New Delhi: Gujarat Titans suffered defeat in the IPL 2026 final as they failed to cross the last hurdle despite entering the title clash as one of the most consistent teams of the tournament. Playing the final at their home ground, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where they had already played seven matches during the season, GT could not take advantage of the familiar conditions and fell against Royal Challengers Bangalore.Despite the disappointment, Gujarat Titans once again cemented their reputation as one of the most successful IPL franchises. Since making their debut in 2022, GT has reached three finals in five seasons and won the title in their maiden campaign under Hardik Pandya. GT entered IPL 2026 as one of the favorites but got off to a poor start, losing their first two matches against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. However, they soon regained their rhythm and emerged as one of the dominant sides in the competition.The Titans won 9 of their 14 league-stage matches and secured a direct berth in Qualifier 1. Their campaign included emphatic wins, including defeating Rajasthan Royals by 77 runs, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 82 runs and defeating Chennai Super Kings by 89 runs. The batting unit consistently posted big scores, while the bowling attack led by Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan and Jason Holder performed well throughout the season.Although GT suffered a crushing 92-run defeat to RCB in Qualifier 1, they made a spectacular comeback. Chasing 215 against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2, they produced one of the finest playoff performances of the season to reach the final.However, the title clash remained one-sided. Apart from Washington Sundar’s unbeaten half-century, GT’s batting unit failed to perform aggressively. They could only score 155/8, but RCB easily achieved the target with five wickets to spare.

GT in IPL 2026

Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler: the driving forceA major reason behind the success of Gujarat Titans was the exceptional performance of their top-order trio – Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler.Captain Gill led from the front and became the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 732 runs in 16 matches. He had an average of 45.75, a strike rate of 163.02 and one century and six fifties.Sai Sudarshan was equally impressive, scoring 722 runs in 17 matches at an average of 45.12 and a strike rate of 157.98. He recorded one century and eight half-centuries, the most by any batsman in the tournament, while also topping the fours chart with 75 fours.England star Jos Buttler added more aggression with 526 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 152.46, including four half-centuries. Gill, Sudarshan and Buttler together scored 1,980 runs and formed the backbone of GT’s batting line-up.Jason Holder’s influenceWest Indies all-rounder Jason Holder proved to be one of GT’s most valuable acquisitions. His height and ability to generate bounce troubled opposition batsmen throughout the season.Holder took 17 wickets in just 11 matches and made regular breaks in the middle overs. He displayed exceptional play in the field and took several spectacular catches, which helped turn the game in Gujarat’s favour.Rabada and Siraj are in command of the bowlingKagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj formed one of the most effective new-ball partnerships in IPL 2026.Siraj’s ability to score runs and apply pressure perfectly complemented Rabada’s wicket-taking threat. Both delivered consistent early successes and played a significant role in the GT’s success.Rabada finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 29 wickets in 17 matches and won the Purple Cap. Siraj also enjoyed a stellar season and took 19 wickets in 17 matches.Bad start, strong comebackGT’s campaign started disastrously with consecutive defeats against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. However, they quickly turned things around and won three consecutive matches.Despite some setbacks in the middle stage of the tournament, Gujarat found consistency when it mattered most. Six wins in their last seven league matches ensured a top two finish and a place in Qualifier 1.Although they faltered against RCB in Qualifier 1, they responded brilliantly by defeating Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 and eventually lost the final by five wickets.

What’s next for Gujarat Titans?Although reaching three finals in five seasons is a remarkable achievement, going forward Gujarat Titans may need to address their middle-order concerns.The franchise relied heavily on Gill, Sudarshan and Buttler throughout the season. The middle-order comprising Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar and Nishant Sindhu struggled for consistency and often failed to provide the required finishing punch.If GT can strengthen the field while maintaining the core that has made them one of the most successful IPL teams, they will remain strong title contenders in 2027.

At times intimate and incisive, at times indulgent, yet always brimming with the restless energy of a mind unwilling to conform, Arundhati Roy’s memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me is an undeniably compelling read.

