Cummins plays down remark on Kohli, says it was wishful thinking

MELBOURNE:Australian pacer Pat Cummins sought to clarify his widely-publicised bold prediction on Virat Kohli, saying it was more of wishful thinking than him targeting him.

During an interview in Sydney recently, Cummins was quoted as saying: “My brave, bold prediction; I’d say I think Virat Kohli is not going to get a hundred and we’re going to knock them off over here.”

The comment, which made headlines in the cricketworld, was viewed as Cummins bravely laying down a challenge to Kohli.

“I was surprised by the traction the comments I made about Virat got,” Cummins was quoted as saying bycricket.com.au.

Seeking to clear the air, he added, “I was almost trying to do the opposite to the way they were perceived. I was trying to pay him a compliment and say that my big wish list for the summer was he doesn’t score a hundred.

“He’s obviously so important to the team and is such a gun batsman, so him not scoring would go a long way to helping us win. But I didn’t mean to say he’s no good because I couldn’t hold him in higher regard.”

4 SKIPPERS REPORTED APPROACHES: ICC

NEW DELHI: The ICC has revealed that four international captains reported approaches to the AntiCorruption Unit between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.

The ICC, in its annual report, mentioned that it conducted 18 investigations between June 2017 and May 2018, 17 of which were launched after arrival of ACU general manager Alex Marshall on September 1 last year.

“There has been a pleasing increase in the number of players having the confidence to approach the ACU with reports of suspicious activity. Four international captains reported approaches during 2017-18 and every avenue was explored,” said the ICC in the report.