"Not Fair For People Like Me": Kapil Dev's Big Take On India-Pak Cricket

India great Kapil Dev believes the national team remains one of the strongest contenders in T20 cricket heading into the World Cup but stressed that Test cricket should continue to form the foundation of the sport. Reflecting on India's preparation, Kapil said while the shortest format has grown in popularity, equal attention must be paid to the longer formats to ensure the game's overall health. "I think there are two ways of looking at it. In T20 cricket, no doubt our team is one of the best—you can always have a bad day. But if you are talking about cricket, you have to talk about Test cricket," the 1983 World Cup-winning captain, told PTI Video.

"One-day cricket should also not be ignored. I understand that T20 is thrilling, but the base of the game is Test cricket, and we should be investing more time in it, along with one-day cricket as well.” Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash in Group A on February 15 in Colombo.

Asked if the two rivals should play given the political tension, Kapil said such decisions were best left to the authorities and reiterated his support for the country's stance.

"It's not fair for people like me to make statements on this. It is the government's call or the cricket board's call.

"Whatever decision they take, I will stand by it because I prefer to stand by my country and not make loose statements. Many cricketers across the border like to do that—I don't. I choose to stand with my country, and whatever policy they have, I am with them.” Asked if recent Test losses to New Zealand and South Africa warranted separate coaches for different formats, Kapil said it would be inappropriate for former players to weigh in, insisting that such calls should be left to the board's think tank.

"I think it's not fair for me to give an answer like that. Whatever decision is taken, it should lead to the best result. The people who are sitting there and making decisions about Test cricket, One-Day cricket, and T20, that is their job," Kapil said.

"For people like us, it's very easy to make statements out of the blue, but I don't like doing that. It is the responsibility of the cricket board and its think tank, whoever they may be, to decide what is best for Test cricket, One-Day cricket, and T20Is.

"If three coaches are required, they should appoint three. If two are required, appoint two. If one coach is good enough, then that's fine too. It all depends on what the think tank decides." 

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

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Iran Plans Live Fire Drills Near US Warships. Why Focus Is On Strait Of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, again has become a focus of tensions as Iran prepares to launch a military drill that could see fire into a lane crucial for global shipping.

Iran has warned ships that it will conduct a live-fire drill Sunday and Monday in the strait, which sees a fifth of all oil traded pass through the tight corridor between the Islamic Republic and Oman.

The U.S. military's Central Command issued its own warning early Saturday, telling Tehran that any "unsafe and unprofessional behavior near U.S. forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation and destabilization."

Here's what to know about the drill, the U.S. warning, what caused the tensions and what might happen next in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz resembles a bend looking down from space. Its narrowest point is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide. It flows from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman. From there, ships can then travel to the rest of the world. While Iran and Oman have its territorial waters in the strait, its viewed as an international waterway all ships can ply. The United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, also sits near the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz through history has been important for trade, with ceramics, ivory, silk and textiles moving from China through the region. In the modern era of supertankers, the narrow strait proved deep and wide enough to allow for oil to pass through it. While there are pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that can avoid the passage, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says "most volumes that transit the strait have no alternative means of exiting the region." The vast majority of the oil and gas moving through the strait goes to markets in Asia. Threats to the route have spiked global energy prices in the past, including during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

A notice to mariners sent Thursday by radio warned that Iran planned to conduct "naval shooting" in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday. The coordinates provided by the message put the drill potentially going into what is known as the Traffic Separation Scheme - a 3.2-kilometer- (2-mile-) wide, two-lane system in which ships coming into the Persian Gulf go north and ships exiting onto the Gulf of Oman go south. That northern lane is within the coordinates of the drill. While Iran has provided no other public details about the drills, it will likely involve the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The Guard operates a fleet of small fast-attack vessels in the strait that routinely has tense encounters with the U.S. Navy.

Early Saturday, the U.S. military's Central Command issued a strongly worded warning to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard over the drill. While acknowledging Iran's "right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters," it warned against interfering or threatening American warships or passing commercial vessels. The command, which oversees the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said it "will not tolerate unsafe (Guard) actions" that could include its aircraft or vessels getting too close to American warships or pointing weapons toward them. The command added that "the U.S. military has the most highly trained and lethal force in the world."

