Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2024 campaign against last year's finalists Gujarat Titans on March 24 at Ahmedabad.
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians have suffered a big blow even before the start of IPL 2024. Their fast bowling contingent has taken a hit as Dilshan Madushanka and Gerald Coetzee have suffered injuries and will be doubtful for initial games of the season.
During the second ODI of the series against Bangladesh, Madushanka left the field midway through his seventh over, clutching his left hamstring. Madushanka did not come back to bowl again in the match. He had picked up the big wickets of Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto, and took an outstanding catch to remove Soumya Sarkar to derail Bangladesh’s innings.
Meanwhile, South African quick Gerald Coetzee has been placed in the care of the Mumbai Indians medical staff as he recovers from a groin injury. Coetzee had already arrived in the MI camp a few days ago. It is expected that he will not be available for the initial few games for Mumbai Indians but can be back during the latter stages.
Mumbai’s squad for IPL 2024 was built around their fast bowlers. Their spin department doesn’t look as threatening but they have signed exceptional fast bowlers for this season. Madushanka and Coetzee’s possible absence will reduce their stocks a bit. The onus will be on their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to lead the bowling from the front and produce inspired performances.
Dilshan Madushanka and Gerald Coetzee were signed for INR 4.6 crore and INR 5 crore by MI respectively. The injuries also mean that Jason Behrendorff iand Nuwan Thushara can get a game straight away in their first match of the season. Mumbai will hope that these injuries are not serious so that both the fast bowlers can be fit to be available soon.
Left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka has the skills to pick up wickets with the new ball while right-arm fast bowler Gerald Coetzee bowls with high pace to dismantle any batting line-up. Both of them had a brilliant ODI World Cup 2023, held in India, where Madushanka finished the tournament with 21 wickets from 9 games and Coetzee picked up 20 wickets from 8 matches.
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Mumbai Indians have been in controversy for the past few months since Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the team’s captain for IPL 2024. They will start the IPL 2024 campaign against Gujarat Titans on March 24 at Ahmedabad.
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