Mitchell Starc has kept himself away from franchise cricket, including the IPL as he wants to be at his "best" playing for Australia. For Starc, playing Test cricket for Australia is the only goal, a path he hopes many youngsters will follow in the future. Several colleagues of Starc have appeared in various T20 leagues across the globe such as Indian Premier League (IPL), and Big Bash, but the 33-year-old has managed to stay away from that.
Australia defeated India by 209 runs to lift their maiden World Test Championship mace on Sunday. Mitchell Starc has now lifted every ICC title with Australia, having already won the ODI and T20 World Cups and the Champions Trophy. The left-handed pacer last played franchise cricket back in 2015 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He has cleared his mind that Test cricket will remain his priority for the foreseeable future.
Mitchell Starc opened up a few things about not playing in franchise cricket in an interview with the Guardian
"I enjoyed it (IPL), likewise I enjoyed my time in Yorkshire 10 years ago, but Australia will always sit at the top. I don't regret any of it, money will come and go but I'm very grateful for the opportunities I've had," Starc told 'The Guardian'.
"Over a hundred years of Test cricket and there have been less than 500 men who have played it for Australia, that in itself makes it very special to be a part of it. The traditionalist in me still hopes there is a generation of boys and girls who want to represent their country in Test cricket. But the easy money is in franchise cricket, it's the fast track to notoriety," he added.
"I'd certainly love to play in the IPL again, but my goal for a long time has been to be at my best for Australia, no matter the format," Starc added.
"There's nothing I love more in cricket than to sit back with my teammates at the end of a Test win and reflect on the success we've had that week. To be able to pull on the baggy green with a lot of my close mates, guys I've grown up in the game with," Starc said.
Exclusive | "He has the intent to play at the highest level," Bihar head coach on Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Ashok Kumar, the current head coach of Bihar State Cricket team, feels that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has the intent and discipline to play for India in future and will change the future of Bihar cricket as well.
Imagine what you're doing at the age of 13. You probably were going to a school or playing at a local sports academy. But can you imagine at 13 years old age you can become a crorepati in India playing professional cricket? Yes, you can if you are Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who was picked by Rajasthan Royals at a whooping 1.10 crore rupees in the recently concluded IPL 2025 mega auction.
After the mega auction, Vaibhav was a household name in India. But, you will be shocked knowing that he has been playing cricket under BCCI since the age of eight and has already played at the first-class level. He has already featured in five first-class matches and played a T20 game for Bihar earlier this year.
Moreover, he became the youngest overall and fastest India centurion in Youth Test Cricket's history, when he slammed a 58-ball ton in an unofficial test against Australia at M.A Chidambaram earlier this year.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi after his 58-ball record breaking ton against Australia U-19.
After his record-breaking inning, Sportz Point got to have a word with the young sensation during the Bengal vs Bihar Ranji Trophy match, which was called off due to rain and wet outfield. Vaibhav at that time had revealed that all of his aggression and quick scoring come naturally to him and he is a great fan of Brian Lara. As a left-handed batter, he loves to watch the former West Indian legend's old highlights and how he used to dominate bowlers during his era.
Vaibhav has been getting support from his family, friends and coaches from an early age to get where he is currently. Bihar's head coach Ashok Kumar is one of those coaches who has helped the teenager to be able to come this far now. After his record-breaking IPL deal with Rajasthan Royals, Sportz Point got to know more about Vaibhav via Ashok Kumar.
A few players like Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, who are actually from Bihar, had to move to Kolkata for better opportunities in cricket. Due to the lack of infrastructure and exposure, many players from the state have gone unnoticed in recent decades. But, this was not the case for a sensational talent like Vaibhav and for that, Ashok Kumar wants to thank the Bihar Cricket Association for giving this "once in a generation" talent a chance so early.
"Congrats to Vaihav. He is a great talent we all know. I have been watching him since he got the chance in the Bihar U-19 team. Watching this kid grow as a player, has been remarkable for me and everyone in Bihar," Ashok Kumar told Sportz Point.
"But, I want to thank and congratulate everyone associated with Bihar Cricket Association for identifying this talent and giving him a chance so early in his career," he added.
Vaibhav from his early days had the skill and temperament to dominate senior bowlers and score big runs. He burst onto the scene with an unbeaten 332 in a U-19 tournament in Bihar; Randhir Verma Tournament. Ashok Kumar wants Vaibhav to continue with the intent which has helped him so far.