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch a military strike against Iran after its bloody crackdown on nationwide protests. He has laid down two red lines - the killing of peaceful protesters and Iran launching a wave of mass executions of those held. In recent days, he's also included the fate of Iran's nuclear program. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and supporting guided missile destroyers are now in the Arabian Sea where they could launch an attack if Trump calls for it. Iran has warned it could launch its own preemptive strike or target American interests across the Middle East and Israel. While the 12-day war saw Iran fire off ballistic missiles and Israel target its stockpile, Tehran maintains an arsenal of short- and medium-range missiles that could hit surrounding Gulf Arab states.

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

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N Sitharaman To Unveil 'Tariff-Proof' Roadmap For India In Budget 2026

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on February 1 present her ninth straight Budget, which is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.

The presentation of the Budget for April 2026 to March 2027 fiscal (2026-27) will be on Sunday, a first in independent India's history.

Sitharaman's sweeping income tax and GST cuts, together with spending on infrastructure and the RBI's interest rate reductions, have so far helped the Indian economy withstand the punitive 50 per cent tariff US President Donald Trump has imposed on Indian goods. But now, she has to come up with measures to sustain the momentum.

The FY27 Budget comes against a complex backdrop. While domestic demand has held up and inflation has moderated from recent highs, global uncertainties - including geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices and uneven monetary easing by major central banks - continue to cloud the outlook. At home, the government faces pressure to boost consumption, accelerate job creation and step up capital spending, while keeping the fiscal deficit on a downward path.

However, the tax cuts have nibbled into government revenue, limiting her options to support the economy in the new Budget.

Her biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.

Sitharaman, economists said, also faces the difficult task of restoring investor confidence in the near term, as uncertainty over India's trade talks with the US has unsettled financial markets, with foreign investors continuing to sell Indian equities and pushing the rupee to a record low.

Some believe she may use the proven cash cow - petrol and diesel - to shore up revenues. Availing of a limited window available before international oil prices boil, the minister may raise excise duty on the two auto fuels. The duty hike is expected not to be passed on to consumers, but adjusted against the retail price cut that was warranted when global oil prices fell last year.

She may focus on simplifying regulations and pushing structural reforms to attract domestic and foreign investment.

Despite the tight purse strings, she is not expected to cut spending and may include new measures for the poll-bound states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. Some schemes may be re-packaged.

Capital Expenditure Push To Continue

Capital expenditure is expected to remain the central pillar of the budget. Over the past few years, the government has sharply increased spending on roads, railways, defence manufacturing, urban infrastructure and logistics to crowd in private investment.

For FY27, economists expect another meaningful rise in capex, though at a more measured pace compared to the post-pandemic surge. Railways, renewable energy, power transmission, defence and urban transport are seen as priority areas, with continued support for state-level infrastructure through interest-free loans.

Tax Stability Over Big Giveaways

On the tax front, major changes are considered unlikely. The government has repeatedly signalled a preference for stability and predictability, especially in direct taxes. Any tweaks to personal income tax are expected to be incremental, potentially aimed at easing the burden on the middle class to support consumption.

Corporate tax rates are also likely to remain unchanged, with the focus instead on improving compliance and widening the tax base through digitisation and data-driven enforcement.

Jobs, Manufacturing And MSME

Job creation is expected to feature prominently, with possible incentives linked to labour-intensive manufacturing, skilling and apprenticeships.

Schemes supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have faced margin pressures from high input costs and tight credit conditions, could see enhanced allocations or credit-guarantee support.

There may also be refinements to production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes as the government assesses their impact on manufacturing capacity, exports and employment.

Green Transition And Energy Security

With India pushing ahead on its energy-transition goals, the FY27 Budget is expected to strengthen support for renewable energy, green hydrogen, battery storage and electric mobility. Measures to enhance domestic manufacturing of clean-energy equipment and reduce import dependence are also likely.

At the same time, allocations for oil and gas infrastructure and strategic reserves could be maintained to address energy-security concerns amid global volatility.

Political Undertones

Though not an election year, the Budget FY27 will be closely read for its political signals ahead of key state polls. Balancing welfare spending with fiscal prudence will be a delicate task, especially amid calls for higher rural support and targeted subsidies.

Overall, Sitharaman's FY27 Budget is expected to prioritise continuity over surprise, reinforcing the government's long-term growth strategy while navigating near-term economic risks. Markets will look for reassurance that India can sustain high growth without compromising macroeconomic stability.

