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Bangladesh army chief warns country ‘at risk’ from infighting

Bangladesh’s army chief on Tuesday blamed infighting for deteriorating law and order, warning that the gains of the student-led revolution that toppled the government last August were at risk.The South Asian nation has been struggling to stem a surge in violent crime, with the security forces arresting thousands this month targeting gangs allegedly connected to the party of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.”If you can’t move beyond your differences and continue meddling and fighting among yourselves, the independence and integrity of the country will be at risk — I warn you,” said General Waker-Uz-Zaman, without singling out any group by name.”Since stakeholders are busy accusing each other, miscreants find the situation favourable. They believe they can get away with anything,” he said at an army memorial event.Bangladesh has been riven by a surge of crime, as well as protests this month where crowds smashed buildings connected to Hasina’s family.Last week rival student factions clashed at a university campus, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in driving the uprising against Hasina.Security forces have arrested more than 8,600 people since it launched “Operation Devil Hunt” on February 8, which the government has accused of being Hasina loyalists and of wanting to “destabilise” the country.”The anarchy we have witnessed is manufactured by us,” Waker said.- ‘Trapped in the same cycle’ -Bangladesh has a long history of military coups.While it was Waker who took charge after Hasina fled by helicopter to India on August 5, he had also urged the people to back Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus.Yunus, 84, vows to institute far-reaching democratic reforms and hold general elections in late 2025 or in early 2026, and Waker had sworn in the interim government.  “At the beginning, I said it would take 18 months to hold an election,” Waker said. “We are on that path. Professor Yunus is doing his best to keep us united. Let’s help him.”Key student protest leader Nahid Islam resigned on Tuesday from the government cabinet — where he headed the telecoms ministry — ahead of the expected launch of a new political party on Friday.Yunus has said he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration and justice that needs a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy. Waker said security forces accused of a raft of allegations “of enforced disappearances, murder, and torture must be investigated”.”Punishment must be ensured,” he said. “Otherwise, we will be trapped in the same cycle.”The armed forces were granted judicial powers like the police — including making arrests — after the revolution.But Waker, a career infantry officer who has spent nearly four decades in the military, serving two tours as a UN peacekeeper, said he just wanted a break.”I just want to bring the country and the nation to a stable point and then take a vacation”, he said. “After that, we will return to our barracks.”

Memories of World Cup shock boost Afghanistan for England clash

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi warned England on Tuesday that memories of their famous 2023 World Cup win over the then holders gives them the confidence to pull off a Champions Trophy surprise.Both teams need a win on Wednesday in Lahore to keep alive their hopes of reaching the semi-finals in the 50-over tournament after losing their respective openers.Afghanistan shocked England in 2023 when they humbled the defending world champions by 69 runs in New Delhi.Afghanistan’s rise in white-ball cricket has been rapid.”We worked hard to achieve at this level and are ready to play every game in a positive way,” Shahidi said on the eve of the pivotal Group B clash.”We will take that confidence with us what happened in the 2023 World Cup. But at the same time, tomorrow is a new day and we will try our best to beat them again.”Afghanistan started the eight-nation Champions Trophy with a 107-run hammering by South Africa in Karachi.Their bowlers took a beating in South Africa’s impressive total of 315-6. Ace spinner Rashid Khan went wicketless and leaked 59 runs from his 10 overs of leg-spin.In turn Afghanistan were bowled out for a meagre 208. Shahidi, however, expects a much better show from his side at the Gaddafi Stadium and believes the Afghan spinners could be the difference on what he expects to be a turning pitch.”When we bat first that gives us more chance. At the same time in the last World Cup we beat teams batting second,” Shahidi told reporters.”But in the South Africa game the wicket was supportive for fast bowling and there was no support for spinners. I didn’t see even one ball turn. “The world knows we have quality spinners. Hopefully we have some support for our spinners in tomorrow’s game.”England came under pressure from British politicians to boycott Wednesday’s game over the treatment of Afghan women by the ruling Taliban.The England and Wales Cricket Board resisted the demand but said they would not schedule a bilateral series against Afghanistan.Shahidi batted away questions about it on the eve of the match.”We are cricket players, we are sportsmen,” said Shahidi.”What we control is what we do on the ground, we don’t worry what is happening off the ground. So our confidence is good.”

