In form of IPL With 2021 approaching, KKR have signed New Zealand pacer Tim Southee for the remaining 31 matches of the tournament. A franchise official confirmed this to Cricbuzz on Thursday. Southee has been named in place of Australian Pat Cummins, who withdrew from the second edition of the IPL citing personal reasons.
Kiwi legend Southee, went unsold in the 2020 auction. And the last time he played an IPL match was in 2019 – for RCB. But his performance there was poor as he conceded runs at 13 RPOs in just three matches. Earlier, he has played for CSK, MI and RCB and has managed to take 28 wickets in 40 matches.
“Tim has been a strong player and has been the leader of the New Zealand team. In UAE conditions, we expect him to be very effective,” said a KKR official. The exact amount of signing is not known, but Cummins was bought by the Kolkata franchise in the 2019 IPL auction for Rs 15.5 crore.
This makes Southee the third New Zealander to be part of the KKR squad. KKR coach Brendon McCullum, who is not a part of the CPL, will soon take charge of the team in the UAE. “He will be back for the IPL,” said the official of KKR, which owns the Trinbago Knight Riders team in the CPL.
In 2021, KKR had a terrific start to the tournament as they have won only two matches in the seven matches they have played, and have four points on the board. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan cricketers who are set for RCB in the upcoming IPL, Vanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera are yet to get the nod from their boards, a report in Cricbuzz quoted Mohan de Silva, the secretary of the board as saying.
“I don’t know, I have to investigate. We are in lockdown till the end of the month.” He further said that the board will decide about the players only when the no-objection certificate is applied to them. No decision has been taken as they will. NOC has to be applied for. We are not aware of the selection of these players, nor have they sought permission from us.”
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
.