Delhi Capitals have signed Afghanistan allrounder Gulbadin Naib to fill in for the injured Mitchell Marsh for the remainder of the IPL season.
This marks Naib's first appearance in the IPL, having been acquired for his base price of INR 50 lakh.
Marsh featured in four matches for DC before being sidelined from IPL 2024 due to a hamstring injury. He returned to Perth from India on April 12 to seek medical advice from Cricket Australia's medical team.
Ten days later, DC's head coach, Ricky Ponting, announced at an event in Delhi that Marsh would not be returning to India.
Ponting also assured that Marsh's participation in the T20 World Cup, where he is expected to captain Australia, would not be affected as he continues his recovery and rehabilitation at home. The World Cup commences on June 1 in the USA and the West Indies.
"I don't think he'll be coming back," Ponting said. "There's a certain cut off point with replacement players. Cricket Australia were keen to have him at home to start his recovery process and we sent him back as soon as we could.
"They've been managing his rehab for a couple of weeks now. I spoke to him the other day and it seems it's taken a little longer than he first thought to get over it. I don't think the T20 World Cup would be an issue."
During the four matches Marsh played, he scored 61 runs in three innings, with a highest score of 23, and bowled eight overs, claiming just one wicket at an economy rate of 12.87. This is the second consecutive season that DC have lost Marsh mid-season. Despite being a high-profile signing at INR 6.5 crore, he only featured in nine games for them in 2023.
Currently, DC occupy the sixth position on the points table with four victories from nine matches. Their upcoming fixtures include matches against Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).