IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals have signed West Indies players Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas for the remaining 31 matches of IPL 2021 in the UAE. Oshane Thomas and Evin Lewis will join Rajasthan Royals as replacements for Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
Stokes is currently on a mental health break and Butler has decided to skip the rest of the IPL tournament due to the birth of his second child.
Meanwhile, both Thomas and Lewis are currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). This season Thomas is playing for the Barbados Tridents and Lewis is part of St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the CPL 2021.
OFFICIAL: Evin Lewis is a Royal. 💥
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 31, 2021
Thanks bro @CricCrazyJohns 😂👌#RoyalsFamily https://t.co/zA7UlcZM6w pic.twitter.com/u9MZMZLfRa
Left-arm opening batsman Lewis made his debut for the West Indies during the 2016 T20 World Cup campaign in India. He still has 1318 runs in 45 T20s and 1847 runs in 57 ODIs for the West Indies.
Thomas, on the other hand, has taken 27 wickets in 20 ODIs and 19 wickets in 17 T20s for the West Indies.
These two players have played in the Indian Premier League in the past. Thomas has played in four IPL matches for the Royals in the 2019 season and has taken five wickets. Lewis played for the Mumbai Indians in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Lewis has 430 runs from 16 matches in the IPL for Mumbai Indians.
OT in the chat. 😉
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) August 31, 2021
Welcome back to the #RoyalsFamily, Oshane 🔥 pic.twitter.com/V9nQqRfJxf
The Royals are fifth in the points table with three wins from seven matches. They will start their IPL campaign against Punjab Kings on September 21.
The Royals had earlier announced South African leg-spinner and world no. 1 T20 bowler Tabraiz Shamsi as a replacement for Andrew Tye and Glenn Phillips as a replacement for Jofra Archer.
Also Read: IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals Sign No.1 T20 Bowler Tabraiz Shamsi
However, the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Butler and Jofra Archer would be a big loss for Rajasthan Royals as they were the main foreign players for them.
