kochi l wednesday l august 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION harmanpreet & Co seek their first World Cup trophy As the BCCI announced the squad for the Women’s ODI World Cup to be played in India, a look at the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad... No Shafali, Renuka returns after long break Spin heavy India look for home glory One of the key debates in the lead up to the selection was whether opener Shafali Verma will get a place. However, her lean run in the T20I series vs England and with India A in Australia meant Verma did not make the cut. Seamer Renuka Singh Thakur, who had been out of action due to injury, will make a comeback in the ODIs against Australia and feature in the World Cup. ■ ■ With four frontline spinners and plenty of part-time options in the squad, expect Harmanpreet and Co to use their slower bowlers to control the proceedings. Despite the quality of attack, several bowlers will be playing their first ODI WC and will be looking to rise to the occasion | P11 2013 was the last time india hosted the women’s odi world cup CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Ex-judge Reddy is Oppn’s VP pick The Opposition believes that Reddy’s candidature is a ‘masSETTING the stage for a keen terstroke’ as it will blunt the contest for the upcoming Vice NDA‘s move to upset the ruling Presidential election, the Oppo- DMK government in Tamil sition INDIA bloc on Tuesday Nadu. The DMK was in a tight named former Supreme Court spot after the NDA picked Radjudge B Sudershan Reddy as its hakrishnan, a seasoned BJP joint candidate to face NDA leader from Tamil Nadu with nominee Maharashtra Gover- an RSS background, as its VP nor C P Radhakrishnan candidate. on September 9. An Opposition leader Calling the election said Reddy’s nominafor the country’s secondtion will unsettle the highest office as an ‘ideChandrababu Naidu-led ological battle’, ConTelugu Desam Party, a gress president key ally of the BJP at Mallikarjun Kharge, the Centre. “Though the while announcing Red- Sudershan Reddy TDP has already exdy’s candidature, tended support for the termed him as one of India’s NDA candidate, the party will most “distinguished and pro- be under pressure as Sudergressive jurists”. Before his ap- shan Reddy commands goodpointment to the Supreme will in the state,” said a leader Court, Reddy had served as adding that the former Judge Chief Justice of the Guwahati also has also worked closely High Court and as a judge of with the previous TDP the Andhra Pradesh High government. Court. He retired as a judge of Reddy’s candidature has also the Supreme Court in 2011. put fence sitters such as p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge with other opposition leaders after announcing their Vice Presidential candidate | EXPRESS K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party in a dilemma, said a senior leader. “It will be difficult for the BRS and Jagan Mohan Reddy to go against our candidate now,” he said, adding that INDIA parties will reach out to these neutral players. The YSRCP, however, has already declared its support for the NDA nominee. He is a propoor man, in many of his judgments... he favoured the poor and protected the Constitution —Mallikarjun Kharge Rain cripples rail traffic, 23 died of rabies in road network in Mumbai Kerala in 7 months P R A MD A S @Kochi It’s alarming. As many as 23 people died of rabies in the state in the first seven months of 2025, nearly half of them caused by stray dogs and puppies. Moreover, over 3 lakh dog bite cases were recorded in the state between August 2024 and July 2025. The statistics filed by the government in the Kerala High Court showed stray dogs were behind 11 of the 23 rabies deaths, while four were caused by pet dogs and three by cats. A fox and jackal contributed to one death each. The cause in the remaining three deaths was unknown. Last year, 26 people died of rabies in the state; 15 were caused by stray dog bites.  ● More on P4 ‘BEST’ case scenario : Commuters are stranded as a couple of BEST buses break down near Kurla in Mumbai on Tuesday due to the downpour | PTI s u d h i R s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai TORRENTIAL rains unleashed widespread devastation across Maharashtra, claiming seven lives and damaging over two lakh hectares of standing crops. On Tuesday Maharash, tra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis convened a virtual meeting with all divisional commissioners and instructed them to provide immediate relief, including shelter, food, and essential supplies, to those stranded due to floods and incessant rainfall. “So far, seven people have lost their lives due to the heavy rain, and several rivers have breached their danger levels. Alerts have been issued to residents in affected areas. In Sambhaji Nagar district alone, 800 villages have been impacted, with approximately two lakh hectares of agricultural land suffering crop losses. A detailed panchanama will be conducted, and compensation will be disbursed to those affected,” Fadnavis stated. In response to the IMD’s yellow and orange alerts for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, and other regions, the state government on Tuesday directed closure of schools and colleges as a precautionary measure . 