The injury marred outfit of Rising Pune Supergiants has signed up Australian batsman George Bailey for their remaining games in the IPL. The Supergiants have lost the likes of Faf Du Plessis, Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Marsh, and this morning, Steve Smith due to various injuries. With their foreign reserves falling well short, the management of the side has signed up George Bailey for their remaining games.
Bailey has previously represented Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. Bailey also led Kings XI Punjab to the finals in the 2014 edition, when the Punjabis finished as the runners-up to the Kolkata Knight Riders.
With Pune needing to win almost all their remaining games, Bailey’s addition to the team can bring about some respite to the side. The right-handed middle-order batsman scored a wonderful century against India earlier this year in an ODI at Perth.
Raghu Iyer, Chief Executive of the Supergiants confirmed Bailey’s addition to the squad and said, “Smith’s news been a bummer. He was just coming into his own and this happened,” Iyer said. “It is a challenging time. Before we could settle down we lost the core group of players around whom you build a team around.”
Backing Bailey to do well, he added, “We lost four crucial players, but we are looking ahead. Bailey has tremendous experience and had a very successful season before last. He can contribute to the leadership group,” Iyer said.
The Supergiants are likely to name a replacement for injured all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in the next couple of days.