Steve Smith Ton, Sooryavanshi Record And LPL 2026- April 22 Cricket Highlights

Steve Smith and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi [Source: AFP]

Steve Smith tonked his maiden PSL century. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi attained a huge IPL record for the Rajasthan Royals. In other news, the LPL 2026 season has received a launch date by the SLC.

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 Wednesday, April 22.

LPL 2026 gets a start date

The Lanka Premier League (LPL) is set to return with its sixth edition this July after a gap of two years. On April 22, the SLC unveiled dates of the tournament. As per the announcement, the LPL 2026 season will launch from July 10 and the final will be played on August 5.

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As many as five venues will host the tournament, including the iconic R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Jaffna-based franchise will start out as defending champions.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi attains huge IPL record

Rajasthan Royals teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi registered a rare failure this IPL 2026 season, scoring just eight off 11 balls against LSG in match 32 of the tournament in Lucknow. However, through the course of his knock, the 15-year-old also completed 500 runs in his IPL career, becoming the fastest cricketer in the history of the league to scale the landmark figure.

He raced past the 500-run mark in just 227 balls, thus bettering Glenn Maxwell’s previous record by 33 balls.

Mohammad Nawaz under fire for taking drugs

Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Nawaz has come under scrutiny for testing positive in using recreational drugs during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year. Amid the investigation, the Surrey cricket club has cancelled his planned T20 Blast 2026 gig.

Maintaining his innocence, Nawaz is currently representing the Multan Sultans franchise in the ongoing PSL 2026 season in Pakistan. So far, he has scored just 36 runs in four innings and has taken six wickets.

CSK coach confirms Spencer Johnson as Khaleel Ahmed’s replacement

CSK bowling coach Eric Simmons has confirmed that Australian fast bowler Spencer Johnson will be replacing injured Khaleel Ahmed in the playing XI for the match against Mumbai Indians on April 23. Ahmed was ruled out of the tournament earlier this month owing to an injury he suffered in the game against the KKR.

Johnson, who has played nine IPL games in his career, was roped in by the CSK prior to IPL 2026 as a replacement of Nathan Ellis.

Steve Smith slaps maiden PSL century

Multan Sultans opener Steve Smith blasted 106 runs off just 50 balls with 12 boundaries and six sixes. Opening the innings against Hyderabad Kingsmen in match 33 of the PSL 2026 season, the innings marked his third fifty-plus score of the tournament and the maiden century of his PSL career.

Smith’s run-fest in Karachi also catapulted the Multan Sultans franchise to a monumental 213-7 in 20 overs.

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