Things are going from bad to worse for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise has confirmed that its seamer David Payne won’t participate in the remainder of the league on account of an ankle injury.
Their regular captain, Pat Cummins, has not played a single game this season so far, and Ishan Kishan has stepped into the breach. Another English pacer Brydon Carse was also ruled out a couple of days ago due to a hand injury picked up in the nets, and although Dilshan Madushanka has been included as his replacement, these injuries can really rattle a team’s campaign in the middle of the league, if truth be told.
Also Read: Blood indeed runs thicker than water: Krunal Pandya’s reply should quash Hardik Pandya rift rumours
Payne wasn’t the first choice anyway. He was the replacement for Australian pacer Jack Edwards, who had to pull out on account of a foot injury.
Payne played the first two games for SRH this season, against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. Against RCB, he had conceded 35 runs in three overs; however, he removed Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma off the back-to-back deliveries. His efforts went in vain, though, as SRH finished on the losing side.
Against KKR, he didn’t do well at all, giving away 35 runs in two overs without any wickets, but his team managed to win the contest.
It remains to be seen if SRH announce any replacement for Payne.
Some relief on the Cummins front though!
Amid so much bad news, there is a glimmer of hope that Cummins may return to action pretty soon. As per Cricket Australia, he has been given the go-ahead with the IPL following satisfactory back scans on him earlier this week. “Pat Cummins has been given the all-clear to resume bowling without restrictions following fresh scans on his back in Sydney, paving the way for his return to action at the IPL.
“Cummins’ latest set of scans on Wednesday confirmed the back stress issue that limited him to a single match of professional cricket since last August has now resolved.
“The Aussie pace spearhead will now return to India on Friday to link up with his Australia teammate Travis Head at the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for the remainder of this year’s IPL,” it said.
As of now, Cummins is expected to play against Rajasthan Royals on April 25. SRH are next in action against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. And then on Tuesday, they line up against Delhi Capitals.