On November 11th, on the first day of the week, the busy roads of Delhi felt the touch of a cold chill and experienced a nightmare when an explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi claimed at least 11 people.
Following the deadly explosion, Kolkata issued a high alert, as the Kolkata police have tightened security and increased vigil across all police stations, Manoj Verma, the Kolkata Police Commissioner, said.
PTI reported that Lalbazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police, directed all police stations within its jurisdiction to remain on heightened alert, particularly those near metro stations.
Currently, the South African cricket team is in Kolkata, where they will face the Indian team for a two-match Test series starting on November 14th. The South African team landed in Kolkata this morning. The pitch at Eden Gardens was being prepared for the big stage as the international game returned to the iconic venue after 11 months.
BCCI, however, noted that there is no uncertainty regarding the series at this moment, per the Indian Express.
On Monday, CAB officials held meetings with the police at Eden Gardens. The Kolkata Police Commissioner is expected to visit the venue for an on-site inspection on Tuesday, and following Monday night’s incident, additional security measures are likely to be implemented.
CAB source told News Ei Samay, “We have not been informed of anything by the police so far. Certainly, steps will be taken to reinforce security.”
“The police will definitely look after that. They may not publicly disclose every detail of the security arrangements.”
This series will mark the return of Rishabh Pant, who has rejoined the squad after recovering from an injury he suffered during the fourth Test in England. He came back into the field and gave himself some game time as India A's captain. The two-match series against South Africa A in Bengaluru ended at 1-1.
Test Squads:
India: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Dewald Brevis, Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Simon Harmer.
