Peshawar Zalmi pacer joins MI as Jason Behrendorff gets ruled out of IPL 2024

In a massive blow for the Mumbai Indians (MI), the Australia National Cricket Team left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Behrendorff was one of the players, who was expected to start for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the playing XI in the upcoming edition of the competition. Last year, he was good with the ball for the franchise as he bagged 14 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 27.64, an economy of 9.21, and a strike rate of 18.00 with the best bowling figures of 3/23.

The absence of Behrendorff is the second blow for Mumbai Indians’ bowling department as the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka is also set to miss the first few matches of the IPL 2024. The Sri Lanka star Dilshan Madushanka has suffered a left hamstring injury and is expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks.

Luke Wood Replaces Jason Behrendorff In Mumbai Indians (MI) Squad For IPL 2024

To deal with the absence of Jason Behrendorff, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have roped in the 28-year-old England National Cricket Team left-arm pacer Luke Wood to the squad. The pacer was recently seen in action for the Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024.

In 11 matches in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024, Luke Wood picked up 12 wickets at an average of 29.08, an economy of 8.24, and a strike rate of 21.16, with the best bowling figures of 2/13. Luke Wood will be joining the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise for INR 50 lakh.

“Mumbai Indians (MI) name Luke Wood as replacement for the injured Jason Behrendorff for the upcoming TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.Wood – a left-arm pacer – has played 5 T20Is for England, in addition to 2 ODIs, and has 8 T20I wickets against his name. Wood will join MI for INR 50 Lac,” the official media release from the Indian Premier League (IPL) read.

𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Luke Wood replaces injured Jason Behrendorff.

Wishing Jason a speedy recovery 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians @lwood_95 pic.twitter.com/PoerY91O88

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 18, 2024

Wood brings plenty of experience with him as he has played 140 matches in T20 cricket and has bagged 147 wickets at an average of 25.87, an economy of 8.45, and a strike rate of 18.3, with the best bowling figures of 5/50.

Talking about the Mumbai Indians (MI), they will be led by the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The franchise has appointed him as the captain by removing the 5-time IPL winning captain Rohit Sharma.

Mumbai Indians (MI) haven’t been able to perform to the best of their abilities in the last few seasons and they will be looking forward to bouncing back strong and winning their first IPL trophy since 2020 when they had defeated the Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final.

Hardik Pandya recently attended a press conference along with head coach Mark Boucher and they talked about various things. During the interaction, Hardik Pandya also said that things are alright between him and Rohit Sharma and he is looking forward to the former MI captain’s guidance while leading the side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Also, Rohit Sharma joined the franchise on Monday, March 18.