Will O'Rourke Joins Lucknow Super Giants as Injury Replacement for IPL 2025
O'Rourke Steps In for Injured Yadav
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 19: New Zealand fast bowler Will O'Rourke has expressed his enthusiasm about joining the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
On May 15, LSG announced that pacer Mayank Yadav would miss the remainder of the IPL season due to an injury. O'Rourke has been brought in as his replacement, according to an official statement from the IPL.
"Lucknow Super Giants have signed New Zealand's William O'Rourke as a replacement for Mayank Yadav, who has been ruled out for the season due to a back injury," the statement confirmed.
O'Rourke will join the team at a reserve price of Rs three crore. He has played five T20 internationals for New Zealand, claiming five wickets with an average of 28.60. In total, he has taken 37 wickets in 38 T20 matches at an average of 26.05.
During a pre-match press conference, O'Rourke shared his excitement about participating in the tournament, stating, "This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of such a prestigious league. Gaining experience, especially by bowling to world-class players, will significantly enhance my game. If I get the chance to play, I will seize it with both hands."
LSG is set to face the Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Pat Cummins, in their next match on Monday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Currently, LSG is positioned seventh in the standings with five victories and six defeats, while SRH sits at eighth with three wins and seven losses, totaling six points.
Squads:
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Shardul Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Arshin Kulkarni, William O'Rourke, Akash Deep.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Sachin Baby, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga, Travis Head, Mohammed Shami, Harsh Dubey, Rahul Chahar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kamindu Mendis, Atharva Taide, Simarjeet Singh, Smaran Ravichandran.