Image Credit- AFP
Fast bowlers Reece Topley and Ihsanullah’s injury have
struck the Multan Sultans a double blow, as they will miss the next Pakistan
Super League. Topley’s absence was made public on Sunday by Sultans owner Ali
Tareen, although Ihsanullah’s absence was anticipated due to a chronic elbow
issue.
“[Topley] hasn’t received his NOC [no-objection
certificate from England] and is out of the PSL,” Tareen tweeted.
Although Topley has never participated in the PSL, he
played a complete season of Twenty20 cricket over the winter and participated
in 12 SA20 matches for the Durban Super Giants, placing eighth on the
tournament wickets table. He will also play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in
the Indian Premier League.
With a T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean in
June, the decision to pull him out of the PSL was made out of caution as his
ailment is not significant enough to jeopardise his participation in the IPL.
It’s understood that Sultans intended to replace
Topley with Nandre Burger, a quick bowler from South Africa who also had a
fantastic SA20 season, but Cricket South Africa informed him that Burger would
not be given a nomination. Olly Stone, who recently competed in the SA20 and
ILT20, and Sri Lankan seamer Dushmantha Chameera are reportedly being
considered. But Chameera hurt his left quadriceps on Sunday, so he won’t be
able to play in the remaining white-ball matches against Afghanistan. We don’t
know how serious his injury is yet.
The PSL starts on Sunday, February 17. The Sultans
have reached the final in each of the last two seasons, falling short at the
hands of Lahore Qalandars each time.