Rishabh Pant, on his comeback after 14 months, was reappointed as captain of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2024.

Chandigarh: Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting opined that he had seen Rishabh Pant bat more in the past week than in any other season in the run-up to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant, who has been announced as captain for IPL 2024, returned to cricket after 14 months following his horrific car accident on December 30, 2022. The former Australian stated that Pant is making extra efforts to regain ‘confidence’ in his team. body.

After the accident, Pant underwent a number of ligament surgeries before undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Sharing his thoughts on Pant’s approach ahead of the IPL 2024, Ponting said, “He has probably batted more in the last week than ever before, leading to most of the IPLs.

“I think from his point of view he wants to get some confidence back in his body. He’s made himself take some different steps and played all the shots he plays. He was great, and more importantly he has a smile on his face, and that’s what we like to see.”

Delhi Capitals director of cricket and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly indicated that Pant’s unconventional batting style was also reflected in his captaincy. “He is not the conservative type of batsman, so you expect that character in his captaincy. No one comes as a ready-made captain. You learn as you go and I think captaincy is instinctive.

“I am looking forward to seeing him in the tournament,” Ganguly said. He added that the cricketer had gone through an emotional rollercoaster during his recovery phase. “I am surprised by the improvements he has made. Hopefully it’s a good season for him, because he’s been through a lot emotionally. It’s never easy when you sustain an injury like that,” the former BCCI chief said.

“It will be great to see him back, not just for the Delhi Capitals but also for the Delhi Ranji team and also for India because he is a special talent, a special player,” Ganguly added. Delhi Capitals will start their IPL 2024 campaign against Punjab Kings here on March 23.

James Marsden and other celebrities wrote letters of support for shamed Brian Peck after he was accused of the child sexual abuse of Drake Bell in 2003.

In August 2003, Nickelodeon dialogue coach Peck – now 63 – was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen counts related to allegations that he had sexually abused an unnamed minor.

Peck subsequently pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14-or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16 – with Bell – now 37 – claiming he was the unnamed minor who was abused by Peck aged 15 when he appeared on The Amanda Show.

Now Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has unsealed 41 letters of support sent to the judge in the case, revealing Marsden was one of the most prominent figures asking for probation – rather than jail time – for Peck.

Journalist Kate Taylor notes it is is ‘unclear how much Peck’s friends knew about the charges against Peck’ when they penned the letters.

Marsden wrote in the letter seen by USWeekly: ‘I can easily say that Brian is one of the reasons why I have been as successful as I have been in this industry. I was lucky enough to have been graced with Brian’s guidance, uncommissioned guidance I might add, and support in pursuing an acting career.

Saying Peck was his ‘mentor’ he added: ‘I don’t mean to dramatize this but I am speaking wholeheartedly about a man whose heart is pure and no matter what you’re talking about, his intentions are always good. He has such an amazing capacity to care about people. This, I find, is very rare. Especially in Hollywood. Brian genuinely cares about other human beings.’

He compared Peck’s suffering after his arrest to that of ‘a hundred men and wrote: ‘When I first heard the news of Brian’s arrest I couldn’t breathe. I could not believe what was happening. It was unimaginable.

‘I’ve known Brian for 14 years and never once did I ever see any sign of him being capable of something like this. I have lived at his house for months and shared hotel rooms with him and never once did he ever make me feel compromised or uncomfortable in any way. I don’t know what it would take to have something like this occur, whatever it is, it is extremely out of character for Brian.’

Marsden was also mentioned in  X-Men producer Thomas DeSanto‘s letter of support – Peck was Marsden’s best man at his wedding to Lisa Linde in 2000.

DailyMail.com has contacted Marsden’s representative for comment. 

Taran Killam, 41, also praised Peck in a letter writing: ‘Over the years, Brian has become one of my dearest friends. I know him quite well on both a professional and personal level. Brian has to be one of the most well liked people I have ever known. I think this has to do a great deal with his generosity, genuine concern for other’s well being, and especially his honesty.

