Alex Carey breaks wicketkeeping record

South Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey has broken the all-time record for most dismissals in a Sheffield Shield season. Carey achieved the feat on the fourth morning of the Shield final against Victoria in Alice Springs, when he pouched a take to remove the Bushrangers’ nightwatchman Chris Tremain off the bowling of Daniel Worrall.That catch took Carey to 59 dismissals this Shield summer, passing the previous record of 58 shared by Queensland glovemen Wade Seccombe (in 2000-01) and Chris Hartley (in 2011-12). Last month Hartley, who has since announced his retirement, told ESPNcricinfo that while he rated Peter Nevill the finest wicketkeeper in the country, Carey was one to watch for the future.”I think one to keep an eye on is Alex Carey from South Australia,” Hartley said at the time. “He hasn’t played a lot of cricket at this level just yet, and it’s not just the fact that he’s taken quite a few dismissals this year – I’ve kept an eye on the way he’s gone about it.”He moves well, he’s got some very good basics. That’s key for any cricketer, but certainly for wicketkeepers: if you don’t have your basics in order, when you’re under pressure or fatigued that gets found out.”Carey, 25, has not only had an outstanding season with the gloves, but has also compiled 549 Shield runs at 32.29. Although he is still searching for his maiden first-class century, his efforts make him just the fourth man to complete the double of 500 runs and 50 dismissals in a Shield season – Hartley did so three times, while Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Wade have each achieved the feat once.Carey’s efforts are all the more impressive given that this has been his first full season as South Australia’s first-choice wicketkeeper. He made his debut in February 2013 and entered this season with seven games to his name, having previously been second in line behind Tim Ludeman for the state’s wicketkeeping duties.

Jharkhand suffer five-run defeat, Dhoni 43

Hyderabad seamer Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan took three wickets each to help their side bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 228 and set up a 29-run win. A 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Parvez Rasool and Ahmed Bandy, which came at more than eight runs an over, had put J&K’s chase of 258 back on track after quick wickets. However, once both batsmen were out, the lower order slumped quickly – J&K lost their five wickets for 22 runs to fold in the 43rd over.Earlier, fifties from openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy carried Hyderabad to 257. Their 127-run opening partnership gave Hyderabad a platform strong enough to survive a brief slide where they lost four wickets within five overs, before S Badrinath and Hasan nudged the score past 200. Hasan remained unbeaten on 28 off 26 balls, having seen the side through to 257.MS Dhoni’s 50-ball 43 and Saurabh Tiwary’s 68 were not enough to help Jharkhand chase down a target of 267 against Karnataka, who won by five runs with only one ball to spare. The pair came together with Jharkhand at 79 for 4 in the 20th over and added 81 runs to put the chase back on track. After Dhoni fell, Tiwary kept the chase alive with a rapid 39 runs for the seventh wicket with Shabaz Nadeem off 26 deliveries. However, Tiwary’s dismissal in the 42nd over left Jharkhand with another 63 to get and although the lower order strung up partnerships, the side was eventually dismissed off the penultimate ball of the game. Rahul Shukla was the last man to fall, run out for 23 off 20 balls, having driven the lower-order partnerships. K Gowtham had returns of 4 for 58.Shukla had earlier taken 4 for 45 in his nine overs as Karnataka were bowled out for 266. Ravikumar Samarth (71) and Manish Pandey (77) struck fifties and shared a 116-run partnership for the third wicket. Pavan Deshpande, too, chipped in with 36 off 34 balls.Seamer Suraj Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Nakul Verma played stellar hands in Services‘ 48-run victory over Saurashtra.Yadav struck three times in his first two overs – including two wickets off two balls in the first over – to leave Saurashtra’s chase of 263 in trouble. Their score of 6 for 3 soon became 44 for 5 and they only managed to limp to 215 due to half-centuries from Prerak Mankad (58) and Jaydev Unadkat (57). Yadav returned to pick up one more wicket for figures of 4 for 47.Earlier, Verma’s second List-A century, 124 off 132 balls at the top of the order, set the base for Services’ total of 263 for 9. The remaining Services batsmen got starts but only Soumya Swain made a substantial contribution among them, with 32 off 36 deliveries. Seamer Shaurya Sanandia took 4 for 67 for Saurashtra

