Sri Lankan Skipper Dasun Shanaka to Make His IPL Debut Against SRH

image-lhowj7b7Dasun Shanaka (Source: BCCI/IPL)

The big name from Sri Lanka, Dasun Shanaka is all set to make his much awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Gujarat Titans (GT) when they face SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Coming in as a replacement for injured Kane Williamson who was ruled out of the season in the first game after sustaining a knee injury, this is Shanaka's first IPL gig.

The batting all-rounder who captains the Island Nation has been a prominent figure in international cricket after his exploits against India earlier this year.

He replaces Alzarri Joseph in the eleven who had a difficult game against Mumbai Indians (MI) where he gave away 52 runs without any success.

Meanwhile, Shanaka's international numbers are decent enough more than 1350 runs and 25 wickets in T20 Internationals. Apart from all this, he successfully captained Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup last year by beating Pakistan in the finals.

The lower order batter is a designated finisher and will have a crucial role to play alongside David Miller and Rahul Tewatia.

Earlier, GT skipper Hardik Pandya was asked to bat first by SRH as they will be looking seal their Qualifier 1 playoff berth.