The Delhi Capitals on Thursday announced a replacement for Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for the remainder of the Indian Premier League. Marsh was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury sustained while bowling against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 3. He flew back to Australia for consultation with Cricket Australia's medical staff and rehabilitation.
"We don't think he'll be returning," Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting said. "There's a cutoff point for replacements. Cricket Australia wanted him home for his recovery, and we sent him back as soon as possible."
Marsh finished his IPL campaign with just four games played, scoring 61 runs and taking one wicket.
Replacing Marsh is Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib, signed for his base price of 50 lakh rupees ($62,500). The 32-year-old Naib has never played in the IPL before.
Naib is a right-handed batsman and medium pacer with experience in 82 ODIs and 65 T20Is for Afghanistan. He has scored 1,626 runs and taken 70 wickets in 126 T20 matches overall.
Naib's addition brings the total number of Afghan players in the IPL to eight. Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, and Azmatullah Omarzai are with the Gujarat Titans, while Mohammad Nabi plays for the Mumbai Indians. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Allah Ghazanfar are with the Kolkata Knight Riders, and Naveen-ul-Haq represents the Lucknow Super Giants.
