The former Head of BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA), Vinod Rai, clears the air on the infamous story between former India captain Virat Kohli and former India Head Coach Anil Kumble. The media reports in 2017 always showed that the then captain Kohli and then Head Coach Kumble had differences but Vinod Rai has made it clear that nothing of that sort was brought to his notice.

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"This is not correct to say that there were differences between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble. There were no differences between them. I have only written that when the time came to renew Anil Kumble's contract. We consulted the team and then Virat said that the junior members of the team feel intimidated by Anil Kumble because of his discipline. There was nothing like the difference between Kumble and Kohli. Neither I had any such information nor I have written"

Former BCCI CoA Head Vinod Rai said while speaking exclusively to ANI

Vinod Rai also clarified that the decision of selecting a coach was not his responsibility

Vinod Rai also clarified that the decision of selecting a coach was not his responsibility. It was the job of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).

"The board did try to convince Virat Kohli but the selection of coach is done by Cricket's Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman only selected Anil Kumble as coach earlier. I wrote this thing in the book when CAC was selecting the coach that you people should speak to the team. The coach because we were outsiders. If senior players like Sachin, Sourav, and VVS speak to the players then the impact is different and if we speak, then it will not be that effective. So, these three spoke to the captain and the coach."

Vinod Rai explained to ANI

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Supreme Court of India appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai to a four-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) in 2017.

The former Comptroller and Auditor General spoke highly about Anil Kumble the coach and called him a dignified man

"This is totally wrong and you are saying that sources say these things. My book is not based on any source. It is based on my personal knowledge. So, this is totally false. In fact, CAC reselected Anil Kumble to appoint him as a coach. I have written in the book that Kumble is more, dignified and professional. So, he said that even if I would have been recommended by the second time and if in the team, there are a few differences then I will only step aside," said Vinod Rai.

Indian cricket was going through a tough time after the IPL turmoil. In such a situation, the Supreme Court of the country had given the responsibility of handling the responsibility of BCCI to former CAG Vinod Rai.

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"We never faced any sort of difficulty we only had one agenda that the game of cricket should go on. The mandate which was given by Supreme Court to convince state association and BCCI to adopt the new constitution." told Vinod Rai.

"I have shared my personal experience in this book during my tenure": Vinod Rai

"I have shared my personal experience in this book during my tenure. After that, there is only one thing I have written in this book that BCCI President is a former India captain and a legend, and a present captain. If you remember that time that team's mentor was MS Dhoni. So, whenever you change a team's captain then management, coach, mentor, and Board President speak among themselves then the transition would have been smooth it has happened twice and if you remember when MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy then he consulted the Board President and when he handed over then both Virat and Dhoni were playing.

So, the good thing was one senior player was a former captain and he was guiding the new captain. Dhoni has repeated the same thing in CSK. He handed over the captaincy while he was still playing and that is what should have happened, " said Vinod Rai.

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One of the best things CoA managed to do was to convince Rahul Dravid to join the National Cricket Academy. He joined as the head of cricketing activities. Dravid at that time was busy grooming the India Under-19 cricket team.

"Selecting Rahul Dravid was not a setback but a great thing for us. We tried to select Rahul Dravid for the post of the coach but at that time he was coaching the Under-19 team and he did not want to change. So, he refused that time but two years later when we approached him that NCA's post is in Bengaluru only you don't have to travel outside then he agreed to it, and see after three and four years the team has selected Rahul Dravid as a coach, " said Vinod Rai.

Vinod Rai is a happy and content man after running the BCCI for 33 months.

"There is nothing as such all the decisions of Supreme Court that we were supposed to take we took it and then only we handed over the charge, " said Vinod Rai to ANI.

Pink Ball Test, a five-day match contested under lights like a One Day International, was first held in November 2015 after a lot of trials in First-Class cricket across the globe. Day-Night Test was introduced to add more to the longer format as white-ball especially the T20s has taken over the game with crowds preferring the shorter format.

Also Read: Border–Gavaskar Trophy: India's record in Pink Ball Test

India are set to play their second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide. After winning the Perth Test match by a massive margin of 295 runs, India will face Australia against the pink ball, under lights. So before the start of the series, let's take a look at the Indian batters who scored the most runs in the Pink Ball Test. 

1# Virat Kohli | 277 Runs

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has a fine record against the pink-ball, having played all of India's four pink-ball matches so far. He leads the scoring chart in pink ball Test cricket for India. In six innings so far, he has scored 277 runs at an average of 46.16, with a century and fifty. His knock of 136* against Bangladesh in 2019 at Kolkata is the only century by an Indian in a pink-ball Test.

After having overcome a lean patch of form with a century at Perth, Virat would be raring to continue his golden run in Australia and at the Adelaide Oval.

