IPL 2020: Three Players Delhi Capitals Could Sign As Replacement For Ishant Sharma

Indian veteran bowler Ishant Sharma recently made a starring come back from an injury in the first Test versus New Zealand only to snare a five-wicket haul in Wellington. However, the experienced campaigner picked up another injury, this time in his ankle, and was hence ruled out from the second Test.

However, the situation with Ishant is much more serious now as early reports suggest he is likely to miss the initial phase of the Indian Premier League season (IPL 2020), which is a big blow for Delhi Capitals (DC).

Having suffered the injury in a Ranji Trophy match, the 31-year-old made an incredible return to Team India just in time — to face New Zealand in the first Test.

However, the recurrence in his ankle will now have a big impact on the Capitals’ planning for IPL 2020.

With less than four weeks remaining in the IPL, the Shreyas Iyer-led franchise will likely try and sign a replacement for Ishant.

Here are three players who Delhi Capitals could turn to for Ishant Sharma’s replacement:

3) Tanveer Ul-Haq

Hailing from Rajasthan, Tanveer Ul-Haq has not yet played in the IPL. He was a part of the IPL 2020 players draft, but despite his base price of INR 20 lakh, not even a single team looked interested in placing a bet on the pacer.

Tanveer hasn’t been given ample opportunities so far, but the man is certainly talented and he can change the course of a game.

In his domestic career, the left-hander has played 16 T20 matches, in which he has picked up 18 wickets, at an average of 20.16, with the economy of 6.98 and a strike rate of 17.3.

While he may not have experience of playing in the IPL, Tanveer could be a wild card option for Capitals heading into the upcoming season. Being a left-arm pacer, he will be like for like replacement for Ishant.

2) Roosh Kalaria

While the BCCI is yet to make an official announcement regarding how much time, Ishant will spend on the treatment table, nonetheless, Roosh Kalaria can also be an interesting replacement for the veteran.

His is a story similar to that of Tanveer, despite having a base price of INR 20 lakh, not a single franchise looked interested in picking Kalaria. While the 27-year-old does not have prior experience of playing in the IPL, he has some interesting stats domestically.

Playing for the Gujarat team, Kalaria has amassed 27 caps in T20 cricket matches, scalping 33 wickets so far, with an average of 18.69, an economy rate of 6.24, and a strike rate of 17.9.

The right-arm pacer has previously represented India Under-19 at the U19 World Cup 2012.

1) Sushant Mishra

Sushant Mishra represented India at the U19 World Cup 2020 and even took two wickets in the U19 World Cup final versus Bangladesh which the Indian colts eventually lost.

While the youngster has not played in the IPL ever before, he did put up his name in the players’ auction for a base price of INR 20 lakhs.

However, none of the IPL teams bid for Sushant and he remained unsold. While the IPL 2020 auction was held before the World Cup, the left-handed pacer fared well at the global event and earned a lot of plaudits.

This is why he could be lined up as a replacement for Ishant by Capitals.

Moreover, one more approach that they could take, is to not sign anyone, as they already have pacers such as Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohit Sharma.