The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) announced that they have bought the services of South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi as the replacement of Australia fast bowler Andrew Tye for the second phase of IPL 2021. The world no. 1 ranked T20I bowler will join the Royals squad for the remainder of IPL 2021 scheduled to be taking place in the UAE from 19th September 2021. Tye pulled out of the tournament as he wanted to spend more time with his family after witnessing a hectic international schedule season.
Announcing his withdrawal from the season, Andrew Tye said, “It is with great regret that I have to pull out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 with the Rajasthan Royals. It has been a long year for me which has kept me away from home for a lengthy period, and the disappointment of not making it to the World Cup squad has added to the dismay.”
Shamsi is the Royals' second replacement signing for the remainder of #IPL2021, replacing AJ Tye.
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 25, 2021
He further added, “Therefore, keeping my best interests in mind, I had to make this tough decision of staying at home and preparing myself mentally and physically for next year’s T20 World Cup. I am gutted that I won’t be able to rejoin the Royals family this year, but like all the fans out there, I will be cheering the team on.”
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Tye joined England’s Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer who will also be missing the second phase of the 14th edition of the cash-rich league due to different reasons. There is no word yet on the availability of the flamboyant all-rounder, Ben Stokes, who has taken an indefinite break from the game citing mental health issues but the Royals would be hoping, the England all-rounder confirms his participation soon.
Tabraiz Shamsi plays for The Titans in South Africa’s domestic cricket and made his international debut for the Proteas during a bilateral T20I series against England in 2017.
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The left-arm leg spinner has since picked up 45 wickets in 39 T20Is, along with 32 wickets in 27 ODIs for the rainbow nation. In the IPL, Shamsi has played 4 matches in which he picked up 3 wickets for Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who had recruited him as a replacement player during the 2016 season.