Pakistan bemoans ‘death of cricket’ after Champions Trophy flop

Gloom and demands for wholesale change engulfed cricket-crazy Pakistan on Tuesday after the hosts crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage, barely a week into celebrating the return of a major tournament.The title-holders lost their opening game to New Zealand by 60 runs in Karachi last week before Sunday’s six-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India pushed them to the brink of an early exit.Pakistan needed Bangladesh to beat New Zealand on Monday to keep their slim hopes of a place in the semi-finals alive, but the result went the other way.Thursday’s match with Bangladesh in Rawalpindi has been reduced to a dead-rubber.”We have been backing these players for the last few years but they are not learning nor improving,” former captain Wasim Akram told AFP.”It is time for a major shake-up. We need to improve our system of domestic cricket so that we can produce quality cricketers, not ordinary ones.”A lack of competitiveness in domestic cricket and low-quality pitches have been blamed for not preparing players for the international stage.The sport in Pakistan is also held back by frequent changes to the cricket board, coaching teams and selection panels, critics say.Such changes are driven by politics and not merit, according to observers.”I feel very despondent with the state of Pakistan cricket,” former captain Rashid Latif told AFP. “We have to follow merit and bring in professionals in the administration of the game and not people on a political basis.”Frequent changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board, selection committee and captains have failed us in forming a proper set-up and team.”- ‘No fight’ -The early elimination stings for a country that had relished hosting its first major cricket tournament in 29 years, after significant improvements in security. “We were thrilled that an international event had finally returned to our country, but the joy was short-lived,” said 26-year-old Umar Siraj, a pharmacist in Rawalpindi.”The hardest part of being a Pakistan fan is that you end up praying for other teams to lose,” he chuckled. “It’s painful. I’m gutted.”Pakistan’s Champions Trophy flop is nothing new. They also crashed out of the 2023 ODI World Cup in the first round in India.It was followed by their exit at the same stage in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies last year — a tournament won by neighbours India.Pakistan last month finished ninth and last in the World Test Championship after drawing a home series with the West Indies.The latest debacle, and on home soil, represents a new low.”It is disappointing that they didn’t even put up a fight,” said Naseem Satti, a 46-year-old government servant.”We have no quality bowlers, no reliable batters and it seems cricket is dead in Pakistan.”Asma Batool, a 52-year-old housewife, underlined just what cricket means to people in Pakistan.”Cricket is the only source of entertainment for our youth,” she said.”Our nation finds solace in this game.”

