5 Players who can replace Dwayne Bravo in Gujarat Lions

The Gujarat Lions were dented heavily when their star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the ongoing edition of the IPL. The Lions had been a strong force in the previous edition of the tournament. Bravo had a big role to play in the impressive show as he had turned out to be the second most successful bowler for the side last year. Coming into this season, Bravo was recovering from a hamstring injury that he had suffered during the Big Bash League this season. The Lions have surely missed his services this year and that is evident from the fact that the Lions are languishing in the bottom half of the points table. Now that the West Indies all-rounder has been ruled out of the tournament, the Gujarat Lions have a good option to rope in a replacement for him from the pool of available players. There are a lot of players who can be good replacements for Bravo. The team management will try to get a like-for-like replacement for him so that the interests of the Gujarat camp are served the best. The options could have been even vaster but the international tours in May have kept their moves restricted. There are quite a few international tours in May that would see Ireland, Bangladesh, New Zealand, England and South Africa in action. Hence, the possibility of roping in the likes of Jimmy Neesham, Tamim Iqbal, Sabbir Rahman and Alex Hales only seem to be an unthoughtful cry. Among the players who would be available till the end of the tournament, here are the top 5 players who can replace Dwayne Bravo in the Gujarat Lions lineup: 1. David Wiese David Wiese RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) South African all-rounder David Wiese is a T20 specialist. He was a part of the IPL roster in the previous edition of the tournament and has had the taste of the tournament. Wiese, who recently signed the Kolpak deal with Sussex, is a handy batsman in the lower middle-order. He can pack a punch when needed and be the ideal finisher. With the ball, he is more than just useful. He can be a wicket taking option with his medium pacers on a given day. He has played 140 T20s in his career thus far and has accumulated 1191 runs at a strike rate of 152.10. He also 118 wickets to go with those runs and has 3 five wicket hauls to his name. In the IPL, he has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2015 and 2016 edition of the tournament. In the 15 matches that he played across the two seasons, he scored 127 runs at an average of 31.75. He scalped 16 wickets with best of 4/33. 2. Thisara Perera New Delhi: Ajinkya Rahane and Thisara Perera of Rising Pune Supergiants after winning an IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiants at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, on May 5, 2016. (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera needs no introduction. He is a T20 veteran of the game who has served his trait for multiple teams in the Indian Premier League over the years. He has played for the Chennai Superkings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians, Rising Pune Supergiant and Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the 201 matches that he has played thus far in the shortest format, he has accumulated 2229 runs with a power packed strike rate of 140.10. He has 178 wickets to his name in T20 cricket as well. He is a renowned hitter of the cricket ball and has a lot of international experience under his belt. Perera has played 56 T20Is for Sri Lanka and has been a regular part of the team in the recent seasons. In the 37 IPL matches that he has played, he has scored 698 runs and has bagged 31 wickets. He was with RPS in the previous edition of the tournament. 3. Kyle Abbott Kyle Abbott. (Photo Source: BCCI) Kyle Abbott turned out to be one of the prime faces of South African bowling in the recent times. However, living in the shadows of senior bowlers did no good to his career and he made a Kolpak switch. He is undoubtedly one of the most promising swing bowling prospects of the game. He played for Kings XI Punjab in the previous edition of the tournament and had played 5 matches during the season. This year, he went unsold in the auctions. However, with the injury blow to Dwayne Bravo, the Gujarat Lions could well rope in his services for the remainder of the tournament. The Lions have had the problem of having a weak bowling attack in the tournament and hence it will only be fitting to have him on the roster. In the 94 T20 matches that he has played in his career, he has picked up 88 wickets with best figrues of 5/14. 4. Marlon Samuels Marlon Samuels. (Photo Source: BPL) There is absolutely no doubt about the credibility of the West Indies star batsman Marlon Samuels. During the IPL auctions this year, it was only ironical to see how the man of the finals of ICC World T20 2016 went unsold and the player who got smashed for four sixes in a losing cause emerged as the top buy of the season. Samuels has been a perennial performer in the shortest format of the game. He has played for the now defunct Pune Warriors in the IPL history. In the recent times, he has served his trade in the Bangladesh Premier League and the Pakistan Super League. He has played 149 matches in the T20 format of the game. He has 3757 runs to his name with 2 centuries to boast about. He can be a handy bowler in the lineup too. He is a proven wicket-taking option in the shortest format of the game. He has played 10 IPL matches thus far for his 9 wickets and a cumulative of 250 runs. 5. Dawlat Zadran (© JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) The Gujarat Lions have been struggling badly with their bowling this season. Their batting has been a powerhouse on the cards but the bowlers have let them down thus far. They will thus have a good look at the pool of available overseas bowlers available in the list. One such name that might get their attention could be Afghanistan pacer Dawlat Zadran. The Afghanistani players have already lit up the tournament and have shown that they can be proven match-winners on their day. Zadran has the experience of 44 T20 matches and has picked up 59 wickets thus far. He has an economy of 7.6 in the format and averages 20.28 with the ball. He can be handy with the bat too and has a First Class fifty to his name as well. Zadran could well serve the cause of the Lions and can beef up their bowling order that has lacked penetration until now.