DUBAI – Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit Sunrisers Hyderabad announced on Thursday that Guyanese all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford will be returning home because of the death of his father.
The past 48 hours has been rocky for Sunrisers, after pacer T Natarajan tested positive on Wednesday for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and was placed in isolation with six others, mostly support staff.
On the same day, the franchise stumbled to a six-wicket loss in their latest IPL match, placing them at the bottom of the eight-team table with only one win in eight matches for two points.
Rutherford, 23, has been in the news around the Caribbean after he was a surprise omission from the West Indies squad and reserves for the Twenty20 World Cup from October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
After a creditable performance in the Caribbean Premier League for 2021 champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, he landed a short-term contract with Sunrisers as a replacement for England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow, who pulled out due to biosecure bubble fatigue.
“The SRH family conveys its heartfelt condolences to Sherfane Rutherford and his family on the passing away of his father,” the franchise tweeted. “Sherfane will be leaving the IPL bio-bubble to be with his family in this difficult hour.”
Though he did not play in the Sunrisers’ match on Wednesday, Rutherford was looking forward to playing and proving to the West Indies selection panel, led by fellow Guyanese, Roger Harper that they had erred badly.
Sunrisers have not indicated if they will seek a replacement for Rutherford ahead of their next game against Punjab Kings on Saturday in Sharjah.
CMC