In the IPL 2026 mini-auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered an injury to Jack Edwards who was signed for Rs 3 crore. Ahead of their opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 28, SRH England pacer David Payne As an alternative to this. Payne has been signed for Rs 1.5 crore.
Who is David Payne?
David Alan Payne is an English left-arm fast-medium bowler who made his debut for Gloucestershire in 2009. He was included in the squad for the 2010 U-19 Cricket World Cup. The 35-year-old Payne, who has played one ODI for England, has 233 T20 matches, taking 304 wickets. His only international appearance came against the Netherlands in 2022, sharing the new ball with David Willey and taking a wicket.He is Gloucestershire’s highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket and was the highest wicket-taker in the 2024 T20 Blast, taking 33 wickets in 17 innings. He has also worked for Welsh Fire in the Hundred. Payne competed in the BBL, being named player of the match in the BBL15 final (2025–26), taking 3–18 to help the Perth Scorchers win their sixth title against the Sydney Sixers. Separately, he has played two ILT20 seasons for the Desert Vipers.
gave IPL released an official media statement announcing the replacements for KKR and SRH ahead of IPL 2026.“KKR, SRH have opted for player replacement for TATA IPL 2026 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Saurabh Dubey and David Payne as player replacements for TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 respectively.Akash Depp – a right-arm fast bowler who has played 10 Tests for India, taking 28 wickets – is out for the season with a lumbar strain injury. He will be under the supervision of the BCCI medical team at the BCCI Center of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru for further management of his injury. Saurabh, a left-arm fast bowler, will replace Akash at KKR. He will join KKR for Rs 30 lakh. Meanwhile, Payne is the injury replacement for Jack Edwards at SRH. Payne has played 233 T20s plus one ODI for England, taking 304 wickets. He will join SRH for 1.5 crores.” However, SRH are already set to miss Pat Cummins at the start of the tournament, with Ishan Kishan named as the interim captain. Whereas, Akashdeep is currently supervising at the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.
