(Cricket News) The young Sri Lankan wrist spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has been named as the replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga at Sunrisers Hyderabad. Viyaskanth has been signed at the reserve price of INR 50 lakhs.

Hasaranga was suffering with an injury to his heel and was reportedly advised to rest by a specialist from Dubai. The injury initially delayed his arrival at the IPL, but he was still expected to join the side. However, he was officially ruled out from the league on Saturday.

Hasaranga was bought by Sunrisers at his base price of INR 1.5 crore (approx USD 181,000) at the 2024 IPL auction in December, after he was released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who paid INR 10.75 crore for him in 2022.

Viyaskanth, his Sri Lankan mate and replacement, was recently a part of MI Emirates in the ILT2O. He has featured for Sri Lanka in a solitary T20I. He represented the national side at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for the Jaffna Stallions.

Viyaskanth impressed with the ball in his stint at the MI Emirates earlier this year. He featured in a total of four games were he took eight wickets at 5.4 runs per over. He was under the ranks of Mahela Jayawardene, who is is the global head of performance for MI – at the ILT20.

The leg-spinner was also a part of the Bangladesh Premier League, were he played for the Chattogram Challengers. He has played In 33 T20s, and has 42 wickets at an average of 18.78, an economy of 6.76 and a strike rate of 16.6.

Viyaskanth got the first look of the IPL, when he was brought in as a net bowler by the head coach of Rajasthan Royals, Kumar Sangakkara. He would now get to work alongside another Sri Lankan legend Muthiah Muralidaran, who is the bowling coach of Sunrisers.

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