Latest news with #Sai
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Sai Sudharsan rejects Shubman Gill's request to bat but confirmed to return in India's XI; Karun Nair won't be dropped
India captain Shubman Gill crossed Sai Sudharsan at one point in Old Trafford on Tuesday and asked: "Sai, nets?" When you are 1-2 down in the series and on the eve of the all-important fourth Test, your captain comes and asks whether you'd like to bat in the nets; generally, it's a no-brainer. You, of course, oblige. But not Sai Sudharsan. He rejected Shubman Gill's offer with a smile. India's Sai Sudharsan is se to be back in the XI in Manchester(AFP) Gill wasn't offended by any means. He, in fact, knew that Sai Sudharsan would never bat on the eve of the match, for he had stopped doing that since this year's IPL. And Gill, his captain, even in the Gujarat Titans, knew this very well. According to Cricbuzz, Sai Sudharsan, who loves to bat long hours in the nets in the lead-up to a match, showed tendencies of getting tired while batting for long in the middle during IPL 2024. The GT coaches observed this and told him to take it easy a day before the match, just to preserve energy. The switch came a year later. Sai Sudharsan would go hard in the nets, train, sprint and bat for hours two days before the match but would spend the next day relaxing. He was even given an option to stay back at the hotel but the left-hander from Tamil Nadu chose not to. He would travel with the team to the ground, do some light jogging and stretches but avoid batting completely. The method worked wonders as Sai ended up as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2025, and since then, he has carried on with his practice of not batting at all on the eve of a match. If Sai not batting on Tuesday didn't confirm his return to the India XI for the fourth Test in Manchester, him inspecting the pitch and doing shadow practice definitely did. This is another routine that Sai follows before a match. In order to get a feel of the centre, he walks up to the pitch, empty-handed and does shadow knocking. He did that twice on Tuesday -- once when the pitch was covered and the second time when the sun had peeped and the covers were taken off. Sai Sudharsan confirmed to play in Manchester, Karun Nair won't be dropped Sai made his debut in the series opener at Headingley. He was out for a duck in the first innings. In the second innings, he scored 30. It was, however, not enough to give him another chance in the second Test. That India changed the make-up of their side also contributed to Sai's exclusion from the XI. In Manchester, India are likely to use the Headingley template because of injuries to Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy. India head coach Gautam Gambhir prefers multiple batting and bowling options. Considering India's long tail, Gambhir would not want to promote Washington Sundar to No. 7 in the absence of Nitish Reddy. That's where Sai Sudharsan, a specialist batter, comes into the mix. This also means that Karun Nair is likely to get another opportunity in the XI despite six failures with the bat. But whether he would continue batting at No.3 or that spot would go to Sai, like in Headingley, remains to be seen. Young pacer Anushul Kamboj is another player who is all but confirmed to get into the XI. He is set to make his debut in place of the injured Akash Deep.
