David Willey, the left-arm seamer from England, has opted out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) due to personal reasons. The league organisers announced on Sunday that New Zealand's Matt Henry will step in to replace Willey at Lucknow Super Giants, Reuters reported.
Willey retired from international cricket after the 50-overs World Cup in India last year. His absence was notable in Lucknow's IPL opener against Rajasthan Royals last week. Willey becomes the second English player to depart from Lucknow this season, following Mark Wood's withdrawal. Wood was withdrawn by the English cricket board to manage his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.
Matt Henry, the New Zealand fast bowler, previously represented Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings. He joins Lucknow at his base price of $123,000 (approximately $NZ206,000). Henry comes in with good form, having been named the player of the test series in the Black Caps' recent 2-0 home series loss to Australia.
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