Sunrisers Hyderabad rope in Gerald Coetzee as replacement for injured pacer who got ruled out of tournament

South Africa speedster Gerald Coetzee joins Sunrisers Hyderabad for the remainder of IPL 2026.

Updated on: Apr 18, 2026, 09:23:44 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday confirmed the signing of South Africa speedster Gerald Coetzee for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The 25-year-old pacer has joined the Orange Army as a replacement for David Payne, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury earlier this week. Coetzee, who has played 14 IPL games previously, has joined Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 2 crore.

South Africa speedster Gerald Coetzee joins Sunrisers Hyderabad (AFP)

He has earlier represented the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the tournament, and has 15 IPL wickets. The right-arm pacer has played 4 Tests, 14 ODIs, and 18 T20Is for South Africa, and has 67 international wickets to his name.

Speaking of Payne, he played 2 games for SunRisers Hyderabad in the ongoing 19th edition of the IPL, taking 2 wickets. He was ruled out of the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. Earlier, Payne had joined the squad as a replacement for Jack Edwards, who had been sidelined with a foot injury.

Also Read: KKR management's shortcomings laid bare as team accused of destroying Rinku Singh's confidence: ‘He was heartbroken’

Sunrisers Hyderabad have been severely impacted by injuries. Earlier this week, the franchise lost Brydon Carse due to an injury and named Dilshan Madushanka as his replacement.

Skipper Pat Cummins, who is yet to play a game in the IPL 2026 season, has been cleared to rejoin the squad after undergoing scans on his back in Sydney. He is most likely to return to the playing XI for the match against the Rajasthan Royals on April 25.

SRH to take on CSK

The Sunrisers, who won their previous game against the Rajasthan Royals, will square off against the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings on Saturday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Speaking about the game, SRH head coach Daniel Vettori stated that his team would look to register two wins on the bounce. “To get one against the tide, with a really impressive Rajasthan team, and to get a couple of guys on their debut to do so well puts a positive feel within the group. Now it's a chance to maintain that against a CSK team on the back of two wins in a row,” he told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Friday.

The Sunrisers are currently fifth in the points table with 4 points from 5 matches, and a win against CSK would possibly take them inside the top four. On the other hand, CSK are placed eighth in the points table with the same number of points.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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