MS Dhoni's family office invests in new-age insurer Acko
Empower your mind, elevate your skills
Former Indian men's cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has made a strategic investment in direct-to-customer (D2C) insurance platform Acko through his family office, Midas Deals . The company did not divulge the financial details of the investment."Their tech-first, customer-centric approach reflects the way new India wants to engage with insurance. I'm excited to support a brand that's focused on trust and transformation," Dhoni said, on his investment in the insurer.Founded in 2016, Acko has a customer base of 70 million, and processes more than two million insurance claims annually in the motor, health, and travel segments.The cricket star will also serve as Acko's brand ambassador, according to a statement from the company, on Wednesday.Incidentally, Go Digit , Acko's main competitor, counts cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife, actress Anushka Sharma, as investors and brand ambassadors.
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Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Siraj pushes his limit to lead India's fightback
Mumbai: Even in a lengthy series, you can single out moments of inspiration that can prove defining. Mohammed Siraj's unrelenting spell of eight overs before tea on Day 2 at The Oval could prove to be one. The onus is on India as a collective to back up his brilliance. Mohammed Siraj celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Jacob Bethell. (PTI) It was immediately after India had lost the Lord's Test narrowly that Siraj doffed his hat to Ben Stokes for bowling tireless marathon spells. 'If you can learn from someone, there's no shame,' he said. No shame, indeed. Just like his English pace counterpart, the Hyderabad fast bowler strained every sinew and kept running in to keep India in the Test after their batters had folded up for 224 in the first innings. His spell could well prove the spark for an Indian win to level the series 2-all. Fast bowlers have to bowl long spells from time to time. But think of the strain the present-day pacer has to endure in a five-Test series, stuffed in between a great deal of white-ball cricket. After Chris Woakes' freak injury ruled him from further participation at The Oval, Siraj is the only one among the pace pack from either side to play in all the Tests and still in action – 154 overs and counting. When Siraj came on to bowl mid-day, England openers had already played a powerful hand before lunch in 16 overs of mayhem, scoring at over run-a-ball. India's total had begun to look insufficient. While the sun showed up now and then, the pitch still had plenty of juice. India's pacers had to hit their lengths and stay patient. Siraj was among the bowlers who had gone for plenty with the new ball. He needed an early spark and the bowler created it on his own by getting one to nip back in sharply to Ollie Pope (22), trapping him lbw. Siraj stayed patient, not just with his lengths but lines too. He needed to be against Joe Root. There are days when Siraj likes to have a chirp with the batter. Not on Friday. He left it to Prasidh Krishna. All Siraj wanted was to channel his energies on breaking through Root's defence. He had done it before in the series targeting the stumps and on the final ball of the fifth over of his spell, summoned another one of his scrambled seam deliveries that rammed into Root's pads. The lbw decision was reviewed by Root, but DRS confirmed it. England were now four wickets down, but India still had plenty to do. They didn't have a fourth seamer to exploit the green pitch and Shubman Gill had no choice but to stick with Siraj. As if asking Siraj to invoke the spirit of Ishant Sharma's nine-over spell in the Perth Test of 2008, Gill kept throwing the ball to him for one more over. Siraj bowled his 6th, the 7th and then the 8th. While he worked hard, Siraj was able to pin the talented newcomer Jacob Bethell down with a toe crusher following up on a series of wobble seam balls. This time England wouldn't review. It was obvious that the ball would have dismantled Bethell's stumps. Each of Siraj's three wickets were arrowing in on the stumps and went into the scoresheet as leg before dismissals. After starting the day with a spell of 4-0-31-0, Siraj's second spell read 8-1-35-3. He may have bowled more productive spells before, but few where he was the last fast bowler standing in a punishing series played on batter-friendly decks, barring this one. The Oval Test has offered just rewards to the pacers, to try and overcome the pain barrier, bend their backs and make it count. Siraj did with his four-wicket haul, adding Harry Brook in the end. Siraj has taken on the mantle of leading the pace attack in Jasprit Bumrah's absence. Even in Australia where Bumrah was phenomenal, it was Siraj who bowled the most number of overs. Here, with an innings to come, he is already the series' highest wicket taker. So good has Siraj been with his skills and pluck that he would have won an admirer even from the opposing side in Stokes, the injured England skipper watching from the dressing room.
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘No formal talks on F-35 jets yet': India clarifies after Trump tariff announcement
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First Post
12 minutes ago
- First Post
'I am pleasantly surprised': Ashwin stunned by team's bold move on Bumrah, shares insightful take
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed surprise over Jasprit Bumrah not featuring in the fifth Test in the series against England. read more Former India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was left flummoxed to witness Jasprit Bumrah's absence in the , but ended up admitting that it was the right decision on the part of Bumrah. Paying heed to the topic through his YouTube channel, Ashwin stated that he expected the team to push the pacer to play the final Test, but noted that the management may have come to terms with the importance the player holds for Team India and because of that, it may have abstained from trying to persuade him. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD To manage the workload and evade a potential injury, Jasprit Bumrah had conveyed his intention to play only three out of the five Tests in the series. As promised, the pacer only featured in three Tests -1st, 3rd, and 4th- of the series and finished his campaign with 14 wickets. 'I am pleasantly surprised because if this were the Indian team of the past, they would have persuaded Bumrah to play the final Test. Even now, the team management might have looked at it, but from Bumrah's perspective, this is a sound decision. He had already decided that he was going to play only three Tests, and he stuck to that,' Ashwin said on YouTube. Ashwin on management resting Bumrah in the fifth Test Ashwin highlighted that Bumrah's longstanding back issue was a factor in his absence from the fifth Test, and believes that resting him could benefit the Indian team in the long term. 'His back issue is not a normal one. It has kept him out of the game for almost two years. He is a valuable asset to the Indian team. So, the decision is the right one, and I am pleasantly surprised. I am very happy that Bumrah is prioritizing his body because in the long run, he will be very useful,' Ashwin added. Fifth Test hangs in balance After losing yet another toss, Shubman Gill and co were put to bat first. On a difficult surface to bat on at the Oval, India's innings crumbled like a sack of potatoes and ended up getting 224 on the board. In reply, England had a perfect start, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley once again giving the hosts a flying start. England were cruising at 129/1, but wickets began to fall in the second session of Day 2. The Indian bowlers carved their way back into the game and restricted England to 247. Trailing by 23 runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul gave India a steady start and eradicated the trail at a fine pace. England eventually drew first blood in the form of Rahul, who departed after making just 7 runs. Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan are currently in the middle as India have reached 55/1 after 13 overs, leading by 32 runs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
