The IPL will start from tonight, but the cricketing world is still in shock of Virat Kohli letting his T20I captaincy go just to release some burden. Pundits have been sharing their views on the incident and some rumours of some conspiracy are there too. However, that's not all, BCCI might look to take the ODI captaincy from Virat Kohli just to explore the batsman Kohli in white-ball format.

Kohli, who is yet to win any major ICC tournament sometimes gets criticized about team selections. Though Kohli has stated that he would keep on leading the side till the 2023 ODI World Cup, that does not seem to be a certainty now.

"Virat knew that he would have been removed from white ball captaincy. If the team doesn't do well at the UAE World T20, he was gone for good as far as white-ball leadership is concerned,"

An BCCI insider told this to PTI

"He just reduced a bit of pressure on himself as it would seem that he is there on his own terms. It might not happen for 50 overs if the performance in T20 hits a downward spiral", the BCCI insider added.

Read Also: Most runs in ICC T20 World Cup

Therefore, BCCI is more likely to give the batsman Virat freedom and less burden to bring glory to Indian Cricket. This Indian team is considered one of the best but have failed to bring ICC glories with some stars of the game. That is why BCCI thinks, this is the high time to take action before they are short of groomed captains in blue.

Read Also: Virat Kohli records as captain in white ball Cricket

Virat the captain- as an ex-cricketer expressed

That's why if BCCI decides to go Virat Kohli as a pure batsman in ODI format, do not pinch yourself.

"The problem with Virat is his communication. In case of MS (Dhoni), his room would be open 24x7 and players could just walk in, play the PS4, have a meal and let their hair down and if required talk cricket."

A former India player told this to PTI in an informal chat

Then he went on to add that, "beyond the ground, Kohli is literally incommunicado".

Read Also: Cricket News: BCCI is all set to ask Anil Kumble to be India's next coach after T20 World Cup

Rohit the successor of Virat Kohli?

Well, some say this was bound to happen. After a heap of IPL success and a good T20 record as captain, Rohit might be the choice to lead the blues. However, according to some reports, Virat Kohli wanted to have someone young like Rahul or Pant to be the leader of the team. Though, Boria Majumdar has stated this is not true at all. Well, as far we can say, time will tell.

Read Also: Boria Majumdar: Virat Kohli didn't make those statements on Rohit Sharma

"Rohit has shades of MSD but in a different manner. He takes the junior players out for meals, gives them a friendly pat on the back when they are down and knows the mental aspects of a player's make-up inside out", the ex-cricketer expressed his feeling on Rohit's leadership.

A senior BCCI member also questioned BCCI on not clarifying anything for the ODIs. He said, "If you look at Sourav and Jay's statements, both have congratulated but not a word uttered if he would remain the captain till 2023 ODI World Cup. So, he would remain, is a far-fetched conclusion,"

Who could be the next in line after Virat and Rohit?

With all this happening, BCCI is not in a hurry to announce the Vice-Captain for the T20I format. However, there are three choices. Rishabh Pant, the current Delhi Capitals captain is one of them. KL Rahul, who has lead India to one of the T20I matches is another contender. Along with them, Shreyas Iyer is also considered a future leader of the Indian team.

Read also: T20 Captaincy record: KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant vs Shreyas Iyer

"Pant is a serious contender but you can't rule out KL also as he is an IPL captain. The dark horse will be Jasprit Bumrah."

An BCCI member on who could be deupty of Rohit Sharma in T20I format

As IPL teams are geared up to clinch the trophy, BCCI will have to be ready with few answers post IPL and T20I World Cup. Along with that, BCCI will have to set the position of head coach as well. The report says, Anil Kumble is ahead of the race for the head coach's position.

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: Most Runs for India 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 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.

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.

Also Read: Indian captains to win POTM awards in Australia in Tests

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.

Also Read: Highest catches dropped percentages since 2011 (Min 100 chances) | Virat tops the list among batters

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.

India beat Prime Minister XI in the IND vs AUS PM XI 2-day practice match at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The first day's play could not be played on Saturday (30 November) due to rain and on Day 2, the game was reduced to 46 overs per side.

A five-Test series is being played between IND vs AUS. Team India won the first match of this series by 295 runs. The Indian team is currently leading 1-0 in this series. The next match is to be played in Adelaide. This match will be played with pink ball in day-night format. Team India is preparing for this match.

To strengthen its hold in the Pink Ball Test, the Indian team played a two-day practice match against Australia's Prime Minister's XI. Where the India defeated PM XI in a one-sided manner. Team India won this match by 6 wickets.

