Mitchell Marsh withdraws from IPL 2021; England batsman named as replacement

Mitchell Marsh IPL 2021: Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have suffered a body blow as all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has pulled out from the forthcoming tournament citing bubble fatigue as the reason. In the opening game of IPL 2021, the defending champions Mumbai Indians will be taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 9 in Chennai. The Sunrisers Hyderabad will play their first game of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 11 in Chennai.

Related: IPL 2021: Team-wise first choice overseas players

Jason Roy IPL ready!

The Sunrisers Hyderabad has confirmed that Marsh will not be playing in the upcoming season of the IPL. It is reported that the Aussie all-rounder has expressed his inability to spend long times inside the bio-bubble and thus, he has informed SRH and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his decision.

According to the latest COVID-19 guidelines issued by the BCCI for IPL 2021, the 29-year-old Australian cricketer would have to undergo seven-day quarantine plus a 50-day bio-bubble, which he found too much challenging. SRH have also confirmed that they have signed Jason Roy as replacement for Marsh. Roy scored a total of 144 runs in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against India and also played two vital knocks in the ODI series as well. Unfortunately, the explosive England batsman went unsold at the IPL 2021 auction.

Due to personal reasons, Mitchell Marsh will be opting out of #IPL2021.

We would like to welcome @JasonRoy20 to the #SRHFamily! ?#OrangeOrNothing #OrangeArmy pic.twitter.com/grTMkVUns4

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 31, 2021

Earlier, Marsh was also forced to pull out from the entire IPL 2020 season after having twisted his ankle during SRH’s first league-stage game against Bangalore. SRH signed Jason Holder as his replacement who performed impressively well both with the bat and ball. However, Mitchell Marsh did recover from the injury and was part of Australian T20I side in New Zealand recently. He also played for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League 2020-21 season.

.@Wriddhipops' 'mantra' for the upcoming #VIVOIPL season seems clear ?#OrangeOrNothing #OrangeArmy #IPL2021 @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/jEdOI2311Z

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 30, 2021

Related: Star Overseas Players Set to miss first few IPL games

IPL 2021: Who will be the first choice overseas players in SRH’s playing 11?

It will be a difficult task for the SRH team management to pick their first choice four overseas players in the starting XI for the upcoming season of the IPL. However, captain David Warner, Rashid Khan, Jason Holder and Kane Williamson are most likely to start in the playing XI for the first match against KKR. This also means that the duo of Mohammad Nabi and Jonny Bairstow will have to sit out for the initial phase of IPL 2021. It will be interesting to see whether Roy gets to feature in the SRH playing XI in the upcoming tournament.

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