IPL 2021: Dawid Malan pulls out of UAE leg of the tournament, Punjab Kings sign THIS player as replacement

England batsman Dawid Malan has pulled out of the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to personal reasons and will not be travelling to the UAE for the remaining matches. Malan, who played only one game for the Punjab Kings in the 2021 edition of the IPL before it was suspended due to the rise in the COVID-19 cases in the bubble.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) informed on Twitter that Malan will not be taking part in the IPL 2021 as he wants to spend time with his family before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes since the World No 1 T20 batsman has returned to the Test side and also played in the ODIs this year against Pakistan.

 UPDATE: Dawid Malan will not be travelling to UAE for the remainder of #IPL2021.

He will be taking some time off to be with his family ahead of the #T20WorldCup and Ashes. #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/3ZUEDVZ2Ui

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 11, 2021

The Kings have roped in South Africa batsman Aiden Markram as the replacement for Malan, as he will be playing in his first-ever IPL as will be the likes of Nathan Ellis and Adil Rashid, who are the other two replacement players in the squad.

 vich tuhadda swaagat hai! 

Welcoming our newest  Aiden Markram who will replace Dawid Malan for the remainder of the season! #SaddaPunjab #IPL2021 #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/OJMW3QEwW1

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 11, 2021

Markram, who is currently in Sri Lanka with the Proteas for the T20I series against the islanders, has been in great touch with the bat in the shortest format and will be hoping to take his form into the IPL and then the T20 World Cup.

Punjab Kings are currently in sixth place in the points table having won just three games out of the eight they played and will look to win a few games in a row to have a shot at the qualification for a playoffs spot. They will resume their campaign against the Rajasthan Royals on September 21.