‘When I found out about Brian being arrested I was shocked. Brian is the last person I would expect to be charged with criminal activities. My first thought was, ‘This is a mistake.’ I know many of our mutual friends had similar thoughts. I have seen the effects this situation has had on Brian and I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made and that this is certainly not something that would ever happen again.”

‘There has yet to be a set that I work on, where someone doesn’t know Brian, and also doesn’t think the world of him. He honestly is one of the most well liked, well-respected people in this business.’

Boy Meets World co-stars Rider Strong, 44, and Will Friedle, 47, who met Peck when he guest-starred on their show also wrote letters to the judge.

One read: ‘It was extremely disturbing to learn of Brian’s arrest. Maliciousness is so antithetical to his nature, it is impossible for me to comprehend a situation that would lead him to do something illegal or even inappropriate. I immediately called him and offered whatever support I could. Of course, Brian being Brian, he had already received numerous such calls.’

Strong revealed on his  Pod Meets World podcast last month that he didn’t know about the charges against Peck – who he says lied about the abuse.

He said: ‘He didn’t say that nothing had happened. So by the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. 

‘There was this hot guy! I just did this thing and he’s underage.’ And we bought that story line,” Strong said. “I never heard about the other things because, back then, you couldn’t Google to find out what people were being charged with. So in retrospect, he was making a plea deal and admitting one thing — which is all he admitted to us — but it looks like he was being charged with a series of crimes, which we did not know.’

Friedle said he regretted attending Peck’s sentencing,  

Friedle, meanwhile, expressed regret at attending Peck’s ‘horrifying’ sentencing, saying: ‘We weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it. I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.’

Actor Alan Thicke, who died aged 69 in 2016 said Peck was ‘highly professional and nurturing’ towards young people on set of their show Growing Pains from 1985-1992.

He wrote: ‘Because he was never inappropriate in any way around children, including my own two young sons, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the trouble he was in.

‘Knowing him as I did, I also know beyond a doubt how remorseful he is and how dedicated and focused he will be on his rehabilitation. Brian’s integrity and self-respect have always been important to him and this turn of events has been mortifying to him in ways that will only make him a better, stronger citizen in the future.’

An excerpt of a letter penned by Thicke’s Growing Pains co-star Joanna Kerns, 71, and shown on the documentary read: ‘I can only believe there must have been some extreme situation or temptation exerted upon him to influence his actions.’

Kerns later issued a statement refuting the letter saying: ‘I have now learned that my letter of support was based on complete misinformation. Knowing what I know now, I never would have written the letter.’

Kimmy Roberston, 69, wrote: ‘I believe with all my heart that Brian was pressured and pushed beyond belief before he caved in.’

While directors Rich and Beth Correll who worked with Peck on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody two years after his conviction, also supported him via letter.

In the wake of Quiet on Set the couple released a statement saying ‘they had no input or involvement in the casting of Peck on the Disney show.’

Bell has said on the docuseries how several ‘recognizable’ faces packed into the courtroom on the day of Peck’s sentencing to show their support. 

He said: ‘I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and I just said, ‘How dare you. You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person. And I will forever have the memory of the person you are defending violating me and doing unspeakable acts and crimes. And that is what I will remember.’

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for comment. 

In October 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and mandated to register as a sex offender. 

Peck served as a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s All That and The Amanda Show, the latter featuring Bell from 1999 to 2002. 

Subsequently, Bell took the lead in his own Nickelodeon series in 2004 with Drake & Josh.

A clip from Quiet on Set teases Bell coming forward to discuss Peck. 

A press release from Investigation Discovery reads: ‘The clip reveals that former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell will be sharing publicly, for the first time, the story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck, his former dialogue coach who was convicted in 2004 for his crimes against Drake and ordered to register as a sex offender.’

Bell has not provided details about the nature of the abuse he endured. 

However, it is anticipated that he may reveal more when Quiet on Set airs later this month

In 2015, DailyMail.com exposed that despite his conviction, Peck continued to work on a Disney show and a high school–themed horror film.

He faced restrictions only in direct contact with children, enabling him to be hired in alternative roles, even on projects prominently involving children and teenagers.

According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Peck had visited the minor actor at his home for acting coaching during the incident. He was apprehended after the young actor’s parents reported the abuse to the police.

