Luke Wood replaces injured Jason Behrendorff in Mumbai Indians' squad ahead of IPL 2024
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have an injury concern ahead of their IPL 2024 campaign, as left-arm seamer Jason Behrendorff has been ruled out of the entire season. They have called up rookie England seamer Luke Wood as his replacement.
Behrendorff was one of the frontline seamers for the decorated franchise last year, picking up 14 wickets in 12 games at 27.64. As a result, the Aussie bowler was retained by the decorated franchise, so a like-for-like bowler in Wood has got an opportunity.
The left-arm seamer, who will join the franchise for INR 50 lakh, has featured in five ODIs and two T20Is. Wood, 28, was also part of Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, where he snared 12 wickets in 11 games at 29.08. He has 147 scalps in 140 T20 games overall.
Earlier, reports emerged that Dilshan Madushanka and Gerald Coetzee are also nursing injuries and could miss the initial half of the season.
"Don't think it will be awkward" - Hardik Pandya on captaining Mumbai Indians in Rohit Sharma's presence
During a press conference on Monday, Mumbai Indians' newly appointed captain Hardik Pandya expects Rohit Sharma's full support, as they have been playing alongside each other for the last 10 years.
"I don't think it will be awkward, or anything different. It will be a nice feeling because we've been playing (together) for 10 years.
"I've played my whole career under him, and I know he's going to have a hand on my shoulder always. He's been traveling. He's been playing. It's been a couple of months since we've seen each other."
Mumbai Indians open their campaign against the Gujarat Titans on March 24. Hardik has also confirmed that he will play as a pure all-rounder this year, boosting the franchise's chances of winning a record sixth title.