Former Australian cricketer Damien Martin’s health deteriorated a few days ago, after which he was admitted to the hospital. It was revealed that 54 year old Martin was suffering from a serious disease like meningitis. Now there is a relief news regarding him, his treatment is progressing in the right direction.

Damien Martin is suffering from meningitis, a disease in which the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord become inflamed. In this, symptoms like severe headache, high fever, stiffness in the neck etc. are seen. This is usually caused by some bacteria or virus. Now his wife gave the latest update regarding his health.

Damien Martin’s wife gives health update

Damien Martin’s wife Amanda said that the last few days have been very difficult for their family. He expressed his gratitude to the medical team of Gold Coast University Hospital. He said, ‘Damien’s health is improving. We are deeply grateful to the medical team of Gold Coast University Hospital for the dedication and care with which they supported us. This time has been challenging for our family. We appeal to everyone to respect our privacy.

Adam Gilchrist also gave update

Gilchrist, who played with Damien Martin, had said during commentary in the Big Bash League that Martin is in the hospital and this is a challenging time for him. ‘The results of the medical tests in the last 24 hours are positive. It feels good to see the way prayers are being offered for him. Apart from being a great player, he is also a good person. Hope he gets well soon.

Martin has played 67 Tests, 208 ODIs and 4 T20 International matches for the Australia cricket team. He scored 4406 runs in 67 Tests and 5346 runs in 208 ODIs. He scored 5 centuries in ODIs and 13 centuries in Tests. He was in the Australian team that won the ODI World Cup in 1999 and 2003.

Pakistani player Babar Azam is currently playing in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers. In the match held on Thursday, he played an inning of 58 runs and led his team to victory. However, despite his half-century innings, Azam is being made fun of on social media, the reason being his strike rate. Even former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist made a scathing attack on him during the commentary.

In this match against Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers had a target of 165 runs to win. Babar Azam batted carefully and played 46 balls to score 58 runs, in this innings he hit 4 fours and 1 six. Adam Gilchrist, who was doing the commentary, did not look happy with Babar’s innings, saying that he is not known for his power-game.

Babar Azam’s slow innings

Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, while commenting on Fox Cricket, said that the kind of attitude Babar Azam adopts (taking one run on every ball), it puts undue pressure on his partner. “Babar is not known for his power-game. He does not play explosive innings, he needs to be more active. He cannot take one run at a time and put the responsibility of playing big shots on his partner.”

Adam Gilchrist also called out Babar Azam slow batting in T20s during today’s match.
• His limited power range restricts his boundary options.
• He must be proactive himself, not outsource the SR.
• His run-a-ball approach unfairly pressures his partner to take risks. pic.twitter.com/ahfYJNgSyO

—The PCT Army. (@thepctarmy) January 1, 2026

The video of the things said by Adam Gilchrist is also going viral on social media. In the viral video, veteran Babar Azam is saying that his approach in T20 is worrying for the team. However, this inning was necessary for Babar Azam, because recently he was not selected for the T20 series against Sri Lanka. This is Babar’s second half-century in this edition, but questions are being raised about his strike rate.

Pakistan has suffered a big setback before the 2026 T20 World Cup. Pakistan’s star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is injured. It is also being said that it is difficult for him to play in the T20 World Cup. Shaheen was playing Big Bash League in Australia, but now due to injury he is out of BBL.

Shaheen Afridi to Pakistan Cricket Board (pcb) Has called for treatment at the High Performance Center in Lahore. He suffered the injury while fielding for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Shaheem was a part of the Brisbane team in the Big Bash League. He was injured while fielding. Now Shaheen is out of Big Bash League.

A PCB official said that he has been called back after talks with Cricket Australia. The initial feedback regarding his injury has been that he needs complete rest and it will take time to recover from the injury. He said that the seriousness of the injury and the time taken to recover from it will be known only by meeting the doctors of the board.

