Gabba born West Indies sensation Shamar Joseph traded to Lucknow Super Giants after ECB pulls Mark Wood out

In order to manage Wood’s workload before the T20 World Cup and the Test matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, the ECB took him out of the IPL 2024.

In place of England’s Mark Wood, West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph has joined the Lucknow Super Giants. He’ll pay INR 3 crore to join the Super Giants, an IPL release announced on Saturday.

Since England will be playing Test matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the home summer and the T20 World Cup is slated for June, ESPNcricinfo believes that the ECB took Wood—a centrally contracted player—out of the IPL 2024 in order to manage his workload. Jofra Archer was recently barred by the ECB from participating in the IPL 2024 auction as he recovers from an injury ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Before the 2022 season, Wood was acquired by the Super Giants for INR 7.50 crore through an auction. However, an elbow injury kept him out of the season. Wood participated in four IPL 2023 matches and amassed 11 wickets at an average of 11.82.

In a match that the West Indies lost in Adelaide, Joseph made his Test cricket debut for the West Indies in the drawn series against Australia, removing Steven Smith with his opening delivery. After that, he gained international attention when, in the second Test, he helped the West Indies win by a thrilling eight runs at the Gabba by taking seven wickets in the last innings despite having an injured foot. West Indies had not won a Test match in Australia since 1997.

Prior to the West Indies tour of Australia, Joseph had signed with Dubai Capitals for the present ILT20 season. However, he was later ruled out due to a toe injury he sustained in the Brisbane Test from a yorker thrown by Mitchell Starc. However, he signed a contract with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, which begins on February 17, as a result of his success in Australia.

Daren Sammy, the West Indies white-ball coach, has hinted that Joseph might make the T20 World Cup squad despite the fact that the fast bowler has just played two T20 matches in his professional career and has yet to claim a wicket. Sammy claims that Joseph has “created a good headache” for the selectors.

In addition to Joseph, the Super Giants’ fast-bowling lineup also includes Yash Thakur, David Willey, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Shivam Mavi, and Yudhvir Singh. They can also get quite a few overs from all-rounders Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, and India’s Under-19 World Cup winner Arshin Kulkarni. Super Giants, although being in the IPL for only two seasons, have been among the top teams, qualifying for the playoffs and placing third in 2022 and 2023.