Riyan Parag and Zimbabwe vs Australia [Source: AFP, @iiamirfanali/x]Riyan Parag has been appointed as the new captain of the Rajasthan Royals franchise for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. Zimbabwe stunned Australia to secure a historic outcome in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In other news, the ECB has named England’s playing XI for the upcoming match against Scotland in Kolkata.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 Friday, February 13. Riyan Parag named Rajasthan Royals captain for IPL 2026 Star Indian all-rounder Riyan Parag has been named as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals franchise for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. The cricketer will be replacing outbound Sanju Samson for the high-profile role. Late last year, Riyan Parag was one of the many cricketers retained by the Rajasthan Royals. The 24-year-old was chosen as Rajasthan Royals skipper over the likes of fellow franchise veteran Yashasvi Jaiswal and legendary Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. He made his IPL debut back in 2019 and has so far played 84 games for the Royals. Muzarabani scripts historic upset as Zimbabwe stun Australia Zimbabwe trounced a depleted Australian side by 23 runs in match number 19 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Colombo. Batting first, a composed half-century from opener Brian Bennett and a blistering 13-ball 25* from captain Sikandar Raza helped Zimbabwe chart 169-2 in 20 overs. In response, Australia bundled out for just 146 in 19.3 overs, with Matt Renshaw waging his side’s lone rebellion through his fighting knock of 65 from 44 balls. Glenn Maxwell made a sluggish 31, as Blessing Muzarabani (4-17) and Brad Evans (2-23) scripted a historic outcome for the Zimbabwe team. Ben Curran replaces senior batter Brendan Taylor in T20 World Cup 2026 Senior Zimbabwe cricketer Brendan Taylor has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The star batter recently suffered a nasty right hamstring injury during Zimbabwe’s opening match of the tournament against Oman in Colombo earlier this week. Zimbabwe Cricket has now confirmed Ben Curran as Brendon Taylor’s replacement. Curran, with eight Tests and eight ODIs to his name, will be expected to make his T20I debut within the coming days for Zimbabwe. Ireland captain Paul Stirling out of T20 World Cup 2026, replacement named Senior opening batter and Ireland captain Paul Stirling has been officially ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka owing to the knee injury he suffered against Australia a few days ago in Colombo. Cricket Ireland has named young Sam Topping as Stirling’s replacement for the tournament. Topping is already in Chennai at an off-season training camp with Northern Knights. The 20-year-old uncapped Irish star will be joining the national squad ahead of the upcoming Group B match against Oman. England name unchanged XI vs Scotland as Jofra Archer gets another crack The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has named an unchanged playing XI for England’s upcoming Group C match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against Scotland. Retaining the same XI, the England team management has given another opportunity to a misfiring Jofra Archer. England will face Scotland on February 14 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match marks a must-win one for Harry Brook’s troops in a bid to advance into the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
