Mumbai Indians have roped in Sandeep Warrier, a seasoned right-arm fast bowler, as a substitute player for Jasprit Bumrah. With more than 200 matches under his belt in the domestic circuit, including 69 T20 games, Sandeep has taken a total of 362 wickets across formats in his career so far. He made his debut for India in 2021, showcasing his skills and ability to perform at the highest level. Sandeep will join the Mumbai Indians squad before their opening match of the IPL 2023 season against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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Sandeep Warrier has replaced Jasprit Bumrah for Mumbai Indians.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 31, 2023
Mumbai Indians suffered a major setback as Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the IPL 2023 due to a back issue. Bumrah had undergone back surgery in New Zealand and would need four to five months to recover. The right-arm pacer last played for Team India in September 2022.
Bumrah had been named in India's T20 World Cup squad but had to be withdrawn due to the injury. He was then included in the ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka but was again ruled out of action.
This will be the first time that Bumrah will miss an IPL season since his debut in 2013. He had become the leader of MI's pace attack after his India debut in 2016 and had been spearheading MI's pace attack since then. His absence would be a big blow for MI, and the five-time IPL Champions would surely miss his services. In Bumrah's absence, Jofra Archer would lead MI's pace attack. Archer had joined the team before IPL 2022 but had been confirmed to miss the season.
Bumrah and Archer are yet to play together, and the fans would have to wait for another season to see them bowl in tandem. MI would open their IPL 2023 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 2 in Bengaluru. Their first home fixture would be against Chennai Super Kings on April 8. The absence of Bumrah would put a lot of pressure on MI's other bowlers to step up and deliver in crucial moments. It would be interesting to see how MI cope up with this setback and perform in the upcoming season.
