Babar Azam As T20I Captain, Pratika Out And WI Punished- July 8 Cricket Highlights

Babar Azam and Pratika Rawal [Source: AFP]

Babar Azam will reportedly get re-appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain. Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of India’s one-off Test against England. In other news, the West Indies cricket team has been punished by the ICC.

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 Wednesday, July 8. 

Tammy Beaumont confirms retirement after India Test

England Women’s legend Tammy Beaumont has announced her retirement from international cricket. The seasoned top-order batter will be bowing out of the game after England’s upcoming one-off Test against Team India Women at Lord’s in London later this week.

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Beaumont made her international debut back in 2009, and she will now be bringing down curtains to her illustrious 17-year England career, which included the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup win at home.

Priya Punia replaces Pratika Rawal in India squad

Indian opening batter Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the national squad for the one-off Test against England Women at Lord’s owing to an injury, as confirmed by head coach Amol Muzumdar during a press conference. 

Muzumdar also stated that Pratika has now been replaced by fellow top-order batter Priya Punia. If Priya makes it to the playing XI, she will be making her return to international cricket after nearly two years.

West Indies punished by ICC for Sri Lanka series misconduct 

The West Indies cricket team escaped with a high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka in the second Test in Antigua to seal the two-match series 1-0. However, the hosts have now been punished by the ICC for maintaining a slow over-rate.

The West Indies players were not only fined 10 percent of their match fees, but the team was also docked two WTC 2025-27 points and their PCT has now dropped to 15. 

Sikandar Raza to lead as ZIM name squad for Bangladesh T20Is

Zimbabwe Cricket has named a strong 15-player squad for Zimbabwe’s upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Bulawayo.

Senior all-rounder Sikandar Raza will continue to lead the national side, and he will be accompanied by fellow star performers like Ryan Burl, Brian Bennett, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava among others.

The series will be played between July 15 and July 19 next week.

Babar Azam to replace Agha Salman as PAK T20I captain: Report

Babar Azam was recently re-appointed as Pakistan’s Test captain following the ouster of Shan Masood. Now latest reports indicate that the legendary Pakistani batter might also get re-appointed as national T20I skipper, replacing star all-rounder Salman Agha in the process. 

Under Salman’s leadership, the Pakistan cricket team failed to win the 2025 Asia Cup last year, and failed to make it to the top four of this year’s 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. 

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