The year 2025 has turned out to be exceptional in Pakistan’s cricket history. The Pakistan national team has already played 54 international matches—far more than any other team in the world this year. T20 captain Salman Agha has featured in all of them, giving him the opportunity to create history.

On Sunday, as he stepped onto the field against Zimbabwe in the tri-nation series, Agha set this record. With this match, he reached 54 international games in a single calendar year—the highest ever. Before this, the record for most matches in a calendar year was 53, held by Rahul Dravid (India, 1999), Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan, 2000), and MS Dhoni (India/Asia XI, 2007). Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to play more than 50 matches in a year, achieving the milestone in 1997.

In the tri-nation series match, Pakistan batted first and scored 195 for 5. The star of the innings was Babar Azam, who played a delightful knock of 74 off 52 balls. Salman Agha, coming in at No. 6, managed only 1 run. On the other hand, Fakhar Zaman created a quick storm with 27 runs off just 10 balls.

In reply, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 126. Young spinner Usman Tariq played a key role in Pakistan’s big win, taking 4 wickets for just 18 runs in only his second international match—including a hat-trick.

For several days, there had been discussions about the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction not being held in India. In the end, it has turned out to be true.

Members of the IPL Governing Council have been discussing the matter with relevant parties. After finalizing all arrangements, the official date and venue for the auction have been announced. The auction for the glamorous 16th edition of the world’s biggest franchise cricket league will be held on 16 December in Abu Dhabi.

This information has been confirmed in a report by Cricinfo. The report states that the auction for the 19th IPL will take place on 16 December. The new season of the 2026 IPL is expected to begin on 15 March, with the title-deciding final likely to be played on 31 May.

This makes it the third consecutive time that the IPL auction is being held outside India, in the Middle East. The 2024 IPL auction was held in Dubai. Last year, in November, the two-day mega auction for the 2025 IPL took place in Jeddah.

Like other mini auctions, the 2026 IPL auction will be completed in a single day. Franchises must prepare a list of players they want to release and retain by 15 November, by 3:30 PM Bangladesh time. From that list, a shortlist of players will be sent to the franchises. They will then narrow it further to finalize the list of players eligible for the auction.

Meanwhile, a new system called the “trading window” has been introduced after the 2025 IPL. Using this system, Mumbai Indians have acquired Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford. Mumbai spent 20 million rupees to get Shardul Thakur from Lucknow Super Giants, and 26 million rupees to acquire Rutherford from Gujarat Titans.

Typically, a mega auction is held every three years. The last mega auction was conducted ahead of the 2022 IPL. This time, it will be a regular auction for the Indian franchise league. The most expensive player in IPL history was bought in the previous auction, when Lucknow Super Giants purchased Rishabh Pant for 270 million rupees and made him captain.

However, his performance did not meet expectations. The second-highest bid—267.5 million rupees—was for Shreyas Iyer, who was bought for a hefty sum and made captain by Punjab Kings. Shreyas led from the front in the 2025 IPL, but Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Punjab by 6 runs in the final to claim their first-ever title. This also ended Kohli’s 18-year wait for a championship.

According to the BCCI, the auction period coincides with India’s wedding season, during which it becomes difficult to find available hotel rooms. Keeping this in mind, the decision was made to host the auction overseas. Additionally, the Ashes series begins on 17 December, so holding the auction earlier makes it more convenient for broadcasters.

After a long wait, cricket is set to return to the Olympic Games. In the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics, both men’s and women’s events will feature six teams each, with a total of 28 matches to be played. These details were confirmed by the ICC after a meeting in Dubai.

ICC Chief Executive Sanjay Gupta said, “Inclusion in the Olympics is a major milestone for us. It will increase access to government funding, which will greatly help in development and infrastructure investment.”

He added, “If cricket continues to be included in multi-sport events such as the Asian Games, Pan-American Games, and African Games, it will gain popularity in new regions. This will also boost investment in high-performance and grassroots levels.”

In the Los Angeles Olympics, five of the six teams will come from the top countries across five continental regions — Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. The host nation will qualify directly from its region, while the remaining team will be decided through a qualifying tournament.

According to ICC rankings, the men’s teams expected to qualify directly are India (Asia), Australia (Oceania), England (Europe), South Africa (Africa), and the United States (Americas and host nation).

Teams like New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and West Indies are likely to compete in the qualifiers, from which the best-performing team will earn a spot in the main Olympic event.