The long-awaited progression of Will O'Rourke into the IPL finally took place when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) signed the tall New Zealand quick for INR 3 crore as a replacement for Mayank Yadav, who was ruled out with a back stress after playing just two games. After an expensive start in Lucknow against the big bats of Sunrisers Hyderabad, O'Rourke came into his own in a pressure situation against the table-toppers Gujarat Titans as he single-handedly turned the game in his side's favour.
At 182/3 in 16 overs, Gujarat Titans would have fancied their chance to chase down 236 with two set batters in the middle and a couple of finishers to follow as well. However, O'Rourke dismissed Sherfane Rutherford and also accounted for the wicket of Rahul Tewatia to derail GT's chase by giving away just four runs in the over. The rest was formality as Shahbaz Ahamad, Avesh Khan and Ayush Badoni closed it out for the Super Giants.
O'Rourke finished with the figures of 3/27 and played a key role in LSG defending that score. But will the excitement of having someone like O'Rourke be short-lived for LSG since temporary replacements can't be retained? The answer is no. As per IPL COO Hemang Amin's communique to the franchises, the teams were allowed to sign injury or illness replacements, given that the contingency happens in or before the 12th game for a side.
Yes, O'Rourke was signed before the resumption but LSG had played only 11 matches and the Kiwi pacer had replaced Mayank Yadav, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury and not someone like Aiden Markram, who will leave for national duty by May 26.
"As you are aware, the IPL Player Regulations 2025-27, under Regulations 6.1(b)(i), permit a player to be replaced if they are injured or ill, provided the injury or illness occurs during or before the 12th League Match of the relevant team in the Season.
"However, in the current situation, where we had to temporarily suspend IPL 2025, resulting in its completion beyond the earlier set-out date of May 25, 2025, we have reassessed the Replacement Player provisions," Amin's communique read. Hence, O'Rourke should be eligible for retention for LSG and has already done enough to earn that material praise.