W, W, W… Meet star bowler with over 300 wickets, went UNSOLD at IPL 2026 mini auction, will now play for Kavya Maran’s SRH due to…

Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad have announced replacement for injured Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards, who is ruled out of entire IPL 2026 season.

IPL 2026: Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad have been hit with a spate of injuries in the build-up to the IPL 2026 season. SRH are set to face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 opening match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Ahead of their match against SRH, regular skipper Pat Cummins is already ruled out due to injury and Ishan Kishan has been appointed stand-in captain for the first few matches for the team. Apart from Cummins, another Australian – all-rounder Jack Edwards – was ruled out of the season due to foot injury. On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced veteran England bowler David Payne as the replacement for Jack Edwards.

“Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have picked Saurabh Dubey and David Payne respectively as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026,” the BCCI announced in a statement.

“Payne is an injury replacement for Jack Edwards at SRH. Payne has played one ODI for England, in addition to 233 T20s, scalping 304 wickets from the same. He will join SRH for Rs 1.5 Crore,” the statement added.

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Jack Edwards has been ruled out of the season due to injury. Get well soon, Jack!
David Payne has been named as the replacement player for TATA IPL 2026 pic.twitter.com/iD3F5oNkId
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 24, 2026

Edwards was signed up for Rs 3 crore at the IPL 2026 mini auction last year and was expected to make his Indian Premier League debut this year. Payne, on the other hand, had gone unsold for Rs 1.5 crore.

Hailing from Dorset, Payne is a Gloucestershire veteran left-arm pace bowler and has played in Big Bash League and ILT20 around the world for teams like Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers, Desert Vipers and Welsh Fire in The Hundred.

In 233 T20 matches in his career so far, Payne has picked up 304 wickets at an average of 21.16 with a best of 5/24. In ILT20 2025-26, Payne picked up 17 wickets in 9 matches for the Vipers at an average of 17.76 only.

In BBL 2025-26, Payne turned out for Perth Scorchers and claimed 11 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 13.54 only. He has also picked up 328 first-class wickets in 115 matches with six five-wicket hauls.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders announced former SRH pacer Saurabh Dubey as replacement for Akash Deep, who had been bought for Rs 1 crore at IPL 2026 mini auction. Team India pacer Akash Deep has been ruled out of IPL 2026 due to a lumbar stress injury.

“Akash Deep – a right-arm pacer, who has played 10 Tests for India, scalping 28 wickets – has been ruled out of the season due to a lumbar stress injury. He will be under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury.

“Saurabh, a left-arm pacer, will replace Akash at KKR. He will join KKR for Rs 30 Lakh,” the BCCI statement added.

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The Times Of Bengal