IPL 2019: Kuggeleijn, who was accused of rape, roped in by CSK

CSK signs New Zealand all-rounder Scott Kuggeleijn to replace injured Lungi Ngidi.

Chennai: Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday announced the signing of Scott Kuggeleijn to replace injured Lungi Ngidi for the remainder of the season.

• Interestingly, Kuggeleijn had faced a rape trial, but he was declared ‘not guilty’ on the charges of molesting a woman in a Hamilton flat in 2015.
• According to a website, Kuggeleijn “admitted the woman had said no at least twice to his persistent attempts to have sex with her.”

Also, Kuggeleijn, who is a son of former New Zealand cricketer Chris Kuggeleijn, was booed during an India-New Zealand Twenty20 game on February 10 in Hamilton.

Kuggeleijn, who is known to be a hard-hitting all-rounder has featured in two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and four T20 Internationals for New Zealand so far. This will be his maiden appearance in the cash-rich T20 league.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming had said they had gone in for Kuggeleijn, who bowls quick and bats well and added that he would be joining the squad next week.

"For Lungi we've been a little bit more selective. It's obviously a different level of replacement player (required for him) based on price. We've gone with Scott Kuggeleijn, who's a New Zealand international, who bowls quick and bats well. So we've gone for an all-rounder who has good pace and good variations. He'll be joining us next week," Fleming told reporters.

Ngidi was ruled out of the ongoing IPL even before its start after the South African pacer felt discomfort while bowling during the last ODI against Sri Lanka at Newlands recently.

David Willey, who pulled out owing to personal reasons, can't be replaced, Fleming said.