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

The first day of the practice match played between IND vs AUS PM XI was washed out due to rain. Due to this, the match was played with some new rules on the second day. Where both the teams got a chance to bat 46-46 overs. Whichever team scores the most runs wins.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss in this match and decided to bowl first. After which the team of Prime Minister XI came on the field to bat first. His team was all out on the score of 240 runs in 43.2 overs.

For that, 19-year-old batsman Sam Konstas scored 107 runs. Harshit Rana took a maximum 4 wickets for India.

In reply, the Indian team played a full 46 overs and scored 257 runs at the loss of 5 wickets. India's score was higher than Australia's. Due to which Team India was declared the winner of this match. 

Gill scored a brilliant half-century 

Returning from injury, Shubman Gill scored a brilliant half-century in this match. He retired after playing an innings of 50 runs in 62 balls. Before this, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was out after scoring 45 runs. His partner KL Rahul added 27 runs. Captain Rohit Sharma's bat did not work. He could score only 3 runs.

Young Nitish Reddy once again impressed with his batting and scored an inning of 42 runs in 32 balls. Washington Sundar remained unbeaten after scoring 42 runs. Devdutt Padikkal returned unbeaten on 4 runs. Sarfaraz Khan was out on 1 run while Ravindra Jadeja scored 27 runs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Indian pacer who last played for the Indian team in 2022, recently became the first Indian pacer to take more than 300 T20 wickets during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament 2024. Captaining the Uttar Pradesh team, the medium pacer showcased even at his age, how he can be good with the ball in hand. In the UP vs Himachal Pradesh match, he claimed his 300 T20 wicket. 

Indian bowlers with most T20 wickets

As Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Indian pacer to achieve feat, we will give the list of Indian bowlers with most T20 wickets. 

4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 304 T20 wickets

The 35-year-old medium pacer has been one of the highest wicket-takers for India in T20I cricket. In T20 internationals for India, Bhuvnewshwar Kumar has taken 90 wickets in 87 T20I matches at an outstanding economy rate of 6.96, including two five-wicket hauls. 

In Indian Premier League, while playing for Pune Warriors and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Buvi has taken 181 wickets in 176 matches at an excellent economy rate of 7.56 runs per over. In total, Bhuvneshwar so far has taken 304 wickets in T20 cricket in 290 matches at 7.29 runs per over.

Read Also | Is this the end of the road for Bhuvneshwar Kumar? UP ignores the pacer for the Ranji Trophy 2024-25

He stands as the fourth highest wicket-taker among Indians in T20 cricket and is the only Indian fast bowler to take more than 300 wickets in shortest format of the game.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin | 310 T20 Wickets

A test legend in his own rights, Ravichandran Ashwin had started his career with the T20s. It was Chennai Super Kings who had found the spark in him which helped him gain the exposure to evantually get selected for India and flourish as an all-format bowler. The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has played 324 T20 games so far in his career and took 324 wickets at an astonishing economoy rate of 7.06. 

In IPL, he has played for teams like CSK, Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Capitals along with playing for the Indian team and Tamil Nadu in his career. In his 212 IPL games, he has taken 180 wickets at 7.12 runs per over. For India, in T20Is, Ashwin has the off-spinner took 72 wickets in only 65 games. 

2. Piyush Chawla | 319 T20 Wickets

The leg spinner has been playing T20s since 2007 and has played a total 297 T20 matches so far in his career. In his career, he has taken 319 T20 wickets with an economy rate of 7.53. However, he only played 7 T20 internationals for India and took only 4 wickets for the country.

In the Indian Premier League, he has featured in 192 games for Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians. Chawla has been one of the most successful bowlers in the tournament with 192 wickets with an economy rate of 7.96 runs per over.

Moreover, he has played for overseas teams like Sussex in Vitality Blast Tournament in England. 

1. Yuzvendra Chahal | 363 T20 Wickets

Yuzvendra Chahal is perhaps the most Indian successful bowlers in the shortest format of the game. The leg-spinner from Haryana started his career with IPL teams like Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore and made a name for yourself to get into the Indian team.

Chahal spent eight seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore and with 113 wickets, is still their highest wicket-taker in Indian Premier League history. However, RCB decided not to retain him in the 2022 mega auction, and Chahal headed to Rajasthan Royals. 

In IPL 2025 Mega acution, he became the most expensive spinner in the tournament's history as Punjab Kings bought him for INR 18 cr. Till now, in IPL, Chahal has taken 205 wickets, and is the most successful bowler in the tournament's history. For India, he has played 80 T20I games and once was the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 96 wickets.