Australia fast bowler Jason Behrendorff, who was part of the Mumbai Indians squad, said on Tuesday that he was disappointed to miss this year’s IPL after fracturing his leg in a “freak training incident”. On Monday, England’s Luke Wood replaced Behrendorff, a left-arm pacer, in the MI squad.
Last season, Behrendorff was a critical member of a MI pace line that lacked the star power of Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah and English pacer Jofra Archer. He led MI to the playoffs with 14 wickets in 12 matches, an average of 27.64. Behrendorff was crowned Australia’s finest men’s T20 player in 2023 after impressing with his efforts for the Baggy Greens in the shortest format.
He led Australia’s attack during a five-match series against India in December last year. With six wickets, Behrendorff finished as the Baggy Greens’ leading wicket-taker. Earlier this year, he claimed a wicket each in Australia’s three-match home T20I series against the West.
“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,” Behrendorff wrote in a social media post.
The news of Behrendorff’s absence comes only a few days before MI’s opening IPL 2024 clash against Gujarat Titans on March 24 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The prospect of Behrendorff combining with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee is something that will be hugely missed by the huge fanbase of Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season of the tournament.
“I have loved being a part of the MI Family and I am absolutely gutted to be missing this year’s IPL.” Though the 33-year-old didn’t elaborate on the incident, a report in Espncricinfo said that he suffered the injury while batting in the nets at the WACA Ground last week.
“Behrendorff was batting in the nets at the WACA ground last Thursday ahead of departing to India to play in the IPL with Mumbai Indians when he suffered a fractured left fibula after a ball missed his pad and struck him flush just above the left ankle,” the report said.
It is yet to see how the arrival of Wood alters MI’s plans and structure of their already brilliant bowling attack, as they fight back from their Qualifier 2 elimination in IPL 2023.
