Punjab Kings on Friday roped in Nathan Ellis, a day after he was inducted in Australia's squad as a reserve player for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup. The development was confirmed in a report on Cricbuzz, which added that Australian duo - Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith - won't take part in the remaining matches of Indian Premier League, which will be played in UAE.
"We were not aware of the fitness status of Jhye and Riley till yesterday (August 18). That they cannot be part of the IPL was known only after the Cricket Australia press conference. We have signed Elis as a replacement player. We will announce the second replacement in a day or two," the franchise CEO Satish Mohan was quoted as saying in the report.
"We are in talks with a few players. Anil (Kumble, the head coach) will finalise soon," he added.
Earlier on Thursday, the 26-year-old Ellis was named as one of three Australian reserve players for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will follow the IPL.
The development comes less than a fortnight after he picked up a hat-trick on international debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka. His wickets against Bangladesh included Mahdmullah, Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman off the final three balls of the innings as he became the first cricketer to take a hat-trick on T20I debut. He joined Brett Lee and Ashton Agar to become the third Australian to take a hat-trick in a T20 International match.
Ellis went unsold in the player auction in January.
- with PTI inputs
