"Can't wait" - Fans erupt as LSG rope in Shamar Joseph as replacement for Mark Wood ahead of IPL 2024

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have roped in West Indies speedster Shamar Joseph as a replacement for England pacer Mark Wood. The 24-year-old has joined the franchise for ₹3 crore, the official handle of the Indian Premier League confirmed on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The development comes days after Joseph scalped seven wickets in the second Test against Australia to help West India register their first win in the T20 league. Overall, he bagged 13 wickets in the two-match Test series in Australia, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Joseph has a reputation for bowling at a consistent pace of around 145kmph to fill the void created by Wood. The latter picked up 11 wickets in four matches last year.

In a statement, IPL said:

“Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) named Shamar Joseph as a replacement for pacer Mark Wood for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.”

It added:

“Joseph will join LSG for INR 3 Crore. The speedster was recently at the forefront during West Indies’ Test win at the Gabba. He picked 7 wickets in the 2nd innings to script a historic win in Australia for West Indies. This will be Joseph's first stint in the IPL.”

As per ESPNCricinfo, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) pulled out Mark Wood, a centrally contracted player, to manage his workload ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 34-year-old is currently part of the ongoing five-match Test series in India.

Fans on X (formerly Twitter) lauded Shamar Joseph for bagging an IPL deal from LSG. One user wrote:

"Can't wait."

Here are some more reactions:

LSG full squad for IPL 2024

KL Rahul (captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krishnappa Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Prerak Mankad, Yudhvir Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, David Willey, Shivam Mavi, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Naveen-ul-Haq, and M Siddharth.

The Lucknow-based franchise had reached the playoffs in their first two IPL seasons. They will be aiming to win their first IPL trophy this year.