• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Rohit Sharma In Smat Joe Root Century And Rashid In Ilt20 December 4 Cricket Highlights

Rohit Sharma in SMAT, Joe Root century and Rashid in ILT20 – December 4 Cricket highlights

Aakash Saini

Rohit Sharma and Joe Root [Source: AFP]Rohit Sharma and Joe Root [Source: AFP]

Rohit Sharma has reportedly expressed his interest in playing SMAT 2025-26 fixtures for the Mumbai team. Joe Root ended his Australian curse by notching up a remarkable Ashes hundred on the opening day of the Gabba Test. In other news, Rashid Khan has made his return to ILT20 after a gap of three years.

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, December 4.

Rohit Sharma to play SMAT 2025 for Mumbai: Reports

Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly expressed his desire to play for Mumbai in the ongoing 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The cricketer will likely play the knockout fixtures of the tournament after the conclusion of India’s three-match home ODI series against the visiting South African team. As reported by the Times of India, Rohit Sharma has already conveyed his interest, and the Mumbai team is currently on the verge of qualifying for the knockouts after securing four straight wins in the tournament.

Starc stars, Joe Root notches up maiden Test century to sum up Day 1

Joe Root broke the Australian curse by notching up his maiden Test century ‘Down Under’. The legendary Englishman scored 135* from 202 balls on Day 1 of the second Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series in Brisbane. The innings also marked his 40th Test hundred overall, becoming only the fourth cricketer in history to breach the landmark figure. Joe Root’s innings helped England reach 325-9 in 74 overs by stumps on Day 1 after they had slipped to 264-9 at one stage.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc also hogged the limelight, albeit with the ball, by picking up figures of 6-71 to mark his 18th five-fer in Test cricket.

Rachin Ravindra slaps quick 176 after CSK snub

Rachin Ravindra plundered 176 runs from just 185 balls on Day 3 of New Zealand’s series-opening first Test against West Indies in Christchurch. Batting at number four, the left-handed batter listed 27 fours and a six and maintained a staggering strike rate of 95.13, thus switching to One-Day mode in a Test innings as New Zealand’s lead extended to 481 runs.

It is worth noting that Rachin Ravindra was recently released by the CSK franchise last month, and the cricketer is gearing up to enter the IPL 2026 auction in a couple of weeks’ time.

Welsh Fire stakeholders to buy RCB: Report

In a major development, the owners of The Hundred-based Welsh Fire franchise have expressed their interest in buying the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of next year’s IPL 2026 season. A few weeks ago, RCB’s current owners Diageo, a multinational beverage company, announced that it had begun a strategic review of its investment in the franchise, thus indicating that they are selling either all or part of the team to new owners.

As reported by The Telegraph, the Welsh Fire franchise has shown a keen interest in acquiring the RCB. The Welsh Fire is owned by the Glamorgan Cricket Club and Sanjay Govil.

Rashid Khan returns to ILT20 2026 for MI Emirates

Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan made his return to the ILT20 after a gap of three years. The cricketer was acquired by the MI Emirates franchise as an injury replacement for England fast bowler Jordan Thompson. Rashid, who recently toured Zimbabwe as part of the Afghanistan team, last played ILT20 back during its inaugural edition in 2023, also for the MI Emirates.

He has now turned up for the Emirates on December 4 with a match against Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.