![Babar Azam and Tilak Varma [Source: @BBL/x, AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1767887611861_BabarAzamandTilakVarma.jpg?type=hq)
Babar Azam and Tilak Varma [Source: @BBL/x, AFP]
Pakistan batter and Sydney Sixers opener Babar Azam registered yet another batting failure in the ongoing BBL 2025-26 season. Tilak Varma has been ruled out of India’s first three T20Is of the five-match home series against New Zealand. In other news, Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan blasted a 15-ball half-century against Punjab in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season.
Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Thursday, January 8.
Sarfaraz Khan fires fastest List A fifty by an Indian
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan unleashed a 15-ball half-century against Punjab in his team’s final group stage match of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy. The cricketer blasted 62 runs in all from just 20 deliveries with seven boundaries and five huge sixes in Jaipur. Sarfaraz Khan’s blitz also marked the fastest fifty by any Indian cricketer in List A matches, breaking the previous 16-ball record jointly set by Abhijit Kale and Atit Sheth.
Despite Sarfaraz’s fireworks against Abhishek Sharma’s Punjab, Mumbai still fell a run short of their target in a nail-biting finish.
Vijay Hazare 2025-26 quarterfinals schedule unveiled
The quarter final line-up of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season has been unveiled after the conclusion of the group stage of the tournament. The top two teams from each elite group made it to the quarter finals, and the four knockout matches are set to be played on Monday, January 12 and Tuesday, January 13 next week.
Defending champions Karnataka will start off the knockouts with a match against Mumbai, with Uttar Pradesh’s bout against Saurashtra concurrently taking place in Bengaluru. The city will also host Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh and Delhi vs Vidarbha games the following day.
Babar Azam flops again, gets humiliated by Stoinis in BBL 2025-26
Pakistan senior batter Babar Azam once again failed to come up clutch for the Sydney Sixers in the ongoing BBL 2025-26 season, this time falling for a sluggish 14 from 17 balls against Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Opening the innings and chasing a mere 128-run target, Babar looked in visible discomfort before he got trapped in front by Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis.
Moreover, the Australian all-rounder also gave the outbound Babar Azam an aggressive send-off as he was walking towards the sheds.
Starc, Shafali Verma make it to ICC Player of the Month nominees
The ICC has unveiled the nominees for the Men’s and Women’s ICC Player of the Month awards for the month of December 2025. In the men’s category, the ICC named Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc for his Ashes heroics, West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves for a successful New Zealand tour and ‘Black Caps’ paceman Jacob Duffy.
In the women’s category, the ICC picked India’s blistering top-order batter Shafali Verma for punishing Sri Lanka in the T20I series, as well as named South African Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt and her teammate Sune Luus.
Tilak Varma ruled out of NZ T20Is, confirms BCCI
India’s middle-order batter Tilak Varma underwent an emergency surgery after being diagnosed with testicular torsion amidst the ongoing 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now confirmed that while the cricketer has been discharged from the hospital in Rajkot and will soon be heading back to his home town, Tilak Varma has been ruled out of the first three T20Is of India’s upcoming five-match home series against New Zealand later this month.
