Jason Behrendorff suffers broken leg in training; doubtful for 2024 T20 World Cup
Jason Behrendorff was recently replaced by Luke Wood in the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), and the details behind the season-ending injury have now come to light. The Australian left-arm seamer suffered a fracture to his left fibula while practicing at the WACA Ground in Perth on Thursday, March 14.
He was batting in the nets, and the delivery struck him above the ankle region. Although he does not require surgery, he has been ruled out for the next two months, which not only rules him out of the 2024 IPL, but also potentially the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in June.
Behrendorff was a credible backup bowling option in Australia's squad for the World Cup as the illustrious trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood take the centre stage once again. The left-arm seamer has been consistent in the shortest format of the game, which led him to be crowned as Australia's T20I player of the year.
His most recent cricketing appearance came for Western Australia during the Marsh Cup final against New South Wales, where he finished with figures of 0-30 as his side won the title. Prior to that, he was part of the home series against West Indies, where he claimed three wickets, before making way for Starc and company in the away series against New Zealand.
Behrendorff had an eventful 2023 in T20 cricket, picking up eight wickets in five matches for Australia. He also led MI's bowling attack in an injury-ravaged season, picking up 14 wickets in 12 matches, in the absence of Bumrah and Archer for the most part.
Behrendorff faces a race against time to partake in the T20 Blast
The nations partaking in the T20 World Cup 2024 are required to submit their squads by May, and changes to the squad can be made with ICC's approval by May 25. Considering that Behrendorff will need time to return to action and the fact that Australia have credible backup options like Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson, Australia may not include him in the squad for the tournament.
WIth the IPL and the T20 World Cup out of the picture, a realistic avenue for Behrendorff to make his return lies in the form of the T20 Blast in England, scheduled to begin from May 31. He has participated in the league across two editions in 2019 and 2022 for Sussex and Middlesex respectively.