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Gujarat Titans (GT) have signed Connor Esterhuizen as a replacement for Tom Banton, who has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 owing to a finger injury.
Esterhuizen, a wicketkeeper-batter, recently made his international debut for South Africa against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series last month. He made an impressive start, winning two Player of the Match awards and was also named Player of the Series, helping his team clinch the series 3-2 after being 2-1 down. This will be the 24-year-old's first stint in the IPL. He will join GT at his base price of Rs 75 Lakh. The 27-year-old Banton was bought for Rs 2 crore in the auction but was not part of any match in this IPL season. Banton has played two IPL matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2020 edition, which was played from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Banton played a crucial role for England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, making 155 runs, including a crucial unbeaten knock of 63 runs off 41 balls against Scotland, where he helped his side secure a five-wicket win. He was named Player of the Match for that performance. GT, who have won two of their past matches after starting the tournament with two losses, will be aiming to make it three wins in five games against a winless KKR at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. The Shubman Gill-led side currently stands in sixth place in the points table. Gujarat Titans Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Jason Holder, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Nishant Sindhu, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Connor Esterhuizen, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Luke Wood, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma. (ANI)
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