Kotian replaces Zampa at Royals; Titans rope in Sharath to replace Minz

Mumbai spin-bowling allrounder Tanush Kotian has joined Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Adam Zampa, while Gujarat Titans have brought in Karnataka wicketkeeper-batter BR Sharath to replace the injured Robin Minz for IPL 2024.

Zampa was retained by Royals ahead of the auction in December but pulled out of the competition due to personal reasons. He had a busy season leading in to IPL 2024 as he was part of the BBL as well as Australia's limited-overs series against India, West Indies and New Zealand since the end of the ODI World Cup in India last year.

Kotian was on the radar of several IPL franchises ahead of the 2023 auction. But after finding his name in BCCI's list of Suspect Bowling action, no one risked a bid. He is now coming on the back of an excellent Ranji Trophy, where he scored 502 runs, second-most for Mumbai, along with 29 strikes with the ball in the title-win. He also scored a century batting at No. 10 in the competition.

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Kotian picked up nine wickets at an economy of 5.58 in eight matches. He starred in the final of the tournament against Himachal Pradesh in November 2022, hitting a six to win Mumbai the title after picking up three wickets. Royals head into IPL 2024 with only seven overseas players in their roster.

Titans had bought Minz, the uncapped wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand, for IN 3.6 crore but he was ruled out after suffering a bike accident earlier this month. Sharath played a couple of impactful innings with the bat in the lower-middle order and finished the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a strike rate of over 185.

Both Kotian and Sharath joined their respective teams at their base price of INR 20 lakh.