The Mumbai Indians have released a statement confirming that Raj Angad Bawa and Quinton de Kock will be unavailable for the last two matches. The South African wicketkeeper sustained a tendon injury in his left wrist and the injury happened before the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He didn’t feature in any of the games since the injury and now, he has officially been ruled out of the season. Raj Bawa has also been ruled out of the season due to a ligament tear that occurred during their game against the Punjab Kings.
However, the Mumbai Indians have also confirmed that the players will continue their rehab in their respective homes along with the support and guidance from the Mumbai Indians medical team. It is a fine gesture from the franchise as they are already eliminated from the tournament but they haven’t compromised on the fitness of their players. With just two games remaining in the season for the Mumbai Indians, they will be announcing replacements as per IPL guidelines soon.
MI’s final two games could shape their future core as the franchise looks to rebuild for IPL 2027
The importance of their next fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders will be high not regarding their present season but with respect to their future. The performance of Mumbai Indians have been terrible this season as on paper they had one of the best squads in the IPL. The form of some of their high profile players will definitely be considered with the mega auction set to take place next year. The performance of the squad in the last two games will give the management much needed insight with light to next year’s auction.
The core of the Mumbai Indians team has been the form of their Indian core consisting of Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. In this season, most of their core performers haven’t been performing up to the mark. The management will have to take some difficult decisions as there could be a massive transformation in the team. Naman Dhir would be one of the talents that Mumbai would be backing considering the performances he has put up for the side in this season.
With the poor run of form for the Mumbai Indians in this edition of the IPL, there could be some significant changes in the side for the next season. The final two games could even possibly be considered as trials with the limited number of retention spots for the next auction. Jasprit Bumrah and his men will be hopeful of ending the season on a high note with two wins from the last two matches.
