Veteran New Zealand pacer Tim Southee was on Tuesday handed his debut cap for Kolkata Knight Riders for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 match against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Southee replaced injured all-rounder Andre Russell, who incurred a hamstring injury in the match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for the tie.
Southee was roped in by the two-time IPL champions ahead of the start of the UAE leg of the 14th season a replacement for Australian pacer Pat Cummins, who pulled out of the tournament due to "personal reasons".
This will be Southee's fourth debut for a franchise in IPL. He has previously represented Chennai in five matches, picking four wickets, Mumbai Indians in 14 matches (12 wickets at 35.4), Rajasthan Royals in 10 matches (6 wickets at 53.8) and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 11 matches (6 wickets at 63.2).
In 2021, Southee played just four T20 games picking eight wickets at 14.8 and eight on an international level for New Zealand, picking 12 wickets at 19.5 and an economy rate of 8.07.
Talking about the game, Kolkata won the toss and opted to bowl against Delhi.
