Abhishek Sharma Fined, Hazlewood Trains And Warner Exits- April 3 Cricket Highlights

Abhishek Sharma and David Warner [Source: AFP]

Abhishek Sharma has been penalized by the BCCI. Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has hit the nets for the RCB franchise in IPL 2026. In other news, David Warner is set to fly back home in the middle of the PSL 2026 season in Pakistan.

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 Friday, April 3.

Karachi Kings captain David Warner to fly back home amid PSL 2026

Karachi Kings captain David Warner is set to fly back home to Australia for a short trip during the ongoing PSL 2026 season. Under his leadership, the Kings recently outclassed Rawalpindiz to remain unbeaten in the tournament so far. With Karachi’s next match scheduled for April 9 against Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi, Warner has reportedly opted to utilise the break between fixtures to make a brief visit home.

Rinku Singh to replace Ajinkya Rahane midway as KKR captain

Under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, the KKR franchise has succumbed to two demoralising defeats to start off their IPL 2026 campaign on a dismal note. As per a RaySportz report, the KKR management will likely sack Rahane as captain midway into the season, and replace him with franchise zealot and hard-hitting middle-order batter Rinku Singh.

Also Read- KKR’s Tactical Blunder? Rinku Singh’s Middle-Overs Inefficiency Can’t Be Ignored

Under Rahane’s leadership, the KKR franchise also failed to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2025 last year.

Josh Hazlewood hits the nets, hints return for RCB

Josh Hazlewood was spotted bowling in the nets for the RCB franchise ahead of their upcoming IPL 2026 match against CSK in Bengaluru. The legendary Australian fast bowler has not played a single competitive match since November last year owing to injury. While Hazlewood is currently in India as he joined his franchise for IPL 2026 last week, his injury also kept him out of his team’s opening match of the season against the SRH.

His recent training session, however, implies that the cricketer might have attained full recovery and is gearing up to face the CSK.

Ayush Mhatre slaps record fifty for CSK

CSK number three Ayush Mhatre clattered 73 runs off 43 balls against Punjab Kings in match number seven of the IPL 2026 season in Chennai. Aged 18 years and 261 days, Mhatre has become the youngest cricketer in CSK history to slap a half-century at the Chepauk Stadium. The youngster also levelled up with Prithvi Shaw to register two scores of 50 or more in the IPL before the age of 19, falling behind Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Abhishek Sharma fined by BCCI

SRH opener Abhishek Sharma has been fined 25 percent of his match fees by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The blistering top-order batter also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during SRH’s match against hosts KKR at the Eden Gardens earlier this week on Thursday, April 2.

The incident occurred when he remained unmoved for a while despite getting dismissed by Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani.

Also Read- Watch- Matt Henry Roars Like A Lion After Ending Priyansh Arya's Carnage In CSK Vs PBKS IPL Match