Babar Azam topples Kohli, Pakistan boycott and IND win– February 1 Cricket highlights

Babar Azam and Pakistan team [Source: @Inayattttt_56, @CricCrazyJohns/x]The Pakistan government has barred the Pakistan team from facing India at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Babar Azam went past former Indian captain Virat Kohli to attain a huge batting record in T20I cricket. In other news, the India U19 team walloped Pakistan to reach the semifinal of the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup in Bulawayo.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 Sunday, February 1. Pakistan boycotts India match at T20 World Cup 2026 The Pakistan government has decided to boycott Pakistan team from facing arch-rivals India at the 2026 T20 World Cup later this month. The government confirmed the same as part of Pakistan and PCB’s ongoing protests against the BCCI, ICC and the Indian government. With Pakistan set to boycott the big-ticket Group A match of the tournament, the Indian cricket team will be rewarded with free two points as per the ICC rules and regulation. The India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match was scheduled to be hosted by the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15. Babar Azam breaks Virat Kohli T20I record after 50* vs AUS Babar Azam compiled 50* runs off 36 balls against Australia in the third T20I in Lahore. His innings helped Pakistan mount 207-6 in 20 overs as the hosts walloped Australia by 111 runs to seal the three-match series 3-0. Through the course of his knock, Babar Azam also notched up the 39th half-century of his T20I career, thus going past former Indian captain Virat Kohli’ record of 38 fifties in the format. Babar now holds the highest number of half-centuries in T20I history. Jos Buttler becomes England’s most capped cricketer Former England captain Jos Buttler has become the most capped player in the history of English cricket. A veteran of 57 Tests, 199 ODIs and 146 T20I matches, Buttler turned up for England on February 1 against Sri Lanka for a T20I in Pallekele. With a total of 402 international caps, the T20 World Cup winning skipper went past former fast bowler James Anderson. Back during his playing days, Anderson played 188 Tests, 194 ODIs and 19 T20I matches to aggregate 401 matches in his 22-year career. Ayush Mhatre leads India to semifinals of U19 World Cup by defeating Pakistan India U19 walloped Pakistan by 58 runs in Bulawayo in their final Super Six match of the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup. The outcome also helped the ‘Boys in Blue’ to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament. Batting first, a half-century from Vedant Trivedi helped India reach a competitive 252 in 49.5 overs. In response, captain Ayush Mhatre picked up impressive figures of 3-21, and Khilan Patel also chipped in with three as India bundled out Pakistan U19 for just 194. India will now face Afghanistan in the second semifinal on February 4. Devdutt Padikkal fires Karnataka to record win vs Punjab RCB star Devdutt Padikkal plundered an electrifying 120* off just 85 balls against Punjab on Day 4 of their final Elite Group B match of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Leading Karnataka for the first time and chasing 251 with roughly 40 overs remaining in the game, Padikkal’s ton helped his side chase down the target in less than 28 overs. Through the outcome, the Karnataka team also qualified for the quarter finals of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy tournament.