Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have just made their bowling department a little stronger by roping in Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait. The seamer, who bowls at a fiery pace, replaces the injured John Hastings.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore announced the news on Wednesday.
Hastings could only play two matches in IPL 2016 for KKR. He injured his ankle and had to pull out of the remainder of the current IPL season.
This will be Tait's second stint in the IPL, as he previously played for the now-suspended Rajasthan Royals.
Tait's base price at the IPL 2016 players auction was Rs 1.5 crore. Unfortunately, none of the franchises showed any interest on the fast bowler, who bowls at a serious pace. Thus, he was unsold at the auction.
Tait last played for Australia during the T20 series against India in January, earlier this year. He also played for Peshawar Zalmi in the first edition of the Pakistan Super League. Recently, he was re-signed by Glamorgan for the second half of the NatWest T20 Blast tournament.
Tait was present at a KKR training session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, but he did not bowl, considering he landed just a few hours ahead of the training session.
It will be interesting to see how KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir uses the pacer. Morne Morkel has occupied the overseas fast bowler slot for the bulk of the matches so far, and he has done a decent job, picking up seven wickets in six matches. Jason Holder got just one game, and he was not impressive. Tait will want to get back in his rhythm as quickly as possible, before trying to force his way into the playing XI.
