Suryakumar record, Babar flops and Shepherd hat-trick– February 7 Cricket highlights

Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam [Source: @BCCI, @varunx18/x]

Suryakumar Yadav engineered India’s comprehensive win against USA on the opening day of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan legend Babar Azam flopped big time against Netherlands earlier in the day. In other news, West Indies fast bowler Romario Shepherd picked up a rare T20 World Cup hat-trick.

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 Saturday, February 7.

Babar Azam flops against Netherlands to sustain poor T20 run

Babar Azam failed to go big against Netherlands in Pakistan’s opening match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The senior pro faced 18 deliveries in the innings to score a sluggish 15 as Pakistan slipped to 100-5 in a chase of 148. Faheem Ashraf eventually got Pakistan out of jail with a fighting 29* off 11 balls to seal the deal in 19.3 overs.

Nonetheless, Babar Azam’s latest flop show continues his underwhelming run in T20 cricket. The legendary batter also underwent a BBL season to forget in Australia last month, aggregating just 202 runs in 11 innings at a dismal average of 22.44.

Romario Shepherd picks up a hat-trick, wins it for West Indies

West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd picked up a hat-trick against Scotland in match number two of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The speedster dismissed Matthew Cross, Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson in successive deliveries to claim sensational figures of 5-20.

In doing so, Shepherd became only the ninth cricketer in history, and the first West Indies player to pick up a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup game. His spell also helped the West Indies team secure a comprehensive 35-run win at the Eden Gardens.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz quits Peshawar Zalmi for PSL 2026

Afghanistan opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has opted out of the upcoming PSL 2026 season after signing with the Peshawar Zalmi franchise. The cricketer confirmed the same through a social media post, stating that he will not play PSL 2026 in Pakistan after the conclusion of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

While Rahmanullah Gurbaz cited other cricketing ventures as primary reason for his late pull out, one can assume that the cricketer opted himself out owing to Afghanistan’s prevailing geo-political conflict with Pakistan. Gurbaz had also posted an anti-Pakistan tweet a few months ago.

PCB, Pakistan government likely to reconsider India vs Pakistan boycott

As per a report, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is aiming to finalize a meeting with Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to reconsider their Group A boycott against India at the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. Earlier this month, the Pakistan government prohibited the Pakistan team in facing arch-rivals India on political grounds, doing so at the height of severing geo-political tensions between the two neighboring nations.

Suryakumar Yadav wins it for India against USA

Team India overcame a spirited USA challenge in the third match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Batting first and crashing to 77-6 in 13 overs, the ‘Men in Blue’ charted a competitive 161-9 in 20 overs courtesy of a sublime counterattack from captain Suryakumar Yadav. The cricketer belted 84* runs off just 49 balls with 10 fours and four huge sixes, and tonked 32 runs off the final two overs of the innings.

Indian bowlers Mohammed Siraj (3-29), Axar Patel (2-24) and Arshdeep Singh (2-18) restricted USA to 132-8 as India scripted a comprehensive 29-run win.