Australian bowler Jason Behrendorff has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League after breaking his leg during a freak accident while training at the WACA.
The 33-year-old, who was signed by the Mumbai Indians on a AU$135,000 contract, fractured his left fibula while batting in the nets last week. The ball missed his pad and struck him just above the left ankle, but he does not require surgery, ESPNcricinfo reported.
“Unfortunately there was a freak accident at training last week which resulted in my leg being broken,” Behrendorff posted to Instagram on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault, just a very unlucky incident. I have loved being a part of the MI family and am absolutely gutted to be missing this year’s IPL.
“Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to be back next year.”
Behrendorff has been replaced by English left-arm pacer Luke Wood at Mumbai, with the five-time champions getting their IPL campaign underway this weekend.
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Behrendorff, recently named Australia’s men’s T20I player of the year, was Mumbai’s second-leading wicket-taker during the 2023 IPL campaign with 14 scalps at 27.64.
During this summer’s Big Bash League, the left-armed quick claimed 16 wickets at 15.87 for the Perth Scorchers, finishing as the club’s leading wicket-taker of the season.
Behrendorff, who claimed eight wickets in five T20Is for Australia last year, was not selected for last month’s T20 tour of New Zealand, with national selectors preferring fellow left-armer Spencer Johnson.
The West Australian could have pushed his case for T20 World Cup selection during the IPL, but the injury setback has heavily dented his chances of breaking into Australia’s 15-player squad for the marquee tournament. Chief selector George Bailey has previously indicated that IPL performances would be considered when picking Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.
Mumbai will face the Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday morning, with the first ball scheduled for 1am AEDT.
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