England opener Jason Roy has pulled out from the 13th edition of Indian Premier League after a left side strain. The Delhi Capitals' opener is replaced by Australia's left-arm pacer Daniel Sams, whose inclusion also gives dimension to the DC attack which only had right-arm pacers in their main squad.
On joining Delhi Capitals, Sams said, "The IPL is a huge platform for any cricketer, and back home, we all follow the tournament extremely closely every year.
"I feel fortunate to be a part of it this year, and I’m thankful to the Delhi Capitals management for giving me this opportunity.I can’t wait to join the rest of the players in the UAE."
He will be joining fellow Australians Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey at the Delhi Capitals.
Earlier, Roy was ruled out of a three-match T20I series against Pakistan starting from August 28.
The opener was hurt during practice at Old Trafford this week and had a scan on Wednesday which revealed the injury.
Roy is second England's player to pull his name out of IPL 2020. Earlier, Chris Woakes, who was also supposed to play for Delhi Capitals, pulled out of this year's IPL edition to keep himself fresh for the English summer, but will not be able to join the team even after the post-COVID-19 pandemic schedule shuffle after being replaced.
Delhi Capitals named South African pacer Anrich Nortje as the replacement for England's Chris Woakes. Nortje was with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)last season, but a shoulder injury cut short his chances of making an IPL debut.
The newly-recruit Sams was the highest wicket-taker in the 2019-20 Big Bash League with 30 scalps in 17 matches at an economy rate of 7.83. The left-armer also got his maiden call-up for the senior team for the T20I series against England in September.
Roy was bought for the base price of INR 1.5 crore by Delhi Capitals, for whom he has played in the past. The destructive opened has so far played five matches for Delhi scoring 120 runs at a strike rate of 127.65,
