In what came as a major setback for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was on March 31 (Sunday) ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced that Hasaranga has decided to skip the cash-rich tournament in India due to a left heel injury. SLC CEO Ashley de Silva revealed that the star cricketer, who is No. ranked T20I bowler and No.2 ranked T20I all-rounder, will continue rehabilitation to attain full fitness for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
"He is not taking part in the IPL as he needs to do some rehabilitation after meeting the podiatrist," de Silva told the Sunday Times Newspaper, as quoted by Newswire.
"There’s a swelling in the heel and he has been playing with injections. So he has decided to get this issue sorted out before the World Cup and informed us of his decision to skip the IPL this year," he added.
Massive loss for Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad camp was ecstatic when they secured the services of Wanindu Hasaranga in the mini-auction in December last year. The Orange Army forked out a sum of Rs 1.5 crore for the Sri Lankan star. With Hasaranga now slated to miss the entire tournament, the Sunrisers camp would be dejected, especially because of missing out on the Sri Lankan all-rounder's services after buying him for a cheap price in the auction.
Hasaranga's record in T20s
Hasaranga has played 172 T20s in his career so far and his record with both the ball and the bat is terrific. The leg-spinner has bagged 241 wickets at an outstanding economy rate of 6.76. With the bat, Hasaranga has scored 2,010 runs at a strike rate of 144.81 with the help of eight half-centuries. In the IPL, Hasaranga has played 26 matches and bagged 35 wickets at an economy rate of 8.13.
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