S. Korea’s central bank cuts rate, growth outlook over tariff fears

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday slashed interest rates and its annual growth forecast as it looks to bolster the economy in the face of US tariffs and the fallout from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law last year.Asia’s fourth-largest economy expanded less than expected in the final three months of 2024 as Yoon’s martial law move hit consumer confidence and domestic demand.That compounded fears over US President Donald Trump’s hardball trade policies that have seen him impose a broad range of levies on some of his country’s biggest economic partners since taking office in January.An official at the Bank of Korea told AFP it expected gross domestic product to expand 1.5 percent in 2025, down from its initial estimate of 1.9 percent in November.The benchmark interest rate would also be lowered by a quarter of a percentage point, the official said.In a statement released after the meeting, the bank said it projected a “slower recovery in domestic demand and export growth than initially expected”.It blamed “the effects of weakening economic sentiment and the US tariff policy” as well as political uncertainty stemming from the “martial law situation”.”There is a high level of uncertainty regarding the future growth path, including major countries’ trade policies, (and) the direction of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy,” it added.Trump warned last week that he would impose tariffs “in the neighbourhood of 25 percent” on auto imports and a similar amount or higher on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.South Korea is home to the world’s key chipmakers, Samsung and SK hynix, and was the fourth-largest exporter of steel to the United States last year.Governor Rhee Chang-yong said South Korea would continue to face challenges with tariffs unless it develops new industries.”What our government should feel most painfully about the past 10 years is that no new industries have been introduced during this time,” he told reporters.”If we don’t address this issue, these problems will keep recurring,” he added.- ‘Weak’ data -South Korea’s trade ministry last week said it had asked Washington to exclude it from planned US tariffs on steel and aluminium.The country’s steel industry was already facing intense pressure in recent years as it grappled with oversupply — particularly from China — and a decrease in global demand.The US tariffs are likely to intensify those challenges.Analysts warn that should cheap Chinese steel which has been barred from the US market begin to flood regions such as Southeast Asia and Europe, South Korean steel producers will face deepening price competition.The Bank of Korea also said Tuesday that employment had continued to slow.”The data for early 2025 have been weak amid signs the political crisis is weighing on the economy,” Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, said.But he added that even if the crisis is resolved soon, growth is likely to remain weak because of a “downturn in the property sector and tight fiscal policy weighing on demand”.Dave Chia, associate economist at Moody’s Analytics, said he expected at least one more rate cut this year.”The boom in artificial intelligence should sustain shipments of advanced memory chips,” he wrote in a note. But a “slowdown in other major categories” stands to limit South Korea’s export growth, he added.

‘Complete overhaul’: what went wrong for Pakistan in Champions Trophy

Title-holders and hosts Pakistan crashed out in the group phase of the Champions Trophy after losing to New Zealand and arch-rivals India.They still have a match to play, against Bangladesh on Thursday, but their tournament is over — a disappointing end to their first hosting of a major international cricket event in three decades.AFP Sport looks at where it all went wrong for Mohammad Rizwan’s men in the 50-over tournament: Rizwan was appointed white-ball skipper in October last year and led Pakistan to an impressive 2-1 ODI win over world champions Australia — their first series victory in 22 years in the country. They also won in Zimbabwe and inflicted on South Africa their first home whitewash, with a 3-0 scoreline. But fast-rising opener Saim Ayub injured his ankle during a subsequent Test in South Africa.Pakistan delayed the announcement of their Champions Trophy squad until the deadline to wait on Ayub’s fitness but the left-hander failed to recover. To add to the home team’s woes, fellow opener Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after the first match — a 60-run defeat to New Zealand — with a muscle injury. Pakistan’s much-vaunted pace attack of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf — rested from the Test series to keep them fresh — looked rusty and failed to control the death overs.Pakistan selectors resisted calls from former players and pundits to include a second spinner in the 15-man squad and instead chose only one in Abrar Ahmed. They relied on part-time spinners Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah, who have managed just one wicket between them in two matches.   Pakistan also erred by not selecting a regular opener and took the risky step of promoting out-of-form Babar Azam to partner Zaman. When Zaman was ruled out they brought in Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement. He made just 10 as Pakistan were crushed by title favourites India by six wickets. In a surprise move they included in the squad all-rounders Khushdil and Faheem Ashraf on the basis of their performances in Bangladesh’s Twenty20 league. Ashraf had not played an ODI for two years and Khushdil for three.Former Pakistan captain and television pundit Rashid Latif called it a “political selection”, blaming outside influence.Former Pakistan captain and popular all-rounder Shahid Afridi accused Pakistan of playing outdated cricket. “In 2025 Pakistan was playing the cricket style of the 1980s and 1990s while other teams had progressed well to adopt an aggressive and modern style,” he told AFP.”The ailment of playing too many dot balls also hurt our game.”Pakistan played 152 dot balls against India in scoring 241 in 49.4 overs, including a record 28 balls with no scores in the first six overs. Their total of 260 in 47.2 overs in the defeat to New Zealand had 162 dot balls. “The mindset of Pakistan players does not match with modern-day cricket,” said Afridi.”We need a complete overhaul of the system so that we can produce players with an aggressive mindset.”

