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Kusal Mendis
A concerned Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis on Sunday hoped the ICC's suspension of the nation's cricket body will not affect the upcoming fixtures of the national team and the preparations for the men's U19 World Cup here early next year. Sri Lanka have a busy schedule next year, starting with Zimbabwe touring the island nation in January-February for a limited-overs series. The 2024 men's U19 World Cup will commence in the island nation on January 13 with 16 teams competing. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been in turmoil ever since the Mendis-led team exited the World Cup, losing seven of the nine matches they played in India. "We hope the suspension will end soon, enabling us to practice for our schedule ahead. It will be good for the hosting of the Under-19 World Cup too," Mendis told the media on arrival from India. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had on Friday suspended Sri Lanka, a full-member, after observing government interference in the national board. The Sri Lanka
New Zealand's campaign has hit a disheartening flatline after their early dominatio and the Kiwis will have to rediscover their bowling mojo for a World Cup reboot when they face knocked-out Sri Lanka here on Thursday. Ahead of their last league match which is under rain threat, New Zealand are hobbling on eight points, aware of the fact that a defeat or a washout can throw them out of the tournament. They are now fourth on the table. Pakistan (+0.036) and Afghanistan (-0.338), who also have eight points apiece, can also potentially reach 10 points with a win over England and South Africa in their respective final league match. In that context, the Kiwis (+0.398) have to win sufficiently big to take care of the Net Run Rate as well. So, it is not an all too bright scenario for New Zealand, but a victory will at least keep them in the race to the semifinals for the time being. But it is not tough to see why New Zealand have faltered and ended up at where they are now. Unlike ...
Having a caused a major upset, the Netherlands will have a spring in their side when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the World Cup here on Saturday. The Netherlands, who stunned South Africa in Dharamsala for their first World Cup win against a Test playing nation, will be eying an improved show from their top-order as they look for back to back victories. The top three Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd and Colin Ackermann have not been to get the team off to a good start, putting additional pressure on the middle-order. A morale boosting win over South Africa will provide an extra dose of confidence to the trio ahead of the Sri Lanka clash. Star all-rounder Bas de Leede is doing his bit with the ball but can step on the batting front. The performance against the Proteas showed that the Netherlands mean business, having set an ambitious target of reaching the semifinals in their first World Cup appearance in 12 years. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have plenty to worry about on t
American lender Citi's FY23 net profit from India operations zoomed to Rs 13,614 crore on the back of the retail unit's sale to Axis Bank. Excluding the Rs 8,914 crore one-time gain of the unit, the lender reported a net profit of Rs 4,700 crore, which was a 26 per cent growth over the Rs 3,727 crore it reported for FY22. Its revenue net of interest expense grew 16 per cent, a Citi statement said on Tuesday, without disclosing the exact figure. The net interest margin expanded to 5.15 per cent during the reporting fiscal, as against 4.65 per cent in the previous fiscal, proving to be an important driver of profit growth, it said. On the asset quality front, the bank reported an improvement with the gross non-performing assets ratio coming down to 0.41 per cent as against 1.07 per cent in the year-ago period. Citi concluded the sale of its consumer banking business to Axis Bank during the fiscal in a Rs 11,603-crore deal. Citi said in the statement that the gain of Rs 8,914 crore i