Virat Kohli demoted, PCB demand and Shami 31-ball 50– February 9 Cricket highlights

Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami [Source: AFP Photos and @CricSubhayan/x]

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both relegated to Grade B by the BCCI. The PCB has put forward a series of demands towards the ICC over India boycott stance. In other news, Mohammed Shami blasted a 31-ball half-century against Andhra in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. 

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 Monday, February 9.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli relegated to Grade B

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has unveiled the Annual Player Retainership of the Indian cricket team for the year 2025-26. Former captains and legendary batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were both relegated to Grade B, where they are paired with T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and fellow Indian star attractions KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Only three players made it to Grade A, namely Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja.

PCB demands India, Pakistan, Bangladesh tri-series from ICC

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put forward a series of demands to the ICC before reconsidering Pakistan’s boycott stance against India at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. One of the demands was to restore Pakistan’s bilateral series engagements with arch-rivals India. The PCB also urged the ICC to organise a tri-series between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh; even though India is currently in a geo-political standoff with both neighbouring nations.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan government prohibited the Pakistan team from facing India at the showpiece event on political grounds.

Auqib Nabi takes Jammu and Kashmir to a historic 2025-26 Ranji Trophy semifinal

Jammu and Kashmir decimated Madhya Pradesh by 56 runs in the second quarter-final of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season in Indore. The outcome also marked Jammu and Kashmir’s first-ever entry in the semifinal of Ranji Trophy history.

Delhi Capitals recruit and star fast bowler Auqib Nabi orchestrated his team’s dominant outing against the Rajat Patidar-led side. The speedster picked up 12 wickets in the match, including five in the decisive innings. Overall, Nabi picked up match figures of 12-110 to extend his Ranji Trophy 2025-26 tally to 46 scalps.

Mohammed Shami bludgeons 31-ball 50 vs Andhra

Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami bludgeoned a 31-ball half-century against Andhra in the third quarter final of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Batting at number 10 for Bengal, the cricketer smeared 53 runs from just 33 deliveries with seven cracking boundaries and three huge sixes at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani.

Mohammed Shami’s sparkling cameo, coupled with Sudip Kumar Gharami’s 299 helped Bengal mount 629 in 199.1 overs. Andhra reached 64-3 from 24 overs by stumps on Day 4, as they trail Bengal by another 270 runs for a place in the semifinal of the tournament.

Tim David reserved only for T20 World Cup 2026 knockouts

Tim David will likely be reserved by Australia in the group stage of the ongoing 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The hard-hitting middle-order batter recently made his return to the Australian team after missing the T20I series in Pakistan. Tim David had suffered an injury in late-December during the BBL 2025-26 season.

While speaking with cricket.com.au, David hinted that he will be getting managed in the group stage by the team management, as he was told to “hold his horses for a bit”.