No place for Verma in India's squad for Women's Cricket World Cup

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No place for Verma in India's squad for Women's Cricket World Cup

2025-08-20 07:41 Last Updated At：07:50

NEW DELHI (AP) — Opener Shafali Verma missed out on a home World Cup appearance as the India women’s squad for the ODI tournament was announced Tuesday.

Pratika Rawal sealed her place instead as the likely opening partner for vice-captain Smriti Mandhana.

India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur at the Sept. 30-Nov. 2 Women's World Cup, will be aiming for its first global title in the 50-over format after twice finishing as runner-up to Australia.

Verma featured for India A in Australia, but Rawal’s form – 703 runs in 14 innings since her debut in December -- helped secure the spot.

Jemimah Rodrigues makes the cut after missing out in 2022 – a first ODI World Cup appearance for the star batter. No. 3 Harleen Deol, allrounders Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy, left-arm spinners Radha Yadav and Sree Charani, and pacer Kranti Goud will also feature in their first World Cup.

India will open its World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on Sept. 30. The game was slated to be played in Bengaluru, but a change in venue is anticipated because of the post-Indian Premier League tragedy involving Royal Challengers Bengaluru where 11 fans lost their lives in a stampede. An ICC announcement is expected this week.

Bengaluru was also supposed to host the final on Nov. 2, and that could also be changed.

Colombo will host the final if Pakistan qualifies. Pakistan will play all its games in Sri Lanka, including against India on Oct. 5.

India will play three ODIs with Australia – on Sept. 14, 17 and 20 – in the buildup to the tournament.

It will be the fourth time India has hosted the Women's Cricket World Cup in the one-day format.

India's women have also never won the world Twenty20 title, their best run finishing in a heavy loss to to Australia in the final in 2020.

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Kranti Goud, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

Trump has repeatedly toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, starting in his first term, but hasn't followed through. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. and Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.