Inaugural season champions have confirmed West Indies cricketers Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas as their latest recruits for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League, starting September 19.
Lewis and Thomas have been roped in as replacement signings for two of RR’s mainstays – wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and premier all-rounder Ben Stokes.
While Stokes is undergoing a prolonged break from the game to resolve mental health concerns and fully overcome a finger injury, Buttler has opted to stay with his wife in September-October as they are about to have their second child.
This will be Lewis’ second stint in the IPL, having been with Mumbai Indians in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The aggressive left-hand batsman is only fifth in the list of West Indies’ highest T20I run-makers, with 1,318 runs at an eye-catching strike-rate of 158.03 and a respectable average of 32.14.
Having expressed his wish to build a significant IPL career, Lewis will hope to dominate the bowling in UAE and secure a regular place in the RR squad for their future campaigns.
For Thomas, the right-arm quick, it’s a return to the Royals’ camp after a brief stint with the franchise back in 2019. He played four matches in his maiden IPL season and took five wickets while conceding 7.90 runs per over.
Lewis and Thomas are RR’s second and third replacement signings in recent times. The franchise had already announced New Zealand’s in-form batsman Glenn Phillips as their fill-in buy for speedster Jofra Archer, who has been sidelined from action since March due to an elbow injury and its lengthy rehab.
The Royals are placed fifth in the IPL points table right now with three wins and four losses. They’ll resume their campaign on September 21 in Dubai versus Punjab Kings.
