The left-arm spinner is the second replacement player for the franchise after they added New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips in place of Jos Buttler. Shamsi will replace Andrew Tye.
The Proteas spinner is currently the number one ranked T20I bowler. So far, he has played 39 matches in the shortest format, picking up 32 wickets at an economy rate of 5.30. Interestingly, Shamsi has played 4 matches in the IPL where he picked up three wickets for Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2016 season.
“Magic. Shamsi. Pink. (Growing heart emoji) The world’s No.1 T20I bowler will represent the Royals in UAE. (Flag of United Arab Emirates) #IPL2021 | #HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | @shamsi90,” Royals wrote on Twitter.
However, before officially confirming, the Royals shared four pictures – magic wand, Akshay Kumar from ‘Tees Maar Khan’ movie, a school bus and a shoe – and fans were quick to decode the message as all the pictures are related to Shamsi’s celebrations.
Meanwhile, Tye revealed that he is disappointed to miss the second phase of the cash-rich league. The Aussie said he would prepare himself mentally and physically to make a comeback into the IPL.
“It is with great regret that I have to pull out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 with the Rajasthan Royals. It has been a long year for me, which has kept me away from home for a lengthy period, and the disappointment of not making it to the World Cup squad has added to the dismay. Therefore, keeping my best interests in mind, I had to make this tough decision of staying at home and preparing myself mentally and physically for next year’s T20 World Cup. I am gutted that I won’t be able to rejoin the Royals family this year, but like all the fans out there, I will be cheering the team on”, said Tye in a statement from the Royals.
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