Drawing on a reply given by RPSG head coach Stephen Fleming after their loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, there has been speculation that Australian batting ace Usman Khawaja is being looked at as a potential replacement for Kevin Pietersen. The England batsman has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after succumbing to an injury midway through a match last week.
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IPL debutants Rising Pune SuperGiants have not had too much luck coming their way, and currently find themselves languishing at the bottom of the table alongside Kings XI Punjab. One of the biggest blows to their fortunes was the calf injury suffered by Kevin Pietersen, who had played the first three matches and made decent scores of 21*, 37 and 15.
Fleming was expressive in the post-match press conference, and said that he was angry at how Sunday’s match unfolded. He also admitted that his team was struggling to find the right combination in the playing XI.
On being specifically asked whether Khawaja can be added to the RPSG roster in place of Pietersen, Fleming said, “He is a guy we are surely looking at. There is a shortlist we are working through so looking at availability and visas and the like, but he is certainly a guy we are interested in.”
Some sources have already confirmed that Khawaja is the No.1 priority for the struggling Pune team, and is all set to join Dhoni and co.
The 29-year-old Khawaja went unsold in the February auction, but this decision by franchise managements to ignore him was hardly vindicated at the recent World T20, where Khawaja was one of the most consistent batsmen.
He gave a quick start to the Australia innings in all the WT20 matches, and was the preferred opener above David Warner and Shane Watson. He enjoyed a massively successful 2015/16 BBL season, scoring 345 runs at an average of 172.50 for Sydney Thunders. He also scored a brilliant 70 to help Sydney Thunder win their first title against Melbourne Stars in the final.
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