The IPL 2023 season hasn't even started and things have already become very tough for Mumbai Indians, the most successful franchise in the league's history. First, their star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the entire season due to a recurring back injury. Now, Jhye Richardson is also out of the season with a hamstring issue.
Mumbai picked up Richardson for a sum of INR 1.5 crores in the IPL 2023 auction. He has played three IPL games previously, picking up as many wickets at an expensive economy rate of 10.64. However, these numbers over a small sample size don't do justice to his talent as a bowler. Richardson has 19 T20I and 27 ODI wickets to his name for Australia already, and he maintains good averages across both formats. He has claimed 11 Test wickets too, which sums up how talented he is in all formats.
Mumbai now have the tough job of replacing him, but there are some options who can do an equally good job. So, let's look at them.
Riley Meredith
Meredith is another Australian bowler who can replace Richardson. He is capable of notching up speeds over 150 kph and that will make him very effective on the Wankhede surface. Meredith has already featured in 13 IPL games, claiming 12 wickets for 33.75 runs a piece. The first season in 2021 was pretty tough for him as he took time to adapt to the Indian conditions, but he bowled pretty well in 2022.
The 26-year-old has also featured in five T20Is for Australia, claiming eight wickets at an average of 23.50. Picking Meredith will give Mumbai some much-needed firepower in their bowling arsenal.
Chris Jordan
The England international set his base price at INR 2 crore in the IPL 2023 auction, but he went unsold. Jordan is vastly experienced with a lot of international and IPL experience under his belt. He is known for his death bowling skills and ability to execute accurate yorkers, which can be an asset to any team.
Jordan has played 87 T20I matches for England, claiming 96 wickets at 27.32 runs a piece. He has also featured in 35 ODIs, picking up 46 wickets at an average of 36.08. The pacer is quite a handy batter as well. He has more than 400 T20I runs to his name at a strike-rate of 132.51. Picking him will certainly increase Mumbai's batting and bowling depths.
Tom Curran
Curran is another England international who went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction. He set his base price at INR 75 Lakhs,but the franchises didn't consider him good enough to take a shot. Nevertheless, he is a viable option now that Richardson has been ruled out.
Like Jordan, Curran is also known for his middle and death-over bowling skills. He has very good slow variation and executes the yorkers pretty well too. The 28-year-old has 29 T20I and 34 ODI wickets to his name, and he has 13 IPL wickets to his name as well. Curran is also a pretty good batter who averages 37.87 in ODIs, with more than 300 runs to his name. Mumbai won't regret picking him as Richardson's replacement.