Shaheen Afridi said in a statement issued by the BBL team, ,It was a lot of fun playing in Brisbane and I am sad that I will not be able to play the entire season this time. Hopefully I will return to the field soon.,

For your information, let us tell you that Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet announced the team for the 2026 T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Pakistan has to play a three-match T20 series with Sri Lanka in the beginning of the new year. Shaheen was not selected for this series because he was playing in the Big Bash League. Apart from Shaheen, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf are also playing in the Big Bash League.

Pakistani fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is out of the Big Bash League. Afridi was playing for Brisbane Heat in BBL 2025-26, but will not be able to play in the upcoming matches of the tournament due to a knee injury. He was injured while bowling in the match against Adelaide Strikers.

Brisbane Heat contacted the medical team of Pakistan Cricket Board, after which it was decided that it would be best for Shaheen Afridi to return home, so that he can work on fitness before the T20 World Cup 2026.

Shaheen Afridi is the third fast bowler who has been out of Brisbane Heat team this season. Before him, Spencer Johnson and Callum Vidler were out of the tournament due to back problems. Whereas Michael Neser is out of the Heat team due to international schedule. In such a situation, the pace attack of Brisbane Heat has become very weak.

The medical team of Brisbane Heat team is not getting any rest. Even the team’s regular captain Nathan McSweeney is struggling with fitness problems and has missed the last two matches due to an ankle injury. At the same time, Tom Aslop is also suffering from knee problem, due to which he will not be able to play the next match with the Strikers.

After the injury, Shaheen Afridi said that he enjoyed playing with the Brisbane team, but he is sad about not being able to play the entire season.

Shaheen Afridi’s BBL debut was very bad. In the match against Melbourne Renegades, he bowled 2 beamers, due to which he was stopped from bowling. Now it will be worth seeing whether Afridi is fit before the T20 World Cup 2026 or not. The World Cup is to be played in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March.

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Glenn Maxwell may not look very strong, but he has such strength in his arms that he is capable of sending the ball out of the field. He has shown something similar in the Big Bash League. On December 28, in the BBL 2025-26 match against Sydney Thunder, he hit a six of 104 meters (Glenn Maxwell Longest Six). Maxwell played an important role in helping Melbourne Stars win by 9 wickets by playing a quick inning of 39 runs.

Ball out of ground, 104 meters away

Batting first, Sydney Thunder was all out for 128 runs. Glenn Maxwell came to bat in the 10th over for Melbourne Stars. Daniel Sams came to bowl in the 11th over. The third ball of the over came exactly in the slot, while Maxwell swung the bat and hit a 104 meter long six towards deep-mid wicket. The six was so strong that the ball went out of the field. For this reason a new ball was taken to continue the match.

This is not the first time that Glenn Maxwell has hit a six longer than 100 meters in the Big Bash League. In the last season i.e. BBL 14, Maxwell had hit a 122 meter long six, which is one of the longest sixes in the history of T20 cricket.

A 104m BOMB from Glenn Maxwell goes OUT. O.F. THE. GROUND.

Watch #BBL15 on Fox Cricket’s Channel 501
BLOG https://t.co/zeNGhJgtSi
MATCH CENTER https://t.co/G0lGvgD36O pic.twitter.com/hUh4di4ejw

— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 28, 2025

Maxwell won with a six

Joe Clark and Sam Harper gave a good start to Melbourne while chasing the target of 129 runs given by Sydney Thunder. Clarke scored 60 runs in 37 balls, while Harper returned unbeaten after scoring 29 runs. Meanwhile, a storm named Glenn Maxwell came, who scored 39 runs in 20 balls while playing at a stormy strike rate of 195. In this innings he hit 5 fours and 2 sixes. Maxwell ensured the victory of Melbourne Stars team by 9 wickets on the last ball of the 14th over.

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Big Bash League gives fans some memorable matches and moments every year. Similarly, the match between Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers in BBL 2025-26 has proved to be thrilling and memorable. In this match, Brisbane team registered a thrilling victory by 7 runs. Adelaide team could not score 10 runs in the last over despite having 2 wickets in hand. Thomas Balkin ensured the victory of Brisbane Heat by taking 2 wickets in the last over.

