In a surprising move, the Delhi Daredevils have roped in England fast bowler Liam Plunkett as the replacement of injured Kagiso Rabada for IPL 11, starting on Saturday.
Delhi will pay INR 2 crore i.e the base price of Plunkett to the 33-year-old.
Rabada has been sidelined for three months after suffering a back-stress reaction during the fourth and final Test against Australia. The 23-year-old fast bowler was also the player of the of the series, which South Africa won by 3-1.
Plunkett on the other hand will play his first IPL, taking the number of England players to 11 in this season – by far the highest in any of the previous editions of the tournament.
The 33-year-old lanky fast bowler, who is known for surprising the batsmen with his extra pace and bounce brings in a wealth of experience along with him.
In his 119 T20 matches Plunkett has 110 wickets at an acceptable economy rate of 7.90. However Daredevils' move comes as a surprise as Plunkett’s name was not doing the rounds as a possible replacement of Rabada.
Plunkett will not be available for Delhi’s first match, which is against Kings XI Punjab on April 8.