With a few days left for the restart of the 14th edition of the Indian T20 League in UAE, six franchises have announced changes to their overseas roster. We take a look at the latest reinforcements of Bangalore, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kolkata, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
Bangalore
The Virat Kohlii-led franchise has roped in Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Tim David, and George Garton. Adam Zampa and pacer Kane Richardson had left the team citing personal reasons before the suspension of the tournament. Daniel Sams made himself unavailable for the remainder of the Indian T20 League. Meanwhile, Finn Allen is part of the New Zealand squad, which will play three ODIs and five T20Is against Pakistan.
Hasaranga, David, and Garton will be featuring in the Indian T20 League for the first time. Sri Lanka fast bowler Chameera, who picked up a four-wicket haul against England in June, was bought by Rajasthan in the 2018 season. But a back injury forced him to miss the entire tournament.
The Sri Lanka duo will join the squad after the white-ball series against South Africa at home. They are available only till league stage matches as Sri Lanka begins their T20 World Cup campaign on October 18.
David has become the first player from Singapore to be included in an Indian T20 League franchise’s roster. The 25-year-old all-rounder has plied his trade in Big Bash League (BBL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL). David won the title with Southern Brave in the inaugural edition of the Hundred. He has been among the runs in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Impressive performances in the inaugural edition of the Hundred helped Garton land an Indian T20 League contract. The left-arm pacer picked up ten wickets in nine matches for the Southern Brave. He was among the most consistent domestic players in the tournament. Also, Garton had a decent outing in the Vitality Blast 2021, claiming nine wickets at an economy of 7.50.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan made four changes to their overseas roster as Evin Lewis, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, and Oshane Thomas have replaced Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Andrew Tye. Archer is nursing an elbow injury, while Buttler, Stokes, and Tye opted out of the second leg of the Indian T20 League.
West Indies opener Lewis grabbed headlines recently after scoring a hundred against Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL 2021. The 29-year-old, who played for Mumbai in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, is St Kitts & Nevis Patriots’ top run-scorer this season. He is also part of the West Indies 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Phillips had a terrific time with the bat in England. He amassed 500 runs in Vitality Blast 2021 and scored the highest number of sixes in the tournament with 36 sixes. The Kiwi carried his form into the Hundred, registering two half-centuries in eight matches. Meanwhile, Phillips’ Barbados Royals teammate Thomas had an ordinary CPL 2021 campaign. He picked up six wickets at an economy of 7.39 in seven innings.
Shamsi, who has made four appearances for Bangalore in Indian T20 League, is enjoying an excellent 2021. The left-arm wrist-spinner is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is in 2021, with 28 wickets from 17 innings. He has claimed a four-wicket haul against Pakistan and Ireland and took seven wickets in six games in the Hundred tournament.
Punjab
Punjab signed Adil Rashid, Aiden Markram, Nathan Ellis for the remainder of the Indian T20 League 2021 campaign. The trio replaced Jhye Richardson, Dawid Malan, and Riley Meredith. The Aussie duo pulled out due to fitness concerns, while Malan prioritized the T20 World Cup and the Ashes series. Rashid, Markram, and Ellis will be making their first bow in the world’s most popular T20 tournament.
The England white-ball spinner is no stranger to franchise leagues as he has played in the BBL, Bangladesh Premier League, Abu Dhabi T10 League, etc. Rashid bagged 12 wickets in seven matches in the Hundred tournament and finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker. The 33-year-old had grabbed a four-wicket haul – 4/35 – against Pakistan in the three-match T20I series in July.
With 408 runs at a strike rate of 150, Markram is South Africa’s second leading run-scorer in T20Is in 2021. The opening batsman struck three-half centuries in the home series against Pakistan in April. A 33-ball 48 helped the Proteas post 163 against Sri Lanka in the opening T20I of the three-match series on Friday.
A hat-trick on his T20I debut brought Ellis into the limelight. The Aussie fast bowler made his opportunity count in the five-match series against Bangladesh. He picked up five wickets in two matches at an economy of 6.25. Ellis represents Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL.
Kolkata
Tim Southee returns to Indian T20 League after a gap of two years after Kolkata snapped up the New Zealand pacer in place of Pat Cummins, who made himself unavailable for the tournament. The 32-year-old, who had represented four franchises in Indian T20 League, led New Zealand to a T20I series win over Bangladesh and was excellent in the Test matches against England and India in the summer.
Delhi
Chris Woakes’ decision to withdraw from the second leg of Indian T20 League forced Delhi to sign uncapped Australia bowler Ben Dwarshuis. The left-arm quick, who has 85 wickets in 68 innings in BBL, had recently turned out for Worcestershire in Vitality Blast. He bagged 15 wickets in the T20 tournament, including a four-wicket haul against Yorkshire.
Hyderabad
Sherfane Rutherford has replaced Jonny Bairstow in the Hyderabad squad after the England wicketkeeper-batsman opted out of the UAE leg. The left-hander, who failed to find a place in the West Indies T20 World Cup squad, hit three half-centuries in St Kitts & Nevis Patriots’ opening four matches in CPL 2021. He has represented Delhi in the Indian T20 League 2019 season, scoring 73 runs in seven innings.
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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