Peck eventually entered a no-contest plea to two counts from the initial 11 charges, as the rest were dismissed.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, he sustained minor acting roles and worked as a dialogue coach. His last credited acting appearance, according to IMDb, was in 2018.

It remains uncertain whether those hiring Peck were aware of his status as a convicted sex offender, though his IMDb page does acknowledge his criminal conviction. 

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a four-part docuseries that exposes the toxic work environment prevalent in children’s shows during the 1990s and early 2000s. 

The focus is particularly on productions associated with Dan Schneider, the creator of cherished Nickelodeon series like iCarly and Zoey 101.

Child actors and crew members previously spoke to Business Insider about disturbing sexualized scenes that Schneider wrote for some of his series, and he alleged urged his young female stars to wear revealing clothing on camera.

The showrunner was also accused of repeatedly requesting massages at work, according to a 2000 gender-discrimination and hostile-workplace lawsuit from a writer on The Amanda Show. The suit was settled out of court. 

Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV airs on March 17 and 18 on Investigation Discovery.

By Maria Chiorando for Mailonline

Published: 11:59 EST, March 7, 2024 | Updated: 12:00 EST, March 7, 2024

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By Adam S. Levy for Dailymail.com

Published: 00:23 EST, March 7, 2024 | Updated: 00:48 EST, March 7, 2024

This is Lance Klusener’s second stint in the Indian Premier League. Earlier, during the initial years, Klusener was an assistant coach of Mumbai Indians.

New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday strengthened their support staff with the addition of Lance Klusener as assistant coach ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The former South African all-rounder will join head coach Justin Langer and assistant coach S Sriram in LSG’s backroom staff. This will be Klusener’s second stint in IPL after serving as assistant coach of Mumbai Indians during the initial years of IPL.

This will be Klusener’s second stint as a coach in the IPL, having served as assistant to former South African captain Shaun Pollock at Mumbai Indians in the early years of the IPL. Notably, Klusener is also in charge of Durban Super Giants, the franchise’s affiliate team in the SA20.

Lance Klusener will strengthen our technical staff this season pic.twitter.com/0GWVNFEEnV

— Lucknow Supergiants (@LucknowIPL) March 1, 2024

LSG have reached the IPL play-offs in both seasons they have played since their inception in 2022. However, on both occasions they are expelled in the Eliminator. The 52-year-old has coached several teams across the world, including as a consultant coach for the Delhi and Tripura domestic sides.

He was also the batting coach of Mumbai Indians and was not only associated with Delhi Capitals. Last year, South African Guyana guided Amazon Warriors to their first title in the Caribbean Premier League. At international level he has coached Afghanistan and was batting coach of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

During his playing days, Klusener played in 49 Tests and 171 ODIs for South Africa between 1996 and 2004. LSG will start their IPL 2024 campaign against 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on March 24.

With PTI inputs

Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are the two cricketers that BCCI has dropped from the Central Contracts list.

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit revealed that Shreyas Iyer had an injury but got it resolved by adding a new twist to the entire episode after the Indian batsman lost his place in the BCCI’s Central Contracts, which was concluded on Wednesday announced. During his time away from the Indian team. Iyer did not appear for his state side in the Ranji Trophy despite BCCI’s mandate to play domestic cricket. Instead, the right-hander was busy in the KKR pre-season camp ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League. Notably, Iyer is the captain of KKR.

Before the unknown, Iyer reportedly faked an injury to skip one of the Ranji Trophy matches in Mumbai. The stylish batsman stated that he is suffering from a back spasm at a time when a National Cricket Academy (NCA) physio claimed that the cricketer is perfectly fit. Pandit’s recent claims added a new layer to the entire saga.

“I won’t say Shreyas should be included in any league, but he is definitely a player who can serve India in any format. He has had an injury problem, but that has been resolved. He has been performing well and even scored a century (105 against New Zealand in 2021 in Kanpur) on his Test debut,” Pandit told Mid-Day.

“In our future series, there may be players who are out of form, so obviously Shreyas will be there. He will play domestic cricket and can feature in the IPL. He will be useful for Indian cricket in any format,” added the KKR coach who had worked with Iyer.

