There was a huge concern when Mohammed Shami was ruled out for the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League. The pacer was a key part of the Gujarat Titans franchise for the past two years but an ankle injury has ruled him out for the tournament. But his replacement this season has been providing the goods for the team so far.
Sandeep Warrier was roped in by the franchise after a couple of games in the tournament and has played three games this season thus far. The pacer went unsold in the auction but has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the 2022 IPL champions. In the three matches that the speedster has started this year, he has been able to rack up five wickets with an average of 15.20.
Coincidentally, all five of his wickets this season have come against the Delhi Capitals. In the previous encounter between the two teams last week, the pacer grabbed two wickets to give some hope to his side in a match where they lost by a huge margin.
The right-arm fast bowler showed his class as he was able to dismiss three opposition batters inside the powerplay itself to put his side on top in Delhi. He had a great game as he took three wickets and gave away just 15 runs in his three-over spell at the top.
During the death overs, Warrier was not handed the ball by skipper Shubman Gill. This was a decision that shocked everyone as the captain decided to bowl Sai Kishore instead of him in the penultimate over of the innings. That decision proved to be costly for the side as the spinner conceded 22 runs in that over.
The rise of Sandeep Warrier - the domestc superstar
The pacer was also a replacement for the Mumbai Indians in the 2023 competition when he replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the side. However, he wasn't given even a single game for the franchise which was a worrisome sign heading into this season.
The pacer has always been consistent in the domestic circuit which is one of the reasons why both Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians drafted him into their squads over the past two seasons. Warrier started his cricketing journey with Kerala and turned out to be their highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy in 2019. Later on, he made the move to Tamil Nadu and has been one of their most consistent players off late.
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