England left-arm quick David Willey will miss out the initial phase of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) coach Justin Langer.
According to a report from ESPNcricinfo, Willey will delay his arrival to India and will miss the first few games for LSG due to personal reasons.
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Willey has been traveling for the past two months, playing in the PSL and ILT20 for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Multan Sultans, respectively.
Willey, though, hasn't been replaced in the squad yet, so he might still go to India during the competition. Playing in the PSL final on Monday, he returned to the UK after spending the majority of the English winter away from home, having participated in the World Cup in India.
The 34-year-old former England international cricketer is the second Englishman from LSG to not be available from the offset, after Mark Wood withdrew from IPL 2024 in order to manage his workload ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.
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'We have enormous talent' - LSG coach Justin Langer
Speaking to the media on Wednesday (March 20), Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer confirmed that Willey will miss the initial phase of IPL 2024, but backed the rest of the bowling unit to come good in the absence of two experienced bowlers in Willey and Wood, the latter being replaced by West Indies quick Shamar Joseph.
With Mark Wood pulling out of the tournament and also David Willey won't be coming now either, that means we lack some experience. But what I've also seen in the last couple of days is that we have enormous talent. Some of our guys have had some injuries but they all look very fit at the moment.
They look fit and healthy and they're very hungry, so we'll just have to manage them well so that we can get them through and work through the whole tournament, not just the start of the tournament. We've got one overseas player up our sleeve if required, where we might be able to add some experience.
Mayank Yadav, a seamer from Delhi who is 21 years old, was also mentioned by Langer as a potential replacement for Wood in terms of raw pace.
Mark Wood is a world-class bowler, isn't he? And he pulled out after the auction, which is disappointing but this is the world we live in.
We also have Shamar Joseph, we have Mayank who bowls with very good pace. Hopefully we can replace, not [Wood's] experience, but his pace with Shamar Joseph and Mayank. He'll be missed - of course he'll be missed, he's a world-class bowler - but this is the world we live in and we will adapt and we will be okay.
When is LSG's first game in IPL 2024?
LSG play their first game in IPL 2024 on Sunday, March 24, against Rajasthan Royals. The match will be played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
