MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals has signed England batsman Owais Shah as a replacement for Shane Warne, who has retired from all professional cricket. Warne led the Royals in the first four seasons of the IPL.

Shah has represented the Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, in previous seasons of the DLF IPL.

Jaipur IPL Cricket CEO Raghu Iyer said, "We are delighted to have signed on Owais Shah to play for the Rajasthan Royals. He is one of the most exciting batsmen in the world and has been particularly outstanding in the shorter forms of the game.?

MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders has bolstered its squad by signing up four domestic cricketers -- Debabrata Das and Iresh Saxena from Bengal, Saurashtra?s Chirag Jani and Kerala?s Sanju Samson.

The 25-year-old Das, an aggressive middle-order batsman and a part time wicketkeeper, had represented the franchisee in the 2008 season also.

Saxena (27), who is a left-arm spinner, was an integral part of the Bengal side in all the three versions of the game this season and has also played an instrumental role in Bengal?s triumph in the domestic T20 tournament for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season.

Jani, a 22-year-old all-rounder, had a fruitful season for his state this year, averaging 119 with a strike rate of over 100. The 17-year-old Samson has been a part of KKR?s development plans for more than three years and promises to be a good wicketkeeper and a middle-order batsman.

MUMBAI: West Indian opener Chris Gayle has joined IPL franchise Royal challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 2011 IPL as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. He was the recipient of the Orange Cap for being the highest scorer in IPL 2011.

Gayle also played for RCB in the CLT20 2011. He was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.

Royal Challengers Sports director Sidhartha Mallya said, "We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. His form helped us qualify for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament. We are confident that with players like him in our side, we will take the extra step this season, and win our maiden IPL title".