Gloucestershire's Payne to miss T20 Blast after surgery

Gloucestershire bowler David Payne has been ruled out of the entire T20 Blast campaign after having surgery on an ankle injury picked up while playing in the Indian Premier League.

The left-arm seamer was playing in the IPL for the first time, having signed for Sunrisers Hyderabad in March as an injury replacement, but was hurt in April.

Payne faces 12 weeks out while he recovers, with Gloucestershire due to begin their Blast campaign on Friday at home to Warwickshire Bears.

The 35-year-old is the club's all-time leading white-ball wicket-taker and also claimed the highest number of wickets in last season's Blast for the club, with 17.

"I'm absolutely gutted to be missing the Blast and I'm very sorry to all our supporters," Payne said in a statement.

"The decision to have surgery was an incredibly difficult one and it was only taken after exhausting every possible avenue to get me back playing.

"Ultimately, this is the right decision for my long-term career and I'm immensely thankful to all the coaches and medical staff at the club for their incredible support throughout this process."

Payne signed a new contract with Gloucestershire in October to keep him at the club until the end of the 2028 season.

He is their longest-serving player and will continue to focus on white-ball only cricket through the deal, as he has since 2024.

The club are also without all-rounder Liam Scott for the first six games of the Blast, after he was called up by Australia for their tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, with Duan Jansen signed as cover.