Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has joined Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) squad as Nicholas Pooran's wildcard replacement for the remainder of the SA20 2024 season.
Stoinis was part of Australia's ODI World Cup winning squad in India in November last year. The pace-bowling all-rounder has played 57 T20Is for Australia and scored 915 runs at an average of 30.50. He played a key role in Australia's maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021.
In the bowling department, Stoinis has scalped 24 wickets in the T20Is with an economy of 8.70. He was named as the Australia's T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2023.
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Stoinis plays for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, the affiliate of Durban’s Super Giants, and is one of the sought-after players in the IPL as well, having scored 1478 runs and scalped 39 wickets in 82 matches.
The 34-year-old Australian will look to turn up the heat in his debut SA20 season for DSG, who are already off to a sensational start this campaign with three wins in a row.
Nicholas Pooran has played a big part in DSG’s success early in the tournament. The West Indian ace’s unbeaten 31-ball 60 powered DSG to 225/3 against defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Gqeberha and eventually led the team to a superb victory.
Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq has also linked up with the DSG squad ahead of their big clash against Pretoria Capitals on Thursday evening. The Afghan pacer comes in for Richard Gleeson, bringing with him his vast global T20 experience.
Commenting on the new faces, SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith said: “We’ve had an action-packed start to the opening week of Season 2 with some high-quality cricket and entertainment on show. We can see the teams pulling out all the stops and bringing in some world-class players into their squads, it’s great to have the calibre of these players joining the League.”