Delhi Capitals on Thursday (April 25) announced the replacement of their Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for the remainder of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024).
Marsh was ruled out of the current competition due to a hamstring injury. DC head coach Ricky Ponting confirmed the news earlier this week. Marsh suffered the injury while bowling during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 3. A week after the injury, he flew back to Australia to consult with Cricket Australia (CA) medical staff.
CA and DC agreed that Marsh should spend some time in Australia to recover and undergo further reassessment. In the end, CA decided that the Australian T20I captain was not suitable to take part in the IPL 2024.
“I don’t think he will come back. There is a certain limit when it comes to substitute players. Cricket Australia was keen to have him home to begin his recovery process and we sent him back as quickly as possible.”
“They have been taking care of his rehabilitation for a few weeks now. I was talking to him recently and it seems like it took him a little longer than he initially thought to get over it. I don’t think it will be a problem in the T20 World Cup,” Ponting had said.
Marsh ended his campaign in IPL 2024 having played just four games. In these four matches, he scored 61 runs with a top score of 23. He also bowled eight overs and managed to take one wicket.
DC announces Mitchell Marsh’s replacement:
DC announced on Thursday that Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib will replace Mitchell Marsh in their squad. The 32-year-old was signed up for his reserve price of INR 50 Lakhs. Gulbadin Naib has bagged an IPL contract for the first time in his career.
“Naib has represented Afghanistan in 82 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 65 T20 Internationals (T20Is) so far. A right-handed batsman and medium pacer, this will be his first stint in the Tata IPL. Naib signs up for him.” Minimum price of INR 50 Lakhs, announced a dismissal from the IPL.
The Afghan powerhouse is now a part of DC 💙💪🏼
Here is inviting @GbNaib who moves to DC as a replacement for Mitch Marsh, who was ruled out #IPL2024. pic.twitter.com/1CwbCnuWKz
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 25, 2024
In 126 T20 games so far, Gulbadin Naib has scored 1626 runs with the help of seven half-centuries and also picked up 70 wickets. His inclusion in the DC squad has further increased the number of Afghan players in the current IPL season.
Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Azmatullah Omarzai currently play for the Gujarat Titans while Mohammad Nabi plies his trade for the Mumbai Indians. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Allah Ghazanfar play for Kolkata Knight Riders while Naveen-ul-Haq represents Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024.