Alex Hales will play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year’s IPL

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed England batsman Alex Hales as a replacement for Australia opener David Warner.

Warner was barred from playing in this year’s tournament due to his involvement in the ball tampering scandal. He also stepped down as the franchise’s captain.

With Warner out, the Sunrisers opted to select Hales, who went unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in January, for his base price of INR 1 crore.

Warner is one of three Australian players that will miss the IPL as Steve Smith was also banned from participating in the competition due to his involvement in the ball tampering incident. Like Warner, Smith also resigned as captain of the Rajasthan Royals.

Left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, who was supposed to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders, is the other Australian player who will miss the tournament as he has been diagnosed with “tibial bone stress fracture in his right leg”.