IPL 2022: Why are Tim David and Tim Southee not playing today's MI vs KKR match?
Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) both made two changes for their clash in IPL 2022 at Pune's MCA Stadium on Wednesday.
While MI have left out all-rounder Tim David and batter Anmolpreet Singh, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee and bowling all-rounder Shivam Mavi have missed out on KKR's playing XI.
Neither Shreyas Iyer nor Rohit Sharma talked about any injury issues in their respective IPL teams at the toss, suggesting that none of these omissions are forced.
David was signed for ₹8.5 crore at the auction but failed to impress in the first two games, scoring just 14 runs. 'Baby AB' Dewald Brevis has replaced him in the team.
The 18-year-old South African has been the talk of the town since he top-scored in the 2022 U-19 World Cup, amassing a whopping 509 runs at an average of 84.33.
His distinct similarities with IPL great AB de Villiers will make for an interesting watch. It will also be intriguing to see how MI fits Brevis, a top-order batter, in the side in place of a finisher, especially after the team's struggles in that department.
Anmolpreet has only scored 13 runs in two IPL 2022 games and with Suryakumar Yadav's return from injury, his exit was most expected. The latter will bring form, experience, and better spin-tackling ability to the batting order.
Like in the case of David, Mavi's lack of consistency has kept him in and out of the team. The Noida-born bowler has been quite expensive, going at an economy rate of 12.33 with only a solitary wicket to show for it.
He's been replaced by 22-year-old Jammu and Kashmir bowler Rasikh Salam.
A swing bowler with ample variations in death bowling, Salam made his IPL debut for MI in 2019 but played just one game before moving to KKR this year.
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Southee had to be left out for no fault of his own. The Kiwi is currently KKR's second-highest wicket-taker but had to make way for Australian Test captain Pat Cummins, who became available for this match after completing his quarantine.
Cummins doesn't have more experience than Southee but brings with him international form and an unmatched ability to change games with his bowling.
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KKR and MI's playing XIs after two changes
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MI Playing XI: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills and Basil Thampi.
KKR Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings (wk), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Rasikh Salam and Varun Chakravarthy.