In the middle of the IPL season, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka has received an opportunity with Gujarat Titans.
It was New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips’ misfortune that brought good luck to Shanaka. He replaces Phillips in the Gujarat Titans squad.
Shanaka, known for his aggressive batting and effective medium-paced bowling, is in demand in T20 leagues worldwide. However, he hasn’t had many opportunities in the IPL. At 33 years old, his IPL experience consists of just three matches. He played for Gujarat last year, scoring 26 runs in three matches, but didn’t get a chance to bowl.
Now, Shanaka gets another chance to change his stats, provided he makes it to the playing XI. After going unsold in the auction, the all-rounder was bought by Gujarat for his base price of ₹75 lakh.
Phillips’ absence is a significant blow for Gujarat. The Kiwi all-rounder is an asset in batting, bowling, and fielding, and he was in excellent form for the national team recently. However, due to team combination issues, he hadn’t been in the playing XI at the start of the season. Later, while fielding as a substitute, he got injured and was ruled out of the tournament, leaving Gujarat without a key player.
Following Phillips’ injury, Gujarat faced a bit of a foreign-player crisis. Kagiso Rabada, after playing just two matches, returned to South Africa due to personal reasons, and there’s no certainty when the South African fast bowler will return.
With Rabada gone, the team was left with only three foreign players: Jos Buttler, Sherfane Rutherford, and Rashid Khan. Shanaka’s arrival adds some much-needed depth to the squad.
Additionally, the team has Afghan all-rounder Karim Janat and South African pacer Gerald Coetzee, both of whom are yet to get a chance to play.
Despite the shortage of foreign players, Gujarat Titans, the 2022 champions and 2023 runners-up, are currently second in the points table, having won four out of their six matches.
