Sri Lanka seamer Dushmantha Chameera has replaced England’s Gus Atkinson in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the upcoming IPL 2024. KKR snapped up Chameera, who went unsold at the auction last year, for INR 50 lakh (USD 60,000 approx). The right-arm pacer walks in with IPL experience, having played for several teams, including Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants, for brief stints.

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Chameera can clock up to 140 kmph and is lethal with the new ball in hand. In his most recent game, playing for Dubai Capitals against Abu Dhabi in ILT20, Chameera picked two for 20 in four overs. 

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Meanwhile, in a dozen IPL matches played to date, Chameera has picked nine wickets at 8.73. Alongside him, only Mitchell Starc is the overseas bowler KKR has in their squad. The former two-time winners bought Starc for a whopping INR 24.65 crore (USD 2.98 million approx.) at the auction, making him the most expensive player in the tournament’s history.

ECB’s focus on workload management

Atkinson, who joined KKR for INR 1 crore (USD 120,000 approx) in a December auction last year, was pulled out by the England Cricket Board (ECB) in a move to manage his workload and protect him for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA in June.

The ECB had, earlier, pulled out Mark Wood from the upcoming season, with his franchise Lucknow Super Giants calling in Gabba Test hero Shamar Joseph as a replacement. 

The board had also barred recovering Jofra Archer from putting his name in the IPL auction last year, trying to protect him and have him refresh ahead of the marquee tournament. 

Considering the 20-team tournament is the only major ICC event scheduled this year, defending champions England will try and put their best foot forward, with their most-suited players available for selection. 

Meanwhile, the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League will get underway in mid-March, the final date of which is yet to be announced. 

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