In this match, Brisbane had scored 179 runs while playing first. Max Bryant created havoc and played a stormy inning of 63 runs in 32 balls. Adelaide Strikers made a tremendous comeback during the first innings. At one time the Brisbane team might have been dreaming of crossing 200, but in the last 4 overs the Brisbane team could score only 28 runs and lost 3 wickets. As a result, Brisbane team could score only 179 runs.

In reply, Adelaide Strikers made a steady start and scored 57 runs in 7 overs without losing any wicket. Chris Lynn scored 22 runs, while captain Matthew wreaked havoc on the short bowlers. He scored 63 runs in 39 balls. Adelaide made a great start, but Brisbane came back into the match by dismissing three batsmen within 7 runs. The turn of the match changed once again when Adelaide scored 38 runs in just 18 balls after the 9th over. After this, wickets kept falling at regular intervals, but Matthew Short remained at one end.

The match was overturned in the end

Adelaide Strikers had to score only 36 runs in the last 30 balls. Captain Matthew Short was set and with the set batsman Short in the crease, it seemed an easy target, but meanwhile, on the second ball of the 18th over, Xavier Bartlett dismissed Short on the score of 63. The course of the match had once again changed. With Xercis Wadia, Adelaide’s hopes of victory were still intact, but due to the fall of the wickets of Luke Wood and Xercis Wadia in the 19th over, Brisbane had returned to the match.

In the last over, Adelaide had to score 10 runs to win, the responsibility of saving which Brisbane handed over to Thomas Balkin. Balkin took 2 wickets in the over and ended Adelaide Strikers’ innings at 172 runs.

Shaheen Afridi made his debut in the Big Bash League on 15 December, in which he was badly beaten. Shaheen Afridi is playing for Brisbane Heat in the BBL, which was defeated by Melbourne Renegades by 14 runs. In this match, Tim Seifert, who scored a century in 53 balls, also hit a lot of fours and sixes on Afridi’s balls.

In this match, with the help of Tim Seifert’s century, Melbourne Renegades had scored 212 runs while playing first. Seifert scored 102 runs in 56 balls in this match. In reply, Brisbane Heat team was able to score 198 runs in the stipulated 20 overs and lost the match by 14 runs. Shaheen Afridi was badly beaten in bowling and then flopped in batting also.

Shaheen Afridi got insulted

Shaheen Afridi had given 9 runs in his first over, when he came to bowl the 13th over of the innings, Tim Seifert and Oliver Peak scored 19 runs in his over, which included one six and 2 fours. Afridi had given away 28 runs in 2 overs. Afridi’s headache was not over yet, because when he came to bowl the 18th over of the innings, he could not complete the over due to bowling two beamers.

Oliver Peak hit a six on the very first ball of the 18th over. This six made Afridi nervous, so he bowled 3 no-balls in the over. In which 2 beamers were included. However, the batsmen could not hit a six on even a single free hit. In the same over, Seifert completed his century in 53 balls. Later in the same over, Oliver Peak completed his fifty in 25 balls by hitting a four.

Afridi was removed from bowling after the second beamer in the over. According to the rules, if a bowler bowls two beamers in the same over, he is removed from bowling. Nathan McSweeney bowled the last 2 balls in place of Afridi. Afridi gave away 43 runs in 2.4 overs in the match.

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Babar Azam played his debut match in Big Bash League today, but it was a flop. Babar, who opened for Sydney Sixers, was out after scoring only 2 runs. He played 5 balls and had a narrow escape in the other 2 balls also. His team also lost this match.

Perth Scorchers won the toss and decided to bowl first. Daniel Hughes and Babar Azam started the innings for Sydney Sixers. Sydney did not have a good start, Hughes was out in the very first over off the bowling of Aaron Hardy. He could not even open the account, the last ball of the over went to Babar Azam, which he defended.