Transgender religious order gets rare approval at India Hindu festival

Transgender activists often shunned by society say they have found rare acceptance at India’s Hindu Kumbh Mela festival by giving blessings to pilgrims attending the world’s largest religious gathering.Among the many millions who have attended the six-week-long Hindu celebration of prayer and bathing held every 12 years is a unique “akhada” — or religious order — a camp of transgender individuals.Surveying crowds from her lion throne, Vaishnavi Jagadamba Nand Giri showers blessings on pilgrims standing in long queues to her colourful tent.”It is very difficult to survive as a transgender person in society, since most people cannot understand how we feel,” Giri said, one of around 100 members of the group at the festival.”As visibility increases for us, the acceptance will also increase.”South Asia has a long history of people designated as male at birth but who identify as female — known as kinnar or hijra.In India’s last census in 2011, more than 487,000 people were members of the third gender.India recognised a third gender in 2014, but members still face severe discrimination.- ‘Very auspicious’ -The festival in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, which ends Wednesday, is a sea of humanity.Enthusiastic officials say that more than 560 million Hindu devotees have attended — numbers impossible to verify independently.That includes naked naga sadhus, wandering monks who walked for weeks from the remote mountains and forests where they are usually devoted to meditation.It also includes the transgender Kinnar Akhada.Traditionally, Hinduism had only 13 religious akhada groups which only included men.The transgender Kinnar Akhada changed that when they were accepted as the 14th member in 2019.Hindus believe that those who immerse themselves in the river waters at the Kumbh Mela cleanse themselves of sin, breaking free from the cycle of rebirth and ultimately attaining salvation.After bathing, pilgrims come to the camps of religious orders seeking blessings.”A blessing from a kinnar is considered very auspicious,” said 38-year-old pilgrim Mangesh Sahu, queueing for a bead from the group.”I will tie the bead around my daughter’s neck to keep her protected from the evil eye — the kinnar prayers are powerful,” he said.But challenges to full acceptance still remain.”They seek blessings from a transgender person, but they will shun an individual like me in their family,” Giri said. 

Ravindra ton powers NZ into Champions Trophy semis, hosts Pakistan out

Rachin Ravindra struck a superb 112 to lead New Zealand into the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a five-wicket win over Bangladesh and in turn dump hosts Pakistan out of the semi-final race.The result in Rawalpindi also ensured India’s semi-final berth in the 50-over tournament as Bangladesh became the other team from Group A to be knocked out.Both New Zealand and India have two wins from two matches and will now meet in Dubai on Sunday to decide team one and two from the group.”Feels nice to qualify,” New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said after the win. “Knew Bangladesh would be a challenge.”Pakistan, who won the previous edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017, lost to New Zealand and then India in the first International Cricket Council (ICC) event they are hosting since the 1996 ODI World Cup.India refused to tour Pakistan due to political reasons and instead are playing all their matches in Dubai, which will host the final if the Asian giants go the distance.New Zealand have been the team to beat in this group after they humbled Pakistan by 60 runs in the tournament opener.Coming in as firm favourites in their second match, New Zealand elected to field first and spinner Michael Bracewell returned career-best ODI figures of 4-36 to restrict Bangladesh to 236-9.Chasing 237 for victory, New Zealand slipped to 15-2 and 72-3 before Ravindra and fellow left-hander Tom Latham, who made 55, added 129 for the fourth wicket.Both were dismissed before the end but New Zealand still achieved the target with 23 balls to spare.The Black Caps had a disastrous start when pace bowler Taskin Ahmed bowled first-match centurion Will Young for a duck.Bangladesh’s new pace sensation Nahid Rana took down Kane Williamson caught behind for five with a delivery bowled at 148.8 km/h (92.4 mph).- Ravindra reset and intruder -Ravindra, who returned to the team after recovering from a nasty blow to his forehead in a recent tri-series match against Pakistan, joined Devon Conway to rebuild the innings.Conway hit back with a flurry of boundaries and made 30 before Bangladesh checked the surge and Mustafizur Rahman hurried one on to the left-hander who chopped on to his stumps.Ravindra stood firm and with Latham, another centurion in the opener against Pakistan, waded his way through the chase and after reaching his fifty bossed the bowlers.Ravindra raised his fourth ODI ton — on his Champions Trophy debut — with a single off Rana and raised his bat to soak up the applause.”He’s doing Rachin things I guess,” Santner said of his batter who hit a hundred in his ODI World Cup debut in 2023.”He loves ICC events. Looks like he never left the game. He wasn’t as fluid as he’d have liked but when he gets going he’s tough to stop. His partnerships were good too.”Ravindra’s knock was interrupted by an intruder who barged on to the field to hug the batter before being escorted out of the ground by security.The young boy, wearing a white shalwar kameez, was carrying a photo of a leader of one of Pakistan’s radical religious parties.Ravindra finally fell, caught at long-on off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, and wicketkeeper-batsman Latham’s run out added some late drama. But Glenn Phillips, 21 not out, and Bracewell, who hit the winning boundary, sealed victory.Player of the match Bracewell set up victory with key strikes that began with his second delivery to dismiss Tanzid Hasan for 24 and end a strong start by Bangladesh.Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made 77 and Jaker Ali 45 in an attempt to put up a competitive total but Bracewell kept getting wickets.”I thought we started well with the bat but we lost wickets in the middle,” said Shanto. “On this pitch we didn’t bat well.” Bracewell was ably supported by the New Zealand quicks with Will O’Rourke collecting two wickets.

