KKR sign Tim Southee as a replacement for IPL 2021 - Reports

Kolkata Knight Riders have roped in Tim Southee as a replacement for Pat Cummins ahead of the second phase of IPL 2021. According to Cricbuzz, the Kiwi pacer will represent the Knight Riders in the remainder of the season. 

Earlier, a source close to the Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed to Cricbuzz that Tim Southee will be playing for them in the upcoming games. In case you didn’t know, Pat Cummins had opted out of IPL 2021’s second phase because of personal reasons. 

Cummins was the expensive player in the Kolkata Knight Riders team this year. In his absence, Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson was expected to lead the KKR bowling attack in the second phase of the competition. 

Now that the franchise have added Tim Southee to their squad, it will be interesting to see which Kiwi player leads the pace bowling attack of the Knight Riders. Southee has more experience than Ferguson, but the latter has done well of late in the shortest format of the game. 

Last year, Lockie Ferguson impressed the fans with his performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the United Arab Emirates. Hence, he will likely be the first-choice overseas fast bowler of the team in the absence of Pat Cummins. 

Tim Southee had a forgettable outing in IPL 2019 

Tim Southee went unsold at IPL Auction 2020 and 2021. One of the reasons behind it was his poor performance in the 2019 edition of the league. The Kiwi pacer was a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad that season. 

Southee played three matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, scalping one wicket at an economy rate of 13.11. In the season before that, he had an economy rate of nine runs per over. It will be interesting to see how Southee performs for KKR.