Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Sri Lanka fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement for Gus Atkinson, who had been snapped up by the franchise for INR 1 crore (USD 120,000 approx) at the IPL 2024 auction in December last year.

Chameera, who had gone unsold at the auction, will now join KKR for his base price of INR 50 lakh (USD 60,000 approx). The 32-year-old has been part of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in the past. Chameera can hit speeds north of 140kph and in his most recent T20 game, he had picked up 2 for 20 in his four overs for Dubai Capitals against Abu Dhabi, the UAE affiliate of Knight Riders in the ILT20.

Atkinson, the 26-year-old England fast bowler, was due to play in the IPL for the first time, but he has now withdrawn from the tournament, with the ECB managing his schedule after a long winter away. Atkinson had played three games for England at the World Cup in India, then travelled to the Caribbean for a white-ball tour in December and has since returned to India for England’s ongoing Test series.

As for Chameera, he has played 12 IPL games so far, taking nine wickets at an economy rate of 8.73. Apart from Chameera, Mitchell Starc is the only overseas frontline quick in Knight Riders’ squad. Starc was bought for a record INR 24.75 crore (USD 2.98 million approx.) at the auction.

IPL 2024 is likely to be played between March 22 and the end of May, with the final schedule to be announced once the polling dates for India’s general elections have been finalised by the Election Commission.