Wanindu Hasaranga's Replacement Revealed; LSG Sign South Africa Star For IPL 2026

Wanindu Hasaranga - (Source: AFP)

On Friday, April 10, the IPL officially announced that Sri Lanka bowler Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of IPL 2026. LSG have dealt a heavy blow as they roped in the star spinner for 2 crores during IPL 2026 mini-auction.

Notably, Hasaranga had been nursing a persistent left-leg hamstring, due to which he missed the first three matches for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026. However, during LSG vs KKR match on Thursday, LSG director confirmed that the 28-year-old will not travel to India for the tournament and a replacement  will be named in the next 24-48 hours.

George Linde Named Replacement For Wanindu Hasaranga

In an interesting choice, LSG have named South Africa's left-arm spinner George Linde as replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga. The 34-year-old all-rounder plays T20 leagues across the world, but it will be his first stint in the IPL.

Interestingly, Linde will earn half of Hasaranga's salary, which is one crore as confirmed by the IPL in their press release. Notably, Linde has represented South Africa in 3 Tests, 4 ODIs and 37 T20Is. In T20Is, Linde has scored 403 runs and picked up 35 wickets. 

Linde will join the team at the earliest and will be available for selection for LSG's next match on Sunday against Gujarat Titans.

Wanindu Hasaranga Denied NOC By Sri Lanka Cricket

Wanindu Hasaranga has been struggling with hamstring injury for quite some time now. The issue worsened during T20 World Cup 2026, where the 28-year-old played a solitary match and his injury resurfaced.

Hasaranga picked up three wickets against Ireland during Sri Lanka's opening match in T20 World Cup, following which he was ruled out of the tournament.

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The right-arm spinner has been recovering in Sri Lanka, but failed to show up for fitness test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket. Notably, following Sri Lanka's horror show in T20 World Cup, their cricket board introduced mandatory fitness tests to obtain NOCs for franchise cricket.

Owing to the injury, Hasaranga didn't show up for the test. Whereas, on the other hand, LSG were running out of time as they have already played three matches in IPL 2026.

Lucknow Super Giants Off To A Positive Start In IPL 2026

The Rishabh Pant-led side suffered a six-wicket defeat in their opening match against Delhi Capitals. However, post that game, LSG have been doing well and won two straight matches. 

LSG beat SRH and KKR so far and their bowling has been brilliant. The seamers are on song, but Hasaranga's presence would have made the attack complete. 

So far, Digvesh Rathi and M. Siddharth are far from their best, which is why LSG are missing a strong spinner in the team. At present, it is easy for LSG to include George Linde in the team as they are playing with just three overseas options in their team.

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