To the list of New Zealand cricketers participating in the Indian Premier League, add the name of Martin Guptill.
The BLACKCAPS opener, strangely overlooked during the IPL auction in February, has been signed by the Mumbai Indians as a replacement for West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons – who has been forced to withdraw from the competition with lower back problems.
Guptill received word of Mumbai’s interest only last night. He was on a plane first thing this morning bound for the subcontinent where he will team up with the Indian side’s Kiwi contingent – Mitch McClenaghan, Corey Anderson and Tim Southee.
The journey begins. Excited to be heading to India to be with @mipaltan ! Great job on the win tonight! #3Flights pic.twitter.com/4UbZg4P9Kp
— Martin Guptill (@Martyguptill) April 13, 2016
Mumbai should be in good heart when he arrives. The IPL's defending champions this morning beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, with five balls to spare, after an unexpected cameo with the bat from McClenaghan.
Having impressed with the ball when the Knight Riders batted (two for 25 off his four overs), McClenaghan was sent in as a pinch-hitting number four during the chase, and responded by hitting three consecutive sixes off his second, third and fourth deliveries on his way to blasting 20 off eight balls.
With momentum restored, the Indians went on to win the match, guided by Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 84.
That's nine: the Kiwi presence just got stronger in IPL 2016. ICC/Getty
Guptill’s arrival in the IPL brings the number of New Zealanders in the competition to nine.
Apart from the Mumbai trio, Trent Boult and Kane Williamson are with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Brendon McCullum is with the Gujarat Lions; Colin Munro with the Kolkata Knight Riders, and Adam Milne with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Guptill, whose stocks continue to rise in short-form cricket, will later join the Caribbean Premier League as captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