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Beijing to resume key industrial, agri supplies to India India, China signal cautious reset amid trade, border talks Wang to visit Pak today After his India trip, Wang will travel to Pakistan on Wednesday to hold the annual strategic dialogue with Pakistan’s deputy PM and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, to be held from August 20 to 22 Borders now quiet: Doval NSA Ajit Doval, who led the border talks, said, “Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquillity...” EAM leaves for Russia External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday reached Moscow, where he will attend key meetings and hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi | X J AYA NTH J A C O B @ New Delhi IN a sign of thaw in IndiaChina ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday assured External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Beijing will resume critical exports to India, including fertilisers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines, addressing three longpending Indian demands. The move, seen as a confidence-building gesture, came just ahead of the 24th round of India-China border talks in New Delhi and was followed by Wang’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaishankar is learnt to have underlined the expectation of stable, uninterrupted supply chains for essential inputs during the discussions, which he had raised with the Chinese side earlier as well. Shreyas out, Gill made Surya’s deputy Shubman Gill was named as vice captain in one of the biggest talking points in the 15-man squad the BCCI named for the Asia Cup next month in the UAE. A look... Bumrah in, Shreyas out Jasprit Bumrah whose last T20I was the World Cup final last year earns a recall into the side for the continental event. Shreyas Iyer continues to miss out. Asia Cup runs from Sep 9-28 Gill to open There were some murmurs that the red-ball captain wouldn’t be part of the team but he makes it in a new role as vice-captain. Two mystery spinners Varun Chakravarthy, who excelled in the same conditions in the Champions Trophy, makes it back. He will have Kuldeep Yadav for company. Riding on hope GST overhaul could bring down car prices by up to 10% A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi The proposed next-generation GST overhaul could bring down car prices by up to 10% if the tax rate is reduced from 28%to 18%, according to analysts. As part of the wider reforms to boost economic growth, the Centre has proposed moving from four tax slabs to a simplified tworate system: 5% for essential items and 18% for most other goods. Luxury and sin products could face a steeper levy of around 40%. “Cars currently are under the 28% GST band and if GST is rationalised to 18%, then prices for entrylevel cars can come down by 8-10%. Players like Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors which have a strong entry-level portfolio are likely to be the key beneficiaries,” Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental research at SBI Securities, told this newspaper. At present, vehicles are taxed under multiple slabs combining GST and cess. Small cars are taxed at 28%, whereas large cars (above 4 metres in length and 1200cc in engine size) are taxed (including cess) in the range of 43-50%. Global financial firm HSBC estimates that the proposed tax reforms could result in an 8% drop in the prices of small cars. Bigger cars, too, could also become cheaper in the range of 3-5%. HSBC added that this could mean a loss of around $4-5 billion in GST collections for the government. Meanwhile, the prospects of tax cuts have put carmakers in a tight spot as buyers are now holding on to their purses, deferring their purchase plans. Sources said Wang responded positively, committing to facilitate these vital goods. After the visiting Chinese foreign minister called on him, Modi said the relations between the two countries have improved. Modi “welcomed the steady and positive progress in bilateral ties since his meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, guided by mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity in, cluding the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra,” an Indian readout said. Accepting the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to attend the SCO Summit in Tianjin, Modi said he looked forward to meeting Xi again. “Stable, predictable, and constructive bilateral ties will contribute significantly to regional and global peace and prosperity he said. ,” 600 school buildings in state ‘unfit’ A s w i n A s o k K u m a r @ T’Puram In a shocking find, the general education department has found that over 600 buildings in government schools in the state are ‘unfit’, while another 200 ‘partially fit’ ones are in need of repair. A source said Thiruvananthapuram has the most ‘unfit’ school buildings. Classes are not currently held in these ‘unfit’ buildings. There are over 4,500 government schools in the state. Separate inspections were carried out by the general education and local self-government departments to identify the fitness of school buildings. However, discrepancies came up in the number of unfit buildings. “One school may have multiple unfit buildings. While the education department considered the number of buildings, LSGD considered the number of schools, causing the variation,” said an official. An online meeting on Tuesday decided to cross-check the data. A final report will be prepared within three days, said a source. An official said demolishing the 600 buildings was the only option. However, a final call will be taken after the government verifies the list. Former general education secretary Lida Jacob said the longer the delay the higher the , threat will be. “Children will run and play in whatever space they get. It doesn’t matter if the unfit school buildings are being used or not, the fact they exist on school premises is dangerous,” she told TNIE.