Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to bring in 37-year-old England pacer Richard Gleeson as a replacement for opening batter Ryan Rickelton. This comes after the latter was named in South Africa's squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia which will be played at Lord's on June 11.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Gleeson will come in as a replacement for Rickelton if MI end up reaching the playoff stage in IPL 2025. The South African has had a stellar debut season in IPL, scoring a total of 336 runs in 12 matches which includes 3 half-centuries and maintaining a brilliant strike-rate of 153.42. It definitely won't be easy to replace him in MI's playing XI.
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Gleeson's career in IPL
On the other hand, Gleeson has so far only played two matches in the IPL. He made his debut last season, featuring for the Chennai Super Kings. The Englishman has one wicket under his belt in the tournament and will be certainly looking to add to his tally if he gets the chance to play in the playoff stage in the ongoing season.
Gleeson is also on a white-ball contract with his county side, Warwickshire and will miss the opening two games of the T20 Blast if he does go on to feature for the Mumbai-based franchise.
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MI also eye Jonny Bairstow as replacement for Will Jacks
The other player that the five-time IPL champions want to bring in is England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow, who featured for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) last season. The 35-year-old will come in as a replacement for explosive batter Will Jacks if MI make it to the playoffs. Jacks is set to depart for international duty with England for their upcoming 3-match ODI series against West Indies that is set to commence on May 29.
Bairstow has had a decent career in IPL, scoring a total of 1589 runs in the 50 matches he has so far played in the league. The Englishman put up 298 runs in 11 matches last season and also played a sensational knock of 108* for the Punjab-based franchise. Bairstow could turn out to be the perfect replacement for Jacks as he is also quite the hard-hitter.
MI currently sit on the fourth spot on the IPL points table. They have accumulated 14 points from 12 matches and are among the favourites to qualify for the playoffs. They will be facing-off against the Delhi Capitals on May 21 before concluding their league stage with the clash against PBKS on May 26.