Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have suffered a blow to their bowling attack with the news that star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be ruled out of the IPL 2024 due to a left heel injury. However, the Orange Army has moved swiftly to find a replacement, announcing the signing of 22-year-old Sri Lankan leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth.
"Vijaykanth, a leg-spinner from Sri Lanka, has represented his country in a solitary T20 International so far. He joins the Tata IPL at his base price of INR 50 lakhs," an IPL statement read. The leg-break bowler, Viyaskanth, though less experienced, offers a promising alternative. He has represented Sri Lanka in one solitary T20I and recently played for the ILT20 2024 champions MI Emirates. In four matches, he took eight wickets at 5.43. In 33 T20s overall, Viyaskanth has an economy of 6.76 taking 42 wickets.
SRH acquired Hasaranga during last December's player auction for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Unfortunately, persistent discomfort in his left heel dashed his chances of contributing to his new team's performance in the current season. Previously, Hasaranga played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru for two seasons after being acquired for a staggering sum of Rs 10.75 crore at the 2022 auction. Despite a standout debut season with RCB, where he claimed 26 wickets, his involvement was minimal last year, leading to his release from the franchise.
Viyaskanth's arrival adds depth to the SRH's inexperienced spin department. He’ll be joining the likes of Washington Sundar, Mayank Markande and Shahbaz Ahmed. The 22-year-old will be looking to grab this opportunity with both hands and make a mark in the biggest T20 league in the world.
Sunrisers Hyderabad faces a problem of plenty regarding their foreign player selection, as they struggle to accommodate talents such as Glenn Phillips and Marco Jansen in their starting XI. This issue raises questions about whether the new player will have the opportunity to secure a spot in the team for the early matches or not.
