Mitchell Marsh has become the first player to be ruled out of IPL 2020 because of injury. Marsh hurt his right ankle during the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first match of the tournament, on September 21 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has been named Marsh’s replacement.
This is the second time in the last five years that Marsh has had to abort the tournament because of injury – in 2017, a shoulder problem cost him the entire IPL season for the Rising Pune Supergiants.
Marsh was picked by the Sunrisers for his base price of INR 2 crore ($281,000 approx.) last December, and on fresh pitches, in conditions favouring fast bowlers in the first phase of this IPL in the UAE, Marsh was expected to be a first-choice player for the Sunrisers with his all-round skills.
This will be Holder’s second stint with the Sunrisers (after 2014-15) and fourth overall in the IPL. Holder has previously featured for the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Despite being one of the top all-rounders in Test cricket, Holder has failed to impose himself in limited-overs cricket over the years, and while he remains the Test captain for West Indies, he lost the white-ball captaincy to Kieron Pollard last year.
In the December 2019 IPL auction, Holder had put his base price at INR 75 lakh ($100,000 approx.), but went unsold more than once. More recently Holder led the Barbados Tridents in the CPL 2020, where they finished fifth in the six-team table. Holder scored 192 runs at a strike rate of 140.14, and also picked up ten wickets at an economy rate of 6.63, while also bowling the most maidens in the competition (four).
According to the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IPL, Holder would need to undergo the mandatory six-day quarantine and clear the testing process before he can join the Sunrisers’ squad.
Although Marsh’s exit will force them to rework their plans, the Sunrisers have Kane Williamson available for selection for their second match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders on September 26. Williamson, who had picked a quadriceps injury during training before the first game, is understood to be fit.
In another boost for the team, Rashid Khan is understood to not be suffering from concussion. He ran into team-mate Abhishek Singh while completing a run during the chase in the Royal Challengers match and ended up on the floor. Though he continued to bat, there was a question mark around him. (ESPNCricinfo)
