IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals sign Tabraiz Shamsi for the UAE leg

Remaining 31 matches of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are set to be played from September 19 in the UAE. Though players from most of the major countries are available, a few of the players have made themselves unavailable for different reasons. The franchises are busy finding replacements for them and Rajasthan Royals have signed South Africa chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi as replacement for Andrew Tye.

He is currently world’s number one bowler in the T20I format and given the conditions in the UAE, the spinner seems a perfect replacement. His form at the international level is also brilliant having picked 14 wickets in last seven matches (five against WI and two against IRE).

Interestingly, known for its humour, the Twitter handle of the Royals posted four pictures – magic wand, Akshay Kumar from Tees Maar Khan movie, school bus and a shoe. It didn’t take much time for the cricket fans to decode the message as it was all related to Shamsi’s celebrations after picking up a wicket and his name.

To clarify, the Royals’ Twitter handle soon tweeted to confirm that they have signed Tabraiz Shamsi as Tye’s replacement for the rest of the season. The 31-year-old has played in the IPL before during the 2016 season for the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He has picked three wickets then in four matches. He will be keen on performing well this time around for the Royals.

Here’s the tweet:

Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021

The Royals will already be missing Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes for the second leg due to different reasons. They were already struggling in the first leg of the IPL when the tournament was suspended due to COVID cases inside the bubble. After playing seven matches, the Sanju Samson-led side had won only three with six points to their name and at the fifth spot in the points table.

They will have to perform as a team in the second leg and Tabraiz Shamsi can play a crucial role in their resurgence in the UAE.