Reading Arundhati Roy is like exploring the labyrinth of a brilliant, but disruptive mind that refuses to settle into the well-established certainties of tradition and expectations. I have always viewed Arundhati as an enigma, and I began reading ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’ in the hope of understanding her better. A Booker Prize winner, she often seems angry, even irritable, determined to cross every boundary, but strangely elusive. And yet this is only one side of it. She has stood shoulder to shoulder with those fighting for a cause, demonstrated immense courage in challenging authority and sparking debate. He never hesitated to use his fame to enhance the struggle of those opposing injustice. Success, in Arundhati’s case, did not attract her to the spontaneous warmth of public approval; If anything, it appears to be thickening the veil of secrecy around him. Interestingly, she who lives away from the public eye, unashamedly exposes herself in the pages of her latest book – a memoir that is unapologetic and unfiltered in exposing her vulnerabilities, contradictions, rebellions and her formidable, yet remarkable, role as a mother during her formative years.All her insecurities, eccentricities, pain and anger are linked to her relationship with her volatile mother, renowned educationist and women’s rights activist Mary Roy. “She was my refuge and my storm,” Arundhati claims plaintively in this memoir, which highlights her tumultuous relationship with her mother, whom she described in an interview as “a woman who was wonderful, and also very, very dark.”Trained at an early age not to react to the jokes and insults thrown at her through the manipulations of a ‘crazy, violent single parent’, Arundhati declared that she grew up confused about what she wanted, and afraid of safe spaces and relationships. “Once again, for me, the safest place became the most dangerous. Once again, I made it so… my behavior was incomprehensible even to me.” In an interview, Arundhati admitted, “I am naturally attracted to the vulnerable.“Roy’s writing is full of candor, but at times the act of confession devolves into posturing. The narrative is full of anecdotes clearly designed to provoke or shock: young Roy urinating in the gardens of rich houses, her bedside tea and breakfast with the crippled beggars of her residential area, the “old Santa” who groped her, a young man clinging to her on the bus, the grand-uncle in Delhi patting her back while commenting on her not wearing a bra, and of course, the time she first met her father in a Delhi hotel. “He was lying on his stomach with his knees bent, his legs dangling over the ceiling.”“Described in his trademark caricaturing style, some of these moments seem so bizarre that you wonder whether they are faithful memories, deliberate exaggeration, or performative. The reader is left wondering whether certain scenes are meant to take the narrative forward as well as thrill. Over long periods of time – especially from the time she leaves home to study architecture and beyond – the book returns to Roy with a relentless self-preoccupation that begins to test the reader’s patience.You almost give up, but just when you start to feel like the memoir is sinking under the weight of its own self-absorption, it steadys itself.The latter retrieves the book.The narrative now moves beyond the dramatization of Arundhati’s rebellious young self to the larger world with which she is fiercely connected. His activism, writing on development, displacement and state power, the conflict with the law, a night in jail, the time spent traveling with guerrilla fighters to understand the Maoist insurgency from the ground, and his standing with Narmada Bachao activists and displaced villagers – the memoir now gains depth as the writing intensifies with the turn outwards. Roy writes with the clarity and wit that has always been her hallmark, and which has made her a powerful public voice. She is playful, disrespectful, sometimes rebellious and disrespectful, sometimes accusatory and morally angry. Her keen observations and wit are irresistible to the reader, even as she firmly remains the protagonist of her narrative. This memoir is among the most poignant in the pages that talk about her mother’s final years. The tone becomes vulnerable, and turns into that of a daughter grappling with loss, her memories, and the complicated relationship she shares with her mother. Do I understand Arundhati better now after reading this memoir? I think I do. If anything, the book provides clues to the contradictions that defined his public persona. The eccentricity, the deliberate center stage for rebellious causes, and yet the refusal to inhabit the platforms that others desired, the air of elusiveness that she carefully maintained, the fierce independence, the impatience with authority, the defiance and the seething anger – these can all be traced to her childhood. The child she was can be reflected in the woman she is today – curious, questioning, rebellious, unwilling to bow to the pressures or expectations imposed on her. As she says in an interview, “As a child, I had a very adult mind… so maybe there’s something childlike in me as an adult.”One of the most striking features of the book is how disarmingly Arundhati chooses to be, without trying to soften the memory or remove any embarrassment of awkward experiences or uncomfortable moments. And yet, it’s that unapologetic nakedness that raises the question – how much honesty is too much honesty? After all memoirs aren’t just about memory – they’re also about craft. The story, to achieve resonance beyond itself, needs to come with some filters so as not to overwhelm the reader. The same quality that makes a memoir most surprisingly lively can also make it at times tiresome. Would the memoir have become sharper with a little patience?

