Published: Apr 26, 2017, 07:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 26, 2017, 07:18 PM (IST)
The faltering Gujarat Lions (GL) have bolstered their squad in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 with the inclusion of two Indian cricketers in Irfan Pathan and Ankit Soni. These two players have been included in the side after star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and spinner Shivil Kaushik were ruled out for the remaining IPL 10. While Bravo did not play a single game for the Gujarat Lions in the ongoing IPL 10, Kaushik did feature in several matches but ended up being on the receiving end for most of the times. In three matches that Kaushik played for Gujarat, he failed to take a single wicket and bowed out from the tournament.
An official release informed on Wednesday evening, “Gujarat Lions have signed all-rounders Irfan Pathan and Ankit Soni as replacements for the injured Dwayne Bravo and Shivil Kaushik for the remained of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017. While Bravo failed to recover in time from a hamstring injury, Kaushik featured in three matches before being ruled out of the tournament. Bravo has been replaced by Pathan, who has represented India in 29 Tests, 120 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 24 T20 Internationals. Pathan last played for the Rising Pune Supergiant and will now represent his sixth IPL franchise.”
“Kaushik’s replacement is the 23-year-old Soni, an all-rounder from Mumbai. Gujarat Lions’ next IPL 2017 encounter is against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday 27th April at Bengaluru,” the release added.
With a mere two wins in seven matches and 5 defeats, the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions are currently languishing at the bottom of IPL 10 points table. Gujarat have a poor Net Run Rate of -0.844 and need to win their next few matches to get back on the track.
