In an IPL media advisory on Friday, the tournament said Esterhuizen will join the squad at his base price of INR 75 lakh in what will also be his maiden stint in the ten-team tournament. Esterhuizen recently made his international debut for South Africa against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series held last month. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
He made an impressive start by winning two Player of the Match Awards and was also named Player of the Series, as South Africa clinched the series 3-2 after being 2-1 down. In all, Esterhuizen finished the series with 200 runs in five games at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 145.98. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Esterhuizen reached 39th in the Men\u2019s T20I rankings, the fourth-best by any South African after five matches. He also earned a nomination for the ICC Men\u2019s Player of the Month award alongside India duo of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Esterhuizen\u2019s inclusion is expected to bolster GT\u2019s overseas batting options while also being a reliable wicketkeeping choice behind Jos Buttler. In this year\u2019s SA20, where Pretoria Capitals were the runners-up, Esterhuizen played all 12 games but could score only 166 runs at an average of 15.09 and a strike rate of 105.73. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Esterhuizen reached 39th in the Men\u2019s T20I rankings, the fourth-best by any South African after five matches. He also earned a nomination for the ICC Men\u2019s Player of the Month award alongside India duo of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
GT, the IPL 2022 champions led by India\u2019s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, will take on three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday evening. <\/p>\r\n\r\n