Injured Conway out of IPL, CSK add Richard Gleeson to squad

New Zealand and Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2024 with injury. CSK have added England seamer Richard Gleeson to their squad as his replacement.

Conway had suffered a fracture in the joint of his left thumb during the second T20I against Australia in Auckland in February. He subsequently underwent surgery and CSK were originally hopeful of having Conway back in May for the second half of the IPL, but he has now been sidelined from the whole season.

Conway was central to CSK winning the title in IPL 2023, scoring 672 runs in 15 innings at an average of 51.69 and strike rate of just under 140. Forty-seven of those runs came in a rain-hit three-day T20 final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, where Conway also won the Player-of-the-Match award.

Conway's injury-enforced absence leaves Aravelly Avanish, the India Under-19 wicketkeeper, as the only back-up to MS Dhoni at CSK.

Gleeson's addition might help CSK fill the void that Mustafizur Rahman's absence would create. The Bangladesh, left-arm seamer, who is currently CSK's highest wicket-taker, with ten strikes, has been granted NOC by the BCB to play the IPL till May 1.

Gleeson, 36, is a late bloomer, who made his first professional appearance aged 27 at Northamptonshire. He then emerged as Northamptonshire's second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 Blast in 2016, with 14 strikes in ten games at an economy rate of under six.

Gleeson made his international debut for England aged 34 in 2022, when he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant within his first eight balls in a T20I at Edgbaston. He is set to call the ground home this summer.

Gleeson has never played in the IPL before but has had stints in the Hundred (Manchester Originals), BPL (Rangpur Riders), BBL (Melbourne Renegades), SA20 (Durban's Super Giants), and ILT20 (Gulf Giants).

In all, Gleeson has played 90 T20s so far, picking up 101 wickets at an economy rate of 8.18.