Afghanistan 20-year-old opening batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz is reportedly being considered by Gujarat Titans as the possible replacement for England opener, Jason Roy, who opted out of the IPL 2022 season due to bio-bubble fatigue.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz listed himself at the auction for a base price of Rs 50 lakh howee he went unsold. While, he has now been roped in as a replacement player. While Gujarat Titans haven’t yet officially made any announcement in this regard, the Hardik Pandya-led side looks to be his destination. Notably Gurbaz has played 9 ODIs and 12 T20Is in his short but exciting career so far.
Apart from having a 150-plus career T20 strike rate as an opener, Gurbaz is also a wicket keeper which makes him special player for Gujrat Titans. The most exciting aspect is the 20-year-old’s ability to clear the ropes, with 113 sixes in 69 career T20 games.
Wriddhiman Saha is expected to be their first choice keeper but they wanted to have a backup option so as not to be caught off-guard by an unexpected turn of events. Matthew Wade is the other keeper in GT ranks, but as per Cricket Australia decree, contracted Australian players will not be playing in IPL till April 6.
On March 8, Gurabaz himself shared a story of being named as Jason Roy’s replacement on his official IG handle but the news is yet to get official from the franchise’s end. The 20-year-old has so far amassed 531 runs in 18 T20I appearances for Afghanistan, averaging 29.5 including two half-centuries with his highest individual score being 79.