England participant David Willey throughout a follow session. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
England bowler David Willey is ready to miss the start of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 due to personal reasons, as ESPNcricinfo reported.
The English left-arm seamer was signed by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at his base worth of Rs 2 crore in final 12 months December’s public sale in Dubai.
LSG’s new head coach Justin Langer in a media interplay on Wednesday revealed that Willey wouldn’t be in attendance on the start of the version.
“With Mark Wood pulling out of the tournament and also David Willey won’t be coming now either, that means we lack some experience. But what I’ve also seen in the last couple of days is that we have enormous talent. Some of our guys have had some injuries but they all look very fit at the moment,” Langer mentioned when requested about LSG’s tempo assault as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Willey is the second Englishman to be unavailable for the start of LSG’s season after Mark Wood was pulled out by the ECB for the entire season to management his workload forward of the T20 World Cup. Wood has been changed by Shamar Joseph, a West Indies quick bowler, whereas Willey is but to get replaced.
“They look fit and healthy and they’re very hungry, so we’ll just have to manage them well so that we can get them through and work through the whole tournament, not just the start of the tournament. We’ve got one overseas player up our sleeve if required, where we might be able to add some experience,” he added.
Langer additionally talked about Mayank Yadav, a 21-year-old Delhi seamer, as a real quick bowler who might add some pace in Wood’s absence.
“Mark Wood is a world-class bowler, isn’t he? And he pulled out after the auction, which is disappointing but this is the world we live in,” Langer mentioned.
Last month Caribbean speedster Shamar Joseph changed English pacer Wood in LSG’s squad for the upcoming season. Joseph capped off his outstanding month by clinching ICC Men’s Player of the Month for January 2024 after making a sensational debut for the Windies of their dramatic Test collection in Australia.
“We also have Shamar Joseph, we have Mayank who bowls with very good pace. Hopefully we can replace, not [Wood’s] experience, but his pace with Shamar Joseph and Mayank. He’ll be missed – of course he’ll be missed, he’s a world-class bowler – but this is the world we live in and we will adapt and we will be OK,” he added.
LSG will open their IPL 2024 marketing campaign in opposition to Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
