England bowler Gus Atkinson replaced by Dushmantha Chameera at Kolkata Knight Riders

WILLIAM COMISH: Atkinson, who debuted for England in both ODIs and T20Is in 2023, was picked up for 1 crore (approximately £100,000) at December's auction but withdrawn from the tournament to manage his schedule

William Comish | 19/02/2024 at 13:47

England bowler Gus Atkinson has withdrawn from the 2024 Indian Premier League, with Sri Lanka international Dushmantha Chameera replacing him at Kolkata Knight Riders.

Atkinson enjoyed a bright 2023, taking 13 wickets at 29.15 in the T20 Blast for Surrey and debuting for England in both white-ball formats, and was picked up at December's auction for 1 crore (approximately £100,000).

However, the 26-year-old has since opted out of his contract, with the ECB keen to manage his schedule following a busy winter of international cricket.

Atkinson was included in England's squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup and also travelled to the Caribbean in December for a white-ball tour against West Indies. He is currently in India with the Test squad, although he is yet to feature in the series.

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^{Atkinson has had a busy winter of international cricket, including featuring at the World Cup [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

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^{Dushmantha Chameera has been signed as Atkinson's replacement [Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images]}

Earlier in February, fellow England pace bowler Mark Wood pulled out of the IPL to manage his workload ahead of June's T20 World Cup. Jofra Archer, meanwhile, didn't feature at December's auction as he manages his comeback from an elbow injury.

Chameera, who has joined KKR for his base price of 50 lakh (£50,000), has previously featured for Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, taking nine wickets in 12 appearances for the latter in 2022.

An IPL statement described Chameera as a "Sri Lankan speedster, who is known for his pace, and can trouble batters with his swing and seam movements".

The schedule for the 17th edition of the IPL is yet to be confirmed.

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