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Gujarat Titans name Dasun Shanaka as injured Kane Williamson's replacement for IPL 2023
Williamson's campaign in 2023 season of the IPL was cut short as he has been ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury in against CSK
New Zealand batter Kane Williamson's campaign in 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was cut short as he has been ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury in the opening game of the season, against Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad. Gujarat Titans on Tuesday named Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as his replacement, putting to rest the speculations of Australia star Steve Smith being in contention. This will be Shanaka's maiden appearance in IPL and has been roped in for his base price of ₹50 lakhs. (DC vs GT Live Score, IPL 2023)
The Sri Lankan limited overs skipper was in sublime form in the recently held series in India where he scored 124 runs at a strike rate of 187 in the T20I series and 121 runs in the ODI contest, including a century in a losing cause. Considered a fine asset in T20s, it was surprising when Shanaka had gone unsold at the IPL auction in December last year.
In his debut appearance for Gujarat Titans, Williamson had landed awkwardly in his knee while attempting to take a catch at the deep square leg boundary during Chennai Super Kings' innings. Williamson had actually grabbed the ball to stop the six from Ruturaj Gaikwad and then threw the ball in. And while it landed on the ground and then rolled towards the boundary rope for a four, Williamson was seen clutching his knee in pain. He was immediately carried off the field with B Sai Sudharsan replacing him via Impact Player rule. A day later, following the scan reports, he was ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 tournament and he soon left for home for further assessment.
"It is sad to lose Kane to injury so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery, with the hope of seeing him in action very soon," said GT director of cricket Vikram Solanki in a press release.
Earlier, there were rumours that GT might opt for Smith, with the Aussie being a like-for-like replacement for Williamson, but the top-order batter wasn't part of the IPL auction which nullified his qualification chances. "I don't know if I'll qualify, I didn't even put myself in the auction. So I don't think there's even a possibility. So, maybe next year, we will see where we go," Smith had said on Star Sports.
