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Sri Lanka call up Ratnayake, Tharaka for England Tests
Sri Lanka have named uncapped right-arm seamer Milan Rathnayake and fast-bowling allrounder Nisala Tharaka in an 18-member squad for the three-match Test series against England later this month.
Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who played his lone Test back in June 2022 against Australia, has also been brought back after an impressive showing in the second ODI against India where he picked a career-best 6 for 33.
This is a first call-up for 33-year-old Tharaka, a veteran of 107 first-class games in which he has picked 257 wickets and scored 2358 runs with a highest score of 107. Rathnayake, 28, had been selected in Sri Lanka’s Test squad earlier, most recently for a one-off Test against Afghanistan but is yet to get a game. He has played 39 first-class matches and picked 79 wickets and also scored 633 runs with a highest score of 59.
Dhananjaya de Silva will lead the side with Kusal Mendis as his deputy. Sri Lanka have gone with a pace-heavy squad which includes Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Tharaka and Ratnayake as the fast bowlers. Vandersay, Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya will take up most of the spin duties.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and England gets underway on August 21 in Manchester before the teams travel to Lord’s for the second Test on August 29. They will finish with the third Test at The Oval on September 6.
Sri Lanka squad for Tests vs England:
Dhananjaya De Silva (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (vice-capt), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake
[Cricinfo]
Israeli military says it launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites in a major escalation against Tehran.
An unnamed Israeli military official has told the Times of Israel newspaper that it has carried out five waves of strikes on targets across Iran. Hundreds of strikes have been carried out in total, with at least eight locations targeted.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military operation will continue as long as necessary
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps eulogises its slain chief Hossein Salami who was killed by Israel, saying that he was at the “forefront” of defending the country.
“Despite this brutal crime, the noble and revolutionary nation of Iran, is assured that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command with authority and intelligence, along with other armed forces and fighters of the Islamic nation, is ready to respond decisively to the violations of the Zionist enemy,” the IRGC said in a statement.
[Aljazeera}
It has been reported that, former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, General Hamilton Wanasinghe has passed away at the age of 91.
Air India Flight AI171 travelling from India to London crashed within moments of take-off on Thursday, killing 241 passengers and crew, and more people on the ground.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which took off from the city of Ahmedabad, in western India, ploughed into a residential area, hitting a hospital complex and medical student hostel.
One passenger survived the disaster – a British national, who was sitting in seat 11A and who later told family he had no idea how he walked away.
It is not yet clear what caused the crash, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as “heartbreaking beyond words”.
Officials warned the death toll could rise in what was quickly described as one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s history.
Air India Flight AI171 departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 13:39 local time (08:09 GMT), and was due to touch-down at London’s Gatwick Airport at 18:25 BST.
There were 230 passengers on board, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, one Canadian and 12 crew members.
The local police chief told the BBC that 204 bodies had been recovered so far – but it is not known how many of those victims were on the plane or were on the ground.
Images from the scene show debris scattered across a large crash zone, with parts of the aircraft embedded in buildings.
The extraordinary news that one person had survived the disaster quickly made international headlines, as the British national, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, was filmed limping towards an ambulance, with smoke billowing in the background.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise… it all happened so quickly,” he told local media from hospital.
His cousin, Ajay Valgi, said Ramesh called his family to say he was “fine”, but he does not know the whereabouts of his brother, also called Ajay, who was on the plane with him.
Thursday’s incident was the first fatal crash involving a 787 Dreamliner, first introduced in 2011.
Boeing said in a statement that it “stands ready” to support the investigation, which is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected,” the bureau said.
US and British investigators will travel to India, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) saying it will assist Indian authorities.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the aircraft issued a mayday call seconds after take-off.
It lost contact with air traffic control shortly thereafter, crashing just outside the airport’s perimeter.
The crash site lies within a medical campus with 10 specialised centres. The BBC’s Sachin Pithva described scenes of chaos, with rescue workers retrieving the remains of those who perished.
Thick smoke was still billowing from the buildings hours after the crash, and passengers’ passports were strewn around, he reported.
Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary for Health confirmed the aircraft struck the students’ hostel and staff quarters of Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital.
“It crashed into the hostel mess and then bounced off on to one of the hostel buildings,” the hospital’s dean, Dr Meenkashi Parekh, told the BBC.
The crash happened at lunchtime when many students were in the canteen, she added. Photos show a huge part of the plane stuck in one of the hostel buildings, and a dusty, deserted mess hall with plates of uneaten food still on the tables.
“Most of the students escaped… but the building caught fire and the smoke was extremely thick. So, 10 to 12 students were trapped,” the dean said.
She added it was possible that several students had been killed. Officials said dozens were in hospital.
Tata Group, which owns Air India, has said it would give one crore rupee – the equivalent of about £86,000 – to the families of each person who was killed in the crash.
Prime Minister Modi wrote on X: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”
Both Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said they are being kept updated as the situation develops, while King Charles expressed his “deepest sympathies” to all those affected by the crash.
Starmer confirmed that a UK team had been dispatched to Gujarat to join the investigation as he urged families and friends of anyone affected to contact the Foreign Office.
[BBC]
Israel launches ‘major strike’ on Iran’s military, nuclear sites
Former Army Commander General Hamilton Wanasinghe passes away at the age of 91
Air India plane crash claims at least 241 lives as one passenger survives
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