HYDERABAD, India // MS Dhoni, the India captain, and his England counterpart, Alastair Cook, said yesterday they expect different tactics to be seen in one-day internationals following the introduction of new rules.
Dhoni and Cook were speaking ahead of a five-game ODI series starting Friday that will be played with revised rules, including the use of a new ball from each end and a stipulation that bowling and batting power plays be completed between the 16th and 40th overs of an innings.
Dhoni expects a decrease in reverse swing for pace bowlers while Cook foresees a change in how spinners are used.
"You may see a bit of swing initially, but what you may not see is reverse swing, which fast bowlers rely on," Dhoni said. "A lot will depend on the outfield, people will still try to 'make' the ball so that it reverses, but of course you have to do it legally."
"A lot depends on how dry the track is. If there is no reverse-swing, it is a good placid wicket and the outfield is nice, you may see more runs being scored."
Dhoni said teams would also have to look at different options with regard to how they used their power plays.
"When chasing, teams used to keep the last five overs as batting power plays, but now there will be some change in tactics," Dhoni said. "As teams get used to the new rules, we will find different results."
Cook agreed that the revised rules would change the dynamics of the game, pointing to the scrapping of the ball change after 34 overs.
"You will see spin a lot earlier, certainly in the 11th or 12th overs and probably more spin toward the death overs," Cook said. "A lot depends on how a side adapts to the new conditions.
"Reverse swing will have less of an impact. But if a ball reverses, you get to keep it, you don't have to change it after the 34th over like before. Sometimes you get a knock on the ball that makes it reverse swing and now you get to keep the ball through the innings."
Dhoni, who is missing several senior players including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh due to injuries, said he had faith in his batsmen and thought of the series as a good opportunity for the bowlers.
"They [the bowlers] have a fair bit of experience here so should be more comfortable," Dhoni said.
"It is an opportunity to show their talent. I think it will be exciting."
Cook said his team was capable of beating any side but needed to do it consistently after recording home series wins against India and Sri Lanka.
"We know India has a great record at home, and that is the challenge we have ahead of us, but I am very confident we can do it," Cook said. "However, they are a talented side and no matter which XI we play, it is going to be a strong side."
Cook was bullish about young players, such as Jonny Bairstow, the batsman, and Scott Borthwick, the leg-spinner, who have done well in practice games.
"It's a great position to be in," he said. "Not just this 15 - other players are pushing as well. As a captain, to select a side, you have new headaches. You have to make tough calls as to who misses out.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed