Sri Lanka's Viyaskanth replaces Hasaranga at Sunrisers Hyderabad
The wristspinner recently played for MI Emirates in the ILT20 and has also played one T20I
ESPNcricinfo staff
09-Apr-2024
Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed 22-year-old Sri Lanka legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth as a replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga at his reserve price of INR 50 lakh. Hasaranga was officially ruled out of IPL 2024 on Saturday owing to chronic pain in his heel that initially delayed his arrival for the tournament.
Viyaskanth first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Stallions. In that tournament, he also became the first born-and-bred player from Jaffna, in Sri Lanka's northern tip and once the epicentre of a three-decade-long civil war, to appear in an internationally televised game.
He represented Sri Lanka at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou in one T20I. He also impressed with eight wickets in four outings at an economy of 5.43 for title winners MI Emirates - where Mahela Jayawardene is the global head of performance - at the ILT20.
Rajasthan Royals' director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara had brought him in as a net bowler for the team in the IPL last season. He will now be working with another former Sri Lanka player, Muthiah Muralidaran, the bowling coach of Sunrisers.
He has also represented Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League. In 33 T20s, Viyaskanth has 42 wickets at an average of 18.78, an economy of 6.76 and a strike rate of 16.6.
Until early last week, the Sunrisers were hopeful of Hasaranga's participation at some stage and were awaiting details of his consultation with a specialist in Dubai. On Sunday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) communicated to the BCCI that Hasaranga had to be withdrawn from the IPL with an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup in June-July.
Hasaranga was bought by Sunrisers at his base price of INR 1.5 crore (approx USD 181,000) at the 2024 IPL auction in December, after Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who paid INR 10.75 crore for him in 2022, released him.