Indian senior pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the IPL 2024 due to a left ankle injury. A BCCI source revealed that the 33-year-old pacer would undergo surgery in the United Kingdom. Shami was the Gujarat Titans’ (GT) pace spearhead and played a critical role in the Titans’ success in the last two IPL seasons. Shami’s absence will be a big blow to the 2022 IPL champions, who have already lost their fascinating captain Hardik Pandya.

Pandya has been roped in by the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and the 30-year-old all-rounder will lead them in IPL 2024. GT, on the other hand, will take the field under new captain Shubman Gill. GT has performed exceptionally well in the previous two editions.

The Titans became the champions when they arrived in the cash-rich league in 2022. In the 2023 season, GT finished as the runners-up after losing to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a thrilling final. In both seasons, Shami led GT’s pace attack and was instrumental in its successes.

The right-arm pacer picked up 20 wickets in 2022 and produced an even better performance in the last season, picking up 28 wickets at an average of 18.64. Shami was lethal with the new ball and a great threat to the batters in the powerplay overs. The Titans are allowed to pick a replacement from the list of players who went unsold during the IPL auction. GT will face MI in its first match of IPL 2024 in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24.