T10 League 2021: Dawid Malan joins Pune Devils, replaces Thisara Perera as icon player

Dawid Malan is the latest name to join the 2021 T10 League, which begins in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, January 28th. The Pune Devils had earlier named Thisara Perera as their icon player for this season. Unfortunately, Perera did not get a NOC to play in the competition.

The Pune-based franchise will play its first season in the T10 League. The Karnataka Tuskers owners rebranded their franchise to the Pune Devils ahead of the fourth season. Their team is now home to the World No. 1 T20I batsman Dawid Malan.

🏆 Icon Player 🔱ICC T20I Top batsman, Dawid Malan joins the Pune Devils' squad as the Icon player ♠️ How much kicked are you guys to see this charismatic hitter to knock it off?@dmalan29 @t10league #DevilsAreHere #PuneDevils #T10 #T10cricket #InAbuDhabi #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Ci1gCQplnp
— Pune Devils (@pune_devils) January 27, 2021

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Apart from Dawid Malan, the Pune Devils squad also comprises Pakistan's fast bowler Mohammad Amir, South African speedster Hardus Viljoen, and West Indian star Chadwick Walton, among others.

Malan has performed brilliantly in the game's shorter formats. He has established himself as a match-winner in T20 cricket. Recently, Malan turned up for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, and scored a fantastic 75 against the Melbourne Stars.

Pune Devils is Dawid Malan's third T10 League franchise

2021 is not the first time Dawid Malan will feature in the T10 League. The left-handed batsman from England participated in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the tournament.

The Sindhis had signed him in 2018. Malan aggregated 15 runs in three innings for his first T10 League franchise.

In 2019, the Qalandars signed him and made him the captain. Under Dawid Malan's captaincy, the Qalandars finished third. The skipper led his team from the front, scoring 175 runs in nine matches.

Surprisingly, the Qalandars did not retain him ahead of the fourth T10 League season. It will be interesting to see how Malan performs for the Pune Devils this year.