New Delhi: After getting replaced by England’s Luke Wood in the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured left fibula, fast bowler Jason Behrendorff in a social media post revealed that it was a “freak training incident” which resulted in his leg being broken.
Behrendorff was hit by a ball while batting in the nets that missed his pad and smacked him flush just above the left ankle, breaking his left fibula at the WACA field last Thursday, before leaving for India for the IPL.
However, the 33-year-old Aussie does not require surgery but the recovery timeline is roughly eight weeks which ruled him out of the IPL. Moreover, it may also lead to his potential absence from the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
“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. I have loved being a part of the MI Family and I am absolutely gutted to be missing this year’s IPL. Wishing Mumbai Indians a successful season and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to be back next year,” Behrendorff wrote in an Instagram story.
The left-arm pacer is the reigning T20I player of the year for Australia and could have been a credible backup bowling option for them as he was one of the prime leaders of our bowling unit last term with 14 wickets in 12 games.
He played five matches for Australia on the tours of South Africa and India in 2023 and took eight wickets at 16.50, with an economy rate of just 6.60.
The return of the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc in the recent T20I series in New Zealand saw Behrendorff left out of Australia’s squad after playing the home series against West Indies.
With Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson already in the hunt for a place in the T20 WC squad, Behrendorff’s selection looms large as teams have to submit their initial squad to ICC by May.
Behrendorff’s likely return to the cricketing ground is expected to be in the T20 Blast in England which is scheduled to begin on May 31.
–IANS