Ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024 opening fixture, Mumbai Indians have announced an injury replacement for Dilshan Madushanka. The side has roped in the young 17-year-old South African, Kwena Maphaka in place of the Sri Lankan pacer who has been ruled out for the season due to injury.
Maphaka had a stellar show in the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup 2023 where he was adjudged the Player of the Tournament, finishing with 21 scalps at an average of 9.71. He also set a new record for the most wickets in a single edition of the U19 WC.
He debuted for the South Africa U19 team at 15 & has already played in two U19 World Cups. He is capable of touching speeds of 140kph and his death bowling and yorkers were a standout too at the U19 World Cup earlier this year.
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He still is in his final year of high school. A talented all-round sportsman, Maphaka has also had success in tennis and hockey. He hails from the same school as Kagiso Rabada, St. Stithians.
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The youngster will also have the company of fellow South African Gerald Coetzee and Dewald Brevis in the squad as he looks to make the most of this huge opportunity.
It will be a big moment for the youngster as he will have the ability to learn from some top-class bowlers from the past and present with Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga (MI’s bowling coach).
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MI will open their season with their first fixture coming up against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on March 24, 2024. They will look to start their season on a positive note as they aim to reclaim the title after four years, their last title win came in the 2020 season.
Mumbai Indians Updated Squad for IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma, Kwena Maphaka.
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