"Brilliant player in Indian, Asian conditions" - Fans erupt as Dasun Shanaka makes his IPL debut during GT vs SRH
Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka is making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Gujarat Titans (GT) against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday, May 15.
For the uninitiated, GT roped in Shanaka for a base price of ₹50 lakh. This came after New Zealand batter Kane Williamson was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to an injury.
The right-handed batter is an explosive middle-order batter who bowls right-arm seam. Earlier this year, Shanaka smashed a ton against Team India during the three-match ODI series.
The 31-year-old all-rounder has so far amassed 3724 runs, including three centuries in 183 T20Is. He has also scalped 59 wickets at an economy rate of 8.81.
Fans on Twitter wished well to Dasun Shanaka on his IPL debut. One user tweeted:
"As an SRH fan, I always wanted Dasun Shanaka in our squad but sadly he is debuting against us. Brilliant player in Indian, Asian conditions."
Since the auction list released
As an SRH fan, I always wanted Dasun Shanaka in our squad but sadly he is debuting against us.
Brilliant player in Indian, Asian conditions.
He could have been a proper 6 for SRH if Klassen batter at 5.
Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:
Dasun Shanaka making his IPL debut tonight
Go well, Dasun ❤
#GTvsSRH https://t.co/jbS5xCBrAx
Dasun Shanaka plays IPL tonight for Gujarat 😍
Other teams fans kept talking and GT took him 🔥
DASUN SHANAKA IS HERE LETS GOOOOO
So GT are playing Dasun Shanaka and making changes even after being on top but CSK refuse to play Stokes and drop underperforming Theekshana and Rayudu like make it make sense
Go well DASUN SHANAKA 🔥👍
Dusan Shanaka should've been playing for us this season if not for big brain Jindal and GMR
GT superteam added Shanaka. Tears
Dasun Shanaka finally making his debut in Indian Premier League! He should've made already thou well still good and has good chance to make impact and secure his place for upcoming matches
Dasun Shanaka at __?
@NotTheDarkBlade they just literally have 3 monstrous finishers in their squad. Miller, shanaka and Wade while so many other teams are trying to find one😭😭😭
SunRisers Hyderabad opt to bowl against Dasun Shanaka’s Gujarat Titans
SunRisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bowl against the Gujarat Titans on Monday. They made a solitary change, bringing in left-arm pacer Marco Jansen for Glenn Phillips.
Markram said at the toss:
“Marco Jansen comes in for Glenn Phillips."
GT, on the other hand, made three changes. While Shanaka made his debut, Sai Sudharsan made way for the injured Vijay Shankar.
Yash Dayal finally made his comeback after a forgetful 31-run over against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last month. Hardik Pandya said:
“We have a couple of forced changes. Shankar got hit by a ball in the net yesterday, Sai comes in. Shanka makes his debut and also Yash Dayal is back."
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (w), Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and T Natarajan.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (w), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, and Noor Ahmad.
Follow GT vs SRH live score updates here.