Mumbai Indians (MI) have named Luke Wood as replacement for the injured Jason Behrendorff for the 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, the IPL statement read.
Wood will join MI for INR 50 lakh.
Behrendorff was hit by a ball while batting in the nets that missed his pad and smacked him flush just above the left ankle, breaking his left fibula at the WACA field last Thursday, before leaving for India for the IPL.
However, the 33-year-old Aussie does not require surgery but the recovery timeline is roughly eight weeks which ruled him out of the IPL. Moreover, it may also lead to his potential absence from the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
"Unfortunately, there was a freak accident at training last week which resulted in my leg being broken. It wasn't anyone's fault, just a very unlucky incident. I have loved being a part of the MI Family and I am absolutely gutted to be missing this year's IPL. Wishing Mumbai Indians a successful season and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to be back next year," Behrendorff wrote in an Instagram story.
The left-arm pacer is the reigning T20I player of the year for Australia and could have been a credible backup bowling option for them as he was one of the prime leaders of our bowling unit last term with 14 wickets in 12 games.
He played five matches for Australia on the tours of South Africa and India in 2023 and took eight wickets at 16.50, with an economy rate of just 6.60. His likely return to the cricketing ground is expected to be in the T20 Blast in England which is scheduled to begin on 31 May.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)