According to economists at SBI Research, the Budget comes against the domino effects of a new emerging order of realpolitik, still largely opaque, yet frightening. A bigger concern is if crude oil breaks free from the artificially managed supply glut and joins the bandwagon, even for a short while.

"We expect modest growth in tax revenue and flat growth in non-tax revenue," they said. "Government capex may cross Rs 12 lakh crore in FY27, a YoY growth of around 10 per cent." Net tax receipts are on course to miss budgeted estimates due to the GST rate rationalisation measures, direct tax relief, and lower tax buoyancy on the back of weaker nominal growth, said Radhik Rao, Senior Economist, DBS Bank.

"We expect Budget measures to align with the economy's strategic ambitions, including on manufacturing and social welfare."

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

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WWE Royal Rumble 2026 LIVE Streaming: When And Where To Watch

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 LIVE Streaming: The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 is set to combine excitement and unpredictability, with the winner of each 30-member men's and women's Rumble earning the right to challenge for a championship at WrestleMania 42 in April. AJ Styles will feature in a high-profile showdown against Gunther, who enters the match having 'forced' the retirement of the legendary John Cena. Sami Zayn, on the other hand, is set to take on Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 LIVE Streaming: Check Where and How to Watch LIVE Telecast

When will the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 take place?

The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will take place on Sunday, February 1 (IST).

Where will the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 be held?

The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will be held at the KAFD Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What time will the WWE Royal Rumble 2026 start?

The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will start at 12:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the WWE Royal Rumble 2026?

The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will not be televised live in India.

Where to follow the live streaming of the WWE Royal Rumble 2026?

The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will be live streamed on the Netflix app and website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

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Trump's Long History With Venezuela's Elite Before He Decided To Fix It

President Donald Trump's years-long crusade to dislodge Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, a mission he finally accomplished this month, was billed as a way to thwart drug trafficking, check migration and revive Venezuela's oil industry. But behind the president's preoccupation with the South American nation is also the story of lifelong personal and business relationships with Venezuelan elites in New York and Miami.

From this tiny privileged class whom he got to know as a military academy student and jet-setting businessman, Trump would have absorbed memories of a country where petrodollars built a clutch of glittering fortunes not unlike his own, according to people familiar with his social interactions. That was before the 1990s rise of socialist icon Hugo Chavez, who seized on Venezuela's vast inequality and corruption to drive one of Latin America's wealthiest economies onto a path of ruin. Maduro - and then US sanctions - made it worse.

Although there isn't any evidence that he ever visited Venezuela, Trump's own words suggest that this riches-to-rags chronicle of more than a quarter century helped fuel his determination to restore the country to its former glory.

Venezuela is "a country I know very well, for a lot of reasons," Trump said during his second inauguration day in 2025. "It was a great country 20 years ago, and now, it's a mess," he said - comments that he echoed last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Trump's storied business career includes competing with, and ultimately outbidding, Venezuelan billionaire Gustavo Cisneros, whom he admired, to buy the glamorous Miss Universe beauty pageant in the mid-1990s. The purchase fired up Trump's media brand and helped lead to the NBC reality show "The Apprentice" that burnished his popularity.

After US forces captured Maduro in early January, Trump has been working with acting President Delcy Rodriguez, the regime's former No. 2, whom he said is "willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

Asked to comment on the anecdotes in this story and Trump's relationships over the years with Venezuelan elites, Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said Trump has been clear that his motivation for arresting Maduro was because he was "sending drugs and criminals into our country at unacceptable rates."

"The President will do everything in his power to secure our homeland from those killing Americans with illicit narcotics," Kelly said.

Amigos on the Pitch

Trump's friendships with Venezuelan elites date as far back as his teenage years at the New York Military Academy, a prep school nestled in the Hudson Valley. He played on the varsity soccer team in the early 1960s, when soccer was still niche in the US. Trump was one of the few non-Hispanic players on a team dominated by surnames like Rosas, Rocha and Jaramillo, according to a yearbook from the school.

"The soccer team was like a fraternity," Isilio Arriaga, a Venezuelan-American friend and classmate of Trump, said in an interview. "He knew about Venezuela since he was a young kid, and he had a special caring for our people, for Latinos in general."