Maharaj, Zondo strengthen Dolphins' first-place spot

Keshav Maharaj and Khaya Zondo’s dominating first-innings performances against Lions helped Dolphins consolidate their lead at the top of the table in the Sunfoil Series. Zondo struck his seventh first-class century, an unbeaten 290-ball 141 that included 21 fours, to lift Dolphins to 339 in the first innings after they opted to bat in Pietermaritzburg.Vaughn van Jaarsveld chipped in with a brisk 53. Seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class matches, returning figures of 5 for 54. In reply, the Lions were quickly reduced to 4 for 49. Dominic Hendricks and Pretorius brought the Lions some respectability with a 91-run partnership.After Hendricks was dismissed for 78, Kagiso Rapulana hit a patient 52 to push Dolphins’ total to 267. Left-arm spinner Maharaj finished with figures of 6 for 86.Entering the fourth day with a lead of 72, Dolphins set up a late declaration after posting 189 for 5 in 51 overs, taking the safety-first approach to ensure the Lions didn’t have enough time to bowl them out. Zondo struck a 139-ball 54. Left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks took 3 for 48. The Lions chose not to go after the steep target of 262, as the game petered out into a draw.

Warriors close in on top spot with six-wicket win

Andrew Birch’s five-wicket haul helped Warriors close in on Titans‘ top position in the table with a six-wicket win in Centurion. After Titans were restricted to 147, the Warriors chase was steered by half-centuries from Colin Ingram and Colin Ackermann.Put in to bat, Aiden Markram (23) and Heinrich Klaasen (26) got starts, but Titans lost wickets regularly once Birch broke the opening stand in the third over. Sisanda Magala and the rest of the attack reduced them to 88 for 5 before Birch returned and took four of the remaining five wickets. That Warriors recovered to 147 was down to Albie Morkel (25 off 21) and David Wiese (36 off 28), and their stand of 42 for the sixth wicket. Birch finished with career-best T20 figures of 5 for 16.Warriors also lost their first wicket early, to Morkel, but JJ Smuts and Ingram put on a rapid 68 in 8.1 overs to put their chase on track. Once Smuts fell for 33 off 25, Ingram and Ackermann pushed the score past 100, and though Ingram fell to Tabraiz Shamsi for 50 off 45, and Ackermann for a quicker 53 off 34 with three sixes, the chase was sealed with seven balls to spare.At the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin dented Knights’ chase of 183 with 4 for 39 to give Lions a 20-run win. It was Knights’ sixth consecutive defeat, after their win over Cape Cobras in the tournament opener, as they continued to languish at the bottom of the table.Knights lost Michael Erlank on the first ball of the chase, caught off fast bowler Hardus Viljoen. Partnerships of 46 for the second wicket between captain Theunis de Bruyn and Leus du Plooy, and 50 for the third wicket between du Plooy and Pite van Biljon helped them recover. Du Plooy was trapped lbw by Fortuin having top-scored with 45, and when van Biljon fell to the same bowler for 42, Knights were 123 for 5. They lost another wicket at the same score, before slapping 39 runs off the last 25 balls to finish on 162 for 6.Opting to bat, Lions had a solid foundation laid by openers Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks, who put on 66 in 6.5 overs. Hendricks struck five fours and two sixes in his 31-ball knock, and when he fell at the halfway stage, caught off de Bruyn’s pace bowling, he had made 53 out of Lions’ total of 88. Thereafter, Nicky van den Bergh took over and pinged four fours and three sixes before perishing in the last over for 57 off 35.Knights’ bowlers shared the wickets equally with Marchant de Lange, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Aubrey Swanepoel and de Bruyn taking a wicket apiece.