Commuters face uncertainty as London Tube strike deadline approaches / Image: File

The clock on London’s transport network is ticking.With thousands of passengers preparing for another working week, a new round of London Underground strikes will continue after union leaders warned a planned walkout would continue unless emergency talks with Transport for London (TfL) are successful.The dispute involving members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) raises the possibility of widespread disruption to the capital’s transport system. While the two sides returned to the negotiating table on Monday, they did not reach an agreement, leaving millions of commuters waiting to see if Tube services will be seriously affected in the coming days.

London underground strike controversy

The dispute involves members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), one of Britain’s largest transport unions.Union officials argue that workers have faced increasing pressure amid concerns over wage settlements, work arrangements and staffing levels. They say workers deserve fair compensation and stronger protections as the cost of living continues to strain household finances.The RMT has accused management of failing to address key concerns raised by staff, while union leaders have insisted that industrial action remains a last resort rather than the preferred outcome.Meanwhile, Transport for London (TfL) says it is committed to finding a negotiated solution and has continued discussions with union representatives.TfL officials have stressed that they want to avoid disruption for passengers and maintain reliable services across the network. He also encouraged both sides to continue constructive dialogue.The disagreement reflects wider tensions affecting parts of the UK transport sector in recent years, with workers demanding better conditions while operators face financial pressures and budget shortfalls.

TfL and RMT talks

As the strike deadline approaches, the talks have entered a critical phase.Representatives from TfL and RMT are expected to continue discussions to reach an agreement. If an agreement is secured, planned industrial action may be suspended or cancelled.However, union officials have made it clear that members remain prepared to take strike action if talks fail to yield a satisfactory offer.Both sides have publicly expressed their desire to resolve the dispute through dialogue, but significant differences reportedly remain on key issues.Transport experts say last-minute agreements are not unusual in industrial disputes involving London’s transport network. Previous strike threats have sometimes been withdrawn after overnight negotiations achieved success.Still, until a formal agreement is reached, there will be uncertainty for travelers planning to travel across the capital.

London travel disruption

If the strike goes ahead, London Underground services could face widespread disruption, affecting passengers traveling across the city.The Tube network carries millions of passengers every week and acts as the backbone of London’s public transport system. Any significant cuts to service are likely to place additional pressure on buses, roads, taxis, cycle routes and alternative rail services.Businesses, particularly those in central London, may also feel the impact as staff face longer journeys and travel difficulties.Tourists visiting the capital may face delays while traveling between major attractions, airports and transport hubs.TfL has advised passengers to monitor official updates and check journey planners before travelling. Contingency plans are expected to be activated if industrial action goes ahead, although officials acknowledge that replacement services may not fully match the capacity of the underground network.At present everyone’s attention is focused on the negotiation table. The outcome of the final discussions will determine whether London avoids another major transport disruption or prepares for fresh Tube strikes in the coming days.

