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Mangaluru, Nov 13: In a significant boost for junior cricket in the region, two promising talents from Dakshina Kannada district, Rehan Mohammed and Eesa Hakeem Puthige, have been named in the Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) Under-19 squad for the prestigious BCCI Cooch Behar Trophy 2025-26 season.

The selection of the two young cricketers underscores their impressive performances in the domestic age-group circuit, marking them as players to watch in the highly competitive national long-format tournament.

Karnataka's campaign in the Cooch Behar Trophy is set to kick off at the Alur Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru, where they will face Uttarakhand in their first four-day encounter, scheduled from November 16 to 19.

Rehan Mohammed, a skilled wicketkeeper-batsman, and Eesa Hakeem Puthige will join the state's best junior players as they aim to emulate Karnataka's recent success in the tournament. The Cooch Behar Trophy is a vital stepping stone, traditionally serving as the proving ground for cricketers aspiring to play at higher levels, including the Ranji Trophy and the India U-19 team.

Karnataka U-19 Squad for Cooch Behar Trophy 2025-26 

Nitish Arya
Dhruv Krishnan
Adesh D Urs
Manikanth Shivanand (Captain)
Rehan Mohammad (WK)
Akshath Prabhakar (Vice Captain)
Dhyan Mahesh Hiremath
Rathan BR
Kuldeep Singh Purohit
Virat R Ganya
Vaibhav Sharma
Eesa Hakeem Puthige
Pratheek Akhil
Sidharth Akhil
Rohith AA

The Cooch Behar Trophy: A Long-Format Crucible

The BCCI Cooch Behar Trophy is India's national Under-19 inter-state cricket tournament, famed for its multi-day, long-format matches. Established during the 1945-46 season, it is named after the family of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar.

This four-day format provides young athletes with crucial exposure to the demands of longer cricket—challenging their batting endurance, bowling stamina, and match-reading tactics, preparing them for the rigours of First-Class cricket.

The US is reportedly exploring a plan for a vast military base housing thousands of forces along Gaza’s border with the occupied Palestinian territories amid fears of further American regional adventurism and desire to help the Israeli regime control the territory’s future.

Reporting on Tuesday, Israeli investigative outlet Shomrim said the facility bears a $500-million price tag.

The outpost would also give Washington the ability to act independently on the ground needless of Israeli coordination and shape dynamics directly.

Observers noted that the plan comes while global outrage at the regime over its war of genocide on Gaza that began in October 2023, has come to a head. This, they added, has potentially triggered Tel Aviv to ask its allies to advance its goals as it temporarily steps out of the spotlight.

Palestinian officials have, however, warned that such steps represented an effort to replace one occupation with another, merely swapping Israeli boots for foreign ones.

In early November, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior leader of Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement, made it clear that the group would never tolerate such an arrangement.

“We cannot accept a military force that would be a substitute for the occupation army in Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.

Earlier, Washington had circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution proposing creation of a so-called “International Stabilization Force (ISF)” in Gaza for at least two years.

The force, reportedly to be formed by the US, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, would operate under the pretext of reconstruction and security, while effectively ensuring the “demilitarization” of Gaza and the dismantling of the resistance infrastructure.

According to American outlet Axios, the ISF plan represents part of the first phase of a 20-point proposal designed by Donald Trump, who claims it will “end the war” in Gaza.

Critics have, however, argued that the proposal ignores the core issues of Israeli occupation, accountability for war crimes, and Palestinians’ right to self-determination and compensation.

Abu Marzouk also revealed that Washington and Tel Aviv had opposed allowing the Security Council to officially mandate such a mission.

Meanwhile, the US has already opened a smaller Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the city of Kiryat Gat, north of Gaza, described by US Central Command officials as a hub for “humanitarian and military coordination.”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit there, vowed that “disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza will be achieved.”

Hamas has said its weapons are intrinsically linked to the occupation’s existence, which necessitates that resistance fighters remain constantly on alert for any potential large-scale aggression against Gaza.

With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) poised to return to power in Bihar with an overwhelming majority, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday echoed the “vote chori” (vote theft) allegation raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming that similar irregularities occurred in Karnataka as well.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had earlier accused the BJP-led NDA of engaging in “vote chori” in Haryana and Karnataka. Siddaramaiah backed the allegation but offered no specific details.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister admitted that he was still unaware of the factors behind the Congress–RJD alliance’s setback in Bihar and the NDA's strong performance.

“We have to accept the mandate of the people. I don’t know what caused the setback. I had not gone to Bihar. I don’t know who didn’t vote for us or why the NDA won with such a big majority. I will try to find out,” Siddaramaiah said.

Responding to a question on why OBC voters in Bihar did not favour the Congress despite being a decisive bloc, Siddaramaiah countered: “I don’t know. Who is Nitish Kumar? Isn’t he OBC?”

When asked again about the Congress’s allegation of “vote chori,” he remarked, “They have done chori here too,” but refrained from elaborating.

According to the latest trends, the NDA is on course to cross the 200-seat mark in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.