England ring changes in bid to draw level

Match Facts

November 26-30, 2016
Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)2:53

Compton: Buttler may not be a long-term option

Big picture

It was route-one to victory for India in Vizag: win the toss, bat big, get the spinners to work, allow the pitch to wear, then back to the spinners. But they have been challenged enough by England – more than by recent visitors – over the first two Tests to suggest they can’t afford a slip.In the past, a trip north to Mohali may have brought the encouragement of some extra assistance for the quicks, but that was not the pattern last year against South Africa and, judging by the look of the pitch this time, the pacemen will not be leaping out of bed in the morning.There are five members of the England squad, including captain Alastair Cook, who will have fond memories of fighting back from 1-0 down on the 2012-13 tour but as Nick Compton, another member of that side recalled, that was a team chock full of experience. For this England to emulate that comeback would be astonishing, but it is not impossible.As has been the theme throughout the Bangladesh tour, and now India, England will tinker with their XI but, fundamentally, they will need runs from Cook and Joe Root if they are to compete. The middle order is strong – the development of Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow continues to impress – but it is mighty difficult if you fall behind.With that in mind, England have to be able to stay in the contest should India put a big first-innings score on the board. They played some impressive cricket on days three and four in Vizag, but the game was lost during the final session of the second day when they slipped to 80 for 5.There was an understandable air of confidence from Virat Kohli as he spoke after the second Test: it was a solid performance and he contributed 248 runs with batting on a different level to anything else seen in the contest. His opening-day century was the first time in 13 innings against England that he had passed fifty and with R Ashwin claiming his first five-wicket haul against them, they were two significant boxes ticked by India’s match-winners. For England to fight back, they will have to keep both quiet in Mohali, which is easier said than done.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India WDWWW
England LDLWL

In the spotlight

He has played only one first-class match in more than 12 months, but now Jos Buttler is set to be given the task of providing an x-factor to England’s middle order. Trevor Bayliss has lauded Buttler’s qualities over the last six months and the feeling is if he had his own way the recall may have come sooner, but now Ben Duckett’s struggles and Gary Ballance’s travails in Bangladesh have left England nowhere else to look to refresh the batting. Buttler has been told to play his natural game, which means, one way or the other, his time at the crease is unlikely to be dull.It was only three Tests ago that Ajinkya Rahane scored 188 against New Zealand, so he has plenty of credit in the bank – and the small matter of a Test average of 48.34 – but he has had a difficult start to this series. Two ugly dismissals against spin in Rajkot and a couple of tentative prods in Vizag cost him his wicket. With just five specialist batsmen, India can’t afford an over-reliance on Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Team news

There is one confirmed change for India with Parthiv Patel – whose last Test came eight years ago – replacing the injured Wriddhiman Saha as wicketkeeper.India (likely) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Mohammad ShamiEngland will make three changes through a mixture of form and fitness issues. Buttler’s recall in place of Ben Duckett, and Chris Woakes’ return for the injured Stuart Broad are confirmed. Gareth Batty is expected to replace Surrey team-mate Zafar Ansari, who is unavailable. There is an argument that England should go with their strength and play four quicks, but that does not appear to be their thinking.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Haseeb Hameed, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Gareth Batty, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

The pitch was dry and shaved. It did not look an extreme surface but there was nothing there to encourage seamers. It is also expected to be slow. Winter is arriving in the north of India and the weather is pleasantly cool, which means the pitch won’t bake much.

Stats and trivia

  • Moeen Ali needs five wickets to reach 100 in Tests
  • India have not lost in Mohali since 1994, against West Indies, in the ground’s first Test. Since then they have six wins and five draws
  • Virat Kohli needs 109 runs for 4000 in Tests; Alastair Cook needs 105 for 11,000
  • England’s collapse from 75 without loss to 158 all out was their second worst for all ten wickets against India

Quotes

“To me, back in 2014, every bowler looked difficult because I wasn’t in a good mindset. But when you are playing well, when you are in a good zone, you feel that you have an upper hand against any bowler that you play and that’s something that you need to carry onto the field as well.”
“He’s right up there with the best short-form players in the world and he’s earned an opportunity to come and play here.”

