Ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders has announced the replacement of England fast bowler Gus Atkinson. Sri Lanka's new-ball bowler Dushmantha Chameera has been roped to replace him for the cash-rich league at a reserve price of ₹50 lakh.
Atkinson was roped by the two-time champions in the auction held in December 2023 in Dubai for base price of ₹1 crore. However, it's unclear why the England speedster has been ruled out. Nevertheless, Chameera has been part of IPL before, plying his trade for the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He also played for the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 edition, taking 9 scalps in 12 matches. The right-arm speedster has decent T20 numbers, picking up 118 scalps in 119 matches at 28.36 with 4 four-wicket hauls.
Shamar Joseph was previously replaced with Mark Wood:
The replacement of Chameera is the 2nd such news ahead of IPL 2024 as the Super Giants previously roped in Shamar Joseph as a replacement of Mark Wood. Wood, retained by the franchise, was pulled out by the ECB ahead of the T20 World Cup, followed by the home Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Joseph, meanwhile, continued his rise from his heroics against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. The Guyanese took 7 wickets in an innings to fashion West Indies' eight-run victory at the venue and help them level the series. The franchise has offered him ₹3 crore.
