Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed South Africa pacer Sisanda Magala as a replacement for New Zealand bowler Kyle Jamieson for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
Jamieson, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, was bought by the franchise for Rs 1 Crore.
His replacement, Magala, has rich experience in the shortest format of the game. Though he has played just 4 T20Is for South Africa, Magala has a reputation for being a regular wicket-taker in domestic T20 games over the years. He will join CSK at his base price of Rs 50 Lakh.
Jamieson, who last played for New Zealand in England in a Test series in June last year, had picked up a back injury after being selected for the two-match Test series against England at home. He is now slated to undergo surgery which is likely to sideline him for at least 4 months.
Jamieson previously appeared in only the IPL season, when Royal Challengers Bangalore had roped him in for Rs 15 crore in 2021, making him one of the biggest overseas buys at an auction. In nine appearances, he scored just 65 runs at 16.25 and picked nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.60.
He had later opted out of the 2022 mega IPL auctions to stay at home, away from ‘managed isolation and quarantines’.
He later stated, “I didn’t really feel like I was where I wanted to be and if I want to compete for spots in the New Zealand sides moving forward across all three formats, I actually need to spend time working on my game and not just trying to play the whole time. For me, it was just about time at home and just time to work on my game.”