Karnataka retain top spot after victory

Karnataka took just four overs to dismiss Rajasthan‘s last three batsmen on the final day, and win by 393 runs in Vizianagaram.Starting the day on 118 for 6 after being set 525 to win, Rajasthan lost overnight batsman Rajesh Bishnoi to Sreenath Aravind off the second ball of the day. Vinay Kumar took the next two wickets – which were the last two, as first-innings top-scorer Siddharth Dobal was absent hurt – in the space of three balls to complete his 19th five-wicket haul and hand Karnataka a win. It was their fourth consecutive victory, and put them on top of Group B.In Hyderabad, Odisha took the first-innings honours against Assam after declaring on 459 for 7 overnight, with a lead of 158. Assam were 164 for 4 in 75 overs when play ended on the last day.Openers Rishav Das and Ronit Hazarika put on 41 before Hazarika fell for 23. Sibsankar Roy (39) joined Rishav, and put on 71 for the second wicket, as the pair saw off nearly 30 overs. Das was eventually dismissed on 68 off 222 balls, as Assam played out a draw.

Harmanpreet to captain India in Asia Cup, West Indies T20Is

Allrounder Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of the India women’s T20 team and will lead the side in the home series against West Indies and the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Thailand next month. Mithali Raj, meanwhile, will continue to lead the side in the home ODIs against West Indies, which starts on November 10, and will play as a batsman in the Asia Cup and the T20s.Harmanpreet has captained India in three ODIs and six T20Is. Her previous stint in charge of a full series was at home against Bangladesh women in 2012-13 after Raj was rested. Harmanpreet’s last appearance as captain in a T20I was in March 2014, when she stood in for Raj in the third match of the side’s tour to Bangladesh, prior to the Women’s World T20.Allrounder Mona Meshram, legspinner Devika Vaidya and left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht were recalled to the squad for the West Indies ODIs, which also includes uncapped seamer Sukanya Parida. While Meshram last played for India in April 2013, Vaidya is uncapped in ODIs, having played one T20I for the side in November 2014. Bisht had missed the home ODIs against Sri Lanka earlier this year.The T20 squad for the West Indies matches and the Asia Cup includes uncapped seamers Sabbhineni Meghana and Mansi Joshi, and wicketkeeper-batsman Nuzhat Parween, along with Preeti Bose, who played her sole ODI in February 2016 against Sri Lanka women. The only change in the two T20 teams is the inclusion of wicketkeeper Sushma Verma for the Asia Cup at the expense of offspinner Deepti Sharma.The ODI series against West Indies will be played between November 10 and 16, followed by the T20I series from November 18. The three ODIs will be counted for points in the ICC Women’s Championship and are the last matches for the teams in the tournament. West Indies, currently placed third, will look to confirm their automatic qualification for the 2017 Women’s World Cup with a finish in the top four, while India, currently sixth, are likely to finish in the bottom half of the table.The six-team Asia Cup will be played from November 27 to December 5, and will feature Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Nepal.India squad for WI ODIs: Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Thirush Kamini, Mona Meshram, Veda Krishnamurthy, Devika Vaidya, Sushma Verma (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti SharmaSquad for WI T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Sabbhineni Meghana, Vellaswamy Vanitha, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Preeti Bose, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi JoshiSquad for Asia Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Sabbhineni Meghana, Vellaswamy Vanitha, Anuja Patil, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma (wk), Nuzhat Parween, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Preeti Bose, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi

