Indian T20 League side Mumbai have signed West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph to replace injured Adam Milne.
The New Zealand fast-bowler has been ruled out of the tournament owing to a swollen heel, the club confirmed. “Mumbai Indians have picked Alzarri Joseph as a replacement for the injured fast bowler Adam Milne for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019”, the franchise said in a statement.
Joseph, who himself was struggling with a back problem earlier, made his comeback during West Indies’ Test series against England and has only played seven T20s in his career, picking nine wickets. Playing in his maiden Indian T20 League, Joseph will hope to make a statement of intent in a side which has been struggling as far as pace bowling is concerned.
Milne’s absence means Mumbai have lost two bowlers in three days following the shoulder injury to Jasprit Bumrah, while Jason Behrendorff is unavailable due to his commitment for Australia against Pakistan in the UAE. The Indian bowler is set to miss two back-to-back fixtures. The franchise though was handed a massive boost as Lasith Malinga, who was expected to skip first six fixtures, has returned and will be a part of the squad in Bengaluru.
Joseph, 22, has played 9 Tests and 16 ODIs thus far and has scalped 25 and 24 wickets respectively. As far as the fee is concerned, the tournament’s rule states the amount paid for the replacement should not exceed the fee paid for the original player, hence Mumbai will not pay anything more than 75 Lakhs – they paid for Milne.
Joseph rose to fame during the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he ended up picking 13 wickets; one of which was his soon-to-be teammate, Ishan Kishan.
Mumbai, who lost their tournament opener against Delhi by 37 runs, will face Bengaluru on Thursday at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
