India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana joined an elite club on Sunday, becoming only the second Indian woman after Mithali Raj and the fastest ever to surpass 10,000 international runs. Smriti, who made her India debut against Bangladesh in April 2013, needed 27 runs to reach the milestone in the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. She achieved it in just 20 balls and went on to score a brilliant 80 off 48 deliveries, hitting 11 fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 170.2, marking her 32nd fifty in international cricket.

With this achievement, Smriti joins New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and former England captain Charlotte Edwards as the only other women to cross 10,000 international runs. Her career statistics are equally impressive: 629 runs in seven Tests, 5,322 runs in 117 ODIs, and the chance to surpass Mithali Raj’s all-time record of 10,868 international runs. Smriti had already etched her name in T20I history, becoming the first Indian and second overall after Suzie Bates to reach 4,000 runs in Women’s T20Is during the series opener against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam. The left-handed opener was also a key figure in India’s victorious Women’s ODI World Cup campaign, scoring 434 runs in nine innings at an average of 54.25. She finished 2025 as the highest run-scorer in ODIs, amassing 1,362 runs across 23 innings, including five fifties and five centuries. Smriti also became the first Indian woman to score a century in all three formats of the game. After the five-match T20I series concludes on December 30, Smriti will lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2026 Women’s Premier League, which kicks off on January 9. RCB will face Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians in the opening match at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

In a significant victory, South African wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has won his legal battle against Cricket South Africa (CSA). The Johannesburg High Court ruled in Tabraiz Shamsi’s favor, ordering Cricket South Africa (CSA) to issue him full No-Objection Certificates (NOCs).

Tabraiz Shamsi Cleared for ILT20 and BBL After NOC Battle with CSA

The Johannesburg High Court’s decision has finally cleared the path for the South African left-arm spinner to play in the T20 leagues across the world, which he was earlier blocked from by the CSA because of South Africa’s franchise tournament – SA20.

Read Also: BCCI Central Contracts 2026: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma demoted as Shubman Gill gets promotion

Your daily dose of cricket!

As reported by Rapport, Cricket South Africa must now allow Shamsi to take part in two major tournaments. He will now be entirely available for the Gulf Giants in the ongoing ILT20 in the UAE, which runs from December 2 to January 4.

After that, the Proteas spinner will join the Adelaide Strikers in the ongoing Big Bash League 2025-26 (BBL 2025-26) from January 4 to January 25 in Australia.

Heart of the NOC Dispute

The conflict began when CSA refused to give Tabraiz Shamsi a full No-Objection Certificate for the entire ILT20 season. As per Cricket South Africa rules, all South African players need board approval to play in overseas leagues, whether or not they hold a national or domestic contract.

Cricket South Africa only granted Shamsi an NOC until December 19, citing that he was required to be available for the SA20 because he had entered the auction and even been picked by a team. Notably, Shamsi was bought by MI Cape Town in the SA20 auction for R500,000. However, he never signed a playing contract with the franchise and later withdrew from the tournament.

CSA NOC Refusal Sparks Legal Fight

Despite this, Cricket South Africa stopped him from playing the remainder of the ILT20, which forced the cricketer to take the battle to the Johannesburg High Court. In court papers dated December 16, Shamsi argued that the board’s refusal to extend his NOC was done in bad faith.

Read Also: Rinku Singh ‘forced’ into India’s T20 World Cup squad on Political Pressure as Shubman Gill sacrificed

He explained that the decision was directly affecting his financial state and restricting his ability to earn a living as a professional cricketer. After hearing the case, the court issued an interim order instructing CSA to grant Shamsi a full NOC for all the overseas leagues he is set to play.

Court Orders CSA to Grant Tabraiz Shamsi Full NOC

The reason behind this order was that Tabraiz Shamsi was not contracted with the South African board, and his dispute was with an SA20 franchise and not with CSA, so the order was ruled in the cricketer’s favor.

A crucial point in the case was that the SA20 organizers themselves chose not to take any disciplinary action against Shamsi for not signing the contract, which also weakened CSA’s argument.

Now, the order allows the experienced spinner to play the full ILT20 season with the Gulf Giants and also gives him a second NOC to represent the Adelaide Strikers in the ongoing Big Bash League. Earlier, Shamsi played for the Joburg Super Kings and Paarl Royals in the SA20.

Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah (ANI)

Jasprit Bumrah is widely celebrated for his pinpoint accuracy on the cricket field, whether with the new ball in Tests or during the final overs of a T20. His meticulous planning and research on opposition batters have become well-known among cricket fans. But according to teammate Axar Patel, there is another side to Bumrah that few people know—his passion for perfumes.Speaking on the 2 Sloggers YouTube channel, Axar shared some light-hearted insights about Bumrah’s perfume collection. He explained that Bumrah is deeply invested in fragrances and even checks the percentage of oil and perfume in each bottle, while the rest of the team simply smells a perfume, decides if it is strong enough, and moves on.

The conversation turned to Bumrah’s plans beyond cricket, with one of the YouTubers joking if this was a post-retirement hobby. Axar laughed and said, “Jassi Bhai dekhlena, partnership kardena,” hinting that Bumrah might even bring teammates into the perfume venture.Axar also shared a humorous story on the show about a bet he won against Bumrah. Recalling the incident, he said that Bumrah had promised Mohammed Siraj he would gift him a perfume during the Test match against the West Indies in Delhi. According to Axar, West Indies vice-captain Jomel Warrican may have casually asked which perfume it was because he liked the smell, and Siraj then insisted that Bumrah give it to him since he liked it so much. Axar added how he got caught up in the fun as well. “Tho isme meine sirf flow flow mein Boom bhai bole ab uske jagah mein tume dunga,” he said, meaning Bumrah decided to gift him a perfume too in the flow of the moment. The stories offer a lighter, more personal side to one of India’s most formidable fast bowlers, showing that off the field, Bumrah’s meticulous nature extends to his love for fragrances as well.