South African batsman Hashim Amla is to join Kings XI Punjab for the rest of the Indian Premier League season after Shaun Marsh became the latest Australian player to pull out injured.
The former South Africa skipper revealed on Twitter that he would be joining the IPL’s basement team as a replacement for Marsh in what will be his first stint in India’s money-spinning Twenty20 contest.
Excited to be with @lionsdenkxip for the remainder of the @ipl. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the support peeps
— hashim amla (@amlahash) May 4, 2016
The 33-year-old’s signing comes after Marsh, a batting all-rounder, failed to shake off a back injury which he reportedly picked up in a game against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 19.
He is the fourth Australian to return home early from this year’s IPL, which began on April 9 and wraps up on May 29.
Skipper Steve Smith, bowler John Hastings and Marsh’s brother Mitchell have also gone home to avoid aggravating their injuries ahead of Australia’s participation in a tri-nation series in the West Indies next month.
Amla, who stepped down as South Africa’s Test captain in January, was one of the few bright spots in his country’s disappointing showing at the recent World Twenty20 in India, scoring two half-centuries.
