It’s not exactly a like-for-like replacement but the Rajasthan Royals have picked South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen to fill in for the banned Steve Smith in their squad for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.
The 26-year-old was picked for Rs 50 lakh from the Registered and Available Player Pool list. He had gone unsold in the player auction earlier this year.
Klaasen was responsible for the two wins that the Proteas recorded during the limited-overs series against India in January, where he dominated wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Royals’ head of cricket Zubin Bharucha had also said that his side were looking for a player who could play the turning ball well. “Our aim was to get someone who can play spin well because we are pretty sure that spinners will have a big role to play during the IPL,” Bharucha told the Times of India.
“Klaasen is an amazing player of spin. And he has a vast array of shots, which tempted us to go for him. He plays the reverse sweep very well, something that will be quite useful in the IPL. His strategy against them [Kuldeep and Chahal] was just amazing,” Bharucha added.
Klaasen also made his debut in the shortest format of the game in the three-match T20I series against India. He scored 16, 69 and 7.
Smith and David Warner were made to step down as Australia’s captain and vice-captain respectively last week after admitting to devising a plan to tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town last week.
Australia opener Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera rubbing the ball with a piece of yellow paper before hiding it in his trousers. The opener later admitted that he was trying to tamper with the ball in order to generate reverse swing faster.
The trio were asked to leave South Africa and head home by Cricket Australia, whose CEO James Sutherland said on Wednesday that only they knew about the plan to tamper with the ball.
Smith and Warner were banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia, while Bancroft was told he cannot play cricket for nine months. Smith and Warner were later also barred from playing in IPL 2018 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.