Sri Lanka's T20I skipper Wanindu Hasaranga's arrival in the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be delayed further and the reason causing the delay is yet to be ascertained.
Hasaranga has been bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 1.50 crore and is their main overseas spinner. In the meantime, SRH are relying on Mayank Markande and Shahbaz Ahmed who are their Indian spin options.
A timeframe underlying Hasaranga's arrival can not be specified but his manager has confirmed that the wily leg-spinner "will definitely join the team".
"He will join sooner than later," Hasaranga's manager told Cricbuzz on Friday (March 29). "All I can say is he will definitely join the team."
His manager also ruled out the speculations of him (Hasaranga) not keen on playing for SRH this season because of a low paycheck compared to INR 10.50 crore he got at RCB in the previous season.
"If money was a factor, we could have enrolled for an INR 2 crore base price. Besides, fewer games mean less money. He has to take care of his ankle. He is also the captain of the national team," his manager added.
The 26-year-old is expected to fly to Dubai for a checkup on Sunday (March 31) for his left ankle which has been consistently causing him a lot of trouble.
"He will join for sure, he wants to enjoy the IPL. We are in touch with the franchise," Hasaranga's manager mentioned.
Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2024 squad
Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Jaydev Unadkat, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Maharaj Singh, Wanindu Hasaranga (yet to join)