Gordon released by Warwickshire

Warwickshire have announced the release of fast bowler Recordo Gordon.Gordon, Jamaica born but a product of the club’s development system, signed for Warwickshire ahead of the 2012 season and was a member of the squad that won the 2014 NatWest Blast (though he didn’t play in the final) and made it to finals day the following year.While Gordon impressed at times with his pace and calm head, injuries and some concerns of the legality of his bowling action held him back. He missed the 2012 season with a stress fracture of the back and was involved in a memorable List A match against Nottinghamshire in 2014 when he bowled two no-balls in the penultimate over; one for over-stepping also saw a wicket disallowed and one, which was hit for six, was a chest-high full toss.He has not played a first-class match since 2014 and, though he featured in four Royal London and six Nat West Blast matches this year, was unable to make much impression in the first team in 2016.There will be some disappointment at the club in Gordon’s release. It was hoped he may develop into one of the cricketers required to help Warwickshire through their impending transition: with nine of the first-team squad aged in their 30s by the start of the next season, they could do with a few younger players coming through to challenge for places. The release of a 24-year-old is therefore not ideal.”I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last five years representing my home county and playing with so many fantastic cricketers,” Gordon said. “I would like thank Warwickshire for giving me the opportunity to become a professional cricketer. It has been a great period in which I have grown as a cricketer and person and I look forward to the next chapter of my career.”

Tallawahs rout Warriors to claim second CPL title


Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKesrick Williams picked up two wickets off two balls in the 16th over•CPL/Sportsfile

A rematch from Wednesday’s first Caribbean Premier League playoff qualifier between the regular season’s top two teams quickly turned into an uncontested romp for Jamaica Tallawahs, who rampaged past Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to claim their second CPL title on Sunday night at Warner Park. For Warriors, it was a flat effort that left them runner-up for the third time in four CPL seasons, twice to Tallawahs.Warriors were the regular season table-toppers and beat Tallawahs in two of their prior three meetings, including by four wickets in Wednesday’s opening playoff match. On Sunday, however, they stumbled badly after being sent in by Chris Gayle at the toss and were bowled out for a franchise record low total of 93 in just 16.1 overs. Warriors never won a game while batting first in 2016, and lost all three games in which they batted first, with two of those losses coming against Tallawahs.Warriors were under pressure early when Nic Maddinson became the first of three batsmen dismissed first ball, edging Andre Russell behind in the first over. A bigger blow came at the start of the third over when Chris Lynn, the tournament’s leading scorer, carved Shakib Al Hasan straight to Jonathan Foo at backward point for 7.Left-handed Sohail Tanvir was promoted up the order to No. 4 in an attempt to combat the left-arm spin threat posed by Shakib and Imad Wasim. At an individual level, the plan worked as Tanvir top-scored with 42 off 37 balls, but the rest of his team-mates struggled. Despite Tanvir’s calm, chaos was ever-present at the opposite end. Dwayne Smith was one of just two others apart from Tanvir to reach double-figures but his stay ended for 17 when he top-edged a pull off Oshane Thomas to Rovman Powell at mid-on to make it 50 for 3 in the eighth.With the top three removed, Shakib and eventual Man of the Match Imad Wasim set about tearing through the middle order in ruthless fashion. Jason Mohammed was trapped playing down the wrong line to an arm ball from Shakib for a golden duck to make it 53 for 4 before Imad took the first of his three wickets as Christopher Barnwell mistimed a slog to Gayle at short midwicket for 10. Two balls later, Anthony Bramble was bowled backing away for a slog and Imad claimed his third in four balls to start the 15th when Rayad Emrit was stumped for nought missing a flick to a leg-side wide to make it 83 for 7.Kesrick Williams also was on a hat-trick in the 16th over – he had Tanvir caught by Foo running in from the midwicket boundary, and followed it up with a gem of a delivery that jagged back in to knock Steven Jacobs’ off stump for 7. Adam Zampa survived the hat-trick ball to end the over, but was out one ball later after failing to ground his bat coming back for a second run with Williams’ relay from long leg to Sangakkara producing the end of the innings.Gayle propelled the chase with his third fifty-plus score of the season, reaching his half-century off 22 balls and ending up with 54 off 27 balls. He was dismissed flicking Emrit to Jacobs at deep midwicket. The Tallawahs captain ended the campaign as his side’s leading scorer with 425 runs, third overall behind Lynn and St Lucia Zouks’ Johnson Charles. Gayle’s opening partner Chadwick Walton steered the rest of the chase with 25 not out, ending seventh overall in the CPL run charts with 301 runs and second for Tallawahs.However, it was the old pro Kumar Sangakkara who struck the winning runs with a four smeared wide of long-on off Veerasammy Permaul to clinch the title with 7.1 overs to spare. Russell was named Player of the Tournament thanks in large part to his scintillating 100 in Friday’s knockout game against Trinbago Knight Riders. Russell struck the fastest century in Caribbean T20 history, off just 42 balls, and also broke a three-game Tallawahs losing streak lifting them into the final.

