In Norse mythology, Valhalla is where warriors go to die. For fast bowlers, it is Sri Lankan pitches that resemble the hall in Asgard.
If you want to punish one, do not drop him from the team. Send him on a tour of the island instead. Back in 2006, when Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara added 624 at the Sinhalese Sports Club, South Africa's bowling line-up included Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini, hardly a pair of friendly medium pacers.
In July, with Zaheer Khan out injured, Abhimanyu Mithun made his debut in Sri Lanka. Having made a name for himself with a 47-wicket haul in the previous Ranji Trophy season, where Karnataka reached the final after a long absence, it was his task to share the new ball with Ishant Sharma and confront a batting line-up renowned for mastery in their own conditions.
Mithun bowled some lively spells on some of the most placid surfaces in the game, finishing the three Tests with an unflattering six wickets at an average of 62. In the final Test at the P Sara Oval, he contributed a sprightly 46 with the bat and took the vital wicket of the in-form Thilan Samaraweera as a side missing Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer pulled off a series-levelling victory.
It was understood that he would make way when Zaheer came back for the home Tests against Australia and New Zealand, but he cannot have imagined that he would be jettisoned from the squad altogether. No matter. The combinations chosen for home games are not usually packed with pace bowlers and Mithun must have consoled himself with the thought that he would be recalled when names were jotted down for the tour of South Africa.
Think again. On Saturday evening, the Indian board released a list of 17 names, and two pace bowlers were in as back-up for the established trio of Zaheer, Ishant and Shantakumaran Sreesanth. One was the 19-year-old Jaidev Unadkat, highly rated by Wasim Akram and already with the team as a reserve for the New Zealand series.
The second name was a real wild card, Vidarbha's Umesh Yadav. Playing for a weaker team in the Ranji Trophy's Plate League - the second division - Yadav has taken 53 wickets at an average of 25.71 in 16 games. He caught the eye with his brisk pace during the last Indian Premier League season, but six wickets in seven games for the Delhi Daredevils hardly represented an eye-popping return.
He then went to Zimbabwe and picked up just one wicket in three matches as a weakened Indian side were twice embarrassed by the hosts. Though he occasionally nudged the speed-gun beyond 140kph, his bowling was little more than innocuous. His selection ahead of Mithun and a whole host of others - RP Singh may struggle in India, but relishes South African conditions - is nothing short of perplexing.
India have gone down this obsessed-with-pace blind alley before in South Africa. Vikram Raj Vir Singh was a left-field pick on the last tour in 2006/07. On the second day of a tour game against Rest of South Africa in Potchefstroom, he bowled a superb spell that showcased both genuine pace and hostility. By the next day though, he was struggling to land it on the cut strip.
His radar was just as awry in the two Tests that he played and his profligacy in Durban - he went for 64 from 10 overs in the second innings - played a big part in India losing the plot. Not only was he not in the same pace league as Steyn, but, more importantly, he lacked any semblance of the control required against batsmen comfortable against speed.
Yadav aside, the selection is on expected lines. The top six pick themselves, especially with Gautam Gambhir now having emerged from his lean spell.
In case South Africa successfully exploit Suresh Raina's perceived failings against the short ball, Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara will be there to step in.
MS Dhoni, whose fingers these days have more tape than a ballerina's feet, also has back-up in Wriddhiman Saha, the Bengal wicketkeeper with tidy hands and a decent range of strokes.
That India do not foresee spin being a huge factor is apparent as only Harbhajan and Pragyan Ojha have been chosen. The off-spin of Suresh Raina and the all-sorts offered by Sachin Tendulkar could act as fillers, with the team keen not to strain Virender Sehwag's shoulder unduly in the build-up to the World Cup.
Ishant and Sreesanth bowled as well as they have done in a while in the first innings of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand in Nagpur and provided Zaheer recovers in time, India have a pace attack that can again surprise South Africa, as they did at the Wanderers four years ago.
But with the back-up so thin on experience, keeping the three amigos fit will be of paramount importance.
sports@thenational.ae
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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