The Prime Minister of Vanuatu has ordered the cancellation of a passport issued to Indian businessman Lalit Modi, who is wanted in India on corruption charges.

The decision came just days after India confirmed that Modi had obtained citizenship from the island nation, which consists of more than 80 islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Modi, the former chief of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has been accused of rigging bids during his tenure as head of the world’s richest cricket tournament.

He has been living in the UK since 2010 and has consistently denied all allegations. Despite multiple attempts, India has been unsuccessful in its efforts to extradite him.

On Friday, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that Modi had applied to surrender his Indian passport in London. “We are also given to understand that he has acquired citizenship of Vanuatu. We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law,” Jaiswal stated.

The news of Modi’s Vanuatu citizenship quickly made headlines in India, where he was once the glamorous face of the IPL, known for mingling with Bollywood stars and the country’s elite. However, on Monday, Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat announced the cancellation of his citizenship, stating that a Vanuatu passport was a “privilege” and should be granted only for “legitimate reasons.”

“None of those legitimate reasons include attempting to avoid extradition, which the recent facts brought to light clearly indicate was Mr Modi’s intention,” Napat said in a media release.

Napat explained that background checks and Interpol screenings conducted during Modi’s passport application showed no criminal convictions. However, he revealed that in the past 24 hours, he had learned that Interpol had twice rejected India’s requests to issue an alert notice against Modi due to a “lack of substantive judicial evidence.”

“Any such alert would’ve triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi’s citizenship application,” the statement added.

The cancellation of Modi’s passport is likely to be a relief for Indian authorities. Unlike the UK, Vanuatu does not have an extradition treaty with India, which made Modi’s new citizenship a potential obstacle in India’s pursuit of legal action.

A day before Vanuatu’s decision, Modi took to X (formerly Twitter), stating that there were no cases pending against him in any Indian court and accusing the media of spreading “fake news” about him.

Modi was instrumental in launching the IPL in 2008, turning it into a multi-billion-dollar cricket industry. The charges against him primarily relate to bid rigging in the 2010 auction of two IPL franchises, as well as unauthorized deals involving broadcasting and internet rights.

In 2013, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned him for life from any involvement in cricket activities.

The cola giants are at it again, and this summer’s ad showdown is heating up fast. PepsiCo’s latest cheeky move a full-page newspaper ad touting its “any time” campaign takes a sly swing at Coca-Cola’s “half time” push for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, reigniting their legendary rivalry with a fresh dose of wit.

Coca-Cola kicked things off a month ago with its “half time” vibe, splashed across TV and digital, urging fans to grab a cold one during game breaks.

But PepsiCo flipped the script, asking why wait for a breather when every moment’s better with a Pepsi. Their ad rattles off life’s highlights first time, thirst time, day time, play time, class time, pass time, crunch time, lunch time, chill time, one more time, dinner time, winner time, down time, town time, we time, me time driving home the point that Pepsi’s for any vibe, any time.

It’s a throwback to the golden days of cola ad wars, and social media’s buzzing with nostalgia especially for Pepsi’s 1996 “Nothing Official About It” campaign.

Back then, after losing the Cricket World Cup sponsorship to Coca-Cola, Pepsi hit back with Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, and Mohammed Azharuddin, turning a snub into a cultural flex. “For those who remember, ‘Nothing Official About It’ wasn’t just a campaign — it was a cultural moment,” PepsiCo said in a statement.

“A take from the brand that turned into an obsession amongst the audience, proving that sometimes, not trying too hard is exactly the winning move. And now, decades later, Pepsi seems to be channelling that same effortless confidence.”

The jab’s got folks talking. Rediffusion Chairman Sandeep Goyal told PTI, “Now they joust but they don’t go for knock-outs,” noting that colas aren’t the FMCG spotlight-stealers they were half a century ago.

Still, brand guru Harish Bijoor praised Pepsi’s fizz on X (@harishbijoor): “Sometimes, a competitor helps you hone your #BigIdea! This summer #CocaCola has done that favor to #Pepsi! The #Coke cricketCentric HalfTime ad begged a repartee! And Pepsi has its summer of content: #AnytimePepsi! I think this can move to be an #AlwaysPepsi even! Campaignable!” On LinkedIn, marketer Richa Arora with Lyxel&Flamingo said PepsiCo “hijacked the narrative” with lean, punchy messaging, turning Coca-Cola’s “pause” into their own “anytime” win.

