Good morning,

Once a cricket-mad nation and hosts of multiple ICC extravaganzas, India, this time, isn’t talking up their team, and the players are also missing the hype. The WorldT20 breeze across the nation is rather tepid. Calling it a “shocking plot-twist,” Sandeep Dwivedi, in his weekly sports column, writes: “And this isn’t a complaint. Too distracted, the fans aren’t their usual self nor in Cup-mode.” With Suryakumar Yadav yet to reach where former champions Kapil, Azhar, Dhoni, Virat or Rohit have been, and discussions focused on the present team’s few shortcomings, will the WorldT20 hype be revived anytime soon?

With that, let’s move on to the top 5 stories from today’s edition:

🚨 Big Story

Being largely cited by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, former Army chief General M M Naravane’s memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, has emerged as an outlier in the Ministry of Defence’s record of clearing books by retired military personnel. The response to an RTI application filed by The Indian Express reveals that 35 book titles had come before the Ministry for approval since 2020. Of these, only three were listed as not yet cleared — one of them being General Naravane’s memoir. While the other two books were shown as being “under progress,” and “awaiting publication,” Naravane’s memoir was left alone in limbo. Here’s what the RTI reply revealed.

⚡ Only in Express

“Every Under-19 World Cup triumph has a face: from Yuvraj Singh, the Man of the Match in the 2000 edition, to Virat Kohli, the talisman of the 2008 triumph.”

‘The victorious batch of 2026’: February 6, 2026, will be etched in cricket history as the day which united 15 youngsters – with distinct struggles and journeys – under the Harare sky, holding aloft the glittering World Cup trophy. From the one who travelled in unreserved coaches to get to his cricket academy, to another carrying his father’s unfinished dream, their victory suggests no talented cricketer slips out of the system, as India beat England by 100 runs in the finals on Friday. Like all victories, India’s fifth junior title tells a thousand tales. It captures the unflinching supremacy India wields in the game and the dizzying depth of talent. Read more about the journeys of the teen champions here.

💡 Express Explained

Udit Misra, in his weekly column, GDP, writes that a central reason cited for United States President Donald Trump’s global tariffs was the revival of domestic manufacturing. As Trump completed his first full year in office last month, did his tariffs boost manufacturing in the US? Official data paints a starkly different picture. According to data obtained from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, the total number of people employed in manufacturing in the US as of December 2025 was 12.69 million. This is 68,000 fewer jobs compared to December 2024. Are Trump’s tariffs then desirable?

✍️ Express Opinion

In our Opinion section today, Suhas Palshikar reflects upon the deadlock in the Parliament during the Budget Session this year, and the disruptions in the House proceedings. He suggests one should situate the recent incidents – the gagging of the LoP, perceived threat to safety of the PM, and PM Modi’s sharp attack on Congress – in the larger political story of the country. Palshikar writes: “Parliament and the parliamentary system had a purpose. An executive is made answerable here and now; not just after five years. When a government consistently treats this essence of the system as dispensable, it begs the question: Why is this happening?”

🎬 Movie Review

Wondering what to binge-watch this weekend? Well, we’ve got you covered! Vadh 2, starring Neena Gupta and Sanjay Mishra, hit your nearby screens this week, but this time, with some climactic twists, connecting the old dots, and injecting a much-needed note of redemption. Shubhra Gupta, in her review, writes: “While veterans Gupta and Mishra, as well as the other Mishra, do their job like the seasoned actors they are, the others manage to leave a mark, even if you are left wondering just why a cop’s chiselled chest is given a whole scene to itself.”

That’s all for today. Have a lovely weekend!

Until next time,
Ariba