Abhishek Banerjee (Image/PTI)

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee News agency ANI quoted party sources as saying that they will inform Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about the mob attack on them in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district and will also approach the court in connection with the incident.This development comes after Abhishek Banerjee was attacked with bricks, stones and eggs while meeting families affected by post-poll violence in Sonarpur. TMC national general secretary suffered injuries near his eye and alleged BJP He accused the group of planning the attack, alleging that an attempt was made on his life and that the police failed to provide adequate security.According to party sources, Banerjee will formally inform Speaker Om Birla about the incident and will seek legal recourse over the attack.Five people have been arrested in connection with the case and were produced before a court in Baruipur on Monday. The accused have been identified as Akash Gayen, Kajal Das, Debashish Dutta, Nirmalya Sengupta and Tapan Maiti.The issue has created a major political controversy in West Bengal, with the TMC alleging a pattern of attacks against its leaders. On Sunday, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee also claimed that he was attacked near Chanditala police station in Hooghly district while presenting a delegation regarding the post-poll violence.Kalyan Banerjee alleged that during the incident, BJP supporters attacked his head, due to which he suffered injuries. They later protested outside the police station and described the attack as an ‘attempt to murder’. The BJP denied the allegations and claimed that local residents were expressing anger against TMC leaders.Reacting to the attack on him, Abhishek Banerjee described the incident as ‘political violence and state sponsored terrorism’ by the BJP. Thanking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for expressing concern, he said opposition parties should remain united to protect democratic institutions and constitutional values.“Thank you, Rahul ji, for your concern and continued support. We remain united and resolute in our fight to protect the soul of India, protect its democratic institutions and uphold the values ​​enshrined in our Constitution,” Banerjee said in a post on Twitter.The BJP condemned the violence but said the incidents reflected public anger against TMC. West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh said that no one has the right to take the law into their hands, and claimed that public resentment against TMC has been building for years.

Mumbai, June 1 (IANS) Bollywood star Jackie Shroff paid an emotional tribute to veteran actress Nargis on her 97th birth anniversary on June 1.

bollywood star jackie shroffOn June 1, an emotional tribute was paid to the great actress Nargis on her 97th birth anniversary.I am missing one indian cinemaOne of the most famous stars, Jackie shared a classic black and white photo of Nargis from her younger days through a nostalgic social media post.Along with the picture, Jackie wrote, “Nargis ji, always in our hearts,” followed by a folded hands emoji.

Adding further to the nostalgia, the actor used the evergreen song ‘Dil Ki Girah Khol Do’ as the background score. This song from the 1967 film ‘Raat Aur Din’ was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey and is still one of the memorable tracks associated with Nargis’s film career.Nargis, born on 1 June 1929, is considered one of the finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. She made her debut as a child artiste in ‘Talaash-e-Haq’ and later rose to fame as a leading lady through films like ‘Barsaat’, ‘Andaz’, ‘Awara’, ‘Shree 420’, ‘Chori Chori’, ‘Jaagte Raho’ and the Oscar-nominated classic ‘Mother India’.Talking about his performance in ‘Mother India’, it is one of the most famous portrayals in Indian cinema.For those unaware, it was during the making of ‘Mother India’ when Nargis grew close to actor Sunil Dutt, whom she later married.The pair became one of the most acclaimed couples of Bollywood. They are the parents of the actor Sanjay Dutt and daughters Namrata Dutt and Priya Dutt.Nargis died on 3 May 1981 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Sanjay Dutt, in many of his past interviews, has talked about how difficult it was to cope with his mother’s death despite being closest to her.Meanwhile, talking about Jackie Shroff, the actor remains one of the most active stalwarts of the industry. The actor was recently seen in ‘The Great Indian Superhero’, which released on May 29 and received positive response from the audience.Over the years, Jackie has been a part of acclaimed projects like ‘Hero’, ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Gardish’, ‘Rangeela’, ‘Devdas’ and many more.Jackie is one of the few Bollywood stars who constantly remembers and pays tribute to industry legends on their birthdays, birth anniversaries, death anniversaries and other important occasions.–IANSRD/

The world’s richest people have become richer than ever due to the continuous emergence and development of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and infrastructure technologies. The total wealth of the world’s richest people has increased to approximately $2.9 trillion. The rise mainly occurred over the past month, when tech stocks surged as investments in artificial intelligence surged. Despite the usual suspects dominating the list, there have been some changes in status and fortunes that have escalated at a rate rarely seen in business history.Check out the list of top 10 richest people in the world, according to the latest Forbes report (June 2026), below.