With summer hitting India early—a massive market for both brands—the cola clash is bubbling over, and Pepsi’s playful poke might just steal the season’s sip.

England cricket skipper Jos Buttler has opened up about his team’s heartfelt sympathy for Afghan women and girls, just a day before a pivotal match against Afghanistan.

Speaking on Tuesday, Buttler shared his hope that cricket could offer a glimmer of light amid tough times. “We feel for the women and girls of Afghanistan,” he said. “Sport has the power to unite and give hope, and we hope this game can play a small role in that.”

The showdown, set for Wednesday, Feb. 26, is a do-or-die group stage battle for England to keep their tournament dreams alive.

The lead-up hasn’t been without drama some UK lawmakers pushed for a boycott over Afghanistan’s human rights record under Taliban rule, but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stood firm after talks with the government, the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the players.

The ECB made it clear: cricket can’t fix Afghanistan’s bigger issues alone, so the game’s going ahead.

Since the Taliban regained control in 2021, they’ve clamped down hard on women’s rights shutting them out of schools, jobs, and public life while enforcing strict dress codes. Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, brushed off the off-field noise, keeping his squad’s focus tight. “We are sportsmen. Our responsibility is what happens on the field,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan women’s cricket team is a shadow of its former self. Back in 2020, they had 25 contracted players, but most have since fled to Australia after the Taliban’s return.

The Taliban claim they uphold women’s rights “in accordance with Islamic law and local customs” and scoff at outside meddling, but Buttler’s words and England’s decision to play underscore cricket’s tricky dance between sport and solidarity.

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Morris Feels the Heat as Proteas Face Potential England Showdown

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher that captains get grilled about washed-out games before a single ball’s even been tossed, but Steve Smith and Temba Bavuma handled it like pros after Tuesday’s rain-soaked no-show between Australia and South Africa in Rawalpindi.

They sidestepped the messy net run-rate chatter and kept it straightforward win their last Pool B games against Afghanistan and England, and they’re through to the semi-finals. Smart move, skipping the math and sticking to the basics.

Now, though, the Proteas are staring down a do-or-die clash in Karachi on Saturday that’s shaping up like a quarter-final especially if England take care of Afghanistan in Lahore on Wednesday.

Former South African all-rounder Chris Morris admits the stakes are giving him a “lump in my belly,” and it’s easy to see why.

The Champions Trophy’s lightning-fast format where hosts Pakistan crashed out in just six days turns every match into a virtual knockout punch.

For South Africa, this weekend could be everything, and the tension’s already building.

“I played two Champions Trophies and that was the message that we got given. With every one, I was prepared for it to be a knockout occasion every single game,” former Proteas allrounder Chris Morris exclusively told Independent Media. 

“There’s no resting on your laurels. There’s no relaxing. It’s straight into a full match intensity, which you do anyway, but there’s a different feel about it.

“The message that you get given straight away is that every game is a must-win game. I think the most important thing is that you mentally prepare for it before you even start the tournament. Every game is almost a knockout game.

“The mindset doesn’t really change, does it? Because you’ve gone in there already knowing that we’ve got to win each one that we play.”

All that considered, Morris does feel that Saturday’s encounter now holds extra significance due to the Rawalpindi washout. 

“In my opinion, I looked at the log and I got a little bit of a stress lump in my belly because you’re obviously playing against England who had a really good game against Australia, who played out of their absolute socks to win that game and chase down a big target. 

“England are such a dangerous side. The reality is you look at the log and you go, flip, England have got Afghanistan next. You would think that Afghanistan are going to get knocked over by England, which means we have to win. It’s a do or die for both teams.

“It basically is almost like a quarterfinal that they’re going into now, South Africa and England. Even though England have got the game in hand on South Africa, it would have to be the thought pattern of it’s a quarterfinal for us because we need to beat England and then move on to whoever we play in the next group. It’s finals cricket!”

Morris, who was part of the Proteas squad that lost to England in the 2013 Champions Trophy semi-final at The Oval, believes the current team has overcome the long-standing notion that South African sides struggle in knockout matches.

He credits their historic semi-final win at last year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean for shifting this mindset.

“We know in the recent past, in the last couple of years, the approaches have been very good in semifinals or quarterfinals, if you want to call them that,” he said.

“They’ve been very good and they rely back on that experience. A lot of the guys that were in those semi-finals are still in the squad and still playing.”