IPL 2018: 5 possible replacements for Mumbai Indians' Pat Cummins

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League due to an injury. Cummins, who was bought by the Mumbai franchise during the auction did not feature in the opening game too against Chennai Super Kings.

Cricket Australia has confirmed that the 24-year old fast bowler will be flying back home due to "bone oedema in his vertebrae" – which is a type of stress fracture. Mumbai will now be without one of its best buys this year, and in the wake of that, here’s looking at 5 possible replacements the franchise can look to rope in.

---

#5 Tymal Mills

Mills might be Mumbai Indians’ biggest gain this year

Tymal Mills’s IPL story is similar to that of mystery spinner KC Cariappa. Both generated a lot of buzz at the auctions for the whopping prices they were bought for, but when it came to business, both couldn’t justify the price tag.

Mills was one of the most expensive players in the auction last year only to go unsold this year. He picked up only 5 wickets from 5 games, which wasn’t exactly what was expected of someone bought at 12 crores.

However, he had a decent season in the recently-concluded Pakistan Premier league and was of significance in the Big Bash League too. The youngster has featured in 85 T20s, from which he has 94 wickets. With another chance in the IPL, Mills might be Mumbai Indians’ biggest gain this year.

#4 Ish Sodhi

The Black Caps leg-spinner possesses handy variations

Mumbai Indians fared well in the IPL auctions, but their spin department doesn’t consist of too many established names. They can thus rope in an overseas spinner in the squad, since their pace battery looks decent with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and the others.

Leg-spinners are highly sought after, which is why the Ambani-owned franchise might want to rope in one.

World’s no. 1 spinner at the time of the auctions, Ish Sodhi, at a base price of only Rs. 50 lakhs, went unsold in the auctions. The Black Caps leg-spinner possesses handy variations, and he was very effective in the Big Bash League 2016-17, in which he took nine wickets from just three appearances.

#3 Moises Henriques

Henriques has scored 969 runs in 57 IPL matches and has taken 38 wickets

Although Mumbai Indians have enough of quality all-rounders already, they wouldn’t mind one more if he can give them wickets in place of Cummins. Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques has performed well both the ball and the bat in the previous seasons.

He also played a crucial role in Sunrisers Hyderabad qualifying for the playoffs in the last two seasons.

Henriques has scored 969 runs in 57 IPL matches at a strike rate of 128.17 and has taken 38 wickets at an economy of 8.38. Talking of his T20 experience alone, the wicket-taking bowler has 107 wickets from 160 games, apart from scoring 3,217 runs at a strike rate of 125.88.

#2 Josh Hazlewood

Perhaps the only thing that went against his IPL contract was that he hasn’t played too much of T20I cricket

The Australian pacer, who is quite effective with the new ball, went unsold at the IPL auctions in which his base price was Rs. 2 crores. Perhaps the only thing that went against his IPL contract was that he hasn’t played too much of T20I cricket, but has been a regular in the Test and ODI team.

Earlier this year in the Ashes, the quick scalped 21 wickets in 5 games, and in the recent controversial series against South Africa, he picked up 12 wickets from four games. His potential cannot be doubted, but his T20I experience, as said before, is not much.

He has played only 30 T20Is from which he has 37 wickets at an economy of 7.77.

#1 James Faulkner

It was his lacklustre show in his last IPL season with Gujarat Lions that possibly cost him a direct entry into the tournament this year

The 27-year-old Australian fast bowler had a Rs. 2 crore base price but went unsold. His vast experience in IPL- that in which he has 59 wickets in six seasons -makes him one of the ideal replacements for Cummins.

The left-arm bowler possesses a host of cutters and is good with slower balls too. However, it was his lacklustre show in his last IPL season with Gujarat Lions that possibly cost him a direct entry into the tournament this year.

Overall, the Australian has played in 159 T20 matches and has taken 176 wickets at an economy of 7.94. He has been a hot property in the Big Bash League too.