Rahmanullah Gurbaz to replace Jason Roy at Gujarat Titans: Reports

Afghanistan Rahmanullah Gurbaz will reportedly replace England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jason Roy for the upcoming fifteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) IPL.

As per reports, Gurbaz, who was unpicked at the recently concluded auction, has been acquired by the newly inducted franchise at his base price of Rs 50 lakh. If the reports come true, this will be the Afghan’s first stint in the cash-rich league.

Notably, Titans, who will make their IPL debut along with Lucknow Super Giants this season, were forced to look for Roy’s replacement as the English opener had pulled out of the 15th season citing the challenge of staying in the tournament bubble for a longer period of time.

Earlier, Roy was acquired by the Titans at the IPL auction at his base price of Rs 2 crore.

Intrestingly, the 20-year-old Gurbaz will now be the third player from Afghanistan in the Titans’ squad as Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad are already a part of the newly-inducted franchise.

Gurbaz will be a back-up for Aussie wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, who however, will not be playing the in IPL till April 6 as the contracted Australian players have been asked by Cricket Australia.

Notably, the upcoming IPL season will be held entirely in the state of Maharashtra with 55 matches in Mumbai and 15 matches in Pune.

A total of 70 league matches will be played across four international-standard venues in Mumbai and Pune — Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium to host 20 matches each, while Brabourne Stadium and MCA International Stadium, Pune will host 15 matches each.

The 2022 season will be played in a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel, considered as a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and tournament.

While 55 matches are scheduled to be held in Mumbai, the remaining 15 games will be staged in Pune while the playoffs’ venues haven’t been decided yet. Is most likley that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad will stage the playoffs however, no official announcement has been made yet.

In the upcoming season, the 10 teams have been divided into two groups. While Group A comprises of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, Group B includes Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.

From this year onwards, the lucrative league will be a ten-team affair following the addition of the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow and will have a total of 74 games.

News Desk

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