Mumbai Indians have signed English left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood as a replacement for the injured Jason Behrendorff for IPL 2024. Wood has been signed for a base price of INR 50 lakhs. Notably, Luke Wood has scalped 147 wickets from 140 T20s including five matches for England. While he has featured in myriad T20 leagues like the BBL, PSL, and BPL, apart from The Hundred, this will be his first IPL stint.
Behrendorff’s injury has depleted Mumbai Indians fast bowling department. Notably, Behrendorff has returned with 14 wickets from 12 matches in 2023. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka picked up an injury during the second ODI against Bangladesh which has likely ruled him out from the initial stages of IPL 2024.
Mumbai’s other major bet, fast bowler Gerald Coetzee is also recovering from a pelvic inflammation and could be unavailable for Mumbai’s first few matches. Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Nuwan Thushara, and Arjun Tendulkar are the other fast bowlers in Mumbai’s roster.
On the other hand, Hardik Pandya will take over Mumbai Indians captaincy from the upcoming season. Mumbai Indians new Captain also opened up about the trolls he faced after replacing Rohit Sharma as MI Captain. During the MI Press Conference, Hardik opened up for the first time on captaincy change. He said that he respects fans emotions but he can’t control what is not in his hands.
“I respect the fans’ emotions but I can only control the controllable. I respect them but I will focus on what I can be doing (as captain),” Hardik said.
Hardik Pandya’s take on Change in MI Leadership ladder ahead of IPL 2024
When everyone was trolling Hardik & even abusing him after he took up the leadership reins of the Mumbai Indians franchise, he was busy getting back to shape & recovering from his ankle injury which he had sustained during the ODI World Cup 2023.
When Hardik was asked about the challenges for a junior, who started his cricket under a senior cricketer, to captain him, in IPL, domestic cricket, or international cricket. To which he replied that he feels that it won’t be a difficult task as he has played under Rohit for almost ten years & that experience will come in handy for him. He even said that Rohit would help him whenever he needed it & it wouldn’t be an awkward situation for him.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has confirmed that he is fit to bowl in the IPL 2024. Further bolstering the MI bowling department is the return of Romario Shepherd as a seam-bowling allrounder. Star batter Suryakumar Yadav, who is recovering after two surgeries, is also a doubt for Mumbai’s opening match against Gujarat Titans.
Also read, IPL 2024 Opening Ceremony, Venue, Dates, Live Streaming