List of richest people in the world

Source: Forbes

The richest people in the world in 2026

1. Elon Musk

Estimated net worth: $835 billionElon Musk is still in the position of being the richest person in the world, there is a huge difference between him and any other person in terms of wealth. The sources of his personal wealth are primarily SpaceX and Tesla Inc., although he has also shown interest in some artificial intelligence ventures. SpaceX has grown from merely a private aerospace corporation to one of the world’s most valuable companies, while Tesla continues to dominate the electric car sector. Elon Musk is the closest person to reaching $1 trillion net worth.

2. Larry Page

Estimated net worth: $309 billionLarry Page is considered to be the second richest man in the world and is one of the few people who has crossed the $300 billion mark. Larry Page co-founded the Google search engine with Sergey Brin in 1998 during his studies at Stanford University. The huge investments made by the company in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital services have been the main reason for the skyrocketing of Google’s market cap.

3. Sergey Brin

Estimated net worth: $285 billionSecond place goes to Sergey Brin, Larry Page’s lifelong business partner. These two men have been instrumental in transforming a scientific enterprise into one of the largest commercial enterprises in human history. Sergey Brin has been working quietly for a few years; However, as recently reported, Sergey Brin has been more actively involved in Google’s initiatives related to artificial intelligence. The main source of Sergey Brin’s wealth is represented by shares of the Alphabet company, which is closely related to AI.

4. Jeff Bezos

Estimated net worth: $277 billionJeff Bezos built Amazon from an online bookstore into a company that transformed shopping, logistics and cloud computing. More than thirty years after starting the business, he remains one of the richest men in history. While Amazon accounts for the majority of his wealth, Bezos has expanded his interest in space exploration through Blue Origin and a growing collection of technology investments. Their fortunes are also continuously rising along with the massive growth of digital commerce and cloud services.

5. Larry Ellison

Estimated net worth: $276 billionOracle co-founder, Larry Ellison, managed to register the biggest gain in wealth among the world’s wealthiest individuals last month. Oracle’s expansion into the development of infrastructure for artificial intelligence has helped increase investor confidence and boost its value. Ellison’s massive stake in Oracle stock has been instrumental in building his fortune.

6. Michael Dell

Estimated net worth: $244 billionMichael Dell started building computers in his university dorm room in Texas before creating one of the world’s most recognized technology companies. What started as a small operation eventually grew into Dell Technologies, a leading supplier of business hardware, servers, and infrastructure solutions. The recent surge in demand for AI-related computing devices has significantly boosted Dell’s assets.

7. Mark Zuckerberg

Estimated net worth: $217 billionMark Zuckerberg founded Facebook while studying at Harvard University, which became the world’s largest social networking platform. The company later evolved into Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. At 41, Zuckerberg is one of the youngest people in the global top ten. His wealth mainly comes from his ownership stake in Meta, which continues to generate billions in advertising revenue every year.

8. Jensen Huang

Estimated net worth: $182 billionThe rise of Jensen Huang has been one of the most impressive stories of the AI ​​age. The Nvidia co-founder spent decades building a company known primarily for gaming graphics cards before becoming a center for artificial intelligence development. Nvidia’s chips are now used in data centers and AI systems around the world. As demand for those processors increased, so did the value of the company.

9. Bernard Arnault

Estimated net worth: $148 billionBernard Arnault is the only non-American in the list of the top ten richest people globally. The businessman is the owner of LVMH, a luxury conglomerate that controls various companies including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Sephora. The source of her wealth revolves around luxury fashion products, jewelery and beauty products. Despite changes in spending on luxury goods, LVMH has dominated the industry, which has helped Arnault remain wealthy.

10. Steve Ballmer

Estimated net worth: $141 billionAfter the formation of Microsoft in 1980, Steve Ballmer joined it and later became the CEO of the company. Although his tenure as a leader was quite controversial, he took a wise decision to retain his majority stake in the firm upon his retirement. With Microsoft’s growth in the fields of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the firm’s shares have become much more valuable. Additionally, Steve Ballmer also owns the basketball team Los Angeles Clippers, which has gained considerable value over time.

