Rajasthan Royals sign World No.1 T20 bowler Tabraiz Shamsi, Andrew Tye pulls out

Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday announced the signing of South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi, the World No.1 ranked T20I bowler. He will be joining the Royals squad for the remainder of IPL 2021 to be held in the UAE from 19th September. The left-arm leg spinner from Johannesburg is the second replacement player for the franchise. Earlier, the Royals announced the signing of New Zealand cricketer Glenn Phillips as their first replacement player this season. Meanwhile, Australian pacer Andrew Tye said he won’t be available for the remainder of the season.

Shamsi, 31, represents The Titans in South Africa’s domestic cricket. He made his international debut for South Africa during a bilateral T20I series against England in 2017. The left-arm leg spinner has since picked up 45 wickets in 39 T20Is, along with 32 wickets in 27 ODIs for his country. In the IPL, Shamsi has played 4 matches in which he picked up 3 wickets for Royals Challengers Bangalore, who had recruited him as a replacement player during the 2016 season.

Andrew Tye out of the season

However, Australian pacer Andrew Tye will not be part of the remaining duration of the season. “It is with great regret that I have to pull out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 with the Rajasthan Royals. It has been a long year for me which has kept me away from home for a lengthy period, and the disappointment of not making it to the World Cup squad has added to the dismay,” added Tye.

“Therefore, keeping my best interests in mind, I had to make this tough decision of staying at home and preparing myself mentally and physically for next year’s T20 World Cup. I am gutted that I won’t be able to rejoin the Royals family this year, but like all the fans out there, I will be cheering the team on.”

Glenn Phillips was their first replacement player

Earlier, the club announced Phillips as their first replacement player this season. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman from Auckland is currently part of the Barbados Royals franchise in the CPL. Phillips, 24, represents Auckland in New Zealand’s domestic cricket and made his international debut for the Kiwis during a bilateral T20I series against South Africa in 2017. The top-order batsman has 506 runs to his name in 25 T20Is with a strike rate of 149.70, and has also been involved in various cricket leagues around the world, most recently in The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

“On another note, English cricketers Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler will not be available for the remainder of IPL 2021. The franchise wishes Jofra Archer good health and a swift recovery, and Jos Buttler and his wife Louise a happy, healthy second baby,” an earlier statement by the franchise read.

The IPL this year was postponed initially due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India. The remainder of the tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19 this year. Several cricketers, however, might not return for the second half of the competition, forcing teams to make replacements before the competition begins again.