Australia all-rounder Daniel Christian has been roped in by Trinbago Knight Riders to replace Brendon McCullum for the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League.
McCullum’s stint in the league came to a premature end when he received a nasty blow on his right hand which left him with a broken arm. The mishap happened when the former New Zealand star was batting against Barbados Tridents on Sunday (September 3).
McCullum, who was batting on 26, received the blow off the bowling of South Africa speedster Wayne Parnell and immediately left the field before being taken to the hospital where x-rays showed that he had fractured his arm.
@CPL over for this year unfort. Been a ride with @TKRiders brothers! Many thanks to all for your support! Luck team! pic.twitter.com/eWZDiQpoQL
— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) September 3, 2017
Losing the in-form McCullum is a mighty blow for the Knight Riders, and their head coach Simon Katich admitted it. The hard-hitting batsman had score 335 runs in 10 matches at an outstanding average of 55.83 in the ongoing season before being ruled out.
However, Knight Riders will be pleased to have the experienced Christian in their camp who recently led Notts Outlaws to their maiden domestic T20 title in England when the County outfit thrashed Birmingham Bears by 22 runs in the NatWest T20 final. Christian was pivotal to Notts’ successful campaign, scoring 356 runs in addition to picking up 11 wickets.
“Losing an iconic figure like Brendon to injury is clearly a massive loss to the team, but in Daniel, we have a proven match-winner who has just led a side to a T20 title in England. We hope that he can make it two trophies in two weeks with us in Trinidad,” Katich said.
Christian will also bring a huge experience to the Knight Riders’ camp. The 34-year-old, who has represented Australia in 15 T20Is, has been one of the most famous players in T20 leagues across the league.
He had plied his trade for Brisbane Heat, Middlesex, New South Wales, Rising Pune Supergiant, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Australia, Victoria, Deccan Chargers, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Hobart Hurricanes.