Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have announced West Indies' Shamar Joseph as England's Mark Wood's replacement for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Joseph has been signed for a whopping sum of Rs. 3 crore.
"Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) named Shamar Joseph as replacement for pacer Mark Wood for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.Joseph will join LSG for INR 3 Crore. The speedster was recently at the forefront during West Indies’ Test win at the Gabba. He picked 7 wickets in the 2nd innings to script a historic win in Australia for West Indies. This will be Joseph's first stint in the IPL," the IPL website said.
When Shamar's seven-fer rock Australia in Gabba
The 24-year-old West Indies' bowling phenom recently turned heads with his record-breaking seven-wicket haul to shock Australia in the Gabba Test.
Hailing from Baracara, a small community in Guyana, Joseph developed an interest in cricket during his later childhood years. He made his First-Class debut as a right-arm pacer in February 2023. Joseph's rapid ascent reached its zenith in January when he claimed a five-wicket haul in his debut Test innings against Australia in Adelaide, marking only his 10th senior appearance.
He grabbed the attention of the cricketing world by taking a wicket with his first delivery in international cricket, grabbing the prized scalp of the newly appointed Australian opener Steve Smith.
Reason behind Mark Wood's absence in IPL 2024
As per ESPNcricinfo, ECB pulled Wood, a centrally contracted player, from IPL 2024 to handle his workload, considering the T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled for June and England's upcoming Test series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in the home summer. Earlier, the ECB had prevented Jofra Archer from participating in the IPL 2024 auction to manage his return from injury ahead of the T20 World Cup. LSG bought Wood in the auction before the IPL 2022 season for INR 7.50 crore. Unfortunately, he missed that season due to an elbow injury. In IPL 2023, Wood appeared in four matches, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 11.82.
Wood participated in the opening Test match of the India series held in Hyderabad but was rested for the second match in Vizag.
During his second stint in the IPL last season, Wood made a strong impression by taking 11 wickets in four matches, including a notable five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals. In Test cricket for England, Wood has amassed 104 wickets in 32 matches, with an average of 30.04 and an economy rate of 3.25. In ODIs, he has represented England in 66 matches, securing 77 wickets at an economy rate of 5.52. Additionally, he has claimed 45 wickets in 28 T20Is and was a key member of the England squad that clinched the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
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