Indian Premier League 2018: Liam Plunkett Replaces Kagiso Rabada In Delhi Daredevils Squad

England fast bowler, Liam Plunkett has been brought in by Delhi Daredevils as a replacement for the injured South African pacer Kagiso Rabada for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. Plunkett has featured in 13 Tests, 65 One-Day Internationals and 15 T20 Internationals for England so far. This will be Plunkett's first stint in the IPL. He was picked from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) list. ICC's top-ranked Test bowler Rabada faces up to three months on the sidelines because of a lower-back stress reaction and will not be able to play for Delhi Daredevils, who had bought the 22-year-old for Rs 4.2 crore at the player auction in January.

Here's announcing @Liam628 as our replacement for @KagisoRabada25 for the VIVO @IPL 2018. We're stoked to have him with us!

Welcome to Dilli, Liam!#DilDilli #Dhadkega

— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) April 7, 2018

In a statement released on Thursday, South African team doctor Mohammed Moosajee said, "Kagiso has been diagnosed with a lower back stress reaction, which will rule him out of cricket action for up to three months.

"He will need a month's break from all physical activity before commencing with a rehabilitation programme to get him ready for the series against Sri Lanka in July," he added.

Rabada was struggling with a stiff back during the fourth Test against Australia in Johannesburg.

Admitting that he had concerns over the workload, Rabada had said, "It is something I have to think about and plan moving forward is how to have some time off. It is very important because you ultimately want to play for 10 to 15 years and you've got to have some sort of plan. You can't just drift through it."

Rabada would be racing to recover in time for the Proteas' upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka in July.

Delhi Daredevils open their campaign against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on Sunday.