(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

This week in cricket was monumental, headlined by India Women clinching their maiden World Cup. Other major stories included RCB being put up for sale, MS Dhoni confirming his IPL return, and Team India sealing a 2-1 T20I series win over Australia.

The second week of November has been quite action-packed, starting with Team India's long-awaited Women's World Cup glory, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's sale announcement, Ravichandran Ashwin's BBL setback, India's T20I series win over Australia, and major developments that kept the cricketing world buzzing.

As the week concludes, let's take a look at the top cricket highlights that grabbed the headlines and stirred conversations across the globe.

Team India ended their 47-year wait to become the Women's World champions. The Women in Blue, led by energetic and dynamic captain Harmanpreet Kaur, defeated Laura Wolvaardt-led South Africa by 52 runs in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy. Shafali Verma (87), Deepti Sharma (58 and 5/39), and Richa Ghosh (34) were the star performers for Team India in the title clash at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

India became the fourth team after Australia, England, and New Zealand to clinch the coveted Women's World Cup trophy. Moreover, India are just the third team after Australia and England to win men's and women's ODI World Cups, highlighting the nation's growing dominance across the formats and marking a new era in Indian cricket.

Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin signed up with Sydney Thunder for the upcoming Big Bash League season, making him the first player from India to sign for Australia's premier T20 competition. However, the 38-year-old was ruled out of the BBL season after hurting his knee during a training session and underwent surgery for the same.

Though Ashwin would not play for the Thunder this season, the retired India cricketer expressed his desire to travel to Sydney to be with the team and meet the fans if the doctors give the green light. Ravichandran Ashwin also ruled himself out of the ongoing Hong Kong Sixes due to a knee injury. BBL was Ashwin's first overseas franchise league signing after retiring from international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Cricket Australia announced the squad for the first Test of the five-match Ashes series against Australia in Perth. As expected, Pat Cummins ruled himself out of the Perth opener due to back issues, and Steve Smith has been handed over captaincy duties for the first Test. In the absence of Cummins, Mitchell Starc is expected to lead the pace attack alongside Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland.

Marnus Labuschagne made his Test return on the back of his impressive performance in the Sheffield Shield, while Jake Weatherald received his maiden national call-up and is expected to be the opening partner for Usman Khawaja. Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett were included in the 15-member squad for the Ashes 2025 opener at Perth Stadium.

The United Spirits Ltd, the Indian arm of Diageo Plc, officially announced Royal Challengers Bengaluru put up for sale by filing a disclosure with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), stating the 'strategic review' of its investment in the franchise through its wholly-owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd. (RCSPL). Following the RCB's maiden IPL triumph this year, it was speculated that the franchise would be sold.

The Indian Premier League's most followed franchise is now set to attract potential buyers, with the sale process expected to conclude by March 31, 2026. RCB owners, United Spirit Ltd (UCL), are reportedly considering the sale of the franchise at a whopping valuation of $2 billion, which is approximately INR 17,500 crore.

Ahead of the first Test of the two–match series against South Africa in Kolkata, Rishabh Pant had an injury scare after he struck with a triple body blow on the helmet, left arm, and abdomen during the second innings of the second unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A at the BCCI CoE Ground in Bengaluru. Pant was batting on 17 off 22 balls when he retired hurt, raising concern about his injury.

However, Pant walked out to bat again and scored an unbeaten 65 off 54 balls, including 5 fours and 4 sixes, and formed an unbeaten 82-run stand for the eighth wicket with Dhruv Jurel, who played an innings of 127 off 170 before India A declared their second innings at 382/7 and set a 417-run target for South Africa A to chase.

In a major development over the Asia Cup trophy controversy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi agreed on an 'amicable' solution to end the long-standing dispute. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia stated that the formal meeting took place between him and Mohsin Naqvi, facilitated by the ICC, and negotiations are in the process for the trophy handover.

Saikia further stated that the 'ice has been broken' and both BCCI and ACC chief Naqvi are looking for an amicable solution to ensure that Team India receives the Asia Cup trophy at the earliest possible. Following the Asia Cup final win over Pakistan, the Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the silverware from Mohsin Naqvi due to his controversial social media posts. India celebrated the victory on the field with an imaginary trophy after Naqvi allegedly instructed ACC officials to take the actual trophy away, leading to a standoff between the BCCI and PCB.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Vishwanathan ended the speculation around the future of former captain MS Dhoni in the IPL. Following IPL 2025, there was uncertainty about whether the veteran wicketkeeper-batter would feature in the upcoming season of the tournament, as he did not confirm whether he would return to play or retire from franchise cricket.

CSK CEO confirmed that MS Dhoni will be available for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, officially putting an end to the speculation surrounding his participation in IPL 2026. In the previous IPL season, Dhoni played the entire tournament despite battling knee issues and scored 191 runs at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of 135.17 in 14 matches. The upcoming IPL season is likely to be MS Dhoni's swansong as the legendary skipper looks set to don the yellow jersey one final time, and CSK will aim to give a fitting farewell to him by clinching the record-breaking sixth IPL title.

Team India officially clinched the T20I series 2-1 after the fifth and final match against Australia was washed out due to rain and thunderstorms in Brisbane. India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill gave the visitors a brilliant start to their innings as they raced to 52/0 in 4.5 overs before the play was stopped due to thunderstorms. The heavy showers in Brisbane prompted the match officials and umpires to call off the match.

With a 2-1 series win over Australia, India not only wrapped the Australia tour on a high note but also extended their streak of winning five multi-match T20I series in Australia, with the latest triumph solidifying their dominance as the most successful visiting T20I side on Australian soil.

Former Pakistan captain and star batter Babar Azam has achieved of completing 15000 runs in his international career. He became the fifth Pakistani batter after Inzamam

Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Javed Miandad to achieve this milestone. He completed the feat during the third and final ODI of the series against South Africa at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Meanwhile, Pakistan clinched the ODI series 2-1 following a seven-wicket win over the Proteas in the final match. However, Babar Azam had a forgettable outing in the series as he could score only 45 runs at an average of 15 in three matches, including a best score of 27 in the final ODI. Despite a lean patch, Babar Azam still completed 15000 runs in international cricket.

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