When Trump moved to Manhattan in the early 1970s, he joined Le Club, then one of the city's most exclusive social clubs and one frequented by wealthy South Americans, the president wrote in "Trump: The Art of the Deal."

When Trump was a rising real estate developer in the early 1980s, Diego Arria, a former governor of Caracas and UN ambassador, introduced Trump, then in his mid-30s, to Italian-Argentine businessman Franco Macri, two decades his elder and father of Argentina's future president Mauricio Macri. The connection ultimately led to Trump buying a controlling interest in the Lincoln West project in Manhattan from Macri in 1985. Arria, in an interview, said that he and his wife became some of the first friends to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he bought it as a private residence that same year.

In the mid-1990s, Trump met Cisneros, dashing patriarch of the Venezuelan family that was once the richest in South America and owner of the Miss Venezuela pageant, among the world's most prestigious beauty contests. Trump, who in the 1980s had opened casinos in Atlantic City, home of the Miss America pageant, became interested in buying the rival Miss Universe when it came up for sale in 1996. Trump went to meet Cisneros, co-founder of Spanish-language media empire Univision, for breakfast at the Venezuelan magnate's Fifth Avenue apartment, "an absolutely magnificent blocklong duplex," Trump later recounted in his book "Trump: The Art of the Comeback."

Trump remembered Cisneros as "dazzlingly handsome" and said that "if I were casting a movie whose male lead was to be South American aristocracy, the role would go to him," adding "I learned something about style that morning." After briefly raising the idea of a partnership, Trump outbid him for the pageant.

"There were several meetings with Mr. Trump to discuss the acquisition of the Miss Universe pageant," recalls Beatrice Rangel, who served as deputy chief of staff to Carlos Andres Perez, the socialist-turned-neoliberal Venezuelan president whom Chavez tried to oust in a 1992 coup attempt. She later became a senior adviser for the Cisneros Group before the Miss Universe sale. "These conversations did not render any fruit in terms of a partnership, because Mr. Trump wanted to have the asset for himself."

During the two decades when Trump owned Miss Universe until 2015, four Venezuelans won the crown - establishing the country's brand as a pageant powerhouse in that era.

"It may be that Trump remembers Venezuela during its boom years, when the Miss Venezuela pageant was a huge spectacle, and Trump is undoubtedly a man who loves spectacle. It holds a special fascination for him," said Giovanna De Michele, a Venezuelan international affairs analyst.

The family of Gustavo Cisneros's cousin, soft-drink and telecoms mogul Oswaldo Cisneros, also knew Trump and his first wife Ivana socially, once renting an apartment in Trump Tower, right below the future president's apartment. 

"I'd have a cocktail party, and they'd go downstairs. They'd have a cocktail party, and I'd go upstairs," recalled Oswaldo's widow, Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, at an event in 2024 to promote a book.

The pageant circuit gave Trump opportunities to mingle with Venezuelan models at parties. He also established a professional relationship with flamboyant Cuban-Venezuelan Osmel Sousa, known as the "Beauty Czar," who prepared the women for competition.

"During the years that Donald Trump owned Miss Universe, whenever he saw me he would call me 'my king of Venezuela'," Sousa recounted in his biography titled "Osmel: An Unknown Man."

Arria, the former Caracas governor, remained friendly with Trump in the 1990s, and said that at one point Trump asked him to reach out to Sousa and attempt to hire him for Miss Universe. Arria says that Sousa declined the overture.

Paradise Lost

Decades later, President Trump has ironically embraced Rodriguez, who rose to power under Chavez's ideological banner of redistributing wealth. At the same time, he's sidelined opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a US boarding school graduate like himself whose father headed Sivensa, a company that saw its steelmaking subsidiary expropriated by Chavez in 2010. Still, after a recent meeting with Machado, Trump said he was "impressed" with her and thought she might be "involved in some way" in Venezuela's reconstruction.

That nascent process is imbued with Trump's musings about Venezuela's squandered glory, which have surfaced even during moments of high political stakes.

On Feb. 5, 2020, Trump hosted then-opposition leader Juan Guaido at the White House for the first time. Trump a year earlier had recognized Guaido, then head of Venezuela's National Assembly, as the country's rightful president and imposed "maximum pressure" sanctions in a bid to oust Maduro after the US and other countries alleged fraud in a 2018 election.

