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NZ Win, Kohli Slams BCCI And Shami’s Daughter Attacked – March 16 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Kyle Jamieson and Virat Kohli [Source: @BLACKCAPS, @mufaddal_vohra/x]Kyle Jamieson and Virat Kohli [Source: @BLACKCAPS, @mufaddal_vohra/x]

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New Zealand fast bowlers bested Pakistan to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, Virat Kohli expressed his displeasure over BCCI’s family restriction rule. In Pakistan, former spinner Saeed Ajmal has backed struggling batter Babar Azam amidst the latter’s exclusion from the national team.

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 Sunday, March 16.

Kyle Jamieson Engulfs Hapless PAK As NZ Go 1-0 Up

New Zealand steamrolled Pakistan by nine wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series in Christchurch. Winning the toss and electing to field, New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson wrecked Pakistan’s top-order with three wickets in the opening spell, before Jacob Duffy dismantled the ‘Men in Green’ with figures of 4-14. Ish Sodhi also struck twice in his four-over spell as Pakistan folded up for just 91 in 18.4 overs.

In response, New Zealand opener Tim Seifert bludgeoned 44 off 29 balls at the top of the order. Finn Allen (29* off 17) and Tim Robinson (18* off 15) shrugged off the remaining runs with utmost ease in just 10.1 overs to hand Pakistan its worst-ever T20I defeat in terms of number of balls remaining.

Virat Kohli Slams BCCI’s Family Restriction Rule

Legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli has voiced his displeasure regarding BCCI’s family restriction rule on cricket tours. While speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of the 2025 IPL season, Kohli expressed himself and claimed how this rule can impact players at a personal as well as on a professional level.

The BCCI policy, implemented shortly after India’s crashing 1-3 defeat in Australia during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, states that the players will only be permitted to be joined by their family members on tours that last over 45 days.

Saeed Ajmal Backs Babar Azam Amid NZ T20Is Exclusion

Ex-Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has criticized former cricketers who have been vocal against legendary batter Babar Azam. It is worth noting that Babar is currently undergoing one of the worst phases of his professional career, and was recently excluded from Pakistan’s T20I squad for the series in New Zealand.

Ajmal claimed former Pakistan players should not degrade its batting superstar, and defended Babar’s form slump by saying that players tend to suffer from bad patches in their careers.

Mohammed Shami’s Daughter Attacked For Playing Holi

Mere weeks after Mohammed Shami was criticized for not observing ‘Roza’, his daughter Aaira Shami has now been attacked by religious extremists for playing the festival of Holi. A prominent Muslim cleric, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, described her celebration as ‘illegal’ and ‘against Shariat’.

Expressing his displeasure in a video, the cleric further stated that if the girl knowingly celebrated the festival of Holi, then it would be considered against the Islamic law.

Chetan Sakariya Replaces Umran Malik In KKR For IPL 2025

Umran Malik has been ruled out of the IPL 2025 season due to an injury. The former SRH fast bowler was acquired by the KKR franchise back during the IPL 2025 mega auction last year. The KKR management has now signed in Chetan Sakariya, the left-arm pacer, as his replacement at a price of Rs.75 lakhs.

Sakariya previously played for the Delhi Capitals franchise for two seasons in 2022 and 2023. After going unsold at the 2025 mega auction, he is now set to make his return to the IPL lore courtesy of Umran’s injury.