The news was confirmed by the IPL website in an official press release earlier today (February 19).
Ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) season, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed a former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamer as a replacement for England quick Gus Atkinson. The news was confirmed by the IPL website in an official press release earlier today (February 19).
Atkinson, who hasn’t featured in the IPL previously, was picked up at his base price of INR 1 crore by the two-time IPL winners in the IPL Auction in December 2023.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera, who will be replacing the English quick made his IPL debut in 2022 playing for LSG. Notably, in the IPL 2021 season, he was roped in as a replacement by RCB for Daniel Sams.
The IPL statement confirming KKR’s latest signing read, “Chameera will join KKR at a reserve price of INR 50 Lakh. The Sri Lankan speedster, who is known for his pace, and can trouble the batters with his swing and seam movements, was a part of Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 and 2021 IPL seasons, respectively. He represented Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 season, where he picked up nine wickets from 12 matches.”
Chameera had been sidelined by a shoulder injury, which had prevented him from participating in the Sri Lankan team for a significant period last year. However, he made a comeback recently, showcasing his skills in the ILT20 in UAE and also represented Sri Lanka against Afghanistan.
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Chameera will join the likes of Mitchell Starc, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Mujeeb amongst others in a star-studded Kolkata Knight Riders bowling lineup. KKR had also splurged INR 24.75 crores (most expensive in IPL history) in the December auction to secure the services of the Aussie speedster Starc and it remains the be seen if he justifies the lofty price tag in the upcoming season.
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