Taliban officials confirm arrest of two Britons and a Chinese-American

Taliban authorities have detained two Britons, a Chinese-American and their Afghan translator, the interior ministry confirmed to AFP late Monday, after the daughter of the British couple called on London to secure their release. “Based on certain considerations, the authorities have detained four people: two British citizens holding Afghan papers, one person with Chinese and American nationality and their translator,” Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told AFP. “Efforts are underway to resolve this issue,” he added.Qani spoke shortly after Sarah Entwistle, in an interview with British media, called for her government to do “everything in their power” to secure the release of her parents, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who had been running training programs in Afghanistan for years. British media had reported their arrest, along with a Chinese-American woman and their Afghan translator, on February 1 in the province of Bamiyan, a major tourist attraction west of Kabul known for its giant Buddhas — destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban. Qani refused to confirm the identities of the detainees, or give further details on their condition or the reasons for their arrests. “Details will be released shortly,” he said.Entwistle and her three brothers had initially chosen not to involve the UK authorities “hoping to hear directly from the Taliban about why they’d arrested our parents”, she told TimesRadio on Monday.”Our parents have always sought to honour the Taliban, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to explain their reasons for this detention,” she said.”However, after more than three weeks of silence, we can no longer wait. We’re now urgently calling on the British consulate to do everything in their power to get us answers and to put as much pressure as they can on the Taliban for their release,” she added.The British Foreign Office declined to comment on the couple’s arrest.- ‘Outrageous’ -The Reynolds, who married in Kabul in 1970, remained in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 when the British embassy withdrew its staff.The arrest on February 1 was apparently linked to the teaching of parenting skills to mothers over 30, according to The Sunday Times, which first reported the detention.”My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and (he) needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke,” Entwistle told the newspaper.”They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous,” she added.The couple were reportedly arrested as they returned to their home in the central Bamiyan province.In an open letter to the Taliban authorities quoted by the Sunday Times, Entwistle and her brothers pleaded for their parents to be released.”We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest,” they wrote.”Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan,” the letter added.They are not the first foreigners detained by the Taliban authorities. A former Canadian soldier, David Lavery, was released at the end of January after more than two months in captivity, under a deal negotiated by Qatar. A week earlier, two Americans held by the Taliban, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, were freed in exchange for Afghan fighter Khan Mohammed, convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States. Two other Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, are still being held in the country.Taliban leaders swept back to power in 2021, ousting the US-backed government and implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law, despite promises not to return to the brutality displayed when they ruled in the 1990s.They have since imposed broad restrictions on women and girls, barring them from education beyond the age of 12 and squeezing them out of jobs and public life with rules the United Nations has labelled “gender apartheid”.

