Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out of IPL 2024, SRH name 22-year-old Sri Lankan spinner as his replacement

Sunrisers Hyderabad have announced that ace Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will miss the ongoing season of IPL due to injury. Hasaranga was missing from Sunrisers camp this season as he didn't travel to India and was undergoing rehab in Sri Lanka. He recently featured in Sri Lanka's white-ball series against Bangladesh but according to reports, he did it while going through a substantial amount of pain.

During the six matches that he played in the limited-overs format, Hasaranga claimed eight wickets, with six coming in the ODI series and two in the T20I.

The 2016 IPL champions waited on the final update on Hasaranga and announced a replacement on Tuesday, as they repoed in Vijayakanth Viyaskanth for the rest of the season. Rookie Vijayakanth has played one T20I for Sri Lanka, and is a like-for-like replacement for Hasaranga.

"Wanindu Hasaranga will be unavailable for the season due to injury. We would like to wish him a speedy recovery. Sri Lankan spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has joined the squad as his replacement for the rest of #IPL2024. Welcome, Viyaskanth!" SRH posted on X.

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The 22-year-old spinner joined Sunrisers for a base price of ₹50 lakh. Meanwhile, SRH bought former RCB spinner Hasaranga for ₹1.5 crore in the IPL 2024 auction, however, chronic heel pain in his left foot ruled him out of the IPL this year.

"Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed Vijaykanth Viyaskanth as a replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga for the remainder of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024," an IPL statement said.

He previously played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He had a stellar 2022 season, taking 26 wickets with an economy of 7.54, but in 2023 he played only eight games and took nine wickets with an economy of 8.9.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva has stated that the leg-spinner won't take part in the cash-rich league due to injury as he has to undergo rehabilitation to get fully fit for the T20 World Cup.

“He is not taking part in the IPL as he needs to do some rehabilitation after meeting the podiatrist. There’s a swelling in the heel, and he has been playing with injections. So he has decided to get this issue sorted out before the World Cup and informed us of his decision to skip the IPL this year," Sri Lanka CEO Ashley de Silva told The Sunday Times.