Mumbai Indians sign Luke Wood as replacement for injured Behrendorff

Mumbai Indians have signed English left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood as a replacement for the injured Jason Behrendorff for IPL 2024.

Wood has been signed for his base price of INR 50 lakh.

Wood has 147 wickets from 140 T20s, including five matches for England. While he has featured in several T20 leagues like the BBL, PSL and BPL, apart from The Hundred, this will be his first IPL stint.

Behrendorff was ruled out of the IPL after he broke his leg in a freak accident while training in Perth last Thursday just before leaving for India.

The injury to Behrendorff, who returned 14 wickets from 12 games last season, compounds problems for Mumbai in their fast-bowling department. Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka picked up an injury during the second ODI against Bangladesh which has likely ruled him out from the initial stages of IPL 2024.

South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee is also recovering from a pelvic inflammation and could be unavailable for Mumbai's first few matches.

Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Nuwan Thushara and Arjun Tendulkar are the other fast bowlers in Mumbai's roster, while their new captain Hardik Pandya has confirmed that he is fit to bowl in the tournament. They also have Romario Shepherd as a seam-bowling allrounder.

Star batter Suryakumar Yadav, who is recovering after two surgeries, is also a doubt for Mumbai's opening match against Gujarat Titans.