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By Josh Alston for Daily Mail Australia and Anna Harrington for Australian Associated Press

Published: 01:24 EST, February 27, 2024 | Updated: 01:24 EST, February 27, 2024

Radhi and Jay Shetty are the Brits who have become Hollywood’s go-to couple in the booming wellness industry. 

Jay is a monk-turned-life coach, who officiated at the weddings of Jennifer Lopez and Lily Collins, while Radhi is an Ayurvedic cook and nutritionist, whose fans include Paris Hilton and Gisele Bündchen. 

In an extract from her debut cookbook, JoyFull, Radhi explains how her plant-based recipes fuse ancient wisdom with a more modern lifestyle:

There is a natural rhythm to everything — our body’s cycles, the days, the seasons — and to live out of sync with them is to be in a constant state of imbalance. That’s a recipe for feeling burned out or even sick.

When you think about our fast-paced lives with on-demand access to anything, anytime, it’s little wonder so many people suffer from poor digestion, disordered sleep and a general feeling of blah. 

But if you can get back in sync, choose your meals with intention and sprinkle in a few simple, well-timed habits throughout the day, you will begin to experience what balance feels like.

I have a degree in nutrition, but being a student of Ayurveda has given me an appreciation for how food affects your body, mindset and mood. 

Unlike most applications of Western medicine, which focus on the cure, Ayurveda puts the emphasis on prevention — how we can keep from getting ill in the first place. 

And by ill, I’m not necessarily talking about the biggies like heart disease or diabetes, but also the more subtle irritations including poor sleep and sluggish digestion that take away from our everyday quality of life.

Ayurveda addresses more understated conditions that are often the initial signs of illness or imbalance, such as dull skin or brittle hair, because the outside of your body communicates what’s happening on the inside. 

Essentially, what you eat, along with daily habits and how you think, has the ability to transform every aspect of your health.

I’ve combined science-based nutrition with ancient healing traditions to create a mash-up I call ‘the playful and the profound’. It’s an idea introduced to me by my husband, Jay, who says our relationship works well because of our dynamic — I tend towards the playful while he leans towards the profound.

My guidelines and recipes are designed to help you listen closely to what your body might be asking of you and what it needs to feel nourished. But instead of getting too caught up with what you ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ be eating, I’d rather you embrace more general practices, rooted in Ayurveda.

These are simply: (1) Eating more plants and spices. (2) Living in rhythm with nature and your own body. (3) Surrounding yourself with the energy, intention and feelings with which you want to fill yourself.

And that’s pretty much it; easy-peasy, right? Maybe not exactly a quick fix, but when was the last time someone told you to eat delicious food in a deeply satisfying way as a prescription for feeling amazing?

Ayurveda teaches that everything in the living world, including the food we eat, can be divided into three modes:

• Sattva, the mode of goodness

• Rajas, the mode of passion

• Tamas, the mode of ignorance

At the bottom of the food chain are tamasic foods such as deep-fried and ultra-processed. Tamasic foods may also include animal products. 

These require extra effort to digest, and don’t lift your consciousness or your energy. As a result, they often leave you lethargic and are frequently at the root of many health issues.

Rajasic foods, such as caffeine and sweets, can give you energy, but often only fleetingly and with an aggressive edge. They offer a temporary burst of stimulation, often followed by a crash in energy. 

They feed the body at the expense of the mind and long-term health. Rajasic foods can also be plants that possess overstimulating qualities, such as onions and garlic.

And then there are sattvic foods. These are free of additives and preservatives and are typically plants. Think whole grains, fresh fruit, nuts, seeds and vegetables. They are easy to digest and elevate your happy hormones (serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins) to lift your mood and raise your vibrations.

It is believed that merely by enjoying more sattvic foods, you are nourishing your mind and making it more receptive to clarity and wisdom. Your digestion is robust; you don’t pick up every cold that comes around; your hair looks shiny, your skin supple.