2# Rohit Sharma | 173 Runs

Indian team captain Rohit Sharma comes second on the list scoring just one half-century in Pink Ball Tests, accumulating 173 runs in five matches at an average of 39. This will be Rohit Sharma’s first Day-Night Test match on foreign soil, as all three of his previous Pink Ball Tests were played in India. 

As an opener, Rohit will need to weather the new ball, especially during twilight and night sessions when the pink ball is at its most ferocious. It will be quite interesting to see how Rohit goes about his business in the upcoming game.

3# Shreyas Iyer | 159 Runs

Shreyas Iyer has played just one day-night Test match and has scored 159 runs in it. He put up knocks of 92 and 67 in the second test between India and Sri Lanka in 2022. India were 86/4 after electing to bat. Iyer shone with a blistering 92 off 98 deliveries, whipping 10 fours and four maximums. He played with the tail-enders and was the last man to be dismissed (252/10). India eventually won by 238 runs.

4# Ajinkya Rahane | 100 Runs

Ajinkya Rahane comes in 4th place with 100 runs in 3 matches. Rahane also scored a half-century against Bangladesh in 2019.

5# Cheteshwar Pujara | 98 Runs

Cheteshwar Pujara is 5th on this list. He has amassed just 98 runs in 3 day-night Test matches. Pujara put up knocks of 55 and 43 against Bangladesh and Australia respectively. 

The second match of the five-match Border–Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia will be played in Adelaide from December 6. This will be a day-night test played with the pink ball. 

The good thing for India is that regular captain Rohit Sharma has returned. Apart from this, Shubman Gill is also on the verge of becoming fit. With the return of these two, Indian batting will become stronger. However, the team management will be worried about the playing 11. Fitting Rohit and Gill into a winning combination is a matter of concern.

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It is considered certain that Devdutt Padikkal will sit on the bench. Apart from this, Dhruv Jurel can also be seen sitting on the bench. The biggest problem will be whether KL Rahul will be sent to open or he will be sent back to number five. Before that let us look at India's statistics in Day-Night Test or Pink Ball Test.

India has played four pink ball tests so far

India has played four day-night tests so far. Out of these, they have won in three, while they have faced defeat in one. Team India has won 75 percent of the matches in the day-night test. The only Test in which the Indian team lost was played in Adelaide four years ago. This was the first Test of India's tour of Australia in the 2020/21 Border–Gavaskar Trophy. Team India, captained by Virat Kohli, had to face a crushing defeat by eight wickets.

What happened in the India-Australia match in Adelaide in 2020?

Batting first in Adelaide, India had scored 244 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara scored 43 runs and Ajinkya Rahane 42 runs. In reply, Australia's first innings was limited to 191 runs. Marnus Labuschagne scored 47 runs and captain Tim Paine scored 73 runs.

The Indian team was devastated in the second innings and was reduced to just 36 runs. This is also India's lowest score in Tests. Cummins and Hazlewood took four and five wickets respectively. India had set a target of 90 runs by taking the lead against Australia. Australia won the match by scoring 93 runs for two wickets. Matthew Wade scored 33 runs, while Joe Burns remained unbeaten on 51 runs.

India played first pink ball test in 2019

India played its first pink ball test against Bangladesh in 2019 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and won by 46 runs. After this, after playing against Australia in 2020, Team India defeated England by 10 wickets in the day-night test in Ahmedabad in February 2021 and then Sri Lanka by 238 runs in Bengaluru in March 2022. India's highest score in the day-night test is 347/9.

Indian batter who scored most runs in pink ball test

Virat Kohli has scored the most runs for India in the day-night test. He has scored 277 runs in four such matches at an average of 46.16. At the same time, Rohit Sharma is at second place with 173 runs in three matches at an average of 43.25. Shreyas Iyer is at third place in the list. He has scored 155 runs at an average of 79.50. 

Whereas, if we talk about bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin has taken the most wickets for India in the day-night test. He has taken 18 wickets in four such matches. At the same time, Akshar Patel has taken 14 wickets in two pink ball tests. Umesh Yadav has taken 11 wickets in two such matches.

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Highest runs for India in day-night test

Most wickets for India in day-night test

Australia's figures in day night test

Australia has an exceptional record in day night tests. They have played 12 day-night tests so far, out of which they have won 11 while losing only one. What makes their record even more impressive is that their wins have come against different opponents. These include India, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies. Australia defeated New Zealand by three wickets in the first international day-night Test in Adelaide in 2015. 

The matter of concern for Australia is that Josh Hazlewood, who wreaked havoc in 2020, will not play in the second Test of the Border–Gavaskar Trophy due to injury.

The form of Indian cricket team's star batsman Virat Kohli is proving to be a matter of concern for Team India. After the poor performance in the three-match home series against New Zealand, India has a lot of expectations from its former captain. Kohli's record in Australia has been excellent. However, in the first innings of the Perth Test match, Virat has disappointed the team and his fans.

