Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have brought in England cricketer David Payne as an injury replacement for Australian Jack Edwards ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also confirming a replacement signing of their own.
Payne, who has played just one ODI for England but boasts an extensive T20 record of 304 wickets from 233 games, will join SRH for Rs 1.5 crore.
SRH will open the tournament against defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 28.
In the other replacement, three-time champions KKR have signed Vidarbha left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey in place of India fast bowler Akash Deep, who has been ruled out of the season with a lumbar stress injury. Dubey will join KKR for Rs 30 lakh.
Akash Deep, who has taken 28 wickets in 10 Tests for India, will undergo rehabilitation under the BCCI Medical Team at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Dubey has an IPL connection with SRH. He was signed by the 2016 champions for IPL 2022 but missed out due to a back injury and is yet to make his IPL debut. He went unsold at last year’s mini-auction in Abu Dhabi but remained eligible for selection through the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP).
The Vidarbha pacer, who has featured in eight List A matches and three T20s, was part of the India A squad at the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup under current India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
KKR face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
