Aaron Finch heaped praise on Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Josh Hazlewood after his Player of the Match-winning performance against the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday, April 15, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Hazlewood bowled disciplined lines inside the power play and didn’t allow the Lucknow batters to free their arms. He was rewarded for his consistency in the seventh over, as he dismissed the dangerous Nicholas Pooran. In his four-over spell, the Australian pacer gave away just 20 runs and picked up one wicket.

Finch said that no one gets surprised when Hazlewood does well, as cricket enthusiasts are used to his consistency and excellence. The former Australian skipper added that Hazlewood doesn’t concede 50 runs in an IPL game too often.

“The most important thing is that every team that he has played for, whether it has been MI, CSK, where he has won a title, you know what you are going to get day in and day out. That’s what you want as a captain. He’ll run in and he’ll bowl the same stuff day after day and get the results. No one is surprised any time he does well. Because you have to bat really well [against him]. Very rarely do you see him go for 50,” Finch said during a discussion while explaining Hazlewood’s impact as a seamer in the IPL.

They were just going for everything: Ambati Rayudu slams Lucknow Super Giants’ batting

Ambati Rayudu slammed the Lucknow batters, saying that Rishabh Pant and Co. didn’t assess the conditions after being asked to bat first and instead, threw their bats at everything coming their way.

“Good teams assess the conditions really well when you are batting first. I didn’t see anything of that sort happen in the Lucknow batting order. They were just going for everything. You knew that the ball was actually stopping in the pitch. It was bouncing a little more and just gripping a little bit. You know it’s a 170 wicket. You need to play as if you are chasing 170 or 180,” Rayudu said.

Lucknow were bowled out for 146 in 20 overs, with Mukul Choudhary top-scoring with a 28-ball 39. Rasikh Salam Dar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged four and three wickets, respectively. In reply, the defending champions romped home with five wickets and 29 balls to spare.

The Karachi Kings have secured the services of England batter Jason Roy as a replacement for the UAE’s Muhammad Waseem for the ongoing 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. 

Waseem, along with his compatriot Khuzaima bin Tanveer, have been called to the UAE squad for their upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 matches in Nepal.

Roy is no stranger to the PSL. The right-handed batter has played a total of six seasons, representing Lahore Qalandars in 2016 and the Quetta Gladiators from 2017 to 2024. He has gone on to score 1,260 runs from 28 games in his career in Pakistan at a strike-rate of 146.51. Roy has scored two hundreds in the tournament, including hitting an unbeaten 145 against Peshawar Zalmi in 2023, which is the highest individual score in PSL history. 

“Known for his fearless striking and vast experience in the T20 circuit, Roy is no stranger to the PSL, where he has consistently been one of the most destructive overseas batters. His arrival is set to bolster the Kings’ top order as the tournament enters its most critical phase,” the Karachi Kings statement read.

Waseem played five times for the Karachi Kings this season and went on to score just 86 runs at an average of 17.20 whilst striking at around 118. Roy, meanwhile, is a much more attack-minded batter and can easily replace the Emirati batter as an opener alongside South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks.

The Karachi Kings are currently fourth in the PSL standings after picking up six points from five matches. They won their first three games of the season before suffering two consecutive defeats. 

Roy last played professional cricket in the Middle East, representing the ILT20-winning Desert Vipers squad. The England batter, however, had a quiet tournament, scoring just 30 runs from four innings. 

The 35-year-old last represented the Three Lions in 2023 and has since lost his Central Contract. He is, however, still a regular in the Vitality Blast, representing Surrey and in The Hundred. He was most recently picked up by MI London in the first-ever Hundred auction for GBP 31,000.

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi was full of praise for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, stating that the young talent has the potential to become the face of Indian cricket in the future. Sooryavanshi has been in sensational form during the IPL 2026 season, playing a key role in helping Rajasthan Royals (RR) get off to an impressive start.

The youngster has already notched up two half-centuries and is striking the ball at an extraordinary rate of 263.16, showcasing his fearless approach and attacking mindset. Lalit Modi highlighted how rare it is to see such confidence and composure from a young player.

“Look at the young kid. Look at (Vaibhav) Sooryavanshi. I can tell you now that kid is going to go out there and be the new face of Indian cricket in the future. The confidence in the kid. Look at the confidence in the kid and his face. 14 years old! My son is 14 years old,” said Lalit in a podcast to Michael Vaughan.

Lalit also advised that managing a young talent like Sooryavanshi will be crucial, especially as he has gained fame at a very early stage of his career. He cautioned that handling success and attention properly is important, adding that he has seen several cricketers struggle or lose direction in similar situations if not guided well.

“This is going to be the next journey for cricketers is how we manage them, how we groom them and how we make sure that it’s not about the next watch and the next Ferrari and it’s happened to a lot of the players. You could see it in the IPL. It’s created lots of monsters but it has created some great players. The Sooryavanshi kid.  I saw this kid hit, [I thought] ‘Not possible, I am dreaming. It’s not possible that this kid is 14. Seriously?’ I am Googling it, I am calling out people, [asking], ‘Is this real or is somebody making this up?’ And I am getting these messages, and I tell them I am watching. Not once, not twice, this guy has outperformed everybody,” said Lalit.

The left-handed batter has scored 452 runs in 12 games for RR, including one century and three half-centuries. RR are currently placed second on the points table with four wins from five matches, accumulating eight points so far. They will next face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, April 19 at the iconic Eden Gardens.