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Kohli dropped Labuschagne's catch

Virat Kohli played an innings of 5 runs in 12 balls and was out on the ball of Josh Hazlewood. Apart from this, Kohli also dropped the catch during Indian bowling. He dropped an easy catch of Marnus Labuschagne on the ball of Jasprit Bumrah. This brilliant ball found the edge of Labuschagne's bat, on which Kohli did not make much movement and dropped the ball in a hurry to take the catch.

Kohli dropped 29.6% of his catches

Virat is generally considered a good fielder but among the players who have got at least 100 chances since 2011, Kohli has the highest catches dropped percentages among Indian players. This figure also raises questions on Kohli's catching ability.

Kohli has dropped 29.6 percent of his catches in this period and only the England Test great James Anderson is ahead of him in terms of the catches dropped percentages. However, Anderson is a bowler who was never known for his fielding abilities. If we talk only about batsmen, then Virat Kohli has dropped the maximum number of catches since 2011.

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Kohli dropped the most catches in the last 5 years

From 2019 till now, Virat Kohli has been the number one Indian in terms of dropping catches. This trend has continued in all three formats of cricket. Kohli has dropped a total of 36 catches in international cricket since 2019. He has dropped 16 catches in Tests, 13 catches in T20I, and 7 catches in ODI format. 

Highest catches dropped percentages since 2011 | Min 100 chances

• 31.7% James Anderson
• 29.6% Virat Kohli
• 27.9% Alastiar Cook
• 25.7% Tim Southee

Jasprit Bumrah picked up his 11th five-wicket haul in test cricket in the first inning of the Perth Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 on Saturday. With his five-wicket haul, Bumrah, who had to step in as a captain for the first test due to the unavailability of Rohit Sharma, became the first captain since Anil Kumble in 2007 to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

Bumrah nicked off Alex Carey with his first ball of the second day and picked up his 11th Test five-wicket haul, taking his test record in away conditions to another level. The Indian pacer now has taken 131 test wickets in just 28 test matches in away conditions at an outstanding average of 20.51. Nine of his 11 five-wicket hauls now have come in away conditions.

The 30-year-old fast bowler massacred the Australian batting line-up with his fiery on Day 1. In his first spell of the test match, Bumrah removed the debutant Nathan McSweeney. Then, he dismissed Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in back-to-back deliveries to bring back India in the match. Later in the evening, he got rid of the Australian captain Pat Cummins for his fourth wicket.

Bumrah did not waste any time in picking his second test five-wicket haul as he got the better of Alex Carey with his first ball of the Day 2.

Make that FIVE!

There's the first five-wicket haul of the series #MilestoneMoment #AUSvIND @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/t4KIdyMTLI

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 23, 2024

Jasprit Bumrah touches Kapil Dev's feat

With his five-wicket haul, Bumrah now has become only the second fast-bowling Indian captain to take a test five-wicket haul in Australia after Kapil Dev in 1985. Kapil Dev in the 1985-86 series at  Adelaide picked up 8/106 in the first inning to become the first Indian fast-bowler captain to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

After Dev, Anil Kumble achieved the feat of taking a five-wicket haul as an Indian captain in the 2007-08 series. Kumble picked up 5/84 in the first test of the series at Melbourne and became the third Indian captain to achieve the feat. It was the late great Bishan Singh Bedi, who was the first-ever Indian captain to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.

Visiting Test captains to take a five-wicket haul in Australia

A stand at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata will soon be named after India's legendary fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. 

According to ICC, the Block B Gallery of Eden Gardens will be renamed in her honor. This stand will be inaugurated during the Indian women's team's first T20I match against England on January 22 next year.

Also Read: 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup stats: Most Wickets and Everything

Stands have also been built at Eden Gardens in the names of former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricketer Pankaj Roy, and former BCCI presidents Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanath Dutt.

Highest wicket-taker in women's ODI

Jhulan Goswami retired two years ago after an illustrious 20-year career with the Indian women's team. She was considered one of the best fast bowlers in women's cricket. Her career is still reflected in the impressive record that she maintains even after her retirement. Goswami holds the record for taking the highest number of wickets (255) in women's ODI.

Jhulan Goswami ended her career after appearing in 12 Tests, 204 ODIs and 68 T20Is and taking 355 wickets across all formats. In the women's Test format, Goswami has taken 44 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy of 2.02.

Goswami has 56 wickets to her name in the women's T20I format, with an average of 21.94 and an economy of 5.45. In the ODI format, she has taken 255 wickets in 204 matches at an average of 22.04.

Also Read: All the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup winners

Working as bowling coach of MI

The 41-year-old Goswami is currently working as the bowling coach and mentor of the Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which won the inaugural season of the league. Earlier this year, Goswami was the team mentor at the Women's Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders. 

After retirement, Goswami has worked as a mentor for the senior Bengal women's team and has also been involved in the Women's Premier League.