Pawar to step down voluntarily as Mumbai chief

The shake-up of India’s cricket administration in the wake of the Lodha Committee’s reforms continued as veteran administrator Sharad Pawar announced that he will step down as Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president within six months.The Lodha Committee had recommended, among other things, that there be caps on age and duration of tenure of elected office bearers of the BCCI and state associations. These proposals were signed off on by the Supreme Court on July 18, and Pawar does not qualify on both grounds, being over 70 years of age and having served as an office bearer for over nine years. The court said the proposals would have to be implemented by the BCCI and its members within six months of the date of issue of the order.”As per the Supreme Court guidelines, I can continue [as MCA president] for six months, not beyond that. After that [I will happily bid goodbye],” Pawar said following the MCA’s managing committee meeting, from where it emerged that the state association will accept all the Lodha reforms in total. “I am quite happy to retire because Supreme Court has said nobody above 70 can continue. Secondly, Supreme Court has said about [the maximum period of] nine years, so I come in both categories, and therefore I should not expect to continue.”A powerful regional politian, Pawar, 75, took charge of the MCA in 2001. Four years later he became BCCI president, before taking up the same role in the ICC in 2010.The Lodha Committee is entrusted with the task of overseeing the implementation of its recommendations and, its secretary, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, had warned that if the BCCI or any of the the states were to violate any of the rules laid out in the Lodha report, they will be guilty of contempt of court.Pawar admitted that most of MCA’s other elected officials will have to vacate office as well, but said he was confident the transition will be smooth and that all the recommendations will be implemented within the stipulated six months. The association will begin the process of reform by amending its constitution, he said.”The core group [of the MCA] will draft the proposed constitution, then it will be discussed in the managing committee here, and we will then call a special general meeting where the draft of the constitution will have to be approved. The only thing is we need to have to complete procedure.”However, Pawar said, the MCA wanted clarification on one point: the one-state-one-vote proposal, by which no state can have more than a single vote in the BCCI elections. Currently Maharashtra contains three associations eligible to vote, the Maharashtra Cricket Association, the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Vidarbha Cricket Association. The Lodha Committee recommended that in such cases, the associations vote by rotation; so each of Maharashtra, Mumbai and Vidarbha will get a vote once in three years.”We have no objections on that [one-state, one-vote] but the important issue is the jurisdiction of that member who is going to vote,” Pawar said. “When question comes [regarding] selection of teams, there might be some unnecessary differences. [If] the voting right goes by rotation to Maharashtra, so Maharashtra’s jurisdiction will be Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Mumbai. So, the Maharashtra team can select anybody from Mumbai also [and] it will affect Mumbai team.”That’s why we will have to write to the BCCI that this is the position, and we want clarification on that. The BCCI should discuss this, if possible, with Justice Lodha [the head of the Lodha Committee].”When asked if the presence of a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the BCCI’s Apex Council – the proposed body that would replace the Working Committee, the BCCI’s highest decision-making body – will ensure transparency, Pawar pointed out that the CAG is a government entity. “My worry is only about the ICC rules. ICC has a rule that no government should depute their representative in a cricketing body.”But BCCI’s old constitution had a representative of Services [which is a] direct government [entity]. ICC has never taken objection to that, so we hope Mr Shashank Manohar [the ICC chairman] will not take objection to this.”