The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have named South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj as a replacement for injured pacer Prasidh Krishna for the remainder of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Maharaj recently led the Durban Super Giants, the sister franchise of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), to a second-place finish in the 2024 SA20. However, they lost to the eventual winners, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, in the final.
The spinner was part of the LSG camp in IPL 2024 in an unofficial capacity, using the tournament to prepare for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He recently visited Ayodhya's Ram Mandir with some LSG squad members.
According to a statement on the official IPL website, RR acquired Maharaj for his base price of ₹50 lakh (5 million rupees). With only seven overseas players in their squad, the Sanju Samson-led side was allowed to complete their quota of eight with this signing.
"Prasidh Krishna recently underwent surgery on his left proximal quadriceps tendon and is currently recovering. His replacement, Keshav Maharaj, a veteran South African cricketer, has played 27 Twenty20 Internationals, 44 One-Day Internationals and 50 Tests, taking 237 wickets in international cricket," the statement said.
Maharaj has also played 159 T20 matches, picking up 130 wickets and can contribute with some valuable runs lower down the order. RR brought him on board for his base price of ₹50 lakh.
This is the second consecutive IPL season Krishna will miss due to injury. The right-arm pacer was ruled out of the 2023 edition due to a stress fracture. He suffered another injury during the 2024 Ranji Trophy for Karnataka.
Acquired for a hefty sum by RR in the 2022 mega-auction, Krishna played a crucial role in the franchise's run to the final, claiming 19 wickets for the season.
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KKR Name Young Spinner Allah Ghazanfar as Mujeeb Ur Rahman Replacement
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have also been forced to make a replacement after mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman failed to recover from injury.
The 18-year-old spinner (not 16) played in India's tour earlier this year after having his NOCs revoked. Although the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) reversed its decision, Mujeeb suffered an injury forcing him to miss the Sri Lanka series and the IPL.
With Mujeeb out, KKR have named 18-year-old spinner Allah Ghazanfar as the replacement player. He was the youngest player registered for the IPL 2023 mini-auction and recently made his international debut during the ODI series against Ireland.
"Allah Ghazanfar has represented Afghanistan in two ODIs. The youngster has played three T20s and six List A matches, taking five and four wickets respectively," the statement said. Ghazanfar went wicketless across his first two ODI appearances while bowling a combined total of nine overs.
