Australian pacer Nathan Ellis bags IPL contract

Melbourne: Australian pacer Nathan Ellis has landed an IPL contract ahead of the second leg of the league in the UAE after being named as a traveling reserve in the national team for the T20 World Cup.

”Ellis was being chased by three IPL franchises for the upcoming tournament before agreeing to terms with an unnamed team on Thursday night,” stated a report in cricket.com.au.

Earlier on Thursday, the 26-year-old Ellis was named as one of three Australian reserve players for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will follow the IPL.

The development comes less than a fortnight after he picked up a hat-trick on his international debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

The right-arm fast bowler’s IPL deal is subject to approval from Cricket Australia which is likely to give him its go-ahead.

His wickets against Bangladesh included Mahdmullah, Mehidy Hasan, and Mustafizur Rahman off the final three balls of the innings as he became the first cricketer to take a hat-trick on his T20I debut.

He joined Brett Lee and Ashton Agar to become the third Australian to take a hat-trick in a T20 International match.

Ellis went unsold in the player auction in January.