Gujarat Titans (GT) have finally announced the replacement for injured Kane Williamson and he's none other than Sri Lanka's explosive batter Dasun Shanaka.
Williamson suffered an on-field injury to his right leg while attempting a catch at the boundary in the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium on 31st March 2023. Roped in for his base price of Rs 50 lakh, this will be Shanaka’s maiden IPL season.
Shanaka is Sri Lanka's white ball skipper and could prove to be a good asset for GT with his all-round skills. Dasun had an exceptional outing in the T20I series against India in which he amassed 124 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 187 and a stunning average of 62.00. He was Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer in ODI series against India with 121 runs in three innings under his belt.
Talking about Shanaka's T20I performance, he has amassed 1329 runs in 86 matches riding on five fifties. He has also snared 25 wickets in the slam bang format. Overall, Dasun Shanaka has played 181 T20s, scoring 3702 runs, including three centuries and 15 fifties. He has also scalped 59 wickets. He will also bring leadership traits like Williamson to the squad.
Hardik Pandya-led GT got off to a flier in the IPL 2023 opener against Chennai Super Kings on March 31 where they clinched the match five wickets.
Gujarat Titans' full squad in IPL 2023
Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma.
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