Rajasthan Royals get Darren Lehmann to replace Graeme Smith for initial matches
Darren Lehmann, the former Australian batsman, has joined the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 38-year-old Lehmann will play for Rajasthan Royals’ opening matches. Lehmann will play as a replacement for South African skipper Graeme Smith.
Darren Lehmann received a call from Rajasthan Royal’s captain and his former teammate Shane Warne to inquire about his willingness to join the Jaipur-based IPL team, Rajasthan Royals.
Since Smith is playing for South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition, he will not be available for the first two matches of the IPL tournament.
Lehmann says, “It’s all happened so quickly. They needed someone as cover for Graeme Smith so I didn’t hesitate to put my hand up. It will be good playing in the same side as Warnie.”
Australian veteran Darren Lehmann retired from first-class cricket last November. Lehmann had played 27 Tests from 1998-2004 and 117 one-day internationals.
Former Indian coach Greg Chappell is associated with the Rajasthan Royals. The team is captained and coached by Shane Warne, the Australian spin wizard.
The foreign players in the Rajasthan Royals team are:
Shane Warne
Graeme Smith
Younis Khan
Shane Watson
D. Mascarenhas
Sohail Tanvir
Kamran Akmal
Morne Morkel
Justin Langer