Matthew Wade to miss IPL 2024 as Gujarat Titans face another massive blow
Published - 08 Mar 2024, 10:48 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:27 AM
Gujarat Titans will be without Matthew Wade for the start of the IPL 2024 as the Australian skipper has decided to play in the final of the Sheffield Shield for Tasmania. Tasmania are assured of a place in the final and is in contention to host the title decider as well.
They are eyeing their first Shield title since 2012-13. Matthew Wade is looking to win his first Shield title with Tasmania. While the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has won four Shield titles so far, all of them came during his 10-year stay with Victoria.
He has played two finals for Tasmania so far but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. Matthew Wade will be hoping that the third time’s the charm and he finally lays his hands on the trophy with the Tasmania side.
Matthew Wade to miss the start of IPL 2024:
The Shield final is scheduled to be played from March 21 to 25. As a result, Matthew Wade is likely to miss only the first game for Gujarat Titans which is against Mumbai Indians on March 25. The second game is against Chennai Super Kings on March 27 and although the Australia star is expected to join the Titans camp by then, he could miss that game as well.
“He’s spoken with his IPL franchise and they’re happy to allow him to stay here, which probably equates to him potentially missing their first game,” Tasmania head coach Jeff Vaughan told reporters in Hobart.
“We feel very fortunate to have someone of Matt’s ilk coming back into our group, and his experience and his performances at the back end of our season.”
He recently turned up for Tasmania after returning to Australia following the three-match T20I series in New Zealand. The southpaw opened the batting for the first time in his Shield career and scored 32 and 5 against his former team Victoria.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans will start a new journey from the upcoming edition of the IPL. With their former captain Hardik Pandya returning to Mumbai Indians, Shubman Gill will be leading them in IPL 2024. Gill will be leading an IPL side for the first time in his career. The Gujarat-based outfit will also be without Mohammed Shami who recently underwent ankle surgery.