The Star
21 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Bitten, but never bitter
THE saying 'once bitten, twice shy' may ring true for most – but not for crocodile conservation officer Dr Sai Kerisha Kntayya. The 38-year-old Penangite, who moved to Sabah in 2004 after her father was transferred there for work, has been working with crocodiles since 2017. And yes, she's been bitten. Twice. 'Of course it hurts – their teeth are sharp,' said Sai. The mother of two girls, aged three and five, added that she's also fallen into the river more than once during night surveys. But none of it has stopped her from doing what she loves. In conjunction with World Crocodile Day last month, Sai, who works with the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), shared that safety is the biggest challenge in her line of work. Sai with a baby crocodile during a night survey. 'Crocodiles are powerful animals. Capturing and tagging them takes serious planning,' she said. 'I depend 100% on my team – every person plays a critical role in making sure things run smoothly and safely.' Some capture missions can stretch over three hours. 'One small mistake can have serious consequences. So trust and teamwork are essential.' Still, she says the fieldwork brings unforgettable moments: 'You learn to live with the wild – and that means close encounters with elephants, orang utans, bearded pigs, snakes, otters ... and so much more.' 'Every moment like that is a gift,' she said. 'A reminder of what we stand to lose if we don't protect what's left.' Besides the physical risks, Sai faces other challenges too: tough logistics, unpredictable weather, faulty equipment, long stints in remote areas and being away from family. But the most emotionally draining part? 'Dealing with public fear and misunderstanding,' she said. 'Many still see crocodiles as pests or threats – and demand they be removed whenever they show up. 'What's missing is the understanding that saltwater crocodiles belong in our rivers and seas. They're not intruders.' That's why, for Sai, outreach is as crucial as research. 'Education and awareness are just as important as data collection and fieldwork,' she said. As a woman in science, particularly in a field involving large, potentially dangerous animals, Sai says she's had to overcome assumptions. 'People sometimes question whether women can handle the physical demands, or balance motherhood with research. But I believe women bring invaluable strengths to conservation – empathy, attention to detail, resilience, leadership.' 'We just need the space and support to thrive.' And for young people dreaming of a future in science or nature? 'You don't need to have all the answers, and you certainly don't need to be fearless,' she said. They just need to care deeply, stay curious and be open to learning, and they might just find themselves falling in love with something they never expected, she added. Science, she says, is for everyone, and this planet – with all its wild, wonderful creatures – needs all of us. Looking back, Sai says her path was anything but predictable. 'If you'd asked me years ago if I ever imagined working with crocodiles, I'd have laughed. That would've been a definite no.' But she always knew she wanted to work with wildlife. 'So when the opportunity came, I took it.' Over time, she grew to understand crocodiles – and with that came deep respect. Today, these reptiles have a special place in Sai's heart, as she believes that if one opens their heart to something new, they may discover an entire world of meaning and connection.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Sai Sudharsan in place of Karun Nair? It has shades of Dravid taking Manjrekar's spot during the 1996 tour to England
On that famous 1996 tour of England, Sanjay Manjrekar, the team's trusted No.3 batsman, twisted his ankle in the first Test. In the second game at Lord's, Rahul Dravid, along with Sourav Ganguly, would make a sparkling Test debut. Manjrekar would play his last Test the same year and Dravid, who would go on to be India's new No.3, would go on to play 91 straight Tests. In 1996, Manjrekar was 31, Dravid 23. For the crucial Test of this series in Manchester, India is considering a change at No.3 and this too can have far-reaching consequences. India is wondering aloud if Sai Sudharsan is a better option than Karun Nair. Here are the numbers. Sai got one Test, the opening game at Leeds, made 0 and 30 and was dropped because of combination calculations. Nair has played 3 Tests, made 0, 20, 31, 26, 40, and 14. There are calls for his dropping. As coincidences go, Nair is 33 and Sai is as old as Dravid in 1996. He is 23. Nair or Sai? – this will be an important call for Indian cricket. Dropping a player in the early 30s for someone in the 20s is a switch that comes with a stamp of permanency. It is seen as a hint to the older player that the team has moved on. Will it be fair on Nair, whose return to the Test side was seen as justice to someone wronged for long? Before the England tour, whenever there would be a debate on selection apathy, Nair would get mentioned. After every Test match setback, there would be an outcry about recalling the batsman who scored a triple hundred but was dropped within six months of that marathon milestone. Loss to New Zealand at home, Australia abroad, retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Nair's roaring domestic performance – the stars aligned and the most-awaited comeback would take place. However, the Nair story hasn't been written by a fairytale writer. Playing as a guest player for Vidarbha on the domestic circuit, Nair has had two stellar seasons where he scored 1,553 and 883 runs. As cricket writers love to say, he didn't just knock at the selectors' door, he blew it with a bazooka full of runs. Nair plays domestic cricket, unlike the stars in the Indian middle-order who kept failing. He should be playing Tests, it was said. Carse is STEAMING in! 