Rohit Sharma confirms Jasprit Bumrah will miss Mumbai Indians' 2023 IPL campaign
Captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will not participate in Mumbai Indians' 2023 Indian Premier League campaign.
Jasprit Bumrah.Bumrah has been sidelined after undergoing back surgery in New Zealand. He will not recover enough in time for this season's IPL.
"It will be a big miss. It is sad, but we do understand how big his shoes are to fill," said Sharma.
"There is an opportunity that is up for grabs, to fill that place. A lot of young players will get an opportunity and this is a platform for them to come out and express themselves.
"There are a couple of guys who have been with this team for the last two years and they are very much ready to step up."
Mumbai's squad features several stars from abroad, including South African duo Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and England fast bowler Jofra Archer.
They also have a host of local players, including batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who recently fell for three successive ducks during India's ODI series against Australia.
"One of the things about the international players is that they need the freedom to move around a bit. All of them have been playing cricket. Jofra obviously is coming off a major injury, he has been playing quite a bit of cricket lately, which is good," said new Mumbai head coach Mark Boucher.
"He's in a good space. He's ready to get up there and perform, which, for us, is a good place to be in. We will see tonight how he goes.
"As for Suryakumar, you can't say that a guy is out of form if a guy does not get past the first ball. Unfortunately, he has been able to do that in the last three games.
Hopefully, when he faces the first ball in the IPL, the whole crowd will cheer and he will be back to business. He's a great player and probably the best T20 player in the world for the moment."
Mumbai are the most successful team in the history of the IPL with five titles. The Gujarat Titans are the reigning champions. The Chennai Super Kings have won the tournament four times. The Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals remain in pursuit of a maiden IPL title.