"Never Pulled Out After Auction": Pat Cummins' Big Verdict On New IPL Rules

Australia captain Pat Cummins reaffirmed that playing Test cricket for his country is his No. 1 priority, adding that he is yet to decide his future in the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cummins led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final of the IPL 2024 after being bought by the franchise for Rs 20.50 crore, making him the second-most expensive player in the history of the tournament. Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, the mega auction is set to take place later this year with each team can retain a total of six players (a maximum of five capped players including Indian and overseas and a maximum of two uncapped players) from their existing squad either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option.

With the important five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be played next month, Cummins is focused on playing for the country. However, the pacer is aware of the new IPL rules for overseas players that make them "ineligible to register in the following year's player auction" if they don't register for that season's player auction while the other rule bans players for two seasons if the player makes himself unavailable before the start of the season after getting picked at the auction.

“I'll work out in the next little bit what this season looks like. There's a bit of a tweak in the rules, but I don't know whether that would have affected me in the past, I've never pulled out after the auction. But it is one more factor to consider with the IPL," Cummins told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Test cricket is the absolute No.1 priority, world cups are right up there, and then I think you use them as your tent poles and work out what else makes sense around that.

“The calendar is never going to get any less busy, and I'm not going to get any younger, so these things have always been considerations, and moving forward will become even more so. But needless to say, playing cricket for Australia, particularly Test matches, is my number one job and priority," he added.

Cummins expect the upcoming home series against India will be another close-fought encounter after the visitors won the last two series in Australia.

“The couple of home series I've played against India there's always an element of attrition to them. The last series came down to the last session at the Gabba on the last day of the last Test match," he said.

“That's a good thing to keep in mind; it is a long series, and it might be tightly held until the last game, so you've got to manage your resources throughout," the Australia captain added.

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President's Rule Withdrawn In J&K, Paves Way For Formation Of New Government

President's rule was withdrawn in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, paving the way for the formation of a new government in the union territory.

A gazette notification to this effect was issued by the Union Home Ministry.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) read with Articles 239 and 239A of the Constitution of India, the order dated the 31st October 2019 about the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall stand revoked immediately before the appointment of the chief minister under Section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019," the notification signed by President Droupadi Murmu said.

The National Conference-Congress alliance won the recent Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections and is set to form the government.

NC vice president Omar Abdullah will be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He has been elected as the leader of the alliance.

Central rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, following the formal division of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament on August 5, 2019. Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded a special status to the erstwhile state, was also abrogated on that day.

Prior to October 31, 2019, the central rule was continuing in the erstwhile state from June 2017 after the resignation of the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti when the BJP withdrew support to the PDP-led government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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India Can Still Reach Women's T20 WC Semis Despite Loss vs AUS - Here's How

India's hopes of reaching the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals were dealt a massive blow as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side slumped to a 9-run loss against Australia in a crucial Group A encounter in Sharjah on Sunday. India were completely outplayed by Australia as Harmanpreet's half-century could not clinch the match for her side. As a result, Australia qualified for the semifinals with 8 points from 4 matches but India's fortunes still hangs in balance. India have 4 points from 4 matches with their losses coming against Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand have 4 while Pakistan have 2.

However, India can still qualify for the semis if Pakistan can beat New Zealand in the final Group A match on Monday. If Pakistan win, they will have 4 points along with India and New Zealand. However, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will qualify for the knockout stage thanks to a better Net Run Rate (NRR).

India lost to defending champions Australia by nine runs in their last group match to find themselves in a difficult position to qualify for the semifinals of the women's T20 World Cup, on Sunday.

Chasing 152 for a win, India ended at 142 for 9 with captain Harmanpreet Kaur top-scoring with 54 not out off 47 balls. Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma chipped in with 29 and 20 respectively.

India ended their Group A campaign on four points after two wins and two losses.

Australia, who topped the group with all four wins, qualified for the semifinals while New Zealand (4 points) need a win against Pakistan on Monday to make it to the last-four stage.

Opting to bat, Australia were restricted to 151 for 8 with opener Grace Harris top-scoring with 40 off 41 balls. Stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath and Ellyse Perry chipped in with 32 each.

For India, Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma took two wickets apiece while Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil got one each.

(With PTI inputs)

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"Forever Grateful To Her": Mithun Chakraborty On The Zeenat Aman Factor

Legendary actor and recent recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Mithun Chakraborty, recently shared the challenges he faced early in his career. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, he recalled a time when many female actors were hesitant to work with him, except for Zeenat Aman, who supported him during this difficult phase. The veteran star recalled that despite receiving a National Award for his first film, he experienced a significant lull in his career. He noted, "Bohot rukawatein bhi thi (There were many obstacles). I was going ahead in life at a great speed, so obstacles were inevitable."

He revealed that during this tough period, several actresses were advised not to work with him. "I didn't want to bow down to that lull, I had decided that if I had to lose, then at least I'll battle it out, that I'll not just give up," he said.

Mithun Chakraborty further revealed that Zeenat Aman played a crucial role in changing this situation. He explained, "Zeenat Aman helped me a lot. She was working on a film with Brij Sadanah and he had decided 'Mithun hi mera hero hai' (Mithun is my hero). So he went to her and said, 'See, there is this boy, I think he is very good,' so Zeenat ji said, 'he is a very handsome looking boy. He dances well, I will work (with him).'" She broke the cycle by working with me. After her, all the big heroines restarted signing films with me. I am forever grateful to Zeenat ji."

Mithun Chakraborty was born in Calcutta and made his acting debut in the 1976 film Mrigayaa, a performance that earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Over the years, Mithun received two more National Film Awards for his roles in Tahader Katha (1992) and Swami Vivekananda (1998). Recently, he appeared in The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri. His son, Namashi Chakraborty, made his Bollywood debut in the film Bad Boy.

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