Shami Takes 8, Australia Out And Deepti Sharma Slips– February 17 Cricket Highlights

Mohammed Shami and Deepti Sharma [Source: @Saabir_Saabu01, @SpotOnEntertai1/x]

Mohammed Shami picked up a sensational eight-wicket haul against Jammu and Kashmir in the second semifinal of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. The Australian team has been eliminated from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In other news, Indian Women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma slipped a rung to lose her number one ranking.

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 Tuesday, February 17.

Mohammed Shami takes eight in Ranji semifinal vs J&K

Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami picked up eight wickets in the first Bengal innings of the second semifinal of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. The speedster scalped five of those wickets on Day 3 itself to conclude his spell with exceptional figures of 8-90 in his 22.1 overs. Mohammed Shami’s spell helped Bengal skittle Jammu and Kashmir for 302 to walk away with a handy 26-run lead at the halfway stage of the match.

Auqib Nabi and Sunil Kumar led Jammu and Kashmir’s fightback later in the day, as they now require another 83 runs for a win on Day 4 to qualify for the final.

Yuvraj Samra notches up record century vs NZ in T20 World Cup 2026

Canada opener Yuvraj Samra smeared 110 runs off just 65 balls against New Zealand in match number 31 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The innings not only marked his maiden T20I century, but also made Yuvraj Samra the youngest cricketer ever in the history of T20 World Cups to scale the triple-figure mark.

Aged 19 years and 141 days, the youngster surpassed the previous record set by Pakistan ace batter Ahmed Shehzad. Despite Yuvraj Samra’s heroics, Canada still lost the match by eight wickets to New Zealand.

Australia knocked out as ZIM qualifies for Super 8 after washout

The Australian cricket team has been knocked out of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. While Australia recently suffered crushing defeats at the hands of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in successive games, their official ouster from the tournament was confirmed after Zimbabwe’s planned Group B affair against Ireland got washed out in Pallekele.

Sharing a point with Ireland, the Zimbabwe cricket team has now made it beyond the opening round of a competitive T20 World Cup (barring 2022 with a different format) for the first time in nation’s cricketing history.

Cricket Australia considering BBL opener in India: Report

Cricket Australia is reportedly eyeing to host the opening match of this year’s BBL 2026-27 season in India, particularly at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. As reported by SEN Cricket, several Cricket Australia officials are planning to make the historic move amid conversations surrounding the sale of at least two of the eight competing teams from the league.

However, none of the eight BBL teams have been officially briefed regarding the matter by Cricket Australia.

Deepti Sharma dethroned by Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal on ICC rankings

Legendary Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma has been dethroned by Pakistan cricket Sadia Iqbal on the latest ICC Women’s T20I bowling rankings. Deepti, who has been in exceptional form across all formats for Team India, slipped to number two on the latest ICC charts with 729 rating points.

Sadia Iqbal, on the other hand, gained two rungs to climb to the number one spot with a healthy rating of 743 points. Sophie Ecclestone also jumped up a spot to occupy third position on the latest ICC rankings.