Mumbai: Mumbai Indians opener Lendl Simmons will not feature in the remainder of the IPL this season due to a lower back injury. New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill – who missed out on the auctions – is set to replace him.
Simmons, whose unbeaten 82 against India in the ICC World Twenty20 took West Indies to the final, had missed the first stage of the world tournament as well. He had replaced Andre Fletcher ahead of the semi-final.
The Caribbean smashed six half-centuries in IPL 2015 which helped Mumbai Indians win the title. He scored 540 runs in 13 matches at a strike-rate of 122.41. This season, he was dismissed for 8 in the opener against Rising Pune Supergiants.
On the other hand, Guptill – who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh – remained unsold this season. He was the highest run-scorer in the ICC World Cup 2015 with 547 runs in nine matches which included a double hundred (237) against West Indies in the quarter-final.
In T20 cricket, Guptill stands at 4,684 runs rom 155 matches with two hundreds.