😤 Nair departs! ☝ — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 13, 2025 But things didn't pan out the way it was expected. In this ongoing England series of multiple hundreds, Nair hasn't even scored one half-century in three Tests. Was this the time to toggle to Indian cricket's other favourite rhetoric – Does India's domestic circuit prepare a player for international cricket? Dropping Nair isn't merely a middle-order musical chair, it is not just a line in a selection story, it's a hyperlink to other big picture narratives. Nair is fighting for the No.3 spot against a very able competitor. Sai comes to the Indian set-up with a massive reputation. His work ethics and commitment haven't gone unnoticed by the team management. The story goes that Sai had suffered a serious setback a day before the India A vs England Lions series at the start of 2024. On eve of the first match, the left-hander broke his finger at the nets. That series was important for Sai in case he wanted to remain in contention for a place in the Test squad. A decision was taken, the Tamil Nadu batsman would bear pain and carry on. ALSO READ | Sai Sudharsan's journey to Test debut – how a distracted youngster was motivated after watching Virat Kohli's intense training sessions In the two games, he scored a century and a 97. Among the England Lions was present Test pacer Brydon Carse. Those were quality knocks. Sai's IPL runs came much later, the selectors had liked what they saw. They were impressed by the youngster's temperament and technique. The chairman of the national selection committee Ajit Agarkar underlined this fact at the press conference when the team for the England tour was announced. 'When England Lions came, he did well. We have not picked him because of the IPL. He has shown the right way and seems to have the game to succeed at the top level. We have been looking at him for a while, but there has never been any place in the team,' Agarkar said. The best bits of Sai Sudharsan's first Surrey century! 🎬 🤎 | #SurreyCricket — Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) August 31, 2024 All through this England tour, Sai has come across as a compulsive trainer. Coaches have had a tired look on their faces indulging the batsman's request for a few more balls of knocking. A day before the second Test at Birmingham, when it was already decided that Sai would sit out, he trained as hard as Shubman Gill, his captain both at Team India and Gujarat Titans. It was a day of optional training and very few had turned up, Shubman and Sai after long batting nets had a long fielding session. There was no one to tell them, these were self-motivated cricketers sweating it out to improve. An important voice in Indian cricket says Sai is easily the most-hardworking Indian cricketer. 'He has the potential to play international cricket for the next 15 years,' he said. His batting approach too is the kind that would work overseas. His pull, sweep, straight drive as well as back foot punches to covers are noteworthy. He is fast on his feet and has great hands. On Sai, the great Sachin Tendulkar said: 'Whatever I saw of Sai Sudharsan, he looked compact when playing front-foot defense. His hands are close to his body, which is good. If he can continue to keep his hands close to the body with his vertical bat-shots, he will be fine. Like I said earlier, batting in V and getting forward without hands going away from the body.' Nair or Sai?
News18
5 days ago
- Health
- News18
Chhattisgarh Rolls Out 151 New Health Vehicles To Boost Medical Access In Remote Areas
CM Vishnu Deo Sai flags off the first batch to strengthen emergency response and healthcare reach in tribal regions like Bastar and Sarguja. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday flagged off 151 new vehicles to be used by the state's field-level healthcare personnel as the government pushed to improve accessibility of facilities and ensure swift response during medical emergencies. Speaking after flagging off the vehicles from his official residence in Raipur, Sai said they would help greatly enhance healthcare accessibility in remote regions of tribal-dominated Bastar and Sarguja divisions, an official statement said. 'This initiative will serve as a strong stride towards a healthy Chhattisgarh," he noted. The day marks a new chapter in the journey towards a robust and accessible healthcare system. Outdated and defunct vehicles have been scrapped and replaced with state-of-the-art ones, which will also accelerate implementation, supervision, and monitoring of national health programmes, the CM said. These vehicles, being provided to district and block-level officers and field health staff, will enable regular inspections, effective supervision of health camps, swift outreach in remote areas, and timely response during emergencies, he said. The induction of new vehicles will make the administration of national health programmes more dynamic, effective, and result-oriented. The move is expected to energize the entire public health delivery system in the state, making it more responsive and accountable, Sai insisted. These vehicles will be distributed to all districts in phases, with the first batch dispatched to 12 districts across Bastar and Sarguja divisions, he said. The state government will soon launch 851 new ambulances, including 375 for the 108 emergency service, 30 for mobile rural medical units, and 163 'Muktanjali' hearse vehicles for free public use, the CM maintained. