IPL 2021: 3 Players who can replace Shubman Gill at KKR in UAE leg

An exciting IPL 2021 was called off midway owing to Covid concerns in May. However, the remaining matches were rescheduled as the second leg of the season in the UAE. The leg will start on the 19th of September with MI and CSK kicking off the proceedings.

The participation of a lot of overseas players was sceptical earlier but most of the boards have cleared their players for the league now. However, few other players might still miss the tourney. One of them is the KKR batsman Shubman Gill, who was a part of the Indian squad for the WTC final and five-match Test England series.

He played in the WTC final decently but was carrying a slight niggle. After the match, it was reported that he had sustained a major calf injury and will be sidelined for several weeks. His participation in the IPL is also in doubt and KKR will be looking for a replacement.

Here are three players who can replace Shubman Gill in the second leg of IPL 2021:

1. Sheldon Jackson

Sheldon Jackson plays domestic cricket for Saurashtra, Gujarat, and has come good recently. He has also been associated with the league for a long time now as he was first signed by Kolkata in 2009 before moving to Bangalore in 2013. His IPL debut came even later in 2017.

Jackson was bought by the Kolkata franchise in the 2021 season itself owing to his impressive domestic show. Despite this, he did not get a game in the first leg of the tournament. Now that Gill might be unavailable, Jackson might go into the XI.

Perhaps Jackson will not be seen opening the innings as Gill does. KKR might open with Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi, and Jackson might fit lower down the order. However, one cannot say much about the unpredictable KKR batting order. Jackson will have a chance and must convert it to make it big in his remaining career.

2. Kedar Devdhar

Kedar Devdhar is a wicketkeeper-batsman playing who plays for Baroda in the domestic circuit. He has been playing domestic cricket for a long time but has not made it big yet in the IPL. He was first picked in 2011 by the Deccan Chargers and he also made his debut that season.

However, he could not sustain himself for long and was out of reckoning soon. But lately, Devdhar has come good again. He must have been eyeing an IPL contract this year but was unsold in the auction. Devdhar can fit well in the KKR setup.

Devdhar is a stable opening batsman who can explode if needed. He also scored his maiden T20 ton in January 2018. He can open the innings with either Rana or Tripathi to form a strong opening pair. Thus, Devdhar can be in the race for being Gill’s replacement.

3. Siddhesh Lad

Siddhesh Lad is a big name in Mumbai cricket. Lad has been performing consistently well in the domestic leagues such as Ranji Trophy and others. Despite getting his first IPL contract in 2015, he got to make his IPL debut way later in 2019 for the Mumbai Indians, coming in as an injury replacement for Rohit Sharma.

Lad hit his first-ever IPL ball for a sixer but could not play big innings. Thus, even after making his debut, he did not get any further games as Rohit Sharma returned to the team. He was then bought by the Knight Riders for the 2020 season but to his despair, he did not get a game that season too and was unsold in the auction for the 2021 season.

Lad is thus available and KKR must have their eyes on him.  He can both open the innings and play in the middle-order and can also adapt well. He also has tons of domestic experience which will help the cause better. Thus, Lad suits as a perfect replacement for Gill and KKR.