As a result of McCullum’s injury, the Lions only have four fit foreign players

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

The Gujarat Lions will be without batsman Brendon McCullum for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain.

McCullum sustained the injury during the Lions’ game against the Delhi Daredevils on Thursday.

With the former New Zealand captain out, the Lions now only have four fit overseas players – Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch, James Faulkner and the United Arab Emirates’ Chirag Suri.

Injuries saw Dwayne Bravo and Andrew Tye ruled out, while opener Jason Roy has returned to England for the ongoing ODI series against Ireland.

“Injuries are not ideal but part of our sport. Compressed tournament & long travel can be gruelling. Sorry for not being there all the way,” McCullum said via Twitter.

In the 11 matches he played, McCullum scored 319 runs, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 29 and a strike-rate of 149.

The Lions, who have no chance of making the playoffs, have three games left this season, with the first coming against the Kings XI Punjab on May 7, while the last two fixtures will be against the Daredevils on May 10 and the Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 13.