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Hasaranga returns to Test squad; set to miss part of IPL
Sri Lanka leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has come out of Test retirement and has been named in the 17-man squad for the two-match series in Bangladesh. Hasaranga had announced his Test retirement in August 2023 in a bid to prolong his white-ball career. Less than a year from the T20 World Cup, he was named the captain of the national side in the shortest format.
However, he has now been included in the Test series that will run from March 22 to April 3, and affect his participation in the Indian Premier League. Should the second Test go on for all five days, Sunrisers Hyderabad – who bagged him for his base price of INR 1.5 Crore – will be without his services for their first three games of the season – on March 23, 27 and 31. Their fourth game – and the last of the first phase of the season – will also be touch and go for the Sri Lankan as it is on April 5.
Hasaranga’s inclusion is one of the two changes that Sri Lanka have made to the squad that played Afghanistan in the one-off Test last month. While Hasaranga and off-spinner Nishan Peiris have been drafted in, there was no place for Asitha Fernando and Milan Priyanth Rathnayake.
The first Test of the series begins on March 22 in Sylhet while the second game will be played in Chattogram from March 30.
Sri Lanka Test squad: Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Mendis,Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Lahiru Udara, Wanindu Hasaranga, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Nishan Peiris, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Chamika Gunasekara
The computer system at the Department of Registration of Persons has been rectified and the services are back to normal.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lost a key referendum on a constitutional reform which had turned into a vote on her government.
The result gives around 54% to the “No” campaign and 46% to the “Yes” vote which Meloni had backed.
In a video posted on social media even before all the ballots were counted, Meloni said Italians had voted “with clarity” and she would respect their decision, but she regretted a “lost chance to modernise” the country.
It is the first significant defeat for Meloni and her right-wing coalition, which has overseen a rare period of political stability for Italy. Opposition parties are hailing the result as a sign that voters are looking for change, with a general election due next year.
When the two-day referendum ended on Monday afternoon, exit polls initially showed the “No” vote leading by a small margin, but that grew to a substantial lead as the count progressed.
Despite the complex question on the ballot paper, turnout was almost 60%. A high figure had been expected to favour the government, but it was not enough to swing the vote.
The reform voters rejected would have inscribed a firm separation between judges and prosecutors into the constitution. It also proposed distinct bodies to govern them and a new disciplinary court.
The government argued the change was critical to improving judicial independence.
The opposition countered that it would shatter a careful balance of powers established following the defeat of fascism, and increase political influence over the courts.
Many Italians struggled to understand the technical details – perhaps a communication failure by Team Meloni – and the vote quickly morphed into a plebiscite on her near-record three and half years in office.
[BBC]
US President Donald Trump announced that discussions are ongoing with Iran to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached”, saying that “this time, Iran means business; they want to settle. They want peace”.
But Teheran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets”.
Oil prices dropped by about 11 percent after Trump announced a delay to attacks on Iran’s power plants for five days amid his claims of talks.
Despite Trump’s comments, US Central Command says US forces “continue to aggressively strike” targets in Iran, as Iranian missiles and drones continued to target Gulf countries – including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – overnight.
Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut’s southern neighborhood as the Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll from Israel’s attacks on the country had reached 1,039 people, with 2,786 people injured, since March 23.
[Aljazeera]
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