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dedicated efforts for the upliftment of tribal communities. Under the PM's Jan Man Yojana, special arrangements would be made for 30 ambulances catering to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Sai pointed out the state government will now be able to reach every household even during challenging conditions like monsoon, with full preparedness. Reiterating his government's unwavering commitment to strengthening healthcare services, the Chief Minister provided detailed information on the ongoing efforts to reinforce medical infrastructure, the release said. Chhattisgarh Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, in his address on the occasion, affirmed the BJP government is working with full dedication to improve the state's healthcare ecosystem. Health Secretary Amit Kataria, Commissioner (Health) Dr Priyanka Shukla, and several senior government officials were present at the event. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Reforming Global Financial Architecture Is Critical For Gender Equality And Right To Health
14 July 2025 While governments have committed to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, inequalities, injustices and deadly divide between the Global North and Global South nations (and within rich and poor nations) has jeopardised progress on SDG goals and targets – including gender equality and right to health – both of which are fundamental human rights. 'If we do a reality check, in the current times, we are in a dysfunctional international financing architecture – with countries in the Global South facing the brunt. We are increasingly facing challenges to mobilise resources for our own development. Because most of the countries in the Global South are in the cycles of perennial debt – which they have to keep servicing to international financial institutions. This results into austerity measures which include countries cutting down on public services, access to health services, education services, social protection services, among others,' said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Deputy Executive Director, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW). 'While it impacts the general population, marginalised communities, and poor people, the impact on women and girls in all their diversity across the strata is much higher. Data tells us that developing countries are seeing a record high debt servicing costs in 2023. This is straining low- and middle-income economies. This is compounded by a US$ 4 trillion annual investment gap for SDG achievement in developing countries,' she added. In 2024, official development assistance from 30 DAC nations (developed nations that provide aid to developing countries) declined by 7.1% in real terms - the first drop in five years - reaching only US$ 212.1 billion (0.33% of combined gross national income). UN target for developed countries is to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income as official development assistance but it dipped to less than half to 0.33%. Poor investment in social sector fails us in economic sector too 'When there are poor social investments in the social sector then it does not contribute to the economic sector. Domestic resource mobilisation for the public sector for social protection, health, and education is less too. With declining official development assistance and perennial debt cycles, the impact becomes even more severe. This is going to impact gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights at so many different levels,' said Sai of ARROW. Sai was delivering her keynote address at SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session on the theme: 'Did the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development deliver on gender equality & feminist agenda?', organised around UN inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025) and 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025). HLPF 2025 will review SDG3 (health and wellbeing), SDG5 (gender equality) among others. SHE & Rights session was co-hosted by International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, Family Planning News Network (FPNN), Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and CNS. Governments did not deliver on feminist agenda but Feminist Forum gives hope The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) of the United Nations concluded a week ago in Seville, Spain. But FfD4 did not achieve its objective of restructuring the global economy and financial system, to benefit all equitably, including women, girls and all gender diverse peoples. FfD4 failed to guarantee long-term, flexible, inclusive, equitable financing for development. FfD4 looked into women and girls as merely 'economic potentials' for 'economic benefits' without really addressing the fundamental barriers to gender justice, including labour rights, safeguards for corporate abuses and preventing gender-based violence in the workplace. 