Gujarat Titans have signed South African sensation Connor Esterhuizen as the replacement for England batter Tom Banton. Esterhuizen joins at his base price of Rs. 75 lakh after making an impressive start to life in international cricket.
Banton will miss the IPL 2026 campaign due to a finger injury. The wicketkeeper-batter played a key role for England during the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scoring 155 runs in eight matches.
“Gujarat Titans (GT) have signed Connor Esterhuizen as a replacement for Tom Banton, who has been ruled out of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 owing to a finger injury,” read the statement from IPL.
This will be the 24-year-old’s first stint in the IPL. He will join GT at his base price of INR 75 lakh.
The 24-year-old Esterhuizen has quickly built a strong reputation within South African cricket. He showcased his talent impressively during last month’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand, where he finished as the leading run-scorer with 200 runs at a strike rate of 145.98.
In what was his first outing at the international level, he earned the Player of the Series award and played a key role in South Africa’s 3-2 triumph. Across the series, he also hammered 13 sixes.
He has already played in the SA20 for MI Cape Town and was part of the Pretoria Capitals side that reached the final of the competition.
Esterhuizen scored only 166 runs from 12 matches at a below-par strike rate just above 105. The South African is expected to act as the backup wicketkeeping option behind Jos Buttler for GT this season.
Gujarat endured a horrendous start to the IPL 2026 campaign but has since bounced back with wins over DC and LSG. They will be hoping to make it three in three when they take on the winless Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, April 17 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
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