LIVE IN RHYTHM WITH THE DAY

Your body is just as much a product of nature as the sun and the moon, so it makes sense that our internal processes (waking, sleeping, digesting, moving, repairing) follow the same 24-hour tempo. Think about it: the sun rises and brings its light and radiant energy, which gradually builds until it peaks at midday.

After that, the light and heat begin to fade, making way for the moon to rise. As it does, the air cools and the energy shifts towards a slower pace. Your body is built to be doing that exact same thing every day and our job is to follow its lead.

You may have noticed that when you sleep in, you feel sluggish for the rest of the day. Or that when you eat a late-night meal, you often wake up in the early hours, your mind racing. All of this makes complete sense once you understand this rhythm.

BRING INTENTION INTO THE MIX

Practitioners of Ayurveda believe that the energy and intention you have while cooking are infused into the food — which is then absorbed and digested into the person receiving it. That’s why one of my favourite things to do is feed people when they come to my home.

I love putting thought into what nourishing, delicious meal I can prepare, and then actively reflecting on and praying for their wellbeing as I cook. And what’s amazing is that my guests often tell me they can sense that. It may sound woo-woo, but the intention you bring to the simplest acts, including preparing food, are powerful. That means that cooking with love and kind energy is just as healing as the food itself.

Think of it as conscious cooking: cooking with your mind turned on. It is not throwing together ingredients as you rush to get to work or zone out to your favourite show, it’s a simple daily practice that elevates the humblest meals, and here are a few ways to do it:

• Imagine the meal you are going to prepare, the people you will feed and how it will nourish them — even if it’s just a meal for yourself.

• Cook without distraction so you can focus your energy on the food and the act of preparing it.

• Imagine how this food will give your body the energy to do good in the world through whatever unique skills you have.

• Speak affirming words, listen to a meditation or uplifting songs; sing to your food as you cook. It may sound silly, but scientists have compared the effects of music and words on water molecules and found that soothing words and music create snowflake-like structures, while angry words and music create more of a disjointed formation.

If they have the power to do that to water, imagine what they can create in your body, which is 70 per cent water!

• Offer gratitude for these ingredients and this moment of being alive on the planet, whether it’s to God or the universe.

• Eat with intention. When you take a moment to be quiet and present with your food, express gratitude for it.

Put down your utensils between bites and savour the individual flavours to create a more up- lifting experience. This is called conscious eating.

TIPS FOR LIVING JOYFULLY

1. Cook and eat with love. Picture each element and what it’s doing to benefit your body. Then, before you tuck in, take a moment to say thank you for this beautiful meal.

2. Eat until satisfied, not stuffed. Ayurveda recommends we eat until we are three-quarters satisfied. Overeating increases the production of free radicals, or unstable molecules that build up in the cells. This can inhibit your ability to break down foods and in turn lead to chronic health issues.

3 Chew your food. This breaks it down, which makes it easier for your body to utilise. Chewing also allows you to notice the textures, the sour, the sweet, the heat.

4. Eat (and cook) with your hands. One of the easiest ways to connect your senses with your meal is to touch your food. Not every dish lends itself to eating with your hands, but many do. This also extends to preparing meals.

5 Eat without distractions. If you are eating while watching TV or working, it increases the chances of overeating and not chewing or digesting your food adequately.

6 Avoid cold and iced beverages. In scientific terms, cold drinks cause your blood vessels to constrict, which can hinder digestion and the process of absorbing nutrients. Try to stick to 120ml hot water, warm water or room-temperature water at mealtimes.

7 Avoid snacking. Your body needs at least three hours to digest, so eating between meals can disrupt the digestive process.

8 Eat your dessert before dinner. That’s because sweets are always digested first, so if any other food is in your system, your body will stop digesting it in favour of the sweet, leading undigested food to ferment and toxins to accumulate.

9. Go for a walk. Sitting squashes the digestive tract and slows digestion. Instead, go for a 10-15 minute stroll after a meal.

By embracing simple habits such as creating meals that balance all essential tastes, eating with all your senses and cooking and eating with gratitude, you’ll be creating a strong foundation for health and vitality in body and spirit. You will be joyFULL!

• JoyFull by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty (£22, Harper Thorsons) is out tomorrow.