FAQ: Richest People in the World

Elon Musk holds the title of the richest person in the world with a net worth of $835 billion as of June 2026.

The richest non-American on the list is France’s Bernard Arnault.

These ultra-rich individuals largely belong to the technology industry. Most of his net worth comes from companies operating in the software, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and semiconductor sectors.

At the age of 41, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest among the world’s 10 richest people.

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final to win back-to-back trophies. (AP)

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: IPL Trophies are won on the field, but championship dynasties are built in the boardrooms, auction tables and strategy meetings.Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s historic back-to-back title wins are the result of an approach that extends far beyond the playing XI. From andy flowersStrategic efficiency and long term planning of Mo Bobat Dinesh KarthikRecognizing the talent of player management and Mallolan Rangarajan, a powerful backroom team quietly built one of the most successful phases in the franchise’s history. Rajat Patidar-led RCB defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.TimesofIndia.com brings to you the people behind RCB’s winning machinery:Andy Flower (head coach)

Andy Flower was appointed head coach of RCB ahead of IPL 2024. (ANI)

The turnaround for RCB started when they appointed Andy Flower as head coach ahead of IPL 2024 and he has led them to two IPL titles in three years.Andy Flower is perhaps the greatest coach of modern cricket. He has mastered all three formats and has an extraordinary resume. He transformed a struggling England team into a world-beating team, overseeing three Ashes wins (2009, 2010–11 and 2013), England’s first global title at the 2010 T20 World Cup, and a historic Test series win in India in 2012, their first in 28 years. Flower later served as a consultant to Australia’s 2023 ODI World Cup-winning campaign before leading Trent Rockets to The Hundred title in 2022 and RCB to their first IPL title in 2025.RCB captain Rajat Patidar also praised Flower, calling him the greatest of all time.“I think he is one of the best coaches, the way he handles players, not just the players who are playing. I think for him the players who are not playing and the new players who are playing their first IPL season are equally important. He spent a lot of time with each individual. So, you know, I don’t have words for him, but he is the best coach I have played with.”Mo Bobat (cricket director)

Mo Bobat (R) is the director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore. (PTI)

Mo Bobat arrived at RCB as Director of Cricket ahead of IPL 2024, and brings with him over a decade of experience at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). As England Men’s Performance Director, he played a key role in building the talent pipeline that contributed to the country’s ODI and T20 World Cup triumphs, while also helping to revitalize the Test team under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Bobat previously worked with RCB as a consultant.After RCB’s win over GT in Qualifier 1, Bobat talked about the number of match-winners in the team, which ultimately proved to be crucial.Bobat had said, “We are obviously happy that we had a number of people who contributed to the win. We had a number of people who stood up with both bat and ball. And you need that to go far in competitions. We are not dependent on one or two players with the bat or one or two players with the ball. And that is a really pleasing thing.”“And if we do this often enough, and if everyone contributes and fulfills their roles, the results should take care of themselves,” Bobt explained his philosophy.Dinesh Karthik (mentor and batting coach)

In Dinesh Karthik, the young members of the RCB team have got an elder brother to guide them. (ANI)

After last year’s IPL, RCB wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma credited Dinesh Karthik for the change in his game.“That man saw in me what no one has ever seen in me. Everyone looked for flaws in me, but that man saw the goodness in me.” Everyone else used to find faults in me, but that man saw my strengths),” Jitesh had told TimesofIndia.com.This year, it was Venkatesh Iyer who worked closely with Karthik behind the scenes when he was not getting game time. When he got the opportunity, Venkatesh scored unbeaten 73 runs while batting at number four in the absence of Patidar due to concussion. From then on, he became a regular in the team.

