IPL 2024: Matthew Wade To Miss GT's First Two Matches In Order To Play Sheffield Shield Final

IPL 2024: Matthew Wade has communicated his plans to Gujarat Titans (GT) who are set to kick off their campaign on March 24.

Matthew Wade is all set to miss the first two matches of Gujarat Titans (GT) in the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to commence on March 22 (Friday). The news comes as the Australian star has chosen to be part of the Tasmania side for the Sheffield Shield final instead which will be played from March 21 to March 24. Wade has already communicated the plans to his franchise who are set to kick off their campaign on March 24.

Notably, IPL 2024 is all set to kickstart with a clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high profile opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Talking about Gujarat, the Hardik Pandya-led side won the tournament in IPL 2022 and came back to reach the final in IPL 2023 where they fell short in a last-ball finale where CSK edged GT. 

However, this year Gujarat will play under a new captain with Shubman Gill at the helm of affairs. Hardik was traded to Mumbai Indians (MI) before the auction in an all-cash deal and was later named the skipper of MI replacing five-time IPL-winning leader Rohit Sharma. As far as Wade's involvement with GT is concerned, he did feature in as many as 10 matches in 2022, the season where they ended up lifting the trophy but did not get a chance to play a single match last season.

Tasmania Head Coach Jeff Vaughan Delighted With Matthew Wade's Availability

Meanwhile, Tasmania Head Coach Jeff Vaughan has expressed his delight at Wade's availability for the summit clash.

"He's spoken with his IPL franchise and they're happy to allow him to stay here, which probably equates to him potentially missing their first game,'' Tasmania head coach Jeff Vaughan told reporters in Hobart.

''We feel very fortunate to have someone of Matt's ilk coming back into our group, and his experience and his performances at the back end of our season,'' he added.

With Wade not available for selection for GT's match against MI on March 24 and against CSK on March 26, they are likely to trust Wriddhiman Saha to be their wicketkeeper.