3 times a team had to tweak its combination to play an overseas wicketkeeper in the IPL

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) have suffered a major setback ahead of the 2023 season, with their skipper Rishabh Pant being ruled out.

The 25-year-old dynamic batter suffered multiple injuries following a horrific car crash towards the end of December 2022. Although not yet official, he is likely to be out of action for most of 2023.

Apart from being DC captain and one of the key batters in the team, Pant is also the designated wicketkeeper of the franchise. Due to his unavailability, DC will have to bring in England keeper Phil Salt into the playing XI.

While the 26-year-old is a pretty good like-for-like replacement for Pant, Delhi will have to tweak their combination to fit Salt in as one of their four overseas players in the playing XI.

David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell, and Anrich Nortje more or less pick themselves in the starting XI when fit. Rilee Rossouw, Mustafizur Rahman, and Lungi Ngidi are other impressive options in DC’s squad for IPL 2023.

In the wake of the situation in the Delhi camp due to Pant’s accident, we look at three previous instances where a franchise had to tweak its combination to play an overseas wicketkeeper in the playing XI.

---

#1 Alex Carey - Delhi Capitals (IPL 2020)

Alex Carey batting for Delhi Capitals. Pic: BCCI

DC had to alter their team combination in IPL 2020 as well when Pant was ruled out of a few games in the edition due to a hamstring injury. He picked up the injury in a match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sharjah, a clash in which he was run out for five.

In the next match against Mumbai Indians (MI), DC were forced to drop Shimron Hetmyer from their playing XI to accommodate an overseas keeper in Australia’s Alex Carey. Ajinkya Rahane came into the team in place of Pant.

Carey played three matches for DC in the 2020 season before a fit Pant returned to reclaim his spot. The Aussie keeper-batter scored 32 runs in three games at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 110.34. He hasn’t featured in another IPL match since.

---

#2 Davy Jacobs - Mumbai Indians (IPL 2011)

Davy Jacobs kept wickets for MI during the 2011 edition. Pic: Getty Images

Mumbai Indians decided to back South African keeper-batter Davy Jacobs as their opener for the initial matches of the 2011 edition.

With Kieron Pollard, James Franklin, and Lasith Malinga in the playing XI, some known international stars, including Andrew Symonds, Dilhara Fernando, Clint McKay, and Moises Henriques, were on the bench.

Symonds later came in as a replacement for Franklin. The move to open with Jacobs, however, did not bear fruit. He played a total of six matches and scored only 92 runs at an average of 15.33 and a strike rate of 104.54, with a best of 32.

Ambati Rayudu took over the responsibility of keeping wickets after Jacobs was replaced from the playing XI. The latter returned, only to fracture his finger during a match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

In Jacobs’ absence, MI experimented at the top of the order, trying out Aiden Blizzard, Tirumalasetti Suman, and even Franklin as Sachin Tendulkar’s opening partner.

---

#3 Kamran Akmal - Rajasthan Royals (IPL 2008)

Kamran Akmal was part of the RR squad that won the inaugural Indian Premier League. Pic: BCCI

Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and uncapped Indian Mahesh Rawat were the keeping options for the Rajasthan Royals during the inaugural IPL edition in 2008. Rawat played 11 matches, scoring 34 runs, with a best of 23*. Akmal featured in six games, scoring 128 runs at a strike rate of 164.10, including a best of 53*.

It wasn’t an easy job to fit Akmal into the playing XI as skipper Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Graeme Smith, Darren Lehmann, Sohail Tanvir, and Younis Khan were among the big overseas names in their squad.

Akmal did not play in the semi-final against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. However, he was part of RR’s historic triumph in the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after Smith was ruled out due to injury.

Rawat was replaced by Niraj Patel. Akmal took two catches in CSK's innings to send back Parthiv Patel and Albie Morkel. He was run out for six, but RR chased down a target of 164 off the last ball; Yusuf Pathan starred with a 39-ball 56.

---