November 19, Morning Brief: Today's top news and headlines from cricketing world

Travis Head and Rohit Sharma. (Source - Getty Images/Ritika(Instagram)
1. Watch: KL Rahul picks Virat Kohli as 'most famous' person in phone contact list

India's apex cricket governing body aka BCCI, recently, uploaded a video where star player KL Rahul was asked to name the most famous personality who sits at the top of his cherished phone contact list. Find out the answer here. ()

2. Mitchell Starc uses unique half red and half white ball to help Australian batters prepare for swing bowling

Hosts Australia have started their preparations for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in full swing. To counter Indian bowlers effectively in terms of playing against late swing movements of the ball, star pacer Mitchell Starc was spotted bowling to batters with a unique combination of red and white ball during practice. 

3. I still have positive expectations: Mohsin Naqvi

Amid debate and mystery over India not travelling to Pakistan for the coveted Champions Trophy 2025, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi echoed his views that sports and politics are separate and no country should mix them. Hence he remained optimistic about hosting the ICC tournament successfully ahead.

4. Former New Zealand pacer Doug Bracewell slapped with one-month ban for cocaine use

Former New Zealand speedster Doug Bracewell was slapped with a one-month duration ban for using banned substances after a Super Smash domestic T20 fixture played between Central Stags and Wellington Firebirds in January. 

5. Ravi Shastri wants Virat Kohli to revert to his antagonist role during BGT 2024-25

Former India head coach and renowned commentator Ravi Shastri opined that one should not write off Virat Kohli as he can dominate in the BGT Test series against Australia with his in-your-face attitude towards the Australians. 

6. I support Rohit's decision to stay back with family, I'd have done the same thing: Travis Head

Prolific Australia batter Travis Head showed his 100 percent support towards Rohit Sharma for preferring fatherly duties over national duties by citing how cricketers often sacrifice so much on the flip side by staying away from families while representing the country.

7. Fire in team hotel forces PCB to curtail Women's Championship

The PCB halted the Women's Championship on Monday after five players suffered a life scare from a fire outbreak in the team hotel. 

8. AUS-W vs IND-W 2024: India name 16-member squad

The Women’s Selection Committee picked India Women's squad for the upcoming ODI series tour of Australia. Explosive batter Shafali Verma was dropped from the side while Harmanpreet Kaur will continue to lead.

9. Justin Langer backs Virat Kohli ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite form slump

Virat Kohli's rough patch in the Test format continued during the home series against New Zealand with a sole fifty-plus score in the last 10 innings. However, the former Australia Head Coach Justin Langer still backed Kohli to come out with flying colours in the upcoming BGT 2024-25 Test series down under after recent remarks made by the former Australian skipper and world champion, Ricky Ponting.

10. Mitchell Starc's IPL 2025 Auction: AI predicts team and final bid price

CricTracker asked an AI (Artificial Intelligence) to predict star Australia pacer Mitchell Starc's bidding price for the IPL 2025 season. Find out the outcome of the query.