Jacinda Ardern resigns
I am not from New Zealand, I have never even visited the country, yet the news of Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, resigning makes me sad ("New Zealand’s Ardern leaves legacy of kindness, disappointments", GulF News, January 19). What courage this must have taken. Bless her for all the accomplishments she has achieved for New Zealand and the global example she set for justice and integrity. Ardern gave many hope that it was possible to have an intelligent, competent, and compassionate leader. I don’t know who will ever do this job better than her. Her success as a female leader was also an inspiration to women across the globe.
An emotional Ardern said yesterday that she no longer has “enough in the tank” after nearly six years as leader.
It’s so surprising to see some New Zealanders grumble about her on social media, especially considering how the country fared during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in many other countries people were dying by the thousands. Her response to the terror attack in her country was exactly what everyone across the world hopes for, from their own country’s political leaders.
She should go down as one of the greatest leaders who ever lived. No person or leader should be subjected to such immature targeted toxicity as she seems to be facing in her country right now. This is such a loss for New Zealand and the global political stage.
From Ms Claire D’souza
UAE
Commendable change
It is an outstanding directive by the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in Kerala, India, to grant menstrual leave for female university students (“Kerala government planning to grant menstrual leaves in state varsities”, Gulf News, January 18). CUSAT, an autonomous university, has more than 8,000 students, of whom over half are women.
It is a bold and revolutionary decision to empower women. Other universities should adopt the CUSAT method. Hats off to the thought process and the mindset change. I’m glad that it is getting noticed worldwide.
From Mr Eappen Elias
Dubai
Cricket: ODI series victory over Sri Lanka
Congratulations to Rohit Sharma and his team for their hard-fought series win against the Sri Lanka team by four wickets to take an unassailable series lead of 2-0 in the three-match One Day International (ODI) series. While the Sri Lankan captain chose to bat after winning the toss, and his openers were running away with the game at 102 for 1 in 17 overs, I thought the Indian team might have to chase a mammoth total. However, thanks to the dramatic spell of Kuldeep Yadav, who changed the game’s complexion and put the Sri Lankan team on the back foot.
Later, Axar Patel, Umran Malik, and Mohammed Siraj came to the party to bundle out them for just 215 runs in 40 overs. No doubt, the target was manageable. But despite the hurricane opening by Rohit Sharma, and Ishan Gill, both threw away their wickets before the power play 1. Unfortunately, Kohli could not get going and was cleaned up by Lahiru Kumara. Iyer too, followed suit. But cometh the hour, cometh the man, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya steadied the ship to put on an invaluable 75 runs to bail out our team to safety. And Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, in KL Rahul’s company, surpassed the meagre total of 215 runs to win the tie and lead the series 2-0. It was a hard-fought win for the Indian team,
Now that the series has been sealed, it is worth a try with our bench strength. Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami should be given a break, and Suryakumar Yadav and Arshdeep Singh should replace them. If possible, Ishan Kishan could take the place of either Gill or KL Rahul; both are sure to play the next series against New Zealand.
From Mr N Viswanathan
India
Cricket: World cup early start
Glad that the Indian cricket team captain, Rohit Sharma, is backing Ravichandran Ashwin’s idea that an early start to the One Day International (ODI) World Cup in India is the best to negate the dew factor and avoid giving any undue advantage to another team in this major event. I feel the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should think about the suggestion positively and start the matches by morning at least. Since the matches are scheduled to be played in October - November 2023, rain interruption is possible, especially in venues in the Southern states. It would be wise for ICC to keep a reserve day for all centres to ensure 100 per cent play of all the matches to allow the best teams to enter the semi-final stage and the final.
From Mr N V Krishnan
India
