One of the biggest misses for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season will be Jasprit Bumrah, who recently underwent surgery to treat his recurring back issues and is set to be ruled out for the next four to six months.
Bumrah, who is a vital cog in the MI squad, will have to be replaced with a suitable candidate but neither are there any speculations on who this might be nor are there any tentative dates for his return to the national team. However, MI skipper Rohit Sharma has finally let the fans know about the future of their superstar pacer, and who might replace him.
"We are looking for a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. We are discussing one or two options. Hopefully, we will close this issue in a day or 2," Rohit said during a pre-tournament press conference with the franchise's new head coach Mark Boucher.
Sharing his thoughts on the absence of Bumrah and how this will hurt his team, Rohit said, "Jasprit Bumrah's role was quite important for Mumbai Indians, it's a big shoe to fill. Jofra was with us last season also but unfortunately, he could not play due to an injury everyone knows that he is a quality player. Also in the absence of Jaspreet Bumrah, several young players have a great opportunity."
In his absence, the pace department will have two star foreigners Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff. The franchise paid Rs 8 crore for the English pacer Archer in IPL 2022 mega auction but the right-arm speedster missed the entire season in 2022 due to injuries.
With Bumrah being one of the best pacers in the world, Team India has felt his absence to a great degree while Mumbai Indians are bound to miss his services in IPL 2023. Bumrah will also not make it in time for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-2023 finals and the Asia Cup 2023, but he might be ready for the ODI World Cup, which India is set to host in October-November.
Bumrah has struggled with a troubled back since last year, which has kept him out of action from important assignments like the 2022 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. He has not played any competitive cricket since September last year.
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