Suchith replaces injured Harshal Patel in DC squad

The Delhi Capitals (DC) have signed all-rounder Jagadeesha Suchith as replacement for the injured Harshal Patel, who fractured his right hand in the match against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Mohali on April 1.

Harshal had featured in DC's two out of seven matches in the current season, finishing with the figures of 2/40 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in New Delhi, and 0/37 against KXIP.

The all-rounder sustained the injury in his second outing in Mohali which ended in a 14-run defeat for the Delhi-based franchise. The extent of Harshal's injury was confirmed earlier on Thursday, before DC's match against KKR at the Eden Gardens.

It has been confirmed that Harshal will be out-of-action for at least four weeks, which means that he has been ruled out of the current season of the Indian Premier League.

Meanwhile, Suchith, who has previously represented the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2016, went unsold in the IPL auction earlier this year. He has played a total of 14 matches in the IPL, picking up 10 wickets with an economy of 8.98, and has scored 48 runs in his 6 innings with a strike-rate of 150.

Speaking on selecting Suchith for the remaining matches, head coach Ricky Ponting said: "It is unfortunate that Harshal injured his right hand during our match against the KXIP. We had to wait for a while to get confirmation on the same, and the X-ray reports showed that he has a fracture.

"Therefore, we conducted a few trials in Kolkata, and have come to the conclusion that Jagadeesha Suchith is the right man to replace Harshal. He has previous experience of playing in the IPL, and can help the team in achieving its objectives this season."

--IANS

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