KPL 2019: Hubli Tigers rope in Shreyas Gopal as replacement for Vidyadhar Patil

What's the story?

Seasoned all-rounder Shreyas Gopal has been roped in by the Hubli Tigers as a replacement for young pacer Vidyadhar Patil, with the latter set to join the U-19 side for their tour to Sri Lanka.

Gopal will play his first game of Karnataka Premier League 2019 as the Tigers gear up to face off against the Bengaluru Blasters in a must-win clash at the SDNRW Ground in Mysore.

In case you didn't know..

In the KPL player auctions ahead of the season, Gopal surprisingly failed to attract any bids despite his top show from IPL 2019. Young Patil, on the other hand, was one of Hubli Tigers' costliest purchases at ₹2.45 lakh and made an impact this season with 5 wickets from three matches, including a match-winning 3/18 against defending champions Bijapur Bulls.

Heart of the matter

One of Karnataka's most consistent performers, Shreyas Gopal has enjoyed good success in the shortest format of the game, with a total of 59 wickets from 49 matches at an economy of 7.27.

Gopal has enjoyed a good run in the KPL since the fourth season when he first featured in the league for Namma Shivamogga. The spinner picked up 7 wickets from seven games and turned out for the side in the next edition as well, finishing with 5 wickets from seven games.

Roped in by the Mysuru Warriors for season six, Gopal picked up 4 wickets at a commendable economy rate of just 6.93 and on the back of some fine performances in the domestic scenario, was signed up by the Bengaluru Blasters late in the tournament.

Gopal proved to be a top addition to the side as he picked up 6 wickets from just four matches, including a match-winning spell of 3/13 that took the Blasters till the finals of the previous edition.

With the Hubli Tigers batsmen failing to put together consistent performances, Gopal's ability to contribute with the bat and provide some fireworks lower down the order could also come to good use, as the Tigers battle for a spot in the knockout stages.

What's next?

With four points from five matches, the Hubli Tigers will square off against the Bengaluru Blasters in the penultimate league stage fixture of KPL 2019 and will be keen to notch up a big win that will undoubtedly strengthen their chances of making it to the knockout stages of the season.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on KPL points table 2019, news, results, KPL schedule, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips.