Devon Conway, the wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand and Chennai Super Kings, has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2024 due to injury. CSK has added England fast bowler Richard Gleeson to their squad as Conway's replacement.
Conway fractured the joint of his left thumb during the second T20I against Australia in Auckland in February. He underwent surgery and CSK hoped to have Conway back in May for the second half of the IPL. He has now been sidelined for the entire season.
Conway played a crucial role in CSK's victory in the 2023 IPL, scoring 672 runs in 15 innings at an average of 51.69 and a strike rate of just under 140. He scored 47 runs in a rain-hit three-day T20 final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, where he also won the Player-of-the-Match award.
Conway's absence due to injury means that Aravelly Avanish, the India Under-19 wicketkeeper, is the only backup for MS Dhoni at CSK.
Gleeson's addition may help CSK fill the void left by Mustafizur Rahman's absence. Mustafizur Rahman, the left-arm seamer who is currently CSK's highest wicket-taker with ten strikes, has been granted NOC by the BCB to play in the IPL until May 1.
Gleeson, 36, is a late bloomer who made his first professional appearance at Northamptonshire at the age of 27. In 2016, Gleeson emerged as Northamptonshire's second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 Blast, taking 14 wickets in ten games at an economy rate of under six.
In 2022, at the age of 34, he made his international debut for England in a T20I at Edgbaston, where he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant within his first eight balls. This summer, he will be playing at Edgbaston.
Although Gleeson has not played in the IPL before, he has had stints in various T20 leagues such as the Hundred (Manchester Originals), BPL (Rangpur Riders), BBL (Melbourne Renegades), SA20 (Durban's Super Giants), and ILT20 (Gulf Giants).
He has played 90 T20s so far, taking 101 wickets at an economy rate of 8.18.