Punjab Kings on Friday roped in Nathan Ellis as replacement player for UAE leg of 2021. The development was confirmed in a report on Cricbuzz, which added that Australian duo - Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith - won't take part in the remaining matches of Indian Premier League, which will commence next month. "We were not aware of the fitness status of Jhye and Riley till yesterday (August 18). That they cannot be part of the IPL was known only after the Cricket Australia press conference. We have signed Elis as a replacement player. We will announce the second replacement in a day or two," the franchise CEO Satish Mohan was quoted as saying in the report.
''We are in talks with a few players. Anil (Kumble, the head coach) will finalise soon," he added. Ellis went unsold in the player auction in January. “Ellis was being chased by three IPL franchises for the upcoming tournament before agreeing to terms with an unnamed team on Thursday night," said a report by cricket.com.au. Ellis recently made his debut for Australia in the third T20I against Bangladesh in Dhaka. He dismissed Mahdmullah, Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman off the final three balls of the innings to become the first cricketer to take a hat-trick on T20I debut. He joined Brett Lee and Ashton Agar to become the third Australian to take a hat-trick in a T20I match.