'Feminist agenda refers to a gender transformative economic system that is based on rights to justice, care, and equality for everyone urgently. This was central to the Political Declaration of Feminist Forum held before the FfD4 began in Seville, Spain. But FfD4 failed to deliver on gender equality and feminist agenda,' said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla of ARROW. Feminist Forum's Political Declaration also called for deescalating wars and ending territorial invasions and genocide - "nothing less from this is acceptable," rightly stressed Sai. Sai feels that FfD4 conference outcome document was a mix bag, "as it was a diluted version of the vision and ambition of the Action Agenda adopted at 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2015), and also of Monterrey Consensus adopted at the 1st International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD1) in Monterrey, Mexico (2002), as well as Doha Declaration on financing for development (2008). FfD4 outcome document also compromised the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action 1995 commitments." Empowerment of women and girls, economic value inherent in unpaid care work, and references to eradicating gender-based violence were mentioned in FfD4 outcome document but the broader and deeper aspects of gender equality or sexual and reproductive health and rights were missing in the FfD4 outcome document. "From the very beginning, the demand to reform international financing architecture was undeniably strong, to realise gender-just economy in which financing for development will result in equitable outcomes for all, in terms of fair distribution of resources within countries - and in between countries. We need to reform international financing architecture to promote social, economic, and environmental justice and strengthen democracy and multilateralism equitably. This was not achieved at FfD4," said Sai. Reality check on gender equality and health "2 pregnant persons die every minute. 700 women die unnecessarily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. To reach the global target of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly 700,000 maternal deaths need to be prevented between 2024 and 2030," said Sai. The current international financial architecture is not working and does not guarantee long-term, flexible, inclusive, equitable financing for development. "We need to restructure global economic governance to centre feminist leadership, Global South parity, and the meaningful leadership of civil society and marginalised communities. This includes democratising decision-making across all the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, including through the urgent reform of the voting systems of the IMF and the World Bank. This is part of Political Declaration of Feminist Forum held before FfD4 too," she added. In Asia-Pacific, household health expenditures (SDG indicator 3.8.2) remain high, placing families under financial strain and limiting access to essential services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the percentage of people in South-East Asia spending more than 10% of their total household income on health has increased, rising from 13.1% in 2010 to 16.1% in 2019. "Global poverty reduction is virtually at a standstill. Around 9% of people worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2022. While social protection coverage has reached a milestone of covering half the world's population, low-income countries have shown almost no improvement since 2015 - with coverage rates of 9.7%, with poorest within these countries left behind," said Sai of ARROW. Polycrisis "Global South is also in an age of poly-crisis. For example, the climate crises are becoming real. Just the Asia-Pacific region in the Global South, accounts for 40% of global natural disaster events. These natural disasters further increase the burden of unpaid domestic work for women who have to invest more hours in securing water, food, and energy for cooking and heating the homes. The closing or underfunding of public services such as health centres, schools, and water provision facilities due to debt crises and increasing debt service payments, is further exacerbated in extreme climate events, and natural disasters. Simply put in the context of disasters, the health services are just not accessible for women and girls," rightly says Sai. Hope lies in the people and communities Even if inter-governmental FfD4 disappointed, hope lies in people and communities. "Moving forward, Feminist Forum's Political Declaration calls for funding and resourcing genuine multi-stakeholder feminist platforms and partnerships with women's civil society, especially from the Global South. It is important to ensure civil society leadership and engagement in these processes like FfD4. We are also asking for eliminating all economic policy conditionalities that are attached to aid because these conditionalities promote austerity, privatisation and deregulation. We do not want conditionality when it comes to loans. There should be no loans in the first place (for development assistance), rather these should be grants," said Sai. "We must reform financial architecture so that it can guarantee long-term flexible, inclusive, and equitable financing for development. We also need to restructure the global economic governance because currently it is very Global North heavy. We need to have Global South parity. We need to include democratisation of the decision-making processes across the international financial institutions and the multilateral development banks," she added. "We are not going to stop until we deliver on gender equality. We will continue to do our work to demand for a right-based, environmentally-just, decolonial, intersectional, sustainable, and person-centred economic model. We need such an economic model in current times where care, reparations, redistribution and accountability remain central," rightly said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla of ARROW. Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service) (Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here
