Firstpost Spodcast Episode 141: MSK Prasad comments on India's World Cup squad selection, Paul Scholes becomes manager and more

We start with some cricket news. The BCCI’s chief selector MSK Prasad said yesterday that Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar and Ajinkya Rahane are in contention for a place in India’s World Cup squad. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Prasad said virtually all spots have been locked in, barring “one odd” position. The final squad will be decided on 23 April. Prasad called the success and selection of Rishabh Pant a healthy headache. He explained, “The progression of Rishabh in the last one year is phenomenal across the formats. What we actually felt is he needs a bit of maturity now, gain more experience. That is the reason we have included him in India A series wherever possible.” The chief selector also hinted that Ajinkya Rahane could be included as the third opener in the squad. Rahane, who last played for India in an ODI in South Africa in February 2018, has been in pretty good form in List A cricket, scoring 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 74.62, including two centuries and three half-centuries. Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi left Thailand on Tuesday after the government dropped extradition proceedings against him at Bahrain’s request. That brought to an end a two-month detention ordeal that stirred global outcry. On Tuesday, Araibi boarded a Thai Airways flight bound for Melbourne. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had repeatedly urged Thailand PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha regarding Araibi’s release, thanked the Thai government for “listening to the issues” raised by Australia. He said, “Now the next step is for him to return home. But as it always is in these cases, people aren’t home until they’re home.” Bahrain, on its part, released a statement that said, “The guilty verdict against Mr. Al Araibi remains in place…. (Bahrain) reaffirms its right to pursue all necessary legal actions against (Araibi).” The post-mortem presented at a hearing in Britain listed Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala’s cause of death as “head and trunk injuries”. Sala had signed with English Premier League side Cardiff City and was flying to his new team from his old club Nantes in France when his plane went missing on 21 January. Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes was appointed as the manager of Oldham Athletic on Monday. The club released a statement that said, “Oldham Athletic are delighted to announce footballing legend Paul Scholes as the new first-team manager on a one-and-a-half-year-deal.” Club owner Abdallah Lemsagam said, “Paul has won everything there is to win in football. He is a man who will bring a lot of footballing knowledge and his hunger to succeed in management will be there for everyone to see. It’s no secret how much he has wanted this job in the past and how much he loves this club, so I’m very happy to bring him into our family at Oldham Athletic.” In a shocking incident, an Under-23 cricketer from Delhi assaulted the chairman of the DDCA senior selection committee Amit Bhandari. According to CricketNext, the key accused has been identified as Delhi cricketer Anuj Dedha, who was one of the 56 probables announced by DDCA on 28 January. Delhi & Districts Cricket Association member Siddharth Verma said, “Dedha was annoyed that he had not been picked for the Under-23 side. He was threatening Bhandari for a few days now. But what’s shocking is the way they have attacked Bhandari. We have filed a police complaint already and strict action will be taken against all of them.” Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu will reignite their rivalry at the 83rd edition of the Senior National Badminton Championships that begins with the qualifiers today. In the men’s draw, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy have both skipped the tournament on account of health and fitness issues.