"I have been fortunate to coach the Bihar U-19 and senior team and have seen him up and close in the last few years. I know, with time, many teams will try to watch out for a weakness in his batting. But, the only thing that I always advise him is to keep the intent he has as a batter. He is not afraid of any bowler and his natural ability to hit bowlers will take him very far in his career," Ashok Kumar expressed.
Vaibhav's father Sanjeev Suryavanshi has been his formal coach. He also consults Wasim Jaffer from time to time for advice, whom he had met during a U-19 tournament in Bangladesh in November 2023. Luckily for the youngster, he will now be coached by former Indian Men's team head coach Rahul Dravid, who has developed many U-19 stars into future Indian players during his time with the U-19 and senior team.
Also, Rahul Dravid and Rajasthan Royals were the franchise that gave young Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag an early chance in the Indian Premier League to showcase their talent. Ashok Kumar feels, that having Rahul Dravid as his coach will only enhance him as an overall player and a human being.
"With Rahul Dravid sir, we all know Vaibhav will learn a lot of great things about his game and I feel his time at the Rajasthan Royals will help him be more disciplined as well. Rajasthan Royals have helped a lot of young players in the past and I am hopeful Vaibhav will also emerge as one of the stars from the franchise," Ashok Kumar stated.
"Vaibhav's presence in the Indian Premier League and the U-19 team will influence many kids in the state to play cricket. They will now believe that if you have the talent and work hard on it, anyone can play at the highest level even from states like Bihar. I feel, a brighter time coming for Bihar State Cricket, via champion players like Vaibhav."
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 bowlers who took the most wickets in the Pink Ball Test.
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.
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 bowlers who took the most wickets in the Pink Ball Test.
1# Ravichandran Ashwin | 18 Wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest wicket taker for India in the pink ball test. He appeared in all 4 of India's matches, taking 18 wickets at an average of 13.83. In his Test career, he played 105 matches, in which he took 536 wickets at an average of 23.95. Meanwhile, he has taken 5 wickets in 37 innings. Ashwin did not play in the first Test of the current series.
2# Axar Patel | 14 Wickets
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has played only 2 matches with the pink ball, taking 14 wickets with a strong average of 9.14. In 2021, he took a total of 11 wickets in the day-night test played against England in Ahmedabad. He took 5 wickets in both the innings. In his Test career so far, Axar has taken 55 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 19.34.
3# Umesh Yadav | 11 Wickets
Indian fast bowler Umesh Yadav has also had a strong performance in the day-night test. The Indian fast bowler has taken 11 wickets in 2 matches with an excellent average of 15.54. In his Test career, Umesh has played 57 matches, in which he has taken 170 wickets at an average of 30.95. He is currently out of the Indian team. Umesh played his last Test in 2023.
4# Jasprit Bumrah | 10 Wickets
Jasprit Bumrah, who led the Indian team on the first test, has taken 10 wickets in the pink ball test. Bumrah has taken 10 wickets in 3 day-night tests. He took 5 wicket haul against Sri Lanka. Bumrah is currently on Australia tour. He took a total of 8 wickets in the first Perth Test of the series.
5# Ishant Sharma | 10 Wickets
Ishant Sharma has also taken 10 wickets each in the Pink Ball Test. Ishant took 10 wickets in 2 tests. He took a total of 9 wickets in the match against Bangladesh. He is currently out of the Indian team. Ishant played his last Test in 2021.
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.
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.
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.
Border–Gavaskar Trophy: India's record in Pink Ball Test
The second Test in Border–Gavaskar Trophy will be played with the pink ball in a day-night affair. Having been played for the first time in 2015, the concept of day-night Tests was taken to make the longest format of the game more interesting.
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.
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.
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.
IPL 2025: Squads of every IPL team after the auction
Here are the full squads of each Indian Premier League team after the mega IPL 2025 auction. CSK, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings are the teams to have a full quota of 25 players in their squad.
After the mega IPL 2025 auction on 24th and 25th November, every Indian Premier League franchise made their squad for the upcoming IPL season. Rishabh Pant was the most expensive player in the auction history with an INR 27 cr bid from Lucknow Super Giants. Meantime, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer also attracted huge bids from Punjab Kings and KKR respectively.
After the auction, only Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings (PBKS) were the teams to have a full quota of 25 players in their squad. Meantime, Surisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals were the teams with the least number of players in the squad.
Before the mega auction, each team had the option to retain a maximum of six players including capped and uncapped players. Post the retentions, teams picked their squads in a bidding war for two days.
Squads of every IPL team after the IPL 2025 auction
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