A considerably weakened Indian team will look to get their preparations for the T20 World Cup under way against a full-strength South Africa in a five-match series that begins in Delhi on Thursday.
The five T20 games will give both teams a chance to get an idea of the form of their personnel heading into the World Cup cycle, which makes the hosts' job tricky as they will be without almost half of their first-choice players.
Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah had already been rested from the series after a gruelling season. Then on Tuesday, it was announced that stand-in captain KL Rahul had picked up a groin injury and was out of the entire series, along with wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took a hit to his hand in training.
That has allowed wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant to take over the captaincy reins, with fit-again all-rounder Hardik Pandya named his deputy.
"It's a great feeling, especially getting an opportunity like this in your home town, [no] bigger opportunity than that and I will make the most of it," Pant, 24, said.
Pant added that his performance would be bolstered by the experience of leading Delhi.
"It will help me a lot because when you keep on doing the same thing over a period of time you tend to improve," he said. "I am someone who keeps learning from my mistakes, and I think that's what is going to help me in the coming days."
Also of significance is the return of wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik to the Indian team after three years, with the 37-year-old now having reinvented himself as a finisher and power hitter in white-ball cricket.
Also in the spotlight will be uncapped fast bowlers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh, who will be hoping for a maiden international outing after a stellar IPL 2022.
Right arm quick Malik consistently bowled at well over 150kph throughout the IPL and is easily the quickest bowler in the country, with former India coach Ravi Shastri eager to get him playing international cricket as soon as possible. Singh, on the other hand, was the one of the most economical bowlers in the death overs during the T20 league and among the few quality left-arm bowlers in the country.
However, current coach Rahul Dravid hinted at making the two wait as other, more established, seamers are ahead of the them in the pecking order. That means proven bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan could get the nod.
For South Africa, it is a chance to extend their good recent form against the team in blue after they dominated a full-strength India at home in the Test and ODI series, winning both comfortably, earlier in the year.
Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and David Miller bring their tremendous form from the IPL into the series, while fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje will give the visitors the edge in the bowling department.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More coverage from the Future Forum
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Kandahar%20
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The Light of the Moon
Director: Jessica M Thompson
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David
Three stars
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
