IPL 2017 | Gujarat Lions rope in Irfan Pathan as Dwayne Bravo's replacement
Irfan Pathan is all set to return to the IPL after Gujarat Lions named the allrounder as a replacement for Dwayne Bravo. The West Indian suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to leave midway and Pathan, who went unsold at the player auction in February, was seen as an able replacement.
The Lions got in touch with 32-year-old Pathan late on Saturday and he joined the team in Bangalore on Sunday, ahead of their encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. Although Pathan is yet to sign a contract with the Lions, he admitted that talks were in the final stages.
The news was confirmed to the Sportstar by unnamed sources from of the Gujarat franchise. There has been no official statement from the side as yet. The Lions are believed to have been looking for an allrounder to fill the void left by Bravo’s exit and Pathan was seen as an able replacement.
The Lions are currently struggling and are in second last position in the standings having won only two of their seven games so far, and will need the younger of the Pathan brothers to fire from the very onset if they’re to make it to the playoffs.