Carey says Australia excited by rare South Africa challenge

Alex Carey said Australia are excited by the challenge posed by a formidable South Africa when they meet in the Champions Trophy for the first time in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.Australia, winners in 2006 and 2009, chased down 352, the highest target in tournament history, against England in Lahore in a Group B game on Saturday.Carey made a brilliant 69 alongside man-of-the-match Josh Inglis, who scored his maiden one-day international hundred, to seal a five-wicket win.South Africa overwhelmed Afghanistan by 107 runs in a clinical performance in Karachi.”I think South Africa are playing really well in one-day cricket and look like they’ve got a great balance across their 11 players,” the 33-year-old Carey said on Monday.”So, another exciting opportunity for us coming off the back of a great game against England, play with a lot of freedom, take the game on.”Australia and South Africa have never met in the Champions Trophy, and the Proteas hold a clear advantage after winning nine of their past 12 ODIs against them.Australia are also missing world-renowned pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.”Look, it’s an inexperienced bowling attack, there’s no hiding away from that. In and around that we’ve got some experience with our leg-spinner Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell,” Carey said.The pace trio of Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis went for 171 runs for three wickets between them in 27 overs as England scored 351-8 in their 50 overs.However, Carey backed a strong Australian batting line-up that includes Travis Head.”We’ve got Steve Smith who’s a fantastic captain,” Carey said. “I think if we are to bat first throughout the tournament, I’ll back our boys to defend.””Travis will try to smack them at the top with Matthew Short. You’ve got Smith and Marnus (Labuschagne) through the middle and then hopefully set it up for Maxwell to go big at the end. “We know they’re a great team… but I feel like our confidence is high and we’re really excited for tomorrow,” he said.The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with hosts Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and New Zealand in Group A.

Kohli, Rohit ‘have a lot of cricket left’ after sending Pakistan to brink

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have “a lot of cricket left in them”, former India opener and Champions Trophy winner Shikhar Dhawan says, adding that the mere presence of the veteran duo can unsettle any opposition.Kohli hit an unbeaten 100 on Sunday, his 51st ODI century, as India swept aside Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai to stand on the cusp of the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.Pakistan, who are hosting all of the games except those involving India, are on the brink of elimination after their second defeat of the tournament.Rohit made a quickfire 20 at the top of the innings as India went after 242 for victory and Kohli took charge after the captain’s exit to steer the team home with 45 balls to spare.Kohli, 36, and Rohit, 37, have struggled for form since retiring from T20 internationals after last year’s World Cup win, with speculation swirling that they could soon retire.But Kohli rolled back the years with his first ODI century since November 2023.”Virat standing on the crease, his presence is big. The opposition have fear in them,” said Dhawan, who is in Dubai as a tournament ambassador.Kohli went past 14,000 ODI runs early in his innings, becoming only the third batsman to achieve the landmark after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.Rohit struck form with a century in India’s 3-0 home sweep of England earlier this month and hit a 36-ball 41 in India’s opening win over Bangladesh.”Recently Rohit scored an amazing century, but it’s not about a century or half-century,” said Dhawan, a swashbuckling opener who played his last ODI in 2022 and won the Champions Trophy in 2013.”Today Rohit played a quick 20 runs, that also carries value. He created that fearless environment for the whole team,” he added.”He’s got a great impact in early overs in today’s cricket.”Things have changed, so now it’s good to take that risk and play aerial shots. “We used to see it only in T20 cricket but now we see it in 50-over cricket. “The Pakistan batsmen did not play any aerial shots, but Rohit came and took that risk, which played in India’s favour.”Pressed on the futures of Rohit and Kohli, Dhawan said: “They have a lot of cricket left in them.”Spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took a crucial 3-40 to peg back Pakistan, hailed man-of-the-match Kohli.”There is only one big player in the team and that is Virat ‘bhai’ (brother), who played a brilliant innings,” Kuldeep said.”Hope that I can continue performing well,” added the left-arm wrist spinner, who recently returned after hernia surgery. “Obviously if you play good cricket, stick around with good players, and you know you have a good team with two senior players who are greats.”