Babar Azam out after scoring 2 runs in debut match

Babar Azam defended the fifth ball of the second over. Joel Paris bowled the next ball on wicket length, on which Babar Azam hit. The ball went in the air and fell a short distance away from the fielder. This could have been a catch. On the fourth ball of the third over bowled by Couch, Babar Azam tried to hit a big shot using his steps, but the ball went in the air and fell between the two fielders. He survived once again. Babar ran on this ball and took 2 runs.

BABAR AZAM OUT FOR 2!#BBL15 pic.twitter.com/fqRiu8mewK

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 14, 2025

Babar Azam was out after hitting a lap shot

Looking at Babar Azam, it did not seem that he is such a big batsman, he was just playing lap shots on every ball. That means he was just swinging the bat. Babar bowled a similar shot on the fifth ball of the third over bowled by Brody Couch, on which he was caught out.

Batting first in this match of 11 overs due to rain, Sydney Sixers scored 113 runs for 5 wickets. Jack Edwards played a good inning of 46 runs in 21 balls. Earlier, Josh Philip had scored 28 runs in 18 balls.

Perth Scorchers achieved the target of 114 with 5 balls remaining. Cooper Connolly scored 59 runs in 31 balls with the help of 5 sixes and 3 fours.

Ravichandran Ashwin will have to wait to return to the cricket field. He was supposed to play in the next season of Big Bash League (BBL), but is out due to injury. Ashwin himself has issued a long statement on social media saying that he will not be able to play for Sydney Thunder. Ashwin was going to play the entire season for Sydney Thunder. As soon as he entered the field, he would have become the first male cricketer of India to have played in BBL. Ashwin has suffered a knee injury. If he can recover quickly, Sydney Thunder can call him to play in the mid-season.

Ashwin got injured, told himself

Through a statement released on social media, Ravichandran Ashwin said, “I have suffered a knee injury while preparing for the next season of BBL in Chennai. I got the test done, the result of which is that I will not be able to play in BBL 15. I am sad to say this, because I was very eager to play in front of the Australian fans.”

Ashwin told that he would definitely like to come back after recovery. Despite the injury, he has received support from the players and staff of Sydney Thunder. Ashwin told that he will not be able to come on the field, but he will be cheering the Thunder women’s and men’s team fiercely.

Took retirement from IPL

Ravichandran Ashwin had confirmed to play for Sydney Thunder in BBL after retiring from IPL this year. Meanwhile, he could not find any buyer in the ILT20 league. The 15th season of Big Bash League will run from 14 December-25 January. Sydney Thunder will play its first match against Hobart Hurricanes on 16 December.

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed in Sydney that they can still score runs in ODI cricket. Rohit scored 121 runs and Virat scored 74 runs, due to their innings India defeated Australia by 9 wickets. After the match, both of them also indicated that this might be their last match as cricketers in Australia. Probably he has said goodbye to Australia, but in the meantime Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has hinted at bringing Rohit-Virat into BBL.

Let us tell you that Ravichandran Ashwin will be seen playing for Sydney Thunder in the next season of Big Bash League (BBL). This was called the biggest signing in BBL history, but Ashwin will play in BBL after retirement. But Ashwin will be the first capped Indian cricketer who will play in the Australian league.

Will Rohit-Virat play in BBL?

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg was also asked whether players of the level of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would ever be able to play in the BBL. On this, Greenberg said, “Under some circumstances this may be possible. We have to continue the conversation.”

Greenberg described Ravichandran Ashwin’s deal as the biggest proof that it is not impossible for players of Rohit and Virat’s level to come to BBL. He also talked about making BBL a private league, the discussion on which is currently going on.

Can Rohit-Virat play in BBL?

Even though R Ashwin is going to play for Sydney Thunder, this has become possible only after his international and IPL retirement. Even if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retire completely from international cricket, they will not be able to play in BBL. He will be eligible to play in BBL only after retiring from IPL.

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