RCB coaching staff after IPL 2026 title. (Image: X)

In Dinesh Karthik, many Indian players got the elder brother figure who was missing in the RCB dressing room earlier.“When you’re a coach, the dynamics are very different. I’m very happy to see that I have an opportunity to impact someone while I’m playing.” Karthik told TimesofIndia.com during ILT20.Malolan Rangarajan (Spin bowling coach, Player Identification Manager and RCB Women’s head coach)

Malolan Rangarajan is the head coach of RCB’s WPL team and the scout and spin bowling coach of the men’s team. (Image: X)

If Andy Flower and Mo Bobt shaped RCB’s approach, Mallolan Rangarajan helped build its foundation. Former Tamil Nadu off-spinner, Rangarajan has emerged as one of the most respected talent scouts in Indian cricket. As RCB’s head of scouting and fielding coach, he has played a key role in identifying and nurturing players who fit into the franchise’s long-term plans rather than simply chasing star names.Known for his keen eye on talent and deep understanding of domestic cricket, Rangarajan has been instrumental in strengthening RCB’s squad depth, ensuring that the franchise has a steady pipeline of players ready to step in when required. His influence extended beyond recruiting, with his work in the fielding department helping to raise the team’s athletic standards. While the spotlight is often on marquee players and high-profile coaches, Rangarajan’s contributions behind the scenes have been crucial in helping RCB build a balanced, flexible team capable of winning back-to-back IPL titles.Malolan Rangarajan is also the head coach of the RCB women’s team. He has been at the forefront of the Hinterland Scouting initiative, a methodology that explores the Indian cricket landscape at a much deeper level and identifies talent that might otherwise go unnoticed.Omkar Salvi (bowling coach)

RCB’s bowling performance in the IPL 2026 campaign was excellent. Omkar Salvi is the bowling coach of the team. (ANI)

After winning the title, captain Rajat Patidar praised bowling coach Omkar Salvi for revamping RCB’s attack.“I have known Omkar Salvi sir since I started playing my first Ranji Trophy season,” Patidar said.

“Since then, I have been watching him closely. He spent a lot of time with every bowler. I would say there was a lot of hard work in the way Salvi sir worked with the team. We can’t always see what’s happening in the meeting room when he is talking to the players. He spent a lot of time with them individually and I think that really helped every bowler.”

Most robots are made to look like something. Engineers designing machines to navigate in the real world have, for decades, reached for the same reference points: the human skeleton, the quadrupedal gait of a dog, the crawling of insects. These biological templates have produced impressive machines, but they have an underlying assumption that a robot needs forward, backward, and a preferred direction of travel. A team from Duke University’s General Robotics Lab has now directly challenged that notion, and the result is a machine that looks unlike anything in the robotics catalog and, more importantly, moves unlike anything that’s come before.

Duke’s omnidirectional robot with no front or back

The robot is named Argus after the all-seeing giant from Greek mythology, and the name fits. It has 20 modular, telescoping legs that extend outward from a central core, each fitted with a depth camera, giving it an almost perfect circular field of view. There is neither front, nor back, nor above, nor below. It can move, roll, climb, freeze and manipulate objects in any direction, without needing to turn or redirect itself first. The work, led by engineering professor Boyuan Chen with doctoral student Jiaxun Liu and postdoctoral researcher Boxie Xia, is published in the journal Nature. science robotics.

The design principles behind Argus and what it actually measures

The conceptual foundation of Argus is a design principle the team calls Dynamic Isotropy. Instead of asking what the robot should look like, the theory asks how evenly it can move in every direction in space. The team quantified this as a score from 0 to 1, where 1 represents a theoretically perfect machine that can move in any direction with exactly the same force. According to the published study, most advanced robots in use today, including state-of-the-art quadrupeds, humanoid robots, and traditional drones, score below 0.6 on this measure. Argus’s score is 0.91, which is close to the theoretical limit. As Chen said: “When a robot can accelerate equally in every direction, it no longer needs to face the world in any particular way. Back and forth become the same. Left and right become equal. The character of the whole problem of robot control changes.”

