist and extremist activities in the name of freedom of speech, unlike the other. He made these remarks during an interview with TOI. In November, an Indian national was charged with plotting to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States. This development came two months after neighbouring Canada publicly linked Indian intelligence to the June killing of another Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The White House stated that the Biden administration is treating the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun on American soil with ‘utmost seriousness’ and has raised the issue with New Delhi. Ottawa’s accusations were dismissed as “absurd” but in response to Washington, New Delhi formed a committee to probe the matter. Advertisement When asked whether the US could have been more considerate of India’s position in the way it handled the Pannun episode, Jaishankar said, “The first is when the Americans believed they had an issue, whether their belief is validated or not only the court can decide, they came to us and said look we have these concerns and we are sharing this with you and would like you to find out what’s happening. The Canadians did not do this.” Distinguishing between the two countries, Minister Jaishnkar pointed out that the US takes stronger a position on the “misuse of freedoms” than Canada. “Second, the US does not justify these separatist, terrorist, extremist activities in the name of freedom of speech Advertisement We have seen the US taking a much firmer position on misuse of freedoms than we have seen Canada take. Canada has also on occasions very openly interfered in our politics. We all remember events in Punjab. I think the only PM in the world who publicly commented on it was the Canadian PM. I’d say we have apples and oranges here and I’d not mix up the two,” he added. Suella Braverman has been a controversial figure and has been critisised for her far-right views. File photo/AP This criticism comes as India and Canada have hit a low after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of playing a role in Nijjar’s killing in Surrey. India argues that Canadian politics have given space to Khalistani forces and allowed them to indulge in actions that hurt bilateral relations. Advertisement David Cameron (left), James Cleverly. ANI The issue at heart is the fact that in Canadian politics, these Khalistani forces have been given a lot of space and have been allowed to indulge in activities which I think are damaging to the relationship, clearly not in India’s interest, and not in Canada’s interest either,” Jaishankar said in a recent interview. “But, unfortunately, that is the state of their politics,” he told ANI. Afghanistan are in India to face Rohit Sharma & his men in a three-match T20I series starting Thursday in Mohali. Team India’s final bilateral assignment before the T20 World Cup 2024 will see the Indian captain making a comeback in the shortest format after more than a year. Virat Kohli has also been named in the squad but the fans will have to wait a little longer to see him bat as he’s unavailable for the series opener due to personal reasons. Advertisement Rahul Dravid wants India to focus on the job as they face New Zealand in World Cup semi-final. AP The task to pick a strong batting line-up has gotten more challenging with the return of the two stalwarts in Rohit and Kohli. India head coach Rahul Dravid on Wednesday confirmed that captain Rohit and young Yashasvi Jaiswal will form the top order. With Kohli not playing in Mohali, who slots in at the no. 3 spot? In that case, Shubman Gill, who was picked as the third opener, would get the nod. It would be a great opportunity for him to present his case, especially after an ineffective run in the shortest format last year. Though he scored a hundred in the format, he could only muster 312 runs in 13 innings at an average of 26. The Indian Government is contemplating lowering import tariffs and duties on completely built-up EVs to lure Elon Musk’s Tesla to India. Currently, CBUs with a price tag below $40,000 face an import duty of 70 per cent, while those priced above $40,000 face a 100 per cent import duty While India will miss the services of Ishan Kishan, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer and former vice-captain KL Rahul, Afghanistan won’t have their superstar Rashid Khan. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were already ruled out of the series due to injuries. Rohit Sharma has been in top form, leading India by an example. AP No. 4 will be another mystery to solve for the team management and the toss-up would be between left-hander Tilak Varma and right-hander Sanju Samson. If the management keeps Rinku Singh in the eleven with Jitesh Sharma as the keeper-batter then Varma might have to sacrifice his position to Sanju who would play as a pure batter at No. 4.

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