RCB top bowler joins Mumbai Indians for IPL 2023

The IPL 2023 mini-auction will take place in Kochi on December 23. The last date to submit the list of retained and released players is November 15. RCB top bowler joins Mumbai Indians for IPL 2023. Australian seamer Jason Behrendorff has joined Mumbai Indians from the Royal Challengers Bangalore as the IPL announces the first trade ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.

Jason Behrendorff was with Mumbai Indians in 2019 when he picked up 5 wickets in 5 matches. The MI family were elated to have the left-arm pacer back in their setup; known for his new ball swing bowling, Behrendorff is a gun bowler with the new ball, and MI have roped him back as a replacement for Trent Boult, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals in the mega-auction.

Boult was Mumbai’s key man with the ball and regularly gave them early strikes in 2020 and 2021 – but in the +IPL 2022, MI missed such services as neither of Daniel Sams, Riley Meredith, or Jaydev Unadkat was potent in the powerplay, and Sams did well only in the last few matches after they had been eliminated from the playoff race.

Jason Behrendorff has an experience of 105 T20 matches wherein he’s taken 117 wickets and kept a tight economy of 7.41. Jason Behrendorff was with MI in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, the lanky pacer was called up by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood.

Then, in the IPL 2022 mega-auction, RCB bought Behrendorff for INR 75 lakh but the speedster didn’t get a single game for RCB with Hazlewood playing throughout the tournament. Given that Behrendorff is unlikely to get much game time again at RCB.

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This deal serves well for all three parties – Behrendorff, RCB, and MI. With uncertainties around the fitness of Jofra Archer, and the likelihood of MI now releasing Meredith and Tymal Mills, Behrendorff’s inclusion could bring big success to Mumbai Indians.