Kamal Ghorui
Sunrisers Hyderabad was hit by an injury of Jack Edwards signed for Rs 3 crore in IPL 2026 mini auction. Ahead of their opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 28, SRH have named England pacer David Payne as his replacement. Payne has been signed for Rs 1.5 crore.
Who is David Payne?
David Alan Payne is an English left-arm fast-medium bowler who made his debut for Gloucestershire in 2009. He has represented England at U-19 level in both Test matches and One Day Internationals. He was named as part of the squad for the 2010 U-19 Cricket World Cup. The 35-year-old Payne, who has played one ODI for England has the experience of 233 T20s, having taken 304 wickets. His only international appearance came in 2022 against Netherlands, sharing the new ball with David Willey and picking up one wicket.He is Gloucestershire’s leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket and was the leading wicket-taker in the 2024 T20 Blast, picking up 33 wickets in 17 innings. He has also featured for Welsh Fire in the Hundred. Payne has featured in the BBL, he was named Player of the Match in the BBL15 final (2025-26), taking 3-18 to help the Perth Scorchers secure their sixth title against the Sydney Sixers. Separately, he has played two seasons of the ILT20 for Desert Vipers.The IPL released an official media statement announcing the replacements for KKR and SRH ahead of IPL 2026.”KKR, SRH pick player replacements for TATA IPL 2026Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have picked Saurabh Dubey and David Payne respectively as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.Akash Deep – a right-arm pacer, who has played 10 Tests for India, scalping 28 wickets – has been ruled out of the season due to a lumbar stress injury. He will be under the care of the BCCI Medical Team at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury. Saurabh, a left-arm pacer, will replace Akash at KKR. He will join KKR for INR 30 Lakh. Meanwhile, Payne is an injury replacement for Jack Edwards at SRH. Payne has played one ODI for England, in addition to 233 T20s, scalping 304 wickets from the same. He will join SRH for INR 1.5 Crore.” However, SRH are already set to miss Pat Cummins at the start of the tournament, with Ishan Kishan named interim captain. While, Akash Deep is currently being monitored at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