During a conversation about how to bring about change in Venezuela, Trump turned to the teams assembled and asked for the name of the man who prepared the Venezuelan contestants for Miss Universe, according to people with knowledge of the meeting.

Flabbergasted, the Venezuelans fumbled to respond. Finally someone suggested: "Osmel Sousa."

Trump excitedly confirmed that was the person he had been thinking of, the people said, and his fondness for the man and the lost era came pouring out.

Arriaga, Trump's classmate, returned to Venezuela after college and went on to have a career in business and politics for three decades before moving back to the US. He saw Trump at Mar-a-Lago a few years ago, between his presidential terms, as a guest of another friend. Arriaga recalls that Trump immediately greeted him by exclaiming "Chico!" -  Arriaga's childhood nickname.

They reminisced about their academy days. Before leaving, Arriaga made a plea: "Mr. President - don't forget about Venezuela."

"I will never forget this," Arriaga said in the interview. "He said to me, 'I'm on it.'"
 

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

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Pakistan Suffer Huge Setback Ahead Of India Clash In U-19 World Cup. Here's The Details

Pakistan will face India in an important Super Six match at the U-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe. The proceedings of that match will decide the fourth semi-finalist of the mega event featuring future top stars. Afghanistan and England joined Australia as the latest entrants into the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup on Friday, following impressive performances in their Super Six clashes. An unbeaten England became the first team from Group 2 to reach the final four, with Sunday's marquee clash between India and Pakistan serving as a virtual knockout match.

Pakistan suffered an injury setback ahead of the match, with wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shayan being ruled out due to an injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Friday. "Pakistan U19 wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shayan has been ruled out of the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup after being struck on the nose by a ball while wicketkeeping to a fast bowler during a scenario-based practice match," the PCB said in a statement.

"He was taken to hospital, where X-rays confirmed a fracture. A replacement for Mohammad Shayan will be named in due course."

The India U-19 team, currently competing in the ongoing U-19 World Cup, had a virtual interaction with batting great Sachin Tendulkar ahead of their crucial Super Six clash against Pakistan.

"In what was an invaluable experience, the next generation got insights and perspectives on the important ingredients for success and longevity in an ever-evolving sport," the BCCI said in a post on X, along with pictures of the virtual meet.

The interaction was "not just limited to technical skills and remaining fit, but also the importance of staying focused, disciplined, humble, and grounded in success," it added.

Tendulkar holds the record for playing in the most ICC Cricket World Cups (1992-2011), during which he set the all-time record for total runs scored - 2,278 in 45 matches.

He is the only player to appear in six World Cup tournaments, finishing his career by winning the 2011 edition.

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Fastest Street-Legal Car In Video Of Bengaluru Tycoon Who Died By Suicide

A property tycoon and chairman of a Bengaluru-headquartered real estate firm who died by suicide today owned the world's fastest road-legal car, the Bugatti Veyron.

Confident Group founder and chairman CJ Roy allegedly shot himself dead in Bengaluru while a tax raid was going on at his office.

The company, founded over 19 years ago, has projects in Bengaluru, Kerala, and Dubai.

Videos of the tycoon that went viral on social media indicated Roy enjoyed a flamboyant lifestyle and made a splash on social media. One such video showed him driving away in a blue Bugatti Veyron. It is the world's fastest car outside of the race track.

In the video, Roy was seen standing near the left door, while a woman was seen standing on the passenger side.

"... Take care friends, have a beautiful evening," he said before driving away.

The camera followed the car till it went out of sight. The next frame showed a spacious house with a manicured lawn. The name plate on the gate read: E64, Dr Roy CJ.

The video's date and the location are not known.

Bengaluru Police chief Seemanth Kumar Singh, who went to Roy's house in Bengaluru's Longford Road today, said a case has been filed.

"... Prima facie, it appears that industrialist CJ Roy has shot himself... Ballistic experts and other officials are investigating," Singh said.

The income tax team that raided Roy's Bengaluru office came from Kerala, the police chief said. The income tax officers who conducted the raids were also questioned by the police.

The police took the handgun allegedly used by Roy for forensics analysis. The income tax team had been working on the raid for the last two-three days, reports said.

Roy's family owns multiple business ventures, and he was facing several cases.

Roy was known for his accessibility and for sharing his success story with youngsters through public interactions and reality shows. He was also active on social media.

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