IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals Sign Jagadeesha Suchith To Replace Harshal Patel

Delhi Capitals have signed all-rounder Jagadeesha Suchith for the IPL 2019 season as replacement for injured pacer Harshal Patel, who fractured his right hand in the match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Mohali on April 1. Suchith has been selected from trials held by the DC team management in Kolkata over the last week. The 25-year-old left arm orthodox spinner was part of the Karnataka team which recently won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. He bowled at an exceptional economy rate of 6.55 in the tournament and also picked up 10 wickets.

Speaking on selecting Suchith for the remaining matches, head coach Ricky Ponting said: "It is unfortunate that Harshal injured his right hand during our match against the KXIP. We had to wait for a while to get confirmation on the same, and the X-ray reports showed that he has a fracture. 

"Therefore, we conducted a few trials in Kolkata, and have come to the conclusion that Jagadeesha Suchith is the right man to replace Harshal. He has previous experience of playing in the IPL, and can help the team in achieving its objectives this season."

Harshal had featured in DC's two out of seven matches in the current season, finishing with the figures of 2/40 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in New Delhi, and 0/37 against KXIP.

The all-rounder sustained the injury in his second outing in Mohali which ended in a 14-run defeat for the Delhi-based franchise. The extent of Harshal's injury was confirmed earlier on Thursday, before DC's match against KKR at the Eden Gardens. 

It has been confirmed that Harshal will be out of action for at least four weeks, which means that he has been ruled out of the current IPL season.

Suchith, who has previously represented the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2016, went unsold in the IPL auction earlier this year. He has played a total of 14 matches in the IPL, picking up 10 wickets with an economy of 8.98, and has scored 48 runs in his 6 innings with a strike-rate of 150.

(With IANS inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Delhi Capitals Harshal Patel Jagadeesha Suchith IPL 2019 Cricket