Author: xorance@gmail.com

There is something profoundly distressing about an international cricketer trying to forget his days in the game. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, 60, became a national hero in his brief career, and a victim of colourism in a country that looks down upon the dark-skinned.His is not an isolated case. Abhinav Mukund has spoken about skin colour bias, as have movie stars, and others affected.As a prodigiously talented leg-spinner, Siva was good enough to play for India at 17 alongside his state skipper S. Venkatraghavan, who had made his Test debut before Siva was born! At 19, he won a Test for India, claiming 12 wickets against England in Mumbai.A couple…

Palani Amarnath. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI Palani Amarnath. Does the name ring a bell? The then unheralded pacer was part of Chennai Super Kings’ first-ever IPL match, back in 2008. He picked up a key wicket in his debut outing and played five more games before injury stymied his progress.He’s 43 now and busy shaping careers at the CSK Academy as a coach.From obscurity to the Super Kings’ playing XI was nothing short of memorable for the man from Vellore. “I started playing cricket two-three years before my first IPL match. Prior to that, I was working…

Rising geopolitical instability in West Asia is forcing a reassessment of how India’s macroeconomic strength is measured.As of March 2026, this instability has translated into active macroeconomic stress. The rupee has depreciated to a record low of ₹95 per dollar, the Indian basket of crude oil hit $156.29 per barrel, and the Reserve Bank of India has deployed billions of dollars of foreign exchange reserves to contain volatility. In such conditions, strong quarterly GDP prints capture domestic activity but often overlook vulnerabilities linked to energy imports, shipping routes and fiscal buffers.Against this backdrop, India enters the post-Budget season with a striking macroeconomic…

“Even if you scale up to say 2 crore, or 5 crore, we are totally sufficient with respect to our domestic consumption,” Anjan Kumar Mishra, Secretary at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), said. Photo: Special Arrangement India can comfortably cater to the demand of as many as 30 crore domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections even if it were to solely rely on its domestic production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Anjan Kumar Mishra, Secretary at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of industry body PHDCCI’s Hydrocarbon…

The stands were packed with spectators during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on March 28, 2026. In a major breakthrough, the Cubbon Park police have cracked a series of mobile phone theft cases reported during the IPL 2026 match held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28. They have busted a group of minors, who were employed by a gang from outside Karnataka, to operate in and around the stadium during the match. Police have recovered 21 mobile phones…

Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel duirng a practice session on the eve of their match against LSG at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on March 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Ahead of Lucknow Super Giants’ Indian Premier League campaign opener, head coach Justin Langer unintentionally conducted a refresher course for the media by naming 18 of the 25 squad members during the pre-match press conference here.The former Australian opener was visibly pleased to have a problem of plenty ahead of the contest against Delhi Capitals.“They [pacers Mayank Yadav and Naman Tiwari] are both fit, they are both very…

Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan in action during the IPL 2026 match between PBKS and GT on March 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against former champions Gujarat Titans in their opening Indian Premier League match in Mullanpur on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).Punjab Kings have Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett as their overseas players. Priyansh Arya will come in as PBKS’ ‘Impact Player’ when they bat.Gujarat Titans have Jos Buttler, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada as their overseas players for the game.Punjab Kings…

Rajasthan Royals’ captain Riyan Parag during IPL T20 game against CSK, at the ACA Stadium, Barsapara, in Guwahati, Assam, on March 30, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI It was a result shaped by contrasting approaches in the clash between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, with Riyan Parag and Mike Hussey offering candid reflections after the match. While Parag spoke from the perspective of a captain whose plans clicked on the night, Hussey was more introspective, pointing to early setbacks that left the Chennai outfit playing catch-up.““My team executed the plans really well. The conditions suited us, and I think…

Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel and K.L. Rahul during a practice session on the eve of their IPL T20 match against LSG at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on March 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy The buzz around the rebranded Lucknow Super Giants team is high ahead of the new Indian Premier League season. The Shaheed Path highway here, which leads into the city from the airport, is dotted with flags and cutouts of the host side’s players on the eve of their campaign opener against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Ground on Wednesday.Last year’s dark blue…

After limestone, most of the blocks that have been made operational are that of iron ore. | Photo Credit: Reuters In a first for the country, the Ministry of Mines informed on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) that thirty mineral blocks have been made operational in a single financial year, that is, FY 2025-26.Essential to note, most of the blocks that have been made operational are that of limestone, followed by iron ore.Majority of the standalone limestone blocks made operational are situated in Gujarat, that is, four blocks, followed by Madhya Pradesh with three blocks, with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and…