Why the dodecahedron geometry of Argus produces almost perfect motion symmetry

To reach that score of 0.91 it was necessary to solve the geometry problem first. The team ran more than 1,500 simulated robot configurations to identify which arrangement of legs came closest to their theoretical maximum. The winning design placed 20 identical cable-driven legs on top of a regular dodecahedron, a three-dimensional geometric solid with 12 pentagonal faces. This arrangement produces almost exactly uniform distribution of both force and visual coverage in all directions. Each leg is telescoping and cable-driven, meaning it can extend and retract to push against surfaces, and each has its own depth camera so that the robot’s perception simultaneously matches its physical reach in every direction. The result looks less like a machine and more like a sea urchin, which is not a coincidence. The study clearly notes the similarity, and the geometry behind it is the same principle that gives sea urchins their remarkable mechanical stability.

Argus detected forests, sand and wet surfaces in real-world tests

It’s one thing to build a robot that performs well in simulation; The Duke team tested Argus extensively in the real world, running it on the Duke campus and surrounding area. According to the study, the Argus rolled on concrete, grass, dense foliage, soft sand, wet surfaces and tree bark without losing stability regardless of its orientation. It cleared obstacles up to five inches high. It climbed vertically between two closely parallel walls by alternately grasping and pushing with different subsets of its legs. It carried a ten-pound payload at almost full speed and pushed a large cube around a location while rolling continuously. Doctoral student Jiaxun Liu, co-first author of the paper, said: “The first time we saw it navigate through trees and rough terrain, even through heavy collisions, we knew it was something different.”

How does Argus keep going even when his legs are broken or his motors are damaged?

One of the more practically important findings from the research concerns the robot’s resilience to damage. Because its 20 legs each contribute only a fraction of the total movement, and because the design distributes force evenly rather than relying on a small number of vital limbs, the Argus continues to function even if one or more motors fail, or a leg breaks. This is no small advantage. Most robots with reduced limbs suffer significant degradation in capability or complete failure if a vital joint is lost. Argus’s architecture makes it structurally tolerant of partial failure in a way that reflects the same mathematics that makes it ubiquitous: Nothing is so impactful that losing it will break the system.

The future of robotics beyond biological design templates

The team is clear that Argus is a proof of concept rather than a finished product, but the implications for robotics design are substantial. Postdoctoral researcher Boxee Xia said the robot proves that dynamic symmetry is not just a theoretical exercise; This produces a deployable machine capable of handling real-world challenges. Chen described Argus as the first member of what he envisions as a broader family of dynamically symmetrical machines: “robots that don’t need to mimic dogs or humans to be agile, tough, and useful.“Researchers have also produced designs with up to 40 legs that score even higher on dynamic isotropy, although these are impractical as prototypes right now given the added mechanical complexity. However, Argus’s dodecahedral architecture sits at a useful inflection point complex to reach the theoretical ideal, which is actually quite simple to build and test in the field.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Met Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing on Monday.The leaders met at Hyderabad House here in the national capital as President U Min Aung Hlaing is visiting India from May 30 to June 2 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.This is the first visit of Min Aung Hlaing to India in his current capacity as President. He will also be accompanied by a high-level delegation of cabinet ministers, senior officials and prominent business leaders.Earlier, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval Met Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday.“NSA Shri Ajit Doval met President of Myanmar U Min Aung Hlaing today,” Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a post on Twitter.Earlier, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met the President of Myanmar on Saturday and appreciated his positive approach towards strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.In a post on Twitter, Jaishankar said, “Delighted to meet President of Myanmar U Min Aung Hlaing in New Delhi today. Appreciate his positive sentiment towards deepening our long-standing bilateral cooperation. Looking forward to his meeting with PM Narendra Modi to take our partnership forward for peace, progress and prosperity.”After completing the program in Bodh Gaya, Min Aung Hlaing reached New Delhi.Hlaing reached Bodh Gaya in Bihar on Saturday, where External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed the visit and highlighted India’s civilizational and spiritual ties with Myanmar.Shortly after arrival, President Min Aung Hlaing visited the sacred Mahabodhi Temple, a major Buddhist pilgrimage site and UNESCO World Heritage Site.Speaking at the weekly press briefing earlier on Friday, Jaiswal outlined the broad scope of the upcoming bilateral discussions.