DRS, Nov 9: Countdown to T20 World Cup begins, IPL 2026 Retention date confirmed, Dhruv Jurel sizzles

November 8 was a day full of action with Team India playing as many as four matches. But it wasn’t a good day for them. India lost all their matches in Hong Kong Sixes 2025 to begin the day. In Australia, the IND vs AUS 5th T20I was washed out after just 29 deliveries. However, it was a good day for India’s future star Dhruv Jurel as he slammed his second ton in the match against South Africa A ahead of IND vs SA Test series. Rishabh Pant also suffered an injury scare but he batted again to alleviate the fears. In some IPL 2026 news, retentions are set to be announced on November 15 on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, the impasse for Asia Cup 2025 trophy is coming to an end. BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met on the sidelines of the ICC meeting in Dubai. And both parties are working towards a cordial solution.

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India win series 2-1

In a disappointing end to India’s Australia tour, the 5th and final T20I ended in no result. After Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma gave India a fast start, scoring 52/0 in 4.5 overs, the match had to be stopped due to lighting strikes. Then, rain played spoilsport as the match could not be resumed again. Shubman Gill was sublime with 16-ball 29, while Abhishek Sharma scored an unbeaten 23 off 13 before the match was abaonded. India won the T20I series 2-1 after a 1-2 defeat in the ODI series. India are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive series. The last time India lost a T20I series was in August 2023 in West Indies. Since then, India have emerged champions in T20 World Cup and Asia Cup, helping captain Suryakumar Yadav maintain an unbeaten record. It was also India’s fourth consecutive series win against Australia. And with that, the countdown to T20 World Cup began.

Countdown to T20 World Cup begins

After India’s win in the IND vs AUS T20 series, 10 more T20I matches remain before T20 World Cup 2026 in February. India will take on South Africa next in a five-match T20I series, starting December 9 at home. The final preparations will end with a five-match series against New Zealand in January. With almost all spots confirmed, Team India will need to finalise on a wicketkeeper batter. Another spot will be a toss-up between Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh.

Asia Cup Trophy coming home?

It’s been a month since India lifted the Asia Cup 2025 but they have not received the trophy yet. However, the impasse might be over soon. BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia and ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the PCB chairman, met on the sidelines of ICC meet in Dubai on Friday. The meeting was cordial and ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta brokered peace between the two parties. As things stand, with ICC’s mediation, the Asia Cup trophy could head to India soon. Naqvi earlier demanded that a BCCI official or an Indian player must visit him at the ACC headquarters in Dubai and take the trophy home after an official ceremony. However, BCCI had refused to accept the trophy from a Pakistani minister.

“The ice has been broken. It was a positive step to begin the negotiation process. Both sides participated cordially in the meeting held on the sidelines of the board meeting. I am sure that both sides will work out a solution to this issue at the earliest possible time…” Saikia told Sportstar. 

Dhruv Jurel no more a backup

With Rishabh Pant on the sidelines, Dhruv Jurel was the backup wicketkeeper-batter. But he has surpassed all the expectations and now he is not a backup anymore. Jurel slammed his second century in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A to put the team management on notice ahead of the IND vs SA Test series next week. With scores of 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6, 132 and 127 in his last eight innings, Jurel is now favourite to start along side Pant in the Kolkata Test against the Proteas. Will India go with Jurel in place of Sai Sudharsan or Nitish Kumar Reddy? That will be the question head coach Gautam Gambhir and Test captain Shubman Gill need answer.

Rishabh Pant hurt again

In an attempt to hit some fancy shots, Rishabh Pant suffered a series of blows and had to retire hurt in the 2nd innings of IND A vs SA A 2nd unofficial Test in Bengaluru. But after two hours, he played some football with his teammates during the break and then returned to bat again. Pant scored 65 off 54 in the 2nd innings as India set a 417-run target for South Africa A. This is Rishabh Pant’s second match on comeback trail. He was sidelined for two months after fracturing his foot in the IND vs ENG Test series, while attempting to play a yorker from Chris Woakes.

IPL Retention on Nov 15

The next IPL cycle is all set to begin on November 15 with the retention. JioHotstar, the official streaming partner of Indian Premier League, announced on Saturday that IPL 2026 Retention will be live on the platform on Nov 15. While there has been no official confirmation from the BCCI, the broadcaster’s promo confirmed the retentions. Retentions rules have not been announced yet but all the franchises will have maximum retentions this time as it will be a mini-auction.

Tracer Bullets

1. Hong Kong Super Sixes: Team India lost all three matches on Saturday to minnows Kuwait, UAE and Nepal. The team comprising, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Stuart Binny, Shahbaz Nadeem, Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Mithun and Bharat Chipli, put up lackluster performances.
2. Ranji Trophy: In the fourth match of the Ranji Trophy, Musheer Khan, brother of Sarfaraz Khan, scored a century against Himachal Pradesh. But Karun Nair faltered for Karnataka as he was dismissed for 4 against Maharashtra.
3. In Australia, Abhishek Sharma shattered world record. He became the fastest to 1000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced. He Got to the milestone in 528 balls, surpassing Tim David, who took 569 deliveries.

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