It was already known that Mohammad Shami would not be able to play in this IPL. Even after that, the Gujarat Titans did not announce the name of any replacement cricketers. They finally announced that name two days before the start of the IPL. Former Kolkata cricketer Sandeep Warrier has been selected as Shami’s replacement by Shubman Gill’s team. Shami was injured in the World Cup. Since then, he has not played in any competitive matches. After undergoing surgery in London, he returned home a few days ago. Rehab for now. Already knocked out of the IPL.
A statement from the IPL on Wednesday night read, “Veteran Indian pacer Mohammad Shami has undergone successful surgery on his right ankle. He is currently undergoing rehab. His replacement, Sandeep Warrier, has played five matches in the IPL so far. He is joining Gujarat at a base price of Rs 50 lakh.”
Though born in Kerala, Warrior now plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He played five matches for Kolkata between 2019 and 2021. He was previously in Bengaluru and Mumbai, but neither team played him. He is going to be a member of Gujarat’s star-studded pace department. Gujarat now has Mohit Sharma, Josh Little, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, Karthik Tyagi, Darshan Nalkande, and Sushant Mishra as pacers.