India's right-arm fast bowler Sandeep Sharma will represent Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season of IPL 2023 after being signed as a replacement for injured pacer Prasidh Krishna, who is nursing a back injury.
Picked for his base price of INR 50 lakh, Sandeep is one of the most senior bowlers in the tournament and is renowned for his ability to swing the ball. He has picked 114 wickets in 104 IPL matches and has featured in the tournament since 2013, averaging 26.33 at an economy rate of 7.77.
Sandeep has played for Punjab Kings from 2013-2017, before spending the IPL seasons 2018-2021 at Sunrisers Hyderabad. He then returned to Punjab for the 2022 season of the tournament, before going unsold at the mini-auction later in the year.
He was a member of the India U19 team which won the 2012 Men's U19 Cricket World Cup in Australia, picking four wickets in the final. Sandeep also played two T20Is for India in 2015 on a tour of Zimbabwe and picked one wicket.
The tournament also confirmed that Punjab have signed uncapped Australian all-rounder Matthew Short as a replacement for English player Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow is ruled out of IPL 2023 as he is yet to fully recover from a freak leg injury, where he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle after slipping on a golf course in September last year.
This will be Short's maiden IPL season. The opening batter was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the recent edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) for scoring 458 runs at an average of 35.23 and a strike rate of 144.47, as well as taking 11 wickets with his off-spin.
Short has been signed for his base price of INR 20 lakh. IPL 2023 will start on March 31, with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on four-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.